LINEAR MOTOR SYSTEM AND OPERATING METHOD FOR THE SAME

Abstract

The invention relates to a linear motor system, in particular a transport system, e.g. a multi-carrier, comprising: a guide track having a plurality of electromagnets arranged distributed along the guide track; at least one carrier that is guided by and movable along the guide track and that comprises a drive magnet for cooperating with the electromagnets of the guide track to move the carrier; and a control device for controlling the movement of the carrier relative to the guide track by a corresponding control of the electromagnets, wherein the control device is configured to control the carrier to perform a shaking movement.

Claims

1. A linear motor system (10), comprising: a guide track (16) having a plurality of electromagnets (20) arranged distributed along the guide track; at least one carrier (14) that is guided by and movable along the guide track (16) and that comprises a drive magnet (22) for cooperating with the electromagnets (20) of the guide track (16) to move the carrier (14); and a control device for controlling the movement of the carrier (14) relative to the guide track (16) by a corresponding control of the electromagnets (20), characterized in that the control device is configured to control the carrier (14) to perform a shaking movement (32).

2. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the shaking movement (32) is a vibration.

3. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the shaking movement (32) comprises a frequency of at least 10 and/or at most 200 Hz.

4. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the shaking movement (32) comprises an amplitude of at least 0.5 mm and/or at most 5 mm.

5. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the shaking movement (32) has a movement profile, in particular with respect to a position and/or a speed, that is at least substantially wave-like, e.g. sinusoidal, or triangular.

6. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 5, wherein the movement profile is with respect to a position and/or a speed.

7. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 5, wherein the movement profile is sinusoidal or triangular.

8. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the shaking movement (32) is settable and/or changeable and/or variable in time.

9. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 8, wherein the shaking movement (32) is settable and/or changeable in dependence on conditions.

10. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 9, wherein the conditions include at least one of the following: a frequency, an amplitude, a movement profile of the shaking movement (32).

11. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the shaking movement (32) can be performed during a longitudinal movement of the carrier (14) along the guide track (16).

12. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the shaking movement (32) can be performed at different positions with respect to the guide track (16) and/or in different sections of the guide track (16), in particular wherein a position and/or a section can be selected.

13. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 12, wherein a position and/or a section of the shaking movement (32) can be selected.

14. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the linear motor system (10) comprises a plurality of carriers (14) that can be controlled to perform a shaking movement (32) independently of one another.

15. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the linear motor system (10) comprises at least two carriers (14) and the control device is configured to control the carriers (14) to perform a synchronous shaking movement (32).

16. A linear motor system (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a movement regulation for the carrier (14), and wherein the shaking movement (32) can be performed via the movement regulation.

17. A method of operating a linear motor system (10), wherein the linear motor system (10) comprises: a guide track (16) having a plurality of electromagnets (20) arranged distributed along the guide track (16); at least one carrier (14) that is guided by and movable along the guide track (16) and that comprises a drive magnet (22) for cooperating with the electromagnets (20) of the guide track (16) to move the carrier (14); and a control device for controlling the movement of the carrier (14) relative to the guide track (16) by a corresponding control of the electromagnets (20), wherein the method comprises the carrier (14) being controlled to perform a shaking movement (32).

18. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein a product is arranged at the carrier (14), and wherein the product is manipulated by means of the shaking movement (32) to be compressed, loosened, aligned, mixed, and/or degassed.

19. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein a product is arranged at the carrier (14), and wherein the product is discharged from the carrier (14) by means of the shaking movement (32) and/or is fed to the carrier (14).

20. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein a plurality of products are arranged at the carrier (14), and wherein the plurality of products are sorted by means of the shaking movement (32).

Description

[0040] The invention will be explained only by way of example in the following with reference to the schematic drawings.

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a linear motor system configured as a transport system;

[0042] FIG. 2 shows a curve section of the transport system of FIG. 1;

[0043] FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of the transport system of FIG. 1 with the sectional plane perpendicular to a guide track; and

[0044] FIG. 4 shows a plotting of different movement paths with a shaking movement.

[0045] A transport system 10 in accordance with the invention, which is configured as a multi-carrier system, is shown in FIG. 1. The transport system 10 comprises a plurality of linear motors 12 that are arranged in rows such that a continuous and in this case revolving movement of the carriers 14 along a guide track 16 is made possible. The transport system 10 further comprises a plurality of carriers 14 that form individual transport elements of the transport system 10 and that can be moved along the guide track 16, in particular independently of one another, by means of the linear motors 12.

[0046] FIG. 2 shows a curve section of the transport system 10 in an enlarged view. Only one carrier 14 is shown here that is movable along the guide track 16, namely via the linear motors 12. Different electronic devices for controlling the linear motors 12 are visible at the side of the guide track 16 remote from the carrier 14, that is within the curve.

[0047] In FIG. 3, the transport system 10 is shown in a sectional view and enlarged. A carrier 14 is visible that is movably guided at the guide track 16. In this respect, the carrier 14 is movable along a guide axis 18 or a movement axis. For a movement along the guide axis 18, the carrier 14 is controlled by a plurality of electromagnets 20 that are arranged at the guide track 16 and that are uniformly distributed along it. The electromagnets 20 in this respect cooperate with a permanent magnet 22, which is arranged at the carrier 14 and which can also be designated as a drive magnet, for driving the carrier.

[0048] The carrier 14 is mechanically guided at the guide track 16, namely by a roller guide. Said roller guide comprises guide rollers 24 at the carrier 14 and guide rails 26 at the guide track 16. The carrier 14 is in this respect held at the guide track 16, in particular via the permanent magnet 22.

[0049] The transport system 10 furthermore comprises a position detection device 28. Said position detection device can, for example, be formed as a series of a plurality of magnetic sensors that extends along the guide track 16. For example, a permanent magnet 30, which can also be designated as a position magnet and is visible in FIG. 2, can be provided at the carrier 14.

[0050] The transport system 10 furthermore comprises a control device that is not shown separately and that is configured to control the electromagnets 20 in a targeted manner in order to move the carrier 14 along the guide track 16 or the guide axis 18. In this respect, the position detection device 28 returns position information relating to the position of the carrier 14 with respect to the guide axis 18 to the control device. The control device regulates the movement of the carrier 14 on the basis of the position information.

[0051] The control device is configured to control the carrier to perform a shaking movement 32 that is indicated by a double arrow in FIG. 3. When stationary, the shaking movement 32 is, for instance, formed as a relatively fast and small back-and-forth movement along the guide axis 18, for example with a frequency of at least 10 Hz and/or an amplitude of at most 5 mm. This can be achieved solely by a corresponding current application to the electromagnets 20 under the control of the control device. The linear motor system 10, within the framework of its largely typical design and with the components that are usually present anyway, is now used to additionally provide a shaking function. This function can, for example, only be realized by a corresponding software implementation and can also be retrofitted in a simple manner, for example. Due to the integrated shaking function, additional shaking devices can be omitted, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, a product arranged at the carrier 14 can be jogged flexibly and as required, for example at any desired location of the guide track, at any desired point in time, and/or with any desired form of the shaking movement 32, in particular with respect to the frequency, amplitude, and/or movement profile of the shaking movement 32. The shaking can furthermore take place both at standstill and during a longitudinal movement of the carrier 14. The shaking function of the control device can preferably be freely programmable. It is generally preferred that the parameters of the shaking movement 32, namely in particular the movement profile, frequency and/or amplitude, can also be settable and/or changeable during operation, in particular “on the fly”.

[0052] FIG. 4 shows a plotting of different movement paths of a carrier, wherein the abscissa represents the time and is designated as t, and wherein the ordinate represents the position of the carrier with respect to the guide track and is designated as x. The x direction thus corresponds to the guide axis 18 marked in FIG. 3.

[0053] A first movement path 34 illustrates the case that a shaking movement 32 takes place while the carrier is at a standstill with respect to its “normal” movement or macro-movement. The shaking movement 32 by way of example here has a wave-like, in particular sinusoidal, movement profile. During the shaking movement 32, the carrier is repeatedly deflected around an initial position. The amplitude in this respect in particular has at most a few millimeters. The carrier is completely stationary before and after the shaking movement 32 in time, i.e. it is stationary with respect to the macro-movement and is also not jogged. In FIG. 4, this is expressed by the horizontal sections of the movement path 34.

[0054] A second movement path 36 illustrates the case that a shaking movement 32 takes place while the carrier performs a macro-movement, for example, a movement between one station in the linear motor system to another station. The macro-movement is here formed by a movement with a constant speed. A shaking movement 32 is performed for a certain time section during the macro-movement, in particular without the speed of the macro-movement being changed. The shaking movement 32 here likewise has a wave-like movement profile that is in particular sinusoidal. However, the shaking movement 32 in this respect follows the moved desired position of the carrier and oscillates around it. The macro-movement takes place at a constant speed and without a shaking movement before and after the shaking movement 32 in time. In FIG. 4, this is expressed by the straight sections of the movement path 36 with a constant pitch.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST

[0055] 10 transport system [0056] 12 linear motor [0057] 14 carrier [0058] 16 guide track [0059] 18 guide axis [0060] 20 electromagnets [0061] 22 drive magnet [0062] 24 guide rollers [0063] 26 guide rail [0064] 28 position detection device [0065] 30 position magnet [0066] 32 shaking movement [0067] 34 movement path [0068] 36 movement path