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JP-7856655-B2 - Product sorting system, product sorting method, and computer program product

JP7856655B2JP 7856655 B2JP7856655 B2JP 7856655B2JP-7856655-B2

Inventors

  • グロッベン、クーン マールテン ヘールト
  • フェルボールト、ペトラス セオドラス コーネリス
  • ペーテルス、トーマス ヘンドリクス

Assignees

  • ファンダランデ インダストリーズ ビー．ブイ．

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20220103
Priority Date
20210104

Claims (13)

  1. A product sorting system for sorting products (P), - Conveyor (11), - Central control server (12), - Multiple controllers (13), - At least one stationary access point (AP) (14) arranged to communicate with the central control server (12), - A first pair of stationary radiation cables (15, 16) connected to the stationary AP (14), Equipped with, The conveyor (11) is movable in the transport direction (T) along a path provided with multiple sorting positions (111, 112), The conveyor (11) comprises a number of elongated transport bodies (113) arranged adjacent to each other, extending in directions parallel to each other and perpendicular to the transport direction (T). The transporter (113) is configured to transport the products (P) to be sorted. All or part of the transport body (113) is associated with a pusher body (114) to form a transport body-pusher body combination (115), Each of the transporter-pusher body combinations (115) is equipped with a pusher body displacement device (116) having a servo motor (117) for moving the pusher body (114) along the transporter (113) in a sorting direction (S) perpendicular to the transport direction (T) in order to push the products (P) being transported by the transporter (113) out of the transporter (113). The central control server (12) is positioned to transmit sorting destination data relating to the sorting positions (111, 112) from which the products (P) to be sorted are pushed out of the transport body (113). The plurality of controllers (13) are arranged to communicate with the central control server (12) and are movable in the transport direction (T) together with the transport body (113) or a group of transport bodies (113). Each of the plurality of controllers (13) is arranged to control two or more of the servo motors (117) of the pusher body displacement device (116) according to the sorting destination data received from the central control server (12). One of the first pair of stationary radiation cables (15, 16), radiation cable (15), extends in the transport direction (T) relative to the stationary AP (14), Of the first pair of stationary radiation cables (15, 16), the other radiation cable (16) extends in the direction opposite to the transport direction (T) relative to the stationary AP (14), The first pair of stationary radiation cables (15, 16) are arranged to communicate with a plurality of controllers (13), The system further includes a second pair of stationary radiating cables (17, 18) arranged to communicate with the stationary AP (14), The second pair of stationary radiation cables (17, 18) are arranged parallel to the first pair of stationary radiation cables (15, 16). One of the second pair of stationary radiation cables (17, 18), radiation cable (17), extends in the transport direction (T) relative to the stationary AP (14), Of the second pair of stationary radiation cables (17, 18), the other radiation cable (18) extends in the direction opposite to the transport direction (T) relative to the stationary AP (14), The product sorting system (1) is characterized in that the second pair of stationary radiation cables (17, 18) are arranged to communicate with a plurality of controllers (13).
  2. The product sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the controllers (13) controls up to 32 pusher body displacement devices (116).
  3. The product sorting system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, when measured along the transport direction (T) of the conveyor (11), the total length of the first pair of stationary radial cables (15, 16) exceeds 100 meters and is less than 300 meters .
  4. The product sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the length of the radiating cable (15) extending in the transport direction (T) relative to the stationary AP (14) is 50% or more and 200% or less of the length of the radiating cable (16) extending in the direction opposite to the transport direction (T) relative to the stationary AP (14).
  5. Further equipped with a second stationary access point (AP) (19), The second stationary access point (AP) (19) is configured to communicate with the central control server (12), The product sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the second stationary access point (AP) (19) is connected to the first pair of stationary radiating cables (15, 16) and/or to the second pair of stationary radiating cables (17, 18).
  6. The product sorting system according to claim 5, characterized in that the communication frequency band on the stationary AP (14) is different from the communication frequency band on the second stationary AP (19).
  7. A product sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the length of the radiating cables (15, 16, 17, 18) is a maximum of 150 m.
  8. Each of the one or more controllers (13) is positioned to control the pusher body displacement device (116) based on sorting parameters. The aforementioned sorting parameters are: - The angle between the outfeed angle (α), i.e., the transport direction (T), and the outfeed direction (D) of the outfeed (118) connected to the product sorting system (1), - The width (W) of the outfeed (118), - Positions (111, 112) of the outfeed (118), - Expected speed of products (P) sorted on the outfeed (118), A product sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it is one of the following.
  9. Each of the controllers (13) is positioned to determine the sorting profile of the corresponding pusher body (114) based on any of the sorting parameters. The product sorting system according to claim 8, characterized in that the sorting profile relates to the position of the pusher body (114) relative to the corresponding elongated transport body (113).
  10. Each of the controllers (13) is - The corresponding pusher body (114) is controlled using the pusher body displacement device (116) so that it is initially positioned facing or close to the product (P) to be sorted. or - The product sorting system according to claim 9, characterized in that the corresponding pusher body (114) is sorted at the sorting positions (111, 112) by controlling the pusher body displacement device (116) so that it follows a sorting profile starting from an initial position.
  11. A product sorting method for sorting products (P) to be sorted using a product sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, - Using one of the controllers (13), receive sorting destination data from a central control server (12) via at least one stationary AP (14, 19) and stationary radiation cables (15, 16, 17, 18) regarding sorting positions (111, 112) from which the products to be sorted (P) should be pushed out of the conveyor (11), - A step of controlling the pusher body displacement device (116) at the sorting position (111, 112) by driving the corresponding servo motor (117) using one of the controllers (13) according to the sorting destination data received, A product sorting method characterized by including [a certain element].
  12. The step of receiving the sorting destination data is: - Includes the step of receiving at least one sorting parameter, The aforementioned sorting parameters are: - The angle between the outfeed angle (α), i.e., the transport direction (T), and the outfeed direction (D) of the outfeed (118) connected to the product sorting system (1), - The width (W) of the outfeed (118), - Positions (111, 112) of the outfeed (118), - Expected speed of the products (P) to be sorted on the outfeed (118), The product sorting method according to claim 11, characterized in that it is one of the following.
  13. A computer-readable medium that stores instructions, A computer-readable medium characterized in that, when the instruction is executed by the controller (13), the controller (13) causes the controller (13) to carry out the product sorting method described in claim 11 or 12.

Description

This invention relates to a product sorting system. The system comprises a conveyor movable in the transport direction along a path provided with numerous sorting positions. The conveyor includes numerous elongated transport bodies arranged adjacent to each other and extending parallel to each other in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction. The transport bodies are configured to transport products to be sorted. All or part of the transport bodies are associated with pusher bodies to form transport body-pusher body combinations. Each transport body-pusher body combination includes a pusher body displacement device equipped with a servo motor for moving the pusher body along the transport body in a sorting direction perpendicular to the transport direction in order to push the products being transported by the transport body out of the transport body. This type of system is disclosed in International Patent Application NL2019/050488. This particular patent application focuses on the idea that the system comprises a distance determination device configured to determine a distance parameter. This distance determination device relates to the distance in the sorting direction between the combination's pusher body and the sorting products carried by the carrier. The distance determination device is further configured to send the distance parameter to an onboard control system. The onboard control system is configured to control the combination's onboard drive device based on this distance data. This is a schematic diagram of the product sorting system described herein.This is a schematic top view of the product sorting system relating to this disclosure.This is a schematic side view of a transporter-pusher body combination that forms part of the product sorting system described herein.This is a high-level design diagram of a communication architecture provided as part of the product sorting system related to this disclosure.This is another high-level design diagram of the communication architecture provided as part of the product sorting system related to this disclosure. Figure 1 shows a very schematic side view of product sorting system 1. However, no products are shown in Figure 1. Product sorting system 1 consists of an endless conveyor 11. The conveyor 11 is driven here by two conveyor displacement devices 124. However, one of them may be a guide, in which case only the other actually drives the conveyor 11. In fact, usually the conveyor displacement devices are located downstream of the conveyor, near the end of the transport path. The conveyor 11 is driven in the transport direction T. In the figure, the length of the conveyor 11 appears relatively small (at least compared to its height), but those skilled in the art will understand that in practice the length is virtually unlimited and may be, for example, several hundred meters, for example, more than 100 meters, for example, 200 meters, 250 meters, 300 meters or more. The conveyor 11 has an upper loop section 122 that moves in the transport direction T from the starting point 120 of the conveyor's path to the end point 121 of the conveyor's path, transporting products. The conveyor 11 also has a return loop section 123 that moves in the opposite direction of the transport direction T, returning from the end point 121 of the path to the starting point 120 of the path. In the diagram, the path is shown as a straight path, but those skilled in the art will understand that the path may alternatively have any kind of twists, bends, curves, or other non-linear sections. The conveyor 11 shown here is equipped with two conveyor displacement devices 124, but those skilled in the art will understand that more conveyor displacement devices 124 may be provided, especially if the conveyor 11 is relatively long, and that the conveyor 11 may consist of multiple sections of an endless loop, for example. Near the starting point 120 of the path, a notch 119 is provided. As will be explained in detail below, multiple outfeeds and sorting positions are provided along the path. Figure 1 also shows numerous carrier-pusher body combinations 115, although only one is referenced. However, it is clear that many such combinations exist. In this figure, the combinations 115, visible only from the side, extend perpendicular to the transport direction T, arranged sequentially, with different combinations 115 extending parallel to each other. As will be described in more detail later, each combination 115 consists of a carrier 113 (hereinafter referred to as a slat) that holds the product, and a pusher body 114 (hereinafter referred to as a shoe) that can push the transported product out of the slat. Further along the path, we can see an access point (AP) 14, a radiating cable 15 extending in the transport direction T relative to AP 14, and a radiating cable 16 extending in the opposite direction to T relative to AP 14. The functions of these radiating cables 15, 16, an