Linear transport device and method for controlling linear transport device

Abstract

To provide a linear carrier device capable of preventing a plurality of shuttles from coming into contact with each other, with a simple control processing.SOLUTION: According to a linear carrier device for carrying articles with a linear motor, at least two shuttles among a plurality of shuttles are used in combination to form a primary operation group. One of the shuttles included in the primary operation group is made to be a primary master shuttle, and the others are made to be primary slave shuttles. The primary master shuttle is controlled at a position in a guide part. The primary slave shuttles are controlled at a relative position to the primary master shuttle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a linear transport device that transports an article using a linear motor, and a method for controlling the linear transport device. [Background technology]

[0002] JP2015-525176A discloses a linear conveying device using a linear motor as a device for conveying articles. This linear conveying device has a linear motor stator in which an electromagnet is arranged, and a conveying member provided with a permanent magnet. The electromagnet and the permanent magnet form a linear motor system. The conveying member has a holder or a corresponding holder, and the holder and the corresponding holder arranged in the conveying direction sandwich a product, and the conveying member is moved to convey the product. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special table 2015-525176 publication Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional linear transport devices, the transport members are controlled independently, and as the number of transport members increases, the process becomes complicated. Furthermore, if the process becomes complicated and the process is delayed, the transport members may come into contact with each other.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a linear transport device that can prevent contact between multiple shuttles with simple control processing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the linear transport device of the present invention transports an article by a linear motor. The linear transport device includes a guide section in which a stator of the linear motor is arranged, a plurality of shuttles in which movers of the linear motor that are attached to the guide section and move along the guide section while holding an article are arranged, and a control section that controls the operation of the plurality of shuttles. A primary operation group is formed by combining at least two of the plurality of shuttles. In the primary operation group, one of the shuttles included in the primary operation group is designated as a primary master shuttle, and the remaining are designated as primary slave shuttles. The primary master shuttle is controlled by its position in the guide section, and the primary slave shuttle is controlled by its relative position with respect to the primary master shuttle.

[0007] By configuring in this way, even when there are multiple shuttles, it is possible to control them along the guide section while suppressing contact with each other with simple control processing. In addition, since the slave shuttle is controlled by the relative distance with the master shuttle, contact between the shuttles can be effectively suppressed.

[0008] In the above configuration, the system includes a plurality of (i-1) (i is an integer of 2 or more) next operation groups. Each of the (i-1) next operation groups includes one (i-1) next master shuttle and one or more (i-1) next slave shuttles. The (i-1) next slave shuttle is controlled in a relative position with respect to the (i-1) next master shuttle. At least two (i-1) next operation groups among the plurality of (i-1) next operation groups are combined to form an i-th operation group. Of the plurality of (i-1) next master shuttles, one is an i-th master shuttle and the remaining are an i-th slave shuttle. While maintaining control of the relative position of the (i-1) next slave shuttle with respect to the (i-1) next master shuttle, the i-th master shuttle is controlled in a position in the guide section, and the i-th slave shuttle is controlled in a relative position with respect to the i-th master shuttle.

[0009] In the above configuration, there are a plurality of motion groups of (i-1) (i is an integer of 2 or more) orders or less, and the (i-1)-order or less slave shuttles are controlled by their relative positions to the master shuttle of the same order. An i-order motion group is formed by combining at least two of the motion groups of (i-1) orders or less (i is an integer of 2 or more) and the individual shuttles, and one of the plurality of master shuttles of (i-1) orders or less or the individual shuttles is designated as the i-order master shuttle, and the remaining are designated as the i-order slave shuttle. While maintaining control of the relative positions of the (i-1)-order or less slave shuttles to the master shuttle of the same order, the i-order master shuttle is controlled by its position in the guide section, and the i-order slave shuttle is controlled by its relative position to the i-order master shuttle.

[0010] In the above configuration, the relative position of the k-th (k is an integer equal to or greater than 1)-th slave shuttle with respect to the k-th master shuttle changes depending on the position of the k-th master shuttle in the guide section.

[0011] In the above configuration, the combination of the k-th (k is an integer equal to or greater than 1)-th operation group is released depending on the position of the k-th master shuttle on the guide section. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the linear transport device of the present invention, contact between multiple shuttles can be suppressed by simple control processing. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a working device using a linear drive device according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a working device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the primary operation group moving along the first straight portion. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view of the primary operation group moving along the first curved portion. [Diagram 5]FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing a secondary action group. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an i-th operation group. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an i-th operation group in a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a working device 100 using a linear transport device 10 according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram of the working device 100.

[0015] <Work device 100> The working device 100 transports a paper sheet Ps, folds and pastes the paper sheet Ps to form a box body Bx, and stores contents in the box body Bx and carries it out. In this embodiment, the box body Bx has a rectangular bottom surface and side surfaces extending from each side of the bottom surface. The paper sheet Ps has a shape obtained by unfolding the box body Bx. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the working device 100 includes a linear conveying device 10, a control unit 20, a paper sheet supplying device 30, and a processing device 40.

[0016] <Control unit 20> 2, the control unit 20 includes an arithmetic circuit 21 and a memory circuit 22. The arithmetic circuit 21 is a circuit for processing various information, and includes arithmetic circuits such as a CPU and an MPU. The arithmetic circuit 21 also controls the control targets included in the linear conveying device 10, the paper sheet supplying device 30, and the processing device 40 based on the processing results.

[0017] The memory circuitry 22 is a circuit that includes or is connected to semiconductor memories such as ROM and RAM, portable memories such as flash memories, and storage media such as hard disks. Various programs such as control programs or processing programs may be stored in the memory circuitry 22, and the program corresponding to the processing may be called up as necessary and run by the arithmetic circuitry 21 to perform the processing. The elements connected to the control unit 20 and the control thereof will be explained when explaining each element.

[0018] <Linear transport device 10> The linear transport device 10 has a guide section 11, a plurality of shuttles 12, and a linear drive mechanism 13 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 1, the guide section 11 is formed in a loop shape by connecting both ends of a straight rail arranged in parallel. The guide section 11 has a first straight section 111 and a second straight section 112 which are straight, and a first curved section 113 and a second curved section 114 which are curved.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the first straight portion 111 and the second straight portion 112 are arranged in parallel. The first curved portion 113 connects one end of the first straight portion 111 to one end of the second straight portion 112. The second curved portion 114 connects the other end of the first straight portion 111 to the other end of the second straight portion 112. In this way, the guide portion 11 is formed in a loop shape by connecting the first straight portion 111, the first curved portion 113, the second straight portion 112, and the second curved portion 114. The first straight portion 111 and the second straight portion 112 do not have to be parallel.

[0020] 3 is an enlarged plan view of the primary operation group moving on the first straight section 111. A plurality of shuttles 12 are formed in a loop shape and attached to the guide section 11. The shuttles 12 move along the guide section 11 by a linear drive mechanism 13. In this embodiment, the shuttles 12 move in the clockwise direction on the guide section 11 shown in FIG. 1. That is, the clockwise direction on the guide section 11 shown in FIG. 1 is set as the conveying direction Tr1.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the linear drive mechanism 13 has a stator 131 and a mover 132. The stator 131 is disposed in the guide section 11. The stator 131 has a plurality of coils 1311 arranged in a line along the guide section 11. Each coil 1311 is connected to the control section 20. A current is supplied to each coil 1311 based on an instruction from the control section 20. The coils 1311 are excited by being supplied with a current. The linear drive mechanism may have a driver (not shown) that supplies a current to a determined coil 1311. In this case, the control section 20 sends an operation instruction to the driver. The driver supplies a current to an appropriate coil 1311 based on an instruction from the control section 20.

[0022] The mover 132 has a magnet and is housed in the shuttle 12. A current is supplied to the multiple coils 1311 at a predetermined timing based on an instruction from the control unit 20. As a result, each coil 1311 is excited at a predetermined timing. As a result, a magnetic force is generated between the coil 1311 and the magnet of the mover 132. The shuttle 12 moves along the guide unit 11 due to this magnetic force.

[0023] That is, the linear drive mechanism 13 moves the shuttle 12 having the mover 132 mounted thereon, based on instructions from the control unit 20. More specifically, the control unit 20 can control the position of the shuttle 12 in the guide unit 11. That is, the control unit 20 can control the position of the shuttle 12 in the guide unit 11 (considered to be an absolute position).

[0024] The control unit 20 can also control the shuttle 12 moving along the guide unit 11 to adjust the distance (referred to as the relative position) between that shuttle 12 and another shuttle 12. In other words, the control unit 20 can also control the shuttle 12 to be controlled to adjust its relative position with respect to a reference shuttle 12. From the above, the control unit 20 can control the movement of the shuttle 12 in terms of absolute position, and can also control its relative position with respect to other shuttles 12.

[0025] Details will be described later, but the shuttle 12 controlled by the absolute position is referred to as the primary master shuttle 12M1, and the shuttle 12 controlled by the relative position with respect to the primary master shuttle 12M1 is referred to as the primary slave shuttle 12S1. In the drawings, the primary master shuttle is referred to as "12M1, 12." The primary slave shuttle is referred to as "12S1, 12." The nth-order master shuttle is referred to as "12Mn," and the nth-order slave shuttle is referred to as "12Sn" (n is a positive integer of 2 or more).

[0026] <Paper sheet supply device 30> The paper sheet supplying device 30 is a device that supplies paper sheets Ps. The paper sheet supplying device 30 is connected to the control unit 20 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 1, the paper sheet supplying device 30 is disposed adjacent to the first straight section 111. In accordance with instructions from the control unit 20, the paper sheet supplying device 30 supplies paper sheets Ps to three shuttles 12 that are arranged side by side on the first straight section 111. The three shuttles 12 hold the paper sheets Ps and move along the guide section 11. As a result, the paper sheets Ps are transported along the guide section 11. The three shuttles 12 transport the paper sheets Ps to the processing device 40.

[0027] <Processing device 40> As shown in FIG. 1, the processing device 40 is disposed close to the second straight portion 112 of the guide portion 11. The processing device 40 is connected to the control portion (see FIG. 2). The processing device 40 has a first processing position P1 and a second processing position P2. At the first processing position P1, the paper sheet Ps held and transported by the three shuttles 12 is folded and pasted to form a box body Bx. The pasting when forming the box body Bx may be performed with an adhesive tape or with an adhesive. Also, a fixing tool such as a stapler may be used. The pasting of the box body Bx may be performed by any method that can securely fix the box body Bx. The box body Bx is held and transported by the three shuttles 12.

[0028] At the second processing position P2, the contents are placed in the boxes Bx transported by the three shuttles 12, and then the boxes are sealed and transported out. In the working device 100 of this embodiment, the contents can be, for example, rectangular parallelepiped paper containers filled with beverages, but are not limited to this. After a certain number of paper containers are placed in the boxes Bx, the processing device 40 closes the lids and seals them in the same manner as when the boxes Bx are formed.

[0029] In the linear conveyance device 10, the shuttle 12 receives the paper sheet Ps from the paper sheet supply device 30 when moving along the first straight section 111, and is processed by the processing device 40 when passing through the second straight section 112. Then, when the box body Bx is carried out by the processing device 40, the shuttle 12 that is not holding the box body Bx moves along the second curved section 114 and returns to the first straight section 111. Therefore, the second curved section 114 also serves as a waiting area for the shuttle 12.

[0030] In the linear conveyance device 10, the three shuttles 12 hold and move the paper sheet Ps supplied from the paper sheet supply device 30, thereby conveying the paper sheet Ps. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, the three shuttles 12 are provided with a holding arm 121 that holds the paper sheet Ps on the central shuttle 12. In addition, the shuttles 12 on both sides in the conveyance direction are provided with auxiliary arms 122 that support the front and rear ends of the paper sheet Ps in the conveyance direction. The auxiliary arms 122 support the paper sheet Ps and are also used to fold the paper sheet Ps. In the linear conveyance device 10 of this embodiment, the holding arm 121 and the auxiliary arm 122 have the same configuration, but may have different configurations. In addition, one shuttle 12 may have both the holding arm 121 and the auxiliary arm 122.

[0031] The holding arm 121 is fixed to the shuttle 12. In addition, the auxiliary arm 122 is also fixed to the shuttle 12. Therefore, when moving along the first straight section 111, it is sufficient that the auxiliary arm 122 maintains a constant distance from the holding arm 121. Therefore, in the working apparatus 100 of this embodiment, the control unit 20 recognizes the three shuttles 12 as one motion group St. Note that a motion group St made up of a combination of shuttles 12 that operate independently is referred to as a primary motion group St1 (see FIG. 3).

[0032] In the primary operation group St1, the control unit 20 defines the shuttle in the middle of the conveying direction Tr1 as the primary master shuttle 12M1, and the shuttles on both sides of the shuttle as the primary slave shuttle 12S1. The control unit 20 controls the primary master shuttle 12M1 at the position of the guide unit 11. The control unit 20 controls the primary slave shuttle 12S1 so that the distance to the primary master shuttle 12M1 is constant. The distance between the primary master shuttle 12M1 and the primary slave shuttle 12S1 is a distance that can support the paper sheet Ps, and is defined as a relative distance L1 here. The relative distance is the length of the shuttles 12 in the conveying direction Tr1. When the primary operation group St1 is in the first straight line portion 111 or the second straight line portion 112, it is a straight line distance (see FIG. 3). When the primary operation group St1 is in the first curved line portion 113 or the second curved line portion 114, it is a curved line distance (see FIG. 4).

[0033] The control unit 20 controls the movement of the primary master shuttle 12M1 to a position in the guide unit 11, and controls the movement of the primary slave shuttle 12S1 to maintain a relative distance L1 from the primary master shuttle 12M1. As a result, the primary operation group St1 holds the paper sheet Ps and transports the paper sheet Ps along the guide unit 11 while maintaining a constant distance between the primary master shuttle 12M1 and the primary slave shuttle 12S1.

[0034] 4 is an enlarged plan view of the primary operation group St1 moving along the first curved portion 113. As described above, both the holding arm 121 and the auxiliary arm 122 are fixed to the shuttle 12. Therefore, when the shuttle 12 reaches the curved portion, the distance between the portion farther from the shuttle becomes wider, which may make it difficult to stably support the paper sheet Ps. Therefore, when the primary operation group St1 reaches the first curved portion 113, the control unit 20 changes the relative distance of the primary slave shuttle 12S1 to the primary master shuttle 12M1 to relative distance L11 (<relative distance L1) (see FIG. 4).

[0035] In this way, the paper sheet Ps can be transported stably even when the primary operation group St1 moves along the first curved portion 113. The control unit 20 may perform control to reduce the moving speed of the primary master shuttle 12M1 when the primary operation group St1 reaches the first curved portion 113. This can reduce the centrifugal force acting on the paper sheet Ps. The primary slave shuttle 12S1 is controlled based on the relative distance with the primary master shuttle 12M1. Therefore, when the primary master shuttle 12M1 decelerates, the speed of the primary slave shuttle 12S1 also decelerates.

[0036] That is, the control unit 20 controls only the single primary master shuttle 12M1 based on its position (absolute position) in the guide unit 11. Then, the control unit 20 controls the primary slave shuttle 12S1 to adjust (here, keep constant) its relative position with respect to the primary master shuttle 12M1. When controlling with an absolute position, it is necessary to obtain the position (absolute position) of the control target in the guide unit 11. On the other hand, by configuring the primary slave shuttle 12S1 to be controlled with its position relative to the primary master shuttle 12M1, it is not necessary to obtain the position (absolute position) of the primary slave shuttle 12S1 in the guide unit 11. For this reason, by also using control based on relative position, the control unit 20 can reduce the amount of processing during control compared to when all shuttles 12 are controlled with control based on absolute position.

[0037] Furthermore, by controlling in this manner, primary slave shuttle 12S1 is controlled to maintain a relative distance from primary master shuttle 12M1. Therefore, when the speed of primary master shuttle 12M1 changes, for example, when it starts moving and reaches second straight section 113 from first straight section 111, primary slave shuttle 12S1 is unlikely to fall significantly behind primary master shuttle 12M1. Therefore, compared to when the movement of each shuttle 12 is controlled based on the position of guide section 11, shuttles 12 are unlikely to come into contact with each other.

[0038] When the primary operation group St1 enters the second straight section 112 from the first curved section 113, the control section 20 may change the control so that the speed and relative distance L1 when the primary operation group St1 was moving on the first straight section 111 are the same. The control section 20 may also control the movement on the second straight section 112 while maintaining the speed and relative distance when the primary operation group St1 was moving on the first curved section 113.

[0039] After that, the primary action group St1 reaches the first processing position P1 of the second straight section 112. Then, the primary action group St1 stops at the first processing position P1 of the second straight section 112. At the first processing position P1, the paper sheet Ps supported by the primary action group St1 is folded and fixed by the processing device 40 to form a box body Bx.

[0040] While the paper sheet Ps is being folded at the first processing position P1, the next primary operation group St1 reaches the first processing position P1. Therefore, the control unit 20 is controlled so as not to come into contact with the previous primary operation group St1 when the previous primary operation group St1 exists. This can also be achieved by controlling the position of the primary master shuttle 12M1. Therefore, control is easy.

[0041] Then, the contents are accommodated in the boxes Bx at the second processing position P2 of the second straight section 112. In the processing device 40, in order to shorten the processing time for the contents accommodation processing, the three boxes Bx are arranged side by side in the conveying direction Tr1, and the contents are accommodated and carried out at the same time. Therefore, when three primary action groups St1 supporting the boxes Bx formed at the first processing position P1 are arranged, the control unit 20 combines the three primary action groups St1 into a secondary action group St2.

[0042] Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the secondary action group St2. In Fig. 5, the shuttles 12 are shown as rectangles. As shown in Fig. 5, the secondary action group St2 has three primary action groups St1. In other words, nine shuttles 12 constitute the secondary action group St2.

[0043] The control unit 20 then designates the central primary master shuttle 12M1 of each of the three primary operation groups St1 as the secondary master shuttle 12M2, and the control unit 20 designates the remaining primary master shuttle 12M1 as the secondary slave shuttle 12S2.

[0044] The control unit 20 controls the movement of the secondary master shuttle 12M2 based on the position relative to the guide unit 11. The control unit 20 then controls the secondary slave shuttle 12S2 to move at a relative distance L2 from the secondary master shuttle 12M2 so that the secondary slave shuttle 12S2 can accommodate the contents. The relative distance L2 is the same as the interval between the processing mechanisms used when accommodating the contents of the processing device 40. The relative distance L2 is also a distance set so that adjacent primary slave shuttles 12S1 of adjacent primary operation groups St1 do not come into contact with each other.

[0045] Even when the control section 20 performs control as the secondary operation group St2, the control section 20 continues the control for adjusting the relative position of the primary slave shuttle 12S1 of each primary operation group St1 with respect to the primary master shuttle 12M1.

[0046] In this way, the control section 20 can control the movements of all of the shuttles 12 constituting the secondary action group St2 by controlling the secondary master shuttle 12M2 and the secondary slave shuttle 12S2 of the secondary action group St2.

[0047] As a result, the control unit 20 can control all the shuttles 12 in the secondary operation group St2 by controlling one shuttle 12 based on its absolute position. This reduces the amount of processing required to control the shuttles 12. Also, since the shuttles other than the one second master shuttle 12M2 are controlled based on their relative positions to the second master shuttle 12M2, it is possible to move all the shuttles 12 included in the second operation group St2 without them coming into contact with each other. Also, compared to when each shuttle 12 is controlled independently based on the position of the guide unit 11, there is less chance of misalignment with the shuttles in front and behind. From the above, it is possible to simplify the control and prevent contact between the shuttles.

[0048] Thereafter, the processing device 40 seals the box body Bx containing the contents and carries it out. Thereafter, the shuttle 12 moves in the conveying direction Tr1, moves to the second curved portion 114, and waits for the next operation.

[0049] After the box body Bx is removed, the control unit 20 may move the secondary action group St2 to the second curved section 114 while maintaining the secondary action group St2. The control unit 20 may also combine a plurality of secondary action groups St2 into a tertiary action group St3 and control the movement by controlling the tertiary action group St3. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the i-th action group Sti. In FIG. 6, some of the action groups are shown by rectangles. As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 20 sets one of the secondary master shuttles 12M2 of each secondary action group St2 as a tertiary master shuttle 12M3 and the remaining as a tertiary slave shuttle 12S3.

[0050] The control unit 20 continues to control the relative positions of the slave shuttles of the first operation group St1 and the second operation group St2 with respect to the master shuttle. The control unit 20 controls the movement of the tertiary master shuttle 12M3 based on the position of the tertiary master shuttle 12M3 in the guide unit 11. The control unit 20 also controls the movement of the tertiary slave shuttle 12S3 so as to adjust the relative position of the tertiary slave shuttle 12S3 with respect to the tertiary master shuttle 12M3. By controlling in this manner, contact between all the shuttles 12 is suppressed, and the amount of processing can be reduced compared to when the positions of all the shuttles 12 in the guide unit 11 are controlled independently.

[0051] In the linear transport device 10 described above, the control unit 20 sets a first operation group St1, a second operation group St2, and a third operation group St3 to perform control. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0052] The control unit 20 may control the movement by combining a plurality of shuttles that operate independently, in other words, that are not included in the action group, into a primary action group St1. The control unit 20 may then control the movement by combining a plurality of primary action groups St1 into a secondary action group St2, a plurality of secondary action groups St2 into a tertiary action group St3, ..., a plurality of (i-1)th action groups St(i-1) into an i-th action group Sti (i is an integer of 2 or more) (see FIG. 6).

[0053] At this time, the control unit 20 continues to control the slave shuttles of orders (i-1) or lower to adjust their relative positions with the master shuttle of the same order. The control unit 20 then controls the i-th order master shuttle 12Mi based on the absolute position. At the same time, the control unit 20 controls the i-th order slave shuttle 12Si to adjust its relative position with respect to the i-th order master shuttle 12Mi. By controlling in this way, it is only necessary to control one shuttle (the master shuttle of the highest order at that time) with an absolute position at any one time, simplifying the control. The other shuttles are controlled based on their relative positions with the shuttles before and after them, making it less likely for contact to occur between the shuttles.

[0054] In this embodiment, three shuttles or three motion groups are combined to form a high-order motion group, but the number is not limited to three. It is sufficient that a relationship between a master shuttle and a slave shuttle is formed, and there may be two or more.

[0055] In addition, when multiple order (for example, k order) action groups are set, the control unit 20 may cancel the combination of action groups when the k order master shuttle moves to a predetermined position on the guide unit 11. At this time, it may be possible to break it down into action groups of a lower order, such as (k-1), or to cancel all action groups and make each into an independent shuttle.

[0056] This makes it possible to freely select the master shuttle and the slave shuttle depending on the number of operation groups. In this embodiment, the central shuttle is the master shuttle, but this is not limited to this. For example, the first shuttle or the last shuttle may be controlled to be the master shuttle. The master shuttle may also be determined so that processing in the processing device 40 becomes easier.

[0057] <Modification> FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing an i-th order action group of a modified example. In FIG. 7, the shuttle 12 is shown by a rectangle. In the i-th order action group shown in FIG. 6, action groups of the same order are combined to form a higher order action group. However, this is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 7, an independent shuttle 12, an (i-2)th order action group St(i-2), and an (i-1)th order action group St(i-1) may be combined to form an i-th order action group Sti. In this case, the control unit 20 also selects one of the independent shuttle 12 and the master shuttle of each order action group as the i-th order master shuttle, and the remaining ones as the i-th order slave shuttles. In this way, action groups of different orders can be combined, so that a higher order action group can be formed, and control can be simplified.

[0058] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the contents thereof. Furthermore, various modifications can be made to the embodiment of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 100 Work equipment 10 Linear transport device 11 Guide section 111 1st straight section 112 2nd straight section 113 1st curve section 114 Second curve section 12 Shuttle 121 Holding Arm 122 Auxiliary Arm 12M1 1st Master Shuttle 12S1 Primary Slave Shuttle 12M2 Secondary Master Shuttle 12S2 Secondary Slave Shuttle 12M3 3rd Master Shuttle 12S3 3rd slave shuttle 12Mi i Master Shuttle 12Si i-th slave shuttle 13 Linear drive mechanism 131 Stator 1311 Coil 132 Mover 20 Control section 21 Arithmetic circuit 22 Memory circuit 30 Paper sheet feeder 40 Processing equipment

Claims

1. A linear conveying device that conveys an article by a linear motor, A guide portion in which a stator of the linear motor is disposed; A plurality of shuttles are arranged on the guide section, and the shuttles are attached to the guide section, hold articles, and move along the guide section while the linear motor movers are arranged thereon; A control unit that controls the operation of the plurality of shuttles, A primary operation group is formed by combining at least two of the shuttles among the plurality of shuttles; In the primary operation group, one of the shuttles included in the primary operation group is designated as a primary master shuttle, and the remaining shuttles are designated as primary slave shuttles; the primary master shuttle is controlled by its position in the guide section; The primary slave shuttle is a linear transport device controlled in position relative to the primary master shuttle.

2. A plurality of (i-1) (i is an integer equal to or greater than 2) next action groups are included; Each of the (i-1)th order operation groups includes one (i-1)th order master shuttle and one or more (i-1)th order slave shuttles; the (i-1)th slave shuttle is controlled in relative position to the (i-1)th master shuttle; At least two (i-1) next action groups among the plurality of (i-1) next action groups are combined to form an i-th next action group; Among the plurality of (i-1)-th order master shuttles, one is designated as an i-th order master shuttle and the rest are designated as i-th order slave shuttles; 2. The linear transport device of claim 1, wherein the i-th master shuttle is controlled by its position in the guide section, and the i-th slave shuttle is controlled by its relative position to the i-th master shuttle, while maintaining control of the relative position of the (i-1)-th slave shuttle to the (i-1)-th master shuttle.

3. A plurality of (i-1) (i is an integer of 2 or more) order operation groups are provided, and the (i-1) order or less slave shuttles are controlled by their relative positions to the master shuttle of the same order; An i-th order action group is formed by combining at least two of the (i-1)th order or lower action groups (i is an integer equal to or greater than 2) and the single shuttles; Among the plurality of master shuttles of orders equal to or less than (i-1) orders or the single shuttle, one is designated as an i-th order master shuttle and the rest are designated as i-th order slave shuttles, 2. The linear transport device of claim 1, wherein the i-th order master shuttle is controlled by its position in the guide section, and the i-th order slave shuttle is controlled by its relative position to the i-th order master shuttle, while maintaining control of the relative positions of the (i-1)th order or lower slave shuttles to the master shuttle of the same order.

4. 4. The linear transport device according to claim 1, wherein the relative position of the k-th order slave shuttle (k is an integer of 1 or more) to the k-th order master shuttle varies depending on the position of the k-th order master shuttle in the guide section.

5. 5. The linear transport device according to claim 1, wherein the combination of the k-th (k is an integer of 1 or more)-th operation group is released depending on the position of the k-th master shuttle on the guide portion.

6. A method for controlling a linear conveyance device that conveys an article by a linear motor, comprising: A primary operation group is formed by combining at least two shuttles among a plurality of shuttles in which movable elements of the linear motors are arranged, the movable elements being attached to a guide section in which a stator of the linear motor is arranged and which hold an article and move along the guide section, In the primary operation group, one of the shuttles included in the primary operation group is designated as a primary master shuttle, and the remaining shuttles are designated as primary slave shuttles; Controlling the position of the primary master shuttle in the guide portion; A method for controlling a linear transport system, the method comprising controlling a relative position of the primary slave shuttle with respect to the primary master shuttle.

7. A plurality of (i-1) (i is an integer of 2 or more) next operation groups are set with one (i-1)th master shuttle and one or more (i-1)th slave shuttles; Controlling the relative position of the (i-1)th slave shuttle to the (i-1)th master shuttle; forming an i-th next action group by combining at least two (i-1)-th next action groups among the plurality of (i-1)-th next action groups; Among the plurality of (i-1)-th order master shuttles, one is designated as an i-th order master shuttle and the rest are designated as i-th order slave shuttles; 7. The method for controlling a linear transport device according to claim 6, wherein the i-th master shuttle is controlled at a position in the guide section while maintaining control of the relative position of the (i-1)-th slave shuttle with respect to the (i-1)-th master shuttle, and the i-th slave shuttle controls its relative position with respect to the i-th master shuttle.

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