Method for flexibly replacing rotor of magnetic suspension system

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for flexibly replacing a rotor of a magnetic suspension system. The method mainly comprises the following steps: S100, moving a rotor to an edge stator, and arranging a specific port for adding or removing the rotor at the edge stator, and S200, controlling the edge stator to be powered off, and removing the rotor from the specific port to the outer side of the edge stator. The method is favorable for reducing the adverse effect of replacing the rotor on the production efficiency. According to the method, only part of line bodies of the upper rotor and the lower rotor are required to be powered off, that is, only the edge stator is powered off, and other parts are kept working normally, so that other rotors can continue to carry out conveying work, and the influence on the production efficiency is reduced to the minimum.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of magnetic levitation technology, and in particular to a method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system. Background Technology

[0002] A magnetic levitation system is a flexible direct-drive conveying and handling system, mainly composed of a transmission track, a transmission mover, and a drive stator. It is primarily used in production lines in factories such as pharmaceutical and 3C manufacturing.

[0003] In actual use, the workpiece or process equipment is mounted on the mover, and the workpiece or equipment is transported to the designated processing station by the mover.

[0004] In a magnetic levitation system, if a mover malfunctions and requires repair, or if a process change necessitates replacing the equipment mounted on the mover, the entire magnetic levitation production line must be shut down to perform the necessary operations. However, this also forces other workstations without malfunctions to halt their processes, significantly reducing production efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Based on this, a method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system is provided. This method helps to reduce the adverse impact of mover replacement on production efficiency.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: A method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system includes the following steps: S100: Move the mover to the edge stator, where a specific port is provided for the mover to join or leave. S200: De-energize the edge stator and move the mover from a specific port to the outside of the edge stator.

[0007] In one embodiment, the method further includes: moving a new mover from a specific port of the edge stator and then energizing the edge stator.

[0008] In one embodiment, after the edge stator is de-energized, the anti-runaway device corresponding to one side of the edge stator is removed to form a specific port.

[0009] In one embodiment, when the control system detects a change in the number of movers, it determines whether the change in the number of movers is related to the movers that have moved out or into the edge stator. If it is related, no error is reported and the number of movers is updated. If it is not related, an error is reported.

[0010] In one embodiment, the control system configures multiple pending virtual movers. The initial state of these pending virtual movers is a reserved state. When the control system detects a new mover, it activates a pending virtual mover, so that the state of the pending virtual mover changes from the reserved state to the actual mover state.

[0011] In one embodiment, when the control system detects that the mover has moved out, the control system changes the state of the virtual mover corresponding to this mover from the actual mover state to the reserved state.

[0012] In one embodiment, the control system determines whether the mover moves out or in based on the position feedback from the encoder.

[0013] In one embodiment, the magnetic levitation system includes multiple axes, each equipped with an encoder. When the encoder on an axis registers a reading, it immediately marks the mover on that axis. The control system refreshes the mover count. If the mover count remains unchanged, it indicates that the mover is the original mover. If the mover is located on the axis where the edge stator is located, and after a period of time, the position feedback on the axis where the edge stator is located disappears, and the encoders on adjacent axes do not provide position feedback, it indicates that the mover has been moved out. If the mover count increases by one after the control system refreshes the mover count, it indicates that a new mover has been moved in.

[0014] In one embodiment, the control system synchronizes the display interface with the physical world, wherein the display interface is used to display the state of the physical world through a virtual model.

[0015] In one embodiment, after the edge stator is de-energized, the other moving parts in the magnetic levitation system continue to function normally.

[0016] The beneficial effects of this application are as follows: 1. Only the portion of the production line requiring a power outage involving the upper and lower stators needs to be de-energized; that is, only the edge stators are powered off while the rest remain operational. This allows other stators to continue conveying, minimizing the impact on production efficiency. This solves the problem of needing a complete power outage and disrupting all production processes when processes change or stator malfunctions occur, minimizing the impact of stator replacement on production efficiency.

[0017] 2. This method not only facilitates the removal of the mover that needs to be replaced from the system, but also facilitates the removal of the new mover into the system.

[0018] 3. The control system is configured with multiple undetermined virtual movers, which facilitates the control of newly added movers in the physical world.

[0019] 4. The control system will report errors as needed to avoid errors caused by the normal movement of the mover.

[0020] 5. The control system can automatically identify whether the mover has moved out or in.

[0021] 6. The control system synchronizes the display interface with the physical world, making it easy for operators to judge the operation of each moving element in the physical world based on the display interface. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the method of flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system according to an embodiment of this application, in which the No. 1 mover is moved to a characteristic port of the edge stator.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the first moving part being removed from the characteristic port of the edge stator according to an embodiment of this application.

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an anti-runaway device installed at one end of the stator in the prior art. The method of this application requires the removal of this anti-runaway device.

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the various modules in the control system of an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, an embodiment of this application provides a method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system, the method comprising the following steps: S100: Move the mover to the edge stator, where a specific port is provided for the mover to join or leave. S200: De-energize the edge stator and move the mover from a specific port to the outside of the edge stator.

[0028] It should be noted that a magnetic levitation system generally includes a control system, a transmission track, a moving part, and a drive stator. The control system is used to control the movement of each moving part along different stators. In practical applications, a magnetic levitation system will have multiple axes, each consisting of a transmission track and a drive stator, etc., and the moving parts will move on each axis. The edge stator in step S100 above is located on one axis, for example... Figure 1 In the middle, the rightmost stator on the bottom horizontal axis is stator number 2, which is the aforementioned edge stator.

[0029] Specifically, when a mover needs to be replaced, it is moved to the edge stator, then the edge stator is de-energized, and the mover continues to move along the track until it disengages from both the track and the edge stator, effectively removing it from the axis. During this process, only the edge stator is de-energized; the other stators operate normally, allowing the other movers to also function normally.

[0030] Based on the above, in one embodiment, a new mover is moved in from a specific port of the edge stator, and then the edge stator is powered on.

[0031] For example, step S300 involves first de-energizing the edge stator, moving the new mover into the edge stator, and then energizing the edge stator. The mover is then controlled to move along the axis by the control system.

[0032] For example, if no mover is removed from the existing magnetic levitation system, a new mover can be introduced into the system. Specifically, the edge stator is first de-energized, then the new mover is moved into the edge stator, and then the edge stator is energized again. Multiple new movers can be introduced into the magnetic levitation system using this method.

[0033] Based on the above, such as Figure 3 As shown, existing magnetic levitation systems typically have an anti-runaway device installed on the outside of the edge stator of a certain axis. The anti-runaway device is used to prevent the mover from accidentally moving off the axis. However, the method of this application requires the mover to be moved off the axis. Therefore, after the edge stator is de-energized, the anti-runaway device corresponding to one side of the edge stator can be removed to form a specific port. Since there is no anti-runaway device blocking it, the mover can be moved off smoothly.

[0034] In one embodiment, when the control system detects a change in the number of movers, it determines whether the change in the number of movers is related to the movers that have moved out or into the edge stator. If it is related, no error is reported and the number of movers is updated. If it is not related, an error is reported.

[0035] Specifically, if a mover disappears or a new mover appears on the axis, which does not match the number of movers in the original magnetic levitation system, it is necessary to determine the reason for the disappearance or addition of the mover. If it is unrelated to the replacement of the mover, an error should still be reported. If it is due to an active power failure and the mover is replaced, the error should be masked and the number of movers in the control system should be updated synchronously.

[0036] In one embodiment, the control system configures multiple pending virtual movers. These pending virtual movers are initially in a reserved state. When the control system detects a new mover, it activates one of the pending virtual movers, changing its state from reserved to actual mover. When the control system detects a mover being removed, it changes the state of the corresponding virtual mover from actual mover to reserved.

[0037] Specifically, since the control system has already allocated memory based on the number of movers downloaded after the various axes in the physical world are configured, it is necessary to pre-allocate some memory during the download process for adding movers. This is achieved by configuring several virtual movers as a margin for expansion when configuring movers. When each axis is working normally, these virtual movers are in a reserved state. When the mover replacement switch is turned on and a new mover is detected, a virtual mover in the reserved state is activated, and its state changes to that of an actual mover. When a mover is detected to have left the system, the memory of this virtual mover is set to a reserved state, and the virtual mover switches to a reserved state.

[0038] In one embodiment, the control system determines whether the mover has moved out or in based on the position feedback from the encoder. Specifically, the magnetic levitation system includes multiple axes, each equipped with an encoder. When an encoder on an axis registers a reading, it immediately marks the mover on that axis. The control system refreshes the mover count. If the mover count remains unchanged, it indicates that the mover is the original mover. If the mover is located on the axis where the edge stator is located, and after a period of time, the position feedback on the axis where the edge stator is located disappears, and the encoders on adjacent axes do not provide position feedback, it indicates that the mover has been moved out. If the mover count increases by one after the control system refreshes the count, it indicates that a new mover has been moved in.

[0039] Specifically, there can generally only be one mover on a single axis. During normal operation, the mover cannot move to the edge of the axis because of the anti-runaway device and to prevent collisions, the mover will maintain a certain safe distance from the edge of the axis. Taking advantage of this feature, when the mover replacement switch is turned on, the anti-runaway device is removed, and the mover is moved to the edge stator of the axis. When the control system detects a reading on the encoder corresponding to the axis, it marks the mover on that axis and refreshes the total number of movers. If the total number of movers does not change, it means that the mover is the original mover. Since the mover has moved to the edge stator, it may need to be moved out from the edge stator.

[0040] It should be noted that when the position feedback at the edge stator disappears, there are two possibilities: either the mover has slid onto another axis and hasn't been moved out, or the mover has been moved out. The specific method for determining this is as follows: if the encoder data on that axis disappears and the encoders on adjacent axes also show no data, this indicates that the mover has been moved out. If the encoder data on that axis disappears, but the encoders on adjacent axes show data, this indicates that the mover has slid onto another axis and hasn't been moved out. If the control system detects an increase of one mover, it indicates that a new mover has been added.

[0041] It should be noted that the encoder reading on each axis ranges from 0 to 171280. When the reading is between 8000 and 9000, it means that the mover has reached the center of this axis, and at this point, the mover is marked.

[0042] In one embodiment, the control system synchronizes the display interface with the physical world, wherein the display interface is used to display the state of the physical world through a virtual model.

[0043] Specifically, the host computer software synchronizes the display interface with the physical world, which refers to physical components such as the transmission track, the moving part, and the driving stator. Once the model is configured, downloaded, and running, the host computer's display interface shows the model's operational status, matching the model with the corresponding components in the physical world. When a moving part is removed or added in the physical world, the host computer displays this synchronously; that is, when a moving part is removed, the corresponding moving part disappears from the display interface, and when a moving part is added, the corresponding moving part appears in the display interface.

[0044] like Figure 4 As shown, the control system of this application may include a mover replacement switch, a stator power-off module, a mover up / down identification module, an error identification module, a memory processing module, and a host computer display module.

[0045] The function of the mover replacement switch is as follows: opening the switch allows the line to flexibly replace the mover. If the switch is not open, the mover replacement operation is not allowed. If the number of movers changes, an error message will be displayed indicating that the mover is missing. This is to distinguish the mover replacement from normal operation.

[0046] The function of the designated stator power-off module is as follows: it can control the power-off of a designated stator, such as the end stator, without affecting the normal operation of other parts of the production line.

[0047] The function of the mover up / down recognition module is as follows: to determine whether a new mover has been added or an existing mover has disappeared based on the position feedback.

[0048] The error recognition module functions as follows: to isolate the power-off area from other areas that are not powered off.

[0049] The memory processing module performs the following functions: pre-allocating memory for moving parts and reclaiming memory for lost moving parts.

[0050] The host computer display module functions as follows: to synchronize the display interface with the physical world.

[0051] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementations of the present invention, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of this invention patent should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S100: Move the mover to the edge stator, where a specific port is provided for the mover to join or leave. S200: De-energize the edge stator and move the mover from a specific port to the outside of the edge stator.

2. The method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: A new mover is moved into a specific port of the edge stator, and then the edge stator is powered on.

3. The method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, After de-energizing the edge stator, the anti-runaway device on one side of the edge stator is removed to form a specific port.

4. The method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the control system detects a change in the number of movers, it determines whether the change is related to the movers that have moved out or into the edge stator. If it is related, no error is reported and the number of movers is updated. If it is not related, an error is reported.

5. The method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control system is configured with multiple pending virtual movers. The initial state of these pending virtual movers is a reserved state. When the control system detects a new mover, it activates a pending virtual mover, so that the state of the pending virtual mover changes from the reserved state to the actual mover state.

6. The method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system according to claim 5, characterized in that, When the control system detects that the mover has been removed, the control system changes the state of the virtual mover corresponding to this mover from the actual mover state to the reserved state.

7. The method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control system determines whether the mover moves out or in based on the position feedback from the encoder.

8. The method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The magnetic levitation system consists of multiple axes, each equipped with an encoder. When an encoder on an axis registers a reading, it immediately marks the mover on that axis. The control system refreshes the mover count. If the mover count remains unchanged, it indicates that the mover is the original mover. If the mover is located on the axis where the edge stator is located, and after a period of time, the position feedback on the axis where the edge stator is located disappears, and the encoders on adjacent axes do not provide position feedback, it indicates that the mover has been moved out. If the mover count increases by one after the control system refreshes the mover count, it indicates that a new mover has been moved in.

9. The method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control system synchronizes the display interface with the physical world, where the display interface is used to show the state of the physical world through a virtual model.

10. The method for flexibly replacing the mover in a magnetic levitation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, After the edge stator is de-energized, the other moving parts in the magnetic levitation system continue to operate normally.

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