Conveyor bearing system
There is provided a conveyor system including: a track comprising a first magnetic element; and a moving element comprising a second magnetic element for interacting with the track to provide a magnetic force that retains the moving element on the track; wherein absent the magnetic force, the moving element is released from the track. In another aspect, there is provided a conveyor system that includes: a track having at least one guide rail; and a moving element; wherein a magnetic force controls movement of the moving element in a direction of travel and the magnetic force supports the moving element in a second direction perpendicular to the direction of travel; and wherein the at least one guide rail supports the moving element in a third direction perpendicular to both the direction of travel and the second direction.
1. A moving element for a linear motor conveyor the moving element comprising:
a moving element magnetic element; and
a first bearing, wherein the first bearing engages with a first guide rail of a linear motor conveyor track to support the moving element in both a direction of travel along the track (x-axis) and in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel along the track (z-axis) that is also perpendicular to a magnetic force between a track magnetic element and the moving element magnetic element (y-axis) such that the moving element is substantially supported on the track by the magnetic force to retain the moving element on the track;
wherein, absent the magnetic force, the moving element is removable from the track without mechanical disassembly of the first bearing or the first guide rail.
2. The moving element of claim 1 wherein the magnetic force laterally retains the moving element on the track.
3. The moving element of claim 1 wherein the first bearing has a “V” or “U” shaped profile to engage with a “V” or “U” shaped profile of the first guide rail.
4. The moving element of claim 1 further comprising a second bearing with a flat profile configured to engage a second guide rail of the track.
5. The moving element of claim 4 , wherein the second bearing comprises at least one wheel bearing adapted to roll higher or lower on the second guide rail to adapt to any non-parallelism of the first guide rail.
6. The moving element of claim 5 , wherein the first bearing, the second bearing, or both, comprise a set of bearings.
7. The moving element of claim 1 , wherein the magnetic force is adjusted to capture the moving element on the track.
8. The moving element of claim 1 , wherein the magnetic force is adjusted to move the moving element on the track.
9. The moving element of claim 1 , wherein the magnetic force is further configured to take up mechanical backlash.
10. A linear motor conveyor track comprising:
a first magnetic element for generating a magnetic field; and
a first guide rail;
wherein the first guide rail engages a first bearing of a moving element to support the moving element in both a direction of travel along the track (x-axis) and in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel along the track (z-axis) that is also perpendicular to a magnetic force between the first magnetic element and a second magnetic element located on the moving element (y-axis) such that the moving element is substantially supported on the track by the magnetic force to retain the moving element on the track;
wherein, absent the magnetic force, the moving element is removable from the track without mechanical disassembly of the first bearing or the first guide rail.
11. The track of claim 10 wherein the magnetic force laterally retains the moving element on the track.
12. The track of claim 10 , wherein the first guide rail has a “V” or “U” shaped profile.
13. The track of claim 10 further comprising a second guide rail with a flat profile, wherein the moving element comprises a second bearing with a flat profile for engaging the second guide rail.
14. The track of claim 13 , wherein the second bearing comprises at least one wheel bearing adapted to roll higher or lower on the second guide rail to adapt to any non-parallelism of the first guide rail.
15. The track of claim 13 , wherein the track and guide rails are curved.
16. The track of claim 10 , wherein the magnetic force is adjusted to capture the moving element on the track.
17. The track of claim 10 , wherein the magnetic force is further configured to take up mechanical backlash.
18. The track of claim 10 , wherein the first guide rail has an angled end for mating with a guide rail of an adjacent track section.
19. The track of claim 10 wherein the magnetic force is continuously adjusted to capture the moving element on the track.
20. A linear motor conveyor system comprising:
a moving element comprising a magnet, a first bearing and a second bearing;
a track comprising a magnetic element for generating a magnetic field, a first guide rail having a non-flat profile for engagement with the first bearing, and a second guide rail having a flat profile for engagement with the second bearing, wherein the magnetic field attracts the moving element to the track and supports the moving element on the track such that the magnetic field takes up backlash of the bearings and the guide rails, and absent the magnetic force, the moving element is removable from the track without mechanical disassembly of the bearings or the guide rails, and wherein the first and second guide rails guide but do not substantially support the moving element.