JPH0578492B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a conveying device, and more particularly to a device capable of conveying a large number of objects to a predetermined position in a predetermined order. .

[Conventional technology]

Devices that transport a large number of objects to be transported one after another in a predetermined order to a predetermined position are required in various fields, and belt conveyors, turntables, etc., are used as devices that meet such requirements. ing.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, conveyance by a belt conveyor requires time and effort to place the conveyed object on and off the belt conveyor each time at the start and end points.

Once multiple objects are placed on the turntable, it is possible to avoid the trouble of loading and unloading the objects from the start point to the end point, as with a belt conveyor. The disadvantage is that objects to be transported can only be placed in one row along the circumference, and the area efficiency is poor as a transport device.

Furthermore, all of these conveyance devices can only move the conveyed object in one direction, and moreover, the conveyed object is moved by moving the support platform on which the conveyed object is placed, that is, a belt or table. Therefore, a device for driving the support base is required. Therefore, it also has the disadvantage that if the object to be transported becomes larger, the drive device for the support stand must also become larger.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention focuses on the problems of the conventional conveyance device, and the present invention has been developed by focusing on the problems of the conventional conveyance device. Only the objects to be transported,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a conveyance device that can move the objects individually or in a necessary number in a desired direction and convey them to a desired position.

The conveying device according to the present invention includes a top plate having a large number of ventilation holes, a gas chamber formed on the lower side of the top plate and communicating with the ventilation holes, and means for supplying gas to the gas chamber, means for supplying gas to the ventilation hole from the lower side of the top plate; and an object placed on the top plate so as to cover at least one of the ventilation holes, and a permanent magnet attached thereto. and,
A large number of electromagnets installed in an electromagnet storage chamber formed separately from the gas chamber along the movement path of the conveyed object on the upper surface plate and below the gas chamber, and the current magnitude is continuously controlled. and a current control means for changing the polarity of the electromagnet so that each of the electromagnets is magnetically attracted to and repelled by the permanent magnet provided on the object to be transported. It is configured.

[Effect]

In the apparatus of the present invention, gas (hereinafter referred to as air because air is normally used) is ejected onto the top plate from a large number of vent holes, and the transported object placed on the top plate is slightly In this state, the electromagnet is energized so that the permanent magnet attached to the transported object creates a magnetic attraction or repulsion relationship with the electromagnet, and due to the magnetic attraction between the permanent magnet and the electromagnet, The conveyed object slides on the top plate.

The reason why the conveyed object moves along a desired path during mounting according to the present invention is that a large number of electromagnets are installed along this path, and the polarity of these electromagnets changes sequentially. To explain this schematically, the first, second, third...
electromagnets are installed, and the transported object is placed in the first
If the first electromagnet repels the permanent magnet attached to the conveyed object while the second electromagnet attracts the permanent magnet, the conveyed object will The object is moved directly above the second electromagnet due to the magnetic attraction relationship. At this point, if the second electromagnet repels the permanent magnet and is energized so that the third electromagnet attracts the permanent magnet, the object to be transported will move directly above the third electromagnet. Preferably, so that the conveyed object can move smoothly, the magnitude of the current applied to the electromagnet is continuously changed to change the polarity of the electromagnet facing the permanent magnet from a magnetic attraction relationship to a magnetic repulsion relationship with the permanent magnet. At the same time, the polarity of an electromagnet adjacent to the front in the traveling direction of the transported object is continuously changed from a magnetic repulsion relationship to a magnetic attraction relationship with the permanent magnet. This creates a magnetic repulsion relationship between the permanent magnet and the facing electromagnet, while also creating a magnetic attraction relationship with the electromagnet adjacent to the front in the direction of travel, and by repeating this operation, the transported object is moved to the desired position. That is, the conveyed object is gradually attracted and moved in the direction of movement by magnetic attraction.

Furthermore, in order to stop the conveyed object, it is sufficient to maintain the current flowing through the electromagnet at a constant level when the magnetic attractive force between the permanent magnet and the electromagnet reaches its maximum at the stop position. Alternatively, after maintaining the current, the gas supply may be further interrupted and the object to be transferred may be fixed on the top plate by its own weight, or if desired, the gas in the gas chamber may be exhausted and the gas chamber may be removed. The conveyed object may be brought into close contact with the top plate under reduced pressure. Precise control of the fixing position can be easily performed by attracting the conveyed object between a permanent magnet and an electromagnet.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The conveying device of the present invention will be explained in more detail below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1a is a schematic sectional view of a part of a moving mechanism of a conveyance device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1b and 1c are changes in the current flowing through the electromagnets constituting this moving mechanism. and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing changes in the magnetic force of the electromagnets corresponding to each electromagnet.

The top plate 1 is made of a non-magnetic material, and a large number of ventilation holes 2 are provided on the surface of the top plate 1 for carrying objects 5 that move on the top plate.
(Normally, it is transported in a suitable container, so below,
It is formed along the movement path of the container (abbreviated as container 5). The container 5 is placed so as to always cover at least one vent hole 2 on its moving path. In addition, the lower surface side of the container 5 effectively retains the air ejected from the vent hole 2 to enhance the floating effect, and reduces the contact area with the upper surface plate 1 to reduce the friction between the container 5 and the upper surface plate 1. A recess 6 with a slight depth is formed for the purpose of reducing the resistance, and a permanent magnet 7 is fixed to the center of the recess 6 with adhesive or other appropriate means so as to partially embed it. There is.

A bottom plate 3 made of the same material and size as the top plate 1 is arranged below the top plate 1 with a slight interval therebetween. The gas chamber 4 is sealed with a recessed edge 8 (see FIG. 2). A second
As shown in the figure, a gas reservoir 9 having a relatively large capacity is attached, and the gas reservoir 9 is communicated with the gas chamber 4 through a hole formed in the bottom plate 3. A connection plug 10 is attached to the side wall of the gas reservoir 9 for connecting a pipe extending to a source of pressurized gas, such as a pneumatic pump (not shown). In this way, pressure loss can be suppressed by sending the pressurized air from the air pump to the narrow gas chamber 4 after passing through the gas reservoir 9 having a relatively large volume. In addition, instead of providing the gas chamber directly under the top plate, it is also possible to connect the gas reservoir provided at a distance from the top plate and each vent hole with a conduit, but this is not particularly necessary as it is cumbersome to manufacture. Unless otherwise available, the gas chamber method is advantageous.

A table guide 11 having an inverted L-shaped cross section is provided at the peripheral edge of the top plate 1 and the bottom plate 3, and a part of the table guide 11 located on the top plate prevents the container 5 from falling from the top plate 1. A side plate 1 is attached to the side of the table guide 11.
The upper end of the side plate 12 is fixed, and the lower end of the side plate 12 is fixed to the base plate 1.
It is fixed to the peripheral end face of 3. In this way, an electromagnet storage chamber 14 surrounded by the bottom plate 3, side plates 12, and base plate 13 is formed directly below the bottom plate 3.
In addition, if the electromagnet is installed in the gas chamber without providing such an electromagnet storage chamber, the volume of the gas chamber will increase if it is installed inside the gas chamber, making it difficult to quickly control the blowout of air onto the top plate. Not only will this be difficult, but if objects that fall from the ventilation holes, such as dust or liquids, may spill and contaminate the electromagnet, repair of the electromagnet and its attached equipment, To facilitate removal, it is necessary to provide a separate electromagnet storage chamber.

Coils a' to m' for magnetizing the electromagnets a to m are wound around the electromagnets a to m. Every other coil is connected in series, and the coils are wound so that the electromagnets having coils wound in series alternately exhibit different polarities. That is, in Fig. 1a, coils a', c', e', g', i', k', and m' are connected in series, and if the magnetic pole of electromagnet a is N pole when the coils are energized, then The coil is wound so that electromagnets e, i, and m are north poles, and electromagnets c, g, and k are south poles. Similarly, coils b′, d′, f′, h′, j′, l′
The coils are connected in series, and the coils are wound so that if the magnetic poles of electromagnets b, f, and j are south poles, the magnetic poles of electromagnets d, h, and l are north poles. In this way, by energizing the windings X-X' of the coils a', c', e'...m' and the windings Y-Y' of the coils b', d', f'...l', the electromagnet The polarities a to m indicate alternately north and south poles for each winding.

In order to transfer an object using the transfer device configured as described above, the container 5, which is the object to be transported, is placed on the top plate 1, air is pressurized into the gas chamber 4, and the ventilation hole 2 is opened. The container 5 is slightly floated by the air blown out from the container 5, and the windings X-X' and Y-Y' are energized.
At that time, if the magnitude and polarity of the current are changed over time as shown in Figure 1b, the magnitude and polarity of the magnetic force of electromagnets a to m will change correspondingly as shown in Figure 1c. Change. As the magnetic force and polarity of electromagnets a to m change, the permanent magnet facing the electromagnet moves toward the magnet with the strongest magnetic attraction. For example, in Fig. 1a, if the permanent magnet 7 is installed with the south pole on the lower side and the polarity of the electromagnet c facing it is set to the north pole, then after the magnetic force of the electromagnet c decreases from its maximum value and becomes 0, As it increases again and its polarity changes to the south pole,
A current is supplied so that the magnetic force of the electromagnet d increases from 0 and its polarity becomes N pole (see FIGS. 1b and 1c). According to such changes in the polarity and magnetic force of the electromagnets c and d, the magnetic attraction force between the permanent magnet 7 and the electromagnet c decreases, while the magnetic attraction force between the electromagnet d and the permanent magnet 7 increases, and as a result, the magnetic attraction force between the permanent magnet 7 and the electromagnet d increases. 5 moves in the direction of the arrow.

To stop the movement of the conveyed object, if the magnetic attraction of the electromagnet at the corresponding position to the permanent magnet is at its maximum and the current supplied to the electromagnet is kept constant, the conveyed object will be suspended by the ejected air. It stops at that position due to magnetic attraction. Next, the supply of air to the gas chamber is stopped and the container 5 is fixed to the top plate by its own weight, or the gas chamber is depressurized and the container 5 is adsorbed to the top plate to stop energizing the electromagnet. In these cases, the current control device maintains the magnitude and polarity of the current at that time. When restarting the movement of the transported object after it has been stopped, first energize the electromagnet with the current of the polarity and magnitude that was maintained when the object was stopped, then restart the ventilation to the gas chamber and float the container. After the oscillation stabilizes, change the current.

FIG. 3 is an example of a control means for changing the magnitude and polarity of the current supplied to the electromagnet windings X-X' and Y-Y'. A digital signal generated by a microcomputer is outputted from a data terminal to a latch-and-buffer circuit, and the current data is latched by the output of an address signal and held in the latch-and-buffer. The held signal is converted to an analog signal by a digital-to-analog converter, and simultaneously output to the driver, converted to an analog current signal with a magnitude and polarity commensurate with the digital signal, and then connected to the winding X-
It is output to X' or winding Y-Y'. At this time, the computer program is set such that the change in the output signal for winding X-X' and winding Y-Y' is as shown in FIG. 1b. FIG. 1b shows an example of the control current, and if necessary, the movement of the conveyed object can be made smooth by changing it in a sinusoidal manner.

In addition, Fig. 1a is an example assuming that the polarities of the permanent magnets attached to each container are all in the same direction, that is, all the sides facing the electromagnet are set as S poles. It may be installed so that the poles alternately face the electromagnet. In this case, by color-coding the containers into those with S pole and those with N pole, when the transported object is moved or stopped, the polarity of the permanent magnet is unknown due to the movement. It is desirable to avoid this. Normally, taking into consideration the labor involved in arranging the containers, the permanent magnets are arranged so that their polarities are in the same direction.

By increasing the number of electromagnets and gradually changing the magnetic force, the movement of the transported object can be made smoother. On the other hand, it is not a good idea to have too many of them in terms of power consumption.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the conveying device of the present invention is applied to an auto sample changer of an automatic titration device, where A is an auto sample changer, B is a titration device, and 15 is a container that accommodates the titrant. It's a beaker. A permanent magnet 7 is attached to the lower side of the container 5 that houses the beaker 15, and an electromagnet (not shown) is housed in the electromagnet storage chamber 14.

To perform the titration, as shown in FIG. 5, after performing the titration operation at the titration position C, the containers 5 are moved one by one in the direction of the arrow. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the top plate 1 is viewed from above, the rectangular surface area of the top plate 1 is equally divided into two from the center, and for convenience, the left area is L and the right area is R. In each area, four containers are lined up horizontally to form one row, and in the left area, there are four columns (L-1 to L-4) with one column corresponding to the titration position being empty, and in the right area, there are four containers (L-1 to L-4). 5 rows (R-1 to R
-5) Arrange. To move the containers, first, row R-1 is moved laterally one by one to the left region L, and titration is performed at the titration position C with respect to the sample in the beaker supported by the container on the left end side. R-
When the titration for one column is completed, the R-1 column is moved to an empty column in the left region L, and the place where the R-1 column was in the right region R becomes vacant. Therefore, R in the right area
All rows -2, R-3, R-4 and R-5 are moved forward in the vertical direction (upward as viewed in FIG. 6) by one row, either all at the same time or one row at a time. As a result, the place where column R-5 was located (the last column of right area R) becomes vacant, so column L-4, which is the last column of left area L, is moved in the horizontal direction. Next, all the columns L-1, L-2, L-3 located in the left area L and R-1 that has moved from the right area are collectively moved one column at a time or one column at a time, vertically backward (first column). (Downward as seen in Figure 6)
, and make the front row of the left area L an empty row again. In the same way, each column for which the adjustment operation has been completed is
Move it around as shown by the arrow in the figure. As described above, according to the apparatus of the present invention, all rows except the front row and the last row can be moved all at once, and beakers can be moved extremely efficiently.

The conveyance device of the present invention is not limited to the auto sample changer of the above-mentioned adjustment device, but also various manufacturing automation devices, such as a mixing device for various raw materials such as paint, a solvent, a conveyance device for processing in parts processing, etc. It can also be applied to

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the conveying device of the present invention, a drive device for the support base on which the transported object is placed is not required, which simplifies the structure of the entire conveying device and, in turn, simplifies its repair. be able to. Furthermore, by arranging electromagnets along the conveyance path of the transported object, it can be applied to any complicated conveyance path. In addition, the moving direction and speed of the transported object can be easily controlled by continuously changing the magnitude of the current flowing through the electromagnet using a current control means and by manipulating the polarity. can be moved to Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, it is also possible to arrange the objects to be conveyed densely on a support stand, and in this case, the objects can be conveyed at the starting and ending points like a belt conveyor. It also eliminates the trouble of placing and unloading the conveyed object on the support table, and it is possible to convey the conveyed object more efficiently in area than with a turntable. Furthermore, according to the present invention, a large number of electromagnets that magnetically attract or repel the permanent magnets provided on the conveyed object are provided below the gas chamber, so that the gas chamber is Since the volume can be reduced, the entire device can be made more compact. Moreover, it is easy to interrupt and restart the gas ejection from the top plate in a short time, and since the electromagnet is located outside the gas chamber, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire device. This can prevent contamination of the transportation means from water, fine particles, etc. flowing into the vehicle.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1a shows one of the conveying mechanisms of the conveying device of the present invention.
1b and 1c
1A and 2B are diagrams showing the relationship between changes in current and changes in the magnetic force and polarity of the electromagnet when electricity is applied to the electromagnets constituting the transport mechanism shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a control system for the current flowing to the electromagnet, and FIG. FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing the entire titration device when the conveying device is applied to the auto sample changer of the titration device to explain the state of movement of objects to be transported in the auto sample changer. FIG. 1...Top plate, 2...Vent hole, 4...Gas chamber,
5... Object to be transported, 7... Permanent magnet, a to m... Electromagnet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Consisting of a top plate having a large number of ventilation holes, a gas chamber formed on the lower side of the top plate and communicating with the ventilation holes, and means for supplying gas to the gas chamber, and a means for supplying gas to the gas chamber from the bottom of the top plate. means for supplying gas to the ventilation holes; a conveyed object placed on the top plate so as to cover at least one of the ventilation holes and equipped with a permanent magnet; A large number of electromagnets are installed in an electromagnet storage chamber formed separately from the gas chamber along the movement route of the transported object and below the gas chamber, and the magnitude of the current is continuously changed. A conveyance device comprising current control means for changing the polarity of each of the electromagnets so that they are magnetically attracted to and repelled by the permanent magnets provided on the conveyed object.