Monitoring method for chute member, monitoring system and program

Abstract

To provide a monitoring method capable of monitoring a chute member efficiently.SOLUTION: According to one aspect of the present invention, provided is a monitoring method for a chute member through which powder passes. The monitoring method includes the following steps: an acquisition step for acquiring point cloud data on the chute member via a predetermined sensor that has been installed in advance; and a determination step for determining a degree of adhesion of powder to the chute member based on at least the point cloud data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method, a system, and a program for monitoring a chute member. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, belt conveyors have been used to transport powders such as coal, powdered coke, cement, biomass fuel, soil and sand, ore, slag, dust, etc. over long distances. Here, a chute section (chute member) is sometimes used to transfer the powder between multiple belt conveyors (see Patent Document 1, etc.). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-183031 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, there is a possibility that the inside of the chute member may become clogged with powder while the powder is being transported, and in order to prevent this, appropriate maintenance may be required. In light of this, there has been a demand for establishing an efficient method for monitoring the chute member.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a monitoring method and the like that can efficiently monitor a chute member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for monitoring a chute member through which powder passes, the method comprising the following steps: in the acquisition step, point cloud data relating to the chute member is acquired via a predetermined sensor that has been installed in advance; and in the determination step, a degree of adhesion of powder to the chute member is determined based on at least the point cloud data.

[0007] Furthermore, it may be provided in the following aspects:

[0008] (1) A method for monitoring a chute member through which powder passes, comprising the following steps: in an acquisition step, point cloud data relating to the chute member is acquired via a predetermined sensor that has been installed in advance; and in a judgment step, a degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member is judged based on at least the point cloud data.

[0009] According to this aspect, the chute member can be efficiently monitored.

[0010] (2) In the monitoring method described in (1) above, in the judgment step, the degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member is judged based on the point cloud data and reference data corresponding to a reference state with respect to the chute member.

[0011] According to this aspect, the chute member can be monitored more stably.

[0012] (3) The monitoring method according to (2) above, wherein in the acquisition step, the point cloud data is acquired in a state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member, and in the judgment step, data on the shape of the chute member in a state in which the powder is not adhering to the chute member is used as the reference data to judge the degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member.

[0013] According to this embodiment, it is possible to efficiently monitor the chute member when no powder is passing through it.

[0014] (4) The monitoring method described in (3) above further includes a detection step and a determination step, in which the inlet of the chute member is connected to a downstream end of a belt conveyor that transports the powder, the detection step detects the operating status of the belt conveyor, and the determination step determines the state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member based on the detected operating status of the belt conveyor.

[0015] According to this aspect, the condition of the chute member can be appropriately managed.

[0016] (5) The monitoring method according to (3) above, further comprising a determination step, wherein in the acquisition step, point cloud data relating to the chute member is acquired over time, and in the determination step, the state in which the powder has not passed through the chute member is determined based on the point cloud data acquired over time.

[0017] According to this aspect, it is possible to appropriately manage whether or not the powder is passing through the chute member.

[0018] (6) The monitoring method according to (2) above, wherein in the acquisition step, the point cloud data is acquired while the powder is passing through the chute member, and in the judgment step, the point cloud data relating to a state in which the powder is passing through the chute member normally is used as the reference data to judge the degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member.

[0019] According to this aspect, it is possible to efficiently monitor the chute member while the powder is passing through it.

[0020] (7) The monitoring method according to (6) above, wherein in the acquiring step, the point cloud data relating to the chute member is acquired over time.

[0021] According to this aspect, the chute member can be monitored more stably.

[0022] (8) The monitoring method according to (6) or (7) above, further comprising a detection step, wherein the inlet of the chute member is connected to a downstream end of a belt conveyor that transports the powder, the detection step detects the operating status of the belt conveyor, and the judgment step further judges the degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on the detected operating status of the belt conveyor.

[0023] According to this aspect, the condition of the chute member can be appropriately managed.

[0024] (9) A monitoring method according to any one of (1) to (8) above, wherein in the judgment step, the degree of adhesion is judged by inputting the point cloud data into a trained model, and the trained model is a model that has been machine-learned in advance to determine the relationship between the point cloud data and the degree of adhesion.

[0025] According to this embodiment, the chute member can be monitored with greater accuracy.

[0026] (10) The monitoring method according to any one of (1) to (9) above, further comprising a warning step, in which a warning is issued according to the degree of adhesion determined in the determination step.

[0027] According to this aspect, the monitoring status of the chute member can be easily understood by workers and the like.

[0028] (11) A monitoring system for a chute member through which powder passes, comprising at least one processor, the processor being configured to execute a program so as to perform each step of the monitoring method described in any one of (1) to (10) above.

[0029] According to this aspect, the chute member can be efficiently monitored.

[0030] (12) A monitoring system according to (11) above, comprising an information processing device and a sensor, the sensor being configured to acquire point cloud data relating to the chute member, the information processing device comprising the processor that executes the program, connected to the sensor, and configured to acquire point cloud data relating to the chute member from the sensor.

[0031] According to this aspect, the chute member can be efficiently monitored.

[0032] (13) A program that causes at least one computer to execute each step of the monitoring method according to any one of (1) to (10) above.

[0033] According to this aspect, the chute member can be efficiently monitored. Of course, this is not the case.

[0034] According to the above aspect, a monitoring method and the like that can efficiently monitor the chute member are provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0035] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a process in which a monitoring system can be applied. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a monitoring system 100. [Diagram 3] 2 is a functional block diagram showing functions of an information processing device 2. FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing using the monitoring system 100 etc. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of point cloud data acquired in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining the process of a determination step in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0036] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. Note that various features shown in the following embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0037] That is, the method for monitoring the chute member in this embodiment is as follows. 1. A method for monitoring a chute member through which powder passes, comprising: It comprises the following steps: In the acquisition step, point cloud data relating to the chute member is acquired via a predetermined sensor that is installed in advance; In the determination step, a degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member is determined based on at least the point cloud data.

[0038] Incidentally, the program for realizing the software appearing in this embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, or may be provided so as to be downloadable from an external server, or may be provided so that the program is started on an external computer and its functions are realized on a client terminal (so-called cloud computing).

[0039] In this embodiment, the term "unit" may include, for example, a combination of hardware resources implemented by a circuit in the broad sense and software information processing that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. In addition, this embodiment handles various information, which may be represented by, for example, physical values ​​of signal values ​​representing voltage and current, high and low signal values ​​as a binary bit set consisting of 0 or 1, or quantum superposition (so-called quantum bits), and communication and calculation may be performed on a circuit in the broad sense.

[0040] In addition, a circuit in the broad sense is a circuit realized by at least appropriately combining a circuit, circuitry, a processor, and a memory, etc. In other words, it includes an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (e.g., a simple programmable logic device (SPLD), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), etc.

[0041] 1. Hardware Configuration In this section, the hardware configuration of the monitoring system etc. according to this embodiment will be described.

[0042] The method for monitoring a chute member of the present embodiment can be applied to a process for conveying powder, and can typically be executed by a monitoring system 100 described below. First, the process for conveying powder and the configuration related to the hardware that can configure the process will be described.

[0043] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a process to which the monitoring system can be applied. The process in FIG. 1 is designed so that the chute member 1 receives the powder 5 conveyed from the belt conveyor 4a from the inlet of the chute member 1, and then guides the powder received by the chute member 1 downward to transfer it to the belt conveyor 4b. In other words, the powder 5 guided downward by the chute member 1 is connected to the belt conveyor 4b from the outlet of the chute member 1. Note that the traveling direction D1 of the belt conveyor 4a and the traveling direction D2 of the belt conveyor 4b are shown to be the same in FIG. 1, but these traveling directions do not necessarily have to be the same. Note that the powder 5 can be appropriately selected depending on the type of process. As an example, the powder 5 may be coal, fine coke, cement, biomass fuel, soil and sand, ore, slag, dust, etc.

[0044] 1, sensors (sensor 3a, sensor 3b) are attached inside chute member 1. In the monitoring method of this embodiment, a process is performed to acquire point cloud data related to chute member 1 via these sensors. Note that, hereinafter, these sensors 3a and 3b may be collectively referred to as sensor 3.

[0045] Specifically, in this embodiment, the information processing device 2 acquires predetermined information via sensors (sensors 3a and 3b) and performs predetermined processing based on the acquired information, thereby monitoring the chute member 1. In other words, the monitoring system of this embodiment can be said to include at least one processor, and the monitoring method can be realized by the processor.

[0046] 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a monitoring system 100. Although this monitoring system 100 is described as including an information processing device 2 and a sensor 3, the monitoring system of this embodiment only needs to include at least one processor configured to execute a program so as to perform each step of the monitoring method of this embodiment. Therefore, the monitoring system can also be configured by the information processing device 2 alone. Each element that can configure the monitoring system 100 will be described below.

[0047] [Information processing device 2] The information processing device 2 has a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, a control unit 23, a display unit 24, and an input unit 25, and is configured by electrically connecting these units via a communication bus 20. Each unit included in the information processing device 2 will be described below.

[0048] (Communications Department 21) The communication unit 21 is configured to be able to transmit various electrical signals from the information processing device 2 to external components. The communication unit 21 is also configured to be able to receive various electrical signals from the external components to the information processing device 2. Note that the communication unit 21 may have a network communication function, thereby enabling communication of various information between the information processing device 2 and an external device via a communication line.

[0049] (Storage unit 22) The storage unit 22 stores various pieces of information defined by the above description. This can be implemented, for example, as a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) that stores various programs and the like related to the information processing device 2 executed by the control unit 23, or as a memory such as a random access memory (RAM) that stores temporarily required information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to the program calculations. The storage unit 22 stores various programs, variables, etc. related to the information processing device 2 executed by the control unit 23.

[0050] (Control unit 23) The control unit 23 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) not shown. The control unit 23 realizes various functions related to the information processing device 2 by reading and executing a predetermined program stored in the storage unit 22. That is, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 22 can be specifically realized by the control unit 23, which is an example of hardware, and executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 23. These will be described in more detail in the next section. Note that the control unit 23 is not limited to being single, and may be implemented with multiple control units 23 for each function. Also, a combination of these may be used.

[0051] (Display section 24) The display unit 24 may be, for example, included in the housing of the information processing device 2, or may be externally attached. The display unit 24 displays a screen of a graphical user interface (GUI) that can be operated by the user. This is preferably implemented by using display devices such as a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and a plasma display according to the type of the information processing device 2.

[0052] (Input section 25) The input unit 25 may be included in the housing of the information processing device 2, or may be externally attached. For example, the input unit 25 may be implemented as a touch panel integrated with the display unit 24. If it is a touch panel, the user can input a tap operation, a swipe operation, or the like. Of course, a switch button, a mouse, a QWERTY keyboard, or the like may be adopted instead of the touch panel. That is, the input unit 25 accepts an operation input made by the user. The input is transferred as a command signal to the control unit 23 via the communication bus 20, and the control unit 23 can execute a predetermined control or calculation as necessary.

[0053] [Sensor 3] In this embodiment, the sensor 3 acquires measurement data (point cloud data) regarding the chute member 1. Here, the sensor 3 may have various configurations capable of acquiring point cloud data, but typically the sensor 3 is a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) sensor. The LiDAR sensor is a sensor that irradiates an object with laser light, detects reflected light, measures the distance to the object, and generates measurement data of the measurement target. Based on such a principle, the above-mentioned measurement data may include point cloud data obtained via the sensor 3. Note that the LiDAR sensor here may be either a so-called two-dimensional LiDAR or three-dimensional LiDAR. The sensor 3 may also include a laser light source, a light receiving unit, a microcomputer, and a communication unit (not shown). That is, the laser light source irradiates laser light, the light receiving unit receives the reflected light reflected by the object, point cloud data is generated by the microcomputer, and the point cloud data can be output to the outside via the communication unit.

[0054] The sensor 3 may be connected to the communication unit 21 of the information processing device 2 via a predetermined transmission path. With this configuration, the chute member 1 can be monitored while ensuring both accuracy and cost. The type of the transmission path is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a USB connection or a serial connection, or may be connected via a network such as the Internet or an intranet. Although two sensors, a sensor 3a and a sensor 3b, are shown as the sensor 3 in FIG. 1, the number of sensors 3 used in this process may be one or three or more.

[0055] As described above, the monitoring system 100 of the present embodiment may include an information processing device 2 and a sensor 3. In a typical example, the sensor 3 may be configured to acquire point cloud data related to the chute member 1. The information processing device 2 may include a processor that executes a program. Furthermore, the information processing device 2 may be connected to the sensor 3 and configured to acquire the point cloud data related to the chute member 1 from the sensor 3.

[0056] 2. Functional configuration In this section, the functional configuration of this embodiment will be described. Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the functions of the information processing device 2. As described above, information processing by software (stored in the storage unit 22) is specifically realized by hardware (control unit 23), and can be executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 23.

[0057] Specifically, the information processing device 2 (control unit 23) may include, as each functional unit, an acquisition unit 231, a determination unit 232, a detection unit 233, a judgment unit 234, a warning unit 235, a memory management unit 236, and a display control unit 237. Note that each of these functional units may be appropriately increased or omitted depending on the application to which the information processing device 2 is applied, etc.

[0058] (Acquisition part 231) The acquisition unit 231 is configured to be able to execute an acquisition step. In the acquisition step, the acquisition unit 231 acquires point cloud data related to the chute member 1 via a predetermined sensor 3 that is installed in advance. The specific processing will be described later.

[0059] (Judgment unit 232) The determination unit 232 is configured to be able to execute a determination step. In the determination step, the determination unit 232 determines the degree of adhesion of powder to the chute member 1 based on at least the point cloud data. The specific process will be described later.

[0060] (Detection unit 233) The detection unit 233 is configured to be able to execute a detection step. In the detection step, the detection unit 233 detects the operating status of the belt conveyor 4a. The belt conveyor 4a conveys the powder 5, and its downstream end is connected to the inlet of the chute member 1. A specific detection method will be described later.

[0061] (Judgment unit 234) The determination unit 234 is configured to be able to execute a determination step. In the determination step, the determination unit 234 determines whether or not the powder 5 is passing through the chute member 1. This determination step may be achieved by various methods, but as one example, the determination may be made as to whether or not the powder is passing through the chute member 1 (or whether or not the powder is passing through) based on the operating status of the belt conveyor 4a detected by the detection unit 233. In addition, when the acquisition unit 231 acquires point cloud data related to the chute member 1 over time, the determination may be made as to whether or not the powder is passing through the chute member 1 (or whether or not the powder is passing through) based on the point cloud data acquired over time.

[0062] (Warning section 235) The warning unit 235 is configured to be able to execute a warning step. In the warning step, the warning unit 235 issues a warning according to the degree of adhesion determined in the determination step. The contents of this warning will be described later.

[0063] (Memory Management Department 236) The memory management unit 236 is configured to be able to execute a memory management step. In the memory management step, the memory management unit 236 is configured to manage various pieces of information to be stored that are related to the processes of this embodiment. Typically, the memory management unit 236 is configured to store information handled by the information processing device 2 in a memory area. This memory area is exemplified by the memory unit 22 of the information processing device 2 and the memory units of various devices and terminals, but this memory area does not necessarily have to be within the process shown in FIG. 1, and the memory management unit 236 can also manage various pieces of information to be stored in an external storage device or the like.

[0064] (Display control unit 237) The display control unit 237 is configured to be able to execute a display control step. In the display control step, the display control unit 237 creates various display information and controls it so that it can be viewed by a user, etc. The display information may be visual information itself, such as a screen, an image, an icon, text, etc., generated in a manner that can be viewed by a user, or may be rendering information for displaying visual information, such as a screen, an image, an icon, text, etc., on various devices or terminals.

[0065] 3. Details of data processing In Section 3, an information processing method executed by the monitoring system 100 etc. will be described with reference to an activity diagram etc. Fig. 4 is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing using the monitoring system 100 etc. In this section, details of the information processing will be described separately for the first embodiment and the second embodiment.

[0066] [First embodiment] The information processing of the first embodiment relates to a monitoring method when powder 5 is not passing through the chute member 1. As described above, the chute member 1 receives the powder 5 transported from the belt conveyor 4a, but this reception may be stopped as necessary to perform maintenance or the like on the chute member 1. The monitoring method of the first embodiment is applied to a case when powder 5 is not passing through the chute member 1, such as when performing such maintenance.

[0067] In the monitoring method of the first embodiment, first, the sensor 3 measures the chute member 1 (activity A101). Specifically, a sensor (sensor 3a) installed on the ceiling of the chute member 1 continuously irradiates laser light downwards on the chute member 1, and the sensor 3a detects the light reflected from the inner wall of the chute member 1, etc.

[0068] Next, the acquiring unit 231 acquires the point cloud data from the sensor (sensor 3a) (activity A102). Specifically, the information processing device 2 receives the point cloud data output from the sensor (sensor 3a) via the transmission path by the communication unit 21, and appropriately stores the data in the storage unit 22. In the first embodiment, the chute member 1 is measured in a state where the chute member 1 is stopped, so that the acquiring step in this embodiment can be said to acquire the point cloud data in a state where the powder 5 is not passing through the chute member 1.

[0069] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of point cloud data acquired in the first embodiment. When powder 5 (powder 5a) is present on the inner wall of the chute member 1 as shown in Fig. 5, the acquisition unit 231 of the information processing device 2 can acquire the range (area) and thickness of the powder 5.

[0070] Next, the degree of adhesion of the powder 5 to the chute member 1 is judged based on information related to the point cloud data acquired in activity A102 (activity A103). This degree judgment may be made based on various methods, and one example is made by comparing with the reference information IF. This reference information IF may be various information that contributes to this judgment step, and one example may be reference data corresponding to a reference state for the chute member 1. In other words, the judgment step of the first embodiment may judge the degree of adhesion of the powder 5 to the chute member 1 based on the point cloud data and the reference data corresponding to the reference state for the chute member 1.

[0071] More specifically, in the judgment step of the first embodiment, data on the shape of the chute member 1 when the powder 5 is not attached to the chute member 1 is used as the reference data to judge the degree of adhesion of the powder 5 to the chute member 1. In other words, this "data on the shape of the chute member 1 when the powder 5 is not attached to the chute member 1" may correspond to point cloud data on the inner wall of the chute member 1, and the information processing device 2 may store such point cloud data on the inner wall of the chute member 1 in advance. Note that the "not attached state" here is not necessarily limited to a state in which the powder 5 is not completely attached to the chute member 1, but may also include a state in which the powder 5 is attached to the chute member 1 to an extent that does not affect the execution of the conveying process of the powder 5.

[0072] As a specific processing of the determination step, the difference between the point cloud data acquired in the acquisition step and the reference data is calculated, and the size of the region of the powder 5a portion (which may be the area, thickness, volume (powder amount), etc.) is determined. In this way, the chute member 1 can be monitored efficiently.

[0073] In the first embodiment, the predetermined reference data is used in the determination step on the assumption that the powder 5 has not passed through the chute member 1. Here, whether the powder 5 has not passed through (or has passed through) the chute member 1 can be determined by, for example, the following method.

[0074] That is, the determining step of the present embodiment may determine a state in which powder is not passing through the chute member based on the detected operating status of the belt conveyor. Here, the operating status of the belt conveyor is detected by the detecting step. According to this aspect, the status of the chute member can be appropriately managed.

[0075] As shown in Fig. 1, the inlet of the chute member 1 may be connected to the downstream end of the belt conveyor 4a that transports the powder 5. Although not shown, a predetermined sensor may be attached to the belt conveyor 4a, and the detection unit 233 may detect the operation status (which may be called start / stop) of the belt conveyor 4a based on information acquired from the sensor. Specifically, the monitoring system 100 of this embodiment may have a sensor for detecting vibrations and sounds of the belt conveyor 4a, and the detection unit 233 can detect the operation status of the belt conveyor 4a by detecting such vibrations and sounds.

[0076] The determination step may be executed as follows. That is, the determination step of this embodiment may determine a state in which the powder does not pass through the chute member 1 based on point cloud data acquired over time. According to such an embodiment, it is possible to appropriately manage whether the powder 5 passes through the chute member 1. In this case, typically, the point cloud data related to the chute member 1 is acquired over time in the acquisition step. That is, if the point cloud data acquired over time in the acquisition step does not change over time, the determination unit 234 can determine that the belt conveyor 4a is stopped (no powder 5 is being received from the belt conveyor 4a to the chute member 1). When it is determined that the belt conveyor 4a is stopped, the corresponding reference data is adopted in the determination step, as described above.

[0077] In the above, a specific reference information IF is used in the determination step, but the determination step may determine the degree of adhesion by inputting the point cloud data into a trained model. Here, the trained model is a model that has previously learned the relationship between the point cloud data and the degree of adhesion through machine learning. According to this type of embodiment, the chute member can be monitored with higher accuracy.

[0078] In addition, the above-mentioned determination step may be a step of quantitatively determining the degree of adhesion of powder or a step of qualitatively determining the degree of adhesion. As an example, in the first embodiment, the degree of adhesion is determined quantitatively (preferably by converting it into a numerical value).

[0079] The degree of powder adhesion determined in this manner may be displayed to a user who operates the information processing device 2 (activity A104). That is, the degree of powder adhesion determined in the determination step may be displayed on the display unit 24 or the like of the information processing device 2. Note that such processing may be realized by the function of the display control unit 237.

[0080] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the warning unit 235 may issue a warning according to the degree of adhesion determined in the determination step. According to this embodiment, the monitoring status of the chute member 1 can be easily understood by workers, etc. Specifically, such a warning can be issued based on the following process.

[0081] That is, prior to issuing a warning, the result of the judgment made in the judgment step is compared with a predefined warning condition (activity A105). If the warning condition is met in this comparison, a warning is presented to a worker (an example of a user) performing the transport work (activity A106). If the warning condition is not met, the processing of activity A106 is skipped. For example, when the degree of adhesion is quantitatively (quantified) and the degree of adhesion exceeds a predetermined threshold, a warning may be presented to a worker or the like. Note that this warning may be, for example, a warning message displayed on a display, a warning sound generated from a predetermined device, a patrol lamp placed in a conspicuous position, or a combination of these, but is not limited thereto and may be in the form of various warnings. That is, the warning in this embodiment is not limited to visual information, but may be information for other five senses such as auditory information and tactile information, or may be a combination of two or more of these.

[0082] Such information processing related to the activities A101 to A106 is continuously performed at each frame rate of the sensor 3 or each control rate of the control unit 23, whereby a monitoring method for monitoring the chute member 1 is executed.

[0083] [Second embodiment] The information processing of the second embodiment relates to a monitoring method when powder 5 passes through chute member 1. Note that, in the description of the second embodiment, the description of the parts that overlap with the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0084] That is, in the second embodiment, in the obtaining step, point cloud data is obtained in a state where powder 5 is passing through the chute member 1. In addition, in the determining step, point cloud data relating to a state where powder 5 is passing normally through the chute member 1 is used as reference data to determine the degree of adhesion of powder 5 to the chute member 1. According to this aspect, it is possible to efficiently monitor the chute member 1 in a state where powder is passing through it.

[0085] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the process of the judgment step in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the degree of adhesion of powder to the chute member 1 can be judged using predetermined reference data. Fig. 6A shows a state in which the sensor 3b provided inside the chute member 1 measures the state in which the powder 5 passes through the chute member 1 normally. Here, this state relates to a state in which the sensor 3b measures the inner wall of the chute member 1 in a substantially horizontal direction.

[0086] In Fig. 6A, the powder 5ST is shown falling downward with a constant width at approximately the center of the chute member 1. In the second embodiment, for example, a state in which the powder 5 falls normally can be used as reference data, and Fig. 6A can correspond to "a state in which the powder 5 falls normally." In contrast, in Fig. 6B, the powder 5b falls with a width wider than the powder 5ST, and in Fig. 6C, the powder 5c falls away from approximately the center of the chute member 1.

[0087] Such a difference between the reference data and the acquired data is typically considered to be due to adhesion of powder present above the area for which point cloud data is acquired on the chute member 1. The information processing device 2 of this embodiment can determine the degree of adhesion of powder 5 to the chute member 1 based on such a difference between the reference data and the measurement data.

[0088] Also in the second embodiment, in the acquisition step, point cloud data regarding the chute member 1 can be acquired over time. In such a case, the determination step can be executed based on the time-varying data of the point cloud data regarding the chute member 1. Therefore, according to this aspect, the chute member can be monitored more stably.

[0089] In the second embodiment, the reference data uses point cloud data relating to a state in which the powder 5 normally passes through the chute member 1 as described above, but before using such reference data, the operating status of the belt conveyor 4a may be detected as in the first embodiment. In other words, the detection unit 233 may detect the operating status of the belt conveyor 4a (that it is operating), and then the predetermined reference data may be selected and the determination step may be executed.

[0090] In the second embodiment, the determination step may further determine the degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on the detected operating status of the belt conveyor 4a. As in the first embodiment, the inlet of the chute member 1 communicates with the downstream end of the belt conveyor 4a that transports the powder 5, and the detection step can detect the operating status of the belt conveyor 4a. According to this aspect, the status of the chute member can be appropriately managed.

[0091] Here, the operating status of the belt conveyor 4a detected by the detection unit 233 may be associated with the transport amount of the powder 5 on the belt conveyor 4a (which may be the transport amount in a predetermined time or the transport speed). That is, the shape (width) of the powder 5ST in the reference data shown in FIG. 6A may change depending on the transport amount of the powder 5, and the reference data may be corrected according to the detection content of the detection unit 233. That is, the determination step in the above embodiment may determine the degree of adhesion of the powder 5 to the chute member 1 based on the operating status of the belt conveyor 4a (the transport amount of the powder 5) detected by the detection unit 233.

[0092] Other features are the same as those in the first embodiment, such as the ability to use a trained model in the judgment step and the ability of the warning unit 235 to issue a predetermined warning based on the judgment result.

[0093] 4.Other In the fourth section, a modification of the information processing method of the above-mentioned monitoring system 100 will be described.

[0094] Although the above embodiment has been described as a configuration of the monitoring system 100, a program for causing at least one computer to execute each step of the monitoring method may be provided.

[0095] In the above embodiment, the sensor 3 is attached to the inside of the chute member 1, but the attachment position of the sensor 3 is not limited to this. That is, the sensor 3 may be attached to the outside of the housing of the chute member 1 and configured to acquire point cloud data related to the inside (inner wall) of the chute member 1. In addition, if a monitoring window is provided in part of the chute member 1, the sensor 3 may acquire measurement data related to the inside of the chute member 1 through the window.

[0096] In the above embodiment, an information processing method using a trained model has been described, but the information associated when creating the trained model is not limited to the above. That is, the trained model used in this embodiment may be associated with various other conditions, such as weather conditions, regional conditions, and conditions related to the age of the facility.

[0097] In the above-described embodiment, the information processing device 2 performs various storage and control, but multiple external devices may be used instead of the information processing device 2. That is, using block chain technology or the like, information on the powder adhesion state, causes, countermeasures, etc. on the chute member 1 may be distributed and stored in multiple external devices.

[0098] In the above embodiment, the degree of adhesion of powder is judged based on the acquired data, but each part of the process shown in Fig. 1 may be controlled based on the result of such judgment. For example, when it is judged that the degree of adhesion of powder 5 on the chute member 1 is significant, the conveying speed of the belt conveyor 4a and the belt conveyor 4b may be controlled to be reduced. Also, based on the result of the judgment by the judgment unit 232, a predetermined agent may be controlled to be added to the powder 5 being conveyed by each belt conveyor so as to control the degree of adhesion of the powder.

[0099] Finally, although various embodiments of the present invention have been described, these are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0100] 1: Chute member 2: Information processing equipment 3, 3a, 3b: Sensor 4a, 4b: Belt conveyor 5, 5ST, 5a, 5b, 5c: Powder 20: Communication bus 21: Communications Department 22: Storage section 23: Control section 24: Display section 25: Input section 100: Surveillance system 231: Acquisition Department 232: Judgment Department 233: Detection unit 234: Judgment section 235: Warning section 236: Memory management department 237: Display control section D1, D2: Direction of travel IF : Reference information

Claims

1. 1. A method for monitoring a chute member through which powder passes, comprising: It comprises the following steps: In the acquisition step, point cloud data relating to the chute member is acquired via a predetermined sensor that is installed in advance; In the determination step, a degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member is determined based on at least the point cloud data.

2. 2. The monitoring method according to claim 1, In the determining step, a degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member is determined based on the point cloud data and reference data corresponding to a reference state regarding the chute member.

3. 3. The monitoring method according to claim 2, In the acquiring step, the point cloud data is acquired in a state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member, In the determining step, data relating to the shape of the chute member when no powder is adhering to the chute member is used as the reference data to determine the degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member.

4. 4. The monitoring method according to claim 3, Further, the method includes a detection step and a determination step, an inlet of the chute member communicates with a downstream end of a belt conveyor that conveys the powder; In the detection step, an operating status of the belt conveyor is detected, In the determining step, the state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member is determined based on the detected operating status of the belt conveyor.

5. 4. The monitoring method according to claim 3, Further comprising a determination step, In the acquiring step, the point cloud data relating to the chute member is acquired over time; In the determining step, the state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member is determined based on the point cloud data acquired over time, in this monitoring method.

6. 3. The monitoring method according to claim 2, In the acquiring step, the point cloud data is acquired while the powder is passing through the chute member, In the determining step, point cloud data relating to a state in which the powder is passing through the chute member normally is used as the reference data to determine the degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member.

7. 7. The monitoring method according to claim 6, A monitoring method, wherein in the acquiring step, the point cloud data relating to the chute member is acquired over time.

8. 7. The monitoring method according to claim 6, Further, a detection step is provided, an inlet of the chute member communicates with a downstream end of a belt conveyor that conveys the powder; In the detection step, an operating status of the belt conveyor is detected, In the determining step, a degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member is determined based on the detected operating status of the belt conveyor.

9. 2. The monitoring method according to claim 1, A monitoring method in which, in the judgment step, the degree of adhesion is judged by inputting the point cloud data into a trained model, and the trained model is a model that has been machine-learned in advance to determine the relationship between the point cloud data and the degree of adhesion.

10. 2. The monitoring method according to claim 1, It also has a warning step, In the warning step, a warning is issued according to the degree of adhesion determined in the determination step.

11. 1. A monitoring system for a chute member through which powder passes, comprising: At least one processor; A monitoring system, wherein the processor is configured to execute a program such that each step of the monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is performed.

12. The monitoring system according to claim 11, An information processing device and a sensor, the sensor is configured to acquire point cloud data relating to the chute member; The information processing device includes: The processor executing the program, A monitoring system in communication with the sensor and configured to acquire point cloud data relating to the chute member from the sensor.

13. A program, A program causing at least one computer to execute each step of the monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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