JPH02231313A - Conveying system using linear motor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to set a small gap by arranging one of a linear motor coil and a reaction member at conveying holding means and the other at a guide member provided in parallel therewith and connecting them to each other by means of connecting means which does not mutually transmit motions of the linear motor coil and the reaction member in the direction of a gap. CONSTITUTION:Thrust F is generated in a reaction member 28 due to the operation of a linear motor 30. This thrust F is transmitted to a pallet 20 from the reaction member 28 via a connection means 38. Consequently, the pallet 20 is conveyed leftwards in the figure by means of the reaction member 28. Even if the pallet 20 is vibrated in the direction of a gap delta during conveyance, the motion of the pallet 20 in the direction of the gap is absorbed in the movement relative to the rod 56 of the first engagement portion 58. Consequently, the movement is not transmitted to the reaction member 28 so that the gap delta between the reaction member 28 and a guide rail 40 is maintained constant. Thus, the gap can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a system for transporting objects using a linear motor.

(Prior art) As a system for transporting objects, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63
As described in Japanese Patent No.-81889, one using a linear motor is known.

A conventional example of a conveyance system using such a linear motor is shown in FIG. In the figure, a conveyance support means 4 is constituted by a roller row consisting of a large number of rotatable rollers 2, and a conveyed object 6 is supported on the conveyance support means 4 so as to be conveyable.
The conveyed object 6 is moved along the conveyance support means 4 by a linear motor 8.
It is transported by The linear motor 8 is composed of a linear motor coil 10 and a reaction member 12, one of which is disposed as a stator along the conveyance support means 4, and the other as a mover. fixed to the conveyed object 6 (in this example, the near motor coil IO is used as a stator, and the reaction member l2 is used as a mover), and both 10. 1
The object to be transported 6 is conveyed via the movable element by the thrust F generated in the movable element due to the electromagnetic action between the two.

The thrust force F in the linear motor 8 has a relationship as shown in FIG. 6 between the linear motor coil 10 and the reaction member 12, as shown in FIG. The smaller δ is, the larger the gap is, and when the gap δ changes, the thrust force F changes.

Generally, in a conveyance system, it is desirable that the thrust force F be large, and therefore it is desirable that the gap δ be set as small as possible. Furthermore, if the thrust force F fluctuates during the transportation of the transported object 6, it becomes difficult to control the speed with high accuracy, and as a result, problems arise such as it becomes difficult to correctly stop the transported object 6 at a predetermined position. It is desirable that the gap δ does not change during transportation.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-mentioned conventional conveyance system, since the mover made of a linear motor coil or a reaction member is fixed to the conveyed object 6, the above-mentioned gap δ fluctuates during conveyance. There is a problem in that it is difficult to set the gap δ small.

That is, the conveyed object 6 is conveyed by the conveying support means 4 consisting of the above-mentioned rollers.
When the conveyed object 6 is conveyed on the upper surface, for example, each time the conveyed object 6 transfers to an adjacent roller 2, the conveyed object 6 vibrates in the direction of the arrow A, and as the conveyed object 6 vibrates, the reaction of the moving element occurs. The member l2 similarly vibrates, thereby causing the gap δ to vary. In addition, when the gap δ fluctuates in this way, it is necessary to take care to prevent the reaction member from coming into contact with the near motor coil due to the fluctuation. Therefore, when setting the gap δ, the gap δ should be adjusted to at least its fluctuation range. Therefore, the gap δ cannot be set too small.

Fluctuations in the gap δ due to vibrations of the conveyed object when the conveyed object is conveyed while being supported on the conveyance support means can be caused by various causes even when the conveyance support means is other than the roller array as described above. Therefore, the above-mentioned problem can occur regardless of the conveyance support means.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a conveyance system using a linear motor that can maintain the gap δ uniformly while conveying an object and thereby set the gap δ small. .

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, a conveyance system using a linear motor according to the present invention includes a linear motor including a linear motor coil and a reaction member, and is capable of being conveyed by a conveyance support means. In a transport system using a linear motor for transporting a supported object along the transport support means by the linear motor, one of the linear motor coil and the reaction member is disposed along the transport support means, The other is engaged with a guide member disposed along the conveyance support means so as to be movable along the guide member, and the other and the object to be conveyed are such that the movement of the other along the guide member is prevented. The present invention is characterized in that the movement of the linear motor coil and the reaction member of the transported object in the direction of the gap is connected to each other by a connecting means that can be transmitted to the transported object and that does not transmit the movement of the linear motor coil and the reaction member of the transported object to the other.

(Function) In the conveying system having the above configuration, the linear motor coil or reaction member constituting the mover is engaged with the guide member, and movement in the direction of the gap δ between the linear motor coil and the reaction member is prevented. Since it is connected to the conveyed object by a connecting means that does not transmit transmission, even if the conveyed object generates vibrations during conveyance, it can move smoothly along the guide member without the vibrations being transmitted. It is possible to prevent the gap δ from changing during transportation.

Further, since the gap δ does not fluctuate during conveyance, the gap δ can be set extremely small.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing one embodiment of the present invention.
A plan view of the embodiment shown in the figure, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG.
■It is a line sectional view.

The illustrated conveyance system is a body conveyance system in an automobile manufacturing line, in which a body 22 is placed on a pallet 20 that is an object to be conveyed, and the pallet 20 is supported so as to be conveyable by a roller row 24 that is a conveyance support means.
The pallet 20 is conveyed along the roller row 24 while being supported on the roller row 24 by a linear motor 30 comprising a linear motor coil 2B and a reaction member 28.

The roller row 24 supports the pallet 20 in a conveyable manner, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a large number of It consists of a roller 36 and is provided extending in the conveying direction of the pallet 20.

The linear motor coil 26, which is one component of the linear motor 30, is connected to a roller array 24 as a stator, as shown in the figure.
The reaction member 28, which is the other component, is connected to the pallet 20 as a mover by means of a connecting means 38, which will be described below, and a guide arranged along the roller row 24. It is engaged with a guide rail 40 as a member so as to be movable along the guide rail 40.

The reaction member 28 is held by a reaction member holder 42, engaged with the guide rail 40 via the holder 42, and connected to the pallet 20 by a connecting means 38. Further, the linear motor coil 26 is disposed on the floor 32 via screw means 44 for height adjustment.

The linear motor coil 26 and the reaction member 28 are both connected to each other by passing a current through the linear motor coil 2B. 28, and the thrust F generated by the electromagnetic action moves the mover (reaction member in this example) relative to the stator (linear motor coil in this example) in the direction of the thrust F. The linear motor coil 26 is made of, for example, a known comb-like iron core with an excitation coil wound around it, and the reaction member 28 is made of, for example, a plate-like member made of laminated iron and aluminum.

The connecting means 38 connects the pallet 20 and the reaction member 28, and can transmit the movement of the reaction member 28 along the guide rail 40 to the pallet 20, and also connects the linear motor coil 26 of the pallet 20 and the reaction member 28. The connection is made so that the movement in the direction of the gap δ between the reaction member 28 and the reaction member 28 is not transmitted to the reaction member 28.
2, a mounting flange 46 fixed to the mounting flange 4;
A cylinder 48 is fixed to B, and is rotatably supported by the mounting flange 46 at a rotation center point 50 near the upper end, and is rotatably connected to the tip of the cylinder rod 52 of the cylinder 48 at the lower end. a rotating body 54; a rod 56 fixed to the upper end of the rotating body 54;
A U-shaped first engaging member 58 is provided on the rod 56 so as to be movable relative to the rod 56 in the axial direction, that is, in the direction of the gap δ. The pallet 2 is positioned forward in the direction and engages with the first engaging member 58.
0, an L-shaped second engagement member 60 fixed to the first engagement member 60;
The rod 5 is inserted between the engaging member 58 and the rotating body 54.
6 and a spring 62 disposed to be fitted into the spring 6.

In the conveyance system configured as described above, a thrust force F is generated in the reaction member 28 by operating the linear motor 30, and the thrust force F is generated in the reaction member 28.
8 to the pallet 20 via the connecting means 38;
Therefore, the pallet 20 is conveyed along with the reaction member 28 to the left in FIG. 1 (in the direction of thrust F). Furthermore, even if the pallet 20 vibrates in the direction of the gap δ while the pallet 20 is being transported, the pallet 20
Since the movement in the direction of the gap δ of 0 is absorbed by the relative movement of the first engaging member 58 with respect to the rod 501, it is not transmitted to the reaction member 28, and therefore the reaction member 28 is moved along the guide rail 40 by the linear motor. It becomes possible to move while maintaining a uniform gap δ between the coil 2B and the coil 2B.

Note that the spring B2 functions as a buffer for relative movement between the first engaging member 58 and the rod 5B. Moreover, the guide rail 40 is, of course,
The reaction member 28 engaged with the linear motor coil 2B is arranged so as to maintain a uniform gap δ with respect to the linear motor coil 2B. Further, the total weight of the reaction member 28, the holder 42, the mounting flange 46, and each member fixed to the mounting flange 46 is sufficiently lighter than the total weight of the pallet 20 and the body 22.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the pallet 20 is conveyed by the linear motor 30 between the first station located on the right side in FIG. When the cylinder rod 52 reaches the second station, it retreats to the right and is located at the first station, where the cylinder rod 52 is extended to the left and the rotating shaft 54 is rotated clockwise, so that the rod 56 and the first engaging member 58 to the right, and in that state, when the next pallet is located at the first station, actuate the cylinder 48 to rotate the rotating body 54 counterclockwise, and raise the rod 5B and ml engaging member 58 as shown in the figure. The first engaging member 58 is then engaged with the second engaging member of the next pallet.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing another embodiment, and this embodiment uses a reaction member 28 as a stator and a linear motor coil 26 as a mover, compared to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The difference was that That is, the reaction member 28 as a stator is disposed on the floor 32 along the roller row 24, and the near motor coil 20 as a mover is disposed on the holder 4.
2, the linear motor coil 26 is movably engaged with the guide rail 40 via the holder 42 and the same connecting means 3 as described above.
It is connected to the pallet 20 via 8. Of course, this embodiment also operates in the same manner as the above embodiment.

In addition, although the guide member 40 in the above embodiment was engaged with the reaction member 28 in an immovable manner in the direction of the gap δ, the guide member 40 is not necessarily engaged in an immovable manner.
For example, it may be a guide rail on which the reaction member 2B is simply placed and engaged. Further, it is desirable that the sliding frictional resistance between the guide member 40 and the reaction member 28 be as small as possible, so when the reaction member 28 is engaged with the guide member 40. It is recommended that various measures be taken to reduce the above-mentioned resistance, such as making the contact surface smooth or engaging via a freely rotatable roller.

(Effects of the Invention) The conveyance system using the linear motor according to the present invention engages the mover made of the reaction member or the linear motor coil with the guide member disposed along the conveyance support means as described above, The movable element is connected so that the movement of the movable element along the guide member can be transmitted to the conveyed object, but the movement of the conveyed object in the direction of the gap δ between the linear motor coil and the reaction member cannot be transmitted. Since it is connected to the conveyed object by the means, the above-mentioned gap δ does not fluctuate during conveyance, and the gap δ can thereby be set small. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a large propulsive force and to control the conveyance speed with high accuracy. can be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a conveyance system using a linear motor according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a - - - - in Fig. 2. 4 is a schematic side view showing another embodiment, FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a conventional example, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between thrust and gap in a linear motor. 20... Object to be transported 24... Transport support means 2B... Linear motor coil 28... Reaction member 30... Linear motor 38... Connection means 40... Guide member diagram ζ Mekozu Diagram Diagram Questions

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A linear motor comprising a linear motor including a linear motor coil and a reaction member, the linear motor conveying a conveyed object, which is supported so as to be conveyable by a conveyance support means, along the conveyance support means. In the conveyance system used, one of the linear motor coil and the reaction member is disposed along the conveyance support means, and the other is moved along the guide member disposed along the conveyance support means. The other and the conveyed object are so engaged that the movement of the other along the guide member can be transmitted to the conveyed object and the movement of the linear motor coil and the reaction member of the conveyed object can be transmitted to the conveyed object. A conveying system using a linear motor, characterized in that the movement in the gap direction is connected by a connecting means that does not transmit the movement to the other.