A baggage tray handling system and method

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of process control and detection, and particularly relates to a luggage tray processing system and method. The system comprises a tray detection position, a control unit, a transmission mechanism, a first sensing device and an empty tray recognition unit. The first sensing device is used for recognizing whether the tray detection position has a tray. The empty tray recognition unit is used for recognizing whether the tray is an empty tray. The control unit is used for sending a recognition instruction to the empty tray recognition unit and sending a transmission instruction to the transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism is used for transporting the empty tray of the tray detection position to the tray falling module and transporting the luggage tray to be detected to the tray detection position according to the received transmission instruction. The luggage tray processing system of the present application can automatically recognize the tray, and automatically put the empty tray into the tray falling module of the luggage transmission system after recognizing the empty tray, thereby greatly reducing the labor intensity of the on-site staff.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of process control and detection technology, and specifically relates to a luggage tray handling system and method. Background Technology

[0002] The secure side passage of the baggage claim module at the end of the passenger baggage handling system is used to store passenger baggage trays without suspicious items. After passengers remove their baggage from the secure side trays, the empty trays need to be manually collected and sorted by on-site staff and placed into a special return mechanism before they can be automatically transported to the front end of the passenger baggage handling system for reuse. During peak airport passenger traffic periods, the increased number of baggage trays on the system, the heavy workload of staff opening and manually inspecting bags making it difficult to collect empty trays, and congestion caused by passengers not retrieving their baggage for extended periods lead to delays in the timely retrieval of empty baggage trays on the secure side passage of the baggage claim module. This reduces the efficiency of empty tray return and consequently lowers the overall efficiency of the passenger baggage handling system. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a baggage tray handling system and method to solve the problem that an excessive number of baggage trays in a passenger baggage transport system leads to the untimely retrieval of empty baggage trays on the safety side channel of the baggage waiting module at the end of the passenger baggage transport system, thereby reducing the working efficiency of the entire passenger baggage transport system.

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a luggage tray handling system, including a tray detection position, a control unit, a transmission mechanism, a first sensing device, and an empty tray identification unit;

[0005] The first sensing device is used to identify whether there is a tray at the tray detection position and send the identification result to the control unit;

[0006] The empty disk identification unit is used to identify whether the disk at the disk detection position is empty based on the received identification command and send the identification result to the control unit;

[0007] The control unit is used to send an identification command to the empty tray identification unit according to a preset control strategy when there is a tray at the tray detection position. It is also used to send a transmission command to the transmission mechanism according to a preset control strategy when the identification result of the empty tray identification unit is an empty tray, so as to transport the empty tray at the tray detection position to the tray dropping module of the baggage transmission system. It is also used to send a transmission command to the transmission mechanism when there is no tray at the tray detection position, so as to transport the next tray to be detected to the tray detection position.

[0008] The transmission mechanism is used to transport empty pallets from the pallet detection position to the pallet dropping module and to transport luggage pallets to be detected to the pallet detection position according to the received transmission instructions.

[0009] Its beneficial effects are as follows: The luggage tray handling system of the present invention can automatically identify the trays and automatically place the empty trays into the tray dropping module of the luggage transfer system after identifying the empty trays, thereby greatly reducing the labor intensity of on-site staff.

[0010] Preferably, the system also includes an alarm device for triggering an alarm based on a received alarm command. The control unit is further configured to send an alarm command to the alarm unit according to a preset control strategy when the identification result corresponding to the pallet at the pallet detection position is a non-empty pallet, thereby triggering the alarm device to alert on-site personnel.

[0011] Its beneficial effects are as follows: if there are items on the tray at the tray detection station, the tray will stop at the tray detection station and wait to be sorted, which will affect the working efficiency of the luggage tray handling system. By reminding the on-site staff to remove the items from the tray, the luggage tray handling system can transport the tray to the tray dropping module and continue to detect the next tray.

[0012] Preferably, the device further includes a second sensing device and a third sensing device. The second sensing device is used to identify whether there are passengers near the tray detection position and send the identification result to the control unit. The third sensing device is used to identify whether the tray-dropping module is fully loaded and send the identification result to the control unit. The control unit is used to send an identification command to the empty tray identification unit when there is a tray at the tray detection position, no passengers near the tray detection position, and the tray-dropping module is not fully loaded.

[0013] Its beneficial effects are as follows: if there are passengers near the tray detection position, it means that the passengers are likely to be tidying up the items in the tray. The tray is not empty, but it will become empty after tidying up. Therefore, by delaying the identification, human interference can be avoided and the identification accuracy can be improved. If the tray is placed on top when the tray dropping module is full, it may fall. By delaying the identification, it can be ensured that the tray dropping module will not fall off.

[0014] Preferably, it also includes a tray to be detected position, which is located upstream of the tray detection position and the two are arranged adjacent to each other.

[0015] Preferably, a fourth sensing device is provided at the pallet detection position to identify whether there is a pallet at the pallet detection position and to send the identification result to the control unit. The fourth sensing device is connected to the control unit.

[0016] Preferably, the first sensing device, the second sensing device, the third sensing device and the fourth sensing device are all photoelectric switches.

[0017] To address the aforementioned technical problems, the present invention also provides a luggage tray processing method based on a luggage tray processing system. The luggage tray processing system includes a tray detection position, a control unit, a transmission mechanism, and an empty tray identification unit. The luggage tray processing method includes the following steps:

[0018] 1) When there is no pallet at the detection position and there is a pallet at the pallet to be detected position, the control unit sends a transmission command to the transmission mechanism to transport the pallet from the pallet to be detected position to the pallet detection position.

[0019] 2) When the tray drop module is not fully loaded and there are no passengers near the tray detection position, the control unit delays for a first preset time to send an identification command to the empty tray identification unit and waits to receive the identification result from the empty tray identification unit; if the control unit receives the identification result from the empty tray identification unit within a second preset time and the identification result is that there are no foreign objects in the tray, the control unit sends a transmission command to the transmission mechanism to transmit the empty tray at the tray detection position to the tray drop module.

[0020] Its beneficial effects are as follows: The luggage tray handling method based on the luggage tray handling system of this invention can automatically identify the trays. After identifying an empty tray, it automatically places it into the tray dropping module of the luggage conveying system, thereby greatly reducing the labor intensity of on-site staff. If the identification results are all foreign objects in the tray after a preset number of consecutive identifications, it indicates that there are items in the luggage tray and that no one has been tidying it up. An alarm can be set up to remind on-site staff.

[0021] Preferably, it also includes an alarm device; in step 2), if the control unit receives the identification result of the empty disk identification unit within the second preset time period and the identification result is that there is a foreign object in the tray, the control unit sends the identification command to the empty disk identification unit again to re-identify. If the identification result is that there is a foreign object in the tray after K consecutive identifications, the control unit sends an alarm command to the alarm device, where K represents the preset number of times.

[0022] Preferably, in step 2), if the control unit does not receive the recognition result from the empty tray recognition unit within the second preset time period, the luggage tray processing system is subjected to fault detection. The fault detection method includes: detecting whether the communication between the control unit and the empty tray recognition unit is normal. If it is normal, the empty tray recognition unit is determined to be faulty; if it is not normal, the communication between the empty tray recognition unit and the control unit is determined to be abnormal.

[0023] Preferably, the method for detecting whether the communication between the control unit and the empty disk identification unit is normal is as follows: the control unit sends a query connection status code to the empty disk identification unit and waits for the empty disk identification unit to return a connection status code; if the control unit receives the connection status code returned by the empty disk identification unit within a third preset time after sending the code, it is determined that the communication between the two is normal; if the control unit does not receive the connection status code returned by the empty disk identification unit within a third preset time after sending the code, it is determined that the communication between the two is abnormal. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the luggage tray handling system of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 The sensor arrangement of the present invention Figure 1 ;

[0026] Figure 3 The sensor arrangement of the present invention Figure 2 ;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the luggage tray handling system of the present invention.

[0028] Figure description: 1 is the empty disk identification module, 2 is the bracket, 3 is the alarm device, 4 is the transmission mechanism, 5 is the first sensing device, 6 is the first sensing unit, 7 is the second sensing unit, 8 is the third sensing unit, and 9 is the fourth sensing unit. Detailed Implementation

[0029] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0030] Example of a luggage tray handling system:

[0031] The baggage transfer system includes an upper conveyor roller conveyor for transporting baggage trays to the end of the system and a lower conveyor roller conveyor for transporting empty baggage trays to the beginning of the system. The upper and lower conveyor roller conveyors are flush with each other. A tray-dropping module for placing empty trays onto the lower conveyor roller conveyor is located at the downstream end of the upper conveyor roller conveyor. The rollers on the upper conveyor roller conveyor located in the safety side passage area are non-powered rollers.

[0032] like Figure 1As shown, the luggage tray handling system of the present invention includes a control unit, which is connected to an alarm device 3 and a transmission mechanism 4, and is connected to a first sensor device 5, a second sensor device, a third sensor device and a fourth sensor device for sampling, and is communicatively connected to an empty tray identification unit 1. The transmission mechanism is used to transport empty trays at the tray detection position to the tray dropping module of the luggage transmission system and to transport luggage trays at the tray detection position to the tray detection position according to the instructions issued by the control unit. Both the tray detection position and the tray detection position are located on the transmission mechanism, with the tray detection position located upstream of the tray detection position and the two being arranged adjacent to each other. The empty tray identification unit 1 is disposed on a bracket 2 located at the edge of the tray detection position. The alarm device is used to alert on-site personnel based on instructions issued by the control unit. The first sensor identifies whether a tray is present at the tray detection position and sends the identification result to the control unit. The second sensor identifies whether there are passengers near the tray detection position and sends the identification result to the control unit. The third sensor identifies whether the tray-dropping module is fully loaded and sends the identification result to the control unit. The fourth sensor identifies whether a tray is present at the tray-to-be-detected position and sends the identification result to the control unit. An empty tray identification unit is located at the tray detection position and identifies whether the tray at the detection position is empty based on instructions issued by the control unit, sending the identification result to the control unit. The control unit sends instructions to the transmission mechanism to transport the next tray to be detected to the tray detection position when there is no tray at the detection position. It also sends instructions to the transmission mechanism to transport the empty tray at the tray detection position to the tray-dropping module when the empty tray identification unit indicates an empty tray and the tray-dropping module is not fully loaded. Furthermore, it sends instructions to the alarm unit to trigger an alarm according to a preset control strategy. Finally, it sends identification instructions to the empty tray identification unit when there is a tray at the tray detection position.

[0033] The transmission mechanism can be a conveyor belt or a roller conveyor. To save costs, in this embodiment, the two rollers at the downstream position of the upper transmission roller conveyor of the baggage transmission system are replaced with electric rollers and used as the transmission mechanism of the baggage tray handling system of the present invention. One roller is located at the tray waiting position and the other is located at the tray detection position; the tray detection position is set at the downstream end of the upper transmission roller conveyor. The electric rollers can easily transport the trays downstream. When the electric rollers stop, the trays can be stopped at a certain position due to the friction between the electric rollers and the trays. To prevent non-empty trays at the tray detection position from entering the tray dropping module under special circumstances, an electric baffle is also provided at the end of the tray detection position. The controlled end of the electric baffle is connected to the control unit.

[0034] In other embodiments, a conveyor belt or roller conveyor may also be provided as a transmission mechanism. The upstream of the conveyor belt or roller conveyor must be connected to the downstream position of the upper transmission roller conveyor of the baggage transmission system and kept at the same height.

[0035] like Figure 2 As shown, the first sensing device includes a first sensing unit 6 and a second sensing unit 7 respectively located at the end and beginning of the tray detection position. The fourth sensing device includes a fourth sensing unit 9 for identifying whether there is a tray to be detected at the tray detection position. The distance between the first and second sensing units is 600mm, and the distance between the fourth and second sensing units is 240mm. The first, second, and third sensing units are all mounted on the frame of the upper conveyor roller conveyor of the baggage transfer system. An installation opening needs to be made in the frame for mounting the sensors; the opening size is 35mm × 15mm. Other sizes can also be selected depending on the size of the sensors. The third sensing device includes a third sensing unit 8 located on top of the tray dropping module.

[0036] like Figure 3 As shown, the second sensing device includes a fifth sensing unit and a sixth sensing unit installed on the outer door panel of the tray detection position at the end of the safety side passage. The distance between the fifth and sixth sensing units can be 280mm, the distance from the fifth sensing unit to the edge of the outer door panel is 280mm, the distance from the sixth sensing unit to the edge of the outer door panel is 280mm, the height of the fifth and sixth sensing units from the ground is 700mm, and the opening size of the mounting ports for the fifth and sixth sensing units can be 35mm × 15mm.

[0037] The first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth sensing units can all be photoelectric switches, or other suitable sensors. The control unit can be a programmable logic controller (PLC), a microcontroller, or a single-chip microcomputer; preferably, a PLC is used in this embodiment. The alarm device can be an audible and visual alarm or an alarm indicator light; in this embodiment, an alarm indicator light with three colors—red, green, and yellow—is used as the alarm device. The empty tray identification unit consists of an industrial computer and an industrial camera. It can automatically identify whether there are items in the tray based on photos taken by the industrial camera. The specific identification method belongs to existing computer vision technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0038] like Figure 4 As shown, the working principle and process of the luggage tray handling system of the present invention are as follows:

[0039] 1) When there is no pallet at the pallet detection position and there is a pallet at the pallet to be detected position, the programmable controller sends a command to the electric roller to transport the pallet from the pallet to be detected position to the pallet detection position.

[0040] The presence of a tray at the tray detection position can be determined based on the recognition results of the first and second sensing units; the presence of a tray at the tray detection position can be determined based on the recognition results of the fourth sensing unit.

[0041] 2) After the pallet arrives at the pallet detection position, if the pallet dropping module is not fully loaded and there are no passengers near the pallet detection position, proceed to the next step; if the pallet dropping module is fully loaded or there are passengers near the pallet detection position, wait until the pallet dropping module is not fully loaded and there are no passengers near the pallet detection position before proceeding to the next step.

[0042] If there are passengers near the tray detection position, it means that the passengers are likely tidying up the items in the tray. The tray is not empty, but it will become empty after tidying up. Therefore, by delaying the recognition, human interference can be avoided and the recognition accuracy can be improved. If the tray is placed on top when the tray placement module is full, it may fall. By delaying the recognition, it can be ensured that the tray placement module will not fall off.

[0043] The visual results from the third sensing unit can determine whether the tray-dropping module is fully loaded; the recognition results from the fifth and sixth sensing units can determine whether there are passengers near the detection position.

[0044] 3) The programmable controller sends the identification command to the empty disk identification unit after a first preset time delay and waits to receive the identification result.

[0045] The identification command issued by the programmable controller is a request for identification result code. After receiving the command from the programmable controller, the empty disk identification unit begins to take pictures and perform identification. After the identification is completed, it automatically sends the identification result to the programmable controller. The first preset time is 1 second.

[0046] 4) If the programmable controller does not receive the identification result of the empty tray identification unit within the second preset time after sending the identification command, it will perform fault detection, and terminate the operation of the luggage tray handling system after the fault is detected, and repair the luggage tray handling system; if the programmable controller receives the identification result of the empty tray identification unit within the second preset time after sending the identification command, it will proceed to the next step.

[0047] The fault detection method includes: the programmable controller (PLC) sends a query connection status code to the empty disk identification unit and waits for the empty disk identification unit to return a connection status code; if the PLC receives the connection status code returned by the empty disk identification unit within a third preset time period after sending the code, it determines that the empty disk identification unit is faulty; if the PLC does not receive the connection status code returned by the empty disk identification unit within the third preset time period after sending the code, it determines that the communication between the empty disk identification unit and the PLC is abnormal. The third preset time period can be 3 seconds.

[0048] 5) If the identification result is that there are no foreign objects in the tray, the programmable controller sends a transmission command to the electric roller and a baffle removal command to the electric baffle to transfer the empty tray at the tray detection position to the tray dropping module, and sends a green light command to the alarm indicator and returns to step 1); if the identification result is that there are foreign objects in the tray, the programmable controller sends an identification command to the empty tray identification unit again and sends a red light command to the alarm indicator and returns to step 4); if the identification result is other, the programmable controller sends a yellow light command to the alarm indicator.

[0049] If the system detects a foreign object in the tray K times consecutively, the programmable controller sends a command to the alarm indicator light to illuminate yellow. K represents the preset number of times, which can be 4. After the alarm indicator light illuminates yellow, the system awaits manual intervention. If the system detects a foreign object in the tray consecutively for the preset number of times, it indicates that there are items in the luggage tray that have not been tidied up. An alarm will alert on-site staff so that they can tidy up the items in the tray.

[0050] The luggage tray handling system of the present invention can automatically identify the trays and automatically place empty trays into the tray dropping module of the luggage conveying system, thereby greatly reducing the labor intensity of on-site staff.

[0051] Example of a luggage tray handling method based on a luggage tray handling system:

[0052] This invention also provides a luggage tray handling method based on a luggage tray handling system. The structure, specific details, and beneficial effects of the luggage tray handling system have been described in the embodiments of the luggage tray handling system and will not be repeated here. The luggage tray handling method includes the following steps:

[0053] 1) When there is no pallet at the pallet detection position and there is a pallet at the pallet to be detected position, the control unit sends a transmission command to the transmission mechanism to transport the pallet from the pallet to be detected position to the pallet detection position.

[0054] 2) When the tray drop module is not fully loaded and there are no passengers near the tray detection position, the control unit delays sending a recognition command to the empty tray recognition unit for a first preset time and waits to receive the recognition result from the empty tray recognition unit. If the control unit receives the recognition result from the empty tray recognition unit within a second preset time and the recognition result is that there are no foreign objects in the tray, the control unit sends a transmission command to the transmission mechanism to transmit the empty tray at the tray detection position to the tray drop module. If the control unit receives the recognition result from the empty tray recognition unit within a second preset time and the recognition result is that there are foreign objects in the tray, the control unit sends the recognition command to the empty tray recognition unit again to re-identify. If the recognition result is that there are foreign objects in the tray after K consecutive recognitions, the control unit sends an alarm command to the alarm device, where K represents the preset number of times.

[0055] If the identification result is otherwise, the control unit sends an alarm command to the alarm device.

[0056] If the control unit does not receive the recognition result from the empty disk recognition unit within the second preset time period, a fault detection is performed on the luggage tray processing. The fault detection method includes: the control unit sends a query connection status code to the empty disk recognition unit and waits for the empty disk recognition unit to return a connection status code; if the control unit receives the connection status code returned by the empty disk recognition unit within the third preset time period after sending the code, it is determined that the empty disk recognition unit is faulty; if the control unit does not receive the connection status code returned by the empty disk recognition unit within the third preset time period after sending the code, it is determined that the communication between the empty disk recognition unit and the control unit is abnormal.

[0057] The specific details and beneficial effects of the luggage tray handling method based on the luggage tray handling system of the present invention have been described in the embodiments of the luggage tray handling system, and will not be repeated here.

Claims

1. A luggage tray handling system, characterized in that, It includes a tray detection position, a control unit, a transmission mechanism, an empty tray identification unit, a first sensor, a second sensor, and a third sensor; The first, second, and third sensors are used to identify whether there is a tray at the tray detection position, whether there is a passenger near the tray detection position, and whether the tray dropping module is fully loaded, respectively, and send the identification results to the control unit. The empty disk identification unit is used to identify whether the disk at the disk detection position is empty based on the received identification command and send the identification result to the control unit; The control unit is used to send an identification command to the empty tray identification unit according to a preset control strategy when there is a tray at the tray detection position, no passengers are near the tray detection position, and the tray dropping module is not fully loaded. It is also used to send a transmission command to the transmission mechanism located at the tray detection position according to a preset control strategy when the identification result of the empty tray identification unit is received as an empty tray within a second preset time period, so as to transport the empty tray at the tray detection position to the tray dropping module of the baggage transfer system. It is also used to send a transmission command to the transmission mechanism located at the tray waiting to be detected position when there is no tray at the tray detection position, so as to transport the next tray to be detected at the tray waiting to be detected position to the tray detection position. The transmission mechanism is used to transport empty pallets from the pallet detection position to the pallet dropping module and to transport luggage pallets to be detected to the pallet detection position according to the received transmission instructions.

2. The luggage tray handling system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes an alarm device for triggering an alarm based on a received alarm command. The control unit is further configured to send an alarm command to the alarm unit according to a preset control strategy when the identification result corresponding to the pallet at the pallet detection position is a non-empty pallet, so as to activate the alarm device and alert on-site personnel.

3. The luggage tray handling system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first sensing device includes two sensing units respectively located at the end and the beginning of the tray detection position.

4. The luggage tray handling system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The pallet detection position is located upstream of and adjacent to the pallet detection position. The pallet detection position is equipped with a fourth sensing device for identifying whether there is a pallet at the pallet detection position and sending the identification result to the control unit. The fourth sensing device is connected to the control unit.

5. The luggage tray handling system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit is also used to send a query connection status code to the empty disk identification unit if it does not receive the identification result from the empty disk identification unit within a second preset time period, and wait for the empty disk identification unit to return a connection status code. If the connection status code returned by the empty disk identification unit is received within a third preset time period after sending the code, it is determined that the empty disk identification unit is faulty. If the connection status code returned by the empty disk identification unit is not received within a third preset time period after sending the code, it is determined that the communication between the control unit and the empty disk identification unit is abnormal.

6. The luggage tray handling system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The second sensing device includes two sensing units installed on the outer door panel of the tray detection position at the end of the safety side passage.

7. A luggage tray handling method based on a luggage tray handling system, characterized in that, The luggage tray handling system includes a tray detection station, a control unit, a transfer mechanism, and an empty tray identification unit; the method includes: 1) When there is no pallet at the pallet detection position and there is a pallet at the pallet detection position, the control unit sends a transmission command to the transmission mechanism located at the pallet detection position to transport the pallet at the pallet detection position to the pallet detection position. 2) When there is a tray at the tray detection position, the tray dropping module is not fully loaded, and there are no passengers near the tray detection position, the control unit delays for a first preset time to send an identification command to the empty tray identification unit and waits to receive the identification result from the empty tray identification unit; if the control unit receives the identification result from the empty tray identification unit within a second preset time and the identification result is that there are no foreign objects in the tray, the control unit sends a transmission command to the transmission mechanism located at the tray detection position to transmit the empty tray at the detection position to the tray dropping module.

8. The luggage tray handling method based on the luggage tray handling system as described in claim 7, characterized in that, It also includes an alarm device; in step 2), if the control unit receives the identification result of the empty disk identification unit within the second preset time period and the identification result is that there is a foreign object in the tray, the control unit sends the identification command to the empty disk identification unit again to re-identify. If the identification result is that there is a foreign object in the tray after K consecutive identifications, the control unit sends an alarm command to the alarm device, where K represents the preset number of times.

9. The luggage tray handling method based on the luggage tray handling system as described in claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, If the control unit does not receive the recognition result from the empty tray recognition unit within the second preset time period in step 2), the luggage tray handling system will be checked for faults. The fault detection method includes: checking whether the communication between the control unit and the empty tray recognition unit is normal. If it is normal, the empty tray recognition unit is determined to be faulty; if it is not normal, the communication between the empty tray recognition unit and the control unit is determined to be abnormal.

10. The luggage tray handling method based on the luggage tray handling system as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The method for detecting whether the communication between the control unit and the empty disk identification unit is normal is as follows: the control unit sends a query connection status code to the empty disk identification unit and waits for the empty disk identification unit to return a connection status code; if the control unit receives the connection status code returned by the empty disk identification unit within the third preset time after sending the code, it is determined that the communication between the two is normal; if the control unit does not receive the connection status code returned by the empty disk identification unit within the third preset time after sending the code, it is determined that the communication between the two is abnormal.

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