CN-122009840-A - Transport system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to transportation systems. The invention relates to an electromagnetic transport system (1) in the form of a long stator linear motor or a planar motor, having a stationary part or stator (2) consisting of at least two or more stator segments (21, 22, 2 i), and at least one movable part or shuttle (3, 3 i) which is movable relative to the stator (2) along a transport path. A magnet unit (4, 4 i) is arranged on at least one shuttle (3, 3 i), which electromagnetically interacts with a magnetic element arranged on the stator (2). In order to increase operational safety and enhanced safety functions, in particular to provide user-interactive safety sport functionality in a simple and cost-effective manner, the transport system (1) comprises at least one conventional transport device (5, 5 i) replacing at least one of the stator segments (2 i) along the transport path.

Inventors

• Dario rovelli

Assignees

• ABB瑞士股份有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20250814

Priority Date

20241112

Claims (9)

1. 1. An electromagnetic transportation system (1) having a stationary part or stator (2) consisting of at least two or more stator segments (21, 22, 2 i), and at least one movable part or shuttle (3, 3 i) which is movable relative to the stator (2) along a transportation path, wherein a magnet unit (4, 4 i) is arranged on the at least one shuttle (3, 3 i), and wherein the magnet unit (4, 4 i) of the at least one shuttle (3, 3 i) interacts electromagnetically with a magnetic element arranged on the stator (2) such that the shuttle (3, 3 i) is movable along the transportation path in at least one movement direction (T), characterized in that the transportation system (1) comprises at least one conventional transportation device (5, 5 i) which replaces at least one of the stator segments (2 i) along the transportation path, and wherein the at least one conventional transportation device (5, 5 i) is driven by at least one of the drive means (6, 7) and wherein the at least one of the drive means (5, 7) is required to fulfill the predefined function (5, 7) and wherein the at least one of the drive means (5, 5) is required to be safely driven, the at least one shuttle (3) interacts with the conveyor (7) such that the at least one shuttle (3) moves with the movement of the conveyor (7), whereby the safety function can be applied to the at least one shuttle (3).
2. 2. The electromagnetic transport system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveying means (7) of the conventional transport device (5) comprises a ferromagnetic material (8) that interacts with the magnet unit (4) of the at least one shuttle (3) to generate a magnetic attraction force (F A ).
3. 3. Electromagnetic transport system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the at least one shuttle (3) interacts with the conveyor (7) due to friction forces (F F ) and/or the magnetic attraction forces (F A ) generated between the ferromagnetic material (8) and the magnet unit (4) of the at least one shuttle (3).
4. 4. Electromagnetic transport system according to claim 2, characterized in that the at least one shuttle (3) interacts with the conveyor means (7) only due to the magnetic attraction force (F A ) generated between the ferromagnetic material (8) and the magnet unit (4) of the at least one shuttle (3).
5. 5. Electromagnetic transport system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the conventional transport device (5, 5 i) is designed as a continuous conveyor.
6. 6. Electromagnetic transport system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the conveyor (7) is designed as a conveyor belt or conveyor chain, in particular a modular conveyor belt or conveyor chain made of plastic.
7. 7. Electromagnetic transportation system (1) according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the safety function fulfils the safety requirements specified in the international IEC 61508 series of standards.
8. 8. Electromagnetic transport system (1) according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the safety functions implemented in the drive unit (6) of the conventional transport equipment (5, 5 i) comprise safety functions specified in the standard IEC 61800-5-2:2016, including at least safety functions such as safety torque shut-off, safety limiting speed, safety direction, safety limiting torque and safety limiting acceleration.
9. 9. Electromagnetic transportation system (1) according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the electromagnetic transportation system (1) is designed as a long stator linear motor and/or as a planar motor.

Description

Transport system Technical Field The present invention relates generally to the field of factory engineering, and more particularly to the field of automation technology. The invention relates to an electromagnetic transport system comprising a stationary part or stator consisting of at least two or more stator segments, and at least one movable part or shuttle which is movable relative to the stator along a transport path, wherein a magnet unit is arranged on the at least one shuttle, and wherein the magnet unit of the at least one shuttle electromagnetically interacts with a magnetic element arranged on the stator such that the shuttle is movable along the transport path in at least one movement direction. Background Today, in most modern manufacturing and production facilities, it is necessary to use transport equipment to move parts, workpieces, products, etc. between the various processing stations and the production station. Various transport and conveying devices are used for transporting parts, workpieces, products, etc. Conventional transport systems, such as, for example, continuous conveyors, chain conveyors or conveyor belts of different designs, may be used to transport and/or convey components, products or workpieces. These conventional transport systems typically convert the rotational movement of an electric drive into linear movement, such as a chain, belt, or the like. However, the flexibility of conventional transport systems is considerably limited, especially if individual transport of individual transport units is not possible. Accordingly, electromagnetic transport systems in the form of long stator linear motors (or simply LLM) and/or planar motors (or simply PM) are increasingly being used to meet the requirements of modern and flexible transport equipment in manufacturing and production facilities. Long stator linear motors and planar motors, their applications and their modes of operation are well known in the art. Both motors-long stator linear motor and planar motor-comprise at least one movable part, also called transport unit or shuttle, and a fixed part (stator) with respect to which the at least one shuttle moves due to the interacting magnetic fields in at least one direction of movement. For this purpose, a magnet unit comprising an electromagnet or a permanent magnet is arranged on one of the parts, for example on a shuttle car. The magnet unit interacts with a magnetic field generated by a magnetic element (e.g. an energized drive coil) on another part (e.g. a stator) to generate propulsion force. If a voltage is applied to the drive coil, a magnetic field is generated that interacts with the magnetic field of the magnet unit, thereby generating a force to move the shuttle. The moving magnetic field is generated by appropriate control of the energization of the drive coil to move the shuttle along a transport track or along a predefined path within a transport plane. Long stator linear motors typically include a stationary portion or stator, which is typically composed of a number of stator segments. The drive coils are typically arranged in fixed positions relative to each other on the stator or stator segments. The stator segments may have different geometries (e.g., straight lines, curves, track switches, etc.), and may be assembled into a desired stator by arranging them accordingly. The stator or several stator segments then form a transport track or transport path along which at least one shuttle, typically several shuttles, moves. For this purpose, several drive magnets constituting a magnet unit are arranged on the shuttle car, wherein the magnetic field of the magnet unit interacts with an electromagnetic field generated by energizing the drive coils of the stator. LLM is known, for example, from WO2013/143783A1 or US 2013/0074524A 1. Planar motors, such as those used in manufacturing or transportation processes requiring complex motion profiles, also have stators resembling long stator linear motors. However, the stator or stator segments of the planar motor form a transport plane, wherein one or more shuttles can be moved at least two-dimensionally. Thus, the drive coils of the planar motor are arranged in the transport plane, in some embodiments also in several planes. A driving force acting on the shuttle is generated to move the shuttle, for example, along a transport path in a transport plane. For this purpose, the magnetic field generated, for example, by the magnet unit of the shuttle interacts with a stator magnetic field correspondingly generated by energizing the drive coil. For example US9,202,719B2 or WO2019/129576A1 discloses basic structures and modes of operation of planar motors. Since the basic motor principle of a long stator linear motor or a planar motor is well known, no further elaboration is necessary here. Nowadays, electromagnetic transport systems are increasingly used in production lines, wherein the shuttle of the transport system is