An intelligent clearing method for material inlet based on laser radar algorithm

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for intelligent clearing of material ports based on a laser radar algorithm, comprising the following steps: 1. before use, start the laser array radar to collect and generate an initial three-dimensional image of the material port in the initial state; 2. determine the area that may be covered by the material obtained in the test as the ROI area for detecting the surface height of the material; 3. grid the ROI area and set the grid warning value; 4. use this system to monitor the material port, collect and generate the normal three-dimensional image for the first time at the beginning of the normal operation stage, and calculate the warning threshold; 5. when the average value of the point information in the grid is higher than the warning threshold in the subsequent monitoring process, the blockage situation is checked and a signal of blockage is output; 6. after receiving the signal of blockage, the mechanical arm clearing robot clears the blockage in the material port area. The present invention can accurately and timely realize blockage detection and clearing, reducing pollution and waste.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of automatic monitoring systems, and in particular relates to an intelligent material inlet clearing method based on a laser radar algorithm. Background Art

[0002] During the cement production process, material blockage is prone to occur at the discharge port, which in turn affects the normal progress of production operations. Personnel are required to conduct regular inspections and perform manual clearing operations. This method not only has low work efficiency, but also often fails to detect and clear blockages in time. Therefore, based on the standard cement production process, a comprehensive understanding of the anti-blocking and clearing technologies in the cement production process was conducted, and in-depth research on the blocking mechanism of the entire cement production process, such as anti-blocking of sticky and wet materials, was carried out. The technical principle analysis of the mechanical arm clearing robot was strengthened, and a comprehensive and intelligent anti-blocking and clearing technology solution was formulated to ensure smooth material transportation, eliminate safety hazards, and reduce manual labor.

[0003] Conventional anti-blocking methods mostly use level meters or laser radars to detect the top depth of the material in the silo, and determine whether the discharge port is blocked based on whether the top depth decreases normally. However, for the discharge mechanism that discharges materials through the bucket-shaped discharge shell with the belt conveyor, the depth of the material in the bucket-shaped discharge shell is not only affected by whether the discharge is smooth, but also by the material conveying speed and other aspects. In addition, the material changes dynamically in the bucket-shaped discharge shell, and its depth varies greatly at different places and often changes with the running speed of the belt conveyor and the thickness of the material on it. Therefore, the existing anti-blocking methods cannot accurately detect whether a blockage has occurred. If a larger threshold is set to determine to clear the blockage only when the blockage is serious, a large amount of blocked material may fall on one side during the clearing, and the conveying device below the discharge port cannot withstand it, resulting in material overflow and pollution of the surrounding environment, and resulting in material waste. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an intelligent clearing method for a material port based on a laser radar algorithm, which is used to solve the technical problem that the prior art is unable to accurately and timely detect the blockage of the material port of the bucket-shaped material discharge shell used to output materials from a belt conveyor, resulting in inaccurate and untimely judgment of the blockage situation, and easily causing pollution and waste due to excessive material discharge at one time during clearing.

[0005] The intelligent clearing method for a material port based on a laser radar algorithm, wherein the material is input from above the material port through a belt conveyor, and a laser array radar capable of three-dimensional imaging and ranging is provided above the material port, comprising the following steps:

[0006] 1. Start the laser array radar to collect and generate an initial three-dimensional image of the feed opening in the initial state before use;

[0007] 2. During use, a variety of belt conveyor running speeds and material supply speeds are used for testing, and corresponding three-dimensional images are collected and generated during the test. The area that may be covered by the material obtained in the test is determined as the ROI area for detecting the material surface height;

[0008] 3. Grid the ROI area and set the grid warning value;

[0009] Fourth, use this system to monitor the material discharge port. At the beginning of the normal operation phase, collect and generate the normal three-dimensional image for the first time. Take the average value of the point information in each grid of the ROI area in the normal three-dimensional image as the normal initial value, and the sum of the grid warning value and the normal initial value as the warning threshold;

[0010] 5. When the average value of the point information in the grid is higher than the warning threshold value during the subsequent monitoring process, the blockage situation is checked, and it is determined whether to output a blockage signal based on the check result;

[0011] 6. Upon receiving a signal of a blockage, the robotic arm clears the blockage in the discharge port area.

[0012] Preferably, the step five includes the following steps:

[0013] Step 5.1, according to the position information of the inner wall of the material unloading shell determined in step 1, determine whether the grid above the warning threshold is the grid closest to the inner wall of the material unloading shell, if yes, go to step 5.2, otherwise output a signal of blockage;

[0014] Step 5.2: Compare and determine whether the grid above the warning threshold is the grid with the lowest position. If so, send a check signal; otherwise, output a signal indicating a blockage.

[0015] Preferably, the step five further includes the following steps for performing an inspection after the inspection signal is sent:

[0016] Step 5.3, check the current material thickness. If the current material thickness is unchanged compared to the material thickness at the beginning of the normal operation phase, go to step 5.4. Otherwise, go to step 4 to re-determine whether to trigger the inspection of the blockage situation.

[0017] Step 5.4, detect the current running speed of the belt conveyor. If the current running speed of the belt conveyor is unchanged compared to the running speed of the belt conveyor at the beginning of the normal operation stage, output a signal of blockage. Otherwise, go to step 4 to re-determine whether to trigger the inspection of the blockage situation.

[0018] Preferably, the specific process of step 5.3 includes: using the area at the output end of the belt conveyor as the thickness detection area for subsequent measurement of the material thickness on the conveyor belt, detecting the material thickness in the thickness detection area, and determining the current material thickness change value based on the material thickness in the normal three-dimensional image. If the material thickness has not changed, proceed to step 5.4; otherwise, correct the normal initial value, and then proceed to step 4 again based on the corrected and updated normal initial value to monitor whether to trigger a check on the blockage condition, and when checking again, use the material thickness detected last time as the comparison object for the material thickness change value.

[0019] Preferably, the specific process of step 5.4 includes: correcting the normal initial value according to the change of the running speed of the belt conveyor, and the correction method is determined based on the relationship between the running speed of the belt conveyor and the average value of the point information of the grid closest to the inner wall of the unloading shell obtained by multiple tests in the previous step 2; the normal initial value of the grid closest to the inner wall of the unloading shell is updated according to the average value of the point information of the grid closest to the inner wall of the unloading shell corresponding to the changed conveying speed; and based on the updated normal initial value, the process returns to step 4 to monitor whether to trigger the check of the blockage situation, and when checking again, the conveying speed detected last time is used as the comparison object of the change value of the conveying speed.

[0020] Preferably, the step five further comprises executing step 5.5 after outputting a signal indicating that a blockage has occurred:

[0021] Step 5.5, record the average value of the point information in each grid in the current state;

[0022] In step six, after the blockage is cleared, it is detected whether the average value of the point information in each grid is significantly lower than the average value of the point information in the grid under the previously recorded blocked state. If no blockage clearing failure signal is sent to the operator, the blockage is cleared again, otherwise return to step four to continue monitoring.

[0023] Preferably, the position information of the discharge port and the inner wall of the discharge shell around it can be determined through the point cloud information in the initial three-dimensional image, and the initial position information of the output end of the belt conveyor can also be determined. Here, the area of ​​the output end of the belt conveyor can also be manually selected, so as to use it as the thickness detection area for subsequent measurement of the thickness of the material on the conveyor belt.

[0024] The present invention has the following advantages: in this scheme, since factors such as the running speed of the belt conveyor and the increase in the thickness of the material thereon are taken into consideration in the identification process, the surface of the material is scanned by a laser array radar when it falls during the identification process, and corresponding gridding and calculation are performed, so that gridding comparison is achieved with less calculation amount, and it is determined whether there is a blockage causing material accumulation, and the abnormal situation is analyzed and checked step by step, and the changes in the running speed of the belt conveyor and the thickness of the material thereon are combined with the analysis process, thereby being able to more accurately judge whether a blockage occurs, and to eliminate the influence of material input changes on the identification results as much as possible. Since the judgment is more accurate, the method can also set a smaller judgment threshold, so that the system can detect the occurrence of blockage more promptly, and promptly control the mechanical arm clearing robot to clear the discharge port, so as to avoid excessive accumulation of blocked materials, resulting in a large amount of material overflowing during clearing, causing pollution to the conveying device and the environment below, and reducing the waste caused by material overflow. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 The present invention is a flow chart of a method for intelligently clearing blockage of a material inlet based on a laser radar algorithm.

[0026] Figure 2 It is a flow chart of the monitoring process in the present invention.

[0027] Figure 3 This is a system equipment topology diagram of the system used in the present invention.

[0028] Figure 4 This is a diagram of the system software architecture using the present invention.

[0029] Figure 5 The figure is a scene layout diagram of the laser array radar in the system using the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The specific implementation modes of the present invention will be further explained in detail below by describing the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, so as to help those skilled in the art to have a more complete, accurate and in-depth understanding of the inventive concept and technical solution of the present invention.

[0031] like Figure 1-5As shown, the present invention provides a method for intelligent clearing of a material port based on a laser radar algorithm, wherein the corresponding material port is a material port of a bucket-shaped material shell, and the material is input from above the material port through a belt conveyor, and a laser array radar capable of three-dimensional imaging and ranging is arranged above the material port, and the collection area of ​​the laser array radar includes the material port, the inner wall of the material shell around the material port, and the output end of the belt conveyor, and a mechanical arm clearing robot capable of automatically clearing the material port is arranged near the material port. The laser array radar can lay a whole surface of laser light to the entire lower area, and return information about the distance to the obstacle when encountering an obstacle. These distance data are read out through the SDK interface of the laser radar product, and three-dimensional imaging is performed through the algorithm. The above system uses the three-dimensional imaging and ranging technology of the laser array radar to build a set of laser array radar data intelligent clearing system, with the laser array radar as the front end, detection and judgment through the data processing algorithm, and the mechanical arm clearing robot as the tool to achieve clearing. The system monitors key points such as the material discharge port, intelligently identifies the material blockage status and automatically issues an alarm, and outputs a signal of blockage to the robot system to clear the blockage. The system uses a B / S architecture, displays video monitoring and alarm information on a web page, and can report alarm prompts and image data through the HTTP protocol. The laser array radar can realize intelligent and visual operations through the system processing.

[0032] The intelligent material inlet clearing method comprises the following steps.

[0033] 1. Before use, start the laser array radar to collect and generate an initial three-dimensional image of the feed opening in the initial state.

[0034] The point cloud information in the initial 3D image can be used to determine the position information of the discharge port and the inner wall of the surrounding discharge shell, as well as the initial position information of the output end of the belt conveyor. Here, you can also manually select the area at the output end of the belt conveyor, so that it can be used as the thickness detection area for subsequent measurement of the thickness of the material on the conveyor belt.

[0035] 2. During use, various belt conveyor operating speeds and material supply speeds are used for testing, and corresponding 3D images are collected and generated during the test, and the point information in the 3D image that does not conform to the initial 3D image is identified. This part of the data points is the conveyed material, and the area that may be covered by the material obtained in the test is determined as the ROI area for detecting the surface height of the material. The ROI area should exclude the thickness detection area at the output end of the belt conveyor.

[0036] 3. Grid the ROI area and set the grid warning value. When comparing the threshold, the average value of the point information in each grid is used as the comparison value. In this way, there is no need to calculate and compare each point information, which reduces the amount of calculation, and the monitoring sensitivity can still meet the requirements. The grid warning value of each grid can be the same, or it can be set to a different value according to the actual situation.

[0037] 4. Use this system to monitor the material discharge port. At the beginning of the normal operation phase, collect and generate a normal three-dimensional image for the first time. Take the average value of the point information in each grid in the ROI area of ​​the normal three-dimensional image as the normal initial value, and the sum of the grid warning value and the normal initial value as the warning threshold.

[0038] 5. When the average value of the point information in the grid is higher than the warning threshold value in the subsequent monitoring process, the blockage situation is checked, and it is determined whether to output a signal of blockage based on the check result. The check process specifically includes the following steps.

[0039] Step 5.1, first calculate and determine whether the grid above the warning threshold is the grid closest to the inner wall of the material discharge shell based on the position information of the inner wall of the material discharge shell determined in step 1, if so, go to step 5.2, otherwise output a signal of blockage and go to step 5.5.

[0040] When the material falls with the belt conveyor, the lowest point of the material surface is formed on the inner wall of the material shell far away from the discharge end, and then discharged along the inner wall of the material shell. When the discharge is smooth, the material thickness and the running speed of the belt conveyor do not affect the above rules. However, when a blockage occurs, the blocked part often protrudes from the normal material surface, and the protruding part may not be located on the inner wall of the material shell. Therefore, this step can distinguish the occurrence of blockage.

[0041] Step 5.2: Compare and determine whether the grid above the warning threshold is the lowest grid. If so, send a check signal and go to step 5.3; otherwise, output a blockage signal and go to step 5.5.

[0042] When the blocked part protrudes near the inner wall of the material discharging shell, the material surface close to the inner wall of the material discharging shell is bulged, and this part is usually no longer the lowest point of the material surface. Therefore, by detecting whether the lowest point of the material surface is a grid above the warning threshold, it can be further distinguished whether a blockage occurs. As for the situation in which the physical surface rises as a whole due to bottom blockage in some cases, it can be further distinguished through subsequent inspection process.

[0043] Step 5.3, check the current material thickness. If the current material thickness is unchanged relative to the material thickness at the beginning of the normal operation phase, go to step 5.4. Otherwise, go to step 4 to re-determine whether to trigger the inspection of the blockage.

[0044] The specific process of this step is: detect the point information of the material on the output end of the belt conveyor and calculate the material thickness with the point information of the output end of the belt conveyor in the initial three-dimensional image, that is, detect the material thickness in the thickness detection area. Determine the change value of the current material thickness based on the material thickness in the normal three-dimensional image. If the material thickness has not changed, go to step 5.4; otherwise, correct the normal initial value. If the thickness increases, increase the corresponding change value to the normal initial value. If the thickness decreases, reduce the corresponding change value to the normal initial value. Then, based on the corrected and updated normal initial value, go back to step 4 to monitor whether to trigger the inspection of the blockage. When checking again, the material thickness detected last time is used as the comparison object of the change value of the material thickness.

[0045] Step 5.4, detect the current running speed of the belt conveyor. If the current running speed of the belt conveyor is unchanged relative to the running speed of the belt conveyor at the beginning of the normal operation stage, output a signal of blockage and go to step 5.5. Otherwise, go to step 4 to re-judge whether to trigger the inspection of the blockage situation.

[0046] The normal initial value is corrected according to the change of the running speed of the belt conveyor. The correction method is determined based on the relationship between the running speed of the belt conveyor and the average value of the point information of the grid closest to the inner wall of the unloading shell obtained by multiple tests in the previous step 2. The normal initial value of the grid closest to the inner wall of the unloading shell is updated according to the average value of the point information of the grid closest to the inner wall of the unloading shell corresponding to the changed conveying speed. Based on the updated normal initial value, the process proceeds to step 4 to monitor whether to trigger the check of the blockage situation. When checking again, the conveying speed detected last time is used as the comparison object of the change value of the conveying speed.

[0047] Step 5.5: Record the average value of the point information in each grid under the current state.

[0048] In the above process, if step 5.3 determines that the current material thickness has changed significantly compared to the material thickness at the beginning of the normal operation phase, or step 5.4 determines that the current belt conveyor operating speed has changed significantly compared to the belt conveyor operating speed at the beginning of the normal operation phase, a corresponding prompt is simultaneously issued to the operator.

[0049] 6. Upon receiving a signal of a blockage, the robotic arm clears the blockage in the feed port area. After completion, it detects whether the average value of the point information in each grid is significantly lower than the average value of the point information in the grid under the previously recorded blockage state. If no clearing failure signal is sent to the operator, the clearing is performed again. Otherwise, return to step 4 to continue monitoring.

[0050] This method takes into account that the running speed of the belt conveyor and the thickness of the material on it may change due to the instability of the material transported at the front end. Therefore, the two are taken into consideration for checking the blockage situation. When the conveying speed and material thickness change, the normal initial value is corrected according to the change value, so that it can more accurately judge whether the discharge port is blocked. When judging, the ROI area is divided into grids according to the influence of the conveying speed and material thickness on the material shape of the bucket-shaped discharge shell during the discharge process, and the grids that need to be compared in the inspection are determined by position and height, and the average value of the point information in the grid is used for comparison, thereby avoiding calculation and comparison of all point information. At the same time, by considering the influence of the conveying speed and material thickness changes on the material height of the bucket-shaped discharge shell at different positions, it is guaranteed to the greatest extent that the comparison result meets the judgment needs and meets the needs of checking the blockage situation.

[0051] The present invention is described above by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned method. As long as various non-substantial improvements are made using the inventive concept and technical solution of the present invention, or the inventive concept and technical solution are directly applied to other occasions without improvement, they are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for intelligent clearing of material inlet blockage based on laser radar algorithm, characterized in that: The material is input from above the discharge port through a belt conveyor. A laser array radar capable of three-dimensional imaging and ranging is provided above the discharge port, and the process includes the following steps:

1. Start the laser array radar to collect and generate an initial three-dimensional image of the feed opening in the initial state before use; 2. During use, a variety of belt conveyor running speeds and material supply speeds are used for testing, and corresponding three-dimensional images are collected and generated during the test. The area that may be covered by the material obtained in the test is determined as the ROI area for detecting the material surface height; 3. Grid the ROI area and set the grid warning value; Fourth, use this system to monitor the material discharge port. At the beginning of the normal operation phase, collect and generate the normal three-dimensional image for the first time. Take the average value of the point information in each grid of the ROI area in the normal three-dimensional image as the normal initial value, and the sum of the grid warning value and the normal initial value as the warning threshold; 5. When the average value of the point information in the grid is higher than the warning threshold value during the subsequent monitoring process, the blockage situation is checked, and it is determined whether to output a blockage signal based on the check result; 6. Upon receiving a signal of a blockage, the robotic arm clears the blockage in the discharge port area; The step five includes the following steps: Step 5.1, according to the position information of the inner wall of the material unloading shell determined in step 1, determine whether the grid above the warning threshold is the grid closest to the inner wall of the material unloading shell, if yes, go to step 5.2, otherwise output a signal of blockage; Step 5.2, comparing and determining whether the grid above the warning threshold is the lowest grid, if so, sending a check signal, otherwise outputting a signal of a blockage; The step 5 also includes the following steps for performing a check after sending a check signal: Step 5.3, check the current material thickness. If the current material thickness is unchanged compared to the material thickness at the beginning of the normal operation phase, go to step 5.

4. Otherwise, go to step 4 to re-determine whether to trigger the inspection of the blockage situation. Step 5.4, detect the current running speed of the belt conveyor. If the current running speed of the belt conveyor is unchanged compared to the running speed of the belt conveyor at the beginning of the normal operation stage, output a signal of blockage. Otherwise, go to step 4 to re-determine whether to trigger the inspection of the blockage situation.

2. According to claim 1, a method for intelligent clearing of material inlet blockage based on laser radar algorithm is characterized in that: The specific process of step 5.3 includes: using the area at the output end of the belt conveyor as the thickness detection area for subsequent measurement of the material thickness on the conveyor belt, detecting the material thickness in the thickness detection area, and determining the current material thickness change value based on the material thickness in the normal three-dimensional image. If the material thickness has not changed, proceed to step 5.4; otherwise, correct the normal initial value, and then return to step 4 based on the corrected and updated normal initial value to monitor whether to trigger a check for the blockage condition. When checking again, the material thickness detected last time is used as the comparison object for the material thickness change value.

3. The intelligent clearing method for a material inlet based on a laser radar algorithm according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The specific process of step 5.4 includes: correcting the normal initial value according to the change of the running speed of the belt conveyor, and the correction method is determined based on the relationship between the running speed of the belt conveyor and the average value of the point information of the grid closest to the inner wall of the unloading shell obtained by multiple tests in the previous step 2; the normal initial value of the grid closest to the inner wall of the unloading shell is updated according to the average value of the point information of the grid closest to the inner wall of the unloading shell corresponding to the changed conveying speed; and based on the updated normal initial value, the process returns to step 4 to monitor whether to trigger the check of the blockage situation, and when checking again, the conveying speed detected last time is used as the comparison object of the change value of the conveying speed.

4. The intelligent clearing method for a material inlet based on a laser radar algorithm according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The step five also includes executing step 5.5 after outputting a signal that a blockage has occurred: Step 5.5, record the average value of the point information in each grid in the current state; In step six, after the blockage is cleared, it is detected whether the average value of the point information in each grid is significantly lower than the average value of the point information in the grid under the previously recorded blocked state. If no blockage clearing failure signal is sent to the operator, the blockage is cleared again, otherwise return to step four to continue monitoring.

5. The intelligent clearing method for a material inlet based on a laser radar algorithm according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The point cloud information in the initial three-dimensional image can be used to determine the position information of the discharge port and the inner wall of the surrounding discharge shell, and the initial position information of the output end of the belt conveyor can also be determined; the area at the output end of the belt conveyor is manually selected and used as the thickness detection area for subsequent measurement of the material thickness on the conveyor belt.

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