EP3069099A1 - System for verifying the number of containers present in a stack of containers and related verification method - Google Patents
System for verifying the number of containers present in a stack of containers and related verification methodInfo
- Publication number
- EP3069099A1 EP3069099A1 EP14838798.8A EP14838798A EP3069099A1 EP 3069099 A1 EP3069099 A1 EP 3069099A1 EP 14838798 A EP14838798 A EP 14838798A EP 3069099 A1 EP3069099 A1 EP 3069099A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- containers
- stack
- height
- storage area
- measuring unit
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
- G01B11/00—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques
- G01B11/02—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring length, width or thickness
- G01B11/026—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring length, width or thickness by measuring distance between sensor and object
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
- G01B11/00—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques
- G01B11/02—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring length, width or thickness
- G01B11/06—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring length, width or thickness for measuring thickness ; e.g. of sheet material
- G01B11/0608—Height gauges
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
- G06M—COUNTING MECHANISMS; COUNTING OF OBJECTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06M9/00—Counting of objects in a stack thereof
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
- G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
- G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
- G06Q10/087—Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a system for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers .
- the invention relates to the structure of a system of said type that allows to verify the number of containers present in a stack of containers disposed within a confined space, such as a storage area, with respect to a number of containers present in the same stack of containers, which is stored in a database.
- a storage area can have significant size. As an example you may think of the storage area of freight logistic center. Because of its size, such a storage area is divided into sectors, and each sector is divided into cells, where each cell has the size to accommodate a container, so that a stack of containers is disposed on a respective cell.
- a database which is automatically updated or updated by an operator each time one or more containers is/are positioned or removed on/from a predetermined cell of a sector of said storage area, so that a user can know the number of containers of each stack of containers disposed on a respective cell in each time instant .
- the database is not updated by the operator or is not updated correctly. Therefore, the number of containers of a stack of containers actually present on a cell of said storage area may not match the number of containers of the corresponding stack of containers, stored in the database .
- the present invention also relates to a method for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers .
- Such a system is constituted by a plurality of image acquiring devices installed on a transit station, so as to have a field of view such as to observe the movement of each object in a storage area, and by one or more monitoring and localization devices to monitor and locate objects, in communication with one or more of said image acquiring devices .
- Each monitoring and localization device has a processor for processing images and monitor the movement of objects.
- Said system is based on the principle that a container should never be lost within an area because each displacement of said container within this area is always detected, from the moment said container enters the area itself.
- a drawback is the complexity of the system and the high cost for its implementation, due to the plurality of image acquiring devices .
- the object of the present invention is to overcome said drawbacks, providing a simple and cheap system for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers disposed within a storage area, to perform a verification between the number of containers of a stack of containers stored in a database, and the number of a stack of containers of the corresponding stack of containers detected by the system, so that a possible difference could be notified to an operator.
- each stack of containers comprises at least one container and is disposed on a respective portion of said storage area and the containers of a same stack of containers have a same predetermined height .
- said system comprising:
- At least one measuring unit for measuring a reference height with respect to at least one stack of containers or to at least one portion of said storage area, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion; said at least one measuring unit being arranged at a predetermined height from each portion of said storage area,-
- processing and detecting unit for detecting the number of containers of at least one stack of containers, where said processing and detecting unit is connected to a database in which the number of containers of each stack of containers, disposed on said storage area in a predetermined time instant, is stored, and where said processing and detecting unit is connected to said at least one measuring unit.
- Said processing and detecting unit is configured for:
- said at least one measuring unit can comprise a measuring device for measuring said reference height, and said reference height can be the distance between said measuring unit and a stack of containers or between said measuring unit and a portion of said storage area, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion.
- said processing and detecting unit can be configured for obtaining the height of a stack of containers by the difference between said predetermined height and said distance. More particularly, said height is equal to said predetermined height when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion.
- said at least one measuring unit can comprise an image acquiring device for acquiring one or more images of one or more portions of said storage area and said reference height is the height of a stack of containers.
- Said processing and detecting unit can be configured for processing the images sent from said at least one measuring unit to obtain said height of a stack of containers by means of a image processing technique of visual metrology. Said height is equal to zero, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion.
- said method comprises the following steps :
- said reference height can be a distance between at least one measuring unit and at least one stack of containers or between at least one measuring unit and at least one portion of said storage area, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion.
- said at least one measuring unit comprising a measuring device for measuring said distance and the height of a stack of containers is obtained by the difference between a predetermined height, at which said at least one measuring unit is arranged, and said reference height.
- said reference height can be the height of a stack of containers and said height of a stack of containers can be obtained by means of a image processing technique of visual metrology, applied on one or more images acquired by at least one measuring unit.
- said measuring unit comprising an image acquiring device for acquiring one or more images of at least a portion of said storage area.
- figure 1 schematically shows a storage area, on which the containers are disposed
- figure 2 schematically shows a first embodiment of the system for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers, object of the invention
- figure 3 shows two stacks of containers disposed on a respective cell, as detected by the system of figure 2;
- figure 4 shows two stacks of containers, corresponding to that detected by the system, when the number of containers of each stack of containers is equal to the number stored in a database;
- figure 5 shows a table from which it is possible to derive the number of containers of two stacks of containers as determined by the system, the number of containers of the same corresponding two stacks of containers as stored in the database, as well as their difference;
- figure 6 schematically shows a second embodiment of the system for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers, object of the invention
- figure 7 shows a block diagram of a method for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers.
- a system for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers, disposed on a storage A is disclosed.
- the storage area A on which stacks of containers Pi , P 2 ...P N (of which only two stacks of containers Pi and P 2 are visible in the figure) is divided in four sectors Si , S 2 , S 3 and S 4 and each sector is divided in four cells C lr C 2 , C 3 and C 4 (fig. 1) .
- Each cell Ci , C 2 , C 3 and C 4 has the size of a container. Therefore, each stack of containers is disposed on said storage area A in correspondence of a respective cell.
- Each stack of containers Pi , P 2 ...P N comprises at least a container and each container ha a predetermined height.
- the storage area A can comprise any number of sectors Si , S 2 ...S N , even a single sector, and that each sector Si , S 2 ...S N can comprise any number of cells Ci , C 2 ...C N , even a single cell.
- said system comprises :
- At least one measuring unit 1 comprising a measuring device 11 for measuring a distance Di , D 2 ...D N between said measuring device 11 and the container on top of a respective stack of container Pi , P 2 ...P N , where said measuring unit is positioned at a predetermined height H from each of said cells Ci , C 2 ...C N ; and
- processing and detecting unit 2 connected to said measuring unit 1 and to a database 3 , where said database is associated with said storage area A and where the number of containers of each stack of containers Pi , P 2 ...P N disposed on said storage area A in a predetermined time instant is stored; said processing and detecting unit 2 is configured for detecting the number of containers of any one stack of containers Pi , P 2 ...P N disposed on said storage area A, by comparing the information obtained by said measuring unit 1 with that obtained by said database 3 .
- said processing and detecting unit 2 processes the data sent from said measuring unit 1 and calculates the height HRi , HR 2 ...HR N of a respective stack of containers Pi , P 2 ...P N by the difference between the predetermined height H, at which the measuring unit 1 itself is arranged, and the distance Di , D 2 ...D N between said measuring device 11 and the respective stack of containers Pi , P 2 ...P N .
- the processing and detecting unit 2 divides such height by the predetermined height of a container for obtaining the number of containers of each stack of containers.
- the measuring unit 1 measures the distance between it and said cell. In this case, such a distance is equal to the height H at which said measuring unit 1 is arranged.
- Said processing and detecting unit 2 compares the number of containers of a stack of containers Pi,P 2 ...P N , obtained by the processing of the data sent from the measuring unit 1, with the number of containers of the same stack of containers, stored in the database 3, in order to verify if the number of containers P I , P 2 ...P N disposed on a respective cell Ci,C 2 ...C N is equal to the number of containers associated with the same stack of containers stored in the database 3.
- An height HDi , HD 2 ...HD N obtained by multiplying said number of containers by the predetermined height of a container can be associated with the number of containers stored in the database 3 of each stack of containers Pi , P 2 ...P N .
- the database 3 indicates a number of containers greater than that belonging to the same stack of containers, although said containers are not actually present.
- one or more containers could have been positioned elsewhere in the storage area A, for example both on a different stack of containers,
- the database 3 has not been correctly updated, for example the operator has associated the missing containers with a different stack of containers.
- the database 3 indicates a number of containers lower than that belonging to the same stack of containers, although said containers are actually present.
- the database 3 has not been correctly updated, for example the operator has associated the data concerning the containers in excess (namely added to the stack of containers) with a different stack of containers .
- the system object of the invention verifies the number of containers of a first stack of containers ⁇ and a second stack of containers P 2 , each of them is disposed respectively on a first cell Ci and a second cell C 2 of the first sector Si of the storage area A.
- the system can verify the number of containers of whatever number of stack of containers disposed on said storage area A.
- the processing and detecting unit 2 processes the data sent from said measuring unit 1 to obtain a first height HRi associated with said first stack of containers Pi disposed on said first cell Ci of the first sector Si of said storage area A.
- Said first height HRi is obtained by calculating the difference between the predetermined height H of said measuring unit 1 and the distance HDi measured by said measuring unit 1.
- the processing and detecting unit 2 divides said first height HRi by the predetermined height of a container to obtain the number of containers of said stack of containers Pi.
- said processing and detecting unit 2 compares said number of containers with the number of containers stored in the database 3, associated with the same stack of containers, to verify if it is equal to, lower or greater than said stored number of containers.
- the first of stack of containers Pi disposed on said first cell Ci of said first sector Si, is constituted by a single container and the second stack of containers P 2 , disposed on said second cell C 2 of the same sector Si, is constituted by two containers (figs. 2-3) .
- the number of containers of the first stack of containers Pi and the second stack of containers P 2 is detected by the processing and detecting unit 2, by means of data processing of the data sent to said processing and detecting unit 2 from said measuring unit 1.
- the number of containers belonging to the first stack of containers and stored in the database 3 is equal to three containers and the number of containers belonging to the second stack of containers and stored in the database 3 is equal to one container (fig. 4) .
- the number of containers detected is the number of containers of which each stack of containers is actually constituted.
- the first stack of containers Pi disposed on the first cell Ci has two containers less than the number of containers stored in the database 3 and the second stack of containers P 2 has one container more than the number of containers stored in the database 3.
- the figure 5 shows a table from which it is evident for the first cell Ci and the second cell C 2 of the first sector Si, the number of containers of the respective stack of containers stored in the database 3, the number of containers of the stack of containers disposed respectively on said cells, as well as the difference between said number of containers.
- system can comprise a plurality of measuring unit 1, without departing from the scope of the invention.
- said measuring unit 1 is arranged on an arm B fixed to a supporting element T.
- said measuring unit 1 is positioned on a movable device that moves from a first predetermined position to a second predetermined position and vice versa, so as to move above the stack of containers Pi,P 2 ...P N disposed on said storage area A.
- Said movable device is positioned at a predetermined height with respect to said storage area A, where said predetermined height is greater than the height of each stack of containers PI , P 2 ...PN disposed on said storage area A.
- said movable device can be the arm of a crane.
- said movable device can be an electronic device remote controlled, such as a drone .
- said movable device can be provided with a global positioning system (GPS) to detect the position of said movable device.
- GPS global positioning system
- the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the fact that the measuring device 10, disposed at a predetermined height H' with respect said storage area A, comprises an image acquiring device 100.
- the processing and detecting unit 2 processes the data sent from said measuring unit 10 to determine the height HRi' , HR 2 '...HR N ' of a stack of containers PI , P 2 ...PN disposed on the respective cell Ci,C 2 ...C N of said storage area A.
- the height HRx' , HR 2 ' ...HR N ' of each stack of containers Pi,P 2 ...P N is obtained by an image processing technique of visual metrology (so called Visual Metrology) applied to vertical and horizontal contours of a single container of a stack of containers, where said contours are derived from a segmentation of areas of one or more images, based on a similarity between grey levels and/or between color vectors in the space.
- Visual Metrology image processing technique of visual metrology
- the processing and detecting unit 2 divides the height HRi' , obtained by the visual metrology technique, by the predetermined height of a container to obtain the number of containers of said stack of containers Pi of interest .
- the processing and detecting unit 2 compares the number of containers of said stack of containers Pi of interest with the number of containers of the same stack of containers, stored in the database 3. As previously said, if the number of containers of a stack .of containers P ! ,P 2 ...P N , obtained by visual metrology, is lower or greater than the number of containers, stored in the database 3 and associated to the same stack of containers, it means that the stack of containers disposed on the respective cell of the storage area A has one or more containers respectively less or more than the number of containers stored in the database 3 and associated with the same stack of containers.
- the first stack of containers P x disposed on the first cell Ci of the first sector Si is constituted of a single container
- the second stack of containers P 2 disposed on the second cell C 2 of the same sector S 2 is constituted of two containers .
- the number of containers belonging to the first stack of containers and stored in the database 3 is equal to three containers and the number of containers belonging to the second stack of containers and stored in the database 3 is equal to one container .
- the first stack of containers Pi disposed on the first cell Ci has two containers less than the number of containers stored in the database 3 and the second stack of containers P 2 has one container more than the number of containers stored in the database 3.
- the result of the difference between the number of containers of each of said stacks of containers Pi , P 2 (i.e. the number of containers of which each stack of containers is actually constituted) and the respective number of containers stored in the database 3 is the same as that shown in figure 5.
- FIG. 7 a block diagram of the method for verifying the number of containers present in a stack of containers Pi , P 2 ...P N in a storage area A is shown.
- the method comprises the following steps :
- the reference height coincides with the distance Di , D 2 ...D N , measured from the measuring .unit, between said measuring unit and the respective stack of containers or between said measuring unit 1 and the respective cell Ci , C 2 ...C N of the sector Si of said storage area A, when no container is disposed on it.
- the height HRi , HR 2 ...HR N of a stack of containers is obtained by the difference between said predetermined height H, at which the measuring unit 1 is arranged, and the distance Di , D 2 ...D N between the measuring unit and the respective stack of containers Pi , P 2 ...P N or between the measuring unit and the respective cell Ci , C 2 ...C N , when no container is disposed on it .
- said reference height coincides with the height HRi ' , HR 2 ' ...HR N ' of a respective stack of containers Pi , P 2 ...P N , that is obtained by an image processing technique of visual metrology applied on one or more images acquired by the measuring unit 10 comprising an image acquiring device 100 .
- the system object of the invention allows to verify the match between the number of containers of the stack of containers disposed on a storage area and the number of containers associated with the same stack of containers, stored in a database 3 .
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a system for verifying the number of containers of at least one stack of containers (Pi,P2...PN) in a storage area (A), where each stack of containers comprises at least one container and is disposed on a respective portion (Ci,C2...CN) of said storage area (A), the containers of the same stack of containers (Pi,P2...PN) having a same predetermined height. Said system comprises: • - at least one measuring unit (1, 10) for measuring a reference height (D1, D 2... D N;HR 1', HR 2'...HR N') with respect to at least one stack of containers (P 1, P 2... P N) or to at least one portion (C1, C 2 - CN) of said storage area (A), when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion (C1, C 2 - CN); said at least one measuring unit (1, 10) being arranged at a predetermined height (H, H') from each portion (C1, C 2 - CN)of said storage area (A); • - a processing and detecting unit (2) for detecting the number of containers of at least one stack of containers (P 1, P 2 · · · P N) where said processing and detecting unit (2) is connected to a database (3) in which the number of containers of each stack of containers (P 1, P 2... P N) - disposed on said storage area (A) in a predetermined time instant, is stored., and said processing and detecting unit (2) is connected to said at least one measuring unit (1, 10). Said processing and detecting unit (2) is configured for: • - processing the data sent from said at least one measuring unit (1, 10) to obtain a height (HR 1, HR 2...HR N; HR 1', HR 2'...HR N' ) of said at least one stack of containers (P 1, P 2... P N)<starting from said reference height (D1, D 2.... D N;HR 1',HR 2'...HR N' ); • - obtaining the number of containers of said at least one stack of containers (P 1, P 2... P N) dividing said height (HR 1, HR2... HR N; HR 1',HR 2'...HR N' by the predetermined height of a container, • - comparing the obtained number of containers of said at least one stack of containers (Pi,P2...PN) with the number of containers of the same stack of containers stored in the database (3), to verify if said obtained number is equal to, greater or lower than the latter. The present invention also relates to a method for verifying the number of containers present in a stack of containers.
Description
SYSTEM FOR VERIFYING THE NUMBER OF CONTAINERS PRESENT IN A STACK OF CONTAINERS AND RELATED VERIFICATION
METHOD The present invention relates to a system for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers .
More specifically, the invention relates to the structure of a system of said type that allows to verify the number of containers present in a stack of containers disposed within a confined space, such as a storage area, with respect to a number of containers present in the same stack of containers, which is stored in a database.
A storage area can have significant size. As an example you may think of the storage area of freight logistic center. Because of its size, such a storage area is divided into sectors, and each sector is divided into cells, where each cell has the size to accommodate a container, so that a stack of containers is disposed on a respective cell.
In order to take into account of the containers that are moved within such an area, i.e. positioned on a stack of containers already present in said storage area or removed from a stack of containers or positioned in a predetermined cell to form a stack of containers on said predetermined cell, there is provided a database which is automatically updated or updated by an operator each time one or more containers is/are positioned or removed on/from a predetermined cell of a sector of said storage area, so that a user can know the number of containers of each stack of containers disposed on a respective cell in each time
instant .
However, it is possible that the database is not updated by the operator or is not updated correctly. Therefore, the number of containers of a stack of containers actually present on a cell of said storage area may not match the number of containers of the corresponding stack of containers, stored in the database .
The present invention also relates to a method for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers .
Currently, a system to monitor and locate of a container is described in patent application US2005/0027435.
Such a system is constituted by a plurality of image acquiring devices installed on a transit station, so as to have a field of view such as to observe the movement of each object in a storage area, and by one or more monitoring and localization devices to monitor and locate objects, in communication with one or more of said image acquiring devices . Each monitoring and localization device has a processor for processing images and monitor the movement of objects.
Said system is based on the principle that a container should never be lost within an area because each displacement of said container within this area is always detected, from the moment said container enters the area itself.
However, said system has some drawbacks.
A drawback is the complexity of the system and the high cost for its implementation, due to the plurality of image acquiring devices .
Again a drawback is that it is necessary that said
system knows the current status of the containers within an. freight logistic center, i.e. it knows which containers are present in the freight logistic center and which position each of them occupies.
Another drawback is that said system, in case of failure or shutdown, must be configured again before it can be used.
The object of the present invention is to overcome said drawbacks, providing a simple and cheap system for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers disposed within a storage area, to perform a verification between the number of containers of a stack of containers stored in a database, and the number of a stack of containers of the corresponding stack of containers detected by the system, so that a possible difference could be notified to an operator.
It is therefore specific object of the present invention a system for verifying the number of containers of at least one stack of containers in a storage area, where each stack of containers comprises at least one container and is disposed on a respective portion of said storage area and the containers of a same stack of containers have a same predetermined height .
In particular, said system comprising:
- at least one measuring unit for measuring a reference height with respect to at least one stack of containers or to at least one portion of said storage area, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion; said at least one measuring unit being arranged at a predetermined height from each portion of said storage area,-
- a processing and detecting unit for detecting the
number of containers of at least one stack of containers, where said processing and detecting unit is connected to a database in which the number of containers of each stack of containers, disposed on said storage area in a predetermined time instant, is stored, and where said processing and detecting unit is connected to said at least one measuring unit.
Said processing and detecting unit is configured for:
- processing the data sent from said at least one measuring unit to obtain a height of said at least one stack of containers, starting from said reference height;
- obtaining the number of containers of said at least one stack of containers, dividing said height by the predetermined height of a container,
- comparing the obtained number of containers of said at least one stack of containers with the number of containers of the same stack of containers stored in the database, to verify if said obtained number is equal to, greater or lower than the latter.
In a first embodiment, said at least one measuring unit can comprise a measuring device for measuring said reference height, and said reference height can be the distance between said measuring unit and a stack of containers or between said measuring unit and a portion of said storage area, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion.
In particular, said processing and detecting unit can be configured for obtaining the height of a stack of containers by the difference between said predetermined height and said distance. More
particularly, said height is equal to said predetermined height when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion.
In a second embodiment, said at least one measuring unit can comprise an image acquiring device for acquiring one or more images of one or more portions of said storage area and said reference height is the height of a stack of containers.
Said processing and detecting unit can be configured for processing the images sent from said at least one measuring unit to obtain said height of a stack of containers by means of a image processing technique of visual metrology. Said height is equal to zero, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion.
Furthermore, it is specific object of the present invention a method for verifying the number of containers of at least one stack of containers in a storage area, where each stack of containers is disposed on a respective portion of said storage area and the containers of a same stack of containers have a same predetermined height.
In particular, said method comprises the following steps :
A) measuring a reference height with respect to at least one stack of containers or with respect to at least one portion of said storage area, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion;
B) calculating the height of at least one stack of containers, starting from said reference height;
C) obtaining the number of containers of said at least one stack of containers, dividing said height by the predetermined height of a container;
D) comparing the obtained number of containers of said .at least one stack of containers with the number of containers of the same stack of containers stored in a database to verify if said obtained number is equal to, greater or lower than the latter.
In a first embodiment, said reference height can be a distance between at least one measuring unit and at least one stack of containers or between at least one measuring unit and at least one portion of said storage area, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion. In particular, said at least one measuring unit comprising a measuring device for measuring said distance and the height of a stack of containers is obtained by the difference between a predetermined height, at which said at least one measuring unit is arranged, and said reference height.
In a second embodiment, said reference height can be the height of a stack of containers and said height of a stack of containers can be obtained by means of a image processing technique of visual metrology, applied on one or more images acquired by at least one measuring unit. In particular, said measuring unit comprising an image acquiring device for acquiring one or more images of at least a portion of said storage area.
The present invention will be now described, for illustrative, but not limitative purposes, according to its embodiments, making particular reference to the enclosed figures, wherein:
figure 1 schematically shows a storage area, on which the containers are disposed;
figure 2 schematically shows a first embodiment of the system for verifying the number of containers of a
stack of containers, object of the invention;
figure 3 shows two stacks of containers disposed on a respective cell, as detected by the system of figure 2;
figure 4 shows two stacks of containers, corresponding to that detected by the system, when the number of containers of each stack of containers is equal to the number stored in a database;
figure 5 shows a table from which it is possible to derive the number of containers of two stacks of containers as determined by the system, the number of containers of the same corresponding two stacks of containers as stored in the database, as well as their difference;
figure 6 schematically shows a second embodiment of the system for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers, object of the invention;
figure 7 shows a block diagram of a method for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers.
With reference to the figures 1-5, a system for verifying the number of containers of a stack of containers, disposed on a storage A, is disclosed.
The storage area A on which stacks of containers Pi , P2...PN (of which only two stacks of containers Pi and P2 are visible in the figure) is divided in four sectors Si , S2 , S3 and S4 and each sector is divided in four cells Clr C2 , C3 and C4 (fig. 1) . Each cell Ci , C2 , C3 and C4 has the size of a container. Therefore, each stack of containers is disposed on said storage area A in correspondence of a respective cell. Each stack of containers Pi , P2...PN comprises at least a container and each container ha a predetermined height.
However, although not shown in the figures, it is evident that the storage area A can comprise any number of sectors Si , S2...SN , even a single sector, and that each sector Si , S2...SN can comprise any number of cells Ci , C2...CN , even a single cell.
With reference to the figure 2 , said system comprises :
at least one measuring unit 1 comprising a measuring device 11 for measuring a distance Di , D2...DN between said measuring device 11 and the container on top of a respective stack of container Pi , P2...PN, where said measuring unit is positioned at a predetermined height H from each of said cells Ci , C2...CN ; and
- a processing and detecting unit 2 , connected to said measuring unit 1 and to a database 3 , where said database is associated with said storage area A and where the number of containers of each stack of containers Pi , P2...PN disposed on said storage area A in a predetermined time instant is stored; said processing and detecting unit 2 is configured for detecting the number of containers of any one stack of containers Pi , P2...PN disposed on said storage area A, by comparing the information obtained by said measuring unit 1 with that obtained by said database 3 .
In particular, said processing and detecting unit 2 processes the data sent from said measuring unit 1 and calculates the height HRi , HR2...HRN of a respective stack of containers Pi , P2...PN by the difference between the predetermined height H, at which the measuring unit 1 itself is arranged, and the distance Di , D2...DN between said measuring device 11 and the respective stack of containers Pi , P2...PN . Calculated the height HRi , HR2...HRN of a respective stack of containers Pi , P2...PN , the
processing and detecting unit 2 divides such height by the predetermined height of a container for obtaining the number of containers of each stack of containers Although not shown in the figures, if no stack of containers is disposed on a cell, the measuring unit 1 measures the distance between it and said cell. In this case, such a distance is equal to the height H at which said measuring unit 1 is arranged.
Said processing and detecting unit 2 compares the number of containers of a stack of containers Pi,P2...PN, obtained by the processing of the data sent from the measuring unit 1, with the number of containers of the same stack of containers, stored in the database 3, in order to verify if the number of containers PI , P2...PN disposed on a respective cell Ci,C2...CN is equal to the number of containers associated with the same stack of containers stored in the database 3.
An height HDi , HD2...HDN obtained by multiplying said number of containers by the predetermined height of a container can be associated with the number of containers stored in the database 3 of each stack of containers Pi , P2...PN .
With reference to the containers of a stack of containers Pi of interest between said stacks of containers Pi,P2...PN, if the result of the difference between the number of containers of said stack of containers Pi of interest, obtained by processing the data sent from the measuring unit 1, and the number of containers of the same stack of containers, stored in the database 3, is different from zero, means that the number of containers of said stack of containers Pi of interest is different from the number of containers,
associated with the same stack of containers, stored in the databa.se 3.
This means that the stack of containers resulting from the number of containers stored in the database 3 has an height HDi different from the height HRi of the stack of containers Pi of interest.
In particular, if the number of containers of the stack of containers Pi of interest is lower than the number of containers stored in the database 3 associated to the same stack of containers, it means that one or more containers are not present in the stack of containers of interest disposed on the storage area A, although the number of containers stored in database is greater. Hence, the database 3 indicates a number of containers greater than that belonging to the same stack of containers, although said containers are not actually present.
This means that one of the following situations could have occurred:
- one or more containers could have been lost,
- one or more containers could have been positioned elsewhere in the storage area A, for example both on a different stack of containers,
- the database 3 is not updated,
- the database 3 has not been correctly updated, for example the operator has associated the missing containers with a different stack of containers.
On the contrary, if the number of containers of a stack of a containers Pi of interest is greater than the number of containers stored in the database 3 associated with the same stack of containers, it means that one or more containers are present in the stack of containers Pi of interest disposed on the storage area
A, although the number of containers stored in the database .is lower. Hence, the database 3 indicates a number of containers lower than that belonging to the same stack of containers, although said containers are actually present.
This means that one of the following situations could have occurred:
the database 3 has not been updated;
- the database 3 has not been correctly updated, for example the operator has associated the data concerning the containers in excess (namely added to the stack of containers) with a different stack of containers .
In the embodiment being described, the system object of the invention verifies the number of containers of a first stack of containers Ρχ and a second stack of containers P2, each of them is disposed respectively on a first cell Ci and a second cell C2 of the first sector Si of the storage area A.
However, although not shown in the figures, the system can verify the number of containers of whatever number of stack of containers disposed on said storage area A.
With reference to the first stack of containers Pi, the processing and detecting unit 2 processes the data sent from said measuring unit 1 to obtain a first height HRi associated with said first stack of containers Pi disposed on said first cell Ci of the first sector Si of said storage area A. Said first height HRi is obtained by calculating the difference between the predetermined height H of said measuring unit 1 and the distance HDi measured by said measuring unit 1.
The processing and detecting unit 2 divides said first height HRi by the predetermined height of a container to obtain the number of containers of said stack of containers Pi.
Furthermore, said processing and detecting unit 2 compares said number of containers with the number of containers stored in the database 3, associated with the same stack of containers, to verify if it is equal to, lower or greater than said stored number of containers.
In the embodiment being described, the first of stack of containers Pi, disposed on said first cell Ci of said first sector Si, is constituted by a single container and the second stack of containers P2, disposed on said second cell C2 of the same sector Si, is constituted by two containers (figs. 2-3) . The number of containers of the first stack of containers Pi and the second stack of containers P2 is detected by the processing and detecting unit 2, by means of data processing of the data sent to said processing and detecting unit 2 from said measuring unit 1.
Unlike to the number of containers detected for the first stack of containers Pi and the number of containers of the second stack of containers P2, the number of containers belonging to the first stack of containers and stored in the database 3 is equal to three containers and the number of containers belonging to the second stack of containers and stored in the database 3 is equal to one container (fig. 4) . The number of containers detected is the number of containers of which each stack of containers is actually constituted.
Consequently, the first stack of containers Pi
disposed on the first cell Ci has two containers less than the number of containers stored in the database 3 and the second stack of containers P2 has one container more than the number of containers stored in the database 3.
The figure 5 shows a table from which it is evident for the first cell Ci and the second cell C2 of the first sector Si, the number of containers of the respective stack of containers stored in the database 3, the number of containers of the stack of containers disposed respectively on said cells, as well as the difference between said number of containers.
Although not shown in the figures, the system can comprise a plurality of measuring unit 1, without departing from the scope of the invention.
In the embodiment being described, said measuring unit 1 is arranged on an arm B fixed to a supporting element T.
In a variant (not shown in the figures) , it is possible to provide that said measuring unit 1 is positioned on a movable device that moves from a first predetermined position to a second predetermined position and vice versa, so as to move above the stack of containers Pi,P2...PN disposed on said storage area A.
Said movable device is positioned at a predetermined height with respect to said storage area A, where said predetermined height is greater than the height of each stack of containers PI , P2...PN disposed on said storage area A.
In a first alternative, said movable device can be the arm of a crane.
In a second alternative, said movable device can be an electronic device remote controlled, such as a
drone .
Furthermore, said movable device can be provided with a global positioning system (GPS) to detect the position of said movable device.
The second embodiment, shown in figure 6, differs from the first embodiment in the fact that the measuring device 10, disposed at a predetermined height H' with respect said storage area A, comprises an image acquiring device 100.
In said second embodiment the processing and detecting unit 2 processes the data sent from said measuring unit 10 to determine the height HRi' , HR2'...HRN' of a stack of containers PI , P2...PN disposed on the respective cell Ci,C2...CN of said storage area A.
The height HRx' , HR2 ' ...HRN' of each stack of containers Pi,P2...PN is obtained by an image processing technique of visual metrology (so called Visual Metrology) applied to vertical and horizontal contours of a single container of a stack of containers, where said contours are derived from a segmentation of areas of one or more images, based on a similarity between grey levels and/or between color vectors in the space.
With reference to a stack of containers Pi of interest between said stack of containers Pi,P2...PN, the processing and detecting unit 2 divides the height HRi' , obtained by the visual metrology technique, by the predetermined height of a container to obtain the number of containers of said stack of containers Pi of interest .
The processing and detecting unit 2 compares the number of containers of said stack of containers Pi of interest with the number of containers of the same stack of containers, stored in the database 3.
As previously said, if the number of containers of a stack .of containers P!,P2...PN, obtained by visual metrology, is lower or greater than the number of containers, stored in the database 3 and associated to the same stack of containers, it means that the stack of containers disposed on the respective cell of the storage area A has one or more containers respectively less or more than the number of containers stored in the database 3 and associated with the same stack of containers.
From the comparison between the detected number of containers and the number of containers stored in the database 3 it is possible to establish the number of containers of the stack of containers Pi of interest in excess or defect.
Similarly to the first embodiment, the first stack of containers Px disposed on the first cell Ci of the first sector Si is constituted of a single container, and the second stack of containers P2 disposed on the second cell C2 of the same sector S2 is constituted of two containers .
Similarly to the figure 4, the number of containers belonging to the first stack of containers and stored in the database 3 is equal to three containers and the number of containers belonging to the second stack of containers and stored in the database 3 is equal to one container .
Consequently, the first stack of containers Pi disposed on the first cell Ci has two containers less than the number of containers stored in the database 3 and the second stack of containers P2 has one container more than the number of containers stored in the database 3.
The result of the difference between the number of containers of each of said stacks of containers Pi , P2 (i.e. the number of containers of which each stack of containers is actually constituted) and the respective number of containers stored in the database 3 is the same as that shown in figure 5.
With reference to the figure 7, a block diagram of the method for verifying the number of containers present in a stack of containers Pi , P2...PN in a storage area A is shown.
Irrespective whether said at least one measuring unit can comprise a measuring device or a image acquiring device, the method comprises the following steps :
A) measuring a reference height with respect to at least one stack of containers PI,P2...PN or with respect to at least one portion Ci , C2...CN of said storage area A, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion Ci , C2...CN;
B) calculating the height of said at least one stack of containers Pi , P2...PN, starting from said reference height ;
C) obtaining the number of containers of said at least one stack of containers Pi , P2...PN, dividing said height by the predetermined height of a container;
D) comparing the number of containers of said at least one stack of containers Pi , P2...PN obtained at the strep C) with the number of containers of the same stack of containers stored in a database 3 to verify if said obtained number is equal to, greater or lower than the latter.
In particular, with reference to the first embodiment above disclosed, the reference height
coincides with the distance Di , D2...DN , measured from the measuring .unit, between said measuring unit and the respective stack of containers or between said measuring unit 1 and the respective cell Ci , C2...CN of the sector Si of said storage area A, when no container is disposed on it.
Furthermore, the height HRi , HR2...HRN of a stack of containers is obtained by the difference between said predetermined height H, at which the measuring unit 1 is arranged, and the distance Di , D2...DN between the measuring unit and the respective stack of containers Pi , P2...PN or between the measuring unit and the respective cell Ci , C2...CN, when no container is disposed on it .
With reference to the second embodiment above disclosed, said reference height coincides with the height HRi' , HR2 ' ...HRN' of a respective stack of containers Pi , P2...PN , that is obtained by an image processing technique of visual metrology applied on one or more images acquired by the measuring unit 10 comprising an image acquiring device 100 .
Advantageously, the system object of the invention allows to verify the match between the number of containers of the stack of containers disposed on a storage area and the number of containers associated with the same stack of containers, stored in a database 3 .
The present invention has been described for illustrative, but not limitative purposes with reference to its preferred embodiments, but it well evident that one skilled in the art can introduce variants and/or modifications to the same without departing from the relevant scope as defined in the
enclosed claims.
Claims
1. System for verifying the number of containers of at least one stack of containers ( Pi , P2...PN) in a storage area (A) , each stack of containers comprising at least one container and being disposed on a respective portion ( Ci,C2...CN) of said storage area (A) , the containers of the same stack of containers (PI,P2...PN) having a same predetermined height, said system comprising:
- at least one measuring unit (1, 10) for measuring a reference height (Di , D2...DN ; HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN' ) with respect to at least one stack of containers ( Pi , P2...PN) or to at least one portion ( Ci,C2...CN) of said storage area (A) , when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion ( Ci , C2...CN) ; said at least one measuring unit (1, 10) being arranged at a predetermined height (H, H' ) from each portion ( Ci,C2...CN) of said storage area (A) ;
- a processing and detecting unit (2) for detecting the number of containers of at least one stack of containers ( Pi , P2...PN) , where said processing and detecting unit (2) is connected to a database (3) in which the number of containers of each stack of containers ( Pi , P2...PN) , disposed on said storage area (A) in a predetermined time instant, is stored; said processing and detecting unit (2) is connected to said at least one measuring unit (1, 10) ; said processing and detecting unit (2) being configured for:
- processing the data sent from said at least one measuring unit (1, 10) to obtain a height ( HRi , HR2...HRN ; HRX ' , HR2 '„.HRN' ) of said at least one stack of containers ( Pi , P2...PN) , starting from said reference height (Di # D2...DN ; HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN ' ) ;
- obtaining the number of containers of said at
least one stack of containers (Pi, P2...PN) , dividing said height (HRi, HR2...HRN; HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN' ) by the predetermined height of a container,
- comparing the obtained number of containers of said at least one stack of containers (PI,P2...PN) with the number of containers of the same stack of containers stored in the database (3) , to verify if said obtained number is equal to, greater or lower than the latter.
2. System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said at least one measuring unit (1) comprises a measuring device (11) for measuring said reference height (Di,D2...DN; HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN' ) and in that said reference height (Di,D2...DN; HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN' ) is the distance (Di,D2...DN) between said measuring unit (1) and a stack of containers (Ρι,Ρ2...ΡΝ) or between said measuring unit (1) and a portion (Ci,C2...CN) of said storage area (A) , when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion (Ci,C2...CN) .
3. System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said processing and detecting unit (2) is configured for obtaining the height (HRi, HR2...HRN) of a stack of containers (Pi,P2...PN) by the difference between said predetermined height (H) and said distance (Di, D2...DN) ; said height (HRi, HR2...HRN) being equal to said predetermined height (H) when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion (Ci,C2...CN) .
4. System according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one measuring unit (10) comprises an image acquiring device (100) for acquiring one or more images of one or more portions (Ci,C2...CN) of said storage area (A) and in that said reference height (Di,D2...DN; HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN' ) is the height ( HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN ' )
of a stack of containers (Pi, P2...PN) .
5. .System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said processing and detecting unit (2) is configured for processing the images sent from said at least one measuring unit (10) to obtain said height (HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN' ) of a stack of containers ( PI , P2...PN) by means of a image processing technique of visual metrology; said height (HRi' , HR2 ' ...HRN' ) being equal to zero, when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion (Ci,C2...CN) .
6. Method for verifying the number of containers of at least one stack of containers (Pi, P2...PN) in a storage area (A) , each stack of containers being disposed on a respective portion (Ci,C2...CN) of said storage area (A) , the containers of the same stack of containers (Pi,P2...PN) having the same predetermined height, said method comprising the following steps:
A) measuring a reference height (Di,D2...DN; HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN' ) with respect to at least one stack of containers (Pi,P2...PN) or with respect to at least one portion (Ci,C2...CN) of said storage area (A), when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion ( Ci , C2...CN ) ;
B) calculating the height (HRi, HR2...HRN; HRi ' , HR2 '„.HRN' ) of at least one stack of containers (Ρχ, P2...PN) , starting from said reference height;
C) obtaining the number of containers of said at least one stack of containers (Pi, P2...PN) , dividing said height (HRX , HR2...HRN; HRi' ,HR2 ' ...HRN' ) by the predetermined height of a container;
D) comparing the obtained number of containers of said at least one stack of containers (Pi,P2...PN) with the number of containers of the same stack of
containers stored in a database (3) to verify if said obtained number is equal to, greater or lower than the latter.
7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that said reference height is a distance ( Di , D2...DN) between at least one measuring unit (1) and at least one stack of containers (PI,P2...PN) or between at least one measuring unit (1) and at least one portion
( Ci , C2...CN) of said storage area (A), when no stack of containers is disposed on said portion; said at least one measuring unit (1) comprising a measuring device
(10) for measuring said distance ( Di , D2...DN) ; and in that the height ( HRi , HR2...HRN) of a stack of containers
( Pi , P2...PN) is obtained by the difference between a predetermined height (H) , at which said at least one measuring unit (1, 10) is arranged, and said reference height .
8. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that said reference height is the height ( HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN' ) of a stack of containers ( Pi , P2...PN) and in that said height ( HRi ' , HR2 ' ...HRN ' ) of a stack of containers ( Pi , P2...PN) is obtained by a image processing technique of visual metrology, applied on one or more images acquired by at least one measuring unit (10) ; said measuring unit (10) comprising an image acquiring device (100) for acquiring one or more images of at least a portion ( Ci , C2...CN) of said storage area (A).
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| IT000628A ITRM20130628A1 (en) | 2013-11-14 | 2013-11-14 | SYSTEM TO VERIFY THE NUMBER OF CONTAINERS PRESENT IN A STACK OF CONTAINERS AND RELATIVE TEST METHOD. |
| PCT/IT2014/000303 WO2015071921A1 (en) | 2013-11-14 | 2014-11-13 | System for verifying the number of containers present in a stack of containers and related verification method |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| EP3069099A1 true EP3069099A1 (en) | 2016-09-21 |
Family
ID=49683986
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EP14838798.8A Withdrawn EP3069099A1 (en) | 2013-11-14 | 2014-11-13 | System for verifying the number of containers present in a stack of containers and related verification method |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP3069099A1 (en) |
| IT (1) | ITRM20130628A1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2015071921A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN113610465B (en) * | 2021-08-03 | 2023-12-19 | 宁波极望信息科技有限公司 | A production and manufacturing operation management system based on Internet of Things technology |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0962885A1 (en) * | 1998-06-03 | 1999-12-08 | Opsigal-Control Systems Ltd. | A system and method for counting the number of boards within a stack |
| NL1018355C1 (en) * | 2001-06-21 | 2003-01-07 | Function Control Res B V | System for counting number of identical items in a stack, e.g. cartons or other packages in production and distribution system, analyses differences in amplitude of light reflected from stacks |
| US8630443B2 (en) * | 2009-09-01 | 2014-01-14 | Han-Shue Tan | Automatic error detection for inventory tracking and management systems used at a shipping container yard |
-
2013
- 2013-11-14 IT IT000628A patent/ITRM20130628A1/en unknown
-
2014
- 2014-11-13 WO PCT/IT2014/000303 patent/WO2015071921A1/en not_active Ceased
- 2014-11-13 EP EP14838798.8A patent/EP3069099A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Non-Patent Citations (2)
| Title |
|---|
| None * |
| See also references of WO2015071921A1 * |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| WO2015071921A1 (en) | 2015-05-21 |
| ITRM20130628A1 (en) | 2015-05-15 |
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