Intelligent material transportation system

Abstract

The invention provides an intelligent material transportation system, and relates to the technical field of material transportation. The intelligent material transportation system comprises a raw material storage unit, a conveying unit, a control unit and an interactive display unit. The PLC system is combined with the flow meter to achieve intelligent control over an automatic control valve and a knockout pump, single-use-point accurate knockout and multi-use-point automatic queuing scheduling are supported, and a display screen displays the running state in real time and supports man-machine interaction. The problems that a traditional material transportation mode is low in efficiency, tedious in operation and disordered in dispatching in large-scale production are solved, full automation, intelligence and precision of material transportation are achieved, and the system is suitable for transportation of liquid raw materials and intermediates in the industries of food, medicine and the like.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of material transportation, in particular to an intelligent material transportation system. BACKGROUND

[0002] In food and pharmaceutical production enterprises, the transportation of liquid production raw materials and intermediates is a key link in the production process. The traditional transportation method mainly starts by starting the material pumping pump and opening the valve, and then the raw materials are transported to the use position through the pipeline, or the automobile tank truck transportation is adopted. When the enterprise scale is small and the production mode is one-to-one transportation (such as from point A to point B), this method can still meet the basic needs.

[0003] However, when the enterprise scale expands and the raw material use points significantly increase (such as from point A to points B, C, D, etc.), and the types of raw materials increase (such as A1, A2, A3, etc.), the limitations of the traditional transportation method become increasingly prominent. The main defects include: (1) Manual operation is complicated, and the equipment and valves need to be frequently started and stopped, which is labor-intensive and inefficient; (2) When transporting multiple points and multiple materials, there is a lack of intelligent scheduling mechanism, which can easily cause transportation confusion, queuing conflicts, etc.; (3) It is difficult to accurately control the material quantity and time, and the controllability and accuracy of the transportation process are poor.

[0004] Therefore, an intelligent material transportation system that can adapt to the needs of large-scale production is needed to solve the shortcomings of the traditional method. SUMMARY

[0005] (I) Technical problems solved In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, the present application provides an intelligent material transportation system, which aims to realize the full automation of material transportation, improve the transportation efficiency and accuracy through intelligent control and optimized scheduling, reduce the labor cost, and meet the material transportation needs of large-scale and diversified production of enterprises, so as to solve the problems proposed in the above background technology.

[0006] (II) Technical solutions In order to achieve the above purpose, the present application is realized by the following technical solutions: an intelligent material transportation system, comprising: a raw material storage unit for storing liquid raw materials to be transported, comprising a plurality of raw material points, each raw material point being provided with a raw material outlet automatic valve at the outlet for controlling the material output; The conveying unit includes a material pump and a conveying pipeline. The material pump is arranged between the raw material point outlet and the conveying pipeline to provide power to convey the material to each use point through the conveying pipeline; the conveying pipeline extends to each use point, and the entrance of each use point is provided with an automatic valve for controlling the input of materials; A control unit includes a PLC system and a flow meter. The flow meter is installed on the conveying pipeline and is electrically connected to the PLC system. It is used to monitor the material conveying volume in real time and provide feedback to the PLC system. The PLC system is electrically connected to the automatic valve at the raw material outlet, the material pump, and the automatic valves at the entrances of each use point. It is used to control the operation of the valves and the material pump based on the material discharge volume set at each use point and the conveying volume fed back by the flow meter. The interactive display unit includes a raw material point display screen set at the raw material point and a usage point display screen set at each usage point. The raw material point display screen and the usage point display screen are electrically connected to the PLC system to display the operating status of the material transportation system and receive the user's refill operation instructions.

[0007] Preferably, the PLC system has a built-in preset algorithm for automatically queuing when more than two usage points apply for refilling at the same time according to the time sequence in which the refilling operation is triggered by the usage points, and scheduling the transportation tasks of each usage point in turn according to the rule of "first start, first fill".

[0008] Preferably, the point-of-use display screen has a human-computer interaction function. The user inputs the required material amount through the point-of-use display screen and triggers the refilling operation. When the refilling amount reaches the set value, the point-of-use display screen issues a prompt message indicating that the refilling is completed.

[0009] Preferably, the operating status displayed on the raw material point display screen and the usage point display screen includes: valve status, feeding pump status, usage point operating status, queue status, feeding time and feeding amount.

[0010] Preferably, the PLC system calculates the cumulative feeding amount based on the delivery amount fed back by the flow meter. When the cumulative feeding amount reaches the feeding amount set at the use point, the feeding pump is controlled to stop running and the corresponding raw material outlet automatic valve and the use point inlet automatic valve are closed.

[0011] (3) Beneficial effects The present invention provides an intelligent material transportation system, which has the following beneficial effects: 1. There is no need for frequent manual operation of valves and feeding pumps. The user only needs to click the feeding button on the touch screen and set the feeding amount to realize the automation of the entire process from raw material output to point of use input, reducing manual labor intensity and reducing human operational errors.

[0012] 2. Through the preset algorithm of the PLC system, automatic queuing and transportation path optimization in a multi-use point scenario are realized, material transportation is ensured to be orderly, transportation efficiency is improved, and time waste caused by scheduling confusion in a traditional way is avoided.

[0013] 3. The flow meter feeds back the material quantity in real time, the PLC system accurately controls the start and stop of the material feeding process in combination with the preset material quantity, the accuracy of the conveying quantity is ensured, and the display screen displays various operating parameters in real time, so that the system state can be grasped by the operator in real time, and abnormal conditions can be found and handled in time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 It is a schematic view of the transportation system of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0016] Embodiment one: The embodiment of the present application provides an intelligent material transportation system, which comprises: A raw material storage unit is used for storing liquid raw materials to be transported, comprises a plurality of raw material points, and a raw material outlet automatic valve is arranged at the outlet of each raw material point and used for controlling material output.

[0017] A conveying unit comprises a material feeding pump and a conveying pipeline, the material feeding pump is arranged between the raw material point outlet and the conveying pipeline and used for providing power to convey the material to each use point through the conveying pipeline, and the conveying pipeline extends to each use point, and a use point inlet automatic valve is arranged at the inlet of each use point and used for controlling material input.

[0018] A control unit comprises a PLC system and a flow meter, the flow meter is arranged on the conveying pipeline and electrically connected with the PLC system, used for monitoring the material conveying quantity in real time and feeding back to the PLC system, and the PLC system is electrically connected with the raw material outlet automatic valve, the material feeding pump and the use point inlet automatic valves of each use point, used for controlling the operation of the valves and the material feeding pump according to the material quantity set by each use point and the conveying quantity fed back by the flow meter. The PLC system is internally provided with a preset algorithm, used for automatically queuing according to the time sequence of the use points triggering the material supplementing operation when two or more use points simultaneously apply for material supplementing, and sequentially scheduling the transportation tasks of each use point according to the rule of "starting first, feeding first". Secondly, the PLC system calculates the cumulative feeding volume based on the delivery volume feedback from the flow meter. When the cumulative feeding volume reaches the feeding volume set at the use point, the feeding pump is controlled to stop running and the corresponding raw material outlet automatic valve and the use point inlet automatic valve are closed.

[0019] The interactive display unit includes a raw material point display screen provided at the raw material point and a usage point display screen provided at each usage point. The raw material point display screen and the usage point display screen are electrically connected to the PLC system and are used to display the operating status of the material transportation system and receive the user's refill operation instructions; The operating status displayed on the raw material point display screen and the use point display screen includes: valve status, material pump status, use point operating status, queue status, material discharging time and material discharging amount; Secondly, the point-of-use display screen has a human-computer interaction function. The user inputs the required amount of material through the point-of-use display screen and triggers the refilling operation. When the refilling amount reaches the set value, the point-of-use display screen issues a prompt message indicating that the refilling is completed.

[0020] System operation logic (1) Single point of use scenario: When only one point of use needs to be refilled, the user enters the required amount of material on the point of use display screen of the point of use and clicks the "Start Refilling" button. The PLC system controls the corresponding raw material outlet automatic valve, the material pump and the point of use inlet automatic valve of the point of use to open, and the material pump starts and begins to transport the material. The flow meter monitors the delivery volume in real time and feeds back to the PLC system. When the delivery volume reaches the set material volume, the PLC system controls the material pump to stop running, closes the raw material outlet valve and the point of use inlet automatic valve of the point of use, completes the refilling operation, and notifies the user through the point of use display screen that the refilling is complete.

[0021] (2) Multiple usage point scenario: When two or more usage points apply for refilling at the same time, the PLC system automatically queues them according to the time sequence of the refilling operation triggered by each usage point, and dispatches the transportation tasks of each usage point in sequence according to the principle of "first start, first fill". After the filling of the current usage point is completed, it automatically switches to the next usage point in the queue until the filling tasks of all points are completed. During the whole process, each display screen updates the queue status and operation status in real time for the operator to monitor.

[0022] Example 2: like Figure 1 As shown, an intelligent material transportation system includes: 1. Raw material storage unit: Taking a food production enterprise as an example, the raw material storage unit can include multiple stainless steel storage tanks as raw material A, which store different types of liquid raw materials (such as syrup, juice, etc.), and each storage tank is equipped with an electric ball valve as a raw material outlet automatic valve at the outlet. The raw material outlet automatic valve is electrically connected to the PLC system and receives the on-off control of the PLC system.

[0023] 2. Delivery unit: The material pumping pump is selected as a corrosion-resistant centrifugal pump, which is installed between the raw material point outlet and the delivery pipeline. The pump is connected to the PLC system through a frequency converter, and the PLC system can control the speed of the pump by adjusting the frequency of the converter, thereby adjusting the material delivery speed. The delivery pipeline is made of food-grade stainless steel and extends to each use point (such as a batching tank, a filling line, etc.) according to the layout of the production workshop. An electric ball valve of the same type as the raw material outlet automatic valve is installed at the inlet of each use point as a use point inlet automatic valve.

[0024] 3. Control unit: The PLC system uses Siemens S7-1500 series programmable controller with pre-set control algorithms, including material pumping calculation module, queuing scheduling module, and equipment control module. The flow meter is selected as an electromagnetic flow meter, which is installed near the raw material point on the delivery pipeline to measure the material flow in real time and convert the signal to a 4-20 mA current signal feedback to the PLC system. The PLC system calculates the cumulative material pumping amount by integration.

[0025] 4. Interactive display unit: The raw material point display screen and the use point display screen are both selected as Siemens TP1200 touch screen connected to the PLC system through RJ45 communication interface. The raw material point display screen is mainly used to display the overall system running status, the status of each raw material outlet automatic valve and the material pumping pump, and the historical material pumping data. In addition to displaying the use point inlet automatic valve status, material pumping time, and material pumping amount at this point, the use point display screen also has a material pumping amount input box and "material replenishment request" and "stop" operation buttons. The user can trigger and set parameters for material replenishment operation through the touch screen.

[0026] Specific operation steps (1) Single use point material replenishment process (taking use point A as an example) 1. The user sets the required material pumping amount (such as 1000L) on the use point display screen of use point A, clicks the "material replenishment request" button, and the use point display screen sends the material pumping amount and replenishment request signal to the PLC system.

[0027] 2. After receiving the signal, the PLC system first detects whether the raw material A storage is sufficient (which can be achieved through a storage tank level meter connected to the PLC system). If the storage is sufficient, it sends instructions to open the raw material point outlet automatic valve, start the material pumping pump, and open the use point inlet automatic valve, while keeping the remaining use point inlet automatic valves closed.

[0028] 3. After the material pump is started, the material is transported to the use point A through the conveying pipeline, the flow meter monitors the flow in real time and feeds back to the PLC system, and the PLC system accumulates the material quantity by integral calculation.

[0029] 4. When the accumulated material quantity reaches 1000L, the PLC system sends instructions in turn: stop the material pump, close the raw material point outlet automatic valve and the use point inlet automatic valve, display "replenishment complete" prompt on the use point display screen, and notify the user through sound and light alarm (such as display screen flashing and buzzer ringing).

[0030] (2) Multi-use point replenishment scheduling process (take the case of use points A and B applying for replenishment at the same time) 1. Use point A triggers the replenishment application at t1, and sets the material quantity to 1000L; use point B triggers the replenishment application at t2 (t2>t1), and sets the material quantity to 800L. After the PLC system receives two replenishment requests, it generates a queuing queue according to the time sequence: use point A (priority 1), use point B (priority 2), and displays the queuing situation on the raw material point display screen and each use point display screen.

[0031] 2. First, execute the replenishment process of use point A, the steps are the same as in the single-use point scenario, until the replenishment of use point A is completed.

[0032] 3. After the replenishment of use point A is completed, the PLC system automatically switches to the replenishment task of use point B, and opens the corresponding raw material point outlet automatic valve (if use point B uses the same raw material point as use point A, the raw material point outlet automatic valve does not need to be opened repeatedly, and the use point inlet automatic valve of use point B is directly opened), starts the material pump (if the material pump is already in running state, it does not need to be started repeatedly), opens the use point inlet automatic valve of use point B, and starts to transport material to use point B.

[0033] 4. The flow meter continues to monitor the flow, and when the accumulated material quantity of use point B reaches 800L, the PLC system controls the material pump to stop, closes the related valves, and notifies use point B that the replenishment is completed through the use point display screen.

[0034] The same applies to use point X.

[0035] Exception handling mechanism 1. If abnormal conditions such as insufficient raw material reserves, pipeline blockage, equipment failure (such as material pump overload) occur during material pumping, the related sensors (such as liquid level meter, pressure sensor, current sensor) will feed back signals to the PLC system, which will immediately stop the material pump and related valves, display the type of exception on the display screen of this use point, and trigger sound and light alarm to notify the operator to handle.

[0036] 2. If a certain point of use needs to pause or cancel the task during the refilling process, the user can click the "Stop" button on the display screen of the point of use. After receiving the signal, the PLC system will immediately stop the feeding pump and close the relevant valves. The current feeding volume data will be automatically saved. You can choose to continue refilling or clear the data and reapply later.

[0037] While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, and that the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An intelligent material transportation system, characterized by: include: The raw material storage unit is used to store liquid raw materials to be transported, including multiple raw material points. Each raw material point outlet is equipped with an automatic raw material outlet valve to control the material output; The conveying unit includes a material pump and a conveying pipeline. The material pump is arranged between the raw material point outlet and the conveying pipeline to provide power to convey the material to each use point through the conveying pipeline; the conveying pipeline extends to each use point, and the entrance of each use point is provided with an automatic valve for controlling the input of materials; A control unit includes a PLC system and a flow meter. The flow meter is installed on the conveying pipeline and is electrically connected to the PLC system. It is used to monitor the material conveying volume in real time and provide feedback to the PLC system. The PLC system is electrically connected to the automatic valve at the raw material outlet, the material pump, and the automatic valves at the entrances of each use point. It is used to control the operation of the valves and the material pump based on the material discharge volume set at each use point and the conveying volume fed back by the flow meter. The interactive display unit includes a raw material point display screen set at the raw material point and a usage point display screen set at each usage point. The raw material point display screen and the usage point display screen are electrically connected to the PLC system to display the operating status of the material transportation system and receive the user's refill operation instructions.

2. The intelligent material transportation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The PLC system has a built-in preset algorithm for automatically queuing when more than two usage points apply for refilling at the same time according to the time sequence in which the refilling operation is triggered by the usage points, and scheduling the transportation tasks of each usage point in sequence according to the "first start, first fill" rule.

3. The intelligent material transportation system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The point-of-use display screen has a human-computer interaction function. The user inputs the required material amount through the point-of-use display screen and triggers the refilling operation. When the refilling amount reaches the set value, the point-of-use display screen issues a prompt message indicating that the refilling is completed.

4. The intelligent material transportation system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The operating status displayed on the raw material point display screen and the use point display screen includes: valve status, material pump status, use point operating status, queue status, material discharging time and material discharging amount.

5. The intelligent material transportation system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The PLC system calculates the cumulative material feeding amount based on the delivery amount fed back by the flow meter. When the cumulative material feeding amount reaches the material feeding amount set at the use point, the material feeding pump is controlled to stop running and the corresponding raw material outlet automatic valve and the use point inlet automatic valve are closed.

Images