Multi-shaft linear motor and component transfer apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9634546-B2
Application number	US-201414190012-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 25, 2014
Priority date	Jan 11, 2008
Publication date	Apr 25, 2017
Grant date	Apr 25, 2017

Abstract

A multi-shaft linear motor formed by a plurality of linear motors each provided with a magnetic body and an armature and adapted to produce a force causing the magnetic body and the armature to be relatively displaced along a given linear moving direction by interaction of magnetic fluxes generated between the magnetic body and the armature during an operation of supplying electric power to the armature. Each of the single-shaft linear motors includes a base plate. Base plate has a base surface defining the moving direction, wherein the stator is fixed onto the base surface along the moving direction, and the mover is attached onto the base surface in a movable manner reciprocating along the moving direction and in opposed relation to the stator. Single-shaft linear motors are stacked in a stacking direction perpendicular to the base surface such that the single-shaft linear motors are individually detachable as a unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A multi-shaft linear motor comprising
a plurality of single-shaft linear motors,
each of the plurality of single-shaft linear motors includes:
a base plate having a base surface;
a movable member disposed movably in a given moving direction with respect to the base surface of the base plate;
a stator extending along the moving direction, the stator disposed on the base plate;
a mover attached to the movable member along the moving direction, such that the mover is distanced from the stator while facing to the stator with respect to a widthwise direction perpendicular to the moving direction and to a normal direction of the base surface;
standing walls each standing toward a frontward side of the base surface along two edges of the base plate on respective opposite sides in the widthwise direction, the standing walls and the base surface make up a containing space with an opening at the frontward side of the base surface, wherein the movable member, the stator, and the mover are accommodated in the containing space;
a detector unit having a sensor and a linear scale, the detector unit being configured to detect a position of the movable member; and
an assembly including a sensor control unit and the sensor, the assembly being fixed to the base plate in such a manner that the sensor control unit is disposed on a side opposite to the linear scale with respect to the widthwise direction so that the sensor faces the linear scale to detect the position of the movable member, wherein the assembly is adapted to be detachable from to the containing space through a cutout formed in one of the standing walls,

wherein
each of the plurality of single-shaft linear motors is configured to drive the movable member in the moving direction by interaction of a magnetic flux generated between the movable member and the stator,
each of the plurality of single-shaft linear motors is stacked along the normal direction of the base surface, and
a top of the standing wall of a bottom-side single-shaft linear motor located on a bottom-side in a stacking direction is fixed on an opposing surface of a base plate of a top-side single-shaft linear motor adjacent to top-side of the bottom-side single-shaft linear motor, so that the containing space of the bottom-side single-shaft linear motor is covered by the opposing surface of the base plate of the top-side single-shaft linear motor.

2. The multi-shaft linear motor in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the mover of each of the plurality of single-shaft linear motors is attached to a one side with respect to the widthwise direction of a lateral surface of an end of the movable member.

3. The multi-shaft linear motor in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising:
a bottom-side holding member disposed on a bottommost one of the plurality of single-shaft linear motors located on a bottommost side with respect to the stacking direction; and
a top-side holding member disposed on a top-most one of the plurality of single-shaft linear motors located on a topmost side with respect to the stacking direction,
wherein the plurality of single-shaft linear motors are sandwiched between the bottom-side holding member and the top-side holding member.

4. The multi-shaft linear motor in accordance with claim 3 , wherein
the base plate of the plurality of single-shaft linear motors, the bottom-side holding member, and the top-side holding member are respectively formed with a through-hole,
the bottom-side holding member and the top-side holding member are stacked such that each through-hole is arranged in a row along a direction of the normal line, and
a fastener member penetrates respective through-holes to fasten the single-shaft linear motors together.

5. The multi-shaft linear motor in accordance with claim 1 , wherein
a pitch adjustment plate having a thickness with respect to the stacking direction is interposed at a boundary position between the single-shaft linear motors located adjacent to each other in the stacking direction, so that a pitch between two single-shaft linear motors located adjacent to each other in the stacking direction is extended by the thickness of the pitch adjustment plate.

6. The multi-shaft linear motor in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising the plurality of single-linear motors each configured to linearly drive the movable member along the given moving direction,
wherein
each of the plurality of single-linear motors is stacked in the stacking direction perpendicular to the moving direction,
a bottom-side engagement section disposed on a bottom-side single-shaft linear motor located at bottom-side of the stacking direction with respect to a boundary position between the single-shaft linear motors located adjacent to each other in the stacking direction, a top-side engagement section is disposed, the top-side engagement section being engageable to the bottom-side engagement section of a top-side single-shaft linear motor located top-side in the stacking direction,
adjacent single-shaft linear motors are positioned to each other by engagement of each of the bottom-side engagement section and the top-side engagement section at respective boundary portions.

Assignees

• Yamaha Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hanamura Naoki
• Sakai Kiyotaka

Classifications

• H02K2213/12

  Machines characterised by the modularity of some components · CPC title

• H02K1/18

  Means for mounting or fastening magnetic stationary parts on to, or to, the stator structures · CPC title

• H02K11/215

  Magnetic effect devices, e.g. Hall-effect or magneto-resistive elements · CPC title

• H02K11/01

  for shielding from electromagnetic fields {, i.e. structural association with shields} (means for preventing or reducing eddy-current losses in the winding heads by shielding H02K3/42) · CPC title

• H02K11/0005 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic