Conveyor Sorting Triangulation Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conveyor systems face inefficiencies in material flow and throughput due to the separation of piece goods for individual handling, which decreases efficiency and limits the use of sorting areas for parallel sorting of bulk goods.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method and system where detection devices, such as cameras, continuously record the positions of piece goods on the sorting surface using triangulation to control separately controllable drive elements, allowing for precise movement of goods to their destinations, enabling efficient material flow control and high throughput even in bulk flow conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If piece goods are separated for individual handling, then individual package delivery is enabled, but material flow efficiency and throughput decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The sorting surface is divided into multiple partial surfaces, each assigned to a separately controllable drive element. This segmentation enables independent control of drive elements to handle individual packages while maintaining bulk flow efficiency, resolving the contradiction between individual delivery capability and overall throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically determines the area occupied by each piece good using triangulation and activates only the drive elements corresponding to the partial surfaces occupied by respective piece goods. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to switch between bulk handling and individual package delivery modes, optimizing both efficiency and individual delivery capability.
2Productivity
If separately controllable drive elements are assigned to multiple partial surfaces, then parallel sorting capability increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The detection device and control unit serve multiple functions: they detect piece goods, determine their positions using triangulation, identify occupied areas, and activate appropriate drive elements. This multi-functionality enables parallel sorting with multiple drive elements while avoiding the need for separate specialized systems for each function, thus managing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical switching mechanisms with an electronic control system that uses detection devices and triangulation algorithms to determine piece good positions and activate corresponding drive elements. This substitution simplifies the overall system architecture while enabling parallel sorting operations.
3Manufacturing precision
If triangulation is used to determine piece good positions, then sorting precision increases, but measurement and detection difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces detection devices as intermediaries that capture images of piece goods on the sorting surface. These detection devices facilitate precise position determination through triangulation by providing visual data that the control unit processes to calculate exact locations, thereby enabling high precision while managing detection complexity through standardized sensing components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for the efficient use of sorting areas by enabling the parallel sorting of multiple piece goods as if they were separated, achieving high throughput with a small total area and accommodating various sorting configurations, including 2D bulk and 1D bulk scenarios.
Implementation Method 1
regularly determining an area on the sorting area occupied by a respective piece good based on the data obtained by means of triangulations
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
A device 120 receives data from at least one detection unit 141, 142, which regularly detects unit loads on a sorting area 110 of a conveyor system. Several sub-areas 111 of the sorting area 110 are each assigned a separately controllable drive element. Based on the received data, the device 120 regularly determines an area on the sorting area 110 occupied by a particular unit load using triangulation, as long as the unit load is located on the sorting area 110. Based on a target 113, 114, 115 designated for the respective unit load on the sorting area 110, the device 120 determines control commands for activating the drive elements assigned to a sub-area 111 corresponding to a specific area on the sorting area 110 occupied by a particular unit load. The device 120 then activates the drive elements with the determined control commands.