Orthogonally switching motion control of PM LSM vehicle in mass-reduced mode

A new transportation model vehicle system for automation and saving space has been developed in our Laboratory. The system uses permanent magnet (PM) linear synchronous motor (LSM) and orthogonally crossed guideway. We have succeeded in experiments of orthogonally switching motion with both repulsive and attractive force. But there are problems of power loss and noise due to wheel-guideway friction which is caused by attractive force between PM and armature guideway. To solve this problem, we proposed a new method of switching motion control with only normal repulsive force. We experimented orthogonally switching motion by positioning control based on analytical results of the propulsive and repulsive forces at the crossing. The experiment results have shown a considerable reduction of power loss and switching time together with reduced noise.