Movable power coupling and a robot with movable power coupling

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11370305-B2
Application number	US-201715844826-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2017
Priority date	Feb 6, 2015
Publication date	Jun 28, 2022
Grant date	Jun 28, 2022

Abstract

An apparatus comprises a first induction section comprising a first core and a first coil on the first core. A second induction section comprises a second core and a second coil on the second core. The first core comprises rail extensions, where at least two of the rail extensions extend from opposite ends of the first core. The second core comprises shoe portions located at respective ones of the rail extensions, where a gap is provided between each of the rail extensions and respective ones of the shoe portion. The second induction section is configured to move relative to the first induction section in a path along the extensions. The first induction section is configured to induce current in the second induction section, including when the second core moves relative to the first core along the extensions, to provide a contactless induction coupling between the first induction section and the second induction section.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a primary induction power portion comprising at least two first sections, where each of the first sections comprises a first core and at least one first winding, where each of the first cores has an elongate length and a narrower width, where each of the first windings wraps around the respective first core in a lengthwise direction parallel to a centerline along the elongate length of the respective first core, where the first sections are aligned generally end to end relative to one another along the centerlines in the lengthwise direction; and
a secondary induction power portion comprising at least one second section, where each of the at least one second section comprises a second core and at least one second winding, where the second core has an elongate length and a narrower width, where the second winding wraps around the second core in a lengthwise direction parallel to a centerline along the length of the second core, where the secondary induction power portion is located opposite the primary induction power portion, where the secondary induction power portion is configured to move along a path parallel to the primary induction power portion with the second core(s) being at least partially aligned with at least one of the first core(s) and the second winding(s) being at least partially aligned with at least one of the first winding(s) for the primary induction power portion to induce current into the second winding(s), as the first winding(s) is energized, to provide an electromagnetic power coupling from the primary induction power portion to the secondary induction power portion,
where the length of the second core is longer than the length of each of the first cores, where the secondary induction power portion is movably located relative to the primary induction power portion with a gap therebetween, where the primary induction power portion is arranged on a transport rail system, where the transport rail system forms a stationary portion of a shuttle, where the stationary portion of the shuttle is on a substrate processing chamber, where the secondary induction power portion is arranged on a movable portion of the shuttle configured to travel on the stationary portion of the shuttle, and where the apparatus further comprises a robot on the movable portion of the shuttle, and where the robot comprises at least one articulating arm and at least one end effector on the at least one articulating arm, where the at least one end effector is configured to support at least one substrate thereon and configured to move the substrate in a substrate processing chamber, and where the stationary portion of the shuttle is located under the movable portion of the shuttle, at least partially below the primary induction power portion and below the robot.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the first sections are connected in a line to establish the path above the line.

3. An apparatus as in claim 2 where the first sections are electrically connected in series.

4. An apparatus as in claim 1 where at least one of the first core and the second core comprises transverse laminations.

5. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the at least one first winding is coupled to at least one capacitor configured to compensate for self-inductances relative to mutual inductances.

6. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the robot is configured to be powered by the electromagnetic power coupling.

7. A method comprising:
providing a primary induction power portion, where the primary induction power portion comprises first sections, where each of the first sections comprise a first core and at least one first winding, where each of the first cores has an elongate length and a narrower width, where the first winding wraps around the respective first core in a lengthwise direction parallel to a centerline along the elongate length of the respective first core, where the centerlines of the first cores are aligned with the first sections generally end to end in a line; and
providing a secondary induction power portion, where the secondary induction power portion comprises at least one second section, where each of the at least one second section comprises a second core and at least one second winding, where the second core has an elongate length and a narrower width, where the second winding wraps around the second core in a lengthwise direction parallel to a centerline along the length of the second core,
locating the secondary induction power portion opposite the primary induction power portion, where as the secondary induction power portion is configured to move along a path parallel to the primary induction power portion with the second core(s) at least partially aligned with at least one of the first cores and the second winding(s) at least partially aligned with at least one of the first winding(s) for the primary induction power portion to induce current into the second winding(s), as the first winding(s) is energized, to provide an electromagnetic power coupling from the primary induction power portion to the secondary induction power portion,
where the length of the second core is longer than the length of each of the first cores, where the secondary induction power portion is movably located relative to the primary induction power portion with a gap therebetween, where the primary induction power portion is arranged on a transport rail system, where the transport rail system forms a stationary portion of a shuttle, where the secondary induction power portion is arranged on a movable portion of the shuttle configured to travel on the stationary portion of the shuttle, where the stationary portion of the shuttle is on a substrate processing chamber, and where the apparatus further comprises a robot on the movable portion of the shuttle, and where the robot comprises at least one articulating arm and at least one end effector on the at least one articulating arm, where the at least one end effector is configured to support at least one substrate thereon and configured to move the substrate in the substrate processing chamber, and where the at least one second section having the second core and the at least one second winding is stationarily connected to the movable portion of the shuttle under the robot, and where the stationary portion of the shuttle is located under the movable portion of the shuttle, at least partially below the primary induction power portion and below the robot.

8. A method as in claim 7 where the at least one first section comprises a plurality of the at least one first section which are connected in a line to establish the path above the line.

9. A method as in claim 8 where the plurality of the at least one first section are electrically connected in series.

10. A method as in claim 7 where at least one of the first core and the second core comprises transverse laminations.

11. A method as in claim 7 where the at least one first winding is coupled to at least one capacitor configured to compensate for self-inductances relative to mutual inductances.

12. A method as in claim 7 where the robot is electrically connected to the secondary induction power portion.

13. A method comprising:
energizing windings in at least two first sections forming a primary induction power portion, where the at least two first sections are connected in a line, where each of the at least two first sections comprises a first core and at least one first winding, where each of the first cores have an elongate length and a narrower width, where each of the first winding wraps around their respective first core in a lengthwise direction parallel to a ce

Assignees

• Persimmon Technologies Corp
• Persimmon Tech Corporation

Inventors

• Hosek Martin
• Sah Sripati

Classifications

• B60L9/08

  fed from AC supply lines · CPC title

• B60L53/12

  Inductive energy transfer · CPC title

• Y02T10/7072

  Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors · CPC title

• B60L5/005 Primary

  without mechanical contact between the collector and the power supply line · CPC title

• B60L2200/26

  Rail vehicles · CPC title