Motorized conveyor roller controller, system including such controller, and method for operating a motorized roller

Abstract

A motor driven conveyor roller controller for a conveyor installation for transporting containers includes a power inlet, a wired I / O port, and a wired motor roller port, the controller configured to output motor roller control signals for the motor rollers at the motor roller port, receive motor roller status signals from the motor rollers at the motor roller port, and receive motor roller control signals for the motor rollers at the I / O port, and the wireless configuration port configured to wirelessly receive at least configuration signals for the motor rollers and / or transmit status signals representative of motor roller status information.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This subject matter relates to motorized conveyor roller controllers, as well as systems including such controllers and methods for operating motorized conveyor rollers (motorized rollers). [Background technology]

[0002] Motor-driven conveyor rollers, also known as motor rollers, include a rotatable roller body mounted about a roller axis. The roller body is typically a hollow tube. A motor is disposed within the roller body. The motor is an electric motor configured to generate rotational motion about the roller axis between an axis element and the roller body.

[0003] For the sake of understanding, the term motor roller hereinafter may be used to refer to either the motor alone within the roller body, to the motor within the roller body and a drive unit including the control circuitry for the motor, or to the roller body including the motor or drive unit. The term motor hereinafter may be used to refer to either the motor or the drive unit including the motor and the control circuitry for the motor.

[0004] It is well known that motorized rollers are operated by a control unit, also known as a controller, located externally outside the roller body, which exchanges control signals with the motor inside the roller body.

[0005] Motor-driven conveyors driven by this type of motorized roller are used in conveyor systems, where a single motorized roller is used to operate multiple roller bodies within a conveyor zone. Conveyor systems often have multiple conveyor zones through which conveyed objects pass in sequence. As mentioned above, within each conveyor zone, at least one motorized conveyor roller operates multiple rollers.

[0006] Two different concepts are known for operating conveyor systems. One concept is decentralized control of motorized rollers, where each motorized roller is controlled by a dedicated controller. Such a decentralized control, with a 1:1 relationship between motorized conveyor rollers and controllers, is available as EZ-CUBE, sold by the applicant.

[0007] Such a controller has a wired power inlet for receiving power, preferably DC power. Furthermore, the controller has a wired motor roller port. The wired motor roller port is configured to provide drive power to the motor roller. The motor may be powered through the motor roller port using a PWM signal for controlling at least the rotational speed of the motor. Additionally, the motor roller port may be used to exchange status information and control signals between the motor roller and the controller. The status information and / or control signals may include, among other things, current motor speed, set motor speed, current conveyor speed, set conveyor speed, current rotation direction, set rotation direction, current / set operating mode, temperature, error messages, motor gear ratio, serial number, product number, manufacturing date, etc. In particular, the motor roller port is a four-wire motor port according to U.S. Patent No. 5,949,499.

[0008] The controller further includes a wired I / O (Input / Output) port configured to exchange control information with a central control center, such as a central SPS control. The I / O port may be configured using, for example, a proprietary protocol. However, the I / O port may also be configured using a standardized I / O protocol, such as those provided by CAN, DeviceNet®, Ethernet® Powerlink, INTERBUS, Fieldbus, LIN, M-Bus, PROFIBUS, VARAN, etc.

[0009] Therefore, the controller is configured to exchange motor roller control signals with the motor rollers at the motor roller port, exchange motor roller status signals with the motor rollers at the motor roller port, and exchange motor roller control signals for the motor rollers with the central control unit at the I / O port. The exchange of related control and status signals is well known and does not require further explanation. It should be noted that all of the above ports and inlets are preferably wired ports, and wiring is required between the motor rollers and the controller, which becomes the controller and the central control center. Wiring is usually required to provide stable communication in an industrial environment.

[0010] Because a conveyor system has multiple conveyor zones, the controllers for each zone are each operated by a single control center. When using a centralized control center, obtaining status information for one single controller is often cumbersome. In particular, configuring the centralized control center to provide individual status information for each controller along a conveyor system with multiple conveyor zones is often labor-intensive. In particular, for technicians working directly on-site at the conveyor system, it is often impossible to quickly obtain motor roller information, i.e., directly while working at each controller. Therefore, there is a need for a system that enables technicians to easily and quickly install, configure, and / or reconfigure controllers on-site without having to make a detour through a centralized control center.

[0011] For example, Applicant's EZ-CUBE controllers provide so-called dip switches that allow the controller to be manually configured on-site. However, in order to monitor and parameterize the settings of the controller and motor rollers, the actual status of the motor rollers needs to be known on-site. Currently, this status information is only available at a centralized control center, so on-site technicians may not be able to correctly configure the controller and motor rollers for each individual control zone. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0012] [Patent Document 1] European Patent No. 3 100 340(B1) Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The subject matter of the present application is therefore based on the objective of enabling on-site configuration of conveyor roller controllers.

[0014] This object is solved by a controller according to claim 1, a system according to claim 9 and a method according to claim 13.

[0015] For flawless operation of conveyor systems, particularly conveyor systems having multiple conveyor zones and multiple motor-driven conveyor rollers controlled by multiple controllers, wired installations are considered necessary in industrial applications. Thus, for normal operation of the motor-driven conveyor roller controllers, they need to be hardwired to a central controller. Nevertheless, it has been found to be very useful to obtain controller information and set controller parameters wirelessly for on-site maintenance, installation, configuration, reconfiguration, and / or troubleshooting of decentralized controllers, etc. Thus, the subject controller provides a wireless configuration port.

[0016] A wireless configuration port in the controller allows wireless communication between the controller and a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, mobile computer, mobile tablet computer, or smart glasses. According to an embodiment, this communication may be one-way or two-way. One-way communication may only allow motor roller status information to be received within the mobile device. Two-way communication not only makes status information available to the mobile device, but also allows configuration signals to be sent to the controller to configure the controller and each motor roller. Thus, the mobile device can be used to wirelessly configure the controller and its parameters on-site. This allows a technician to easily and quickly set and / or change control parameters to change motor settings.

[0017] The control parameters may be, for example, current / set motor speed, current / set motor acceleration, current / set motor deceleration, current / set direction of rotation (clockwise / counterclockwise), motor type, ON / OFF switch for P, PI, or PID regulator, braking mode, motor run / stop, input type (NPN or PNP), manual / automatic error clearing, analog / digital control, set speed, NPN / PNP error, ON / OFF switch for error output, NPN / PNP speed setting, etc.

[0018] These settings can be configured manually using a mobile device, for example using the mobile device's HMI. A wireless configuration port can be used to exchange configuration parameters with the controller.

[0019] It may also be possible to dispense the dip switches on the controller, making the controller more robust to environmental influences as no openings in the controller casing are required to access the dip switches.

[0020] The wireless configuration port can be used to exchange not only motor parameters but also status information between the mobile device and the controller, and for this reason, wireless exchange of status signals representing motor roller status information is possible via the wireless configuration port.

[0021] For clarity, the term "exchange" may include the transfer, transmission, and reception of data over the air interface between the mobile device and the controller. Suitable communication protocols for data exchange over the air interface are well known in the art and require no further explanation.

[0022] The status information may include different diagnostic messages such as current / set amperage, motor temperature, current / set motor voltage, motor overvoltage counter, motor undervoltage counter, high current counter, for system errors such as error writing to flash, error reading value from flash, error setting BLE advertising data, error allowing advertising, error initializing flash, etc., for motor errors such as performance limit, CPU overheat, short circuit, motor stall, motor overload, and thermal shutdown, etc.

[0023] The exchange of data may include, for example, the exchange of data containers having a header and a payload, in which information about what data is provided in the payload may be encoded, and in which parameter values ​​may be encoded.

[0024] The mobile device may be configured to receive manual input for controller parameters via its HMI, which may be provided using a screen or display where a user may manually enter, input, change, or manipulate certain of the parameters for controlling the motor rollers. The same screen or display may also be used to output status information depending on status signals exchanged with the wireless configuration port.

[0025] According to an embodiment, it is proposed that the controller further comprises a memory. This memory may be configured to log data. The logged data may include the status information defined above. As mentioned above, different status information about the motor roller and / or the controller may be continuously available. A time series of such data may be logged in the memory. The data may be logged together with a timestamp. Logging data may be useful for tracking the behavior of the motor roller, especially for preemptive maintenance, tracking errors in the functioning of the conveyor system, and for troubleshooting. The logged data may be exchanged wirelessly using the wireless configuration port. The logged data may be transmitted, for example, to a mobile device.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the wireless configuration port has a unique communication identification. The wireless communication port may be, for example, a circuit board having an antenna and a communication processor. The communication processor may be uniquely identified. For example, such identification may be a MAC address. However, any other suitable unique communication identification may be used. Note that the unique communication identification need only be unique throughout the conveyor system to unambiguously identify the configuration port and its respective controller. The configuration port and the controller may be specifically addressed using at least the communication identification.

[0027] To facilitate pairing of a mobile device with a controller, the device being paired with the controller must recognize a unique communication identification. Pairing may be understood as establishing a communication channel between the mobile device and the controller. Pairing may also be understood as connecting the mobile device with the controller.

[0028] Since the unique communication identification can be a simple numeric or alphanumeric code, it may be possible to simply print this code on the casing of the controller. However, to more easily enable users to use such a code with their mobile devices, it is proposed according to an embodiment that a code representing the unique communication identification is printed on the casing of the controller, in particular that the code is a barcode or a 2D code. Such a 2D code may, for example, be a QR code. The QR code may be coded according to ISO / IEC 18004:2000 or ISO / IEC 18004:2006 or any subsequent standard. By scanning such a code, the mobile device may automatically obtain the unique communication identification of the configuration port and the controller and initiate a communication link with this controller.

[0029] Additionally, the unique communication identification may be provided by a controller using near field communication (NFC), which may use passive or active NFC.

[0030] The controller may scan its environment at intervals for polling signals and may initiate a handshake procedure when it detects a polling signal containing its unique communication identification. In addition, the controller may transmit a polling signal containing its unique communication identification, and mobile devices in the environment may initiate a handshake procedure when they detect a polling signal containing the unique communication identification they just obtained. This ensures that the mobile device is paired with the correct controller, i.e., the controller from which it obtained the unique communication identification.

[0031] According to an embodiment, it is proposed that the wireless configuration port is configured to be paired with the mobile device using a unique communication identification. This pairing may be performed using a handshake mechanism. By pairing with the controller, in particular its respective wireless configuration port, the mobile device is able to communicate with the controller. This allows status and control signals to be exchanged between the mobile device and the controller. Furthermore, logged data may be exchanged. Thus, a technician may easily configure the controller on-site using the mobile device. Furthermore, the controller status, in particular the current controller status and the historical controller status using logged data, may be obtained directly on-site from the controller without a detour via a central computer. This makes maintenance much more efficient, as all data is directly available on-site and all parameters can be adjusted according to current requirements.

[0032] The communication technology underlying the wireless communication between the wireless communication port and the mobile device is based on a radio frequency communication protocol. Therefore, it is proposed that the wireless communication port is a wireless communication port. This wireless communication port may be based on a different underlying protocol, such as cellular communication, e.g., 3G, 4G, or 5G. Furthermore, the communication may be based on the WLAN standard, particularly IEEE 802.11 or Bluetooth communication or near field communication (NFC). In addition, the wireless communication may be optical communication, particularly using infrared light. All of these wireless technologies enable wireless communication between the mobile device and the controller.

[0033] As described above, the conveyor system may have various conveyor zones. Each conveyor zone may have one motorized roller and multiple passive rollers driven by the motorized roller. Each motorized roller may be assigned to a dedicated controller that is connected to the motorized roller via a wired motorized roller port. Preferably, one controller is configured to connect to only one single motorized roller. Thus, the wired motorized roller port is configured to have a 1:1 relationship between the motorized roller and the controller. Thus, each controller has a dedicated motorized roller, facilitating testing and parameterization.

[0034] Another aspect is the system of claim 9, wherein a mobile device is configured to be paired with the controller. The mobile device is further configured to wirelessly transmit a configuration signal for at least the motor roller to the wireless configuration port and / or receive a status signal representing motor roller status information from the wireless configuration port. The mobile device may be configured using a mobile application, also referred to as an app, which instructs the mobile device to pair with the controller using, among other things, unique communication information.

[0035] In embodiments, log data may be received at the mobile device in addition to control and status information, and this historical data may be displayed within the mobile device to enable a technician to perform maintenance based on knowledge of the historical motor status information.

[0036] Another aspect is the method according to claim 13.

[0037] These and other aspects will be described with reference to the following drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0038] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional controller for a motor roller. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates a conveyor system having two motorized rollers and two controllers. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the placement of a controller on a motor roller. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates a conveyor system having multiple conveyor zones. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates a controller having a printed unique communication identification. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a controller with a mobile device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0039] 1 shows a conventional controller 2 for a motor roller. The controller 2 has a power inlet 4. The power inlet 4 is preferably a DC power inlet 4, particularly a 12V or 24V power inlet. The power inlet 4 receives power for operating the controller 2. The power inlet 4 may also receive power for operating the motor roller.

[0040] The motor rollers may be connected to the motor roller port 6. The motor roller port 6 has at least two, preferably four, connectors for connecting the motor rollers. Via the motor roller port 6, the motor rollers may be supplied with at least electrical energy. In addition, the motor rollers may be controlled by exchanging control signals and / or status information signals via the motor roller port 6. Such control of motor rollers is well known and will not be described in more detail.

[0041] Finally, the controller 2 has an I / O port 8. The I / O port 8 may be a communication port for wired communication, for example according to industry standards, such as those mentioned above, among others. Furthermore, the I / O port 8 may support any proprietary protocol. Via the port 8, control signals and / or status information can be exchanged between the controller 2 and a central control center.

[0042] In order to interpret the control signals received at I / O port 8 and translate these signals into corresponding motor settings to configure the motor rollers according to current requirements, the controller 2 has a control panel 10 which includes dip switches for manually setting the parameters of the controller 2. Setting the parameters of such controllers for motor rollers is well known and will not be described in more detail.

[0043] The conveyor system 12 shown in Figure 2 may include a motorized roller 14 and rollers 16. The conveyor system 12 may have two or more conveyor zones 12a. Within each conveyor zone 12a, one motorized roller 14 is mechanically coupled to at least one, preferably two to seven, rollers 16, particularly by a V-belt or poly-V-belt. Other mechanical couplings are possible.

[0044] The motor roller 14 is rotatably disposed on a rack 18 and contains a motor within a hollow tube that is connected to the controller 2 via its motor roller port 6.

[0045] For each of these zones 12a, a separate controller 2 is provided which controls the respective motor rollers. The controller 2 is connected to the power and control bus via its power inlet 4 and I / O port 8.

[0046] As shown in Figure 3, the controller 2 is disposed on a rack 18. In Figure 3, it can be seen that the motor roller 14 is disposed and rotatable by means of an axle 20 fixed to the rack 18.

[0047] 4 shows a conveyor system 12 having multiple conveyor zones 12a. For each conveyor zone 12a, a single controller 2 is provided that controls a single motorized roller 14. As can be seen, the conveyor system 12 can have multiple conveyor zones 12a and therefore multiple controllers 2. A technician performing maintenance or installation of the conveyor system 12 must parameterize each controller 2 individually to allow a flawless flow of packages along the conveyor.

[0048] This requires proper setting of the above-mentioned parameters, such as the rotation speed of each motorized roller 14 to rotate all rollers at the required speed. Furthermore, rollers in different conveyor zones 12a must be synchronized. Due to manufacturing biases, each motorized roller must be individually parameterized manually. However, this setting of the motorized roller parameters requires knowledge of the current state of the motorized rollers, and possibly also of historical data. When a technician is working on the conveyor system 12, it would be cumbersome to retrieve all data from the central computer and also reconcile the retrieved data with the controller where the technician is actually working.

[0049] For this reason, the present subject matter provides a controller 2 according to an embodiment as shown in FIG.

[0050] As can be seen, this controller 2 also has the power inlet 4, motor roller port 6, and I / O port 8 as described above. The controller 2 may be operated in much the same manner as described above, but in addition, the controller 2 according to the embodiment is enabled for wireless communication with a mobile device, as described below.

[0051] To wirelessly pair the controller 2 with a mobile device, the controller 2 may have a unique communication identification. According to an embodiment, this unique communication identification may be encoded as a 2D code 22 imprinted on the casing of the controller 2. Any type of code may be used, such as a 2D code, a barcode, or a QR code. Additionally, the unique communication identification may be imprinted on the casing as numbers or alphanumeric characters that can be scanned and OCR'd by the mobile device.

[0052] As shown in Figure 6, a technician can use a mobile device to connect to the controller 2 where he is actually working.

[0053] The controller 2 is shown diagrammatically in Figure 6. In Figure 6, it can be seen that the central processor 26 is connected to the power inlet 4, the motor roller port 6, and the I / O port 8. The central processor 26 can be programmed. This programming may be understood as setting parameters for the motor rollers. According to this programming, the motor rollers are instructed via the motor roller port 6 to rotate at least in a particular direction at a particular speed. Any of the other parameters mentioned above can also be parameterized and programmed.

[0054] For wireless configuration of these parameters, the controller 2 also has a wireless communication port 28 for pairing with the mobile device 24. When the communication port 28 and the mobile device 24 are connected to each other, i.e., when a communication channel is established, parameters of the controller 2 can be wirelessly set and status information can be read from the controller 2. In addition, the controller 2 may have a memory 30.

[0055] During operation, the central processor 26 outputs control signals to the motor rollers 14 via the motor roller port 6. The signals output, their amperage and voltage, etc. depend on the configuration settings (parameters) of the controller 2. Additionally, during operation, the central processor 26 reads status information from the motor rollers via the motor roller port 6.

[0056] When a technician installs, maintains, and / or troubleshoots the conveyor system 12, each controller 2 must be individually parameterized. When installing, maintaining, and / or troubleshooting, the technician works directly on-site spatially at the controller 2.

[0057] The technician may use his mobile device 24 together with an appropriately installed application to pair it with the controller 2. For this reason, the unique communication identification 22 is preferably read wirelessly by the mobile device 24, i.e. optically or radio-frequency. Using the unique communication identification 22, the technician can accurately pair his mobile device 24 with the intended controller 2. As multiple controllers 2 are positioned side by side along the conveyor system, in adjacent conveyor zones 12a, the use of the unique identification code 22 ensures that the mobile device 24 connects with the correct controller 2 and not with an adjacent one. This is particularly protected when the unique communication identification 22 is read optically.

[0058] When connected via wireless configuration port 28, control parameters may be exchanged between mobile device 24 and controller 2. Additionally, status signals representing motor roller status information may be exchanged between configuration port 28 and mobile device 24 via the established communication link. At the end of operation, controller 2 may log data relating to the motor roller status in memory 30. Additionally, the stored log data may be transmitted from memory 30 to mobile device 24 via the established communication channel.

[0059] The unique communication identification code 22 allows the mobile device 24 to reliably connect to the controller 2. The mobile device 24 is prevented from accidentally connecting to a controller 2 that it is not intended to connect to. Via the mobile device 24, the controller 2 and its parameters can be configured to operate the motor roller. Finally, the mobile device 24 can be used to read status information about the motor roller. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 2 Controller 4 Power inlet 6 Motor Roller Port 8 I / O ports 10 Control Panel 12 Conveyor System 12a Conveyor Zone 14 Motor roller 16 Laura 18 racks 20 axes 22 Identification Code 24 Mobile Devices 26 Central Processor 28 Configuration Ports 30 memory

Claims

1. 1. A motor-driven conveyor roller controller for a conveyor installation for transporting containers, comprising: - a power inlet; - a wired I / O port; - a wired motor roller port; - said controller - outputting a motor roller control signal for a motor roller at said motor roller port; receiving a motor roller status signal from said motor roller at said motor roller port; receiving motor roller control signals for said motor rollers at said wired I / O port; - said wired I / O port is configured to exchange control information with a central control center; the controller comprising a wireless configuration port configured to wirelessly receive configuration signals for at least the motor rollers from a mobile device without going through the central control center; A controller characterized by:

2. the controller further comprises a memory configured to log data including data representative of motor roller status information; the wireless configuration port is further configured to transmit the log data wirelessly. The controller of claim 1 .

3. 3. The controller of claim 1, wherein the wireless configuration port has a unique communication identification.

4. 4. A controller according to claim 3, characterized in that a code representing said unique communication identification is printed on the casing of said controller, in particular said code being a barcode or a 2D code.

5. 5. The controller of claim 3 or 4, wherein the wireless configuration port is configured to be paired with a mobile device using the unique communication identification.

6. A controller according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the wireless configuration port is configured to be polled, whereby upon polling the wireless configuration port wirelessly transmits the unique communication identification.

7. The controller according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the wireless configuration port is a radio communication port or the wireless configuration port is an optical communication port.

8. A controller according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the wired motor roller port is configured for connection with only one single motor roller.

9. 9. A system including the controller of claim 1 and a mobile device, wherein the mobile device is configured to be paired with the controller and further configured to wirelessly transmit configuration signals for at least the motor roller to the wireless configuration port and / or receive status signals representing motor roller status information from the wireless configuration port.

10. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the mobile device is further configured to receive log data from the wireless configuration port.

11. 11. The system of claim 9 or 10, wherein the mobile device is configured to be paired with the controller using a unique communication identification.

12. The system according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that said mobile device is configured to transmit log data and / or said status information to a remote control center.

13. 1. A method for operating a motorized roller, comprising: A controller according to any one of claims 1 to 8, - providing power to and controlling the movement of the motor roller via the wired motor roller port; receiving motor roller control information from a central control center via said wired I / O port and transmitting motor roller status information to a central control center via said wired I / O port; - operating said motor roller in accordance with said motor roller control information via said motor roller port; the wireless configuration port wirelessly receives at least a configuration signal for the motor roller from a mobile device without going through the central control center; A method characterized by:

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