JPS62225107A - Guide rail for conveyor of magnetic levitation type - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To keep the stable levitation running of a conveyor, by forming and composing the shapes of joint sections so that either one of guide rails may be positioned within the distance of a specified dimension from a surface confronted with a gap sensor between the joints. CONSTITUTION:By the guide rail 20 of a conveyor of magnetic levitation type, end surfaces 21a, 21b inclined at an angle alpha to the lower surface of a guide rail 20b are respectively formed at end sections confronted with adjacent respective guide rails 20a, 20b. When a gap between the guide rails 21a, 21b is set to be G, then a relation between the angle alpha and a gap g3 on the passing of a sensor 8 through the gap G is shown by g0<g3<g0+Gtanalpha, and the output range of the sensor 8 coping with the gap is selected to be within a firm control range. As a result, the variation of the gap of the conveyor passing between joint sections can be reduced, and the stable levitation running of the conveyor can be kept.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Objective of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a magnetic levitation conveyance device, and particularly to the structure of a guide rail attached to a conveyance path.

(Prior Art) In recent years, as part of office automation (OA) or factory automation (FA), etc., slips and documents have been transmitted between multiple points indoors.

2. Description of the Related Art Automatically transporting cash, materials, workpieces, parts, etc. using a transport device is widely practiced.

A conveyance device used for such conveyance is required to be able to convey the object quickly and quietly. In particular, transport devices used in clean rooms are also required to minimize dust generation. Therefore, in this type of conveyance device, floating conveyance devices that run on auxiliary rails without contact are attracting attention.This levitation method generally uses air or magnetism, but magnetic The method used has excellent followability to the guide rail and noise reduction effect, so it can be said to be the most promising method.

Therefore, the present applicant previously proposed a magnetic levitation type conveyance device as shown in FIG. The general structure of this magnetically levitated conveyance device is such that a conveyance path 1 provided along a conveyance path is a conveyance vehicle 2 that travels levitated. A guide rail 4 is attached to the upper part of the frame 3 and has at least a lower surface made of ferromagnetic material, and a guide rail 4 is attached to the opening 3a provided at appropriate pitches along the longitudinal direction in the center of the frame 3. is inserted into the top plate 5.
The stator 6 of the linear induction motor lined with
It is attached to both sides of the lower part of the auxiliary rail 7 and is formed in the shape of [[]. The transport vehicle 2 also includes a magnetic support bag @ 9 that is controlled to maintain a predetermined gap with respect to the guide rail 4 by the output of a sensor 8, and forms a magnetic circuit with the guide rail 4 to attract the transport vehicle 2. , a secondary conductor plate 10 that faces the stator 6 and obtains running force, and a constant auxiliary rail 7
An auxiliary wheel 11 that is located in the middle of the transport vehicle 2 and that locks the transport vehicle 2 when it tries to deviate from the transport path 1, and a power supply device (not shown) that supplies power to the magnetic support device 9 are attached.

Incidentally, although the conveyance path 1 may be composed of only straight sections, it is actually more often composed of curved sections, branched sections in the horizontal plane, branched sections in the vertical plane, and the like. For this reason, a plurality of conveyance paths are often combined rather than a single conveyance path, which is actually easier to manufacture and install.

Therefore, rather than a single guide rail 4, a plurality of guide rails divided into appropriate numbers are often attached to the frame 3 with a joint.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) When the guide rail has a divided structure as described above, as shown in FIG. When this gap 15 is formed, the gap g1 detected by the sensor 8 of the transport vehicle 2 described above is g As a result, the output of the sensor 8 deviates from the normal control range Vo as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, when the frame 3 of the conveyance path 1 is completely separated, the gap g2 detected by the sensor 8 becomes infinite (oo).

If the sensor 8 detects an abnormal gap in this way,
Since the control aVci attached to the transport vehicle 2 operates in the direction of reducing this gap, the transport vehicle 2 is excessively attracted to the guide rails 4a and 4b, and finally collides with the guide rails 4a and 4b. Put it away.

In other words, there is a gap 15 at the joint between the guide rails 4a and 4b.
If this is formed, the conveyance vehicle 2 will vibrate when passing through that area, which will not only have a negative effect on the floating state of the conveyance vehicle 2, but also cause a shock to the conveyed objects loaded on the conveyance vehicle 2. This can cause the cargo to become unstable or cause noise, which can worsen the surrounding environment.

On the other hand, it is extremely difficult to form the above-mentioned joint so that even light rays do not pass therethrough, from the viewpoint of manufacturing and mounting the guide rail.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a magnetically levitated transport system that reduces the influence on the transport vehicle and enables stable travel even when the guide rail is divided into a plurality of parts along the longitudinal direction and joints are formed. The purpose is to provide a guide rail for the device.

[Structure of the invention] (Means and effects for solving the problems) The present invention has the following features:
A magnetically levitated conveyance device that is attached to a frame provided along a conveyance path and that constitutes the conveyance path so as to form a magnetic circuit that faces and attracts the magnetic support device of the conveyance vehicle, and that has a joint in the longitudinal direction. In the guide rails of When the transport vehicle is running, even if the light beam from the sensor that detects the gap with the guide rail is projected into the gap formed at the joint, it will only be less than the thickness of the guide rail. This prevents light from passing through and keeps the sensor output within a constant control range.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, one embodiment of the guide rail of the magnetic levitation type conveyance device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same parts as in FIG. 7 are given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanation will be omitted.

In Fig. 1, the guide rail 2 of the magnetic levitation transfer device
0 forms end surfaces 21a and 21b, which are inclined at an angle α with respect to the lower surface of the guide rails 20a and 20b, at opposing ends of each of the adjacent guide rails 20a and 20b, respectively. In other words, the end surfaces 21a and 21b are parallel surfaces. Here, the angle α is the guide rail 21a.

When the gap between 20b and G is G, the gap g3 when S4 passes through this gap G is (to < g3 < CI
The selection is made so that Q0Gtanα and the corresponding output range of the sensor 8 falls within the constant control range shown by Vo in FIG. Here, since the smaller α increases the gap G, the adjacent guide rails 20a, 2
The tolerance when attaching 0b to the frame body 3 is increased, and manufacturing and attachment work become easier.

FIG. 2 shows a case where a conveyance path that can be raised and lowered freely is provided between the divided conveyance paths, and the lifting side conveyance path 1B is connected to the lifting mechanism 2.
5, and the raised sharpening fixed side conveyance path 1A, 1
This is what connects A. In this case as well, the guide rails 20a and 2 have end faces having the angle α as described above on the frame 3a of the fixed side conveyance path and the frame 3b of the elevating side conveyance path 1B.
Attach 0b respectively. When a fixed conveyance path and a movable conveyance path are combined in this way, a gap is inevitably formed at the joint of the guide rail 20, but the output range of the sensor 8 can be kept within the constant control range. can.

Moreover, FIG. 3 shows a case where two conveyance paths in orthogonal directions are divided at the intersection, and a rotatable conveyance path is provided in this divided portion, and the rotation side hoistway 1D is rotated by the rotation mechanism 26, and connects the fixed side conveyance paths 1A and 1C when rotated by 90", and connects the fixed side conveyance paths 1A and 1A or 1C and the IC after rotated 180 degrees. In this case as well, guide rails 20a and 20b whose end faces have the angle α as described above are attached to the fixed conveyance paths 1A and 1C and the rotating conveyance path 1D. Since a conveyance path and a movable conveyance path are combined, a gap is inevitably formed at the joint of the guide rail, but the output range of the sensor 8 can be kept within the constant control range.

According to the configuration described above, even if a gap is formed at the joint between the guide rails 20a and 20b adjacent to each other on the conveyance path, an appropriately selected inclination angle is formed on each end face of both the guide rails 20a and 20b. By providing this, it is possible to reduce the change in the gap of the conveyance vehicle 2 passing through the joint portion, and to maintain stable floating movement of the conveyance vehicle 2.

Moreover, this can be applied not only to a linear conveyance path in a horizontal plane, but also to a conveyance path connected by a conveyance path that can be raised and lowered, or a conveyance path connected by a rotatable conveyance path. In the case of a conveyor path that connects with this conveyor path that can be raised and lowered,
The guide rail 20b attached to the lifting side conveyance path 1B is the guide rail 20a attached to the fixed side conveyance path 1A.
Since it is in a wedge-shaped state, it also has the effect of facilitating positioning of the ascending/descending conveyance path 1B.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and as shown in FIG.
3a, a notch 24a having a depth tl is formed at the end,
The other guide rail 23b is provided with a protrusion 24b having a thickness t2 corresponding to the notch 24a to form a stepped shape, and by appropriately selecting the thickness t2 of the protrusion 24b, both guide rails 23a , 23b, the output of the sensor 8 can be made to fall within a predetermined control range. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the end surfaces of the adjacent guide rails 25a and 25b may be vertical, and a plate 27 having a thickness of t3 may be attached to completely cover the gap 26. In this case also, the thickness t
3 as appropriate, both guide rails 25a
, 25b, the output of the sensor 8 can be made to fall within a predetermined control range.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured as described above, even if a gap is formed at the joint of the guide rail attached to the conveyance path, the sensor output when passing through this joint can be adjusted to a predetermined value. It is possible to maintain stable levitation of the transport vehicle within the control range.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing essential parts of an embodiment of the guide rail of the magnetic levitation conveyance device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example in which the embodiment of the present invention is applied to another conveyance path. , FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example in which one embodiment of the present invention is applied to another conveyance path, FIG. 4 is a side view showing the main part of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the main parts of another slightly different embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a magnetically levitated conveyance device related to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a conventional magnetically levitated conveyor. a side view showing the end of the guide rail of the device;
FIG. 8 is a curve diagram showing the relationship between the gap of the guide rail and the sensor output, and FIG. 9 is a side view showing the end of the guide rail of a conventional magnetically levitated conveyance device different from FIG. 7. 1.1A, 1B, 1C, 1D... Transport path 2... Transport vehicle 3.3a, 3b... Frame 8... Sensor 9... Magnetic support device 20, 20a, 20b, 23a, 23b,
25a, 25b... Guide rail agent Patent attorney Nori Chika 1 is also the same Hirofumi Mitsumata Figure 2 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) It is attached to the frame body provided along the conveyance path and forming the conveyance path so as to form a magnetic circuit that faces and attracts the magnetic support device of the conveyance vehicle, and has a joint part in the middle in the longitudinal direction. In the guide rail of a magnetically levitated conveyance device, when the shape of the joint portion is viewed from the gap sensor provided on the conveyance vehicle, a part of one of the guide rails is located between the joints on the surface facing the gap sensor. 1. A guide rail for a magnetic levitation conveyance device, characterized in that the guide rail is formed to be located within a predetermined dimension range from . (2) Magnetic levitation type conveyance according to claim 1, wherein the end surfaces of the mutually opposing and substantially parallel guide rails constituting the joint portion are respectively inclined with respect to the surface facing the gap sensor of the guide rails. Equipment guide rail. (3) Claim 1 in which the end surfaces of the mutually opposing and substantially parallel guide rails constituting the joint portion are formed into a stepped shape.
The guide rail of the magnetic levitation type conveyance device described in . (4) The guide rail of the magnetic levitation type conveyance device according to claim 1, wherein the joint portion is covered with a plate material whose one end back surface is fixed to the surface facing the gap sensor of one of the guide rails. .