JPH10167446A - Conveyor and detection device for articles - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely detect articles regardless of the resting condition and kinds of the articles. SOLUTION: An ammeter 9 capable of detecting the driving current value of each phase, is provided for a cable 7 connecting a motor 5 driving a carrier's chain 4 carrying an article W, with a three phase AC power supply. A carrying judgement unit 10 connected with the ammeter 9 is provided with a reference value setting part 11 and a carrying judgement part 12. The reference value setting part 11 sets a reference value based on a driving current value to be fed to the motor 5 when the article W of a certain weight is carried by the carrier's chain 4. The carrying judgement part 12 affirms a fact that the article W is being carried by compairing an output signal outputted by the ammeter 9 based on the detected current value with the reference value set in advance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conveyor for use in a conveyor system for transporting loads and the like in a distribution system such as an automatic warehouse, and a conveyed object detecting device for detecting conveyed objects conveyed by the conveyor. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conveyor system of this kind, a conveyed object is conveyed to a target position while being sequentially transferred to several conveyors. Therefore, it is necessary to detect whether or not the load (conveyance) is on the conveyor. Conventionally, whether or not there is a load on a conveyor is generally detected by a detection switch, such as a photoelectric switch or a limit switch, provided on a conveying path of the conveyor.

For example, when a transmission type photoelectric switch is used, a light emitting unit is provided on one side of the conveyor and a light receiving unit is provided on the other side. The photoelectric switch detects a conveyed object that has moved to a predetermined position by blocking light input from the light emitting unit to the light receiving unit. The limit switch detects the conveyed object by the conveyed object moved to a predetermined position pressing the operating piece.

Therefore, the detection switch is installed in a state determined by the shape of the conveyed object and the state of the conveyed object on the conveyor so that the conveyed object can be reliably detected. ing.

When a conveyed object is conveyed to the middle of the conveyer and the conveyed object is transferred from the conveyer by an operation device such as a robot, a detection switch is set in the middle of the conveyer and conveyed on the conveyer. The conveyed object is detected.

When it is detected that a conveyed object is placed on the conveyor, a detection switch is installed at a position of a receiving port of the conveyor.

[0007]

However, when a conveyed object is placed on a conveyor, it is not always placed at a predetermined position assumed when the detection switch is installed. If the load placed on the conveyor is out of the expected state,
The detection switch may not be able to detect the transported object.

For example, in the case of a photoelectric switch, if the height of the conveyed object is different, the light output from the light emitting unit may be detected by the light receiving unit in spite of the presence of the conveyed object. In the case of a limit switch, if the conveyed object is deviated from a predetermined position, the operating piece may not be reliably pressed by the conveyed object.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor and a conveyor capable of reliably detecting a conveyed object regardless of the placement position and type of the conveyed object. An object of the present invention is to provide a transported object detection device used for a conveyor.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transporting means for transporting a transported object, the transporting means being driven by a drive current supplied from a power supply, and comprising: In a conveyor provided with a driving unit for driving a current, a current detecting unit for detecting a driving current value supplied to the driving unit, and the conveying unit conveys the conveyed object based on a detected current value of the current detecting unit. And a conveyed object detecting means for detecting whether or not the moving object has been moved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the conveyed object detecting means compares the conveying means by comparing a preset reference value with an output signal of the current detecting means. And a transport determining means for determining whether or not a transported object is being transported.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the transporting means comprises a plurality of transporting units each having a driving means, and the transported object detecting means comprises:
By comparing the output signal of the current detecting means for detecting the driving current value supplied to each driving means with a preset reference value, it is determined whether or not the article is being conveyed by the conveying means. And a determining unit for determining a transport unit that is transporting the transported object.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the conveyed object detecting means includes a driving current value supplied to the driving means and a weight of the conveyed object. Storage means for storing a database or a relational expression indicating the relationship between the object and the calculation means for calculating the weight of the article corresponding to the detected current value of the current detection means from the database or the relational expression.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a current detecting means for detecting a driving current value supplied to a driving means of a conveyor, and a conveying means supplied to the conveyor when a conveyed object is conveyed on the conveyor. Determining means for determining whether or not a conveyed object is being conveyed by the conveyor based on a reference value corresponding to the hour drive current value and an output signal of the current detecting means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the conveying means for conveying the conveyed object is driven by the driving means. The drive current value supplied to the drive means is detected by the current detection means. The driving current value supplied to the driving means when the conveyed object is conveyed is larger than the driving current value supplied to the driving means when the conveyed object is not conveyed. Based on the detected current value detected by the current detecting means, the carried article detecting means determines whether or not the carrying means is carrying the article. That is, it is determined from the driving current value supplied to the driving unit whether or not the conveyed object is being conveyed by the conveying unit.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, whether or not a conveyed object is being conveyed by the convey means is determined by a reference value preset by the convey judgment means of the conveyed object detection means and an output of the current detection means. It is determined by comparison with a signal. That is, the conveyance of the article by the conveyance means is determined by comparing the output signal of the current detection means with the reference value of the conveyance judgment means.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the drive current values supplied to the drive units of the plurality of transfer units constituting the transfer unit are detected by the current detection units. Then, by comparing the output signal of the current detecting means with a preset reference value, it is determined by the determining means whether or not the transported object is being transported by the transporting means. In addition, the transport unit that is transporting the transported object is determined by the determination unit. That is, by comparing each output signal of the current detecting means with the reference value, it is determined whether or not the transported article is being transported by the transporting means, and the transporting section which is transporting the transported article is determined. Is done.

According to the invention of claim 4, according to claim 1,
In addition to the operation of the invention according to any one of claims 3 to 3, a database or a relational expression indicating a relationship between a driving current value supplied to the driving means and a weight of the conveyed object is stored by the storage means of the conveyed object detecting means. Is done. The weight of the conveyed object corresponding to the output signal of the current detecting means is calculated by the calculating means from the database or the relational expression. Therefore, the weight of the conveyed object is obtained from the driving current value supplied to the driving means.

According to the invention described in claim 5, the drive current value supplied to the drive means of the conveyor is detected by the current detection means. Based on the reference value corresponding to the driving current value at the time of conveyance supplied to the conveyor when the object is being conveyed on the conveyor and the output signal of the current detection means, it is determined whether or not the object is being conveyed on the conveyor. The judgment is made by the judging means. Therefore, it is determined from the driving current value supplied to the driving means of the conveyor whether or not the conveyed object is being conveyed by the conveyor.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which the present invention is embodied as a conveyor of a type that conveys a conveyed object by a conveying chain.
1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the conveyor 1 provided with the transported object detecting device. The conveyor 1 includes a pair of rails 2 as guide members extending linearly and in parallel.
Chain sprockets 3 at both ends of each rail 2
And a transfer chain 4 as a transfer means is mounted between the two sprockets 3 of each rail 2. The transport chain 4 can move on the upper surface of the rail 2 in the longitudinal direction by rotation of both sprockets 3.

At the end of the outer surface of each rail 2, a motor 5 is provided as driving means for driving the transport chain 4.
Are provided respectively. Each motor 5 drives the chain sprocket 3 via a speed reduction mechanism 6. The motor 5 is of a three-phase AC type and is connected to a three-phase AC power supply via a cable 7 via an electromagnetic contactor (not shown). The electromagnetic contactor controls power supply from the three-phase AC power supply to the motor 5.

As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the transported object W is placed on both transport chains 4. When the motor 5 is driven, the transport chain 4 transports the transported object W along both rails 2.

The conveyor 1 is provided with a conveyor object detector (hereinafter, referred to as a conveyor object detector) 8. As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyed object detection device 8 includes an ammeter 9 as current detection means and a conveyance determination unit 10 as conveyed object detection means.

The ammeter 9 is provided on the cable 7 connecting the motor 5 and the three-phase power supply. The ammeter 9 detects a drive current value of each phase flowing through each wire of the cable 7 and outputs an output signal (voltage value) corresponding to the detected current value to the transport determination unit 10. The ammeter 9 is of a type that measures a current using a change in magnetic flux generated by a current flowing through the cable 7, for example, an overhead wire ammeter (clip-on ammeter).
r; hock-on ammeter). As an overhead wire ammeter, there is an overhead wire ammeter in which the electric wire of each phase in the cable 7 is surrounded by a magnetic core to be a primary conductor, and the current flowing through the secondary winding is measured by a rectifying ammeter. Further, there is a type in which a current is supplied to a secondary winding so that a Hall voltage detected by a Hall element sandwiched between magnetic cores becomes 0, and the current is measured by a rectifying ammeter. That is, the ammeter 9 detects the drive current supplied to the motor 5 at that time.

The transport judging unit 10 comprises a reference value setting section 11 and a transport judging section 12. The reference value setting unit 11 includes a storage unit (storage device) 11 as a storage unit.
a and an operation unit 11b as operation means. The storage unit 11a stores a database indicating the relationship between the drive current value supplied to the motor 5 and the weight of the transported object W. This database is data for calculating a drive current value supplied to the motor 5 when the transported object W of the weight is transported (hereinafter referred to as a transport current value). The calculating unit 11b calculates the weight of the transported object W to be transported on the conveyor 1 based on the database.
To determine whether or not the detected drive current value detected by the ammeter 9 is the drive current value supplied to the motor 5 for transporting the transported object W of that weight. The first and second reference values are set.

Here, the lower limit reference value as the first reference value is set to a value that is lower than the drive current value during conveyance by a variation width in order to avoid a malfunction due to a change from the drive current value. In addition, the upper limit reference value as the second reference value is set to a value much higher than the drive current value during transport in order to detect an abnormal state.

The motor 5 is controlled so as to rotate at the same speed when the article W is being conveyed as when the article W is not being conveyed. At this time, the driving current value supplied to the motor 5 driven at a predetermined speed when the conveyor 1 is not carrying any conveyed articles W is:
The driving current value supplied to the motor 5 driven at the same speed when the conveyor 1 conveys the conveyed object W increases by an amount corresponding to an increase in the load applied to the motor 5. Therefore, the drive current value during transport is a value corresponding to the weight of the transported object W, and the lower and upper reference values are set in accordance with the weight of the transported object W.

The reference value setting section 11 can store in advance the respective weights of a plurality of types of conveyed articles W to be conveyed on the conveyor 1, and at this time, the weights of the conveyed articles W conveyed on the conveyor 1 can be simply reduced. Can be specified. When the weight of the transported object W is specified, the reference setting unit 11 sets a lower limit and an upper limit reference value corresponding to the specified weight of the transported object W.

The transport judging section 12 compares the output signal corresponding to the detected current value output from the ammeter 9 with the lower and upper limit reference values set by the reference value setting section 11 and, based on the comparison result, conveys. It is determined whether the object W is being conveyed. When determining that the transported object W is being transported, the transport determination unit 12 outputs a detection signal. That is, when the output signal is smaller than the lower limit reference value, the transport determination unit 12 determines that the transported object is not being transported, and does not output the detection signal. When the output signal is equal to or more than the lower reference value and less than the upper reference value, the transport determination unit 12 determines that the transported object W is being transported and outputs a detection signal. Further, when the output signal is equal to or greater than the upper limit reference value, the transport determination unit 12 does not output the detection signal, and sounds (actuates) an alarm buzzer as an abnormality notification unit (not shown) assuming that an abnormality has occurred in the conveyor 1. In the present embodiment, the transport determination unit 10 constitutes a transport determination unit.

A control unit 13 for controlling operating devices such as a robot (not shown) based on a control program stored in advance is connected to the transported object detecting device 8. When the control unit 13 receives the detection signal from the transport determination unit 10, the control unit 13 controls the operating device after a lapse of a predetermined time from the input of the detection signal, and transfers the transported object W transported to the predetermined position on the conveyor 1 to the same conveyor. 1 to a predetermined mounting position from above.

Next, the conveyor 1 constructed as described above
The operation of the transported object detection device 8 will be described. Prior to the operation of the conveyor 1, first, the weight of the article W to be conveyed by the conveyor 1 is designated from among a plurality of weights preset in the reference value setting unit 11. Then, the reference value setting unit 1
1 sets a lower limit and an upper limit reference value corresponding to the designated weight. The transport determination unit 12 determines an output signal detected by the ammeter 9 based on the set lower and upper reference values.

When the conveyed object W is not conveyed by the conveyor 1, the driving current value supplied to the motor 5 is smaller than the driving current value during conveyance. Therefore, the output signal becomes smaller than the lower limit reference value, and therefore, the transport determination unit 12 determines that the transported object W is not being transported by the conveyor 1 and does not output the detection signal.

When the article W is conveyed by the conveyor 1,
The drive current value becomes equal to the transport drive current value within the fluctuation range. Accordingly, since the output signal has a value between the lower reference value and the upper reference value, the transport determination unit 12 determines that the transported object W is being transported by the conveyor 1, and outputs the detection signal to the control unit. 13 is output.

The control unit 13 includes the transport determination unit 1
Based on the detection signal from 0, after a lapse of a predetermined time from the input of the detection signal, the conveyed object W conveyed to a predetermined position of the conveyor 1 is transferred from the conveyor 1 to another place by the operating device.

If a large load is applied to the motor 5 during driving of the conveyor 1 for some reason, the driving current value becomes much larger than the driving current value during transport. Therefore, since the output signal becomes larger than the upper limit reference value, the transport determination unit 12 sounds an alarm buzzer assuming that an abnormality has occurred in the conveyor 1.

As described in detail above, according to the conveyor 1 and the conveyed object detecting device 8 of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (A) Based on the magnitude of the driving current supplied to the motor 5 for driving the conveyor 1, it is detected whether or not the conveyed object W is being conveyed on the conveyor 1. Therefore, the conveyed object W placed on the conveyor 1 can be detected regardless of a detection switch such as a photoelectric switch in which a detection error due to the installation location is likely to occur. As a result, the transported object W can be reliably detected regardless of the state in which the transported object W is placed on the conveyor 1 and the type of the transported object W.

(B) The ammeter 9 detects the drive current value from outside the cable 7. Therefore, the transported object detection device 8 can be easily mounted on an existing conveyor for use.

(C) The output signal is determined based on a lower limit reference value lower than a value corresponding to the driving current value during transport set based on the driving current value during transport corresponding to the weight of the transported object W. Therefore, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection due to a change in the drive current value supplied to the motor 5.

(D) When the detected current value is abnormally large, the alarm buzzer is activated based on the judgment based on the upper limit reference value. Therefore, for example, when the normal operation of the conveyor 1 is hindered by a foreign substance or the like other than the transported object W, an operation abnormality of the conveyor 1 can be detected.

(E) By selecting the weight of the article W to be transported, an appropriate reference value corresponding to the weight is set, so that the reliability of the detection result is improved. (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the present embodiment is significantly different from the first embodiment in that the transport unit is constituted by a plurality of transport units each having a drive unit. Therefore, the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the conveyor 20. The conveyor 20 includes a pair of rails 21 extending linearly and in parallel. A plurality of motor rollers 22 are sequentially provided in the longitudinal direction between the inner side surfaces of both rails 21 in a state of being orthogonal to both rails 21. Each motor roller 22 is provided with a motor 23 as a driving means, and rotates between both rails 21 by the rotation of the motor 23. Each motor 23 is of a three-phase AC type and is connected to a three-phase AC power supply via a cable 24 via an electromagnetic contactor (not shown). As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, the transported object W is transported while being supported by two or three motor rollers 22. Each motor roller 22 sequentially conveys the conveyed article W along both rails 21. In the present embodiment, a transport unit is configured by each of the motor rollers 22 as a plurality of transport units.

The conveyor 20 is provided with a conveyed object detection device (hereinafter, referred to as a conveyed object detection device) 25. As shown in FIG. 3, the transported object detection device 25 includes a plurality of ammeters 9 as current detection means and a transport determination unit 26 as transported object detection means.

The ammeter 9 is provided for each cable 24 for connecting each motor 23 and the three-phase AC power supply. As in the first embodiment, each ammeter 9 detects a drive current value of each phase of the three-phase alternating current flowing through each wire in the cable 24 and transmits an output signal corresponding to the detected current value to the carrier. Output to the judgment unit 26.

The transport determination unit 26 includes a reference value setting unit 2
7 and a determination unit 28. The reference value setting unit 27
Basically, the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.
7a and an operation unit 27b. Storage unit 27a
Stores a database indicating the relationship between the drive current value supplied to the motor 23 and the weight of the transported object W. The calculation unit 27b sets a lower limit and an upper limit reference value based on the drive current value during transport corresponding to the weight of the transported object W based on the database. However, in this embodiment, since the transported object W is transported by two or three motor rollers 22, the drive current value supplied to each motor 23 varies greatly depending on the position of the transported object W. Therefore, the calculation unit 27b determines
The value corresponding to the drive current value slightly larger than the maximum value of the variation range of the drive current value in the state where there is no is set as the lower reference value, and the upper reference value is set in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

The judging section 28 compares the output signal of each ammeter 9 with the lower and upper reference values set by the reference value setting section 27, and determines whether or not the article W is being conveyed based on the comparison result. Is determined. That is, when the output signal is less than the lower reference value, or when the output signal is equal to or more than the upper reference value, the determination unit 28 determines that the transported object W is not being transported. When the output signal is equal to or more than the lower reference value and less than the upper reference value, the determination unit 28 determines that the transported object W is being transported. When the output signal is equal to or higher than the upper limit reference value,
An alarm buzzer (not shown) sounds.

The judging section 28 judges whether the motor 23 whose output signal has become equal to or more than the lower limit reference value and less than the upper limit reference value is the motor 23 of the last motor roller 22 of the conveyor 20. Motor 2 of motor roller 22
When it is 3, a detection signal is output.
That is, in the present embodiment, it is detected whether or not the conveyed article W is conveyed by the last motor roller 22 of the conveyor 20. In the present embodiment, the transport determination unit 26 constitutes a determination unit.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 23
When the detection signal is input, the operation device is controlled to transfer the conveyed object W conveyed to the end of the conveyor 20 to another location.

Next, the conveyor 2 constructed as described above
0 and the operation of the conveyed object detection device 25 will be described. First, when the weight of the article W to be conveyed by the conveyor 20 is designated by the reference value setting unit 27, the reference value setting unit 27 sets a lower limit and an upper limit reference value corresponding to the weight. Judgment unit 28
Determines an output signal based on the set lower and upper reference values.

When the conveyed object W is not conveyed by the conveyor 20, the driving current value supplied to each motor 23,
That is, since the output signal is smaller than the lower limit reference value, the determination unit 28 determines that the transported object W is not being transported by any of the motor rollers 22.

When the conveyed object W is conveyed by the conveyer 20, the driving current value supplied to the motor 23 of the motor roller 22 conveying the conveyed object W is equal to the driving current value during conveyance within its fluctuation range. Become. Therefore, the determination unit 28 determines that the transported object W is being transported by the motor rollers 22 driven by the motors 23.

The judging section 28 outputs a detection signal when judging that the article W is being conveyed by the motor roller 22 based on the output signal corresponding to the motor 23 for driving the last motor roller 22 of the conveyor 20. Output. Therefore, when the transported object W is transported to the end of the conveyor 20, a detection signal is output.

The control unit 13 includes the transport determination unit 2
The transfer object W conveyed to the end of the conveyer 20 is transferred from the conveyer 20 to another location by the operating device based on the detection signal from the control unit 6.

As described in detail above, according to the conveyor 20 and the conveyed object detecting device 25 of the present embodiment, in addition to the effects (a) to (e) of the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. Obtainable.

(A) Based on the drive current value supplied to each motor 23 of the plurality of motor rollers 22 driven by the motor 23, the motor roller 22 which is carrying the article W is
Was determined. Therefore, the position of the transported object W on the conveyor 20 can be detected.

(B) A detection signal is output when the conveyed article W is conveyed by the motor 23 of the last motor roller 22 of the conveyor 20. Therefore, when the transported object W is transported to the end of the conveyor 20, the transported object W can be detected. The motor roller 22 outputs a detection signal when the transported object W is detected.
Is not limited to the last motor roller 22 of the conveyor 20,
Depending on the purpose, it may be a receiving port of the conveyor 20 or a motor roller 22 on the way.

The embodiment is not limited to the above, but may be modified as follows. (1) In the first embodiment, when a plurality of conveyed articles W of the same weight are conveyed at the same time, the arithmetic means 11b
1a, the total weight of all the transported objects W being transported at that time is obtained from a database or a relational expression indicating the relationship between the drive current value and the weight of the transported object W, and the total weight and one transported object W are obtained. The number of transported objects W is obtained from the weight of, and the result is output. In this case, it is easy to check the number of articles W being transported.

(2) In the first or second embodiment, when a plurality of types of conveyed articles W having different weights are mixed and conveyed one by one, the arithmetic means 11b and 27b are stored in the storage unit 11b.
The weight of the article W being transported at that time is obtained from a database or a relational expression indicating the relationship between the drive current value stored in the a and 27a and the weight of the article W, and the type of the article W is determined from the weight. The configuration is to be determined. According to this configuration, a plurality of types of transported articles W sequentially transported in a mixed state can be selected and operated.

(3) In the second embodiment, the motor roller 22 which is determined to be carrying the article W at the same time.
Therefore, the arithmetic unit 27b detects the number of the conveyed articles W being conveyed on the conveyor 20 at that time. That is, in the conveyor 20, one conveyed object W is conveyed by two or three motor rollers 22 adjacent to each other. Can detect that the conveyed object W is being conveyed by two or three motor rollers 22 respectively. According to such a configuration, it is possible to detect a plurality of articles W conveyed simultaneously on the conveyor 20 and determine their positions.

(4) In the second embodiment, a plurality of transport chains are used instead of the motor rollers 22 as the transport section. In other words, a plurality of transport chains are arranged on each rail 21 so as to be sequentially continuous, and each transport chain is driven by an independent motor. Then, the transported object W
Are sequentially conveyed by each conveying chain. Even in such a configuration, it is possible to detect the conveyance of the conveyed object from the drive current value supplied to the motors that drive the respective conveyance chains, and to determine whether the conveyance object W is being conveyed by any of the conveyance chains. Can be determined.

(5) The weight of the transported object W is input to the reference value setting units 11 and 27 each time, and the drive current value during transport is set based on the input value. In this configuration,
A more appropriate reference value can be set.

(6) In the first embodiment, the lower limit reference value may be a value corresponding to a drive current value slightly larger than the fluctuation range of the drive current value when the article W is not conveyed.

(7) A belt conveyor is used instead of the conveyor 1 of the transport chain type. (8) The current detecting means is not limited to the overhead wire ammeter for detecting the drive current value of the motors 5 and 23 from the outside of the cables 7 and 24. The voltage drop is converted into a direct current, and the direct current voltage is measured by a moving coil type voltmeter to obtain a drive current value.

(9) The present invention is applied to a conveyor using a two-phase AC motor or a DC motor instead of the three-phase AC motor. Hereinafter, in addition to the technical idea described in the claims, the technical idea grasped in each of the above-described embodiments will be described together with its effects.

(1) In the conveyor or the conveyed object detecting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the current detecting means includes a driving current supplied from outside of a wire for supplying a driving current to the driving means of the conveyor. An overhead wire ammeter that detects the value. According to such a configuration, the present invention can be implemented by a simple modification of an existing conveyor.

(2) Current detecting means for detecting the respective drive current values supplied to the plurality of driving means of the conveyor, and driving during conveyance supplied to the conveyor when the conveyed goods are being conveyed by the conveyor. A reference value corresponding to a current value, and determination means for determining whether or not a conveyed object is being conveyed by the conveyor based on an output signal of each of the current detection means and discriminating a driving means for conveying the conveyed object. Conveyor object detection device. According to such a configuration, it is possible to reliably detect the transported object regardless of the mounting state and type of the transported object and to detect the position of the transported object on the conveyor.

(3) In the conveyor according to any one of the first to third aspects, the transferred object detecting means indicates a relationship between a drive current value supplied to the driving means and a weight of the transferred object W. A storage unit for storing a database or a relational expression; and a calculation unit for calculating the number of articles W corresponding to the output signal of the current detection unit from the database or the relational expression. According to such a configuration, it is possible to detect the number of conveyed articles W of the same weight conveyed simultaneously.

[0068]

As described in detail above, according to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, a conveyed object can be reliably detected irrespective of the mounted state or type of the conveyed object.

According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the above effects, the position of the conveyed object on the conveyor can be detected. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above effects, it is possible to measure the weight of a conveyed object having a different weight.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a conveyor and a transferred object detection device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a conveyor and a transferred object detection device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a conveyor and a transferred object detection device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a conveyor and a transferred object detection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 ... Conveying chain as conveying means, 5 ... Motor as driving means, 9 ... Ammeter as current detecting means, 10
... Conveyance determination unit as conveyed object detection means and conveyance judgment means, 11a ... Storage part as storage means, 11b ... Calculation part as calculation means, 22 ... Motor roller as conveyance part, 23 ... Motor as drive means, 26: transport determination unit as transported object detection means and determination means, W: transported article.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A conveyor comprising: a conveying unit for conveying a conveyed object; and a driving unit driven by a driving current supplied from a power supply and driving the conveying unit, wherein a driving current supplied to the driving unit is provided. A conveyor comprising: current detection means for detecting a value; and transported article detection means for detecting whether or not the transporting section is transporting a transported article based on a current value detected by the current detection section. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transported object detecting means determines whether or not the transported article is being transported by the transporting means based on a preset reference value and an output signal of the current detecting means. The conveyor of claim 1 comprising: 3. The transporting means comprises a plurality of transporting units each having a driving means, and the transported object detecting means detects an output signal of a current detecting means for respectively detecting a driving current value supplied to each driving means. A determination unit configured to determine whether or not the transported object is being transported by the transporting unit and to determine a transporting unit that is transporting the transported object, by comparing the transporting unit with the transporting unit by comparing the transporting unit with a predetermined reference value. Item 2. The conveyor according to Item 1. 4. The load detecting means includes: a storage unit that stores a database or a relational expression indicating a relationship between a driving current value supplied to the driving unit and a weight of the load; and a detection current of the current detecting unit. The conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a calculation unit configured to calculate a weight of the conveyed object corresponding to the value from the database or the relational expression. 5. A current detecting means for detecting a driving current value supplied to a driving means of a conveyor, and a driving current value during conveyance supplied to the conveyor when a conveyed object is being conveyed on the conveyor. A reference value,
A conveyor-conveyed object detection device, comprising: a judging unit for judging whether or not a conveyed object is being conveyed by a conveyor based on an output signal of the current detecting unit.