Method for controlling a push plate mechanism in a sorting device and corresponding sorting device

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for controlling a push plate mechanism in a sorting device and a corresponding sorting device. A method for controlling a push plate mechanism is described, the push plate mechanism includes a plurality of push plates for striking a material to be separated, the method comprising: based on the current material to be separated, determining a target push plate for striking the current material to be separated, the current actuated moment of the target push plate, and the current duration for which the target push plate remains in a target position; determining whether the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuated moment; and if the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuated moment, then: advancing the current actuated moment so that the target push plate strikes the current material to be separated in a stationary state at the target position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to material sorting, and more particularly to a method for controlling a push plate mechanism in a sorting device, a sorting device, and a machine-readable medium. Background Art

[0002] In the field of mining technology, sorting equipment is one of the key equipment, which is used to separate the target ore from other materials in the collected materials. As a common implementation method, the sorting equipment usually first predetermines the target ore that meets the sorting index in the material on the conveying device through an image recognition device, and then drives the sorting execution component to perform sorting operations on the determined target ore. When the material falls off the conveying device through the sorting execution component, the sorting execution component can selectively change the movement trajectory of the material according to the material type or physical properties, ensuring that two or more materials of different types or corresponding physical properties move with different movement trajectories. Common sorting execution components may include, for example, a push plate mechanism.

[0003] In conventional push-plate sorting equipment, in order to ensure sorting efficiency, the push-plate mechanism is often set to operate with the minimum action time and the highest action frequency, and hit the material during the lifting period to complete the material sorting. However, according to the law of conservation of momentum, the push plate hits the material in a moving state during the lifting period, so that the momentum change Δmv of the push plate when completing the hitting action on the material is very large, and the push plate and its actuator will be subjected to a large impact force, causing the push plate and its actuator to be easily damaged, which has an adverse effect on their service life. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to at least solve one or more of the technical problems mentioned above, the present invention proposes a method for controlling a push plate mechanism, a sorting device and a machine-readable medium in multiple aspects. The technical solution proposed by the present invention can make the push plate lift up in advance and hit the material in a stationary state when the push plate is idle, thereby reducing the momentum change Δmv when the push plate completes the hitting action on the material without reducing the sorting efficiency of the sorting equipment, so that the impact force on the push plate and its actuator is smaller, thereby protecting the push plate mechanism and extending its service life. On the other hand, the technical solution proposed by the present invention can also allow the push plate not to retract in the case of continuous appearance of materials to be separated until the hitting actions on each continuous material to be separated are all completed, thereby improving the sorting efficiency; in addition, due to the reduction in the number of actuation times of the actuator and the number of reciprocating motions of the push plate, the service life of the push plate mechanism can be further extended.

[0005] In one aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling a push plate mechanism is provided, wherein the push plate mechanism includes a plurality of push plates for striking materials to be separated, and the method includes: based on a current material to be separated, determining a target push plate for striking the current material to be separated, a current actuated moment of the target push plate, and a current duration for which the target push plate remains in a target position; determining whether the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuated moment; and if the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated of the current material to be separated at the current actuated moment, then: advancing the current actuated moment so that the target push plate strikes the current material to be separated in a stationary state at the target position.

[0006] The method as described above, wherein the method also includes, if the target push plate has not completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated of the current material to be separated at the current actuation moment, then: determining whether there are other materials between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated that are different in type from the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated; and if the other materials do not exist, controlling the target push plate to remain in the target position after completing the striking action on the previous material to be separated until the target push plate completes the striking action on the current material to be separated.

[0007] A method as described in any one of the above items, wherein the method further comprises: if the other material exists between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated, controlling the target push plate to retract after completing the striking action on the previous material to be separated.

[0008] A method as described in any one of the above, wherein advancing the current actuated time comprises advancing the current actuated time by a fixed amount of time.

[0009] A method as described in any of the above items, wherein advancing the current actuated moment comprises: determining the amount of time by which the current actuated moment is to be advanced so that the push plate mechanism is actuated in advance and does not hit other materials of a type different from the type of the current material to be separated; and advancing the current actuated moment by the determined amount of time.

[0010] A method as described in any of the above items, wherein the method further includes: if the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated of the current material to be separated at the current actuated moment, then: advancing the current actuated moment and extending the current duration that the target push plate remains in the target position, wherein the amount of time by which the current actuated moment is advanced is equal to the amount of time by which the current duration is extended.

[0011] A method as described in any of the above items, wherein the push plate mechanism is controlled via multiple instruction queues, wherein each instruction queue is used to control a push plate in the push plate mechanism and includes one or more instructions, and wherein each instruction at least defines the actuation moment T of the corresponding push plate and the duration ΔT of maintaining the corresponding target position.

[0012] A method as described in any of the above items, wherein the instruction queue for controlling the target push plate includes at least a previous instruction for controlling the target push plate to hit the previous material to be separated before the current material to be separated, the previous instruction at least defines the previous actuated moment T1 of the target push plate and the previous duration ΔT1 that the target push plate remained in the target position, and wherein determining whether the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuated moment includes: based on the current actuated moment of the target push plate and the current duration that the target push plate is in the target position, generating an initial instruction for controlling the target push plate to hit the current material to be separated, the initial instruction at least defines the current actuated moment T2 of the target push plate and the current duration ΔT2 that the target push plate remains in the target position; and for the previous instruction and the initial instruction, determining whether the current actuated moment T2 defined in the initial instruction, the previous actuated moment T1 defined in the previous instruction, and the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction satisfy T2>T1+ΔT1.

[0013] A method as described in any of the above items, wherein, if the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated of the current material to be separated at the current actuated moment, then advancing the current actuated moment so that the target push plate strikes the current material to be separated in a stationary state at the target position includes: if the current actuated moment T2 defined in the initial instruction, the previous actuated moment T1 defined in the previous instruction and the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction satisfy T2>T1+ΔT1, then: modifying the initial instruction so that the current actuated moment defined in the initial instruction is reduced from T2 to T2'; updating the instruction queue for controlling the target push plate based on the modified initial instruction; and controlling the target push plate based on the updated instruction queue so that the target push plate strikes the current material to be separated in a stationary state at the target position.

[0014] A method as described in any of the above items, wherein the method also includes if the current actuated moment T2 defined in the initial instruction, the previous actuated moment T1 defined in the previous instruction and the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction do not satisfy T2>T1+ΔT1, then: determining whether there are other materials between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated that are different in type from the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated; if the other materials do not exist, modifying the previous instruction so that the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction is increased to ΔT1'; updating the instruction queue for controlling the target push plate based on the modified previous instruction; and controlling the target push plate based on the updated instruction queue so that the target push plate remains in the target position until the current material to be separated is hit.

[0015] A method as described in any one of the above items, wherein the method further comprises: if the other material exists between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated, then: controlling the target push plate based on an instruction queue including the previous instruction and the initial instruction.

[0016] In another aspect of the present invention, a sorting device is provided, the sorting device comprising: a push plate mechanism, wherein the push plate mechanism strikes the material to be separated by the method described in any one of the above.

[0017] In yet another aspect of the present invention, a machine-readable medium is provided, comprising instructions, which, when executed, cause a machine to perform any of the above methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] By reading the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention will become readily understood. In the accompanying drawings, several embodiments of the present invention are shown in an exemplary and non-limiting manner, and the same or corresponding reference numerals represent the same or corresponding parts, wherein:

[0019] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a push plate mechanism;

[0020] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a scene in which materials are sorted using a plate push sorting device;

[0021] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a plate pushing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method for controlling a plate pushing mechanism according to some other embodiments of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of a sorting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0025] It should be understood that the terms "include" and "comprising" used in the description and claims of the present invention indicate the presence of described features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0026] It should also be understood that the terms used in this specification of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used in the specification of the present invention and the claims, the singular forms of "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be further understood that the term "and / or" used in the specification of the present invention and the claims refers to any combination of one or more of the associated listed items and all possible combinations, and includes these combinations.

[0027] As used in this specification and claims, the term "if" may be interpreted as "when" or "upon" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting," depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase "if it is determined" or "if [described condition or event] is detected" may be interpreted as meaning "upon determination" or "in response to determining" or "upon detection of [described condition or event]" or "in response to detecting [described condition or event]," depending on the context.

[0028] It should be noted that the "material to be separated", "material to be separated" and similar expressions used in this article are intended to indicate the materials in the collected materials that need to be separated from the rest of the materials through the sorting operation of the sorting equipment (for example, the striking of the push plate), which can be the desired ore or other impurity materials. Correspondingly, the "material that does not need to be separated" used in this article is intended to indicate the materials that do not need to change their movement trajectory through the sorting operation of the sorting equipment, but maintain their original trajectory from the conveying mechanism to reach the corresponding collection box, which is a material of a different type from the "material to be separated", "material to be separated", etc. That is, when the "material to be separated", "material to be separated", etc. are the desired ore, the "material that does not need to be separated" are the other materials in the collected materials except the desired ore, and when the "material to be separated", "material to be separated", etc. are the other materials in the collected materials except the desired ore, the "material that does not need to be separated" are the desired ore.

[0029] Figure 1 A push plate mechanism 100 is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the push plate mechanism 100 includes a base 102, a back plate 104, a push plate 106, and an actuator 108, wherein the actuator 108 is used to actuate the push plate 106. The push plate mechanism 100 generally includes a plurality of push plates 106, each of which is independently actuated to perform material sorting. The actuator 108 can use a cylinder, an oil cylinder, an electric cylinder or other actuators to actuate the push plate 106, so that the push plate 106 reciprocates relative to the base 102 and the back plate 104, is lifted to the target position to hit the material, and retracts to the initial position after completing the hitting action.

[0030] Figure 2 FIG. 2 shows a scene 200 in which a plate push type sorting device is sorting materials. Figure 2 As shown, the various materials collected are conveyed on the conveying mechanism 202 and finally arrive at the collecting mechanism 208, which includes a plurality of collecting boxes 2081 and 2082 for collecting different types of materials. To simplify the description, Figure 2 Only two different types of materials are shown in the figure, and the two materials are represented by a circle and a square respectively. When the materials pass through the image recognition mechanism 204, the image recognition mechanism 204 recognizes the materials within its field of view. Then, based on the recognition result of the image recognition mechanism 204, the push plate mechanism 106 lifts and hits the materials to be separated ( Figure 2 The material shown in a square shape in the figure, such as 210b), changes its movement trajectory so that it reaches the collection box 2082 along the trajectory 212b without the separated material ( Figure 2The material shown in a circular shape, such as 210a), maintains its original trajectory 212a falling from the conveying mechanism 202 to reach the collection box 2081.

[0031] In the process of the push plate hitting the material to be separated, or in other words, in the process of the material to be separated hitting the push plate, the motion trajectory is changed, the momentum is changed, and the push plate provides the required force for the momentum change of the material to be separated in this process, and the force will also be fully or partially transmitted to the actuator (such as a cylinder). In the sorting process, long-term exposure to high-intensity forces will reduce the service life of the push plate and the actuator. The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method 300 for controlling a push plate mechanism, which can reduce the impact force on the push plate and the actuator, reduce the failure rate, and increase the service life.

[0032] Reference now Figure 3 , which shows a method 300 for controlling a push plate mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] like Figure 3 As shown, the method 300 starts at frame 302, at which, based on the current material to be separated, a target push plate for striking the current material to be separated, a current actuation moment of the target push plate, and a current duration for the target push plate to remain in the target position are determined. Generally speaking, the initial position and target position of the push plate, the movement speed of the push plate, etc. are set values ​​of the push plate mechanism. It should be understood that the determination of the current actuation moment of the target push plate and the current duration for the target push plate to remain in the target position at frame 302 is performed when the push plate mechanism is in a basic operating state (that is, its set value is set to make the push plate mechanism operate under the condition of minimum action time and highest action frequency). According to an embodiment of the present invention, based on the position of the current material to be separated on the conveying mechanism and the physical parameters of the current material to be separated (such as, center of mass, outer contour, etc.), the natural falling trajectory of the current material to be separated from the conveying mechanism and the required changed trajectory can be predicted, thereby determining the target push plate for striking the current material to be separated, and the target push plate can be one or more push plates. According to an embodiment of the present invention, based on the physical parameters of the current material to be separated, it is also possible to predict the time for the target point on the current material to be separated to reach the expected striking position on the push plate at the target position, taking into account the inherent reaction time of the push plate itself and the time required for the push plate to move from the initial position to the target position, the current actuation moment required for the target push plate to strike the current material to be separated at the target position can be determined, and considering the time required for the target push plate to complete the striking action on the current material to be separated, the current duration for the target push plate to remain at the target position can also be determined. In some embodiments, the duration for which the push plate remains at its target position can be a set value of the push plate mechanism.

[0034] Method 300 proceeds to frame 304, where it is determined whether the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuated moment. According to an embodiment of the present invention, as described above with reference to frame 302, the corresponding target push plate for the material to be separated, the actuated moment of the corresponding target push plate, and the duration for which the corresponding target push plate remains in the target position can be determined based on the physical parameters of the material to be separated. Thus, according to an embodiment of the present invention, for the same target push plate, its current actuated moment and current duration for striking the current material to be separated, and its previous actuated moment and previous duration for striking the previous material to be separated of the current material to be separated can be determined, so that it can be determined whether the striking action of the target push plate on the previous material to be separated is completed at the current actuated moment. As another implementation, the position of the target push plate can be detected via a push plate position sensor at the current actuated moment of the target push plate, and whether the striking action of the target push plate on the previous material to be separated is completed is determined by whether the target push plate is in the initial position.

[0035] If it is determined at box 304 that the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuation time, the method 300 proceeds to box 306, where the current actuation time of the target push plate is advanced so that the target push plate strikes the current material to be separated in a stationary state at the target position. According to an embodiment of the present invention, if it is determined at box 304 that the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuation time, it indicates that the target push plate is idle at the current actuation time, and thus can be actuated in advance, so that before or when the current material to be separated reaches the expected striking point on the target push plate, the target push plate has reached the target position and is in a stationary state, so that the target push plate can strike the current material to be separated in a stationary state rather than during the lifting action.

[0036] According to an embodiment of the present invention, advancing the current actuated moment of the target push plate may include advancing the current actuated moment of the target push plate by a fixed amount of time (e.g., a few milliseconds). According to another embodiment of the present invention, the operation at box 306 may also include determining the amount of time by which the current actuated moment is to be advanced, and advancing the current actuated moment by the determined amount of time. In this embodiment, the amount of time by which the current actuated moment of the target push plate is to be advanced should be determined so that the push plate mechanism is actuated in advance, sufficient to make the target push plate reach the target position and be stationary before or when the current material to be separated reaches the expected impact point on the target push plate, and the target push plate will not impact other materials of a type different from the type of the current material to be separated. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the amount of time by which the current actuated moment of the target push plate is to be advanced can be determined based on the time required for the target push plate to move to the target position, and the time when other materials may fall into the range of the target push plate determined based on the trajectory prediction of other materials.

[0037] According to an embodiment of the present invention, at box 306, the current actuated moment can also be advanced and the current duration of the target push plate remaining in the target position can be extended, thereby ensuring that the target push plate can complete the striking action on the current material to be separated at its target position. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the amount of time by which the current duration of the target push plate is extended can be equal to the amount of time by which the current actuated moment is advanced. As another implementation, the amount of time by which the current actuated moment is advanced can be small enough so that even if the target push plate reaches its target position in advance, the contact time of the target push plate at the target position with the current material to be separated (that is, the current duration minus the amount of time by which the current actuated moment is advanced) is sufficient to enable the target to complete the striking action on the current material to be separated.

[0038] To summarize, by actuating the push plate in advance when it is idle so that it reaches the target position in advance and hits the material to be separated in a stationary state, the sorting equipment can reduce the momentum change Δmv when the push plate completes the hitting action on the material while at least maintaining its sorting efficiency, thereby reducing the impact force on the push plate mechanism, thereby protecting the push plate mechanism and extending the service life of the push plate mechanism.

[0039] In some embodiments, Figure 3 As shown, method 300 may also include operations shown in blocks 308 - 312 .

[0040] According to some embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined at frame 304 that the target push plate has not completed the striking action on the material to be separated before the current material to be separated at the current actuation moment, the method 300 may also proceed to frame 308, where it is determined whether there are other materials between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated whose types are different from the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated. According to an embodiment of the present invention, it may be determined whether there are materials that do not need to be separated between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated based on the detection of the materials by an image recognition device or other recognition devices.

[0041] If it is determined at block 308 that no other materials exist, the method 300 may proceed to block 310, where the target push plate is controlled to remain at the target position after completing the striking action on the previous material to be separated, until the target push plate completes the striking action on the current material to be separated. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the actuator for the target push plate may be instructed to keep the target push plate at the target position until the target push plate completes the striking action on the current material to be separated.

[0042] If it is determined at box 308 that other materials of a type different from those of the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated exist between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated, the method 300 may proceed to box 312, where the target push plate is controlled to retract after completing the striking action on the previous material to be separated.

[0043] To sum up, by keeping the push plate from retracting before the striking action on each consecutive material to be separated is completed when there is no material that does not need to be separated between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated (that is, when materials to be separated appear continuously), the number of actuations of the push plate mechanism actuator and the number of reciprocating motions of the push plate are reduced, thereby improving the sorting efficiency of the sorting equipment and further extending the service life of the push plate mechanism.

[0044] refer to Figure 4 A method 400 for controlling a push plate mechanism according to some other embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[0045] In some embodiments, Figure 4 As shown, the method 400 starts at box 402. At box 402, based on the current material to be separated, a target push plate for striking the current material to be separated, a current actuation time of the target push plate, and a current duration for the target push plate to remain in the target position are determined. Figure 3 The operations described at block 302 are similar and are not described in detail herein to avoid obscuring the understanding of the present invention.

[0046] The method 400 proceeds to frame 404, where an initial instruction for controlling the target push plate to strike the current material to be separated is generated based on the current actuation moment of the target push plate and the current duration of the target push plate being in the target position. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the push plate mechanism is controlled via a plurality of instruction queues, wherein each instruction queue is used to control a push plate (or an actuating device for the push plate) in the push plate mechanism and includes one or more instructions, and wherein each instruction at least defines the actuation moment T of the corresponding push plate and the duration ΔT of being in the corresponding target position.

[0047] The method proceeds to box 406, where it is determined whether the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuation moment based on the comparison of the initial instruction for controlling the target push plate to strike the current material to be separated with the parameters of the previous instruction for controlling the target push plate to strike the previous material to be separated. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the previous instruction for controlling the target push plate to strike the previous material to be separated can be taken out from the instruction queue for controlling the target push plate, and the previous instruction at least defines the previous actuation moment T1 of the target push plate and the previous duration ΔT1 of the target push plate remaining in the target position; the initial instruction for controlling the target push plate to strike the current material to be separated generated at box 404 can at least define the current actuation moment T2 of the target push plate and the current duration ΔT2 of the target push plate remaining in the target position. Thus, at box 406, for the previous instruction and the initial instruction, it can be determined whether the current actuated time T2 defined in the initial instruction, the previous actuated time T1 defined in the previous instruction, and the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction satisfy T2>T1+ΔT1. In an embodiment of the present invention, if T2>T1+ΔT1 is satisfied, it indicates that the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuated time, that is, the target push plate is idle at the determined current actuated time.

[0048] Thus, through Figure 4 The operations shown in blocks 404-406 can be used as reference above. Figure 3 The middle frame 304 shows an implementation mode of determining whether the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuation moment.

[0049] If it is determined at box 406 that the current actuated moment T2 defined in the initial instruction, the previous actuated moment T1 defined in the previous instruction, and the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction satisfy T2>T1+ΔT1, then method 400 may proceed to boxes 408-412, at box 408, modify the initial instruction generated at box 404 so that the actuated moment defined in the initial instruction is reduced from T2 to T2'; at box 410, based on the modified initial instruction, update the instruction queue for controlling the target push plate; at box 412, control the target push plate based on the updated instruction queue so that the target push plate hits the current material to be separated in a stationary state at the target position. According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the case of controlling a corresponding push plate through an instruction queue to control a push plate mechanism including multiple push plates, a current instruction for controlling a corresponding push plate to hit the material to be separated can be generated for each material to be separated, and based on the instruction and the previous instruction for controlling the push plate to hit the material to be separated, it is determined whether the push plate is in an idle state at the moment when the push plate is actuated defined in the current instruction, and based on this determination, the instruction is modified and the modified instruction is stored in the instruction queue, thereby obtaining an updated instruction queue, and the push plate is controlled to hit the material to be separated based on the updated instruction queue. According to an embodiment of the present invention, since the initial instruction is modified so that the actuated moment defined therein is reduced from T2 to T2', controlling the target push plate through the updated instruction queue will cause the target push plate to be actuated in advance.

[0050] Thus, through Figure 4 The operations shown in blocks 408-412 may be used as reference above. Figure 3 The middle frame 304 shows an implementation mode of determining whether the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuation moment.

[0051] In some embodiments, Figure 4 As shown, method 400 may also include the operations shown in blocks 414 - 422 .

[0052] like Figure 4 As shown, if it is determined at box 406 that the current actuated time T2 defined in the initial instruction, the previous actuated time T1 defined in the previous instruction, and the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction do not satisfy T2>T1+ΔT1, the method 400 may proceed to boxes 414-420.

[0053] At block 414, it is determined whether there are other materials between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated whose types are different from the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated. Figure 3 The operations described at block 308 are similar and are not described in detail herein to avoid obscuring the understanding of the present invention.

[0054] If it is determined at box 414 that there is no other material of a type different from the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated, the method 400 may proceed to boxes 416-420, at box 416, modify the previous instruction so that the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction increases to ΔT1'; at box 418, based on the modified previous instruction, update the instruction queue for controlling the target push plate; and control the target push plate based on the updated instruction queue so that the target push plate remains in the target position until the current material to be separated is struck. According to an embodiment of the present invention, ΔT1' can be set to keep the target push plate in the target position for a period of time until the striking action for the current material to be separated is completed, and the target push plate is retracted, that is, T1+ΔT1'=T2+ΔT2. According to some other embodiments of the present invention, ΔT1' can be set to keep the target push plate at the target position for a period of time, and the target push plate will not retract until all the continuous materials to be separated are hit, and the target push plate will not hit the materials that do not need to be separated during the retraction. According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the corresponding push plate is controlled by the instruction queue to control the push plate mechanism including multiple push plates, it can be determined whether there is a material that does not need to be separated between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated to be hit by the same push plate, and based on this determination, the instruction is modified and the modified instruction is stored in the instruction queue, thereby obtaining an updated instruction queue, and the push plate is controlled to hit the materials to be separated based on the updated instruction queue. According to an embodiment of the present invention, since the duration of the push plate defined in the instruction to remain at the target position is extended, controlling the push plate via the updated instruction queue can ensure that the push plate will not retract before completing the hitting action on the continuous materials to be separated.

[0055] Thus, through Figure 4 The operations shown in the middle blocks 416-420 can be used as reference above. Figure 3 The middle frame 310 shows an implementation method of determining whether the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuation moment.

[0056] If it is determined at block 414 that other materials of a type different from the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated exist between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated, the method 400 may proceed to block 422, where the target push plate is controlled based on the instruction queue including the previous instruction and the initial instruction. That is, in the case that other materials of a type different from the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated exist between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated, the corresponding instruction for controlling the push plate to strike the material to be separated may not be modified, and the instruction queue includes the corresponding initial instructions generated based on each material to be separated.

[0057] refer to Figure 5 , which shows a schematic block diagram of a sorting device 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 As shown, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the sorting device 500 may include a push plate mechanism 502, which can be described in the above reference Figure 3 The method 300 and Figure 4 According to another embodiment of the present invention, the sorting device 500 may optionally include a control mechanism (not shown), and the control mechanism performs the above-mentioned Figure 3 The method 300 and Figure 4 The described method 400 controls the push plate mechanism 502 to strike the material to be separated.

[0058] The devices, mechanisms, modules, etc. described in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

[0059] Program code can be applied to input instructions to perform the methods described herein. For the purpose of this application, a control system / module can be used to perform the methods described herein, and the control system / module may include any system / module with a processor, such as, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a microprocessor. The program code can be implemented with a high-level process programming language or an object-oriented programming language to communicate with the control system / module.

[0060] One or more aspects of at least one embodiment of the invention may be implemented by representative instructions stored on a machine-readable medium that represent various logic within a processor, which when read by a machine causes the machine to fabricate logic for performing the techniques described herein.

[0061] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above. However, it should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in various ways and variations without departing from its broad spirit and scope. A person skilled in the art can make many modifications and changes based on the concept of the present invention without creative work. Therefore, any technical solution that can be obtained by a person skilled in the art through logical analysis, reasoning or limited experiments based on the concept of the present invention on the basis of the prior art should fall within the scope of protection determined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a push plate mechanism, the push plate mechanism being used for sorting ore, the push plate mechanism comprising a plurality of push plates for striking materials to be separated, the method comprising: Based on the current material to be separated, determining a target push plate for striking the current material to be separated, a current actuation time of the target push plate, and a current duration for which the target push plate remains in a target position; Determining whether the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuation moment; If the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated of the current material to be separated at the current actuation moment, then: Advancing the current actuated moment and extending the current duration that the target push plate remains at the target position, so that the target push plate strikes the current material to be separated in a stationary state at the target position, wherein the amount of time by which the current actuated moment is advanced is equal to the amount of time by which the current duration is extended; If the target push plate has not completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated of the current material to be separated at the current actuation moment, then: Determine whether there are other materials between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated whose types are different from those of the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated; and If the other materials do not exist, the target push plate is controlled to remain at the target position after completing the striking action on the previous material to be separated, until the target push plate completes the striking action on the current material to be separated.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: If the other material exists between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated, the target push plate is controlled to retract after completing the striking action on the previous material to be separated.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: Advancing the current actuated time includes advancing the current actuated time by a fixed amount of time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: Advancing the current actuated moment includes: Determining the amount of time by which the current actuation moment is to be advanced so that the push plate mechanism is actuated in advance and does not hit other materials of a type different from the type of the current material to be separated; and Advance the currently actuated time by a determined amount of time.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein: The push plate mechanism is controlled via a plurality of instruction queues, wherein each instruction queue is used to control a push plate in the push plate mechanism and includes one or more instructions, and wherein each instruction at least defines actuation time T of a corresponding push plate and duration ΔT for maintaining the corresponding push plate in a corresponding target position.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein: The instruction queue for controlling the target push plate includes at least a previous instruction for controlling the target push plate to strike the previous material to be separated of the current material to be separated, wherein the previous instruction at least defines a previous actuation time T1 of the target push plate and a previous duration ΔT1 for the target push plate to remain at the target position. And wherein, determining whether the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated at the current actuation moment includes: Based on the current actuation moment of the target push plate and the current duration of the target push plate being at the target position, generating an initial instruction for controlling the target push plate to strike the current material to be separated, wherein the initial instruction at least defines the current actuation moment T2 of the target push plate and the current duration ΔT2 of the target push plate being at the target position; For the previous instruction and the initial instruction, it is determined whether the current actuated time T2 defined in the initial instruction, the previous actuated time T1 defined in the previous instruction, and the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction satisfy T2>T1+ΔT1.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein: If the target push plate has completed the striking action on the previous material to be separated of the current material to be separated at the current actuation time, advancing the current actuation time so that the target push plate strikes the current material to be separated in a stationary state at the target position includes: If the current actuated time T2 defined in the initial instruction, the previous actuated time T1 defined in the previous instruction, and the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction satisfy T2>T1+ΔT1, then: Modify the initial instruction so that the current actuation time defined in the initial instruction is reduced from T2 to T2'; Based on the modified initial instruction, updating the instruction queue for controlling the target push plate; and The target push plate is controlled based on the updated instruction queue so that the target push plate strikes the current to-be-separated material in a stationary state at the target position.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein: The method further includes if the current actuated time T2 defined in the initial instruction, the previous actuated time T1 defined in the previous instruction, and the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction do not satisfy T2>T1+ΔT1, then: Determine whether there are other materials between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated whose types are different from those of the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated; If the other material does not exist, modify the previous instruction so that the previous duration ΔT1 defined in the previous instruction increases to ΔT1'; Based on the modified previous instruction, updating the instruction queue for controlling the target push plate; as well as The target push plate is controlled based on the updated instruction queue so that the target push plate remains at the target position until the current to-be-separated material is struck.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein: The method further includes if the other material exists between the current material to be separated and the previous material to be separated, then: The target push plate is controlled based on a command queue including the previous command and the initial command.

10. A sorting device comprising: A push plate mechanism, wherein the push plate mechanism strikes the material to be separated by the method described in any one of claims 1-9.

11. A machine-readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed cause a machine to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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