Object Identification Device

Abstract

An invention relating to an object identification device is disclosed. The disclosed invention is characterized by including a sensor that emits light via a light-emitting unit and receives the light via a receiving unit, a reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted from the light-emitting unit toward the receiving unit, and a pattern unit that is formed on an object to be identified and that passes the light reflected by the reflecting unit.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0186373 dated December 23, 2021, and all contents disclosed in the documents of that Korean patent application are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to an object identification device, and more particularly to an object identification device that identifies an object such as a tray transported via a conveyor. [Background technology]

[0003] A proximity sensor is a type of position sensor or displacement sensor, and a sensor that detects the position of an approaching object in a non-contact manner is specifically called a proximity sensor.

[0004] These proximity sensors may include proximity sensors that combine a permanent magnet with a Hall element whose internal current changes due to the influence of magnetism, proximity sensors that combine a lamp or light-emitting diode with an optical sensor, and proximity sensors that detect changes in capacitance.

[0005] These proximity sensors are generally used to detect when a moving object has come within a certain distance.

[0006] The proximity sensor can be installed on a material moving device such as a conveyor belt and used to control the flow of material on the material moving device.

[0007] For example, when a proximity sensor installed at the entrance side of the conveyor belt detects the introduction of an article onto the conveyor belt, the conveyor belt starts operating to move the article.

[0008] As another example, when a proximity sensor installed on the exit side of the conveyor belt detects a buildup of goods or an obstacle on the exit side of the conveyor belt, the operation of the conveyor belt is stopped.

[0009] As yet another example, a proximity sensor installed on a conveyor belt can be used to determine how much material has been transported by the conveyor belt over a set period of time.

[0010] However, as mentioned above, proximity sensors installed on conveyor belts can only grasp the total volume of goods that have passed through the location where the proximity sensor is installed, and it is difficult to grasp which objects have passed through. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0011] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an object identification device that can separately obtain at least one of information regarding the position of a specific object and information regarding the time point at which the specific object moves.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide an object identification device that can grasp the position and movement path of a specific object.

[0013] The objects of the present invention are not limited to the objects mentioned above, and other objects and advantages of the present invention not mentioned above can be understood from the following description and can be more clearly understood by the embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, it will be understood that the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by the means and combinations thereof set forth in the claims. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of the present invention is an object identification device that includes a sensor that emits light via a light-emitting unit and receives light via a receiving unit, a reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted from the light-emitting unit toward the receiving unit, and a pattern unit that forms a pattern on the object to be identified that allows the light reflected by the reflecting unit to pass through.

[0015] An object identification device according to one aspect of the present invention may include: a light emitting unit disposed on one side of a conveyor belt that moves an object to be identified and emitting light toward the other side of the conveyor belt; a reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted by the light emitting unit toward the one side of the conveyor belt; a pattern unit that is disposed on the object to be identified and forms a pattern on the object to be identified that allows the light reflected by the reflecting unit to pass through the object to be identified; and a receiving unit that is disposed on one side of the conveyor belt and receives the light that has passed through the pattern unit.

[0016] It is also preferable that the pattern portion includes a first pattern portion that separates the light-emitting portion and the reflecting portion, and a second pattern portion that forms a passage in the object to be identified for moving light between the reflecting portion and the receiving portion.

[0017] It is also preferable that the reflective portion reflects light in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the light emitted from the light emitting portion, and that the second pattern portion is formed to penetrate the object to be identified along the direction of movement of the light emitted from the light emitting portion.

[0018] Preferably, the present invention includes an infrared sensor that emits infrared rays via the light-emitting portion and receives infrared rays via the receiving portion.

[0019] Preferably, the reflecting section includes a reflector disposed on the other side of the conveyor belt for further reflecting the infrared rays emitted by the infrared sensor toward the infrared sensor.

[0020] Preferably, the present invention further includes a control unit that determines the type of the object to be identified according to the pattern of light received by the receiving unit.

[0021] Furthermore, the present invention preferably includes a sensor that emits light via the light-emitting unit and receives light via the receiving unit, wherein a plurality of the sensors are arranged at predetermined intervals along the length of the conveyor belt, and the control unit determines the position of each type of object to be identified according to the pattern of light received by each of the sensors.

[0022] It is also preferable that the conveyor belt is branched into multiple routes, and the position of the sensor that receives a specific pattern of light is determined from the multiple sensors arranged on each of the branched routes, thereby determining the movement route of the object to be identified.

[0023] In order to achieve the above object, an object identification method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: arranging, on one side of a conveyor belt along which an object to be identified is moved, a light-emitting unit that emits light toward the other side of the conveyor belt and a receiving unit that receives the light; arranging, on the other side of the conveyor belt, a reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted by the light-emitting unit toward the one side of the conveyor belt; and moving, on the conveyor belt, an object to be identified, which has a pattern that allows light emitted from the light-emitting unit and reflected by the reflecting unit to pass through.

[0024] The object identification method includes a step in which the receiving unit determines the position of the object to be identified based on a signal generated by receiving light reflected by the reflecting unit.

[0025] The step of determining the position of the object to be identified may include a procedure for data logging the signal from the receiving unit according to time. [Effects of the Invention]

[0026] According to the object identification device of the present invention, the type of object to be identified can be determined from the pattern of light or waves that pass through a pattern portion provided on the object to be identified and are received by a sensor, thereby making it possible to effectively determine the current position of a specific object to be identified and the time point at which the specific object to be identified is moving.

[0027] Furthermore, the present invention is a method for differentiating the shape of a pattern portion according to the type of object to be identified, which makes it possible to easily and quickly classify various objects to be identified by type and effectively provide position information of the objects to be identified by type.

[0028] Furthermore, by effectively grasping the current location and movement route of a specific object to be identified, the present invention can provide information very quickly and effectively regarding where a specific object to be identified is currently located, and through which points it has been transported.

[0029] The above-mentioned effects and specific effects of the present invention will be described in conjunction with the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0030] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an object identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an object identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a reception state of an infrared signal in an object identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an object movement state in the first section illustrated in FIG. 3. [Figure 5] 4 is a diagram showing an object movement state in a second section illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a diagram showing an object movement state in a second section illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 7] 4 is a diagram showing an object movement state in a second section illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 8] 4 is a diagram showing an object movement state in a third section illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the pattern portion. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a conveyor belt configured with multiple branch points. [Figure 11] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a reception state of an infrared signal in each sensor shown in FIG. 10. FIG. [Figure 12] 11 is a diagram showing the movement path of an object to be identified that is tracked based on information about the reception state of infrared signals at each sensor shown in FIG. 10. FIG. [Figure 13] 1 is a flow chart illustrating an object identification method using an object identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] The above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the technical concept of the present invention. In describing the present invention, if a detailed description of known technologies relating to the present invention is deemed to obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings are used to indicate the same or similar components.

[0032] Although terms such as "first" and "second" are used to indicate various components, it is understood that these components are not limited by these terms. These terms are used merely to distinguish one component from another, and unless otherwise specified, the first component may also be the second component.

[0033] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be embodied in various different forms and may be modified in various ways. However, the present embodiments are provided to fully disclose the present invention and to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives within the technical spirit and scope of the present invention, as well as the substitution or addition of the configuration of any embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment.

[0034] The accompanying drawings are intended to facilitate understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, and should not be construed as limiting the technical ideas disclosed in this specification, but should be understood to include any modifications, equivalents, or alternatives that fall within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. The components in the drawings may be exaggerated in size or thickness for ease of understanding, but this should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0035] The terms used in this specification are merely used to describe particular embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, singular terms include plural terms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Terms such as "comprises," "constitutes," and the like in the specification are intended to specify the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification. In other words, terms such as "comprises," "constitutes," and the like in the specification should not be understood to preclude the presence or possibility of adding one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0036] Although terms including ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., are used to describe various components, the components are not limited by the terms and are used only to distinguish one component from another.

[0037] When a component is referred to as being "coupled" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly coupled or connected to the other component, but that there may be other components between them. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being "directly coupled" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components between them.

[0038] When a component is referred to as being "on top of" or "under" another component, it should be understood that it may be located not only directly on top of the other component, but that there may be other components in between.

[0039] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Terms commonly used and similar to dictionary definitions should be interpreted to have a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined in this application.

[0040] When an object to be identified is placed on a conveyor belt, the direction in which the object to be identified moves along the conveyor belt is defined as the forward direction, and the opposite direction is defined as the backward direction. For convenience, the forward and backward directions can be referred to as first directions. Then, the forward direction can be referred to as one side of the first direction, and the backward direction as the other side of the first direction.

[0041] In addition, the direction of gravity can be defined as downward, and the direction opposite to the direction of gravity as upward.

[0042] The horizontal direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction, i.e., the width direction of the conveyor belt, can be called the left-to-right direction. For convenience, the left-to-right direction can be called the second direction. Then, the right side can be called one side of the second direction, and the left side can be called the other side of the second direction.

[0043] The width direction of the conveyor belt can also be called the side direction, and the right side can be called one side of the side direction, and the left side can be called the other side of the side direction.

[0044] The above-mentioned up and down directions can be called third directions. In this case, the up direction can be called one side of the third direction, and the down direction can be called the other side of the third direction.

[0045] The above-mentioned up-down direction can be called the vertical direction. Then, the front-back direction and the left-right direction, that is, the first direction and the second direction, can be called the horizontal direction.

[0046] In this specification, "A and / or B" means A, B or A and B unless otherwise specified, and "C to D" means C or more and D or less unless otherwise specified.

[0047] [General structure of object identification device] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of an object identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the object identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] 1 and 2, an object identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention may be provided on a conveyor belt 1 and an object moving on the conveyor belt 1 so as to be able to identify the object moving on the conveyor belt 1. The object identification device may include a sensor 10, a reflective unit 20, and a pattern unit 30.

[0049] The sensors 10 can be installed around the conveyor belt 1. In this embodiment, the sensors 10 are provided in the form of infrared proximity sensors. These sensors 10 can include a light emitting unit 11 and a receiving unit 13.

[0050] The light emitting unit 11 may be disposed on one side of the conveyor belt 1 that moves the object to be identified 2. The object to be identified 2 is an object to be identified by the object identification device, and can be defined as an object having a pattern unit 30 described below.

[0051] The light emitting unit 11 can emit light from one side of the conveyor belt 1 toward the other side of the conveyor belt 1. In other words, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 11 can pass through the conveyor belt 1 in the lateral direction.

[0052] The receiving unit 13 is disposed on one side of the conveyor belt 1 together with the light emitting unit 11, but may also be disposed adjacent to the light emitting unit 11. These receiving units 13 can receive light that is emitted from the light emitting unit 11 and then reflected by the reflecting unit 20, which will be described later.

[0053] In this embodiment, an example is shown in which a proximity sensor using infrared rays is applied as the sensor 10. For example, the sensor 10 can be provided in the form of a proximity sensor in which a light emitting diode that emits infrared rays is combined with an optical sensor.

[0054] For example, the light emitting unit 11 may include a light emitting diode that emits infrared light, and the receiving unit 13 may include an optical sensor that receives infrared light.

[0055] That is, the sensor 10 can be provided in a form including an infrared sensor that emits infrared rays via the light emitting unit 11 and receives infrared rays via the receiving unit 13.

[0056] As another example, the sensor 10 may be provided in the form of a radar or lidar that receives waves such as sound waves or radio waves that are emitted from the sensor and then reflected back.

[0057] The reflecting section 20 may be provided to reflect the light emitted by the light emitting section 11 towards one side of the conveyor belt 1.

[0058] In this embodiment, the reflecting unit 20 is illustrated as being disposed on the other side of the conveyor belt 1. For example, the reflecting unit 20 may be provided in a form including a reflecting plate that can further reflect the infrared rays emitted by the infrared sensor toward the infrared sensor.

[0059] The light emitted from the light emitting unit 11 can pass through the conveyor belt 1 in a lateral direction and reach the reflecting unit 20, which can further reflect the light toward the sensor 10. The light reflected by the reflecting unit 20 can further pass through the conveyor belt 1 in a lateral direction, and the receiving unit 13 can sense the reflected light.

[0060] For example, the light-emitting unit 11 can emit light in a lateral direction, and the reflecting unit 20 can reflect the light in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the light emitted from the light-emitting unit 11. That is, the sensor 10 can emit light in a lateral direction toward the reflecting unit 20, and the reflecting unit 20 can reflect the light in a lateral direction and return it to the sensor 10 side.

[0061] The pattern unit 30 may be provided on the object to be identified 2. The pattern unit 30 can form a pattern on the object to be identified 2 that allows light reflected by the reflecting unit 20 to pass through the object to be identified. Such a pattern unit 30 can include a first pattern unit 31 and a second pattern unit 33.

[0062] The first pattern portion 31 corresponds to a portion of the pattern portion 30 that separates the light emitting portion 11 and the reflecting portion 20. The second pattern portion 33 can form a path in the object 2 to be identified that allows light to travel between the reflecting portion 20 and the receiving portion 13.

[0063] For example, the object to be identified 2 may be formed in a box shape capable of accommodating an article therein, and the pattern portion 30 may be provided on the side surface of the object to be identified 2.

[0064] As an example, the object to be identified 2 can be formed in the shape of a hexahedron box, and the pattern portion 30 can be provided on the side surface of the object to be identified 2. In this case, the first pattern portion 31 corresponds to the closed portion of the side surface of the object to be identified 2, and the second pattern portion 33 corresponds to the open portion of the side surface of the object to be identified 2.

[0065] In other words, the second pattern portion 33 can be formed in a shape that penetrates the side surface of the object to be identified 2 in a lateral direction, and the first pattern portion 31 can be formed in a shape that includes a portion of the side surface of the object to be identified 2 that is not penetrated by the second pattern portion 33.

[0066] When the object to be identified 2 has a pair of side surfaces arranged in the lateral direction, the pattern portion 30 can be formed in the same shape on each side surface of the object to be identified 2 .

[0067] For example, if the second pattern portion 33 is formed in an "L" shape on one side of the object to be identified 2, a similar "L" shaped second pattern portion 33 may be formed on the other side of the object to be identified 2, and the second pattern portions 33 formed on each side may be arranged in a position that overlaps in the lateral direction.

[0068] The object identification device of this embodiment may further include a control unit 40. The sensor 10 can sense the movement of the object 2 to be identified passing through the installation point of the sensor 10, and transmit a signal according to the sensing result to the control unit 40.

[0069] For example, the sensor 10 generates a corresponding signal in response to the light pattern received by the receiver 13 , and the signal thus generated by the sensor 10 is transmitted to the controller 40 .

[0070] In this way, the control unit 40 can determine the type of the object 2 to be identified by using the signal transmitted from the sensor 10. That is, the control unit 40 can determine the type of the object 2 to be identified according to the pattern of light received by the receiving unit 13.

[0071] According to the embodiment, the light-emitting unit 11 and the receiving unit 13 are adjacent to each other and are both installed on one side of the conveyor belt 1. A reflecting unit 20 is installed on the other side of the conveyor belt 1. This arrangement structure optically blocks light emitted from the light-emitting unit 11 from being accurately reflected by the reflecting unit 20 and then incident on the receiving unit 13, which can detect the light. This optically blocks light emitted from other locations rather than from the light-emitting unit 11 from entering the receiving unit 13, thereby effectively preventing the receiving unit 13 from being disturbed by unintended other optical signals. In particular, the more light-emitting units are installed around the conveyor belt 1 and the more complex the three-dimensional layout of the conveyor belt 1, the more likely it is that signal disturbance will occur between sensors installed at different positions. However, the sensor and reflecting unit structure of the embodiment is effective in preventing such signal disturbance.

[0072] In addition, by placing the light emitting unit 11 and the receiving unit 13, which must be supplied with power, on one side of the conveyor belt 1, there is an advantage that the equipment can be set up more easily than if the light emitting unit were placed on one side of the conveyor belt and the receiving unit on the other side of the conveyor belt.

[0073] [An example of an application of an object identification device] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the reception state of an infrared signal in an object identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the object movement state in the first section illustrated in Fig. 3. Also, Figs. 5 to 7 are diagrams showing the object movement state in the second section illustrated in Fig. 3, Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the object movement state in the third section illustrated in Fig. 3, and Fig. 9 is a diagram showing another example of a pattern portion.

[0074] The operation and effects of the object identification device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0075] 1 to 3, the object identification device of this embodiment can be used to identify the type of object being transported by a conveyor belt 1. As shown in FIG.

[0076] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, when an object 3 transported by a conveyor belt 1 passes a point where a sensor 10 is installed, the object identification device can detect that the object 3 has passed that point.

[0077] For example, if no pattern portion is provided on the object 3 or if a shape similar to the second pattern portion is not formed on the pattern portion provided on the object 3, the sensor 10 can transmit a signal corresponding to the first section of Figure 3 to the control unit 40 (see Figure 1).

[0078] The control unit 40, which has received these signals, can determine that an object defined as a signal corresponding to the first section has passed through the point. For example, when a signal corresponding to the first section is transmitted from the sensor 10, the control unit 40 can determine that a general object 3, the type of which does not need to be identified, has passed through the point.

[0079] As shown in Figures 3 and 5 to 7, when a specific object 2 to be identified transported by a conveyor belt 1 passes through a point where a sensor 10 is installed, the object identification device can detect that the specific object 2 to be identified has passed through that point.

[0080] For example, when the object 2 to be identified provided with the pattern unit 30 passes through the point, the sensor 10 can transmit a signal corresponding to the second section of FIG. 3 to the control unit 40 (see FIG. 1).

[0081] The control unit 40, which has received these signals, can determine that the object to be identified 2 defined as a signal corresponding to the second section has passed through the point. For example, when a signal corresponding to the second section is transmitted from the sensor 10, the control unit 40 can determine that a specific object to be identified 2 whose position needs to be grasped or tracked has passed through the point.

[0082] Also, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, when an object 3 being transported by the conveyor belt 1 passes a point where the sensor 10 is installed, the object identification device can detect that the object 3 has passed that point.

[0083] For example, if no pattern portion is provided on the object 3 or if a shape similar to the second pattern portion is not formed on the pattern portion provided on the object 3, the sensor 10 can transmit a signal corresponding to the third section of Figure 3 to the control unit 40 (see Figure 1).

[0084] The control unit 40, which has received these signals, can determine that an object defined as a signal corresponding to Section 3 has passed through the point. For example, when a signal corresponding to Section 3 is transmitted from the sensor 10, the control unit 40 can determine that a general object 3, the type of which does not need to be identified, has passed through the point, just as when a signal corresponding to Section 1 is received.

[0085] As described above, the object identification device of this embodiment can effectively determine the current position of a specific object to be identified 2 and the time point at which the specific object to be identified 2 moves by identifying the type of object to be identified 2 according to the pattern of light or waves that pass through the pattern portion 30 provided on the object to be identified 2 and are received by the sensor 10.

[0086] In addition, the object identification device of this embodiment is a method in which the shape of the pattern portion 30 is different depending on the type of object 2 to be identified, and can easily and quickly classify various objects 2 to be identified by type, and effectively provide position information of the objects 2 to be identified by type.

[0087] Furthermore, the object identification device of this embodiment can be provided in a form including a plurality of sensors 10. In this case, the plurality of sensors 10 may be arranged at predetermined intervals along the length direction of the conveyor belt 1.

[0088] The control unit 40 can more effectively determine the current location of a specific object 2 to be identified by determining the type of object 2 to be identified based on the pattern of light or waves received by each sensor 10.

[0089] On the other hand, in this embodiment, the pattern portion 30 is disposed at a position biased toward the lower side of the object to be identified 2, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0090] 9, the pattern portion 30a may be positioned at a position biased toward the upper side of the object 2a to be identified. In this case, the light emitted from the sensor 10 or the light reflected by the reflecting portion 20 passes through a position biased toward the upper side of the object 2a to be identified.

[0091] This effectively reduces the possibility that the movement of the light emitted from the sensor 10 or the light reflected by the reflecting portion 20 will be affected by an article contained inside the object to be identified 2a.

[0092] [Other application examples of object identification devices] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a conveyor belt configured to have multiple branching points, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the reception state of infrared signals at each sensor shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the movement path of an object to be identified tracked based on information regarding the reception state of infrared signals at each sensor shown in FIG. 10.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 10, the object identification device can be applied to a conveyor belt 1a configured to have a plurality of branch points.

[0094] According to this, the object identification device can be provided in a form including a plurality of sensors 10a to 10f. According to this, sensors 10a to 10f may be arranged on each of the branched paths of conveyor belt 1.

[0095] In this way, an object identification device applied to a conveyor belt 1a configured to have multiple branching points can be used to grasp the movement path of a specific object 2 to be identified transported by the conveyor belt 1a.

[0096] For example, by determining the position of the sensor 10a to 10f that receives light of a specific pattern among multiple sensors 10a to 10f arranged on the path of the conveyor belt 1a, the position of a specific object 2 to be identified can be determined.

[0097] As an example, as shown in Fig. 11, it is possible to sequentially receive light of a specific pattern from sensor 1 (10a), sensor 4 (10d), and sensor 5 (10e). In this case, the object identification device can determine that a specific object 2 to be identified (see Fig. 10) has moved along a path similar to that shown in Fig. 12, that is, a path that passes through the point where sensor 1 (10a), sensor 4 (10d), and sensor 5 (10e) are located.

[0098] As described above, the object identification device of this embodiment can effectively grasp the current location and movement route of a specific object 2 to be identified, and can very quickly and effectively provide information regarding where the specific object 2 to be identified is currently located, through which points it has been transported, etc.

[0099] Furthermore, the object identification device of this embodiment can diversify the types of pattern unit 30 to enable tracking of the individual movement lines of various identification target objects 2, and can easily and quickly track the individual movement lines of any identification target object 2 by using a method in which the shape of the pattern unit 30 varies for each identification target object 2. In particular, the object identification device of this embodiment can intuitively grasp the time-dependent position of the target identification target object 2 from the data logging itself shown in Fig. 11.

[0100] [Object identification method] Hereinafter, an object identification method utilizing the above-described object identification device will be described with reference to FIG.

[0101] First, a sensor 10 is installed on one side of a conveyor belt 1 along which objects to be identified are transported (S1).

[0102] The sensor 10 includes a light emitting unit 11 that emits light toward the other side of the conveyor belt 1, and a receiving unit 13 that receives the light. The light emitting unit 11 and the receiving unit 13 are disposed close to each other.

[0103] Next, a reflecting unit 20 is disposed on the other side of the conveyor belt 1 to reflect the light emitted by the light emitting unit 11 toward one side of the conveyor belt (S2).

[0104] The light emitting unit 11 can emit light in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the conveyor belt 1, and the reflecting unit 20 can be installed in a position where the light irradiated by the light emitting unit can be incident, but the surface of the reflecting unit 20 can be adjusted so that the irradiated light is incident substantially perpendicularly.

[0105] Then, the light reflected by the reflecting section 20 can be incident on the receiving section 13 arranged adjacent to the light emitting section 11 .

[0106] Next, an object to be identified 2 is prepared, which has a pattern that allows light emitted from the light emitting unit 11 and reflected by the reflecting unit 20 to pass through.

[0107] Then, the object 2 to be identified is moved onto the conveyor belt 1 (S3). Then, in logging data (see FIG. 11) stored by a plurality of sensors 10 and reflectors 20 installed along the moving path of the conveyor belt 1, a signal pattern that can be recognized by the object 2 to be identified along the moving path of the object 2 to be identified is recorded.

[0108] In the object identification method, the receiving unit 13 determines the position of the object 2 to be identified based on a signal generated by receiving light reflected by the reflecting unit 20 (S4). In this procedure, logging data such as that shown in Fig. 11 can be used.

[0109] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, these are merely illustrative, and those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and equivalent embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true technical scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the following claims.

[0110] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to illustrative drawings, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and drawings disclosed in this specification, and it is clear that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention. Furthermore, even if the effects of the configuration of the present invention are not explicitly described and explained while the embodiments of the present invention are described above, it is natural that the effects that can be predicted by the configuration should also be recognized. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 1. Conveyor belt 2. Object to be identified 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f Sensors 11 Light-emitting part 13 Receiving unit 20 Reflector 30,30a Pattern section 31, 31a First pattern section 33, 33a Second pattern section 40 Control Unit

Claims

1. a light emitting unit disposed on one side of a conveyor belt along which the object to be identified is moved, and emitting light toward the other side of the conveyor belt; a reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted by the light emitting unit toward one side of the conveyor belt; a pattern portion provided on the object to be identified, the pattern portion allowing light reflected by the reflecting portion to pass through the object to be identified, the pattern portion being formed on the object to be identified along a first direction parallel to the moving direction of the object to be identified moved by the conveyor belt; and a receiving unit disposed on one side of the conveyor belt and receiving light that has passed through the pattern unit; The object to be identified includes a first object and a second object that are identified differently from each other, and patterns of pattern portions provided on the first object and the second object are different from each other. Object identification device.

2. The pattern portion is a first pattern portion separating the light-emitting portion and the reflecting portion; and a second pattern portion that forms a path in the object to be identified for moving light between the reflecting portion and the receiving portion; The first pattern portions and the second pattern portions are alternately arranged along the first direction. The object identification device according to claim 1 .

3. the reflecting portion reflects light in a direction opposite to a traveling direction of the light emitted from the light emitting portion, the second pattern portion is formed to penetrate the object to be identified along a moving direction of light emitted from the light emitting portion. The object identification device according to claim 2 .

4. an infrared sensor that emits infrared rays via the light-emitting unit and receives infrared rays via the receiving unit; The object identification device according to claim 1 .

5. The reflecting unit is disposed on the other side of the conveyor belt and includes a reflecting plate that further reflects the infrared light emitted by the infrared sensor toward the infrared sensor. The object identification device according to claim 4 .

6. and a control unit that determines the type of the object to be identified according to the pattern of light received by the receiving unit. The object identification device according to claim 1 .

7. a sensor that transmits light via the light emitting unit and receives light via the receiving unit; A plurality of the sensors are arranged at predetermined intervals along the length of the conveyor belt, the control unit grasps the position of each type of object to be identified according to the pattern of light received by each of the sensors. The object identification device according to claim 6 .

8. The conveyor belt branches into multiple paths, Among the plurality of sensors arranged on each of the branched paths, the position of the sensor that receives the specific pattern of light is identified, and the movement path of the object to be identified is identified. The object identification device according to claim 7 .

9. a step of disposing a light emitting unit that emits light toward the other side of the conveyor belt, on one side of the conveyor belt along which the object to be identified is moved, and a receiving unit that receives the light; a reflecting unit disposed on the other side of the conveyor belt, the reflecting unit reflecting the light emitted by the light emitting unit toward the one side of the conveyor belt; a step of moving, on the conveyor belt, an object to be identified, the object having a pattern that transmits light emitted from the light emitting unit and reflected by the reflecting unit, the pattern being provided along a first direction parallel to the moving direction of the object to be identified moved by the conveyor belt; and the receiving unit receiving the light reflected by the reflecting unit and generating a signal to determine the position of the object to be identified. Object identification method.

10. the step of determining the position of the object to be identified includes a procedure of data logging the signal from the receiving unit according to time. The object identification method according to claim 9.

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