MOVING BODY SYSTEM AND METHOD OF DETERMINING INITIAL POSITION OF MOVING BODY
First Claim
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1. A moving body system comprising:
- a moving body including a magnet array defining a movable element of a linear motor;
stationary elements of the linear motor being provided on a ground and each including a plurality of coils; and
position sensors each having a measurement range shorter than a length of the movable element;
whereinthe position sensors are arranged discretely;
the stationary elements are arranged between the position sensors to enable the position sensors to determine a rough position of the movable element based on a change of inductance of at least a coil of the stationary elements resulting from interaction with the magnet array;
the moving body system further includes a start-up unit arranged to determine an initial position of the moving body when a power supply for the moving body system is turned on, based on the rough position of the movable element relative to at least one of the stationary elements and a signal from at least one of the position sensors.
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Abstract
In a moving body system, a movable element of a linear motor is provided on a moving body, and stationary elements of the linear motor and position sensors are provided on the ground. The stationary elements are arranged between the position sensors to enable determination of a rough position of the movable element based on a change of inductance resulting from interaction with a magnet array. An initial position of the moving body when a power supply for the moving body system is turned on is determined based on the rough position of the movable element relative to the stationary element and a signal from the position sensor.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. A moving body system comprising:
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a moving body including a magnet array defining a movable element of a linear motor; stationary elements of the linear motor being provided on a ground and each including a plurality of coils; and position sensors each having a measurement range shorter than a length of the movable element;
whereinthe position sensors are arranged discretely; the stationary elements are arranged between the position sensors to enable the position sensors to determine a rough position of the movable element based on a change of inductance of at least a coil of the stationary elements resulting from interaction with the magnet array; the moving body system further includes a start-up unit arranged to determine an initial position of the moving body when a power supply for the moving body system is turned on, based on the rough position of the movable element relative to at least one of the stationary elements and a signal from at least one of the position sensors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of determining an initial position of a moving body in a moving body system comprising the moving body including a magnet array defining a movable element of a linear motor, stationary elements of the linear motor provided on a ground, and position sensors each having a measurement range that is shorter than a length of the movable element, the stationary elements each including a plurality of coils, the method comprising the steps of:
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arranging the position sensors discretely; arranging the stationary elements between the position sensors to enable determination of a rough position of the movable element based on a change of inductance of a coil of any of the stationary elements resulting from interaction with the magnet array; and determining an initial position of the moving body by a start-up unit when a power supply for the moving body system is turned on, based on the rough position of the movable element relative to the stationary element and a signal from the position sensor.
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Specification