JP2577530Y2 - Control device for goods sorting equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention detects a sorting truck in an article sorting apparatus, obtains a synchronizing signal for controlling the sorting truck based on the detected signal, and controls a moving state such as the speed of the sorting truck. The present invention relates to a control device for a sorting device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an article sorting apparatus, a loading device sequentially loads a plurality of connected trays of a plurality of sorting trucks from a loading device, moves to a sorting destination, and sorts a tray with a sorting chute as a predetermined sorting destination. In order to incline the tray at the opposing position and send out the luggage, it is extremely important to accurately grasp the position of each sorter truck and keep the moving speed constant. Therefore, usually, the speed of the sorting truck is detected, compared with a set value, and feedback control is performed so that the difference becomes as small as possible.

[0003] As means for detecting the moving speed, a rotation speed detection sensor is provided on a rotating shaft in a drive mechanism of the sorting truck, and the angle of the rotating shaft is detected. Based on this, a synchronization signal corresponding to the position of the sorting truck is provided. And the moving speed of the sorting cart is obtained, and the tray control and speed control of the sorting cart are performed based on the synchronization signal. However, when the drive system for the sorting truck becomes a linear motor drive system as in recent years,
Since there is no rotary drive part, a synchronization signal corresponding to the moving position of the mobile trolley cannot be obtained based on the detection of the angle of the rotating shaft. As a countermeasure, a sorting truck is detected by using a photoelectric switch, a pulse interpolation is performed by combining the pulse-like detection signal and the reference pulse, and the obtained interpolation pulses are counted. A signal has been obtained (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-81602).

[0004]

However, in such a conventional system, when the moving speed of the sorting vehicle changes, the pseudo-synchronous signal itself contains an error and the configuration becomes complicated. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a control device of an article sorting apparatus capable of accurately detecting a moving state of a sorting truck.

[0005]

Controller of the article sorting apparatus according to the present invention According to an aspect of the movement of a plurality of sorting carriages optical sensor to detect the each of the plurality of sorting carriages husband linked article sorter
Optical sensor array arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction
And a sorting cart for each optical sensor of the first optical sensor row.
A plurality of objects that are displaced by a predetermined distance in the movement direction
A second optical sensor array composed of optical sensors ;
A detecting means that detect the position and <br/> moving speed of the sorting truck based on the second detection signal of the optical sensor array, a signal generating means for generating a synchronization signal corresponding to the position of each sorting carriage, the synchronous Control means for controlling the sorting truck based on the signal.

[0006]

According to the present invention, first and second optical sensors are provided.
By arranging the rows with their positions shifted and detecting the sorting trucks of the same object, the position and moving speed of the sorting trucks can be adjusted.
And generate a synchronization signal corresponding to the position.
The sorting truck is controlled by controlling the sorting truck based on the synchronization signal.
Accurate control of the entire vehicle is possible .

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an arrangement relationship between a secondary conductor plate of a linear motor and an optical sensor which are integrally assembled with a sorting cart in the control device of the article sorting apparatus according to the present invention. secondary conductor plates in the linear _{motor, a 1 ~A 7, B 1} ~B 7 shows each row a, the photosensors B column. A plurality of the secondary conductor plates 1 are connected at a predetermined interval L, and a sorting tray (not shown) is mounted on each of the secondary conductor plates 1 to form a sorting cart. When the sorting tray is tilted and the articles are sent out to the chutes, the sorting tray is tilted when the trolleys reach a position facing a predetermined chute for each of the sorting carts.

The optical sensors A _{1 to} A ₇ and the optical sensors B ₁ to
B ₇ are arranged in a row at regular intervals d along the moving direction of the secondary conductor plate 1 both facing the transfer zone of the secondary conductor plates 1 and Neighboring photosensor A ₁ and B ₁ is arranged to be located alternately with respect to the direction of movement of both 1 / 4d only shifted by the secondary conductor plate 1 between the between-light sensor a ₇ and B ₇ with. Light sensor A ₁ ~A _7, B
Configuration ₁ .about.B ₇ of a high level while facing both a secondary conductor plate 1, also while facing the gap between the secondary conductor plates 1,1 to output a low level signal by which, the optical sensor a ₁ is alone, also the optical sensors a ₂ to a _7, the output end of the optical sensor B ₁ .about.B ₇ is connected to the respective parallel light receiver HS _1, HS ₂ shown in FIG. 2, Connected to HS ₃ .

FIG. 2 shows optical sensors A _{1 to} A ₇ in rows A and B,
A circuit diagram showing a processing circuit for the detection signals of B _{1 to} B ₇ ;
FIG. 3 is a waveform diagram of input and output signals in the processing circuit. Photoreceiver HS ₁ 2 is connected to the optical sensor A _1, also photodetector HS ₂ in the optical sensor A ₂ to A _7, and further connected respectively in parallel with the light receiver HS ₃ optical sensor B ₁ .about.B ₇ The electric signals output from the optical sensors A _{1 to} A ₇ and B _{1 to} B ₇ are converted into optical signals again by the photodetectors HS ₁ , HS ₂ and HS _{3 and} then converted into electric signals again. And output.

A signal corresponding to the signal from _one optical sensor A ₁ from the photodetector HS ₁ , that is, a high level while the secondary conductor plate 1 passes, and a low level when the secondary conductor plate 1 passes. The signals are output alternately as shown in FIG. Whereas the signal from the optical sensor A ₂ to A ₇ 6 pieces is accompanied by the passage of the secondary conductor plate 1 as shown in FIG. 3 (b) are sequentially output in pulses from photoreceiver HS _2, further light receiver HS ₃ , Signals from the _seven optical sensors B _{1 to} B 77 are similarly output in a pulse form. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the optical sensors in the rows A and B are shifted in position by 1/4 d. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), the pulse is shifted in timing from the pulse shown in FIG. 3 (b).

The output terminals of the light receivers HS ₁ and HS ₂ are connected to the clear terminal and the clock terminal of the shift register 11, respectively, and are connected to the respective input terminals of the OR gate 14 via the inverting elements 12 and 13. ing. The shift register 11 shifts the output according to the input pulse. The output of the shift register is amplified by the amplifier 25 via the switch 30.
The arithmetic control unit 27 receives the tray control signal Tray as shown in FIG.
Output to Switch 30 selects whether to detect the tray which sensor of the sensor A ₁ to A _7. The tray control signal Tray shown in FIG. 3 (f) is used to confirm the position of the tray as a synchronization signal corresponding to the position of the tray.

The output terminal of the OR gate 14 is input to one input terminal of the AND gate 16 and one input terminal of the AND gate 18 via the inverting element 17. On the other hand, the output terminal of the photodetector HS ₃ is connected to the other input terminal of the AND gate 16, and
It is connected to the other input terminal of the AND gate 18 via an inversion element 15.

The output terminals of both AND gates 16 and 18 are OR gate 19
And an output terminal thereof is connected to an amplifier 25 via an inverting element 20 and to one input terminal of an AND gate 22. The output of the OR gate 19 is amplified by the amplifier 25 and output to the arithmetic control unit 27 as a count end signal CE as shown in FIG.

A pulse from the reference pulse oscillator 21 is input to the other input terminal of the AND gate 22, and the output terminal of the AND gate 22 is also connected to the amplifier 25. The output signal of the AND gate 22 is amplified by the amplifier 25 and output to the arithmetic and control unit 27 as a count pulse CP (interpolation pulse) as shown in FIG.

The arithmetic control unit 27 calculates the position of the sorting truck and the moving speed v of the sorting truck based on the tray control signal Tray, timing signal T, count end signal CE and count pulse CP input from the detection signal processing circuit. In addition to monitoring the moving state of the sorting cart and controlling the tray of the sorting cart at a predetermined timing, feedback control corresponding to the speed of the sorting cart is performed.

The speed of the sorting truck is determined as follows. FIG. 4A shows the waveform of the detection signal from the optical sensor in column A, and FIG. Fig. 4 (a), Fig. 4 (b)
Each pulse has a falling edge on the secondary conductor plate 1
Indicates the passage of the rear end, and the rising indicates the passage of the front end of the secondary conductor plate 1. Therefore, the interval corresponding to the gap L between the adjacent secondary conductor plates 1 and 1 is m.

The moving speed of the secondary conductor plate 1 is represented by v (m /
S), the rear end of the secondary conductor plate 1 has the optical sensor A _{i in} row A.
Assuming that the distance between the light sensor B _i and the optical sensor Bi in the row B is 1/4 d, that is, the dimension P ab (m) between the QRs, the time t (second) passing through the distance is given by the following equation (1). t = Pab / v (1) Then, the moving speed of the secondary conductor plate 1 is obtained by interpolating the reference pulse during this time t and counting the number of pulses. Incidentally, if a 50 kHz reference pulse is interpolated during this time, the pulse count number P is given by the following equation (2). P = t × 50 × 10 ³ (2) For example, the moving speed of the secondary conductor plate 1 is 3 m / sec, and QR
The count value when the distance Pab between them is 25 mm is 417 as in the following equation. P = 0.025 ÷ 3 × 50 × 10 ³ ≒ 417

By using the detection signals of the plurality of optical sensors A _{1 to} A ₇ and B _{1 to} B _{7 in} the rows A and B, a plurality of such moving speeds are obtained for each passing of the sorting truck. Synchronization signals corresponding to the position of each sorting truck,
In addition, the speed of the sorting truck is obtained, and fine tray and speed control can be performed based on the speed.

[0019]

[Effect of the Invention] As described above, in the device of the present invention ,
Movement of each of the optical sensors in the second optical sensor row to the sorting cart
, The position and the moving speed of the sorting trolley are detected, and based on this detection signal, each sorting trolley is corresponded.
Operation control and the moving speed system of the sorting truck generates a synchronizing signal
The present invention has an excellent effect such that the control can be performed with high accuracy .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement relationship between a secondary conductor plate and an optical sensor in a control device of an article sorting apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a processing circuit for a detection signal of an optical sensor.

FIG. 3 is a waveform chart showing an input signal and an output signal to the processing circuit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing how to determine a moving speed of a secondary conductor plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

Light 1 secondary conductor plate 11 shift registers 12, 13, 15 inverting element 14 OR gates 16, 18 the AND gate 19 OR gate 21 the reference pulse oscillator 22 the AND gate 25 amplifier 27 operation control unit 30 switches A ₁ to A ₇ A column light sensors of the sensor B ₁ ~B ₇ B column

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-1-81602 (JP, A) JP-A-3-32305 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60L 13/03

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A method of moving a plurality of optical sensors to detect each of a plurality of sorting trucks connected to an article sorting apparatus.
Optical sensor array arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction
And a sorting cart for each optical sensor of the first optical sensor row.
A plurality of objects that are displaced by a predetermined distance in the movement direction
A second optical sensor array composed of optical sensors ;
A detecting means that detect the position and <br/> moving speed of the sorting truck based on the second detection signal of the optical sensor array, a signal generating means for generating a synchronization signal corresponding to the position of each sorting carriage, the synchronous A controller for controlling the sorting truck based on the signal.