Planar Motor Movement Roads for Collision Zone Replanning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Planar motors face challenges in preventing collisions between transport units moving along intersecting or closely spaced paths in a movement plane, which requires complex collision detection and avoidance mechanisms, limiting throughput and transport performance.
Innovation Solution
The method involves expanding movement paths two-dimensionally by specifying a width at sections to form movement roads, identifying conflict zones where collisions may occur, and replanning paths to avoid collisions, using both automated and manual rules to adjust path geometries and widths within conflict zones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex collision detection and avoidance mechanisms are implemented to prevent collisions between transport units, then collision safety is improved, but throughput and transport performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining movement roads with specific widths and pre-identifying conflict zones where transport paths intersect or come close. This preliminary structuring of the movement plane allows the system to establish safe zones in advance, eliminating the need for complex real-time collision detection and avoidance mechanisms during operation, thereby maintaining high throughput while ensuring collision safety.
2Reliability
If transport paths are planned to avoid intersections and close approaches, then collision risk is reduced, but path planning complexity and system design difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the movement plane into distinct movement roads with defined widths and identifies specific conflict zones where roads intersect or approach closely. By dividing the continuous movement space into discrete segments with clear boundaries, the system simplifies path planning while effectively reducing collision risk, as transport units can be routed along predefined roads that avoid overlapping conflict zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a width dimension to movement paths, transforming one-dimensional trajectories into two-dimensional movement roads. This dimensional expansion allows the system to define safe zones and conflict areas more effectively, enabling simpler path planning rules that account for the physical dimensions of transport units while reducing collision risk.
3Measurement precision
If movement paths are extended two-dimensionally to form movement roads with specified widths, then collision detection accuracy is improved, but computational requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-calculating and storing the geometry of movement roads including their widths, and pre-identifying conflict zones where these roads intersect or come close. This preliminary computation is performed offline or during system setup, so that during actual operation, the system only needs to check whether transport units are within pre-defined conflict zones, dramatically reducing real-time processing time while maintaining high collision detection accuracy.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the risk of collisions by identifying and managing conflict zones, allowing for efficient collision detection and avoidance, thereby enhancing the throughput and performance of the transport system.
Implementation Method 1
By energizing drive coils in the area of the drive magnets of the transport unit, for example by applying electrical voltages to the active drive coils, an electromagnetic field can be generated that interacts with the magnetic field of the drive magnets to generate a propulsive force
Implementation Method 2
The interaction of the (electro)magnetic fields of the drive magnets and the drive coils exerts forces on the secondary part that make it possible to move the secondary part relative to the primary part
Implementation Method 3
an electromagnetic field can be generated that interacts with the magnetic field of the drive magnets to generate a propulsive force (in the direction of movement in a plane of movement along the stator) and/or a normal force (in the direction normal to the plane of movement) acting on the transport unit
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 2a~2c
AI summary
To reduce the risk of collisions between transport units (TEs) or between a transport unit (TE) and an obstacle (H) in the plane of motion (3) of a planar motor, it is provided that all motion paths (BPn) along which a plurality of transport units (TEs) move are extended at least section by section two-dimensionally to form a motion path (BSn) in the plane of motion (3), and it is checked whether the resulting motion paths (BSn) overlap, or whether one of the resulting motion paths (BSn) overlaps with itself, or whether one of the resulting motion paths (BSn) overlaps with an obstacle (H) defined with respect to position and geometry in the plane of motion (3), in order to determine a conflict zone (KZ) in an overlap area in which there is a risk of collision between transport units (TEs).where a transport unit (TE) is moving on a movement path (BSn) involved in the conflict zone (KZ) and the obstacle (H) in the movement plane (3) is located within the area of the conflict zone (KZ), and the identified conflict zone (KZ) is displayed to a user in a graphical output of a planning tool, and a movement path (BSn) is replanned by replanning a movement path (BPn) of a movement path (BSn) involved in the conflict zone (KZ) at least sectionally, preferably in the area of the conflict zone (KZ), and/or by changing a width (Bn) of a movement path (BSn) at least sectionally, preferably in the area of the conflict zone (KZ).where the replanning in the planning tool is automated based on predefined rules for replanning and also carried out manually by the user, and the user decides for the conflict zone (CC) whether the automated replanning or another method is used.