Toyota Brand

Others

Toyota Material Handling Company is also developing other materials handling related equipment that helps create a better materials handling environment. Products such as non-contact power supply systems and non-contact power-line communication systems help solve customer problems.

Non-Contact Power Supply System

Non-contact power supply systems provide electrical power to bodies that move at high speeds without requiring the establishment of contact with those bodies. These systems have a broad range of applications, including transport vehicles in factories and warehouses, mobile robots used in factory automation, and even in amusement parks.

Although power was traditionally supplied to moving objects using movable cables and the trolley method, this approach was accompanied by a variety of problems including difficulties posed by high-speed motion, part wear arising at the point of contact, the generation of sparks, etc. Given these problems, non-contact power supply systems have made high-speed motion and maintenance-free parts a reality because of their innovative approach to the problem: they supply current to a power cable laid next to a rail track, and that electrical power is picked up by a non-contact method.

Conventional electrical power supply systems

Flexible wire and cable pairs

• Problem points
• • Long-distance motion is impossible.
• • High-speed motion is impossible.
• • Only motion in a straight line is possible.
• • Cables are subject to lifespan considerations.

Trolleys

• Problem points
• • Metallic dust is generated by friction.
• • There is a danger of electric shock since the power supply's metal is exposed.
• • Sparks are generated.
• • There is a danger of a short when used in the presence of moisture.
• • The system is subject to momentary power interruptions caused by poor contact.
• • Worn parts must be replaced periodically.

Non-contact power supply system

Characteristics of Non-contact power supply system

• 1 There is no limit to the speed of movement.
• 2 The system can be used with curved routes.
• 3 The system is clean, with no generation of dust from friction.
• 4 There is no generation of sparks.
• 5 There is no need to worry about electric shock.
• 6 There is no need to worry about the danger of a short when the system is used in the presence of moisture.
• 7 There are no momentary power interruptions caused by poor contact.
• 8 The system has no consumable parts and is therefore maintenance-free.

Principles of the non-contact power supply system

Contact-free electrical power supply systems make use of the principle of electromagnetic induction. The core picks up the magnetic flux that is generated by electrical current supplied to the power cable and converts as much power as it needs. The system as a whole may be thought of as a kind of transformer.

Structure of the non-contact power supply system

• Power supply

Supplies current to the supply power line.

• Power cable

Carries an alternating current and generates a magnetic field in its own vicinity.

• Core

Receives electrical power from the supply power line.

• Power receive unit

Converts the alternating current received from the core to direct current voltage.

Non-Contact Power-Line Communication

This is a communications system utilizing a non-contact power supply system designed to control high-speed moving bodies. It is a system that is based on electric lines and uses the contact-free electric line. Traditionally such communications were accomplished using a communications cable that provided a direct or optical communications link with the moving body. However, this approach resulted in problems such as limits on the distance within which the moving body could move and the fact that the body was limited to direct motion. Non-contact power-line communication provides a solution to these problems by superimposing a communications signal on top of the non-contact electrical line, eliminating issues of distance and track. Also, since the system is contact-free, it does not generate dust.

•

There is no need to lay communications cabling.

•

The system enables real-time control of the moving body, improving the efficiency of transport vehicles, etc.

•

Because the system is contact-free, it does not produce any particulate dust.

•

There is no need to worry about cable shorts, and maintenance is unnecessary.

Note : These products are availabel only in Japan

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