Monorail suspension system
The monorail system with dual mobile units and control systems allows for efficient and cost-effective production of different vehicles by maintaining spacing and adjusting angular positions, addressing the challenge of producing varied models on a single track.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SEW EURODRIVE GMBH & CO KG
- Filing Date
- 2025-10-16
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-21
AI Technical Summary
Existing monorail systems lack cost-effective and efficient methods for producing different vehicle models using the same track, as they often require complex and costly modifications to accommodate varying vehicle designs.
A monorail system with two mobile units, each with distinct capabilities, maintains a minimum distance and uses distance sensors and control units to manage traction, allowing for the production of different vehicles by tilting the first mobile unit while the second maintains a fixed orientation, facilitated by electric motors and control units to adjust angular positions and maintain spacing.
Enables the production of multiple vehicle models on the same track by ensuring easy access to difficult areas and optimizing machining, reducing production complexity and costs.
Smart Images
Figure EP2025079933_21052026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] monorail system
[0002] Description:
[0003] The invention relates to a monorail suspended railway system.
[0004] It is generally known that rail-guided mobile devices can be moved along a rail.
[0005] From DE 102020003147 A1, a rail system with a rail and mobile parts movable along the rail is known as the closest prior art.
[0006] From DE 102019006826 A1 a system with a first handset and with a further handset is known.
[0007] The invention is therefore based on the objective of enabling cost-effective and easily manufactured vehicle production.
[0008] According to the invention, the problem is solved in the monorail system according to the features specified in claim 1.
[0009] Important features of the invention in the monorail system are that it has a rail, a first mobile unit movable along the rail and a second mobile unit movable along the rail, wherein the first mobile unit is spaced apart from the second mobile unit along the rail, in particular and maintains a minimum distance.
[0010] A key advantage is that two completely different mobile units can be used on the same track. This allows for the production of different vehicles, as the body of the first mobile unit can be tilted, while the second cannot. Since both mobile units use the same track, the different vehicles can be manufactured sequentially, maintaining a minimum distance along the track. For this purpose, each mobile unit is equipped with distance sensors and a control unit that receives the respective sensor signal and controls the traction motor of that unit accordingly.
[0011] ISI \ EIDOPAT 16.10.2025 In an advantageous embodiment, the first mobile unit has a first receiving part on which a first body is received.
[0012] and
[0013] The second handset has a second mounting part to which a second body is attached.
[0014] In particular, the second body shell is designed differently from the first body shell and / or is intended for the production of a vehicle that differs from the vehicle produced from the first body shell. An advantage of this design is that each of the mobile units has a receiving part. The second mobile unit is equipped with a receiving part that is rigidly attached to it, thus only allowing the body shell to be held – but not rotational movement relative to the second mobile unit and / or the second receiving part. However, the first receiving part of the first mobile unit allows the held body shell to be pivoted around at least one axis. In a further development, an additional pivoting around a second axis is even possible, thus facilitating the easy access to otherwise difficult-to-reach areas of the body shell. This also makes it easy to attach correspondingly large parts.
[0015] In an advantageous embodiment, the first handset has a first electric motor designed as a traction motor, which drives a wheel, in particular a drive wheel, of the first handset that rolls on the rail. It is advantageous that the first handset can be controlled by the control unit, in particular the control unit, of the first handset in such a way that the minimum distance to the nearest adjacent handset can be maintained.
[0016] In an advantageous embodiment, the second handset has a first electric motor designed as a traction motor, which drives a wheel, in particular a drive wheel, of the second handset that rolls on the rail. It is advantageous that the traction motor can be controlled by the control system, in particular the control unit, of the second handset in such a way that the minimum distance to the nearest adjacent handset can be maintained.
[0017] In an advantageous embodiment, the first handset has a first control unit, and the second handset has a second control unit. It is advantageous that each control unit controls the traction motor of its respective handset in such a way that the minimum distance to the nearest adjacent handset is maintained. Furthermore, the required tilt angle of the first receiving part at the respective workstation can be adjusted by the control unit of the first handset by controlling the other electric motors. For this purpose, this control unit also includes a position sensing device and compares the position of the first handset determined by this device with the positions of the processing stations stored in the control unit. Depending on the result of this comparison, the tilt angle is controlled by the control unit.
[0018] In an advantageous embodiment, the first mobile unit has further electric motors with which the angular position of the first receiving part and thus also the angular position of the body held by the first receiving part can be adjusted.
[0019] In particular, the additional electric motors each drive a gearbox whose output shaft is rotationally fixed to a toothed section which engages with a toothed section of the first receiving section, such that rotation of the toothed section causes a rotation of the first receiving section. An advantage of this is that the body can be tilted, thus making otherwise difficult-to-access areas, such as the underside of the body, easily accessible. This facilitates processing at the machining stations.
[0020] In an advantageous embodiment, the first mobile unit has a second and a third electric motor with which the angular position of the first receiving part and thus also the angular position of the body body received by the first receiving part can be adjusted.
[0021] wherein the second electric motor adjusts the angular position of the first receiving part around a first axis of rotation which is aligned parallel to the rail direction,
[0022] The third electric motor adjusts the angular position of the first receiving part around a rotational axis that is aligned parallel to the second rotational axis of the wheel, in particular the drive wheel. The advantage of this is that the area to be machined assumes such a spatial orientation that the machining and the attachment of components to be mounted are optimized, thus enabling particularly simple machining.
[0023] In a preferred embodiment, the first axis of rotation is aligned perpendicular to the second axis of rotation. The advantage here is that the body can be positioned in any desired spatial orientation.
[0024] In an advantageous embodiment, the body shell received by the first receiving element is received and / or held at at least three points, wherein the distance between these at least three points is more than half the width of the body shell measured transversely, in particular perpendicularly, to the rail direction, or more than half the width of the body shell measured in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel. It is advantageous that the body shell can be received stably, especially for the respective spatial tilt position.
[0025] In an advantageous design,
[0026] Processing stations, spaced apart from one another, are arranged along the rail, particularly for carrying out different work steps on the car body. An advantage of this is that the car bodies can be positioned at different angles of inclination from the first mobile unit at the various workstations.
[0027] Further advantages arise from the dependent claims. The invention is not limited to the combination of features in the claims. For those skilled in the art, further meaningful combinations of claims and / or individual claim features and / or features of the description and / or the figures will become apparent, particularly from the problem statement and / or the problem arising from a comparison with the prior art. The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to schematic illustrations.
[0028] Figure 1 shows a schematic front view of a first handset 1 of a rail system according to the invention.
[0029] Figure 2 shows a schematic front view of a second handset 20 of the rail system according to the invention.
[0030] As shown in the figures, the rail system, in particular a monorail system, has a rail along which the first mobile unit 1 and the second mobile unit 20 move, wherein the two mobile units (1, 20), in particular monorail vehicles, are spaced apart from each other in the direction of the rail.
[0031] The first mobile unit 1 holds a car body 4, which is transported parallel to the rail direction by the first mobile unit 1 to successively reach different processing stations arranged along the rail 7. At each processing station, a specific processing step is carried out, which is necessary to manufacture a vehicle from the car body 4.
[0032] The first handset 1 has a traction motor 2, in particular a first electric motor, which drives a drive wheel 3 that rolls on the rail 7.
[0033] Furthermore, the first mobile unit 1 has additional electric motors 6 with which a first receiving part 5, by means of which the body 4 is received, can be rotated, in particular wherein the axis of rotation is aligned parallel to the rail direction.
[0034] In this way, the body 4 can be positioned at different angular positions at the different processing stations, thus enabling simpler processing during the manufacture of the vehicle.
[0035] The two additional electric motors 6 both drive the first holding part 5, so that if one of the two additional electric motors fails, the other additional electric motor 6 can perform the rotational movement. In contrast to the first handheld unit 1, the second handheld unit 20 does not have any additional electric motors 6. Instead of the first holding part 5, the second handheld unit 20 has a second holding part 21, which does hold a car body but is not rotatable. Thus, the car body held by the second holding part 21 is not rotatable, but is aligned at the same angular position in all processing stations.
[0036] Therefore, it is advantageous to produce a different vehicle model with the first handset 1 than with the second handset 20. Depending on the desired vehicle model, a corresponding processing procedure is carried out.
[0037] Due to the different construction methods, the geometric parameters, especially height and width, must be adjusted and / or taken into account at each workstation. In particular, the tilt angle of the first handset (1) must also be considered. Both handsets (1, 20) each have a control unit that takes this and the local specifics into account. An additional safety control unit must also be adjusted accordingly.
[0038] The first handset 1 and the second handset 20 travel along the rail 7 one after the other. A distance sensor, in particular an ultrasonic sensor, is preferably provided for this purpose.
[0039] In further embodiments according to the invention, the first mobile unit has a second and a third electric motor with which the angular position of the first receiving part and thus also the angular position of the body body received by the first receiving part can be adjusted.
[0040] wherein the second electric motor adjusts the angular position of the first receiving part around a first axis of rotation which is aligned parallel to the rail direction,
[0041] wherein the third electric motor adjusts the angular position of the first receiving part around an axis of rotation which is aligned parallel to the second axis of rotation of the wheel, in particular the drive wheel.
[0042] In particular, the first axis of rotation is aligned perpendicular to the second axis of rotation, and the body body picked up by the first receiving part is picked up and / or held at at least three points, the distance between which is more than half the width of the body body measured transversely, in particular perpendicularly, to the rail direction, or more than half the width of the body body measured in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel.
[0043] In further embodiments of the invention, the first receiving part is made in two parts, thus allowing the further electric motors 6 to be operated independently of one another. Reference numeral list
[0044] 1 First mobile unit, in particular monorail vehicle 2 Traction motor, in particular first electric motor
[0045] 3 drive wheel
[0046] 4 Bodywork
[0047] 5 first recording part
[0048] 6 additional electric motors
[0049] 7 rail
[0050] 20 second handset, in particular monorail vehicle 21 second receiver
Claims
Patent claims:
1. Monorail system, comprising a rail, a first handset movable along the rail, in particular a rail-guided handset, and a second handset movable along the rail, in particular a rail-guided handset, characterized by the fact that the first handset is spaced apart from the second handset along the rail, in particular and maintains a minimum distance.
2. Monorail system according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the first handset has a first receiving part on which a first body is received and the second handset has a second mounting part on which a second body is mounted, in particular wherein the second body is designed differently from the first body and / or is intended for the manufacture of a vehicle which is different from the vehicle which is manufactured from the first body.
3. Monorail suspended railway system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the first mobile unit has a first electric motor designed as a traction motor, which drives a wheel, in particular a drive wheel, of the first mobile unit, which rolls on the rail, and / or that the second mobile unit has a first electric motor designed as a traction motor, which drives a wheel, in particular a drive wheel, of the second mobile unit, which rolls on the rail.
4. Monorail suspended railway system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the first handset has a first control unit the second handset has a second control unit.
5. Monorail suspended railway system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first mobile unit has additional electric motors with which the angular position of the first receiving part and thus also the angular position of the body body received by the first receiving part can be adjusted, in particular wherein the further electric motors each drive a gearbox whose output shaft is non-rotatably connected to a toothed part which engages with a toothing of the first receiving part, in particular such that rotational movement of the toothed part causes a rotational movement of the first receiving part.
6. Monorail suspended railway system according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by the fact that the first handset has a second and a third electric motor, with which the angular position of the first receiving part and thus also the angular position of the body body received by the first receiving part can be adjusted, wherein the second electric motor adjusts the angular position of the first receiving part around a first axis of rotation which is aligned parallel to the rail direction, wherein the third electric motor adjusts the angular position of the first receiving part around an axis of rotation which is aligned parallel to the second axis of rotation of the wheel, in particular the drive wheel.
7. Monorail system according to claim 6, characterized by the fact that the first axis of rotation is aligned perpendicularly to the second axis of rotation.
8. Monorail system according to claim 6 or 7, characterized by the fact that the body body picked up by the first receiving part is picked up and / or held at at least three points, and the distance between the at least three points is more than half the width of the body body measured transversely, in particular perpendicularly, to the rail direction or more than half the width of the body body measured in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel.
9. Monorail suspended railway system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that Processing stations, in particular for carrying out different work steps on the car body, are arranged at intervals along the rail.