Camera-Guided Conveyor Feeding for Stable Article Throughput
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing supply apparatuses face instability in throughput due to variations in article sizes and input quantities, leading to inconsistent article delivery rates.
Innovation Solution
The supply apparatus employs a combination of conveyors with varying inclinations and transfer units, along with a camera and processor to calculate area ratios, allowing for precise spacing and timing of article delivery based on detected dimensions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional conveyors are used to supply articles, then articles can be transferred, but throughput becomes unstable due to variations in article sizes and input quantities
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system employs variable speed control where the conveyor speed is dynamically adjusted based on the detected article width. The control unit modifies the conveyor rotation speed in real-time to maintain consistent spacing between articles of different sizes, ensuring stable throughput while accommodating size variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates a sensor that detects article width and feeds this information back to the control unit. The control unit processes this feedback and adjusts the conveyor speed accordingly, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains stable throughput despite variations in article dimensions and input quantity.
2Manufacturing precision
If articles are spaced apart using conventional methods, then overlapping articles are separated, but maintaining predetermined throughput becomes difficult due to size variations
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the operational parameter of conveyor speed based on the detected article width. By adjusting the speed parameter dynamically, the system achieves precise spacing between articles while maintaining the required throughput, resolving the contradiction between spacing precision and productivity.
3Productivity
If conveyor speed is increased to maintain throughput, then supply rate improves, but spacing between articles becomes inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than using a fixed high speed, the conveyor operates at dynamically adjusted speeds. The speed is optimized for each article based on its detected width, allowing the system to maintain both high throughput and consistent spacing through real-time adaptation.
Data Source
AI summary
A supply apparatus according to an embodiment includes an input conveyor, a receiving conveyor, a camera, and a processor. The input conveyor is configured to input an article. The receiving conveyor is configured to receive the article that the input conveyor inputs. The camera is configured to photograph the article placed on the receiving conveyor. The processor is configured to extract an article region where the article appears, from a photography image that the camera photographs, calculate an area ratio that the article region indicates in the photography image, based on the article region, stop the input conveyor, based on the area ratio and set a stop time for stopping the input conveyor, based on the area ratio.