Chute member monitoring method, monitoring system and program

Abstract

The present Invention provides a monitoring method, etc. that can efficiently monitor a chute member. According to one aspect of the present invention, a monitoring method of the chute member for allowing the powder to pass therethrough is provided. This monitoring method includes following steps. An acquisition step acquires point cloud data related to the chute member via a pre-installed predetermined sensor. A judgment step judges a degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on at least the point cloud data.

Description

CHUTE MEMBER MONITORING METHOD, MONITORING SYSTEM AND PROGRAM

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

[0002] Conventionally, for conveying powder of coal, coke breeze, cement, biomass fuel, sand, ore, slag, dust and the like over long distances, belt conveyors have been used. Herein, in order to transfer powder between plural conveyor belts, a chute portion (chute member) is often used (see PTL 1, etc.).

[0003] JP2016-183031A

[0004] However, while continuing the conveyance of powder, an inside of the chute member may be clogged with the powder, and reasonable maintenance is sometimes required to prevent such clogging. Against such a background, establishment of an efficient method for monitoring such a chute member has been required.

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

[0006] According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for monitoring a chute member that allows powder to pass through. This monitoring method has following steps. An acquisition step acquires point cloud data related to the chute member via a pre-installed predetermined sensor. A judgment step judges a degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on at least the point cloud data.

[0007] Further, the present invention may be provided in each of following aspects.

[0008] (1) A monitoring method of a chute member allowing powder to pass therethrough, the method comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring point cloud data related to the chute member via a pre-installed predetermined sensor; and a judgment step of judging a degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on at least the point cloud data.

[0009] According to the above-described aspect, the chute member can be monitored efficiently.

[0010] (2) The monitoring method according to (1), wherein the judgment step judges the degree of the adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on the point cloud data and reference data corresponding to a reference state related to the chute member.

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

[0012] (3) The monitoring method according to (2), wherein the acquisition step acquires the point cloud data in a state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member, and the judgment step judges the degree of the adhesion of the powder to the chute member using data related to a shape of the chute member in a state in which the powder does not adhere to the chute member as the reference data.

[0013] According to the above-described aspect, the chute member in the state in which the powder is not passing therethrough can be monitored.

[0014] (4) The monitoring method according to (3), further comprising: a detection step; and a determination step, wherein an inlet of the chute member is connected with a downstream end of a conveyor belt conveying the powder, the detection step detects an operating condition of the conveyor belt, and the determination step determines the state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member, based on the detected operating condition of the conveyor belt.

[0015] According to the above-described aspect, the state of the chute member can be managed properly.

[0016] (5) The monitoring method according to (3), further comprising a determination step, wherein the acquisition step acquires the point cloud data related to the chute member chronologically, and the determination step determines the state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member, based on the chronologically acquired point cloud data.

[0017] The above-described aspect enables to properly manage whether the powder has passed through the chute member or not.

[0018] (6) The monitoring method according to (2), wherein the acquisition step acquires the point cloud data in a state in which the powder is passing through the chute member, and the judgment step judges the degree of the adhesion of the powder to the chute member using the point cloud data related to the state in which the powder is normally passing through the chute member as the reference data.

[0019] The above-described aspect enables to efficiently monitor the chute member in the state in which the powder is passing therethrough.

[0020] (7) The monitoring method according to (6), wherein the acquisition step acquires the point cloud data related to the chute member chronologically.

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

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

[0023] According to the above-described aspect, the state of the chute member can be managed properly.

[0024] (9) The monitoring method according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein the judgment step judges the degree of the adhesion by inputting the point cloud data into a learned model, the learned model being a model allowed to machine-learn a relationship between the point cloud data and the degree of the adhesion in advance.

[0025] According to the above-described aspect, the chute member can be monitored with higher accuracy.

[0026] (10) The monitoring method according to any one of (1) to (9), further comprising a warning step of providing a warning according to the degree of the adhesion judged in the judgment step.

[0027] According to the above-described aspect, the monitoring conditions of the chute member can be easily understood by workers.

[0028] (11) A monitoring system of a chute member allowing powder to pass therethrough, comprising at least one processor configured to execute a program to perform each step of the monitoring method according to any one of (1) to (10).

[0029] According to the above-described aspect, the chute member can be monitored efficiently.

[0030] (12) The monitoring system according to (11), comprising an information processing apparatus and a sensor implemented by a processor, wherein the sensor is configured to acquire point cloud data related to the chute member, and the information processing apparatus includes the processor configured to execute the program, and is configured to be connected with the sensor and acquire the point cloud data related to the chute member from the sensor.

[0031] According to the above-described aspect, the chute member can be monitored efficiently.

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

[0033] According to the above-described aspect, the chute member can be monitored efficiently. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-described aspects.

[0034] The above-described aspects can provide a monitoring method and the like in which the chute member can be monitored efficiently.

[0035] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of processes to which a monitoring system can be applied.Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a monitoring system 100.Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a function of an information processing apparatus 2.Fig. 4 is an activity diagram illustrating a flow of information processing using the monitoring system 100 and the like.Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of point cloud data acquired in Embodiment 1.Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining processing of a judgment step in Embodiment 2.

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

[0037] That is, a monitoring method of a chute member of the present embodiment is as follows. A monitoring method of a chute member allowing powder to pass therethrough, the method comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring point cloud data related to the chute member via a pre-installed predetermined sensor; and a judgment step of judging a degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on at least the point cloud data.

[0038] A program for realizing a software in the present embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer readable medium that can be read by a computer, may be provided for download from an external server, or may be provided in such a manner that the program can be activated on an external computer to realize functions thereof on a client terminal (so-called cloud computing).

[0039] In the present embodiment, the "unit" may include, for instance, a combination of hardware resources implemented by a circuit in a broad sense and information processing of software that can be concretely realized by these hardware resources. Further, various kinds of information is performed in the present embodiment, and the information can be represented by, for instance, physical values of signal values representing voltage and current, high and low signal values as a set of binary bits consisting of 0 or 1, or quantum superposition (so-called qubits), and communication / calculation can be executed on a circuit in a broad sense.

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

[0041] 1. Hardware configuration In this section, a hardware configuration of the monitoring system and the like according to the present embodiment will be described.

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

[0043] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of the processes to which the monitoring system can be applied. The process of Fig. 1 is designed so that a chute member 1 can receive powder 5, which has been conveyed from a conveyor belt 4a, via an inlet of the chute member 1, and can further guide the powder 5, which has been received by the chute member 1, downward so as to transfer the powder 5 to a conveyor belt 4b. That is, the powder 5 guided downward by the chute member 1 is to be connected from an outlet of the chute member 1 to the conveyor belt 4b. Incidentally, although a travelling direction D1 of the conveyor belt 4a and a travelling direction D2 of the conveyor belt 4b are shown as the same directions in Fig. 1, but these travelling directions are not necessarily the same. Incidentally, the powder 5 can be selected appropriately depending on a type of the process. As an example, the powder 5 may be coal, coke breeze, cement, biomass fuel, sand, ore, slag, dust or the like.

[0044] Further, in the process shown in Fig. 1, sensors (sensor 3a, sensor 3b) are attached to an inside of the chute member 1. In the monitoring method of the present embodiment, a process for acquiring the point cloud data related to the chute member 1 via these sensors is performed. Incidentally, the sensor 3a and the sensor 3b may be collectively referred to as the sensor 3 below.

[0045] Specifically, in the present embodiment, an information processing apparatus 2 acquires predetermined information via the sensor (sensor 3a, sensor 3b) and performs predetermined processing based on the acquired information, whereby the chute member 1 can be monitored. That is, the monitoring system of the present embodiment is provided with at least one processor, and the monitoring method can be realized by the processor.

[0046] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the monitoring system 100. Although this monitoring system 100 is described as being provided with the information processing apparatus 2 and the sensor 3, but the monitoring system of the present embodiment may be provided with at least one processor that is configured to execute a program to perform each step of the monitoring method of the present embodiment. Thus, the information processing apparatus 2 alone can constitute the monitoring system. Hereinafter, each element that can constitute the monitoring system 100 will be described.

[0047] (Information processing apparatus 2) The information processing apparatus 2 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, a controller 23, a display unit 24 and an input unit 25, each of which are configured to be electrically connected by a communication bus 20. Hereinafter, each of the units included in the information processing apparatus 2 will be described.

[0048] (Communication unit 21) The communication unit 21 is configured to transmit various electrical signals from the information processing apparatus 2 to an external component. Further, the communication unit 21 is configured to receive various electrical signals from an external component to the information processing apparatus 2. Incidentally, the communication unit 21 may be implemented with a network communication function to enable communication of various kinds of information between the information processing apparatus 2 and the external component via a communication line.

[0049] (Storage unit 22) The storage unit 22 is configured to store the various kinds of information as defined by the above description. This can be implemented as a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) storing various programs related to the information processing apparatus 2 that are executed by the controller 23, or as a memory such as a random access memory (RAM) that stores temporarily necessary information (argument, sequence, etc.) for program operation. The storage unit 22 stores various programs, variables and the like related to the information processing apparatus 2 that are executed by the controller 23.

[0050] (Controller 23) The controller 23 is, for example, an unshown central processing unit (CPU). The controller 23 realizes various functions related to the information processing apparatus 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 is specifically realized by the controller 23, which is an example of hardware, thereby can be executed as each functional unit included in the controller 23. Further details on these will be described in the next section. Incidentally, the controller 23 is not limited to be singular and may be implemented with two or more controllers 23 for each function. Additionally, a combination thereof may be applied.

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

[0052] (Input unit 25) The input unit 25 may be included in the housing of the information processing apparatus 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. With the touch panel, a user may input by tapping, swiping or other operation. Needless to say, a switch button, a mouse, a QWERTY keyboard or the like may be employed instead of the touch panel. That is, the input unit 25 receives the operation input performed by the user. This input is transferred as a command signal via the communication bus 20 to the controller 23, and the controller 23 can execute predetermined control or calculation as necessary.

[0053] (Sensor 3) In the present embodiment, the sensor 3 acquires measurement data (the point cloud data) related to the chute member 1. Herein, the sensor 3 may have various configurations capable of acquiring the point cloud data, but is typically a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) sensor. The LiDAR sensor is a sensor that measures a distance to a measurement object by irradiating the object with laser beams and detecting reflected light beams, and generates measurement data of the object. Based on this principle, the above-mentioned measurement data can include the point cloud data obtained via the sensor 3. Incidentally, the LiDAR sensor here may be either a so-called two-dimensional LiDAR or three-dimensional LiDAR. Further, the sensor 3 may include an unshown laser light source, a light receiving unit, a microcomputer and a communication unit. That is, the laser light source irradiates an object with laser beams, the light receiving unit receives reflected light beams that are reflected by the object, the microcomputer generates the point cloud data, and the point cloud data can be output externally via the communication unit.

[0054] Incidentally, the sensor 3 may be connected with the communication unit 21 of the information processing apparatus 2 via a predetermined transmission path. According to this configuration, the monitoring related to the chute member 1 can be performed while securing both of accuracy and cost. Herein, a type of the transmission path is not limited particularly, and may be, for example, USB connection or serial connection, or may be connected via a network such as the Internet or an intranet. Incidentally, in Fig. 1, two sensors, the sensor 3a and the sensor 3b, are shown as the sensor 3, but the number of the sensor 3 used in this process may be one, three or more.

[0055] As described above, the monitoring system 100 of the present embodiment may be provided with the information processing apparatus 2 and the sensor 3. In a typical example, the sensor 3 may be configured to acquire the point cloud data related to the chute member 1. The information processing apparatus 2 may be provided with a processor configure to execute a program. Further, the information processing apparatus 2 may be configured to be connected with the sensor 3 and acquire the point cloud data related to the chute member 1 from the sensor 3.

[0056] 2. Functional structure This section describes a functional structure of the present embodiment. Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a function of the information processing apparatus 2. As mentioned above, information processing by software (stored in the storage unit 22) is specifically realized by the hardware (the controller 23), whereby each functional unit included in the controller 23 can be executed.

[0057] Specifically, the information processing apparatus 2 (the controller 23) can include an acquisition unit 231, a judgment unit 232, a detection unit 233, a determination unit 234, a warning unit 235, a storage management unit 236 and a display control unit 237, as the respective functional units. Incidentally, each of these functional units may be increased or omitted as appropriate, depending on a purpose to which the information processing apparatus 2 is applied.

[0058] (Acquisition unit 231) The acquisition unit 231 is configured to execute the acquisition step. In the acquisition step, the acquisition unit 231 acquires the point cloud data related to the chute member 1 via the pre-installed predetermined sensor 3. This specific processing will be described below.

[0059] (Judgment unit 232) The judgment unit 232 is configured to execute the judgment step. In the judgment step, the judgment unit 232 judges the degree of the adhesion of the powder to the chute member 1 based on at least the point cloud data. This specific processing will be described below.

[0060] (Detection unit 233) The detection unit 233 is configured to execute a detection step. In the detection step, the detection unit 233 detects an operating condition of the conveyor belt 4a. Incidentally, this conveyor belt 4a conveys the powder 5, and is connected with the inlet of the chute member 1 at a downstream end thereof. The specific detection method will be explained below.

[0061] (Determination unit 234) The determination unit 234 is configured to execute a determination step. In the determination step, the determination unit 234 determines whether the powder 5 is passing through the chute member 1 or not. This determination step may be achieved by various methods, and as an example thereof, a state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member 1 may be determined based on the detected operating condition of the conveyor belt 4a (the state in which the powder is passing may be determined). Further, when the acquisition unit 231 acquires the point cloud data related to the chute member 1 chronologically, the state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member 1 may also be determined based on the chronologically acquired point cloud data (the state in which the powder is passing may be determined).

[0062] (Warning unit 235) The warning unit 235 is configured to execute a warning step. In the warning step, the warning unit 235 provides a warning depending on the degree of the adhesion judged in the judgment step. Contents of this warning will be described below.

[0063] (Storage management unit 236) The storage management unit 236 is configured to execute a storage management step. In the storage management step, the storage management unit 236 is configured to manage various kinds of information to be stored, which is related to the process and the like of the present embodiment. Typically, the storage management unit 236 is configured to store information and the like, which are handled by the information processing apparatus 2, into a storage area. As this storage area, for example, the storage unit 22 of the information processing apparatus 2 and a storage unit of various devices or terminals can be exemplified, and this storage area is not necessarily within the processes shown in Fig. 1, and the storage management unit 236 can also manage to store the various kinds of information into an external storage unit or the like.

[0064] (Display control unit 237) The display control unit 237 is configured to execute a display control step. In the display control step, the display control unit 237 is configured to create various kinds of display information and control them to be visible for the user and the like. Incidentally, the display information may be visual information itself, such as a screen, an image, an icon, a text and the like, which is generated in a manner visible for the user, or may be, for example, rendering information for displaying visual information such as a screen, an image, an icon, a text and the like on various apparatuses or terminals.

[0065] 3. Details of information processing In Section 3, an information processing method executed by the monitoring system 100 and the like will be described with reference to the activity diagram and the like. Fig. 4 is an activity diagram illustrating a flow of the information processing using the monitoring system 100 and the like. Incidentally, in this section, detailed description on the information processing will be divided into Embodiments 1 and 2.

[0066] (Embodiment 1) The information processing of Embodiment 1 relates to a monitoring method while the powder 5 is not passing through the chute member 1. As mentioned above, the chute member 1 receives the powder 5 conveyed from the conveyor belt 4a, but this receiving may be suspended as necessary for maintenance of the chute member 1 and the like. The monitoring method of Embodiment 1 is applied when the powder 5 is not passing through the chute member 1, as in the case of such maintenance.

[0067] In the monitoring method of Embodiment 1, the sensor 3 firstly measures the chute member 1 (Activity A101). Specifically, the sensor (sensor 3a) installed on a ceiling of the chute member 1 continuously irradiates a lower part of the chute member 1 with laser light. Then, the sensor 3a detects reflected light that is reflected by an inner wall and the like of the chute member 1.

[0068] Subsequently, the acquisition unit 231 acquires the point cloud data from the sensor (sensor 3a) (activity A102). Specifically, the information processing apparatus 2 receives the point cloud data output from the sensor (sensor 3a) via the transmission path by means of the communication unit 21, and allows the memory unit 22 to store the point cloud data as appropriate. In Embodiment 1, since the chute member 1 is measured in the state of suspending the chute member 1, the acquisition step of the present embodiment is acquiring the point cloud data in the state in which the powder 5 is not passing through the chute member 1.

[0069] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the point cloud data acquired in Embodiment 1. When there is adhesion of the powder 5 (powder 5a) on the inner wall of the chute member 1 as shown in Fig. 5, a range (area) and a thickness of the adhesion can be acquired by the acquisition unit 231 of the information processing apparatus 2.

[0070] Subsequently, based on the information related to the point cloud data acquired in Activity A102, a degree of the adhesion of the powder 5 to the chute member 1 is judged (Activity A103). This judgment of the degree may be performed by various methods, but an example thereof includes matching with reference information IF. This reference information IF may be various kinds of information that contributes to this judgment step, but an example thereof may include reference data that corresponds to a reference state related to the chute member 1. That is, the judgment step of Embodiment 1 may judge the degree of the 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 related to the chute member 1.

[0071] More specifically, the judgment step of Embodiment 1 judges the degree of the adhesion of the powder 5 to the chute member 1 using data related to a shape of the chute member 1 in a state in which the powder 5 does not adhere to the chute member 1 as the reference data. That is, this "data related to a shape of the chute member 1 in a state in which the powder 5 does not adhere to the chute member 1" can correspond to the point cloud data related to the inner wall of the chute member 1, and the information processing apparatus 2 may store the point cloud data related to the inner wall of the chute member 1 in advance. Incidentally, the "state in which the powder 5 does not adhere" is not necessarily limited to a state in which no powder 5 adheres to the chute member 1 at all, and also includes a state in which the powder 5 adheres to the chute member 1 to a degree that does not affect the execution of the conveyance process of the powder 5.

[0072] As the specific processing of the judgment step, a difference between: the point cloud data acquired in the acquisition step; and the reference data is obtained so as to judge a size of the region of the powder 5a (an area, a thickness, a volume (powder amount) and the like). Thereby, the chute member 1 can be monitored efficiently.

[0073] Incidentally, in Embodiment 1, the predetermined reference data is used for the judgment step on an assumption that the powder 5 is not passing through the chute member 1. Herein, the state in which the powder 5 is not passing (or is passing) through the chute member 1 can be determined by, for example, a following method.

[0074] That is, the determination step of the present embodiment may determine the state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member based on the detected operating condition of the conveyor belt. Herein, the operating condition of the conveyor belt is detected by the detection step. According to such an aspect, the condition of the chute member can be managed properly.

[0075] As shown in Fig. 1, the inlet of the chute member 1 may be connected with the downstream end of the conveyor belt 4a that conveys the powder 5. Herein, an unshown predetermined sensor is attached to the conveyor belt 4a, and the operating condition (may also be referred to as start / stop) of the conveyor belt 4a may be detected based on the information acquired by the detection unit 233 via the sensor. Specifically, the monitoring system 100 of the present embodiment may have a sensor for detecting vibrations or sounds of the conveyor belt 4a, and the detection unit 233 can detect the operating condition of the conveyor belt 4a by the detection of such vibrations and sounds.

[0076] Further, the determination step may also be executed as follows. That is, the determination step of the present embodiment may also determine the state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member 1, based on the point cloud data acquired chronologically. Such an aspect enables to properly manage whether the powder 5 is passing through the chute member 1 or not. In this case, typically, the acquisition step acquires the point cloud data related to the chute member 1 chronologically. That is, if the point cloud data chronologically acquired in the acquisition step does not change over time, the determination unit 234 can determine that the conveyor belt 4a stops (the chute member 1 is not receiving the powder 5 from the conveyor belt 4a). When determining that the conveyor belt 4a stops, the corresponding reference data is employed in the determination step as described above.

[0077] Incidentally, the above shows the aspect in which the predetermined reference information IF is used in the judgment step, but the judgment step judges the degree of the adhesion by inputting the point cloud data into a learned model. Herein, the learned model is a model allowed to machine-learn a relationship between the point cloud data and the degree of the adhesion in advance. According to this aspect, the chute member can be monitored with higher accuracy.

[0078] The above-mentioned judgment step may be either quantitative or qualitative judgment of the degree of the adhesion of the powder. As an example, in Embodiment 1, the degree of the adhesion is judged quantitatively (preferably in numerical form).

[0079] Further, the degree of the adhesion of the powder judged as described above may be displayed for a user who handles the information processing apparatus 2 (Activity A104). That is, the degree of the adhesion of the powder judged in the judgment step may be displayed on the display unit 24 or the like of the information processing apparatus 2. Incidentally, such processing can be realized by a function of the display control unit 237.

[0080] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the warning unit 235 may provide a warning depending on the degree of the adhesion judged in the judgment step. According to such an aspect, the monitoring conditions of the chute member 1 can be easily recognized by workers. Incidentally, such a warning can be provided specifically based on following processing.

[0081] That is, in advance of providing the warning, matching between the results of the judgment obtained in the judgment step and prespecified warning conditions is performed (Activity A105). If satisfying the warning conditions in this matching, a warning is presented to the worker (an example of the user) who performs the conveyance operation (Activity A106). If not satisfying the warning conditions, the processing of Activity A106 is skipped. For example, while judging the degree of the adhesion quantitatively (in numerical form), it may be controlled so that the warning can be presented to the workers, when the degree of the adhesion excesses a predetermined threshold value. Incidentally, examples of this warning may include displaying warning statement on a display, generating warning sound from a predetermined device, lighting a patrol lamp arranged at a prominent position and combinations of them, but is not limited to those, and may include aspects related to the various warnings. In other words, the warning of the present embodiment is not limited to visual information, but may also be other five-sense information such as auditory information and tactile information, or may be a combination of two or more of them.

[0082] The above-described information processing according to Activities A101 to A106 is continuously performed for each frame rate of the sensor 3 or each control rate of the controller 23, thereby executing the monitoring method for monitoring the chute member 1.

[0083] (Embodiment 2) Information processing of Embodiment 2 relates to a monitoring method in a case where the powder 5 is passing through the chute member 1. Incidentally, explanation for Embodiment 2 in the parts overlapped with Embodiment 1 will be omitted.

[0084] That is, in Embodiment 2, the acquisition step acquires the point cloud data in a state in which the powder 5 is passing through the chute member 1. Further, the judgment step judges the degree of the adhesion of the powder 5 to the chute member 1 using the point cloud data related to the state in which the powder 5 is normally passing through the chute member 1, as the reference data. According to such an aspect, the chute member 1 in the state in which the powder is passing can be monitored efficiently.

[0085] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining processing of the judgment step in Embodiment 2. Also in Embodiment 2, the degree of the adhesion of the powder to the chute member 1 can be judged using the predetermined reference data, similarly to Embodiment 1. Fig. 6A illustrates a state in which the sensor 3b provided inside the chute member 1 is measuring the state in which the powder 5 is normally passing through the chute member 1. Herein, the 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] This Fig. 6A illustrates a state in which powder 5ST is falling downward with a certain width at a substantially center part of the chute member 1. In Embodiment 2, for example, the state in which the powder 5 normally falls can be used as the reference data, and Fig. 6A can correspond to "the state in which the powder 5 normally falls. Whereas, in Fig. 6B, the powder 5b falls with a width larger than that of the powder 5ST, and Fig. 6C can be understood to illustrate a state in which powder 5c falls from a part away from the substantially center part of the chute member 1.

[0087] Such a difference between the reference data and the acquisition data is considered to be caused typically by the adhesion of the powder that exists above the region where the point cloud data is acquired in the chute member 1. The information processing apparatus 2 of the present embodiment can judge the degree of the adhesion of the powder 5 to the chute member 1, based on the above-described difference between the reference data and the measurement data.

[0088] Incidentally, also in Embodiment 2, the acquisition step can acquire the point cloud data related to the chute member 1 chronologically. In this case, the judgment step can be executed based on the chronological data of the point cloud data related to the chute member 1. Therefore, according to such an aspect, the chute member can be monitored more stably.

[0089] In Embodiment 2, the point cloud data related to the state in which the powder 5 is normally passing through the chute member 1 as described above is used as the reference data, but in prior to using such a reference data, the operating condition of the conveyor belt 4a may be detected similarly to Embodiment 1. In other words, after the detection unit 233 detects the operating condition of the conveyor belt 4a (the conveyor belt is operated), the predetermined reference data may be selected and the judgment step may be executed.

[0090] In Embodiment 2, the judgment step may further judge the degree of the adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on the detected operating condition of the conveyor belt 4a. Similarly to Embodiment 1, the inlet of the chute member 1 is connected with the downstream end of the conveyor belt 4a conveying the powder 5, and the detection step can detect the operating condition of the conveyor belt 4a. According to such an aspect, the state of the chute member can be managed properly.

[0091] Herein, the operating condition of the conveyor belt 4a to be detected by the detection unit 233 may be associated with a conveyance amount (may be an amount conveyed in a predetermined period of time or a conveyance speed) of the powder 5 of the conveyor belt 4a. That is, the shape (width) of the powder 5ST in the reference data shown in Fig. 6A may vary depending on the conveyance amount of the powder 5, and the reference data may be corrected depending on the contents detected by the detection unit 233. That is, the judgment step in the above-described aspect may judge the degree of the adhesion of the powder 5 to the chute member 1, based on the operating condition (the conveyance amount of the powder 5) of the conveyor belt 4a detected by the detection unit 233.

[0092] Other than the above, it is similar to Embodiment 1 that the learned model can be used in the judgment step, the warning unit 235 may provide a predetermined warning based on the judgment result, and the like.

[0093] 4. Other Section 4 describes a modified example of the information processing method of the monitoring system 100 described above.

[0094] The above-mentioned embodiments have been described as the configuration of the monitoring system 100, but a program configured to allow at least one computer to execute each step of the monitoring method may be provided.

[0095] The above-described embodiments have provided the aspects in which the sensor 3 is attached to the inside of the chute member 1, but the position to attach the sensor 3 is not limited to this. That is, the sensor 3 may also be configured to be attached to an outside of the housing of the chute member 1 so as to acquire the point cloud data related to the inside (inner wall) of the chute member 1. Further, if a part of the chute member 1 is provided with a window for monitoring, the sensor 3 may acquire measurement data related to the inside of the chute member 1 via the window.

[0096] The above-mentioned embodiments have provided the information processing method using the learned model, but the information to be associated for creating the learned model is not limited to the above-mentioned information. That is, the learned model to be used in the present embodiment may also be associated with other various conditions such as weather conditions, conditions related to regions and conditions related to ages of facilities.

[0097] In the above-mentioned embodiments, the information processing apparatus 2 has performed the various storages and controls, but a plurality of external apparatuses may be used instead of the information processing apparatus 2. That is, information on powder adhesion conditions, cause, countermeasure and the like related to the chute member 1 may be distributed and stored into a plurality of external apparatuses using blockchain technology or the like.

[0098] The above-mentioned embodiments have provided the aspects in which the degree of the adhesion of the powder is judged based on the acquisition data, but control of each part of the processes shown in Fig. 1 may be performed based on the result of such judgment. For example, if the degree of the adhesion of the powder 5 to the chute member 1 is judged to be significant, the conveyance speed of the conveyor belt 4a and / or 4b may be controlled to be reduced. In addition, based on the result of the judgment by the judgment unit 232, the degree of the adhesion of the powder 5 may be controlled by adding a predetermined chemical agent to the powder 5 which is conveyed by each conveyor belt.

[0099] Finally, various embodiments of the present invention have been described, but these are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made without departing from the abstract of the invention. The embodiments and its modifications are included in the scope and abstract of the invention and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

[0100] 1 Chute member 2 Information processing apparatus 3, 3a, 3b Sensor 4a, 4b Conveyor belt 5, 5ST, 5a, 5b, 5c Powder 20 Communication bus 21 Communication unit 22 Storage unit 23 Controller 24 Display unit 25 Input unit 100 Monitoring system 231 Acquisition unit 232 Judgment unit 233 Detection unit 234 Determination unit 235 Warning unit 236 Storage management unit 237 Display control unit D1, D2: Direction of travel IF Reference information.

Claims

1. A monitoring method of a chute member allowing powder to pass therethrough, the method comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring point cloud data related to the chute member via a pre-installed predetermined sensor; and a judgment step of judging a degree of adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on at least the point cloud data.

2. The monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein the judgment step judges the degree of the adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on the point cloud data and reference data corresponding to a reference state related to the chute member.

3. The monitoring method according to claim 2, wherein the acquisition step acquires the point cloud data in a state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member, and the judgment step judges the degree of the adhesion of the powder to the chute member using data related to a shape of the chute member in a state in which the powder does not adhere to the chute member as the reference data.

4. The monitoring method according to claim 3, further comprising: a detection step; and a determination step, wherein an inlet of the chute member is connected with a downstream end of a conveyor belt conveying the powder, the detection step detects an operating condition of the conveyor belt, and the determination step determines the state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member, based on the detected operating condition of the conveyor belt.

5. The monitoring method according to claim 3, further comprising a determination step, wherein the acquisition step acquires the point cloud data related to the chute member chronologically, and the determination step determines the state in which the powder is not passing through the chute member, based on the chronologically acquired point cloud data.

6. The monitoring method according to claim 2, wherein the acquisition step acquires the point cloud data in a state in which the powder is passing through the chute member, and the judgment step judges the degree of the adhesion of the powder to the chute member using the point cloud data related to the state in which the powder is normally passing through the chute member as the reference data.

7. The monitoring method according to claim 6, wherein the acquisition step acquires the point cloud data related to the chute member chronologically.

8. The monitoring method according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising a detection step, wherein an inlet of the chute member is connected with a downstream end of a conveyor belt conveying the powder, the detection step detects an operating condition of the conveyor belt, and the judgment step further judges the degree of the adhesion of the powder to the chute member based on the detected operating condition of the conveyor belt.

9. The monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the judgment step judges the degree of the adhesion by inputting the point cloud data into a learned model, the learned model being a model allowed to machine-learn a relationship between the point cloud data and the degree of the adhesion in advance.

10. The monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a warning step of providing a warning according to the degree of the adhesion judged in the judgment step.

11. A monitoring system of a chute member allowing powder to pass therethrough, comprising at least one processor configured to execute a program to perform each step of the monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. The monitoring system according to claim 11, comprising an information processing apparatus and a sensor implemented by a processor, wherein the sensor is configured to acquire point cloud data related to the chute member, and the information processing apparatus includes the processor configured to execute the program, and is configured to be connected with the sensor and acquire the point cloud data related to the chute member from the sensor.

13. A program configured to allow 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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