Magnetic levitation device

Abstract

The magnetic levitation device and its linear motion mechanism are disclosed. The magnetic levitation device has a base and a levitation body. The base includes a first magnetic assembly, and the levitation body includes a second magnetic assembly, the first magnetic assembly and the second magnetic assembly being arranged to provide the magnetic balance force necessary for the levitation body to stably levitate relative to the base. The linear motion mechanism attached to the base includes a threaded stud attached immovably to the base, the threaded stud having threads along at least a portion of its length, and a displacement bracket for supporting the first magnetic assembly of the base, the displacement bracket having a threaded portion fitted to the threads of the threaded stud and displacing in response to the length of the threaded stud when the threaded portion rotates relative to the threaded stud. According to the magnetic levitation device of the present invention, a linear motion mechanism with a simple structure and rational spatial layout is used as the base, making the entire base more compact and providing reliable performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a magnetic levitation device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventional magnetic levitation devices such as magnetic levitation stands, sound boxes, or globes generally include a magnetic levitation base and a levitating body. Both the base and the levitating body contain magnetic materials, and the magnetic material in the base can levitate the levitating body at a predetermined distance above it by magnetic action (e.g., magnetic repulsion), and are popular by generating a fantastic visual effect of levitation.

[0003] However, in realizing the levitation of conventional magnetic levitation devices, in order to achieve stable levitation of the levitating body, it is necessary to manually place the levitating body at an appropriate levitation position relative to the base. For novice (inexperienced) users, the process of manually searching for the appropriate levitation position is difficult and time-consuming, and thus there is a possibility of losing patience and interest.

[0004] The magnetic levitation devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. by the applicant include a base and a levitating body. The base includes a magnetic levitation mechanism and a lifter, and the magnetic levitation mechanism having an annular magnet is provided on the lifter and moves up and down accordingly to enable automatic levitation or fall of the levitating body relative to the base.

[0005] Although Patent Documents 5 and 6 also disclose a lifting mechanism used in a similar magnetic levitation device, by simply stacking the magnetic levitation mechanism and the lifting mechanism vertically, the height of the entire base becomes significantly higher, which is disadvantageous for miniaturization of the entire device.

[0006] Patent Document 7 or Patent Document 8 further discloses another lifting mechanism used in a similar magnetic levitation device. However, the lifting mechanism having a lifting column and a pallet track projects directly from the upper surface of the base to lift the floating body. Such a structure deteriorates the integrity of the base and impairs the strange visibility manifested by the automatic levitation of the floating body.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Patent Document 6

Patent Document 7

Patent Document 8

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic levitation device capable of automatically levitating a floating body and having a simple and compact overall structure of the device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] In the present application, the term "annular magnet" includes a single annular magnet and a combination of a plurality of magnets arranged in an annular shape. "Screw stud" (also called a straight screw) may refer to a stud having a female thread or a stud having a male thread. "A screw stud attached to be immovable relative to the base" means that the screw stud is immovable relative to the base, but does not exclude rotation about its longitudinal axis of rotation. "Displacement" includes, but is not limited to, vertical lifting motion. Note that the term "magnetic body" is synonymous with "magnet", and both mean a magnetic member having an N pole and an S pole, and can be formed alone or in combination to form a "magnetic assembly".

[0010] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a linear motion mechanism or a lifting mechanism for a magnetic levitation device. The magnetic levitation device has a base and a floating body. The base includes a first magnetic assembly, and the floating body includes a second magnetic assembly. The first magnetic assembly and the second magnetic assembly are provided so as to be able to provide a magnetic balance force necessary for the floating body to stably float relative to the base. The linear motion mechanism provided on the base is a screw stud attached to be immovable relative to the base, the screw stud having a screw at at least a part along its length direction, and a displacement bracket or a lifting bracket for supporting the first magnetic assembly of the base. The displacement bracket is provided to be adapted to the screw of the screw stud and is displaced corresponding to the length direction of the screw stud when the screw portion provided to be adapted to the screw of the screw stud rotates relative to the screw stud.

[0011] In the present invention, the displacement bracket is integrally formed with or integrally connected to the first magnetic assembly.

[0012] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the first magnetic assembly includes an annular magnet fixed to a displacement bracket, and the screw stud penetrates through the hollow portion of the annular magnet. In this case, the linear motion mechanism of the present invention may further include at least one guide rod fixedly attached to the base and spaced apart from the screw stud in parallel. Preferably, the guide rod also penetrates through the hollow portion of the annular magnet.

[0013] According to the linear motion mechanism of the present invention, it is further preferable to include a driving portion for providing a driving force required for the relative rotation of the screw stud with respect to the threaded portion of the displacement bracket.

[0014] According to the linear motion mechanism of the present invention, the screw stud is rotatably attached to the base, the threaded portion of the displacement bracket is integrally formed with the displacement bracket or provided by a separate threaded member (such as a nut) fixedly fixed to the displacement bracket, and the driving portion is fixedly attached to the base and drives the rotation of the screw stud with respect to the base.

[0015] In the above driving method, it includes a worm wheel fixedly attached to the base. The screw stud is a single screw stud, the lower end of which is connected to the worm wheel. The driving portion is a motor having an output rotation shaft, and the rotation shaft of the motor is vertically attached to the screw stud (to further lower the height of the base or make the base more compact), and a worm cooperating with the worm wheel is fixedly attached. Thereby, the worm is rotated by the rotation shaft of the motor, the worm wheel is rotated by the worm, and the screw stud is rotated by the worm wheel. In this case of using a single screw stud, preferably, the screw stud penetrates through the center of the hollow portion of the annular magnet.

[0016] In the above driving method, it further includes a worm wheel fixedly attached to the base and a transmission gear train. The transmission gear train includes an upstream gear and at least two downstream gears. The screw stud includes at least two screw studs provided parallel and spaced apart from each other. The driving part is a motor having an output rotation shaft. The rotation shaft of the motor is fixedly attached perpendicular to the screw stud, and a worm cooperating with the worm wheel is fixedly attached. Each screw stud is connected to a corresponding downstream gear, and the worm wheel cooperates or engages with the upstream gear. Thereby, the worm rotates by the rotation shaft of the motor, the worm wheel rotates by the worm, the upstream gear of the transmission gear train rotates by the worm wheel, and finally the corresponding screw stud rotates by the downstream gear. In this case, the two screw studs penetrate the hollow part of the annular magnet axially symmetrically with respect to the center of the annular magnet.

[0017] The transmission gear train may or may not include an intermediate gear as long as it can transmit to the downstream gear through the upstream gear.

[0018] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the driving part is a motor having an output rotation shaft. The rotation shaft of the motor is attached parallel to the screw stud, and moreover, a transmission gear is fixedly attached, and a concentric gear is fixedly attached to the screw stud. The transmission gear cooperates with the concentric gear. Thereby, the transmission gear rotates by the rotation shaft of the motor, the concentric gear rotates by the transmission gear, and finally the corresponding screw stud rotates by the concentric gear.

[0019] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the screw part of the displacement bracket is provided by a screw member (such as a nut). The screw member is rotatably and non-displaceably attached to the displacement bracket (via a sliding bearing or a rolling bearing). The screw stud is non-rotatably attached to the base, and the driving part is fixedly attached to the displacement bracket to drive the rotation of the screw member with respect to the screw stud. In this case, the rotation of the displacement bracket can be avoided, and the so-called entanglement problem can be avoided.

[0020] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the threaded portion of the displacement bracket is provided by being integrally formed with the displacement bracket or by a separate threaded member fixedly attached to the displacement bracket in a non-rotatable manner. The threaded stud is a single threaded stud fixedly attached to the base in a non-rotatable manner, and the drive unit is fixedly attached to the displacement bracket and drives the rotation of the threaded portion of the displacement bracket with respect to the threaded stud. In this case, due to the relative rotation of the displacement bracket, the floating body automatically enters a rotating state at the moment it separates from the base, and can be set to a rotating state convenient for viewing or the like without manually moving the floating body.

[0021] According to the linear motion mechanism of the present invention, it may further include an upper limit position switch and a lower limit position switch fixedly attached to the displacement bracket respectively.

[0022] According to another aspect of the present invention, a base for a magnetic levitation device including the linear motion mechanism and a magnetic assembly located on the displacement bracket of the linear motion mechanism is provided. Further, the base may further include a drive unit for controllably driving the linear motion mechanism. Further, the base may include a controller and other related electromagnetic elements, etc., for real-time control so that the floating body is located at the equilibrium floating position with respect to the base. Also, the base may further include an upper limit position switch and a lower limit position switch. The controller may control the upper limit position and the lower limit position of the linear motion mechanism by the upper limit position switch and the lower limit position switch respectively.

[0023] The controller according to the present invention is fixedly attached to the base or fixedly attached to the displacement bracket.

[0024] According to still another aspect of the present invention, a magnetic levitation device including the base and a floating body having a magnetic assembly is provided, and a positioning mechanism for initially positioning the floating body is provided on the outer surface (for example, the upper surface) of the base.

[0025] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, between different embodiments of the present invention, features or combinations of features of each other can be introduced, unless it is clearly not applicable.

Advantages of the Invention

[0026] According to the magnetic levitation device of the present invention, since a linear motion mechanism with a simple structure and a reasonable spatial arrangement is used as the base, the entire base is more compact and has reliable performance.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0027]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0028] Hereinafter, the present invention will be further described with reference to embodiments and drawings. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the embodiments and drawings are merely for making the present invention easier to understand and are not used for any limitation.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, the magnetic levitation device according to the present invention generally includes a floating body 6 and a base 1. The floating body 6 is first located on the upper surface of the base 1, for example, in its positioning groove, and is levitated or floated thereon. The floating body 6 has a magnet assembly 60 including a columnar permanent magnet 61 and bias magnets 62 symmetrically provided on both sides thereof via a fixing plate 63. The bias magnet 62 is for configuring the magnet assembly 60 of the floating body 6 such that rotation is restricted or not freely rotatable with respect to the magnet assembly of the base 1 during stable levitation, and can be applied in specific cases where it is necessary to restrict the free rotation of the floating body 6. As an alternative embodiment, the bias magnet 62 may be symmetrically provided on the upper surface of the magnet assembly 40 of the base 1 described later, for example, its annular magnet.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the base 1 shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the base 1 includes a bottom plate 10, a vertical screw stud 20 fixed to the bottom plate 10, a pallet or displacement bracket 30 screwed to the screw stud 20, and a magnet assembly 40 fixed to the displacement bracket 30. The magnet assembly 40 includes an annular magnet or magnets arranged in an annular shape. An electromagnetic (control) element such as an electromagnetic coil 41 or a Hall sensor is fixed to the displacement bracket 30 and is provided with a gap from each other in the hollow portion of the ring magnet.

[0031] The screw stud 20 shown in Fig. 2 is a single one having a screw in its length direction or longitudinal direction. Its lower end is attached to the bottom plate 10 (stationary member) of the base 1, its upper end penetrates through the center of the hollow (gap) portion of the annular magnet, and its middle portion penetrates through and engages with the screw portion or screw section 31 of the displacement bracket 30. The screw section 31 of the displacement bracket 30 shown in Fig. 2 is provided by a separate hollow screw member or nut fixedly fixed to the displacement bracket 30, but it may also be integrally formed with the displacement bracket 30. A fixing seat 16 is attached to the lower end portion of the screw stud 20, and both are rotatably fixed to the bottom plate 10 by a fastener 17. The motor 12 having the horizontal output shaft 13 is fixedly attached to the bottom plate 10. A worm 14 is attached to the output shaft 13 of the motor 12. The worm 14 cooperates with the worm wheel 15, and the worm wheel 15 is fixedly attached to the fixing seat 16. Thus, the worm 14 rotates by the rotating shaft 13 of the motor 12, the worm wheel 15 rotates by the worm 14, the screw stud 20 rotates by the worm wheel 15, and finally, due to the screwing cooperation between the screw stud 20 and the screw section 31 of the displacement bracket 30, the up and down movement of the displacement bracket 30 along the screw stud 20 is achieved.

[0032] Fig. 2 further shows four guide rods 11 extending parallel to and uniformly distributed around the screw stud 20 to assist in guiding the displacement bracket 30 to move up and down along the screw stud 20. The lower end of each guide rod 11 is similarly attached to the bottom plate 10 of the base 1 respectively, the upper end of each penetrates through the hollow gap portion of the annular magnet respectively, and the middle portion of each penetrates through the displacement bracket 30 and slides. The guide rods 11 have the dual functions of guiding and preventing the "continuous rotation" of the displacement bracket 30.

[0033] The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, in which the screw stud 20 is fixedly attached to the bottom plate 10, and the outer periphery of the nut-shaped screw section 31 attached to the displacement bracket 30 via a bearing (not shown) is fixed to the bevel gear 19, and the bevel gear 19 meshes with the pinion gear 18 fixedly attached to the worm wheel 15 vertically. The engagement relationships of the motor 12, the worm 14, the worm wheel 15, etc. remain unchanged, but all are attached to the displacement bracket 30. In this embodiment, the screw stud 20 does not rotate, and the upward or downward movement of the displacement bracket 30 and the magnet assembly 40, etc. is realized by the vertical rotation of the bevel gear 19 or the screw section 31 relative to the screw stud 20.

[0034] As one improvement of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the guide rod 11 is removed, and at the same time, the bearing is removed to fix the screw section 31 to the displacement bracket 30 non-rotatably. In this way, since the screw stud 20 does not rotate, the displacement bracket 30 and the magnet assembly 40, etc. rotate and move upward or downward by the rotation of the bevel gear 19 and the screw section 31 relative to the screw stud 20. Thereby, the floating body 6 automatically enters a rotating state at the moment of detaching from the base 1 (it can be made into a convenient rotating state for viewing, etc. without manually moving the floating body 6). In this case, also, by interposing a brush mechanism between the displacement bracket 30 and the screw stud 20, the problem of "entanglement" (caused by the relative rotation between the electric wire supplying power to the motor 12, electromagnetic elements, etc. on the displacement bracket 30 and the external fixed power source) can be avoided.

[0035] The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is another variation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. The single screw stud 20 disposed at the center shown in FIG. 2 is replaced by two symmetrically distributed screw studs 201 shown in FIG. 4, and the corresponding guide rod 11 shown in FIG. 2 is replaced. Also, in this embodiment, the worm wheel 15 and the pinion gear 191 are fixedly attached vertically, and the pinion gear 191 and the intermediate gear 190 are meshed. The reduction gear 193 is fixedly attached vertically to the intermediate gear 190 and meshes with the spur gears 192 on both sides respectively. In this embodiment, since there is no screw stud provided at the center penetrating the hollow portion of the annular magnet, there is no interference with a conventional hall sensor or the like integrally disposed at the center position of the annular magnet. Also, by using two screw studs 201, the up-and-down movement of the displacement bracket 30 can be made smoother.

[0036] The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is a variation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4. It is different in that the drive mechanism is moved from the base plate 10 to the displacement bracket 30 as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and it has the advantage that the up-and-down movement is similarly smooth.

[0037] Of course, although not shown, a controller and upper and lower limit switches can also be included in the base 1 to control the upper limit position and the lower limit position of the linear motion mechanism.

[0038] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the terms of each direction including the above "up", "down", etc. are only for explaining the present invention with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, and do not limit the present invention. In fact, regarding the structure of such a magnetic levitation device, for example, referring to the specification of the applicant's Chinese Patent No. 1819436, the floating body not only stably floats vertically above the base, but also in a relatively inclined state, for example, when the angle formed by the center line of the columnar magnet of the floating body and the annular magnet of the base and the horizontal plane is within the range of 0 to 90 degrees, stable floating is achieved. This is because the influence of the gravity of the floating body is completely offset by the real-time equilibrium magnetic field formed by the magnetic levitation device.

[0039] (Supplementary Note) (Supplementary Note 1) A linear motion mechanism for a magnetic levitation device, The magnetic levitation device has a base and a levitating body. The base includes a first magnetic assembly, and the levitating body includes a second magnetic assembly. The first magnetic assembly and the second magnetic assembly are provided so as to be able to provide a magnetic balance force necessary for the levitating body to stably levitate with respect to the base. The linear motion mechanism provided on the base is, A screw stud fixedly attached to the base and having a screw on at least a part along its length direction, A displacement bracket for supporting the first magnetic assembly of the base, the displacement bracket including a screw portion provided to fit the screw of the screw stud and displacing corresponding to the length direction of the screw stud when the screw portion of the displacement bracket rotates relative to the screw stud. Linear motion mechanism.

[0040] (Supplementary Note 2) The first magnetic assembly includes an annular magnet fixed to the displacement bracket, and the screw stud penetrates the hollow portion of the annular magnet. The linear motion mechanism according to Supplementary Note 1.

[0041] (Supplementary Note 3) The linear motion mechanism according to Supplementary Note 2, further including at least one guide rod fixedly attached to the base and provided in parallel with the screw stud.

[0042] (Supplementary Note 4) The linear motion mechanism according to Supplementary Note 1, further including a drive unit for providing a driving force necessary for relative rotation of the screw stud with respect to the screw portion of the displacement bracket.

[0043] (Supplementary Note 5) The screw stud is rotatably attached to the base about its longitudinal axis of rotation, and the threaded portion of the displacement bracket is provided by being integrally formed with the displacement bracket or by a separate threaded member fixedly attached to the displacement bracket. The drive unit is fixedly attached to the base and is a linear motion mechanism described in Supplementary Note 4 that drives the rotation of the screw stud with respect to the base.

[0044] (Supplementary Note 6) The screw stud is a single screw stud that penetrates the center of the hollow portion of the annular magnet of the first magnetic assembly, and is a linear motion mechanism described in Supplementary Note 5.

[0045] (Supplementary Note 7) The screw stud is at least two parallel screw studs that penetrate the hollow portion of the annular magnet of the first magnetic assembly, and is a linear motion mechanism described in Supplementary Note 5.

[0046] (Supplementary Note 8) The threaded portion of the displacement bracket is provided by a separate threaded member. The threaded member is rotatably and non-displaceably attached to the displacement bracket. The screw stud is non-rotatably attached to the base, and the drive unit is fixedly attached to the displacement bracket to drive the rotation of the threaded member with respect to the screw stud, and is a linear motion mechanism described in Supplementary Note 4.

[0047] (Supplementary Note 9) The linear motion mechanism described in Supplementary Note 8 further includes at least one guide rod fixedly attached to the base and provided in parallel with the screw stud.

[0048] (Supplementary Note 10) The screw stud is at least two parallel screw studs that penetrate the hollow portion of the annular magnet of the first magnetic assembly, and at least two corresponding threaded portions are also provided on the displacement bracket, and is a linear motion mechanism described in Supplementary Note 8.

[0049] (Supplementary Note 11) The threaded portion of the displacement bracket is provided either integrally formed with the displacement bracket or by a separate threaded member fixedly attached to the displacement bracket in a non-rotatable manner. The threaded stud is a single threaded stud fixedly attached to the base in a non-rotatable manner. The drive unit is fixedly attached to the displacement bracket and drives the rotation of the threaded portion of the displacement bracket with respect to the threaded stud, which is a linear motion mechanism described in Supplementary Note 4.

[0050] (Supplementary Note 12) A linear motion mechanism described in Supplementary Note 3 or 9, in which the guide rod also penetrates the hollow portion of the annular magnet.

[0051] (Supplementary Note 13) A base for a magnetic levitation device, including the linear motion mechanism described in any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 12 and a magnetic assembly located on the displacement bracket of the linear motion mechanism. Base.

[0052] (Supplementary Note 14) The base described in Supplementary Note 13, further including a drive unit for controllably driving the linear motion mechanism.

[0053] (Supplementary Note 15) A magnetic levitation device including the base described in Supplementary Note 13 and a levitating body having a magnetic assembly, wherein a positioning mechanism for initially positioning the levitating body is provided on the outer surface of the base. Magnetic levitation device.

Claims

1. The magnetic levitation device has a base and a levitating body. The base includes a first magnetic assembly, and the levitating body includes a second magnetic assembly. The first magnetic assembly and the second magnetic assembly are provided so as to be able to provide the magnetic balance force necessary for the levitating body to stably levitate with respect to the base. The linear motion mechanism provided on the base is A screw stud fixedly attached to the base and having a screw on at least a part along its length direction, and at least two screw studs parallel to each other penetrating through the hollow portion of the annular magnet of the first magnetic assembly. A displacement bracket for supporting the first magnetic assembly of the base, the displacement bracket in which a screw portion provided to fit the screw of the screw stud is displaced corresponding to the length direction of the screw stud when rotating relative to the screw stud. Fixedly attached to the base, penetrating through the hollow portion of the annular magnet of the first magnetic assembly, including guide rods provided parallel to the screw studs respectively and having the same number as the screw studs. The at least two screw studs and guide rods are respectively arranged along the circumferential direction of the first magnetic assembly, and the magnetic levitation device.

2. The magnetic levitation device according to claim 1, further including a driving unit for providing a driving force necessary for relative rotation of the screw stud with respect to the screw portion of the displacement bracket.

3. The screw stud is rotatably attached to the base about its longitudinal rotation axis. The screw portion of the displacement bracket is formed integrally with the displacement bracket or provided by a separate screw member fixedly non-rotatably attached to the displacement bracket. The driving unit is fixedly attached to the base and drives the rotation of the screw stud with respect to the base. The magnetic levitation device according to claim 2.

4. The threaded portion of the displacement bracket is provided by a separate threaded member, the threaded member is rotatably and non-displaceably attached to the displacement bracket, the threaded stud is non-rotatably attached to the base, and the drive unit is fixedly attached to the displacement bracket to drive the rotation of the threaded member relative to the threaded stud. The magnetic levitation device according to claim 2.

5. The magnetic levitation device according to claim 4, wherein at least two corresponding threaded portions are also provided on the displacement bracket.

6. A positioning mechanism for initially positioning the floating body is provided on the outer surface of the base. The magnetic levitation device according to claim 1.

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