JPH0576242B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to, for example, transporting various workpieces between load transfer stations in a factory, etc.
Regarding magnetic levitation type transport equipment that uses a linear motor to move a magnetically levitated moving object along a transport path using a linear motor, please refer to the following for details. Use of a linear motor that includes a primary coil of a linear motor provided, a secondary conductor of the linear motor provided on a moving body, an electromagnet for levitating the moving body, and a secondary battery that energizes the electromagnet. Regarding magnetic levitation type transportation equipment.

[Prior art] In the above-mentioned magnetic levitation type transportation equipment using a linear motor, the secondary battery mounted on the moving body consumes power by energizing the levitation electromagnet, so after using it for a predetermined time, This necessitates replacing the secondary battery.

For this reason, conventionally, a mobile object is moved to a secondary battery exchange station at an appropriate time to exchange a used secondary battery with a charged secondary battery. By the way, the replacement station is installed at a location away from the working route, and when replacing the secondary battery, the moving object is branched from the working route and moved to the replacement station. That will happen.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

According to the above conventional means, when replacing the secondary battery, the transportation work must be interrupted and the moving object must be moved to the secondary battery replacement station, which reduces the operating rate of the moving object. However, there was an inconvenience in that the work efficiency of the conveyance equipment decreased.

By the way, it is possible to increase the operating rate of mobile objects by increasing the capacity of the secondary battery and reducing the frequency of replacing the secondary battery, but as the capacity increases, the weight of the secondary battery also increases. And for that purpose,
As the weight of the moving object increases and a greater levitation force is required, the power consumption of the secondary battery also increases, making it difficult to reduce the frequency of replacing the secondary battery as desired. . Moreover, as the secondary battery becomes larger, the moving object itself also becomes larger, resulting in a disadvantage.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to increase the operating rate of a moving body by effectively utilizing the original configuration of a magnetically levitated conveyance facility using a linear motor. It is in.

[Means for solving problems]

The magnetic levitation type conveyance equipment using a linear mortar according to the present invention has a primary coil of a linear motor provided on a moving object guide arranged along the moving path of the moving object, and a secondary coil of a linear motor provided on the moving object. Conductor, electromagnet to levitate the moving object,
The movable body is equipped with a charging means having a secondary battery that energizes the electromagnet, a power receiving part for charging the secondary battery, and a power feeding part provided in the loading/unloading station. The device is configured so that it is levitated by an electromagnet in a stopped state, and is characterized in that in the levitated state, power can be supplied from the power supply part of the charging means to the power receiving part of the mobile object, and its operation and effects are as follows. It is as follows.

[Effect]

In other words, by taking advantage of the fact that the moving object is stopped at a load transfer station while the load is being moved, charging can be carried out while the moving object is suspended in a floating state for load transfer. Electric power is supplied from the power feeding section of the means to the power receiving section of the movable body to charge the secondary battery of the movable body.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, the time when the moving body is stopped for load transfer work can be used to charge the secondary battery, so it is possible to extend the time until the secondary battery is replaced. As a result, the frequency of replacing secondary batteries can be reduced.
Moreover, since the secondary battery is charged in a floating state where it can be started immediately, it can be started quickly after charging, which increases the operating rate of the moving object and improves the efficiency of the transport equipment as a whole. It has become possible to increase transport efficiency.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

As shown in Figure 5, there is a station for loading and unloading cargo.
A moving body guide A is provided along the movement route of a moving body V for transporting goods to be moved between STs, and the moving body V is levitated magnetically and driven by a linear motor _M0 . It is configured to be able to transport articles. In the figure, SW is a switch section provided with a movable guide portion _A1 that changes the direction of the movable body V by rotating it around the vertical axis with the movable body V placed thereon.

To configure the movable body guide A, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, a main body 2 formed in a flat plate shape using a magnetic material such as iron is provided, and the main body 2 is made of a magnetic material such as iron. A support member 3 of the section 2 is provided. The primary coils C ₁ , C 2 of the linear motor M ₀ are installed at predetermined locations on the upper wall 2A of the main body _2.
is attached. That is, the station
In ST and switch part SW, the primary coil for decelerating, stopping and accelerating the moving body V.
On the way between C ₁ and station ST,
A relay primary coil _C2 for accelerating the moving body V is attached to the moving body guide A.
However, when the moving body V is allowed to pass through the station ST without stopping, the station primary coil C ₁ is operated as the relay primary coil.

In addition, in the figure, B ₁ and B ₂ are the primary coils C ₁ and
Linear motor drive device that controls the drive of C ₂ , (F)
is a central control unit that centrally controls the operation of the linear motor drive devices B ₁ and B ₂ and the load transfer work of each station ST, and manages the transport work while moving the moving body V between the stations ST. The device, _M3 , is the station ST and switch part.
It is an electromagnet for holding the movable body V in a stopped state in the SW, and it attracts the bottom part of the movable body V,
This is used to hold the moving body V so that it does not move from a desired stop position.

To configure the mobile body V, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, an exterior cover K having a load carrying portion 1 formed on the upper part is provided, and support frames for various devices are provided within the exterior cover K. There is a frame that also serves as a In other words, the secondary conductor 4 of the linear motor M ₀ is placed at a position facing the primary coils C ₁ and C ₂ .
Attach the moving body V in a horizontal position facing forward and backward,
A first electromagnet _M1 is provided on both sides of the support member 3 for attracting the bottom wall portion 2a of the main body portion 2 to levitate the movable body V in a running state and in a stopped state of the station ST, and further,
At opposing positions on the left and right sides of the side wall portion 2b of the main body portion 2, there are second electromagnets M ₂ that attract the side wall portion 2b from both left and right sides to prevent the movable body V from colliding with the side wall portion 2b. is provided. However, the first electromagnet M ₁ and the second electromagnet M ₂ are respectively provided at four locations at the front, rear, left and right ends of the moving body V, and each of the first electromagnet M ₁ and the second electromagnet M ₂ is Gap sensor that detects the degree of approach to the main body 2
The energization is controlled separately based on the detection information from S ₁ and S ₂ so that the flying height and lateral distance of the movable body V with respect to the movable body guide A are maintained at set distances.

In the figure, E is a secondary battery that supplies power to the electromagnets M ₁ and M ₂ and a control circuit for levitating the mobile object V, and 6 is a secondary battery that supplies power to the electromagnets M 1 and M 2 and a control circuit for levitating the mobile object V. The movable body V is provided so that it can be easily moved when the movable body V is consumed to the extent that it is insufficient to levitate it, or when the movable body V stops on the movable body guide due to control problems, etc. It is a wheel. However, while the moving body V is floating, it is provided at a position where it does not come into contact with the moving body guide A. Also, 7
are holes 7 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the moving body V.
A is a slit plate with an opening, and the station
A two-phase photo-interrupt type optical sensor S ₃ installed on the moving body guide side of the ST and switch section SW,
By detecting the number of times the light is blocked by the slit plate 7 as the moving object V passes, the time interval, and the direction of phase change, the position, running speed, and direction of movement of the moving object V can be determined. It is configured to function as a linear encoder that detects

The information detected by the linear encoder is used to stop and accelerate the moving body V by the linear motor drive device B ₁ that controls the drive of the primary coil C ₁ for stopping and accelerating and starting provided in the station ST and switch section SW. When stopping or using the stopping electromagnet
When operating _M3 to stop and hold the moving body V,
It will be used as control information.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the linear motor drive device _B1 transmits various information such as a stop command, a start command, and a passing command for the moving object V to and from the central control device F. A communicating linear motor controller 11 is provided. A sensor signal processing unit 10 calculates and outputs the position (δ) and velocity (ω) of the moving object V based on the output signal from the optical sensor _S3 , and the moving object V output from this sensor signal processing unit 10. Target speed setting unit 1 that outputs the target traveling speed of the moving body V based on the position (δ) of
2. A speed deviation calculation unit 13 that compares the command information output from the target speed setting unit 12 and the detected speed (ω) output from the sensor signal processing unit 10 and calculates the deviation thereof; A linear motor drive unit 14 is provided which controls the drive of the primary coil C ₁ based on the speed deviation output from the deviation calculation unit 13 . Further, by exchanging information with the sensor signal processing section 10 and the target speed setting section 12, the linear motor controller 11 determines that the moving body V has been stopped at the set position. An electromagnet drive unit 15 is provided for actuating the electromagnet _M3 . Although not described in detail, the relay linear motor drive device B ₂ that controls the drive of the relay primary side coil C ₂ includes:
The driving direction commanded by the central control device F, that is, the direction of the moving body V, is determined based on the information of the sensor that detects the approach of the moving body V to the relay primary coil C ₂ and the presence of the moving body V at the position where the moving body V is located. The relay primary coil C ₂ is configured to start and stop driving so as to generate a predetermined driving force corresponding to the moving direction.

Next, the charging means W for the secondary battery E of the moving body V stopped at the station ST will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, in the station ST, a solenoid 1 is connected to a charging electrode 16a as a power receiving section provided on the side of the mobile body V.
A charging device 17 is provided with a charging electrode 16b as a power feeding section that is contacted and operated by the charging device 8.

Then, at the same time that the moving body V is stopped in a floating state at a predetermined stop position of the station ST and the load transfer operation is started, the solenoid 18 is actuated to connect the electrode 16b on the side of the charging device as a power supply unit to the power receiving unit. The secondary battery E is charged while the moving body V is suspended in a floating state at the station ST. In other words, the charging device 17 is configured to input a charging start command when the moving body stops and a charging stop command when the transfer operation is completed from the linear motor controller 11 to automatically perform charging.

[Another example]

When charging the secondary battery using the charging device 17, instead of providing the charging electrode 16a as a power receiving section on the side of the moving body V, a charging electrode 16a as a power receiving section is provided on the bottom wall of the moving body V. In addition to providing a charging electrode 16a, an electrode 16b on the side of the charging device as a power feeding section is provided at a location corresponding to the lower part of the stopped moving body V.
is provided, and when the movable body V is attracted and held by the stop electromagnet M3, the electrode 16a on the movable body side as a power receiving part and the electrode 16b on the charging device side as a power feeding part
It may be configured such that they are kept in contact with each other. In this case, the stop-holding electromagnet M3 of the movable body V can be configured to serve as a means for maintaining contact between the electrode 16a on the movable body side as a power receiving unit and the electrode 16b on the charging device side as a power feeding unit.

In addition, instead of storing the entire charging device 17 in the movable body guide A below the stopping position of the station ST movable body V, only a part of the charging device 17 is stored as a charging electrode provided on the movable body side. It may be provided corresponding to the arrangement position.

Furthermore, in order to prevent the movable body V from coming into contact with the movable body guide in the lateral direction, in the above embodiment,
The second electromagnet _M1 has the same configuration as the first electromagnet M1 for levitation.
Although an example using the electromagnet _M2 has been shown, other means such as guide wheels may also be used.

In addition, the secondary battery E is composed of lead-acid batteries and Ni
-In addition to secondary batteries such as Cd batteries, various changes can be made, such as using large capacity capacitors.

Further, in order to levitate the moving body V, in addition to the magnetic attraction type shown in the above embodiment, a type of levitation using magnetic repulsion may be used.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the magnetic levitation type conveyance equipment using a linear motor according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the relationship between the charging device and the moving object, and FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the moving object and the moving object guide. A perspective view of the main parts showing the 3rd
The figure is a cross-sectional view of main parts showing the configuration of the moving body and the moving body guide, Figure 4 is a side view of the moving body, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the layout of the conveyance equipment, and Figure 6 is the configuration of the linear motor drive device. FIG. A...Moving object guide, V...Moving object, C ₁ , C ₂
...Primary coil, 4...Secondary conductor, _M1 ...Electromagnet for levitation, E...Secondary battery, W...Charging means, ST...Station for transferring cargo, _M0 ...Linear Motor, 16a...power receiving section, 16b...power feeding section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Primary coils C ₁ and C ₂ of the linear motor M ₀ provided on the moving body guide A arranged along the moving path of the moving body V, and a linear motor provided on the moving body V. A secondary conductor 4 of M ₀ , an electromagnet M ₁ for levitating the moving body V, a secondary battery E that energizes the electromagnet M ₁ , a power receiving part 16 a for charging the secondary battery E, and a charge transfer It is a magnetic levitation type transfer equipment using a linear motor, which is equipped with a charging means W having a power supply part 16b provided at a loading station ST, and the moving body V is equipped with an electromagnet M when stopped at the loading station ST. ₁ , and in the levitation state, power can be supplied from the power supply section 16b of the charging means W to the power receiving section 16a of the mobile body V.