Device for levitating an object

Abstract

To provide a floating device for an object capable of smoothly taking off and floating the object from a state where the object is placed on a stage plane or smoothly landing the object and arbitrarily adjusting and controlling the floating height of the object.SOLUTION: The levitation control device includes a base magnet or a ring-shaped base magnet composed of a plurality of magnets arranged concentrically, a plurality of magnetic field adjustment coils arranged inside the base magnet, and a levitation control means arranged at the center of the plurality of magnetic field adjustment coils, and the levitation body is arranged above the levitation control means, and the lower end side of the levitation body is a counter pole part to the upper end side base pole.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for levitating an object in the air using magnetic force, and more particularly to controlling the levitation of an object. [Background technology]

[0002] Until now, a completely non-contact magnetic levitation system has been considered impossible in a static magnetic field due to Earnshaw's theorem. However, the above theorem does not necessarily apply to non-static moving objects (rotating objects, etc.), and spinning top-type toys have been realized. Furthermore, since superconducting materials are theoretically diamagnetic, magnetic levitation and magnetic suspension can be easily realized. In recent years, interior products such as globes, speakers, and lighting fixtures have been sold that float in the air using the repulsive levitation effect of magnetic force and magnetic field sensors to adjust and control the electromagnetic field. However, in all of these methods, the position at which the product floats in the air due to the magnetic repulsive force is determined by the weight balance of the product, so the product must be accurately positioned by hand or other means to float, and even a slight deviation in position can cause the product to be attracted by the surrounding magnets and fall, posing a technical challenge. Furthermore, when the power supply that controls the electromagnetic field is turned off, the product is attracted to the powerful surrounding magnets that cause it to levitate, making it impossible to place the product in the center.

[0003] Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, a through hole is provided in the center of the product and a vertical shaft is placed in this through hole to prevent lateral movement, making the product appear to be floating in the air. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2017 / 039540 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention aims to provide an object levitation device that can smoothly take off and levitate an object from a state where the object is placed on a flat stage, or conversely, smoothly land the object, which has been previously impossible, and can arbitrarily adjust and control the levitation height of the object. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The object levitation device of the present invention comprises a base magnet or a ring-shaped base magnet consisting of a plurality of magnets arranged concentrically, a plurality of magnetic field adjustment coils arranged inside the base magnet, and a levitation control means arranged in the center of the plurality of magnetic field adjustment coils, and is characterized in that the levitation body is arranged above the levitation control means, and the lower end of the levitation body is an opposite pole to the base pole on the upper end side. Here, the expression "counter pole portion on the lower end" in relation to the base pole on the upper end means that, for example, if the base pole is a north pole, the counter pole portion will be a south pole, and conversely, if the base pole is a south pole, the counter pole portion will be a north pole.

[0007] Here, the base magnet refers to a so-called permanent magnet made using a ferromagnetic material, and examples include neodymium magnets, alnico magnets, and ferrite magnets, but neodymium magnets are preferred because they are small and can produce strong magnetic force. Furthermore, the plurality of magnetic field adjusting coils arranged inside the base magnet form a magnetic field together with the base magnet, and the distribution of the magnetic lines of force and the magnetic flux density can be varied. It also has a function for adjusting the position of the levitation body. The base magnet is arranged so as to concentrically surround the inner magnetic field adjusting coils and the levitation control means arranged in the center. Therefore, for example, 3 to 12 small magnets may be used and arranged concentrically, or a ring-shaped magnet with a hollow center may be used.

[0008] In this way, the base magnet formed in a ring shape and the magnetic field adjustment coil interact with each other to form a magnetic field consisting of a doughnut ring-shaped distribution of magnetic lines of force. By selecting the direction of the magnetic field perpendicular to the magnetic field (magnetic field line distribution) and the magnetic field line distribution formed by the levitation body, a levitation force acts on the levitation body. In this specification, the expression "levitating an object" means that the levitating body itself may be the object that is levitated in the air, or the object to be levitated may be placed on this levitating body.

[0009] In the present invention, the levitation control means may be a magnetic body that can be controlled to rise and fall. When a magnetic body is used as a levitation control means, the mutual magnetic force between the magnetic body and the levitating body can be varied by raising the magnetic body in a direction closer to the lower end of the levitating body, or lowering it in a direction away from the lower end of the levitating body.When the upper end of the magnetic body is brought close to the lower end of the levitating body, the magnetic body will attract the opposing pole of the levitating body, and if a case or the like is provided that allows magnetic force to pass between the levitating body and the magnetic body, the case will place the magnetic body on the stage plane, and when the magnetic body is lowered, the attractive force with the levitating body will weaken, and the object will rise smoothly due to the repulsive force between the magnetic field formed by the base magnet and magnetic field adjustment coil and the magnetic field formed by the levitating body. Here, the magnetic material may be either a ferromagnetic material such as a permanent magnet or a soft magnetic material such as iron.

[0010] In the present invention, the levitation control means may be an electromagnetic coil. In this way, by energizing the electromagnetic coil, an S pole or an N pole is formed at the upper end, and it is possible to apply a levitation force or an attractive force to the levitation body. The electromagnetic coil may also be composed of a core material made of a magnetic substance and a coil. Here, the core material may be iron or other magnetic material.

[0011] In the present invention, it is preferable to have a position sensor that detects the position of the levitation body, and a position control means that feeds back information from the position sensor to the magnetic field adjusting coil and / or levitation control means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] In the present invention, if a stage plane is formed above the levitation device using a case or the like, even when the coil of the levitation control means is in the OFF state and not energized, the levitation body will be stably placed on the stage plane due to the magnetic force acting in the mutually attracting direction between the magnetic body located in the center of the levitation device and the opposing pole part consisting of the N pole or S pole at the bottom end of the levitation body. In response to this, the magnetic body can be lowered to separate it from the levitation body, and the repulsive or attractive force to the levitation body can be adjusted by changing the direction and magnitude of the current flowing through the electromagnetic coil. This control of the current flow allows the levitation body to take off and land smoothly, and also makes it easy to adjust the levitation height. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 shows an example of the configuration of a levitation device according to the present invention. [Figure 2] (a) shows the state where the levitating body is placed on the stage plane, and (b) shows the state where it is levitated in the air. [Figure 3] The figure shows (a) the state in which the levitation body is placed after the levitation control coil is turned off, and (b) the state in which the levitation body is raised after the current is turned on. [Figure 4] 1 shows example images of an object placed on a stage plane (a) and levitated (b) using a levitation device according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] An example of the configuration of the object levitation device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0015] Figure 1(a) shows an example of the configuration of the levitation device, and Figure 1(b) shows a side view. In this embodiment, eight cylindrical neodymium magnets 11a to 11h are arranged concentrically on the upper surface of the substrate 10, and four magnetic field adjustment coils 12a to 12d are arranged inside the base magnet.Furthermore, a levitation control coil 13 is arranged below the center of the central part as a levitation control means. The levitation control means may be only the core material 13a made of a magnetic material, or only the coil 13b without a core material. There is no limit to the number of magnets, as long as it is three or more. The base magnet can be replaced with a ring-shaped magnet or an electromagnet. For ease of understanding, only the magnets 11a and 11e and the magnetic field adjusting coils 12a and 12c are shown in the side view of FIG. 1(b), and the rest are omitted.

[0016] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view, and for ease of explanation, magnet 11a and magnet 11e are shown as representative base magnets, but magnets 11a to 11h are actually arranged concentrically in a ring shape. In this embodiment, the magnets 11a to 11h are arranged so that their upper surfaces are N poles, and the levitation body 20 is arranged above the center. In this example, the levitation body 20 is configured so that the bottom end side is the south pole and the top end side is the north pole. In this embodiment, a cylindrical counter electrode 22 having an outer diameter smaller than that of the base electrode 21 is provided so as to protrude downward from the center of the lower surface of the disk-shaped base electrode 21 . The levitation body 20 has a so-called egg-shaped distribution of magnetic lines of force, and there are no limitations on its structure or shape as long as the direction of the magnetic field is vertical. In addition, in this embodiment, the upper end side of the base magnet is made an N pole, so correspondingly the base pole 21 of the levitation body 20 is made an N pole and the opposite pole part is made an S pole, but if the upper end side of the base magnet is made an S pole, the poles of the levitation body 20 will also be reversed accordingly, with the base pole 21 becoming an S pole and the opposite pole part 21 becoming an N pole.

[0017] FIG. 2 shows an example in which a case body 30 made of paper or resin through which magnetic lines of force pass is provided above the levitation device, and an external image of this is shown in FIG. The upper surface of this case body 30 corresponds to the stage plane. In this state, the levitation body 20 is placed directly above the electromagnetic coil provided as the levitation control coil 13 .

[0018] The levitation control coil 13 is composed of a core material 13a and a coil 13b with a copper wire wound around the core material 13a. The operation when the current to the coil 13b is turned off and no magnetic field is generated by the coil will be described. In this case, only the core material 13a without the coil 13b may be used. The levitation body is placed on the upper surface of the flat surface of the stage by the attractive force generated between the magnetic force of the counter pole portion 22 protruding from the lower side of the levitation body 20 and the core material 13a. When the core material 13a is lowered in this state, the attractive force with the counter pole portion 22 weakens, and the levitation body begins to rise due to the levitation force caused by the magnetic field formed by the base magnet and the magnetic field adjustment coil. Conversely, when the core material 13a is raised, the attracting force between the core material 13a and the counter electrode portion 22 of the levitation body 20 causes the levitation body 20 to slowly land.

[0019] Next, FIG. 3(a) shows a state in which the height of the core material 13a is adjusted with the power turned off so that the levitation body is placed on the upper surface of the case. In this state, when current is passed through coil 13b so that the upper end side of core material 13a becomes the same S pole as the S pole of counter electrode portion 22, the core material 13a begins to rise slowly due to the repulsive force between the S pole on the upper end side and the S pole of the counter electrode portion of levitation body 20. This allows the flying height to be controlled by controlling the current value. In this embodiment, a magnetic field consisting of a doughnut-shaped magnetic line distribution is formed by a base magnet consisting of eight magnets 11a to 11h and four magnetic field adjustment coils 12a to 12d arranged inside it, and a levitation force is generated in the levitation body 20 due to interaction with the magnetic field formed by the egg-shaped magnetic line distribution formed by the levitation body 20. Therefore, the position sensor 15, which is shown schematically by dotted lines in Figures 2 and 3, detects the XY axis coordinates of the levitation body 20, and feeds back the results to the current control unit for energizing the four magnetic field adjustment coils 12a to 12d, thereby making it possible to control the position of the levitation body 20. Furthermore, the position sensor 15 can detect the coordinate in the Z-axis direction and feed it back to the levitation control coil 13 to control the height. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, an example is shown in which a drive unit 14 is provided to control the raising and lowering of the core material 13a, but the core material 13a and coil 13b may be controlled to rise and fall together, and there are no restrictions on the control mechanism. The vertical position of only the core material 13a or the entire levitation control coil 13 may be controlled based on position sensor information. Furthermore, each of the four magnetic field adjustment coils has a control unit that allows it to adjust its magnetic force independently, and by adjusting the mutual magnetic forces of the four coils, it is possible to adjust the strength of the magnetic field due to the mutual distribution of magnetic lines of force with the base magnet, as well as the distribution in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, thereby positioning the levitation body 20. As long as the position sensor can detect the XYZ coordinates of the levitation body 20, there are no restrictions on the placement position or detection means. [Explanation of symbols]

[0020] 10 Substrate 11a~11h Magnet 12a~12d Magnetic field adjustment coils 13 Levitation control coil 13a Core material 13b coil 15 Position Sensor 20 Floating body 30 Case body (stage plane)

Claims

1. a base magnet consisting of a plurality of magnets arranged concentrically or a ring-shaped base magnet; a plurality of magnetic field adjusting coils disposed inside the base magnet; a levitation control means disposed at a central portion of the plurality of magnetic field adjusting coils, A device for levitating an object, characterized in that a levitating body is disposed above the levitation control means, and the levitating body has a base pole on the upper end side and an opposing pole on the lower end side.

2. 2. The object levitation device according to claim 1, wherein said levitation control means is a magnetic body whose ascent and descent are controlled.

3. 2. The object levitation device according to claim 1, wherein said levitation control means is an electromagnetic coil.

4. 4. The object levitation device according to claim 3, wherein said electromagnetic coil comprises a core material and a coil.

5. 5. An object levitation device as described in any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that it comprises a position sensor that detects the position of the levitation body, and a position control means that feeds back the position sensor information to the magnetic field adjustment coil and / or the levitation control means.

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