JPH05260614A - Magnetic levitation type conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a magnetic levitation type conveyor having high reliability by stabilizing a levitated state at the time of traveling on a curved rail. CONSTITUTION:Poles 21a, 21b opposed to a levitation rail 4 are installed in a frame of a conveying truck 10 through a turning shaft 24 at an axis 24c perpendicular to opposed surfaces of the poles 21a, 21b and the rail 4 as a center. Thus, the poles 21a, 21b become rotatable at the axis 24c as a center, and can change direction by following up the bend of the rail 4 by means of magnetic self attraction force.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic levitation type conveyance device for levitating a conveyance carriage from a rail by a magnetic attraction force and traveling along the rail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a magnetic levitation type conveyance device has been developed which uses magnetic attraction force to levitate a conveyance trolley and causes it to travel without contacting a rail to convey articles and the like. In this magnetic levitation type transfer device, since the transfer carriage does not contact the rails, there is no fear of dust generation and it is often used as a transfer means in a clean room for semiconductor manufacturing.

4 and 5 are a sectional view and a perspective view showing a structural example of a conventional magnetic levitation type carrier. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a rail which serves as a traveling path of a carriage 10 (which will be described later), and has a hollow substantially rectangular column shape with an opening 3 provided along the traveling direction of the carriage 10.

In the rail 1, a primary side coil 2S of a linear induction motor is arranged at predetermined intervals along the extension direction of the rail 1 at the center of the bottom 1b of the inner wall facing the opening 3. Furthermore, the inner wall upper part 1u of the rail 1
, A levitation rail 4 is provided at each of the left and right edges along the opening 3, and a guide rail 5 is provided at each of the left and right inner wall side portions 1s.

On the upper part of the carrier 10, a luggage carrier 11 for loading articles and the like, and a luggage carrier supporting member 12 for supporting this.
Is provided. As shown in FIG. 5, the loading platform 11 is located outside the rail 1 for loading articles and the like, and is connected to the carriage 10 inside the railway 1 via a loading platform support member 12 penetrating the opening 3. There is.

In addition, a levitation magnet 14 is installed at a position facing the levitation rail 4 and a guiding magnet 15 is installed at a position facing the guide rail 5 in the carrier 10. The transport carriage 10 is provided with a secondary conductor 2R facing the above-described primary coil 2S, a carriage control device 13 for controlling the floating of the transport carriage 10, and a battery 16 for supplying power to each part. There is. Further, although not shown, the levitation magnet 14 and the guiding magnet 1
Each of 5 is provided with a gap sensor that detects a gap G1 between the levitation magnet 14 and the levitation rail 4 and a gap G2 between the guidance magnet 15 and the guidance rail 5, respectively.

In such a structure, the levitation magnet 14
When an exciting current is supplied to the guide magnet 15 and the guide magnet 15, the levitation magnet 14 magnetically attracts the levitation rail 4 to the levitation rail 4 so that the levitation magnet 14 magnetically attracts the levitation rail 4 to the levitation rail 4.
On the other hand, the gap G1 is maintained and the gap G2 is maintained with respect to the guide rail 5. When an alternating current is supplied to the primary coil 2S, a traveling magnetic field is generated between the primary coil 2S and the secondary conductor 2R on the carrier 10 side. As a result, the carrier 10 is given a propulsive force and travels in the rail 1 in a non-contact state.

While the carrier 10 is traveling, the carrier controller 13 adjusts the exciting current to be supplied to the levitation magnet 14 and the guiding magnet 15 according to the output of the gap sensor described above. Thereby, the gaps G1, G2
Is kept within a predetermined range to prevent the carrier 10 from contacting the inner wall of the rail 1 or the like.

[0009]

By the way, the carrier 1
0 does not always run on a straight road, but may run on a curved road in which the rail 1 is bent in a substantially arc shape. Here, the positional relationship between the levitation rail 4 and the levitation magnet 14 when traveling on a straight road and a curved road will be described with reference to FIG. In this figure, S1 shows a state when traveling straight, and S2 shows a state when traveling on a curve.
As is clear from the figure, during straight running (S1), the levitation magnets 14 are parallel to the levitation rails 4, but during curved travel (S2), the levitation magnets 14 float. The rail 4 is positioned obliquely with respect to the tangential direction D of the curve.

Therefore, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG.
When the transport vehicle 10 travels in a curve, the corner portion 14p of the levitation magnet 14 protrudes from the edge 4e of the levitation rail 4 that faces it. For this reason, there is a problem that the area of the facing surface between the levitation magnet 14 and the levitation rail 4 becomes small, and the levitation state becomes unstable.

The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic levitation transfer apparatus which stabilizes the levitation state during curve traveling and has high reliability.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a levitation rail that is installed along a conveyance path, a conveyance carriage that runs along the levitation rail, and the levitation. And a levitation magnet for magnetically attracting the levitation rail to levitate the trolley, wherein the levitation magnet is provided for the levitation magnet. It is characterized in that it is provided with a rotation supporting means for rotatably supporting while facing the rail.

[0013]

According to the present invention, since the rotation support means supports the levitation magnet while facing the levitation rail, the levitation magnet is levitated when the trolley travels along the curved transportation path. By magnetically attracting the for-use rail, it rotates following the bending of the ascent-rail and changes its direction. As a result, the area of the surface of the levitation magnet facing the levitation rail can be minimized from the area protruding from the edge of the levitation rail.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a levitation magnet 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Note that FIG. 10A is a plan view of the levitation magnet 20, and FIG. 9B is a view taken along the line A- in FIG.
It is sectional drawing by A '.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 21a and 21b denote magnetic poles arranged so as to face the levitation rail 4, respectively. The magnetic poles 21a and 21b are separated by a magnetic pole gap MG formed along the center line C, and the magnetic pole gap MG detects a gap G1 with the levitation rail 4 described above. Is installed.

Reference numeral 28 is a core having a U-shaped cross section. An excitation coil 23 is wound around the core 28 and excites the magnetic poles 21a and 21b. 24 is the core 2
8, which is connected to the shaft 8, is supported by a bearing 25 so that the magnetic poles 21a and 21b are opposed to the levitation rail 4 and are rotatable about a shaft 24c. Also, 2
Reference numeral 6 denotes a magnetic fluid seal, which prevents the lubricating oil applied to the contact portion between the rotating shaft 24 and the bearing 25 from leaking to the outside. The bearing 25 is fixed to the frame of the transport carriage 10 by the support member 27.

According to such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, while the carrier 10 is traveling straight (S11), the same state (S11) as the state (S1) shown in FIG. 6 is obtained. ,
When traveling on a curve, the levitation rail 4 and the magnetic poles 21a, 21
The positional relationship with b is as shown in the state (S12). That is, since the magnetic poles 21a and 21b are rotatable on the swivel shaft 24, the direction of the center line C separating the magnetic poles 21a and 21b is inevitably curved by the magnetic attraction force between the magnetic poles 21a and 21b. To follow. As a result, the center line C becomes parallel to the tangential direction D of the curve of the levitation rail 4.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the magnetic poles 21a and 21b do not stick out from the edges 4e of the opposing levitation rails 4 in a state where the vehicle is traveling in a curve (S12). As a result, the floating condition is stable when traveling on a curve, and the reliability is improved.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the rotation support means supports the levitation magnet while facing the levitation rail, the carrier truck travels along the curved carrier path. At this time, the levitation magnet magnetically attracts the levitation rail to rotate and follow the bending of the levitation rail to change its direction. As a result, the area of the surface of the levitation magnet facing the levitation rail that protrudes from the edge of the levitation rail is minimized, so that the levitation state of the transporting trolley is stable during curve travel and reliability is improved. The effect is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are diagrams showing a structure of a levitation magnet according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1A is a plan view, and FIG.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a positional relationship between a levitation rail 4 and magnetic poles 21a and 21b when traveling on a straight road and a curved road in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the positional relationship between the levitation rail 4 and the magnetic poles 21a and 21b at the time of traveling on a curve (S12) in the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a conventional magnetic levitation transfer device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the same configuration example.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a positional relationship between a levitation rail 4 and a levitation magnet 14 when traveling on a straight road and a curved road in the same configuration example.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing the positional relationship between the levitation rails 4 and the levitation magnets 14 during curve traveling (S2) in the same configuration example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Rail 2R Secondary Side Conductor 2S Primary Side Coil 3 Opening 4 Levitating Rail 5 Guide Rail 10 Carrier Cart 11 Carrier 12 Carrier Support Member 13 Vehicle Control Device 14, 20 Floating Magnet 15 Guide Magnet 16 Battery 21a, 21b Magnetic Pole 22 Gap sensor 23 Exciting coil 24 Swivel shaft 25 Bearing 26 Magnetic fluid seal 27 Support member 28 Core

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A levitation rail erected along a conveyance path, a conveyance carriage traveling along the levitation rail, a levitation rail, and a levitation rail. The levitation rail is magnetically attracted to the levitation rail. A magnetic levitation type transfer device having a levitation magnet for levitation of a trolley, comprising a rotation support means provided on the trolley for rotatably supporting the levitation magnet while facing the levitation rail. A magnetic levitation type transportation device characterized by: