JP2000209840A - Linear motor apparatus provided with cooling function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the cooling efficiency of a linear motor apparatus. SOLUTION: A plurality of linear motors #1, #2 are arranged adjacent to each other. Each of the linear motor consists of a yoke 11, magnets 2 and a movable segment 3. A cooling air path 12 is formed in the yoke 11. The magnets 2 are fixed to the yoke 11 at specified intervals. Diffusers 13 are installed between the magnets. Cooling air supplied through the cooling air path 12 is jetted from the diffusers 13 and directly cools a coil formed on the movable segment 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a linear motor device in which a plurality of linear motors are provided adjacent to each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A linear motor is a device for generating a linear motion from electric energy, is used in a system for running a vehicle or the like, and has recently been proposed to be applied to various fields. For example, a system for reciprocating a heald frame of a loom using a linear motor has been proposed.

A loom generally includes a plurality of heald frames provided in parallel and close to each other, and weaves the fabric while moving the heald frames up and down according to a predetermined pattern. That is, a loom requires a mechanism for vertically moving a plurality of heald frames provided in parallel and close to each other, and a system using a linear motor as a power source has been proposed. In this case, a linear motor is provided for each heald frame. Therefore, each linear motor is necessarily provided close to each other.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional linear motor device in which a plurality of linear motors are provided close to each other. FIG. 7 is a front view of a part of the linear motor device shown in FIG. In these drawings, a linear motor device provided with two linear motors is illustrated.

Each linear motor comprises a yoke 1, a magnet 2, and a mover 3. The yoke 1 is a component of the linear motor device and functions as a part of a magnetic circuit. Each yoke 1 is provided with a plurality of magnets 2. The mover 3 is provided with a coil so as to face the magnet 2 attached to the corresponding yoke 1, and moves in the left-right direction in the figure according to the current flowing through the coil. Each linear motor is attached to the fixed plate 4 as shown in FIG.

Since current flows through the coils of the mover 3, each coil generates heat. Also, since the yoke 1 forms a part of a magnetic circuit, heat is generated by eddy current, hysteresis loss, and the like. In particular, when the load to be driven by this linear motor device is heavy, or when the mover 3 is moved at a high speed, a large current needs to flow through the coils. The temperature rises to a very high temperature. This rise in temperature may cause damage to the coil and the like.

In order to avoid this problem, as shown in FIG. 6, a configuration is conceivable in which a plurality of air inlets 5 are provided in the fixed plate 4 and cooling air flows in therefrom.

[0008]

However, when a plurality of linear motors are close to each other, the gap between the magnet 2 and the mover 3 and the yoke 1 of the mover 3 and the adjacent linear motor 1 The gap between is small. For this reason, in the above configuration, the coil provided at a position near the air inlet 5 is cooled, but at a position far from the air inlet 5 (in FIG. 6, near the center of the linear motor device).
The cooling air does not reach, or the air stays, and the coil is not sufficiently cooled. That is, when a plurality of linear motors are close to each other, all the coils cannot be sufficiently cooled even if the air injection port 5 is provided.

Therefore, in order to avoid damage to the coil and the like, it is necessary to limit the current flowing through the coil to a predetermined value or less. It needed to be large.

An object of the present invention is to improve the cooling efficiency of a linear motor device. Another object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the linear motor device.

[0011]

The linear motor device of the present invention is based on the premise that a plurality of linear motors are provided adjacent to each other, and each linear motor is provided with a yoke and a plurality of linear motors attached to the yoke. It has a magnet and a mover including a coil formed to face the plurality of magnets and to allow a current to flow. An air path for passing cooling air is formed inside the yoke, and an outlet of the air path is directed to the coil.

According to the above configuration, if cooling air is sent through the air path, the cooling air is blown directly to each coil. Therefore, the cooling efficiency is high and the temperature rise of the coil is suppressed. Further, since the air path is formed inside the yoke, the cooling mechanism can be easily realized even when the linear motors are close to each other.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a linear motor device according to the present embodiment in which a plurality of linear motors are provided close to each other. FIG. 2 is a front view of a part of the linear motor device shown in FIG. Among the reference numerals in these drawings, the reference numerals used in FIG. 6 or FIG. 7 indicate the same components. That is, the plurality of magnets 2 and the mover 3 attached to the yoke are basically the same as existing ones.

The yoke 11 is provided with a cooling air path 12 through which cooling air passes. The cooling air path 12 is realized by, for example, forming a hollow region having a diameter of about several millimeters in the yoke 11. Yoke 11
, A plurality of magnets 2 are attached at a predetermined interval from each other.

The air outlet 13 is formed between the magnets 2, and the cooling air sent through the cooling air path 12 is blown out therefrom. The outlet 13 is formed such that the blown cooling air directly hits the coil of the mover 3. For this reason, the cooling air is uniformly and directly supplied to all the coils. Therefore, each coil is efficiently cooled. The mover 3 moves in the left-right direction according to the current flowing through the coils, and this also contributes to uniformly and directly supplying the cooling air to each coil. Further, since the cooling air passes through the inside of the yoke 11, the yoke 11 itself, which generates heat by eddy current or the like, is also cooled by the cooling air.

The outlet 13 provided in the yoke 11 of each linear motor is directed not only to the coil of the mover of the linear motor but also to the coil of the mover of the adjacent linear motor. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the cooling air injected through the cooling air path 12 formed in the yoke 11 of the linear motor # 2 is directed toward the coil of the mover of the linear motor # 2. At the same time as the air is blown, the air is also blown toward the coil of the mover of the linear motor # 1. With this configuration, the cooling air is supplied to each of the coils from a plurality of directions, which also improves the cooling efficiency.

Further, the apparatus according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a passage for passing cooling air (that is, a cooling air passage 12) is formed inside the yoke 11, so that a space between the mover and the magnet and each other can be provided. Since there is no need for piping or tubes for supplying cooling air between the mover and the yoke of the adjacent linear motor, the external dimensions of each linear motor do not increase. Therefore, the above configuration is particularly useful when a plurality of linear motors are close to each other.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the cooling method according to the present embodiment. The cooling air path 12 is actually formed inside the yoke 11 as described above. A plurality of outlets are provided for each cooling air path 12. Therefore, the cooling air supplied from a pump (not shown) or the like is directly and uniformly supplied to all the coils 4 via the respective cooling paths 12.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a more specific embodiment of the present invention. Here, each linear motor moves up and down.

A plurality of magnets 2 are provided on one surface of the yoke 11.
Are attached at a predetermined interval from each other in the movable direction of the mover 3. Further, the yoke 11 is provided with a plurality of cooling air paths 12 in a direction parallel to the movable direction of the mover 3. Then, an unillustrated pump and an inlet of each cooling air path 12 are connected by an air supply tube. In addition, the injection port of each cooling air path 12
Although not particularly shown, for example, it is formed at the upper end of the yoke 11. Further, an outlet 13 is provided between the magnets 2 of the yoke 11 for blowing the cooling air supplied through the respective cooling air paths 12 to the coil of the mover 3.

The mover 3 includes a coil 4 for passing a current. The coil 4 is formed so that at least a part thereof faces the magnet 2. Therefore, the cooling air blown out from the many outlets 13 directly hits the coil 4. Further, when the mover 3 moves in the vertical direction, the cooling air blown out from the blowout port 13 cools all the coils 4 uniformly.

As described above, in the linear motor device according to the present embodiment, since the cooling air is directly blown to each coil which is the largest heat source of the linear motor, the cooling efficiency is high. Therefore, in the configuration of the present embodiment, as compared with the conventional configuration, if the magnitude of the current flowing through the coil is the same, the temperature rise of the coil can be suppressed. In other words, in the configuration of the present embodiment, since the cooling efficiency is high, a larger current can flow in the usable temperature range of the coil. Therefore, the thrust of the linear motor can be increased. Alternatively, the same thrust can be obtained with a smaller configuration than the conventional device.

In the above embodiment, a plurality of magnets are provided at a predetermined interval from each other, and the outlet is formed in a gap between the magnets. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. Absent. For example, in a configuration in which a plurality of magnets are continuously attached to a yoke, some of the plurality of magnets may be thinned out, and an outlet may be formed at a place where the magnets are thinned out. .

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the cooling air path is provided in the yoke in the configuration in which the coil is movable has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration.
That is, as shown in FIG. 5, a configuration in which a cooling air path is provided in the mover may be employed. In this case, the cooling air flows along the coil and removes heat from the coil without staying as in the conventional configuration, so that the cooling efficiency is improved. Further, although not particularly shown, the present invention is also applicable to a magnet movable type (a configuration in which a coil is fixed and a magnet is movable).

[0026]

According to the present invention, the cooling efficiency of a linear motor device in which a plurality of linear motors are provided adjacent to each other is improved, so that a larger current can flow than in the conventional configuration. As a result, a large thrust can be obtained without increasing the scale of the device. Or,
The same thrust can be obtained with a device smaller than the conventional configuration, which contributes to downsizing of the device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a linear motor device according to an embodiment in which a plurality of linear motors are provided close to each other.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a part of the linear motor device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a cooling method according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a more specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a linear motor device in which a cooling air path is formed in a mover.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional linear motor device in which a plurality of linear motors are provided close to each other.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a part of the linear motor device shown in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 magnet 3 mover 4 coil 11 yoke 12 cooling air path 13 outlet

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tatsuo Ogawa 2-1-1 Toyota-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi F-term in Toyota Industries Corporation (reference) 5H609 BB08 BB12 PP02 PP07 PP09 QQ02 QQ16 RR01 5H641 BB18 GG03 GG05 HH02 HH06 JB04 JB09

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A linear motor device in which a plurality of linear motors are provided adjacent to each other, wherein each linear motor faces a yoke, a plurality of magnets attached to the yoke, and the plurality of magnets. And a mover including a coil for passing a current formed as described above. An air path for passing cooling air is formed inside the yoke, and an outlet of the air path is directed toward the coil. Linear motor device. 2. The linear motor device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of magnets are provided at a predetermined interval from each other, and an outlet of the air path is provided between the plurality of magnets. . 3. The linear motor according to claim 1, wherein an outlet of an air path provided in a yoke of each linear motor is directed to a coil of a mover of the linear motor and a coil of a mover of an adjacent linear motor. Linear motor device. 4. A linear motor device in which a plurality of linear motors are provided adjacent to each other, wherein each linear motor forms a yoke, a plurality of magnets attached to the yoke, and a part of a mover. A substrate, and a coil formed on the substrate so as to face the plurality of magnets for flowing a current, and a linear path in which an air path for passing cooling air is formed inside the substrate. Motor device.