Networkable zone control modules and method and coveyor system incorporating the same
First Claim
1. A device for actuating at least one zone in a conveyor system comprising:
- a controller having signal processor/generator and a memory allocation having at least one event logic element;
an object detector port operably interconnected to the controller and adapted to be interconnected to an object detector;
an actuator control port operably interconnected to the controller and adapted to be interconnected to a conveyor zone actuator;
at least one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port operably interconnected to the controller and adapted to be interconnected to one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port of an adjacent device for two-way communication between the device and the adjacent device;
whereby, when the object detector port is interconnected to an object detector, the actuator control port is interconnected with an actuator, and the at least one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port is interconnected with one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port of an adjacent device, the signal processor/generator actuates the actuator through a signal generated by the signal processor/generator responsive to communication from at least one of the object detector interconnected to the device and communication from the one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port of an adjacent device.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A package control conveyor system comprises a plurality of independently-controllable package conveying units each of which comprises a zone control module operably connected to a package sensing device and a package conveying unit for selectively activating and deactivating the package conveying unit, wherein the zone control modules are communicably interconnected upstream and downstream so that each zone control module can selectively activate and deactivate its associated package conveying unit in response to information provided by one or more upstream and/or downstream zone control modules.
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Citations
197 Claims
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1. A device for actuating at least one zone in a conveyor system comprising:
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a controller having signal processor/generator and a memory allocation having at least one event logic element;
an object detector port operably interconnected to the controller and adapted to be interconnected to an object detector;
an actuator control port operably interconnected to the controller and adapted to be interconnected to a conveyor zone actuator;
at least one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port operably interconnected to the controller and adapted to be interconnected to one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port of an adjacent device for two-way communication between the device and the adjacent device;
whereby, when the object detector port is interconnected to an object detector, the actuator control port is interconnected with an actuator, and the at least one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port is interconnected with one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port of an adjacent device, the signal processor/generator actuates the actuator through a signal generated by the signal processor/generator responsive to communication from at least one of the object detector interconnected to the device and communication from the one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port of an adjacent device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for controlling a conveyor system separated into a plurality of contiguous independently-controllable zones comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of actuators, each actuator operably interconnected to a particular one of the plurality of independently-controllable zones, wherein each actuator operates the movement of at least one object in the particular zone;
providing a plurality of controllers having a signal processor/generator therein;
operably interconnecting each controller with a particular one of the plurality of actuators for selective actuation of the particular actuator and operably interconnecting the controller with at least one of an adjacent upstream controller and an adjacent downstream controller;
and having each controller perform at least one of the following steps;
detecting the presence of at least one object local to the controller and performing at least one event logic element responsive to the detecting step;
receiving a signal from at least one of the adjacent upstream controller and the adjacent downstream controller and performing at least one event logic element responsive to the signal;
detecting a change in an operating condition stored by the controller and performing at least one event logic element responsive to the changed operating condition. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 194, 195, 196, 197)
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102. A system for controlling a zone in a conveyor system for handling objects traveling therealong comprising:
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a conveyor separated into a plurality of contiguous independently-controllable zones;
a plurality of actuators, each actuator operably interconnected to a particular one of the plurality of independently-controllable zones, wherein each actuator operates the movement of objects in the particular zone;
a plurality of detectors, each detector associated with a particular one of the plurality of independently-controllable zones, wherein each detector detects the presence of an object in the particular zone;
a plurality of controllers having a signal processor/generator therein, each controller operably interconnected to a particular one of the plurality of actuators for selective actuation of the particular actuator, each controller also operably interconnected to a particular one of the plurality of detectors for detection of at least one object in the particular zone, wherein each controller local to a particular zone is also operably interconnected to at least one of an adjacent upstream controller and an adjacent downstream controller, wherein the signal processor/generator of the controller is adapted to send and receive signals to and from the at least one of the adjacent upstream controller and the adjacent downstream controller responsive to at least one event. - View Dependent Claims (103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193)
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Specification