KR102544565B1 - System for detecting position of carrier of sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a carrier position detection system of a sorter, when an abnormal signal is generated from one tracking sensing module, by performing a correction operation based on a detection signal of an adjacent tracking sensing module to determine driving position information for a carrier, which Even if one tracking sensing module malfunctions or a temporary error occurs, the sorter device can be continuously operated using the detection signal of the adjacent tracking sensing module without immediately stopping operation, and also whether such an abnormal signal is caused by a temporary error. Alternatively, it is possible to determine whether it is due to a failure of the tracking sensing module, control the operating state of the sorter device based on this, enable continuous operation without immediately stopping the device, and improve the efficiency of handling the volume of goods transported accordingly. Provided is a carrier position detection system of a sorter that can be used.

Description

Sorter's carrier position detection system {SYSTEM FOR DETECTING POSITION OF CARRIER OF SORTER}

The present invention relates to a sorter's carrier position detection system. More specifically, when an abnormal signal is generated from one of the tracking sensing modules, the driving position information for the carrier is determined by correcting and calculating based on the detection signal of the adjacent tracking sensing module, so that one of the tracking sensing modules malfunctions or temporarily Even if an error occurs, the sorter device can be operated continuously using the detection signal of the adjacent tracking sensing module without immediately stopping operation, and also, whether such an abnormal signal is due to a temporary error or a failure of the tracking sensing module Sorter's carrier position detection system, which can control the operation status of the sorter device based on this, enable continuous operation without immediately stopping the device, and improve the efficiency of handling volume accordingly. it's about

The term logistics is an abbreviation for physical distribution, and it is a generic term for functions or activities that effectively move products and goods from producers to consumers. It usually refers to several activities such as packing, unloading, transportation, storage and information.

In general, various processes such as packaging, storage, collection/loading, transportation, unloading/delivery, and storage are used to transport products and goods. No matter what means of transportation is used, it is impossible to move products and goods without going through this process. The overall view of these movements is physical distribution (logistics).

In recent years, mass production, mass sale, and mass consumption have become the trend of the times, and the importance of logistics is gradually increasing because the need to streamline the flow of goods between them has increased.

Logistics warehouse refers to a storage warehouse for temporarily or long-term loading and storage of all items used in daily life, such as various foodstuffs, beverages, clothing, home appliances, miscellaneous goods and industrial products, generally produced in large quantities at factories or production sites. Due to the recent rapid development of the logistics industry, these logistics warehouses are being designed and constructed to promote the creation of new businesses such as inventory management as well as efficient entry and exit from the arrangement of items stored in the warehouse beyond simple logistics management. .

Since these logistics warehouses are vital to the rapid arrival and departure of cargo, most of them are equipped with mechanized or automated cargo loading and unloading means, and typically, automation facilities such as stacker cranes, shuttles, and lifts are used. In addition, a sorter device or the like that can automatically classify various cargoes according to a specific classification standard set by a user is used.

A sorter device is a sorting conveyor equipped with a plurality of branching functions on the conveying path of articles and capable of sorting articles according to specific sorting criteria. In general, a plurality of carriers each capable of supporting articles travel along a running rail, It is made in the form of transporting articles and sorting and discharging the articles from each carrier to a plurality of discharge areas, respectively. Each carrier is provided with an article conveying device that transports the article in a direction perpendicular to the running direction in order to discharge the article to the discharge area, and the article conveying device uses a cross belt method or an inclined tray method.

In this sorter device, a plurality of carriers, for example, 300 to 500 carriers, depending on the size, continuously travel along the running rail while being connected to each other, and a plurality of goods storage and retrieval devices are installed at specific locations around the running rail. The product is delivered to the carrier and loaded, or the product is delivered and unloaded from the carrier.

Since the goods are sorted and transported by loading or unloading the goods on the carrier in this way, the sorter device must accurately determine and control driving position information for a plurality of carriers in real time to perform accurate sorting and transporting of goods.

Although various sensing methods are applied to each manufacturer in order to accurately detect the driving position information of the carrier in real time, there is a problem in that the traveling speed of the carrier is relatively fast, so it is difficult to accurately detect the position of the carrier and errors occur frequently.

Domestic Patent No. 10-1751215

The present invention was invented to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to perform a correction operation based on a detection signal of an adjacent tracking sensing module when an abnormal signal is generated from one of the tracking sensing modules to drive the carrier. By determining the location information, even if one tracking sensing module malfunctions or a temporary error occurs, the sorter device can be continuously operated using the detection signal of the adjacent tracking sensing module without immediately stopping operation, and product classification accordingly. It is to provide a carrier position detection system of a sorter that can prevent misclassification of goods in the process and prevent a decrease in overall traffic volume.

Another object of the present invention is to determine whether the detection signal pattern of the tracking sensing module is abnormal, whether the occurrence of the abnormal detection signal pattern is due to a temporary error or a failure of the tracking sensing module, and based on this, the sorter It is to provide a carrier position detection system of a sorter capable of controlling the operating state, enabling continuous operation without immediately stopping the device, and improving the efficiency of handling volume accordingly.

The present invention provides a sorter carrier position detection system for detecting a traveling position of a plurality of carriers in a sorter apparatus for conveying and sorting goods while traveling along a running rail, comprising: a dog mounted on one side of the carrier; a tracking sensing module fixedly mounted at a specific location of the running rail to detect whether the dog passes, and a plurality of tracking sensing modules spaced apart from each other along the travel path of the carrier; a plurality of location determination units installed to correspond to the plurality of tracking sensing modules and determining driving location information of the carrier by receiving detection signals of the tracking sensing modules corresponding to each; And a central control unit that receives driving position information of each carrier determined by the plurality of position determining units, determines driving position information for all of the plurality of carriers based on the received information, and controls driving speed. It provides a carrier position detection system of the sorter, characterized in that.

At this time, when the detection signal pattern applied from the tracking sensing module is different from the preset reference signal pattern, the position determining unit receives the detection signal of the tracking sensing module and the closest tracking sensing module, and corrects the received detection signal. Thus, driving position information of the carrier can be determined.

In addition, the plurality of position determination units are communicatively connected to each other, and the detection signal of the tracking sensing module applied to each position determination unit may be configured to be applied to another position determination unit through communication between the position determination units. .

In addition, a separate home dog is mounted on any one of the plurality of carriers, and a separate tracking sensing module detects whether the home dog passes through and applies a detection signal to a corresponding location determining unit. A home sensor may be provided, and the central control unit may initialize driving location information for the entire carrier whenever a detection signal of the home sensor is applied to the location determining unit.

In addition, when an abnormality detection signal pattern different from the reference signal pattern from the tracking sensing module is applied to the corresponding position determination unit, the central control unit generates the same abnormality detection signal pattern from the corresponding tracking sensing module even after the home sensor detection signal is generated. It may be configured to determine whether a failure of the tracking sensing module has occurred according to whether or not it is applied.

In addition, when it is determined that a failure of the tracking sensing module has occurred, the central control unit may control operation so that a failure alarm of the corresponding tracking sensing module is generated through a separate alarm device.

In addition, each of the tracking sensing modules includes a plurality of tracking sensors disposed spaced apart from each other at regular intervals along the driving direction of the carrier so as to detect whether the dog passes, and each of the position determining units respectively corresponds to It may be configured to determine driving position information for each carrier passing through the tracking sensing module through detection signals of the plurality of tracking sensors.

According to the present invention, when an abnormal signal is generated from one of the tracking sensing modules, the driving position information for the carrier is determined by correcting and calculating based on the detection signal of the adjacent tracking sensing module, so that either one of the tracking sensing modules malfunctions or Even if a temporary error occurs, the sorter can be continuously operated using the detection signal of the adjacent tracking sensing module without stopping the operation immediately, thereby preventing misclassification of goods during the goods sorting process and preventing the overall decrease in traffic volume. There are possible effects.

In addition, if the detection signal pattern of the tracking sensing module is abnormal, it is determined whether the abnormal detection signal pattern is caused by a temporary error or a failure of the tracking sensing module, and based on this, the operating state of the sorter can be controlled. It can, and enables continuous operation without immediately stopping the device, and thus has the effect of improving the efficiency of handling the volume of goods.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall carrier traveling form of a sorter device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a perspective view exemplarily showing the form of a dog and tracking sensing module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a diagram exemplarily showing the arrangement form of a dog and tracking sensing module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a diagram exemplarily showing various forms of a dog and tracking sensing module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a diagram exemplarily showing a detection signal generation time in the dog and tracking sensing module shown in (c) of FIG. 4;
6 is a diagram conceptually showing the overall configuration of a carrier position detection system of a sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention;
7 is a perspective view exemplarily showing another form of a dog and tracking sensing module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
8 is a diagram for explaining an operation flow for a carrier position detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, in adding reference numerals to components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same components have the same numerals as much as possible even if they are displayed on different drawings. In addition, in describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall carrier traveling form of a sorter device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 exemplarily illustrates the form of a dog and tracking sensing module according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view, Figure 3 is a view showing an exemplary arrangement of the dog and tracking sensing module according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a view showing various shapes of the dog and tracking sensing module according to an embodiment of the present invention , and FIG. 5 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a detection signal generation time in the dog and tracking sensing module shown in (c) of FIG. 4 .

First, looking at the sorter device, as shown in FIG. 1, a travel rail (not shown) is formed so that a closed loop travel path having an elliptical shape is formed, and a plurality of carriers 10 are sequentially connected to travel. It is configured to continuously circularly move along the rail. In an intermediate region of this travel route, one or more loading stations and discharging stations are provided to supply goods to or discharge goods from the plurality of carriers 10 .

The carrier 10 is formed in a form in which the article transport device 20 is coupled to the upper portion of the carrier frame, and the article transport device 20 supports the articles supplied to the carrier 10 and simultaneously delivers the articles to a specific discharge station. It is configured to discharge. In one embodiment of the present invention, a cross belt method may be applied as the article conveying device 20. The cross-belt method refers to a method of transporting articles in a direction perpendicular to the running direction of the carrier 10 by operating an article conveying belt moving in a direction perpendicular to the running direction of the carrier 10 .

In order to supply or discharge products to or from the carrier through the loading station and the discharging station, an operation of accurately detecting and controlling travel position information of the carrier 10 is required.

In particular, in the sorter device, a fairly large number of carriers 10, for example, 300 or more, is installed. When assembly tolerances or manufacturing tolerances occur minutely at the carrier connection part, tolerances are accumulated for the entire carrier, resulting in a very large tolerance. occurs, it is very important to accurately determine driving position information for each carrier 10.

A carrier position detection system of a sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention is a device for detecting a driving position of a carrier 10 in such a sorter device, and includes a dog 100 mounted on one side of the carrier 10 and a dog ( 100), the tracking sensing module 200 fixedly mounted at a specific position of the running rail 30 to detect whether or not it passes, and the tracking sensing module 200 receives the detection signal to obtain the driving position information of the carrier 10 It is configured to include a location determining unit 300 that determines.

According to this structure, the tracking sensing module 200 mounted at a specific position of the running rail 30 detects whether the dog 100 of the carrier 10 passes, and the position determination unit 300 detects this detection signal. Upon receiving the approval, it is determined that the corresponding carrier 10 is traveling while passing through a specific location, that is, a location where the tracking sensing module 200 is mounted, during the entire path of the traveling rail 30 . Dogs 100 are mounted on all carriers 10, and a plurality of tracking sensing modules 200 are mounted at spaced apart positions along the traveling rail 30. According to the signals detected by the plurality of tracking sensing modules 200, the position determination unit 300 determines the driving position information for the plurality of carriers 10 in real time, and synthesizes them to determine the driving position for all carriers 10. judge information.

More specifically, the tracking sensing module 200 includes a plurality of tracking sensors 201 disposed at regular intervals P1 along the driving direction of the carrier 10 to detect whether the dog 100 passes. composed of At this time, a plurality of tracking sensors 201 are installed over a section having the same length (L) as the overall length (L) of the carrier 10 along the running direction of the carrier 10 .

A horseshoe sensor formed in a horseshoe shape may be applied to the tracking sensor 201 , and the dog 100 may be formed in a flat plate shape passing through a central portion of the horseshoe sensor. The tracking sensor 201 can be applied to various types of sensors using light, magnetic force, ultrasonic waves, etc. to detect whether the dog 100 passes through the central portion.

In this way, since the tracking sensing module 200 is disposed over a section having a length L equal to the total length L of the carrier 10 in the traveling direction of the carrier 10, the plurality of tracking sensors 201 are disposed. , One tracking sensing module 200 composed of a plurality of tracking sensors 201 generates a dog detection signal in all processes in which one carrier 10 passes through the corresponding tracking sensing module 200, and accordingly the carrier ( 10) may determine driving position information for the carrier 10 in all sections from the time of first entering the tracking sensing module 200 to the time of completing entry.

Therefore, in the entire process of one carrier 10 passing through the tracking sensing module 200, the driving position information and driving speed of the carrier 10 can be grasped, and thus the driving characteristics (safety, speed, acceleration, etc.) can be determined more accurately. In particular, since the plurality of tracking sensors 201 are arranged at regular intervals, a plurality of dog detection signals are generated in the section of the tracking sensing module 200, and the position determination unit 300 combines these plurality of dog detection signals Driving location information and driving characteristics of the carrier 10 may be more accurately determined.

In this case, as the number of tracking sensors 201 constituting one tracking sensing module 200 increases, that is, as the separation distance P1 of the tracking sensors 201 decreases, more dog detection signals are generated and the carrier 10 ), it is possible to determine more accurate driving position information. However, increasing the number of tracking sensors 201 has a problem in that a structure such as wiring and input processing becomes complicated and the probability of occurrence of a failure increases.

Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the shape and arrangement of the dog 100 and the tracking sensor 201 are formed in such a way that the number of tracking sensors 201 is reduced, but the number of dog detection signals is increased.

To this end, two recognition protrusions 101 are formed on the dog 100 to be detected by the tracking sensor 201 at a predetermined interval P2 along the running direction of the carrier 10, and between the tracking sensors 201 The interval P1 is set as a multiple of the preset standard interval H. The reference interval (H) is set as a value obtained by multiplying the minimum detection reaction time (T) of the tracking sensor 201 by the set travel speed (V) of the carrier 10.

A typical detection sensor has a minimum detection response time (T). That is, the minimum time required for the sensor to generate one detection signal and generate the next detection signal is the minimum detection response time. The tracking sensor 201 also has a minimum detection response time (T). When the two recognition protrusions 101 formed on the dog 100 sequentially pass through one tracking sensor 201, the one tracking sensor 201 sequentially detects the two recognition protrusions 101, and the detection If the time interval to do this is shorter than the minimum detection response time (T), the tracking sensor 201 does not normally detect the two recognition protrusions 101 and an error occurs. Therefore, for the distance P2 between the two recognition protrusions 101 and the distance P1 between the tracking sensors 201, the dog detection signal generation time interval of the tracking sensor 201 is the minimum detection time interval of the tracking sensor 201. It should be set larger than the reaction time (T).

In one embodiment of the present invention, as the two recognition protrusions 101 are formed on the dog 100 as described above, the dog detection signal can be increased even if the number of tracking sensors 201 is reduced.

For example, as shown in (a) of FIG. 4 , in the case of a general form in which the dog 100 does not have the recognition protrusion 101, when the tracking sensors 201 are spaced apart by the standard interval H, the carrier Whenever (10) moves by H, a dog detection signal is generated. In comparison, as shown in (b) of FIG. 4 , when two recognition protrusions 101 are formed on the dog 100 to be spaced apart by a standard interval H, the tracking sensor 201 operates at 2 of the standard interval. Even if they are spaced apart by the ship distance 2H, since a detection signal for the two recognition protrusions 101 is generated from one tracking sensor 201, a dog detection signal is generated whenever the carrier 10 moves by H. . That is, even if the number of tracking sensors 201 is reduced by 1/2 in FIG. 4 (b) compared to FIG. 4 (a) (of course, the interval 2H between them is doubled) The same dog detection signal as in a) is generated.

On the other hand, in the case of (b) of FIG. 4, since a dog detection signal is generated whenever the carrier 10 moves by H in one tracking sensor 201, one tracking sensor 201 has a minimum detection reaction time (T ), the dog is sensed and reacted. In this case, if the dog detection time interval is reduced even slightly due to a change in carrier travel speed, an assembly tolerance, or the like, an error may occur in the tracking sensor 201 .

To prevent this, as shown in (c) of FIG. 4 , the distance P2 between the recognition protrusions 101 may be set to (2n−1)*H, which will be described later.

According to such a structure, the carrier position detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention has two recognition protrusions 101 formed on the dog 100, thereby reducing the number of tracking sensors 201 and tracking sensors ( 201), the number of generated dog detection signals does not decrease or increases, so that more accurate carrier position detection is possible.

At this time, looking more specifically at the distance P2 between the recognition protrusions 101 and the distance P1 between the tracking sensors 201, the distance P1 between the tracking sensors 201 is set to nH, and the recognition The distance P2 between the protrusions 101 may be set to (2n−1)*H. H is a preset reference interval as described above, and n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2.

In this case, the reference interval (H) is set to a value obtained by multiplying the minimum detection reaction time (T) of the tracking sensor 201 by the traveling speed (V) of the carrier 10 as described above, and n is the recognition protrusion 101 ) The value obtained by dividing the interval P2 by the traveling speed V of the carrier 10 may be set to the minimum value of two or more natural numbers satisfying the condition that the minimum detection reaction time T of the tracking sensor 201 is satisfied. .

For example, as shown in (c) of FIG. 4 , if n is set to 2, the distance P2 between the recognition protrusions 101 is 3H, and the distance P1 between the tracking sensors 201 is 2H. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5 , a dog detection signal is generated from different tracking sensors 201 whenever the carrier 10 moves by H. That is, signals X1, X2, X3, and X4 are generated at time points T2, T3, and T4, which increase by ΔT from time point T1, respectively. In the same tracking sensor 201, signals X1 and X4 are generated, and the signal generation time interval is 3*ΔT.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 4(c) and FIG. 5 , when the distance P2 between the recognition protrusions 101 is 3H and the distance P1 between the tracking sensors 201 is 2H, the carrier 10 Whenever is moved by H, a dog detection signal is generated from different tracking sensors 201, and in the same tracking sensor 201, a 3T time that is three times greater than the minimum detection reaction time (T) of the tracking sensor 201 Since the dog is detected at every interval, the dog detection signal is stably generated without any problem even when the dog detection time interval is changed due to a change in the speed of the carrier 10 or an assembly tolerance.

According to this structure, the total number of tracking sensors 201 included in one tracking sensing module 200 can be reduced, making it easy to manufacture and manage the tracking sensing module 200. Driving location information can be accurately determined.

6 is a diagram conceptually showing the overall configuration of a carrier position detection system of a sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 illustrates another form of a dog and tracking sensing module according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an operation flow for a carrier position detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the carrier position detection system of the sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention is fixedly mounted to a specific position of the dog 100 mounted on the carrier 10 and the running rail 30 so that the dog 100 passes. It is configured to include a tracking sensing module 200 that detects whether or not, and a location determination unit 300 that receives a detection signal from the tracking sensing module 200 and determines driving location information of the carrier 10.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of tracking sensing modules 200 are disposed spaced apart along the travel path of the carrier 10, and the position determining unit 300 corresponds to the plurality of tracking sensing modules 200, respectively. It is provided with a plurality, and the driving position information of the carrier 10 is determined by receiving the detection signal of the tracking sensing module 200 corresponding to each. In addition, a separate central control unit 400 is further provided. The central control unit 400 receives driving position information of the carrier 10 determined by the plurality of position determination units 300, respectively, and based on the received information. Thus, the driving position information for the entire plurality of carriers 10 is determined and the driving speed is controlled.

According to this structure, detection signals for the plurality of carriers 10 are simultaneously generated by the plurality of tracking sensing modules 200, and based on this, driving position information for the plurality of carriers 10 is transmitted to the corresponding location determination unit. In step 300, the central control unit 400 determines driving position information for all carriers 10 through the information of each position determining unit 300.

A plurality of tracking sensing modules 200 may be arranged spaced apart from each other at the same interval at a specific location of the running rail 30, and the location determination unit 300 corresponding to each tracking sensing module 200 reduces communication delay and the like. It is disposed adjacent to each tracking sensing module 200 so as to be minimized. Each position determining unit 300 is connected to each other in a manner such as optical communication so as to be able to communicate with each other.

As described above, each tracking sensing module 200 includes a plurality of tracking sensors 201 disposed at regular intervals along the driving direction of the carrier 10 . Therefore, the dog detection signal generated by each tracking sensing module 200 is generated in a form having a specific pattern by the plurality of tracking sensors 201, and this detection signal pattern is a preset standard in the normal operating state of the sorter device. It always occurs in the same form as the signal pattern.

If the detection signal pattern applied to the location determination unit 300 from any one tracking sensing module 200 is different from the preset reference signal pattern, the tracking sensing module 200 closest to the corresponding tracking sensing module 200 A detection signal of is applied to the corresponding position determination unit 300, and the received detection signal is corrected and calculated to determine driving position information for the carrier 10.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6 , in a state where there are four tracking sensing modules 200 and a position determination unit 300, the third tracking sensing module 200 to the third position determination unit 300 If the applied detection signal pattern is different from the preset reference signal pattern, the third position determination unit 300 is the second position determination unit of the second tracking sensing module 200 closest to the third tracking sensing module 200 ( 300) receives the corresponding detection signal. Thereafter, the third position determination unit 300 considers the distance between the third tracking sensing module 200 and the second tracking sensing module 200, the traveling speed of the carrier 10, and the like. ) It is determined by calculating driving position information for the carrier 10 passing through. At this time, since the plurality of position determination units 300 are communicatively connected to each other, even if the third position determination unit 300 is not directly connected to the second tracking sensing module 200, the second position determination unit 300 The detection signal information is directly applied to the third position determining unit 300 . That is, each position determination unit 300 is connected only to the corresponding tracking sensing module 200 and receives each detection signal, and when receiving the detection signal of the adjacent tracking sensing module 200, the adjacent tracking sensing module It is configured to receive a detection signal from the location determination unit 300 of the adjacent tracking sensing module 200 rather than directly receiving the detection signal from 200 . Through this, the overall connection structure and signal transmission structure can be simplified, and communication delay can be prevented. In this case, it is preferable that the detection signal is applied to the location determination unit 300 from the location determination unit 300 of the nearest tracking sensing module 200 in order to prevent accuracy deterioration due to communication delay or the like.

According to this structure, if the detection signal pattern generated from any one tracking sensing module 200 is different from the reference signal pattern, an alarm immediately occurs or operation is not stopped, and the detection signal of the adjacent tracking sensing module 200 is detected. The driving position information of the carrier 10 may be determined in the corresponding tracking sensing module 200 through a correction operation. Accordingly, even when one tracking sensing module 200 malfunctions or a temporary error occurs, the sorter device can be continuously operated using detection signals of adjacent tracking sensing modules 200 without stopping operation immediately. Therefore, it is possible to prevent misclassification of goods in the process of sorting goods and to prevent a decrease in the overall quantity of goods transported.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 7 , which one of the plurality of carriers 10 has a separate home dog 110 mounted and which one of the plurality of tracking sensing modules 200 has the home dog 110 passed through? A separate home sensor 202 is provided to detect whether or not the dog is home and apply a home dog detection signal to the corresponding location determining unit 300 .

For example, assuming that 300 carriers 10 are provided, the home dog 110 is mounted only on the first carrier 10, and the first tracking sensing module among the four tracking sensing modules 200 ( The home sensor 202 may be provided only in 200 . Like the tracking sensor 201, the home sensor 202 may be formed in a horseshoe sensor shape, and may be spaced apart from the tracking sensor 201 in a direction perpendicular to the driving direction. The home dog 110 is mounted only on the first carrier 10 and may be formed in a flat plate shape to pass through an intermediate space of the home dog 110 in the same manner as the tracking dog 100 described above. According to this structure, when the entire carrier 10 cycles along the running rail 30 once, the home dog 110 is detected by the home sensor 202 and a home sensor detection signal is generated. The number of occurrences of the home sensor detection signal means the number of cycles of the entire carrier 10 .

At this time, the central control unit 400 initializes driving position information for the entire carrier 10 whenever a detection signal of the home sensor 202 is applied to the position determination unit 300 . That is, whenever all carriers 10 cycle along the travel rail 30 once, travel position information for all carriers 10 is initialized.

After this initialization process, as described above, the driving position information for each carrier 10 is determined in real time through each tracking sensing module 200 and the position determination unit 300, and the central control unit 400 integrates them Driving location information for all carriers 10 is determined and controlled. The process of determining the driving position information for all carriers 10 continues until the detection signal of the home sensor 202 is generated again. The driving position information for ) is initialized and the process of re-determination is repeated.

In the iterative cycle of determining driving location information, as described above, when an abnormality detection signal pattern generated from any one tracking sensing module 200 is applied to the corresponding location determining unit 300, the adjacent tracking sensing module 200 The detection signal pattern generated from is received and corrected to perform a process of determining the driving position information of the carrier 10. This abnormal detection signal pattern is generated even after the home sensor detection signal is generated (after initialization), the corresponding tracking sensing module ( 200, the central control unit 400 may generate a failure alarm for the corresponding tracking sensing module 200 through a separate alarm device (not shown).

If the abnormal detection signal pattern generated from the tracking sensing module 200 does not occur again after the home sensor detection signal is generated (after initialization), the central control unit 400 determines that the tracking sensing module 200 has a temporary error and It is possible to continuously maintain the operating state without generating a failure alarm.

Summarizing the operation process described above, as shown in FIG. 8, first, the detection signal of each tracking sensing module 200 is applied to the corresponding position determination unit 300 (S10), and the applied detection signal pattern is It is determined whether it is abnormal (S20). If the detection signal pattern is abnormal, the detection signal of the adjacent tracking sensing module 200 is applied to the position determination unit 300 (S30), and based on this, the driving position information of the entire carrier 10 is determined (S40) . Of course, if the detection signal pattern is not abnormal, the driving position information of the entire carrier 10 is determined based on the detection signal applied to each position determining unit 300 . Thereafter, when a home sensor detection signal is generated (S50), driving position information of all carriers 10 is initialized (S60), and the above process is repeatedly performed. If, after the initialization process according to the home sensor detection signal, before a new home sensor detection signal is generated, it is determined whether the same abnormality detection signal pattern occurs (S70), and if the same abnormality detection signal pattern occurs, tracking sensing A module failure alarm is generated (S80), and if the same abnormality detection signal pattern does not occur, it is determined as a temporary error of the tracking sensing module (S90), and the above-described process is repeated.

According to this structure, the carrier position detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the detection signal pattern of the tracking sensing module is abnormal, whether the abnormal detection signal pattern occurs due to a temporary error or a failure of the tracking sensing module 200 It is possible to determine whether it is caused by, and based on this, the operating state of the sorter device can be controlled, and continuous operation is possible without immediate device interruption, thereby improving the throughput processing efficiency.

The above description is merely an example of the technical idea of the present invention, and various modifications and variations can be made to those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be construed according to the claims below, and all technical ideas within the equivalent range should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

10: carrier
20: article transfer device
30: running rail
100: dog
101: recognition protrusion
110: home dog
200: tracking sensing module
201: tracking sensor
202 Home sensor
300: location determination unit
400: central control unit

Claims (7)

In the carrier position detection system of a sorter in which a plurality of carriers travel along a running rail and detect the traveling position of the carrier in a sorter device for conveying and sorting goods,
a dog mounted on one side of the carrier;
a tracking sensing module fixedly mounted at a specific location of the running rail to detect whether the dog passes, and a plurality of tracking sensing modules spaced apart from each other along the travel path of the carrier;
a plurality of location determination units installed to correspond to the plurality of tracking sensing modules and determining driving location information of the carrier by receiving detection signals of the tracking sensing modules corresponding to each; and
And a central control unit that receives driving position information of each carrier determined by the plurality of position determination units, determines driving position information for all of the plurality of carriers based on the received information, and controls driving speed,
The location determination unit
When the detection signal pattern applied from the tracking sensing module is different from the preset reference signal pattern, the detection signal of the tracking sensing module closest to the corresponding tracking sensing module is applied, and the applied detection signal is corrected and calculated to determine the traveling position of the carrier. judge information,
A separate home dog is mounted on any one of the plurality of carriers,
Any one of the plurality of tracking sensing modules is provided with a separate home sensor that detects whether the home dog passes and applies a detection signal to a corresponding location determining unit;
The central control unit initializes driving position information for the entire carrier whenever a detection signal of the home sensor is applied to the position determining unit.
delete According to claim 1,
A plurality of the location determining units are communicatively connected to each other,
The carrier position detection system of the sorter, characterized in that the detection signal of the tracking sensing module applied to each position determination unit can be applied to other position determination units through communication between the position determination units.
delete According to claim 1,
When an abnormal detection signal pattern different from the reference signal pattern from the tracking sensing module is applied to the corresponding location determining unit, the central control unit checks whether the same abnormal detection signal pattern is applied from the corresponding tracking sensing module even after the home sensor detection signal is generated. Sorter's carrier position detection system, characterized in that for determining whether the tracking sensing module has a failure according to whether or not.
According to claim 5,
The central control unit controls the operation so that a failure alarm of the tracking sensing module is generated through a separate alarm device when it is determined that a failure has occurred in the tracking sensing module.
According to claim 1,
Each of the tracking sensing modules
Including a plurality of tracking sensors disposed spaced apart from each other at regular intervals along the travel direction of the carrier to detect whether the dog passes,
The carrier position detection system of the sorter, characterized in that each of the position determination unit determines the driving position information for each carrier passing through the corresponding tracking sensing module through the detection signal of the plurality of tracking sensors.

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