Conveyor system, adjustment method, computer program, and data processing device

Abstract

The invention relates to a conveyor system, an adjustment method, a computer program and a data processing device, a conveyor system (100) for transporting conveyed material (11) comprising a conveyor device which is designed to transport the conveyed material (11... 16) along a conveyor line (30) which is divided into a plurality of areas (31).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a conveyor system for transporting conveyed material, a method for adjusting a zone of a conveyor system, a computer program and a data processing device for carrying out such a method. Background Art

[0002] Conveyor systems are known in principle in the prior art. For example, publication DE 10 2016 124 250 A1 describes an apparatus and a method for handling successively moved individual pieces of goods. Summary of the invention

[0003] It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved conveyor system and an improved method for adjusting a zone of a conveyor system.

[0004] Features and details described in conjunction with the conveyor system according to the invention naturally also apply to the method according to the invention, the device according to the invention and the computer program according to the invention and vice versa, so that with regard to the disclosure of individual aspects of the invention reference is always made to one another or can be made to one another.

[0005] According to a first aspect, a conveyor system for transporting conveyed material is provided.

[0006] The conveyor system comprises a conveying device, which is designed to transport conveyed material along a conveyor line, the conveyor line being divided into a plurality of zones. In addition, the conveyor system may comprise at least one image acquisition device, which is designed to acquire at least one portion of the conveyor line in at least one image information. The conveyor system may also comprise an evaluation device, which is designed to evaluate the acquired image information and determine the conveyed material therein. In addition, the conveyor system may comprise a control device, which is designed to adjust the size and / or number and / or speed of the zone based on the determined conveyed material.

[0007] Conveyor systems are used in particular to divide conveyor lines into multiple areas and adjust them individually.

[0008] For this purpose, the conveyor system firstly comprises a conveying device which is designed to transport the conveyed material along a conveying line.

[0009] The conveyed material can be an object such as a workpiece conveyed along a conveyor line. The conveyed material is conveyed from a first location to at least one second location, in particular within an industrial plant. The conveyed material can then be subjected to machining or processing steps, in particular in a partially automated or fully automated manner, at the respective location.

[0010] The conveying device may include one or more conveying mechanisms for moving the conveyed material. It should be understood that the conveying device may also be designed for transporting, in particular simultaneously transporting, a plurality of conveyed materials, which are designed to be independent of each other and spaced apart from each other.

[0011] Furthermore, the conveyor device can have one or more rollers, wheels and / or belts that can move, in particular rotate, in at least one direction in order to transport the conveyed material along a conveyor line spanned or defined by the rollers, wheels or belts. Thus, the rollers and / or wheels and / or belts are advantageously provided as a conveyor mechanism or part of a conveyor mechanism of the conveyor device. The conveyor line can in particular be designed as a continuous conveyor line.

[0012] The conveyor line is in particular divided into a plurality of zones. For example, the conveyor line may have at least two, three, four, five, ten or more zones. These zones may have a set of fixed and / or predetermined dimensions and / or quantities as well as variable, adjustable and / or settable dimensions and / or quantities. In particular, at least one conveying mechanism may be provided for each zone.

[0013] The zones can advantageously be arranged as a section of a conveyor line, which section can be activated independently according to the transport speed of the conveyed material in this section. Furthermore, within a specific zone, the transport speed of the conveyed material can be constant, but the transport speed can optionally be different in different zones. For example, at least one conveying mechanism can be arranged for each zone, which can be activated independently of at least one conveying mechanism of other zones.

[0014] In particular, all zones in the basic state may have substantially the same size. Alternatively or additionally, the size and / or speed may be individually set in each zone, step by step or steplessly. At least each conveying mechanism preferably defines a single zone or a dedicated zone.

[0015] Furthermore, the conveyor system may include at least one image acquisition device, which is designed to acquire at least one portion of the conveyor line in at least one image information. The conveyor system may also have a plurality of image acquisition devices, each of which is designed to acquire one or more portions of the conveyor line in a plurality of image information.

[0016] In particular, one or more image acquisition devices are designed to be able to acquire multiple areas, in particular all areas, in one image information, or at least one image acquisition device is provided for each area.

[0017] The image acquisition device may be designed to acquire at least one piece of image information. For this purpose, the image acquisition device may include one or more sensor devices, such as CMOS sensors, which are capable of acquiring one or more images, in particular image information in an image stream. In particular, the image acquisition device is designed to acquire a piece of image information regularly, periodically and / or continuously.

[0018] An evaluation device designed to evaluate the acquired image information can also be provided. To this end, the evaluation device can include one or more processor devices or at least have access to a processor device.

[0019] The evaluation device is designed in particular to execute or cause the execution of one or more image detection algorithms to determine the conveyed material in the acquired image information. For this purpose, the evaluation device can be connected to the image acquisition device or devices and can retrieve the image information therefrom or make it available. The evaluation device can also have one or more, in particular non-volatile, memory devices in which one or more pieces of information can be stored.

[0020] The conveyor system may further comprise a control device, which is designed to adjust the size and / or number and / or speed of at least one zone (i.e. in particular the transport speed of the conveyed material in the zone) based on the determined conveyed material. The control device is in particular coupled to the evaluation device, from which it can use or retrieve information about the conveyed material in order to adjust or change the size of at least one zone. In the present context, "size" refers in particular to "length" and / or "width" and / or "extension", in particular in the conveying direction. In particular, one or more zones may be combined to form a zone unit and / or a zone may be divided into a plurality of zone units.

[0021] By using a conveyor system, a conveyor line can be divided into a plurality of zones and adjusted individually. Thus, one or more conveyed materials can be conveyed and processed in particular without delays and without interference. In particular, by the approach according to the invention, fixed zones each having a photoelectric shield can be dispensed with and instead an image acquisition device can be used to simultaneously detect and dynamically adjust a plurality of zones.

[0022] The adjustment of the area, in particular the size and / or number and / or speed of the area, can preferably occur by the control device adding one or more conveying mechanisms to the area or removing one or more conveying mechanisms from the area. The area is, for example, defined in such a way that the conveying mechanisms are activated identically within the area, for example at the same speed.

[0023] It is also conceivable that the evaluation device is designed to determine a dimensional parameter from the acquired image information, which dimensional parameter is specific to the size of the conveyed material, in particular the extension of the conveyed material in the conveying direction, and in particular quantifies it. The control device can be designed to adjust the size of the at least one region based on the determined dimensional parameter. To this end, the evaluation device can use a suitable image detection algorithm to determine one or more dimensional parameters from the image information, as described above. Therefore, the dimensional parameter preferably includes an indication of one or more dimensions of the conveyed material, in particular the extension of the conveyed material in the conveying direction, which can also be referred to as the length.

[0024] The dimensional parameter may also include an indication of the width of the conveyed material, the width extending substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction. The dimensional parameter may also include an indication of the height extending substantially perpendicularly from the conveying surface on which the conveyed material is conveyed and / or extending perpendicularly to the width and the length. In particular, the dimensional parameter quantifies one or more of the above dimensions, for example in centimeters or meters.

[0025] The control device can be designed to adjust the size and / or number and / or speed of at least one of the zones based on the determined size parameter. In particular, the control device is designed to set or change the length and / or width of at least one of the zones based on the size parameter. Thus, one or more zones can be individually adapted to the actual size of the conveyed material.

[0026] Furthermore, the control device can be designed to define the dimensions of a plurality of zones differently in order to take into account different properties and preferably the dimensions of the conveyed material during transport. The control device is particularly designed to take into account the dimensions of the conveyed material during transport, so that the conveyor line is divided into sections with different capacities by means of the zones. For example, one or more zone units form a first section and one or more other zone units form a second section, in which a large number of different, in particular sized, conveyed materials can be received and processed individually. The zones or zone units can thus be adjusted individually according to the requirements of the conveyed material.

[0027] It is also conceivable that the evaluation device is designed to determine the edges of the conveyed material in the acquired image information, and the control device is designed to adjust the size and / or number and / or speed of the areas based on the determined edges. The evaluation device is especially designed to determine one or more edges in the image information, especially by means of a suitable image detection algorithm as described above. The edges are especially one or more leading edges, i.e. the first edge or the frontmost edge in the direction of travel, which in particular define the starting point of the conveyed material. This allows the size of the area or areas to be controlled particularly precisely.

[0028] Furthermore, the control device can be designed to control the speed in at least one area based on the evaluation. The control device can be designed to adjust the speed in at least one, in particular in a plurality of areas. The control device can preferably be designed to control the speed in a plurality of areas differently based on the evaluation. To this end, the control device is particularly designed to adjust the movement speed and / or the conveying speed of the conveying mechanism. The control device performs this operation to control the speed, for example, based on an evaluation of the determined conveyed material, in particular the determined dimensional parameters and / or edges. The material flow can thus be controlled particularly precisely. The speed in an area is in particular the speed at which the conveyed material is transported in the area and / or the speed at which the conveying mechanism operates in the area.

[0029] Furthermore, the control device is advantageously designed to control the direction in at least one of the regions, preferably in the plurality of regions, in particular differently based on the evaluation. The control device is in particular designed to adjust the direction of movement and / or the conveying direction of the conveying mechanism. The control device can be designed to adjust the direction in at least one, in particular in a plurality of regions. The control device performs this operation to control the direction, for example, based on the determined evaluation of the conveyed material and in particular the determined size parameter and / or the edge or edges. The material flow can thus be controlled particularly precisely.

[0030] The control device can also be designed to control at least two zones and / or the plurality of zones independently of one another. The control device is especially designed to set the plurality of zones, especially all zones, individually with respect to the transport speed and / or direction in the zones and / or the spacing between the transported materials. In particular, each zone can have or be associated with its own control unit, which controls the conveying mechanism and is activated by the control device. In this way, a particularly precise individual control can be achieved.

[0031] The conveying device can be designed as a conveyor belt for transporting the conveyed material in the form of packages. In particular, the conveying device is designed as a conveyor belt comprising a plurality of conveyor belt units which are adjacent to one another and are in particular adjustable or settable in terms of their dimensions. For this purpose, the plurality of conveyor belt units can be equipped with stretchable or flexible conveyor belt segments which have conveying mechanisms which can be displaced or moved longitudinally in the conveying direction, for example, and can thus individually set the dimensions of one or more regions. In this development, the conveyed material is in particular designed as a package which usually has a substantially rectangular or cubical shape. As a result, a particularly efficient package transport can be achieved.

[0032] The image acquisition device can be designed as a camera, the image information is designed to be recorded by the camera, and the part acquired by the camera has a plurality of, preferably at least two or at least three or at least four or at least five, areas, so that these areas are monitored simultaneously by the camera for area adaptation. This allows a particularly efficient and cost-effective inspection.

[0033] According to another aspect, a method for adjusting zones of a conveyor system is provided, the conveyor system comprising a conveying device in which conveyed material is transported along a conveying line and the conveying line is divided into a plurality of zones having different sizes and / or speeds.

[0034] The method comprises the following steps: acquiring at least one piece of image information, wherein the at least one piece of information originates from an image acquisition by an image acquisition device, in which at least one section of the conveyor line has been acquired; evaluating the acquired image information to determine the conveyed material; and initiating an adjustment of the size and / or quantity and / or speed of the area based on the determined conveyed material. The method is particularly suitable for being performed or at least implemented by the above-mentioned conveyor system.

[0035] Furthermore, the method steps may be performed during operation of the conveying device and transport of the conveyed material through said zones in order to dynamically adjust the zones, preferably the size and / or number and / or speed of said zones, to the conveyed material being transported at the time.

[0036] The subject of the invention also relates to a data processing device comprising means for carrying out the steps of the method according to the invention. The device according to the invention thus produces the same advantages as described above in detail with respect to the method according to the invention.

[0037] The subject of the present invention also relates to a computer program, in particular a computer program product, which comprises instructions which, when the computer program is run by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the present invention. Therefore, the computer program of the present invention produces the same advantages as described above in detail with respect to the method of the present invention.

[0038] A data processing device for running a computer program, such as the device according to the invention, can be provided as a computer. The computer may include at least one processor for running the computer program. In addition, a non-volatile data memory may be provided in which the computer program is stored and from which the processor can read the computer program for running.

[0039] It is also conceivable that the computer includes at least one integrated circuit such as a microprocessor or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or an application specific standard product (ASSP) or a digital signal processor (DSP) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or the like. The computer may also include at least one interface for data exchange such as an Ethernet interface or an interface for a local area network (LAN) or a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a system on a chip (SoC) or some other wireless interfaces such as Bluetooth or near field communication (NFC). In addition, the computer may be designed as one or more control devices, that is, it may also be designed as a system consisting of control devices. For example, the computer may also be arranged in the cloud and / or as a server to provide data processing for local applications through an interface. The computer may also be designed as a mobile device such as a smart phone.

[0040] The subject matter of the present invention also relates to a computer-readable storage medium, which includes a computer program according to the present invention. The storage medium is designed, for example, as a data storage such as a hard disk and / or a non-volatile memory and / or a memory card. The storage medium can be integrated into a computer, for example.

[0041] Furthermore, the method according to the present invention can also be designed as a computer-implemented method.

[0042] The invention also includes combinations of features of the described embodiments. Therefore, the invention also includes implementations, each of which has a combination of features of several of the described embodiments, as long as these embodiments are not described as mutually exclusive. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] The embodiments of the present invention are described below. In the figure:

[0044] Figure 1 A top view of one embodiment of a conveyor system for transporting conveyed material is shown in a first state;

[0045] Figure 2 Shown in the second state Figure 1 A top view of the conveyor system; and

[0046] Figure 3 Shown in the third state Figure 1 Top view of the conveyor system.

[0047] Reference numerals list

[0048] 1 Conveyor system

[0049] 11-16 Conveyed materials

[0050] 11'-14' Conveyed material

[0051] 11”-14” conveyed material

[0052] 20 Conveying device

[0053] 21-26 Conveyor unit

[0054] 30 conveyor line

[0055] Area 31-36

[0056] 31'-34' area

[0057] 31”-34” Area

[0058] 40 Image acquisition device

[0059] 41 parts

[0060] 50 Evaluation Devices

[0061] 60 Control device DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] In the Figures, identical or similar features are indicated by identical reference numerals.

[0063] Figure 1 A top view of an embodiment of a conveyor system 1 for transporting conveyed material is shown in a first state. Figure 1 In the figure, six kinds of conveyed materials 11-16 are used as examples to represent the conveyed materials being transported.

[0064] The conveyor system 1 comprises a conveying device 20 which comprises a plurality of conveyor units 21 to 26 and is designed to convey conveyed material 11 to 16 along a conveying line 30 .

[0065] The conveyor line 30 can be divided into a plurality of areas 31 to 36. Figure 1 For example, it is depicted as multiple regions of equal size or uniform distribution.

[0066] The conveyor system 1 further comprises an image acquisition device 40 which is designed to acquire at least one section 41 of the conveyor line 30 in at least one piece of image information.

[0067] The conveyor system 1 further comprises an evaluation device 50 which is designed to evaluate the acquired image information and to determine a specific conveyed material 11 to 16 therein.

[0068] The conveyor system 1 further comprises a control device 60 which is designed to adjust the dimensions of the areas 31 to 36 based on the determined specific conveyed material 11 to 16 .

[0069] The evaluation device 50 is designed to determine a size parameter from the acquired image information, which size parameter is specific to a size of a specific conveyed material 11 to 16 , in particular to an extension of a specific conveyed material 11 to 16 in the conveying direction F, and in particular to quantify it. The control device 60 can be designed to adjust the size of the regions 31 to 36 based on the determined size parameter.

[0070] The control device 60 is also designed to define the dimensions of the areas 31 to 36 differently in order to take into account the different properties and preferably the dimensions of the specific conveyed materials 11 to 16 during the conveying process, so that the conveying line 30 is preferably divided into a plurality of sections with different capacities by the areas 31 to 36, in particular as follows in combination Figure 2 and Figure 3 As explained.

[0071] The evaluation device 50 can also be designed to determine the edges 17 of the conveyed material 11 in the acquired image information, wherein only one edge 17 of the first conveyed material is provided with a reference mark, for example. In this case, the control device 60 is designed to adjust the size of the regions 31 to 36 based on the determined edges 17.

[0072] The control device 60 can also be designed to control the speed and / or direction in the areas 31 to 36 differently based on this evaluation.

[0073] The control device 60 can also be designed to control each of the areas 31 to 36 independently of each other, in particular with respect to different transport speeds and / or directions and / or spacings between the conveyed materials in the areas 31 to 36, wherein each area 31 to 36 preferably has its own control unit (not shown here for the sake of clarity) and is activated via the control device 60.

[0074] In this example, the conveying device is shown as having a plurality of rollers. However, the conveying device can also be designed as a conveyor belt for transporting conveyed material, in particular in the form of a package shown here.

[0075] The image acquisition device 40 can be designed as a camera, the image information is designed to be recorded by the camera, and the part acquired by the camera has multiple, preferably at least two or at least three or at least four or at least five areas 31 to 36, so they are monitored simultaneously by the camera for area adaptation.

[0076] According to a method for adjusting an area of ​​a conveyor system 1, at least one piece of image information is initially acquired, wherein the at least one piece of image information originates from an image acquisition by means of an image acquisition device 40, in which at least one section 41 of a conveyor line 30 has been acquired. The acquired image information is then evaluated to determine the conveyed material 11 to 16, and an adjustment of the size of the area 31 to 36 is then initiated based on the determined conveyed material 11 to 16.

[0077] The method steps are performed during the operation of the conveying device 20 and the transported materials 11 to 16 are transported through the areas 31 to 36, so as to dynamically adjust the areas 31 to 36, preferably the size of the areas 31 to 36 to adapt to the conveyed materials 11 to 16 being transported at this time.

[0078] Figure 2 Shown in the second state Figure 1 A top view of the conveyor system. Figure 1 In the different states shown, the conveyed materials do not have the same size, so the area distribution is uneven. In particular, first a larger first conveyed material 11' is shown, followed by two smaller conveyed materials 12' and 13', and likewise followed by a larger conveyed material 14'. Due to the different sizes of the conveyed materials, the areas 31', 32', 33', 34' are also set with different sizes. The adjustment of the number and / or size of the areas 31', 32', 33', 34' can be carried out dynamically during the continuous operation of the conveyor system 1. In other words, the number and / or size of the areas 31', 32', 33' and 34' have been dynamically adjusted to the size of the conveyed materials 11', 12', 13', 14'.

[0079] As is clearly apparent here, the conveyor units 21 and 22 form a first region 31 ′, the conveyor unit 23 forms a second region 32 ′, the conveyor unit 24 forms a third region 33 ′, and the conveyor units 25 and 26 form a fourth region 34 ′.

[0080] Figure 3 Shown in the third state Figure 1 Top view of the conveyor system. Figure 2 The conveyed materials do not have the same size and the areas are not uniformly distributed, but they are similar to Figure 2 In particular, a first larger conveyed material 11'' is shown first, followed by a smaller conveyed material 12'', followed by a larger conveyed material 13'', and likewise followed by a smaller conveyed material 14''. The number and size of regions 31'', 32'', 33'' and 34'' have been dynamically adapted to the size of the conveyed materials 11'', 12'', 13'', 14''.

[0081] As is clear here, conveyor units 21 and 22 form a first zone 31", conveyor unit 23 forms a second zone 32", conveyor units 24 and 25 form a third zone 33", and conveyor unit 26 forms a fourth zone 34". For example, the speed in zone 31" can be the same as the speed in zone 33", but different from zones 32" and 34".

[0082] In general, the illustrated embodiments show how cameras can be used as sensors for dynamic area adjustment of conveyor systems.

Claims

1. A conveyor system (1) for transporting conveyed material (11 ... 16), the conveyor system (1) comprising: a conveying device (20) designed to transport the conveyed material (11 ... 16) along a conveying line (30), the conveying line (30) being divided into a plurality of zones (31 ... 36), - at least one image acquisition device (40) designed to acquire at least one portion (41) of the conveyor line (30) in at least one piece of image information, - an evaluation device (50) designed to evaluate the acquired image information and to determine the conveyed material (11 . . . 16) therein; and - a control device (60) designed to adjust the dimensions of the zones (31 . . . 36) based on the determined conveyed material (11).

2. The conveyor system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that The evaluation device (50) is designed to determine a size parameter in the acquired image information, wherein the size parameter is specific to the size of the conveyed material (11...16), in particular the extension of the conveyed material (11) in the conveying direction (F) and is particularly used to quantify it, and the control device (60) is designed to adjust the size of the area (31...36) based on the determined size parameter.

3. The conveyor system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The control device (60) is designed to differently define the dimensions of the areas (31 ... 36) in order to take into account different properties, preferably dimensions, of the conveyed material (11) during transportation, so that the conveying line (30) is preferably divided into parts with different capacities via the areas (31 ... 36).

4. The conveyor system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The evaluation device (50) is designed to determine an edge (17) of the conveyed material (11) in the acquired image information, wherein the control device (60) is designed to adjust the size of the area (31 . . . 36) based on the determined edge (17).

5. Conveyor system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The control device (60) is designed to control the speed in the areas (31 . . . 36) differently based on the evaluation.

6. Conveyor system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The control device (60) is designed to control the directions in the areas (31 . . . 36) differently based on the evaluation.

7. Conveyor system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The control device (60) is designed to control the zones (31 ... 36) independently of one another, in particular with regard to different transport speeds and / or conveying directions and / or spacings between the conveyed materials in the zones (31 ... 36), wherein each zone (31 ... 36) preferably has its own control unit for this purpose, which is activated by the control device (60).

8. Conveyor system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The conveying device is designed as a conveyor belt in order to transport the conveyed material in the form of packages.

9. Conveyor system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The image acquisition device (40) is designed as a camera, the image information is designed to be recorded by the camera, and the part acquired by the camera has multiple, preferably at least two or at least three or at least four or at least five areas (31...36), which are therefore monitored simultaneously by the camera for area adjustment.

10. A method for adjusting the area of ​​a conveyor system (1) having a conveying device (20), in which conveyor system a conveyed material (11) is transported along a conveying line (30) and the conveying line (30) is divided into a plurality of areas (31 . . . 36) of different sizes, the method comprising: - capturing at least one piece of image information, wherein the at least one piece of image information originates from image capture using an image capture device (40), during which at least one section (41) of the conveyor line (30) has been captured, - evaluating the acquired image information to determine the conveyed material (11 . . . 16), - Initiating an adjustment of the areas (31 . . . 36) with respect to their dimensions based on the determined conveyed material (11 . . . 16).

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method steps are performed during the operation of the conveying device and the transportation of the conveyed material (11) through the area (31...36) so as to dynamically adjust the size of the area (31...36) to adapt to the conveyed material (11...16) being transported at that time.

12. Data processing apparatus comprising means for performing the steps of the method according to claim 10 or 11.

13. A computer program, in particular a computer program product, comprising commands which, when the computer program is run by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method according to claim 10 or 11.

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