Rail Assembly, Rail Switch And A Transport Device Provided With A Magnetostrictive Sensor

Abstract

In order to detect a vehicle position on a rail assembly, magnetorestrictive sensors are integrated into said rail assembly and marking magnets are disposed on the vehicles. Measuring bars are successively arranged without overlapping each other, thereby forming a measuring path. In order to detect the vehicle position even in areas where the bars are jointed to each other, each vehicle is provided with at least two marking magnets which are arranged at a certain distance from each other. A rail switch provided with at least two measuring bars is also disclosed.

1 . Rail system comprising a plurality of magnetostrictive sensors situated one after the other for measuring vehicle positions, each sensor shaving a measurement bar situated along the rail system and a measurement head, in order to detect the position of a marking magnet situated on a vehicle from a runtime delay, the measurement bars forming at least one measurement path that runs along the rail system, wherein the measurement path consists of measurement bars situated one after the other in non-overlapping fashion. 
   
   
       2 . Rail system according to  claim 1 , having a measurement control device that is fashioned in order to determine the position of vehicles having at least two marking magnets situated one after the other, exploiting the circumstance that when there is a transition from one measurement bar to the next measurement bar, at least one of the marking magnets is always effectively connected to at least one of the measurement bars. 
   
   
       3 . Rail system according to  claim 1 , having a multiplicity of rail elements situated one after the other, at least one measurement bar being situated in each rail element. 
   
   
       4 . Rail system according to  claim 3 , at least some of the measurement bars extending only over exactly one rail element, or at least some of the measurement bars each extending over a plurality of rail elements. 
   
   
       5 . Rail system according to  claim 1 , having at least one magnetizable guide rod for the magnetic guiding of the vehicles, the measurement bars being situated along the guide rod. 
   
   
       6 . Rail system according to  claim 5 , the guide rod having a U-shaped section, and the measurement bar being situated in the U-shaped section. 
   
   
       7 . Rail system according to  claim 1 , the coils being situated in the rail system as an active part of a linear drive mechanism, the measurement bars being situated at or in the active part of the linear drive mechanism. 
   
   
       8 . Rail system according to  claim 1 , the measurement bars being situated in a magnetizable U-shaped section. 
   
   
       9 . Switch for a rail system, in particular for a rail system according to  claim 1 , the switch having a first end, a second end, and a third end, the rail system branching from the first end into the second and third end, wherein the switch has magnetostrictive sensors for measuring vehicle positions, each sensor shaving a measurement bar and a measurement head in order to detect the position of a marking magnet situated on a vehicle from a runtime delay, a measurement bar extending from the first to the second end and from the first to the third end. 
   
   
       10 . Switch according to  claim 9 , at least a part of a drive device being situated in the switch, and the measurement bars being situated laterally outside the part of the drive device. 
   
   
       11 . Switch according to  claim 9 , the measurement bars being situated along the outer edges of the switch. 
   
   
       12 . Transport device comprising a rail system according to  claim 1  and at least one rail vehicle, wherein the rail vehicle has at least two marking magnets that are effectively connected to the sensors. 
   
   
       13 . Transport device according to  claim 12 , the marking magnets being situated one after the other, seen in the direction of travel of the vehicle, in such a way that when there is a transition from one measurement bar to the next measurement bar, at least one of the marking magnets is always effectively connected to at least one of the measurement bars. 
   
   
       14 . Transport device according to  claim 12  having a switch having a first end, a second end, and a third end, the rail system branching from the first end into the second and third end, wherein the switch has magnetostrictive sensors for measuring vehicle positions, each sensor having a measurement bar and a measurement head in order to detect the position of a marking magnet situated on a vehicle from a runtime delay, a measurement bar extending from the first to the second end and from the first to the third end, the vehicle having at least two marking magnets situated next to one another, such that when the switch is traveled through, at least one of the marking magnets is effectively connected to one of the measurement bars. 
   
   
       15 . Transport device according to  claim 12 , the rail system shaving at least one magnetizable guide rod, preferably having two parallel magnetic guide rods, the measurement bars being situated along the guide rod or rods, and guide magnets being situated on the vehicles that work together magnetically with the guide rods in order to guide the vehicles along the rail system. 
   
   
       16 . Transport device according to  claim 15 , the guide magnets having a different direction of polarization than do the marking magnets, and in particular the guide magnets being polarized essentially tangentially to the measurement bars, and the marking magnets being in particular polarized essentially radially thereto. 
   
   
       17 . Transport device according to  claim 15 , the guide magnets and the marking magnets being situated one after the other in one or two rows. 
   
   
       18 . Transport device according to  claim 12 , coils for a drive mechanism of the vehicle being situated in the rail system that interact with at least one drive magnet situated on the vehicle, a control unit being provided that determines in a control loop, via the magnetostrictive sensors, the position of the vehicle as a regulating variable, and controls the current through the coils as a manipulated variable. 
   
   
       19 . Method for measuring the position of a rail vehicle on a transport device, in particular on a transport device according to  claim 12 , the transport device comprising a rail system and at least one rail vehicle, the rail system having a plurality of magnetostrictive sensors situated one after the other for measuring vehicle positions, each sensor having a measurement bar along the rail system in order to detect, from a runtime delay, the position of a marking magnet situated on a vehicle, wherein
 the rail vehicle has at least two marking magnets that are effectively connected to the sensors and are situated one after the other in the direction of travel, and whose position can be measured using the sensors, the first marking magnet being used to determine the position of the rail vehicle if only a first of the marking magnets is situated in a predetermined measurement area of the sensors, and   one or both of the marking magnets being used to determine the position of the rail vehicle if both marking magnets are situated in the predetermined measurement area of the sensors.   
   
   
       20 . Method according to  claim 19 , a front, in the travel direction of the rail vehicle, magnet being used to determine the position of the rail vehicle as long as its distance from a front, in the travel direction, end of the sensor is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and otherwise the rear, in the travel direction of the rail vehicle, marking magnet being used to determine the position of the rail vehicle until the front marking magnet enters into the measurement area of the next, in the travel direction, sensor.