KR-20260062890-A - TOWER LIFT AND BRAKE SYSTEM OF TOWER LIFT

KR20260062890AKR 20260062890 AKR20260062890 AKR 20260062890AKR-20260062890-A

Abstract

The present invention provides a tower lift and a braking system for a tower lift. In one embodiment, the tower lift comprises a rail unit including a rail frame extending in a vertical direction, a linear motor coil and a linear motor controller provided within the rail frame, a plurality of carriage units moving along the rail unit and including a carriage body, a linear motor magnet, and a carriage controller, and a braking unit including a braking mechanism installed on the plurality of carriage units and a braking controller that controls the braking mechanism. The braking mechanism includes an electromagnet that moves in a vertical direction depending on whether power is supplied, and a braking pad that clamps the rail frame to provide braking force or separates from the rail frame to release braking according to the vertical movement of the electromagnet.

Inventors

김민준
박광신
박형진
전승근
윤은상
정연규

Assignees

세메스 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251029
Priority Date: 20241029

Claims (20)

A rail unit comprising a rail frame extending in a vertical direction, a linear motor coil provided within the rail frame, and a linear motor controller; A plurality of carriage units that move along the above rail unit and include a carriage body, a linear motor magnet, and a carriage controller; and A braking unit comprising a braking mechanism installed in the plurality of carriage units and a braking controller that controls the braking mechanism. Includes, The above braking mechanism comprises an electromagnet that moves vertically depending on whether power is supplied, and a braking pad that clamps the rail frame to provide braking force or separates from the rail frame to release braking, in accordance with the vertical movement of the electromagnet, for a tower lift.
In Article 1, A tower lift that controls the braking mechanism to provide braking force by lowering the electromagnet based on at least one of the braking command signal of the linear motor controller, the braking command signal of the carriage controller, or the abnormal determination signal of the braking controller.
In Article 2, The above plurality of carriage units transport items while moving vertically along the rail frame, and The braking command signal of the above linear motor controller is transmitted to a braking controller included in any one of the plurality of carriage units, and A tower lift in which the braking controller controls the braking mechanism so that the carriage body is positioned at a reference height corresponding to the shelf for loading an item from the shelf to the carriage body or unloading an item from the carriage body to the shelf.
In Paragraph 3, The tower lift further includes a position sensor that detects whether the carriage body is located at the reference height, and The above braking controller is a tower lift that generates the abnormal determination signal based on the detection result of the above position sensor.
In Article 4, The above position sensor is, A reflector installed on the above rail frame; and A signal transceiver installed on the above carriage body, generating a transmission signal in a direction toward the reflector, and detecting a reflected signal reflected from the reflector. Tower lift including
In Article 5, The above transmission signal is a tower lift comprising at least one of an optical signal, a laser signal, or an infrared signal.
In Paragraph 3, The above plurality of carriage units are, A robot arm that transports an item between the carriage body and the shelf by having one end connected to the carriage body and the other end extending toward the shelf; and Robot arm detection sensor that detects the state of the above robot arm Includes more, The above braking controller is a tower lift that generates the abnormal determination signal based on the detection result of the robot arm detection sensor.
In Article 5, The robot arm detection sensor mentioned above is, A first robot arm detection sensor that detects whether the robot arm is extended toward the shelf; and A second robot arm detection sensor that detects whether the robot arm has returned to the carriage body. Includes, The above braking controller is a tower lift that generates the abnormal determination signal based on the detection result of at least one of the first robot arm detection sensor or the second robot arm detection sensor.
In Article 2, The above braking controller is, The above carriage controller transmits a status check signal at preset time intervals, and A tower lift that generates an abnormal determination signal based on whether a response to the status check signal is transmitted from the carriage controller.
In Article 1, The above braking mechanism is a tower lift that generates braking force by causing the electromagnet to descend and press the braking pad to clamp the rail frame when the power supply to the electromagnet is cut off.
A rail unit comprising a rail frame extending in a vertical direction, a linear motor coil provided within the rail frame, and a linear motor controller; A plurality of carriage units that move along the above rail unit and include a carriage body, a linear motor magnet, and a carriage controller; A braking unit comprising a braking mechanism installed in the plurality of carriage units and a braking controller that controls the braking mechanism; and A position sensor that detects whether the above carriage body is located at a preset reference height Includes, The above braking controller controls the braking mechanism of the tower lift based on the detection result of the above position sensor.
In Article 11, A tower lift that controls the braking mechanism to generate braking force based on at least one of the braking command signal of the linear motor controller, the braking command signal of the carriage controller, or the abnormal judgment signal of the braking controller.
In Article 12, The above reference height is set to a height corresponding to the shelf for loading an item from the shelf to the carriage body or unloading the item from the carriage body to the shelf, and A tower lift in which the braking controller generates an abnormal determination signal when the carriage body is not located at the reference height based on the detection result of the position sensor.
In Article 13, The above position sensor is, A reflector installed on the above rail frame; and A signal transceiver installed on the above carriage body, generating a transmission signal in a direction toward the reflector, and detecting a reflected signal reflected from the reflector. Tower lift including
In Article 14, The above transmission signal is a tower lift comprising at least one of an optical signal, a laser signal, or an infrared signal.
In Article 13, The above plurality of carriage units are, A robot arm that transports an item between the carriage body and the shelf by having one end connected to the carriage body and the other end extending toward the shelf; and Robot arm detection sensor that detects the state of the above robot arm Includes more, The above braking controller is a tower lift that generates the abnormal determination signal based further on the detection result of the robot arm detection sensor.
In Article 16, A tower lift in which the braking controller generates an abnormal determination signal when the carriage body is not located at the reference height based on the detection result of the position sensor and the robot arm is extended toward the shelf based on the detection result of the robot arm home sensor.
In Article 11, The above braking mechanism comprises an electromagnet that moves vertically depending on whether power is supplied, and a braking pad that clamps the rail frame to provide braking force or separates from the rail frame to release braking, in accordance with the vertical movement of the electromagnet, for a tower lift.
In Article 12, The above braking controller is, The above carriage controller transmits a status check signal at preset time intervals, and A tower lift that generates an abnormal determination signal based on whether a response to the status check signal is transmitted from the carriage controller.
Rail unit extending in the vertical direction; A plurality of carriage units moving along the above rail unit; A first controller for controlling a linear motor that moves at least one of the plurality of carriage units; A second controller installed in the plurality of carriage units and controlling the plurality of carriage units; A third controller for controlling braking mechanisms installed in the plurality of carriage units; and A position sensor that detects whether the above plurality of carriage units are located at a preset reference height. Includes, The braking mechanism includes an electromagnet that moves vertically depending on whether power is supplied, and a braking pad that clamps the rail frame to provide braking force or separates from the rail frame to release braking according to the vertical movement of the electromagnet. A braking system for a tower lift in which the third controller controls the braking mechanism based on at least one of the braking command signal of the first controller, the braking command signal of the second controller, or the abnormal determination signal of the third controller.

Description

Tower Lift and Braking System of Tower Lift The present invention relates to a tower lift and a braking system for a tower lift. In a semiconductor manufacturing line, equipment can be arranged in multiple layers. Equipment for performing processes such as deposition, photolithography, etching, ion implantation, and cleaning can be placed on each layer. Therefore, the transfer of materials between the floors of a semiconductor manufacturing line is carried out by a tower lift installed in the vertical direction. A typical tower lift has a carriage module for transporting materials and a rail module for guiding the carriage module in the vertical direction. The carriage module can move along the rail module using a magnetic levitation method, powered by a linear motor installed on the carriage module or rail module. In this type of tower lift, an accident in which the carriage module falls may occur due to a power outage driving the tower lift or errors in some control components. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a part of the configuration of a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a part of the configuration of a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a part of the configuration of a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computing device in which a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention can be implemented wholly or partially. FIG. 7 is an exemplary drawing for explaining the operating principle of a braking mechanism of a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an exemplary drawing for explaining the operating principle of a braking mechanism of a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a part of the configuration of a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10a is an exemplary drawing for explaining the operating principle of a position sensor of a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10b is an exemplary drawing for explaining the operating principle of a position sensor of a tower lift according to one embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily practice the present invention. However, embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various different forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. In addition, embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those with average knowledge in the relevant technical field. In drawings, the shapes and sizes of elements may be exaggerated for clearer explanation. In describing preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail, specific descriptions of related known functions or configurations are omitted if it is determined that such descriptions would unnecessarily obscure the essence of the invention. Furthermore, the terms described below are defined in consideration of their functions in the present invention, and these may vary depending on the intentions or conventions of the user or operator. Therefore, such definitions should be based on the content throughout this specification. The terms used in the detailed description are merely for describing the embodiments of the present invention and should not be limited in any way. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, expressions in the singular form include the meaning of the plural form. In addition, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings for parts having similar functions and operations. Furthermore, in this specification, terms such as 'top', 'upper part', 'upper surface', 'lower', 'lower part', 'lower surface', and 'side surface' are based on the drawings, and in reality, they may vary depending on the direction in which the elements or components are arranged. Additionally, throughout the specification, when a part is described as being 'connected' to another part, this includes not only cases where they are 'directly connected,' but also cases where they are 'indirectly connected' with other elements in between. Furthermore, the description of a component as 'including' means that, unless specifically stated otherwise, it does not exclude other components but may include additional components. The present invention will be described in detail below through each embodiment or example of the invention. It should be noted that each embodiment or example described in this specification is