CARRIAGE TRANSPORT SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING ARTICLE

• US 20160355350A1
• Filed: 04/14/2015
• Published: 12/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: YAMAMOTO, Takeshi
• Granted Patent: US 10,669,106 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 13/03 Electric propulsion by linear motors
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 37/00 Combinations of mechanical conveyors of the same kind, or of different kinds, of interest apart from their application in particular machines or use in particular manufacturing processes series of co-operating belt conveyor units B65G15/22; series of co-operating chain conveyor units B65G17/26; sequence control of combined conveyors B65G43/10
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 43/00 Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 54/02 electrostatic, electric, or magnetic
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4189 characterised by the transport system

Abstract

A carriage transport system, including a transport path formed of a plurality of transporting modules; a plurality of lower-order controllers each configured to conduct drive control of a carriage on a covered transporting module among the plurality of transporting modules; and a higher-order controller configured to control the plurality of lower-order controllers, wherein the plurality of lower-order controllers each receive a drive instruction for the carriage on the transport path from the higher-order controller in advance, and when respectively receiving one-group transport instructions transmitted from the higher-order controller simultaneously at the same timing, the plurality of lower-order controllers each apply the drive instruction to one of the carriage that is present on the covered transporting module and the carriage that is to enter the covered transporting module in an order of entering the covered transporting module, to thereby conduct the drive control of the carriage.

Claims

1. A carriage transport system, comprising:

a transport path formed of a plurality of transporting modules;

a plurality of lower-order controllers each configured to conduct drive control of a carriage on a covered transporting module among the plurality of transporting modules; and

a higher-order controller configured to control the plurality of lower-order controllers,

wherein the plurality of lower-order controllers each receive a drive instruction for the carriage on the transport path from the higher-order controller in advance, and when respectively receiving one-group transport instructions transmitted from the higher-order controller simultaneously at the same timing, the plurality of lower-order controllers each apply the drive instruction to one of the carriage that is present on the covered transporting module and the carriage that is to enter the covered transporting module in an order of entering the covered transporting module, to thereby conduct the drive control of the carriage.

2. The carriage transport system according to claim 1, wherein:

the drive instruction transmitted to a first lower-order controller among the plurality of lower-order controllers comprises a trapezoidal drive profile corresponding to one of the carriage that is present on the transporting module covered by the first lower-order controller and the carriage that is to enter the transporting module covered by the first lower-order controller, the trapezoidal drive profiles being arrayed in the order of entry of the carriage with respect to the transporting module covered by the first lower-order controller; and

the trapezoidal drive profile comprises a trapezoidal drive element corresponding to one of the carriage that is present on the transporting module and the carriage that is to enter the transporting module, the trapezoidal drive elements being arrayed in chronological order.

3. The carriage transport system according to claim 1, wherein:

the one-group transport instructions comprise a first one-group transport instruction and a second one-group transport instruction; and

the plurality of lower-order controllers apply the drive instruction relating to the first one-group transport instruction, to thereby conduct the drive control of the carriage when receiving the first one-group transport instruction, and apply the drive instruction relating to the second one-group transport instruction, to thereby conduct the drive control of the carriage when receiving the second one-group transport instruction.

4. The carriage transport system according to claim 1, wherein the lower-order controller transmits a drive end signal to the higher-order controller when completing application of all the drive instructions relating to the one-group transport instructions.

5. The carriage transport system according to claim 1, wherein:

the carriage comprises a permanent magnet;

the transporting module comprises a coil group; and

the lower-order controller controls an amount of a current flowing through the coil group, to thereby conduct the drive control of the carriage on the covered transporting module.

6. The method of manufacturing an article using a carriage transport system and at least one process apparatus,

the carriage transport system including:

a transport path formed of a plurality of transporting modules;

a plurality of lower-order controllers each configured to conduct drive control of a carriage on a covered transporting module among the plurality of transporting modules; and

a higher-order controller configured to control the plurality of lower-order controllers,

the plurality of lower-order controllers each being configured to receive a drive instruction for the carriage on the transport path from the higher-order controller in advance, and when respectively receiving one-group transport instructions transmitted from the higher-order controller simultaneously at the same timing, apply the drive instruction to one of the carriage that is present on the covered transporting module and the carriage that is to enter the covered transporting module in an order of entry of the carriage, to thereby conduct the drive control of the carriage,

the method comprising;

transmitting, by the higher-order controller, the one-group transport instructions to the plurality of lower-order controllers simultaneously at the same timing;

applying, by each of the plurality of lower-order controllers, in accordance with reception of the one-group transport instruction, the drive instruction received in advance from the higher-order controller to one of the carriage that is present on the covered transporting module and the carriage that is to enter the covered transporting module in the order of entering the covered transporting module, to thereby transport the carriage to the at least one process apparatus; and

conducting, by the at least one process apparatus, a predetermined process for a work on the carriage, to thereby manufacture the article.