Unattended intelligent feeding system and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses an unattended intelligent feeding system and a control method thereof. The unattended intelligent feeding system comprises a PLC control unit, a discharging car transmission device, a discharging car positioning system, a track limit device and a material detection device. The PLC control unit is a Siemens CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1515-2PN; a Siemens G120 frequency converter is adopted as a transmission device of the discharging car; the discharging car positioning system comprises a station marker, a displacement pointer, a position collector, an internetwork connector and the like, and the position collector transmits data to the internetwork connector through a wireless technology and then is connected to a PLC through a Profinet gateway; the track limit devices are mounted at the two ends of the running track and used for limiting the stroke of the discharging car; the material detection device monitors the material amount of the stock bin in real time. Full automation of the feeding system is achieved, the working efficiency is improved, the production cost is reduced, the working environment of workers is improved, human errors are reduced, and the production safety and stability are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of metallurgical automation, and in particular to an unattended intelligent feeding system and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Some old metallurgical plants still use on-site operation to start and stop the feeding system, which has the disadvantages of high safety risks, low operating precision, high labor intensity, and low efficiency. With the continuous improvement of automation, some factories have upgraded and renovated, and remotely started and stopped the equipment in the feeding operation room or the main control room, which greatly reduced safety hazards and labor intensity. However, the problem of positioning deviation of the unloading vehicle has not been solved. The unloading vehicle can only be started and stopped through on-site operation, and the position is judged by the naked eye, and fully automatic feeding cannot be achieved. As various industries propose to reduce costs and increase efficiency, metallurgical plants gradually concentrate on-site operation positions in the centralized control center. One operator is responsible for the operation of equipment in several process sections at the same time, and the original feeding method is bound to be eliminated. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an unattended intelligent feeding system and a control method thereof. A group of workstation identifiers are added to each bin. When the displacement antenna reads the data of the workstation identifier, the position of the unloading vehicle is judged by the position ID. When the unloading vehicle approaches the unloading port of the target bin, the frequency converter drives the motor of the unloading vehicle to slow down until it stops, so as to achieve precise positioning. After solving the positioning problem of the unloading vehicle, the feeding process can be started according to the bin material level signal, and the feeding process can be stopped after the set material amount is reached, so as to realize the full automation of the feeding system and solve the shortcomings of the prior art.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0005] An unattended intelligent feeding system includes the following equipment units:

[0006] The PLC control unit is used to collect material level signals and unloading vehicle position signals in real time, control the start and stop of the unloading vehicle and belt conveyor, realize remote operation and process display in the centralized control center, and reserve an interface to the MES system, access the plant-wide intelligent dispatching system, and achieve unified management;

[0007] The unloading car transmission device is used to receive the instructions of the PLC control unit and drive the unloading car motor to realize the forward and reverse rotation, high and low speed of the unloading car to reach the target position;

[0008] The unloading vehicle positioning device includes a workstation marker, a displacement antenna, a position collector, an internet connector, and a Profinet gateway device. The displacement antenna moves with the unloading vehicle to read the workstation marker data and transmits it to the PLC control unit in real time through wireless technology.

[0009] Track limit devices are installed at both ends of the running track to limit the travel of the unloading vehicle;

[0010] The material detection device is used to monitor the material quantity in the silo in real time and decide the start and stop of the feeding system through the PLC control unit.

[0011] Furthermore, the material detection device is a radar level meter, which triggers the loading operation process through material level inspection, and continuously loads multiple bins. The next process is executed after the current process is completed, and the process switching does not require stopping the belt conveyor.

[0012] Furthermore, the unloading vehicle transmission device is a Siemens G120 frequency converter, which drives the unloading vehicle motor through the frequency converter. The PLC control unit compares the current position ID of the unloading vehicle with the target position ID and executes forward and reverse rotation, acceleration and deceleration commands.

[0013] Furthermore, the unloading vehicle positioning device adopts RFID positioning detection technology, and a group of workstation markers are installed at the center position of each silo unloading port. The workstation markers adopt standardized modules. During installation, the middle position is aligned with the center position of the silo unloading port.

[0014] Furthermore, the position ID consists of a workstation ID and a scale ID. The workstation ID corresponds to the warehouse number one by one. The scale ID corresponds to different positions of the warehouse number. The center scale ID of the workstation marker is 0, and 250 1mm scale labels are distributed on the left and right.

[0015] Furthermore, the location collector transmits the data to the gateway through wireless technology, and then connects to the PLC control unit through the Profinet gateway.

[0016] Furthermore, the track limit device is a proximity switch installed at each end of the running track. The two proximity switches are transferred through relays, one signal is connected to the electrical circuit interlock, and the other signal is connected to the PLC control unit.

[0017] The present invention provides another technical solution: a control method for an unmanned intelligent feeding system, comprising the following steps:

[0018] S1: When the PLC control unit detects that the material level in silo A is lower than the lower limit, the loading system process start command is triggered;

[0019] S2: The PLC control unit controls the inverter to drive the motor of the unloading vehicle to start, stop, and rotate forward and reverse according to the comparison between the current position ID of the unloading vehicle and the target position ID of the A silo;

[0020] S3: When the unloading vehicle is moving, the displacement antenna installed on the unloading vehicle moves to read the data of the station identifier of each silo, and after generating the position ID, the position collector transmits it to the network connector through wireless technology, and then connects it to the PLC control unit through the Profinet gateway; when the current station ID is inconsistent with the target station ID, the unloading vehicle moves forward in the target direction; after reaching the target station, when the scale ID is <150mm, the inverter decelerates, and when the scale ID is <20mm, the inverter stops output, and the unloading vehicle reaches the target position;

[0021] S4: After the unloading vehicle reaches the target position, the belt conveyor is started from near to far, and the unloading valve is opened. After the material level in silo A reaches the high material level setting value, the unloading valve is closed, and the belt conveyor is stopped from far to near. The belt can be stopped only when there is no residual material. After all the materials on the belt flow into silo A, the loading is completed.

[0022] Furthermore, in S4, during the loading process of silo A, after receiving the request from silo B, the material level in silo A reaches the high level setting value, the unloading valve is closed, and the belt conveyor does not stop. After all the materials have flowed into silo A, the unloading vehicle moves to silo B and opens the unloading valve corresponding to the material type in silo B to realize continuous loading of multiple silos.

[0023] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0024] 1. The unmanned intelligent feeding system and control method thereof of the present invention can truly realize unmanned feeding, and has a communication interface with MES, which is convenient for later realization of whole-plant dispatching management.

[0025] 2. In the unattended intelligent feeding system and control method thereof of the present invention, the workstation markers of each bin are independent and are not affected by each other. The standardized modules can be replaced quickly, which shortens the maintenance time and reduces the cost of spare parts.

[0026] 3. The unattended intelligent feeding system and control method thereof of the present invention adopts a frequency converter to drive the motor of the unloading vehicle, which makes starting and stopping smoother, has less impact on the equipment, prolongs the life of the equipment, improves the positioning accuracy, and prevents the occurrence of slipping.

[0027] 4. The unattended intelligent feeding system and control method thereof of the present invention support continuous feeding of multiple silos and shorten the switching time when feeding multiple silos. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the system framework structure of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] 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 only 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 ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] See also Figure 1 , an unmanned intelligent feeding system, including a PLC control unit, a discharger transmission device, a discharger positioning system, a track limit device and a material detection device.

[0031] Among them, the PLC control unit is Siemens CPU 1515-2PN, which includes Siemens 1500CPU and IO slave module, which is used to collect material level signals and unloading vehicle position signals in real time, control the start and stop of unloading vehicles, belt conveyors and other feeding system equipment, realize remote operation and process display in the centralized control center, and reserve an interface to the MES system, access the whole plant intelligent scheduling system, and unified management.

[0032] The transmission device of the unloading car is a Siemens G120 inverter, which is used to receive instructions from the PLC control unit and drive the motor of the unloading car through the inverter. The PLC control unit compares the current position ID of the unloading car with the target position ID to realize the forward and reverse rotation, high and low speed of the unloading car to reach the target position.

[0033] The unloading vehicle positioning device adopts RFID positioning detection technology, which includes a workstation marker, a displacement antenna, a position collector, a network connector, and a Profinet gateway device. The displacement antenna reads the workstation marker data as the unloading vehicle moves, and transmits it to the PLC control unit in real time through wireless technology; the position collector transmits the data to the network connector through wireless technology, and then connects to the PLC control unit through the Profinet gateway; specifically, the unloading vehicle positioning device installs a group of workstation markers at the center position of each bin unloading port. The workstation marker adopts a standardized module. During installation, the middle position is aligned with the center position of the bin unloading port. The failure of any workstation marker will not affect the use of other workstation markers; among which, the position ID is composed of the workstation ID and the scale ID. The workstation ID corresponds to the bin number one by one, and the scale ID corresponds to different positions of the bin number. The center scale ID of the workstation marker is 0, and 250 1mm scale labels are distributed on the left and right.

[0034] The track limit device is a proximity switch installed at each end of the running track. The two proximity switches are transferred through relays. One signal is connected to the electrical circuit interlock, and the other signal is connected to the PLC control unit to limit the travel of the unloading vehicle and prevent the unloading vehicle from rushing out of the limit position. Among them, when the left limit position is activated, the unloading vehicle can only move to the right; when the right limit position is activated, the unloading vehicle can only move to the left.

[0035] The material detection device is a radar level meter, which is used to monitor the material quantity in the silo in real time and decide the start and stop of the feeding system through the PLC control unit. Specifically, the PLC control unit collects the material level signal. When the material level is lower than the lower limit, the feeding process is started. The real-time data can also be uploaded to the MES system. The dispatcher issues the feeding instruction according to production needs. The material detection device triggers the feeding operation process through material level inspection. Multiple silos are continuously fed and the next process is executed after the current process is completed. The process switching does not require stopping the belt conveyor.

[0036] In order to further better explain the embodiments of the present invention, a control method of an unmanned intelligent feeding system is also provided, comprising the following steps:

[0037] S1: When the PLC control unit detects that the material level of silo A is lower than the lower limit, the loading system process start command is triggered. The current loading process is not interrupted by other silo low limit trigger commands. The next command will be executed after the current loading is completed;

[0038] S2: The PLC control unit controls the start, stop, forward and reverse rotation of the inverter according to the comparison between the unloading vehicle position ID_C (current value) and the A silo position ID_T (target value); when the unloading vehicle is interrupted between two adjacent station markers due to an accident, the last detected station ID value is stored in the current value;

[0039] S3: When the unloading vehicle is moving, the displacement antenna installed on the unloading vehicle moves to read the data of the workstation identifier of each bin, and after generating the position ID, the position collector transmits it to the network connector through wireless technology, and then connects it to the PLC control unit through the Profinet gateway; when the current workstation ID is inconsistent with the target workstation ID, the material vehicle moves forward in the target direction; after reaching the target workstation, when the scale ID is <150mm (adjustable), the inverter decelerates, and when the scale ID is <20mm (adjustable), the inverter stops output, and the unloading vehicle reaches the target position; the position ID is composed of the workstation ID and the scale ID, the workstation ID corresponds to the bin number one by one, and the scale ID corresponds to different positions of the bin number; the network connector is installed one at the head, middle and tail of the track to ensure the stability of the wireless data;

[0040] S4: After the unloading vehicle reaches the target position, the belt conveyor is started from near to far, and the unloading valve is opened. After the material level in silo A reaches the high material level setting value, the unloading valve is closed, and the belt conveyor is stopped from far to near. The belt can be stopped only when there is no residual material. After all the materials on the belt flow into silo A, the loading is completed at one time. During the loading process of silo A, after receiving the request from silo B, the material level in silo A reaches the high material level setting value, the unloading valve is closed, and the belt conveyor does not stop. After all the materials flow into silo A, the unloading vehicle moves to silo B, and the unloading valve corresponding to the material type of silo B is opened to realize continuous loading of multiple silos.

[0041] To sum up: the unmanned intelligent feeding system and control method thereof provided by the present invention include 5 equipment units, namely, a PLC control unit, a discharge car transmission device, a discharge car positioning system, a track limit device and a material detection device; wherein, the PLC control unit is a Siemens CPU 1515-2PN; the discharge car transmission device adopts a Siemens G120 inverter; the discharge car positioning system adopts RFID positioning detection technology, and the position collector transmits data to the network connector through wireless technology, and then connects to the PLC control unit through the Profinet gateway; the track limit device is installed at both ends of the running track to limit the travel of the discharge car; the material detection device monitors the material quantity in the silo in real time, and decides the start and stop of the feeding system through the PLC control unit; thereby, the feeding system can be fully automatic, improve work efficiency, reduce production costs, improve the working environment of employees, reduce human errors, and improve production safety and stability.

[0042] The above description is only a preferred specific implementation manner of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can make equivalent replacements or changes according to the technical scheme and inventive concept of the present invention within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be covered by the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An unattended intelligent feeding system, characterized in that: Includes the following equipment units: The PLC control unit is used to collect material level signals and unloading vehicle position signals in real time, control the start and stop of the unloading vehicle and belt conveyor, realize remote operation and process display in the centralized control center, and reserve an interface to the MES system, access the plant-wide intelligent dispatching system, and achieve unified management; The unloading car transmission device is used to receive the instructions of the PLC control unit and drive the unloading car motor to realize the forward and reverse rotation, high and low speed of the unloading car to reach the target position; The unloading vehicle positioning device includes a workstation marker, a displacement antenna, a position collector, an internet connector, and a Profinet gateway device. The displacement antenna moves with the unloading vehicle to read the workstation marker data and transmits it to the PLC control unit in real time through wireless technology. Track limit devices are installed at both ends of the running track to limit the travel of the unloading vehicle; The material detection device is used to monitor the material quantity in the silo in real time and decide the start and stop of the feeding system through the PLC control unit.

2. An unattended intelligent feeding system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The material detection device is a radar level meter, which triggers the loading process through material level inspection, and continuously loads materials from multiple bins. The next process is executed after the current process is completed, and the process switching does not require stopping the belt conveyor.

3. The unattended intelligent feeding system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission device of the unloading vehicle is a Siemens G120 frequency converter, which drives the motor of the unloading vehicle. The PLC control unit compares the current position ID of the unloading vehicle with the target position ID and executes forward and reverse rotation, acceleration and deceleration commands.

4. An unattended intelligent feeding system as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: The unloading vehicle positioning device adopts RFID positioning detection technology, and a group of workstation markers are installed at the center position of each silo unloading port. The workstation markers adopt standardized modules. When installing, the middle position is aligned with the center position of the silo unloading port.

5. An unattended intelligent feeding system as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: The position ID consists of a station ID and a scale ID. The station ID corresponds to the warehouse number one by one. The scale ID corresponds to different positions of the warehouse number. The center scale ID of the station marker is 0, and 250 1mm scale labels are distributed on the left and right.

6. The unattended intelligent feeding system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The position collector transmits the data to the gateway through wireless technology, and then connects to the PLC control unit through the Profinet gateway.

7. The unattended intelligent feeding system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The track limit device is a proximity switch installed at each end of the running track. The two proximity switches are transferred through relays, one signal is connected to the electrical circuit interlock, and the other signal is connected to the PLC control unit.

8. A control method for an unattended intelligent feeding system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1: When the PLC control unit detects that the material level in silo A is lower than the lower limit, the loading system process start command is triggered; S2: The PLC control unit controls the inverter to drive the motor of the unloading vehicle to start, stop, and rotate forward and reverse according to the comparison between the current position ID of the unloading vehicle and the target position ID of the A silo; S3: When the unloading vehicle is moving, the displacement antenna installed on the unloading vehicle moves to read the data of the station identifier of each silo, and after generating the position ID, the position collector transmits it to the network connector through wireless technology, and then connects it to the PLC control unit through the Profinet gateway; when the current station ID is inconsistent with the target station ID, the unloading vehicle moves forward in the target direction; after reaching the target station, when the scale ID is <150mm, the inverter decelerates, and when the scale ID is <20mm, the inverter stops output, and the unloading vehicle reaches the target position; S4: After the unloading vehicle reaches the target position, the belt conveyor is started from near to far, and the unloading valve is opened. After the material level in silo A reaches the high material level setting value, the unloading valve is closed, and the belt conveyor is stopped from far to near. The belt can be stopped only when there is no residual material. After all the materials on the belt flow into silo A, the loading is completed.

9. The control method of an unattended intelligent feeding system according to claim 8, characterized in that: In S4, during the loading process of silo A, after receiving the request from silo B, the material level of silo A reaches the high level setting value, the unloading valve is closed, and the belt conveyor does not stop. After all the materials have flowed into silo A, the unloading vehicle moves to silo B and opens the unloading valve corresponding to the material type of silo B to realize continuous loading of multiple silos.

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