Monitoring method of conveyor belt, conveying method of powder, monitoring system and program of conveyor belt

Abstract

[Summary] A monitoring method of a conveyor belt or the like that can immediately detect errors in the conveyor belt is provided. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a monitoring method of a conveyor belt is provided. The monitoring method comprises a first acquisition step. In the first acquisition step, measurement data is acquired by measuring a belt surface of the conveyor belt from above with an optical sensor. The optical senser is installed in a moving machine configured to be movable along a flow direction of the conveyor belt.

Description

MONITORING METHOD OF CONVEYOR BELT, CONVEYING METHOD OF POWDER, MONITORING SYSTEM AND PROGRAM OF CONVEYOR BELT

[0001] CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-47624, filed March 25, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The present disclosure relates to a monitoring method of a conveyor belt, a conveying method of powder, a monitoring system and a program of a conveyor belt.

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses an apparatus of detecting meandering of a conveyor belt.

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP2000-118663 A

[0004] The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 involves installing a sensor in a conveyor belt itself. Thus, the installation of the sensor itself involves a human or financial burden, which naturally imposes limitations on the number of sensors that can be installed. Against this background, there has conventionally been a need to immediately detect errors in a conveyor belt.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present disclosure provides a monitoring method of a conveyor belt that can immediately detect errors in a conveyor belt.

[0006] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a monitoring method of a conveyor belt is provided. This monitoring method includes a first acquisition step. In the first acquisition step, measurement data is acquired by measuring a belt surface of the conveyor belt from above with an optical sensor. Here, the optical senser is installed in a moving machine configured to be movable along a flow direction of the conveyor belt.

[0007] According to the above-mentioned aspect, a monitoring method of a conveyor belt that can immediately detect errors in the conveyor belt is provided.

[0008] In addition, the present disclosure may be provided with each of the following aspects.

[0009] (1) A monitoring method of a conveyor belt, comprising: a first acquisition step of acquiring measurement data by measuring a belt surface of the conveyor belt from above with an optical sensor, the optical senser being installed in a moving machine configured to be movable along a flow direction of the conveyor belt.

[0010] (2) The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to (1), further comprising: a specification step of specifying any one of a degree of meandering of the belt, a degree of a deviation of the belt, and a shape of powder present on a surface of the conveyor belt based on the measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step.

[0011] (3) The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to (2), wherein: in the first acquisition step, the optical sensor further performs a measurement related to a reference object other than the belt surface, and the specification step specifies any one of the degree of meandering of the belt, the degree of the deviation of the belt, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt by correcting the measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step using a measurement result of the reference object.

[0012] (4) The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to (3), wherein: the first acquisition step acquires a measurement result of the reference object by measuring a dimension or a position of the reference object.

[0013] (5) The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to (4), wherein: the reference object is a roller supporting the belt, and the first acquisition step acquires a measurement result of the reference object by measuring a length of the roller that intersects with a flow direction of the conveyor belt and / or a predetermined position of the roller.

[0014] (6) The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to any one of (3) to (5), wherein: the first acquisition step acquires a measurement result of the reference object at a plurality of points along a flow direction of the conveyor belt and the specification step specifies any one of the degree of meandering of the belt, the degree of the deviation of the belt, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt by correcting measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step using each of measurement results of a plurality of the reference objects.

[0015] (7) The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to any one of (3) to (6), further comprising: a second acquisition step of acquiring position information of the moving machine, wherein the specification step specifies any one of the degree of meandering of the belt, the degree of the deviation of the belt, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt by further correcting the measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step using the position information of the moving machine.

[0016] (8) The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein: the optical sensor is a LiDAR sensor.

[0017] (9) A conveying method of powder, comprising: a powder control step of controlling an aspect in which the powder is dropped on the conveyor belt based on a result of the monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to any one of (1) to (8).

[0018] (10) A monitoring system of a conveyor belt, comprising: a moving machine configured to be movable along a flow direction of the conveyor belt; and an optical sensor installed in the moving machine and configured to acquire measurement data by measuring a belt surface of the conveyor belt from above.

[0019] (11) A program, configured to allow at least one computer to execute each step of the monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to any one of (1) to (8). Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to the above aspects.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a top view of an overall configuration of a process to which a monitoring system may be applied.FIG. 2 is a side view of an overall configuration of a process to which a monitoring system may be applied.FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus 2, etc.FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a function of an information processing apparatus 2.FIG. 5 is an activity diagram showing a flow of information processing using a monitoring system 100, etc.FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for illustrating an example of a specification step.

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. It should be noted that various features described in the embodiment below can be combined with each other.

[0022] That is, the monitoring method of a conveyor belt of the present embodiment is as follows. A monitoring method of a conveyor belt, comprising: a first acquisition step of acquiring measurement data by measuring a belt surface of the conveyor belt from above with an optical sensor, the optical senser being installed in a moving machine configured to be movable along a flow direction of the conveyor belt.

[0023] A program for realizing a software described in the present embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, may be provided to be downloaded via an external server, or may be provided so that the program is activated on an external computer and the program's function is realized on a client terminal (that is, the function is provided by so-called cloud computing).

[0024] In addition, in various information processing according to an embodiment, an input and an output in response to the input can be realized. Here, as long as an output is obtained as a result of an input, the aspect of information referenced in such information processing (hereinafter referred to as reference information) is not limited. The reference information may be, for example, rule-based information such as a database, a lookup table, a predefined function (including a determination formula such as a regression formula constructed by statistical methods), may be a learned model in which the correlation between an input and an output has been learned in advance, or may be a large-scale language model that can output a desired result by inputting a prompt.

[0025] The term "unit" in the present embodiment may include, for example, a combination of hardware resources implemented as circuits in a broad sense and information processing of software that can be concretely realized by these hardware resources. Further, various 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.

[0026] Furthermore, 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. The processor may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated circuit. In other words, a circuit includes an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (e.g., simple programmable logic device (SPLD), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), field programmable gate array (FPGA)), and the like.

[0027] 1. Hardware configuration The monitoring method according to the present embodiment is typically implemented using a predetermined monitoring system. This section describes a hardware configuration of a monitoring system or the like according to the present embodiment.

[0028] A monitoring method of a conveyor belt according to the present embodiment can be applied to a process of conveying powder and can be typically executed by a monitoring system 100 shown below. First, the process of conveying powder and the configuration related to the hardware that can configure this process will be described.

[0029] FIG. 1 is a top view of an overall configuration of a process to which a monitoring system may be applied. FIG. 2 is a side view of an overall configuration of a process to which the monitoring system may be applied. The processes illustrated by these figures are ones in which a moving machine 1 dispenses predetermined powder and transfers the powder onto the surface of a belt 41 of a conveyor belt 4. Note that, in the present embodiment, the powder to be transferred to the conveyor belt 4 can be appropriately selected depending on the type of process. As an example, the powder may be coal, coke breeze, cement, biomass fuel, sediment, ore, slag, dust, etc.

[0030] First, details of the moving machine 1 will be described. The moving machine 1 is selected from among heavy machinery capable of conveying powder to the conveyor belt 4. Typically, the moving machine 1 may be an unloader, a stacker, a reclaimer, etc. However, the moving machine 1 is not limited thereto and any machine applicable to the illustrated process may be used.

[0031] The moving machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is provided with a boom 11 and moves powder inside the boom 11. The boom 11 is an arm-shaped member provided in the moving machine 1. FIG. 2 shows an internal structure of the moving machine 1. The moving machine 1 moves the powder by a moving mechanism 13 inside the boom 11 and dispenses the powder from an opening 14 at the end of the boom 11. A plate 15 may be provided at the end of the boom 11, and a dropping direction of the powder can be adjusted by changing the position and angle of this plate 15. The position and angle of the plate 15 may be controlled by a signal output from an information processing apparatus 2 described later.

[0032] The moving machine 1 is configured to be movable along a rail 12. The rail 12 is formed along a flow direction D1 of the conveyor belt 4, and the moving machine 1 can also be said to be configured to be movable along the flow direction D1 of the conveyor belt 4.

[0033] Furthermore, in the moving machine 1, optical sensors 3a, 3b are installed in the boom 11 thereof. FIG. 1 shows an example in which two optical sensors are installed in the moving machine 1. However, the number of optical sensors provided in the moving machine 1 is not limited thereto. That is, the moving machine 1 may comprise one optical sensor or three or more optical sensors. The installation positions of the optical sensors in the moving machine 1 are not limited to the positions shown in the figures, and any position capable of measuring the surface of the belt 41 may be set. In other words, the position of each of the optical sensors is not limited to a position where the measurement can be performed perpendicularly toward the surface of the belt 41, and the optical sensor 3 may be disposed so as to have an inclination (for example, 30 to 60 degrees). Hereinafter, the optical sensors installed in the moving machine 1 may be collectively referred to as "an optical sensor 3".

[0034] The optical sensor 3 may be appropriately selected from among known optical sensors. For example, the optical sensor 3 may be a LiDAR sensor, an infrared camera, or the like. Preferably, the optical sensor 3 is a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) sensor. The LiDAR sensor is a sensor that irradiates a laser beam onto an object, measures the distance to the object by detecting the reflected light, and generates measurement data of a measuring object. Based on this principle, the measurement data described above may include point cloud data obtained via the optical sensor 3. The LiDAR sensor here may be either a so-called two-dimensional LiDAR or three-dimensional LiDAR. The optical sensor 3 may include an unshown laser light source, a light receiving unit, a microcomputer, and a communication unit. That is, a laser beam is irradiated from the laser light source, the light receiving unit receives reflected light reflected by the object, the microcomputer generates point cloud data, and the point cloud data can be output externally via the communication unit (a communication path 31).

[0035] In addition, the monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment comprises the moving machine 1 and the optical sensor 3. In other words, the monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment can efficiently monitor the conveyor belt 4 since the optical sensor 3 is disposed at a predetermined position in the moving machine 1. However, the monitoring system can also include a configuration for appropriately analyzing the data acquired by the optical sensor 3. In other words, the monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment may include an information processing apparatus 2 described later in addition to the moving machine 1 and the optical sensor 3.

[0036] On the other hand, the conveyor belt 4 that is a monitoring target of the monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a belt 41 and rollers 42. Each of the rollers 42 supports the belt 41 and moves the belt 41 in the flow direction D1 while rotating. Although a combination of three rollers is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the rollers used in the monitoring method according to the present embodiment are not limited thereto. That is, the roller 42 may be configured by a single roller, or may be configured by a plurality of rollers other than three.

[0037] Although the details are not shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the optical sensor 3 may be configured to communicate with a predetermined information processing apparatus 2, and predetermined calculations and the like may be executed by the information processing apparatus 2.

[0038] FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 2, etc. As shown in FIG. 3, the optical sensor 3 is connected to the information processing apparatus 2 via the communication path 31. The communication path 31 is selected from among means that can communicate between the optical sensor 3 and the information processing apparatus 2, and the means may be either wired or wireless. Hereinafter, details of the information processing apparatus 2 will be described.

[0039] <Information processing apparatus 2> The information processing apparatus 2 comprises a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, a controller 23, a display unit 24, and an input unit 25, and is configured by electrically connecting each of these units via a communication bus 20.

[0040] (Communication unit 21) The communication unit 21 is configured to transmit various electric signals from the information processing apparatus 2 to an external component. In addition, the communication unit 21 is configured to receive various electric signals from the external component to the information processing apparatus 2. The communication unit 21 has a network communication function, thereby various information can be communicated between the information processing apparatus 2 and an external apparatus via a communication line.

[0041] (Storage unit 22) The storage unit 22 stores various information defined by the description above. This may be implemented as, for example, a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) that stores various programs and the like related to the information processing apparatus 2 executed by the controller 23, or a memory such as a random access memory (RAM) that stores temporarily necessary information (argument, array, or the like) related to calculation of program. The storage unit 22 stores various programs or variables related to the information processing apparatus 2 which are executed by the controller 23.

[0042] (Controller 23) The controller 23 is, for example, an unshown central processing unit (CPU). The controller 23 is configured to realize various functions related to the information processing apparatus 2 by reading and executing a predetermined program stored in the storage unit 22. In other words, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 22 is specifically realized by the controller 23 that is an example of hardware, thereby may be executed as each functional unit included in the controller 23. Further details on these will be described in the next section. It should be noted that the controller 23 is not limited to being singular and may be implemented with two or more controllers 23 for each function. Additionally, a combination thereof may be applied.

[0043] (Display unit 24) The display unit 24 may be, for example, included 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 graphical user interface (GUI) that is operable by a user. For instance, this is preferable to be implemented by using different display devices such as a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and a plasma display, depending on the type of the information processing apparatus 2.

[0044] (Input unit 25) The input unit 25 may be included in a 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 through tapping, swiping, or other operation. Of course, a switch button, a mouse, a QWERTY keyboard, etc. may be employed instead of the touch panel. In other words, the input unit 25 receives operation input performed by the user. This input, treated as a command signal, is transferred to the controller 23 via the communication bus 20, and the controller 23 may execute predetermined control or calculation as necessary.

[0045] 2. Functional configuration This section describes a functional configuration according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a function of the information processing apparatus 2. As mentioned above, information processing by software (stored in the storage unit 22) is concretely realized by hardware (the controller 23), thereby may be executed as each functional unit included in the controller 23.

[0046] Specifically, the information processing apparatus 2 (the controller 23) may comprise an acquisition unit 231, a specification unit 232, a powder controller 233, a warning unit 234, a storage management unit 235, and a display controller 236 as each functional unit. It should be noted that each functional unit may be increased or omitted as appropriate depending on application to which the information processing apparatus 2 is applied.

[0047] (Acquisition unit 231) The acquisition unit 231 is configured to execute an acquisition step. In the acquisition step, the acquisition unit 231 acquires various types of information and data. In the present embodiment, the acquisition unit 231 acquires measurement data related to the surface of the belt 41 of the conveyor belt 4 measured by the optical sensor 3 as a first acquisition step. In addition, the acquisition unit 231 acquires position information of the moving machine 1 as a second acquisition step. The specific processing of the above-mentioned steps will be explained later.

[0048] (Specification unit 232) The specification unit 232 is configured to execute a specification step. In the specification step, the specification unit 232 specifies any one of the degree of meandering of the belt 41, the degree of a deviation of the belt 41, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt 4 based on the measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step. The specific processing for the above will be explained later.

[0049] (Powder controller 233) The powder controller 233 is configured to execute a powder control step. In the powder control step, the powder controller 233 controls an aspect in which the powder is dropped on the conveyor belt 4 based on the result of the monitoring method of the conveyor belt in the present embodiment. The specific processing for the above will be explained later.

[0050] (Warning unit 234) The warning unit 234 is configured to execute a warning step. In the warning step, the warning unit 234 issues a predetermined warning depending on the results, etc. specified in the specification step. The content of this warning will be explained later.

[0051] (Storage management unit 235) The storage management unit 235 is configured to execute a storage management step. In the storage management step, the storage management unit 235 is configured to manage various information to be stored that is associated with the process or the like of the present embodiment. Typically, the storage management unit 235 is configured to allow information, etc. handled by the information processing apparatus 2 to be stored in a storage area. Examples of the storage area include the storage unit 22 of the information processing apparatus 2 or storage units of various apparatuses or terminals, but the storage area does not necessarily have to be within the process shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and the storage management unit 235 may manage various information to be stored in an external storage unit or the like as well.

[0052] (Display controller 236) The display controller 236 is configured to execute a display control step. In the display control step, the display controller 236 creates various types of display information and controls the information so that it can be visible to the user or the like. Note that, the display information may be visual information itself such as a screen, an image, an icon, a text, etc. generated in a form that is visible to the user, or the display information may be rendering information for displaying visual information such as a screen, an image, an icon, a text, etc. on various devices or terminals.

[0053] 3. Details of monitoring method of conveyor belt In Section 3, the details of the monitoring method of the conveyor belt will be described with reference to the activity diagram, etc., as appropriate.

[0054] As mentioned above, the monitoring method of the conveyor belt of the present embodiment acquires measurement data by measuring the surface of the belt 41 of the conveyor belt 4 from above with the optical sensor installed in the moving machine 1 configured to be movable along the flow direction of the conveyor belt 4. In this way, since the surface of the belt 41 is measured by the optical sensor 3 installed in the moving machine 1, it can be said that it is easy to immediately detect the behavior of the powder that has dropped onto the conveyor belt 4.

[0055] In the present embodiment, further analysis, calculation, etc. may be performed using the measurement data measured by the optical sensor 3 as described above. This analysis, calculation, etc. is typically executed by the information processing apparatus 2. Hereinafter, the monitoring method in which analysis, calculation, etc. are performed by the information processing apparatus 2 will now be described.

[0056] FIG. 5 is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing using the monitoring system 100, etc. In the monitoring method of the conveyor belt in the present embodiment, first, the optical sensor 3 measures the surface of the belt 41 of the conveyor belt 4 (Activity A101). Specifically, the optical sensor 3 installed on the boom 11 of the moving machine 1 continuously irradiates a laser beam downward (towards the conveyor belt 4), and detects the reflected light reflected from the conveyor belt 4 and the like.

[0057] Then, the information processing apparatus 2 acquires measurement data from the optical sensor 3 (Activity A102). Specifically, the acquisition unit 231 of the information processing apparatus 2 receives the measurement data output from the optical sensor 3 via the transmission path (communication path 31) through the communication unit 21 and stores the data in the storage unit 22 as appropriate. In the present specification, the acquisition of measurement data by the optical sensor 3 indicated as Activity A101, and the acquisition of measurement data by the information processing apparatus 2 indicated as Activity A102 may be collectively referred to as an "acquisition step (or the first acquisition step)". The measurement data output here may be so-called point cloud data.

[0058] Then, a predetermined analysis is performed based on the measurement data acquired in Activity A102 (Activity A103). In the Activity A103, typically, the specification unit 232 of the information processing apparatus 2 specifies any one of the degree of meandering of the belt 41, the degree of a deviation of the belt 41, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt 4 based on the acquired measurement data.

[0059] This specification may be performed based on various methods, but as an example, it is performed by matching the acquired measurement data with the reference information prepared in advance. This reference information may be various information that contributes to this specification step, and as an example, the reference information may be reference data corresponding to a state (reference state) in which the conveyor belt 4 is operating normally. In other words, the specification step of the present embodiment may specify any one of the degree of meandering of the belt 41, the degree of a deviation of the belt 41, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt 4 based on the acquired measurement data (point cloud data) and the reference data corresponding to the reference state related to the conveyor belt 4.

[0060] Note that, when such a specification step is performed, the following aspects may be adopted. That is, in the present embodiment, the optical sensor 3 may also perform a measurement related to a reference object other than the surface of the belt 41, and the specification step may specify any one of the degree of meandering of the belt, the degree of a deviation of the belt, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt by correcting the acquired measurement data using the measurement results of the reference object.

[0061] That is, the present inventor has found that the rail 12 on which the moving machine 1 moves does not necessarily extend parallel to the conveyor belt 4, and the rail 12 may have distortions in some parts. In addition, in the case where the measurement data is acquired with the optical sensor 3 installed (fixed) in the moving machine 1, it has become clear that errors may occur due to the above-mentioned distortions, etc. From the above, it has become clear that, when performing the specification step, there is a case in which it is more preferable to make appropriate corrections in terms of improving the specification accuracy.

[0062] Such a specification method will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for illustrating an example of the specification step. That is, when the optical sensor 3 measures the surface of the belt 41, the reference object may be simultaneously measured (the measurement range of the optical sensor 3 may include both the surface of the belt 41 and the reference object). FIG. 6 shows an example in which the reference object is a roller 42 supporting the belt 41. However, the reference object is not limited thereto. For example, an object whose dimensions, shape, and positional relationship are known may be used as the reference object, and a sign, a building, a jig, etc. located near the powder conveying process may be used as the reference object.

[0063] In other words, the optical sensor 3 (and the information processing apparatus 2) can acquire the measurement results of the reference object by measuring a dimension or a position of the reference object (roller 42), and the specification step may be performed based on this information. In explanation of the example shown in FIG. 6, the optical sensor 3 (and the information processing device 2) may acquire a measurement result of the reference object (roller 42) by measuring the length of the roller 42 that intersects with the flow direction of the conveyor belt 4 and / or a predetermined position of the roller 42.

[0064] In FIG. 6A, the length of the roller 42 perpendicular to (intersecting) the flow direction of the conveyor belt 4 is shown, and a point P1 is shown as the midpoint of this length. The length of the roller 42 here can be determined by specifying the first end and the second end of the roller 42 and measuring the distance between them. On the other hand, the optical sensor 3 is configured to measure the belt 41 as well and can specify the first end and the second end of the belt 41, thus specifying the midpoint of the belt 41 as a point P2. In FIG. 6A, the midpoint of the belt 41 is shown as the point P2. Since this point P2 is at approximately the same position as the point P1 in an orthogonal direction of the flow of the conveyor belt 4, it can be determined that the degree of a deviation of the belt 41 is almost zero. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 6B, the midpoint of the belt 41 is shown as a point P3, and in this case, the point P3 is in a different position from the point P1. Thus, it is possible to specify that the belt 41 has a deviation.

[0065] From a similar perspective, the degree of meandering of the belt 41 can also be evaluated by measuring the belt 41 and the reference object (roller 42). The degree of meandering can also be specified by measuring a predetermined point of the belt 41 (typically both ends in the width direction) as well as a predetermine point on the reference object (roller 42), in the same manner as the aforementioned deviation of the belt 41. The shape of the powder can also be specified by measuring the area where the powder on the conveyor belt 4 is present and by measuring a predetermined point on the reference object (roller 42).

[0066] Furthermore, the degree of the deviation of the belt 41, the degree of meandering of the belt 41, the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt 4 and the like can also be evaluated as follows. That is, it is also possible to measure the positional relationship between at least one of the two ends of the belt 41 of the conveyor belt 4 and at least one of the two ends of the reference object (roller 42), and to determine whether the belt 41 is in the correct position based on whether the distance between these ends is in a predetermined relationship. In explanation of the example in FIG. 6, it can be measured that the "distance between the left end of the roller 42 and the left end of the belt 41" and the "distance between the right end of the roller 42 and the right end of the belt 41" are almost the same value in FIG. 6A, thus determining that there is no (or only a small) deviation of the belt 41. On the other hand, in FIG. 6B, in can be measured that the "distance between the left end of the roller 42 and the left end of the belt 41" is greater than the "distance between the right end of the roller 42 and the right end of the belt 41". Thus, it can be determined that the belt 41 is deviated to the right side. Using a similar principle, it is possible to understand the deviation of the belt 41, and thus it is also possible to evaluate the degree of meandering of the belt 41 and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt 4.

[0067] Of course, the parts of the belt 41 and the reference object (roller 42) that are to be measured are not limited to those described above. In other words, the optical sensor 3 may measure any desired parts within the scope of the purpose of evaluating a predetermined phenomenon.

[0068] FIG. 6 shows an example of performing analysis by measuring a single point (one roller 42) related to a reference material. However, the optical sensor 3 (and the information processing apparatus 2) may acquire measurement results of the reference object at a plurality of points along the flow direction of the conveyor belt 4 as the first acquisition step. In this case, the specification step may specify any one of the degree of meandering of the belt, the degree of a deviation of the belt, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt by correcting the measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step using each of the measurement results of a plurality of reference objects. In this way, the accuracy of specification can be further improved.

[0069] In addition, the following aspects may be adopted when the specification step of the present embodiment is performed. That is, the monitoring method of the conveyor belt of the present embodiment may further include a second acquisition step. This second acquisition step may acquire position information of the moving machine 1. Furthermore, the specification step may specify any one of the degree of meandering of the belt, the degree of a deviation of the belt, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt by further correcting the measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step using the position information of the moving machine 1.

[0070] The position information of the moving machine 1 is typically information indicating at which position the moving machine 1 is present on the rail 12. For example, positioning related to the moving machine 1 can be performed using GPS (Global Positioning System) or GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems). This allows the position information of the moving machine 1 to be specified. In other words, the moving machine 1 may include a positioning system such as GPC or GNSS as described above. Such a positioning system may, for example, correspond to "SLAS (Sub-meter Level Augmentation Service)" or "CLAS (Centimeter Level Augmentation Service)".

[0071] In the specification step, the position information of the moving machine 1 described above is used to correct specified contents. The contents of this correction can be set appropriately, and for example, the following method can be adopted. That is, the position of the rail 12 and the distortion of the rail 12 corresponding to the position of the rail 12 are stored in association with each other in advance, and the degree of distortion of the rail 12 can be estimated from the position information of the moving machine 1 specified by the above-mentioned positioning system. This makes it possible to understand the conditions under which the optical sensor 3 is performing measurement, and thus making it possible to correct the measurement data based on these conditions.

[0072] The above-mentioned specification step may be a step of quantitatively specifying the analysis target or a step of qualitatively specify the analysis target. As an example, the above-mentioned specification step quantitatively (preferably numerically) specifies the analysis target. In addition, the analysis target is not limited the meandering of the belt, the deviation of the belt, and the shape of powder described above. In other words, the analysis target may be various items related to the conveyor belt 4, such as the degree of breakage or damage to the belt 41, dirt, foreign matter mixed in the powder, and the like.

[0073] The information (analysis results) specified in this way may be displayed to the user who operates the information processing apparatus 2 (Activity A104). In other words, various information specified in the specification step may be displayed on the display unit 24, etc. of the information processing apparatus 2. Such processing can be realized by the function of the display controller 236.

[0074] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the warning unit 234 may issue a warning depending on the state specified in the specification step. According to such an aspect, the monitoring status of the conveyor belt 4 can be made easier for workers and others to understand. Specifically, such a warning may be issued based on the following processing.

[0075] That is, prior to issuing a warning, a specific result performed in the specification step is matched with a predefined warning condition (Activity A105). In the case where the matching satisfies the warning condition, a warning is presented to the worker (an example of a user) who performs a conveyance operation (Activity A106). In the case where the warning condition is not met, the processing of Activity A106 is skipped. For example, when the degree of meandering of the belt 41 and the degree of a deviation is quantitatively (numerically) specified, a warning may be controlled to be presented to the workers or the like in the case where the specified value exceeds a predetermined threshold. Examples of this warning include displaying a predetermined warning message on a display, generating a warning sound from a predetermined device, turning on a patrol lamp placed in a conspicuous position, and combinations of these, but are not limited to these and may take various aspects related to warnings. In other words, the warnings in the present embodiment are not limited to visual information but may be for other five sense information such as auditory information, tactile information, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0076] Such information processing related to Activities A101 to A106 is continuously performed at each frame rate of the optical sensor 3 or each control rate of the controller 23, thereby executing the monitoring method of monitoring the conveyor belt 4.

[0077] In addition, in the present embodiment, a conveying method of powder based on the results of the monitoring method described above may be provided. In other words, the conveying method of the powder according to the present embodiment is shown below. A conveying method of powder, comprising: a powder control step of controlling an aspect in which the powder is dropped on the conveyor belt based on a result of the monitoring method of the conveyor belt stated above.

[0078] In the conveying method of the powder according to the present embodiment, the powder controller 233 of the information processing apparatus 2 controls the dropping aspect of the powder based on the results of the monitoring method of the conveyor belt. In explanation of a typical example, a device provided with the moving machine 1 or the like is controlled to control the aspect in which the powder is dropped, based on one or more elements of the meandering of the belt 41, a deviation of the belt 41, and the shape of the powder, which are specified by the specification unit 232 of the information processing apparatus 2.

[0079] For example, in the case where the belt 41 has a deviation, the powder controller 233 controls the angle of the plate 15 provided in the moving machine 1, thereby adjusting the position of the dropping powder. In addition, in the case where there is an excessive amount of powder on the belt 41, the powder controller 233 slows down the speed of the moving mechanism 13, thereby optimizing the amount of powder dropped on the conveyor belt 4. In addition, in the case where there is an excessive amount of powder on the belt 41, the powder controller 233 narrows the opening area of the opening 14, thereby optimizing the amount of powder dropped on the conveyor belt 4. Of course, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and various controls may be performed to stabilize the conveyance process and improve efficiency.

[0080] 4. Others Section 4 describes a modified example of the above-mentioned monitoring method of the conveyor belt.

[0081] The embodiment related to the above-mentioned information processing has been described as a configuration of the monitoring system 100 (information processing apparatus 2). However, a program configured to allow at least one computer to execute each step of the monitoring method may be provided. Similarly, a program configured to allow at least one computer to execute each step of the conveying method of powder may be provided.

[0082] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the information processing apparatus 2 performs various analyses and calculations. However, the monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to the present embodiment may be realized by monitoring by human action the measurement data measured by the optical sensor 3 as it is.

[0083] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the information processing apparatus 2 performs various storage and control operations. However, a plurality of external devices may be used in place of the information processing apparatus 2. In other words, the behavior, etc. related to the conveyor belt 4 may be distributed and stored in a plurality of external devices using blockchain technology or the like.

[0084] 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.

[0085] 1 Moving machine 2 Information processing apparatus 3, 3a, 3b Optical sensor 4 Conveyor belt 11 Boom 12 Rail 13 Moving mechanism 14 Opening 15 Plate 20 Communication bus 21 Communication unit 22 Storage unit 23 Controller 24 Display unit 25 Input unit 31 Communication path 41 Belt 42 Roller 100 Monitoring system 231 Acquisition unit 232 Specification unit 233 Powder controller 234 Warning unit 235 Storage management unit 236 Display controller

Claims

1. A monitoring method of a conveyor belt, comprising: a first acquisition step of acquiring measurement data by measuring a belt surface of the conveyor belt from above with an optical sensor, the optical senser being installed in a moving machine configured to be movable along a flow direction of the conveyor belt.

2. The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to claim 1, further comprising: a specification step of specifying any one of a degree of meandering of the belt, a degree of a deviation of the belt, and a shape of powder present on a surface of the conveyor belt based on the measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step.

3. The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to claim 2, wherein: in the first acquisition step, the optical sensor further performs a measurement related to a reference object other than the belt surface, and the specification step specifies any one of the degree of meandering of the belt, the degree of the deviation of the belt, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt by correcting the measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step using a measurement result of the reference object.

4. The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to claim 3, wherein: the first acquisition step acquires a measurement result of the reference object by measuring a dimension or a position of the reference object.

5. The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to claim 4, wherein: the reference object is a roller supporting the belt, and the first acquisition step acquires a measurement result of the reference object by measuring a length of the roller that intersects with a flow direction of the conveyor belt and / or a predetermined position of the roller.

6. The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein: the first acquisition step acquires a measurement result of the reference object at a plurality of points along a flow direction of the conveyor belt and the specification step specifies any one of the degree of meandering of the belt, the degree of the deviation of the belt, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt by correcting measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step using each of measurement results of a plurality of the reference objects.

7. The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to any one of claims 3 to 6, further comprising: a second acquisition step of acquiring position information of the moving machine, wherein the specification step specifies any one of the degree of meandering of the belt, the degree of the deviation of the belt, and the shape of the powder present on the surface of the conveyor belt by further correcting the measurement data acquired in the first acquisition step using the position information of the moving machine.

8. The monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: the optical sensor is a LiDAR sensor.

9. A conveying method of powder, comprising: a powder control step of controlling an aspect in which the powder is dropped on the conveyor belt based on a result of the monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A monitoring system of a conveyor belt, comprising: a moving machine configured to be movable along a flow direction of the conveyor belt; and an optical sensor installed in the moving machine and configured to acquire measurement data by measuring a belt surface of the conveyor belt from above.

11. A program, configured to allow at least one computer to execute each step of the monitoring method of the conveyor belt according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images