Networkable zone control modules and method and coveyor system incorporating the same

• US 20030168316A1
• Filed: 03/07/2003
• Published: 09/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Humphrey Products Company
• Original Assignee: Humphrey Products Company
• Inventors: Klien, David T., Klien, Scott, Knepple, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,280,889 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 198/460.1
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2203/044 Optical
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2207/30 Modular constructions
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 37/02 Flow-sheets for conveyor combinations in warehouses, magazines or workshops
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 43/08 Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed or discharged and controlling the discharging devices B65G47/42
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/261 Accumulating articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/30 during transit by a series of conveyors

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.

Claims

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.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the at least one of an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port comprises an upstream communication port and a downstream communication port each adapted to be interconnected to a respective downstream communication port of an adjacent upstream device and an upstream communication port of an adjacent downstream device.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the adjacent upstream device comprises one of a first upstream device immediately upstream of the device and a second upstream device immediately upstream of the first upstream device.

4. The device of claim 2 wherein the adjacent downstream device comprises one of the first downstream device immediately downstream of the device and a second downstream device immediately downstream of the first downstream device.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the object detector comprises a photoelectric eye.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the conveyor zone actuator comprises a pneumatic actuator.

7. The device of claim 6 and further comprising a pneumatic valve fluidly connected to the pneumatic actuator and operably connected to the controller.

8. The device of claim 1 and further comprising a computer operably interconnected to the controller for controlling the conveyor system.

9. The device of claim 8 and further comprising an interpreter for translating signals between the controller and the computer.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the computer comprises a wireless personal digital assistant.

11. The device of claim 9 wherein the computer comprises at least one networked computer station.

12. The device of claim 9 wherein the computer comprises a laptop computer.

13. The device of claim 8 wherein the computer is operably connected to the at least one of the upstream communication port and the downstream communication port for communication with the device and an adjacent device.

14. A method for controlling a conveyor system separated into a plurality of contiguous independently-controllable zones comprising the steps of:

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.

15. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of initiating the operation of a delay timer in response to the presence of an object in a zone local to the controller.

16. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of terminating the operation of the delay timer in response to the absence of an object in a zone local to the controller for a predetermined period of time.

17. The method of claim 15 and further comprising the step of communicating the absence of the object to at least one adjacent upstream controller.

18. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of storing the results of the detecting step in the controller to serve as a reference for further evaluation of the presence of an object in the zone.

19. The method of claim 18 and further comprising the step of communicating the results of the detecting step to at least one adjacent upstream controller.

20. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a signal representative of an auto-slug condition received from at least one adjacent downstream controller.

21. The method of claim 20 and further comprising the step of determining whether a jammed object condition exists in a zone local to the controller.

22. The method of claim 20 and further comprising the step of storing the received signal relating to the jammed object condition to serve as a reference for evaluation of a subsequent received signal representative of a jammed object condition.

23. The method of claim 22 and further comprising the step of initiating the operation of a delay timer in response to detected jammed object condition.

24. The method of claim 23 and further comprising the step of terminating the operation of the delay timer when the jammed object condition fails to be detected for an acceptable period of time.

25. The method of claim 24 and further comprising the step of communicating the signal to at least one adjacent upstream controller representative of the jammed object condition.

26. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a change in the operation of a timer.

27. The method of claim 26 and further comprising the step of storing an auto-slug setting representative of whether at least one of the plurality of controllers is initiating an auto-slug condition.

28. The method of claim 26 and further comprising the step of storing a sleep setting representative of the initiation of a sleep condition to serve as a reference for further evaluation of a sleep condition.

29. The method of claim 26 and further comprising the step of storing a jam setting representative of a jam condition to serve as a reference for further evaluation of a jam condition.

30. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a signal received that is representative of the presence of an object from an upstream zone.

31. The method of claim 30 and further comprising the step of storing the signal relating to the presence of an object local to an upstream controller to serve as a reference for further evaluation of the presence of an object local to an upstream controller.

32. The method of claim 31 and further comprising the step of communicating a signal to at least one adjacent downstream controller representative of state of the upstream controller.

33. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a signal representative of the presence of an object local to a downstream controller.

34. The method of claim 33 and further comprising the step of storing the signal relating to the presence of an object local to a downstream controller to serve as a reference for evaluation of a subsequent received signal relative to the presence of an object local to a downstream controller.

35. The method of claim 34 and further comprising the step of communicating the signal to at least one adjacent upstream controller representative of the state of the downstream controller.

36. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a signal from an adjacent downstream controller relating to the status of an object detector as a smart object detector.

37. The method of claim 36 and further comprising the step of communicating a signal to at least one adjacent upstream controller representative of the state of the downstream controller as having a smart object detector.

38. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a signal from an adjacent upstream controller concerning the release of an object from an upstream zone.

39. The method of claim 38 and further comprising the step of determining whether the controller is adjacent to a downstream controller.

40. The method of claim 39 and further comprising the step of communicating the signal to at least one adjacent downstream controller representative of the result of the evaluating step.

41. The method of claim 39 and further comprising the step of operating the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone in response to the received signal in order to actuate the actuator and operate the movement of objects in the zone local to the controller.

42. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a signal received that is representative of a change in a slug condition from at least one upstream controller.

43. The method of claim 42 and further comprising the step of determining whether the controller is adjacent a downstream controller.

44. The method of claim 43 and further comprising the step of communicating the signal to at least one adjacent downstream controller representative of the slug condition in the at least one adjacent downstream controller.

45. The method of claim 43 and further comprising the step of updating the slug condition in the local controller in response to the received signal.

46. The method of claim 45 and further comprising the step of communicating the slug condition to at least one adjacent upstream controller to update a slug condition in the at least one adjacent upstream controller.

47. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a signal from an adjacent downstream controller relating to presence of an object local to the zone of the adjacent downstream controller.

48. The method of claim 47 and further comprising the step of storing the signal from the adjacent downstream controller representative of the presence of the object local to the zone of the adjacent downstream controller.

49. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a signal received from at least one downstream controller representative of a change in a slug condition.

50. The method of claim 49 and further comprising the step of storing the signal from the at least one downstream controller representative of the change in the slug condition to serve as a reference for evaluation of a subsequent received signal representative of a change in a slug condition.

51. The method of claim 50 and further comprising the step of determining whether a jam condition exists.

52. The method of claim 51 and further comprising the step of communicating a signal representative of the slug condition to at least one upstream controller to propagate the slug condition to the at least one upstream controller if the jam condition is determined not to exist.

53. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a signal received from at least one downstream controller representative of a jam condition.

54. The method of claim 53 and further comprising the step of communicating the signal representative of the jam condition to at least one upstream controller to propagate the jam condition to the at least one upstream controller.

55. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to the expiration of a sleep timer.

56. The method of claim 55 and further comprising the step of storing information representative of the initiation of a sleep condition to serve as a reference for further evaluation of the sleep condition of the controller.

57. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to the expiration of a jam timer.

58. The method of claim 57 and further comprising the step of storing information representative of the activation of a jam condition to serve as a reference for further evaluation of the jam condition of the controller.

59. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of determining whether the operable interconnections of the controller to at least one of the upstream controller and the downstream controller is in a ground state.

60. The method of claim 59 and further comprising the step of initiating a slug condition in the controller if the detecting step detects a ground state.

61. The method of claim 59 and further comprising the step of terminating a slug condition in the controller if the detecting step does not detect a ground state.

62. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a determination of whether a sleep mode is enabled.

63. The method of claim 62 and further comprising the step of determining whether the controller is a downstream end controller if sleep mode is not enabled.

64. The method of claim 62 and further comprising the step of determining whether the controller is an upstream end controller if sleep mode is enabled.

65. The method of claim 64 and further comprising the step of determining whether the controller and at least one upstream controller have detected the presence of an object.

66. The method of claim 65 and further comprising the step of initiating a sleep condition and deactivating a sleep timer if at least one of the controller and at least one adjacent upstream controller detect the presence of an object in a zone local to the at least one of the controller and the at least one adjacent upstream controller.

67. The method of claim 65 and further comprising the step of determining whether a sleep condition is active if the controller and at least one adjacent upstream controller do not detect the presence of an object in a zone local to the controller and at least one adjacent upstream controller.

68. The method of claim 67 and further comprising the step of determining whether a sleep timer is running if the sleep condition is not active.

69. The method of claim 68 and further comprising the step of at least one of resetting and activating the sleep timer if the sleep timer is not running.

70. The method of claim 69 and further comprising the step of determining whether the controller is a downstream end controller if the sleep timer is running.

71. The method of claim 67 and further comprising the step of deactivating the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if a sleep condition is active.

72. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a determination of whether the controller is a downstream end controller.

73. The method of claim 72 and further comprising the step of determining whether a jam mode is enabled if the controller is not a downstream end controller.

74. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a determination of whether a jam mode is enabled.

75. The method of claim 74 and further comprising the step of determining whether an object is present in a zone local to the controller and an object is not present in either a first downstream zone and a second downstream zone.

76. The method of claim 75 and further comprising the step of determining whether a signal representative of a jam condition in the first downstream controller has been received by the controller if an object present in a zone local to the controller and an object is present in both the first downstream zone and the second downstream zone.

77. The method of claim 76 and further comprising the step of deactivating the jam condition, sending a signal representative of the jam condition to the first upstream controller, and deactivating the jam timer, if a signal representative of an active jam condition has not been received from the first downstream controller.

78. The method of claim 76 and further comprising the step of sending a signal representative of a terminated slug condition, deactivating an auto-slug condition, and sending a signal representative of an activated jam condition to the first upstream controller if a signal representative of an activated jam condition has been received from the first downstream controller.

79. The method of claim 75 and further comprising the step of determining whether a jam condition exists if an object is present in the zone local to the controller and an object is not present in at least one of the first downstream zone and the second downstream zone.

80. The method of claim 79 and further comprising the step of determining whether a jam timer is running if a jam condition does not exist.

81. The method of claim 80 and further comprising the step of activating the jam timer if the jam timer is not running.

82. The method of claim 80 and further comprising the step of determining whether a slug mode is enabled if the jam timer is running.

83. The method of claim 79 and further comprising the step of sending a signal representative of a deactivated slug condition and a deactivated auto-slug condition local to the controller, and sending a signal representative of an activated jam condition to the first upstream controller if a jam condition is detected.

84. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a determination of whether a slug mode is enabled.

85. The method of claim 84 and further comprising the step of determining whether a current slug condition exists if slug mode is enabled.

86. The method of claim 84 and further comprising the step of determining whether auto-slug mode is enabled if slug mode is not enabled.

87. The method of claim 85 and further comprising the step of determining whether auto-slug mode is enabled if the current slug condition does not exist.

88. The method of claim 85 and further comprising the step of activating the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if the slug condition does exist.

89. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a determination of whether auto-slug mode is enabled.

90. The method of claim 89 and further comprising the step of determining whether a first downstream object detector does not detect an object if auto-slug mode is not enabled.

91. The method of claim 89 and further comprising the step of determining whether an auto-slug delay timer has been started if auto-slug mode is enabled.

92. The method of claim 91 and further comprising the step of determining whether a first downstream object detector and a second downstream object detector each do not detect an object if the auto-slug delay timer is not running.

93. The method of claim 92 and further comprising the step of sending a signal to a first upstream controller representative of a stop auto-slug condition if the first downstream object detector or the second downstream object detector each do not detect the object.

94. The method of claim 92 and further comprising the step of activating the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if the first downstream object detector and the second downstream object detector each do not detect an object.

95. The method of claim 91 and further comprising the step of determining whether the auto-slug delay timer has expired if the auto-slug delay timer has been started.

96. The method of claim 95 and further comprising the step of activating the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if the auto-slug delay timer has expired.

97. The method of claim 96 and further comprising the step of sending a signal to a first upstream controller representative of a start auto-slug condition.

98. The method of claim 94 and further comprising the step of sending a signal to a first upstream controller representative of a start auto-slug condition.

99. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of responding to a determination of a change in state of a first downstream object detector.

100. The method of claim 99 and further comprising the step of activating the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if the first downstream photo-eye is clear.

101. The method of claim 99 and further comprising the step of deactivating the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if the first downstream object detector does detect an object.

194. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of activating the particular one of the plurality of actuators in response to a signal initiated by the at least one event logic element.

195. The method of claim 14 and further comprising the step of performing a plurality of event logic elements for evaluating and controlling the position of the at least one object in the plurality of zones, and transmitting a signal relating to the position of the at least one object to the at least one of the adjacent upstream controller and the adjacent downstream controller.

196. The method of claim 195 and further comprising the step of determining whether to actuate a particular one of the actuators responsive to a hierarchy process called by an event logic element based on the enablement of at least one function mode.

197. The method of claim 196 wherein the at least one function mode comprises at least one of a sleep mode, a downstream end module mode, a jam mode, a slug mode, an auto-slug mode, and a valve operation mode.

102. A system for controlling a zone in a conveyor system for handling objects traveling therealong comprising:

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.

103. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates the operation of a delay timer in response to the presence of an object in a zone local to the controller.

104. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller terminates the operation of the delay timer in response to the absence of an object in a zone local to the controller for a predetermined period of time.

105. The system of claim 103 wherein the controller communicates the absence of the object to at least one of an adjacent upstream controller.

106. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller stores the results of the detecting step in the controller to serve as a reference for further evaluation of the presence of an object in the zone.

107. The system of claim 106 wherein the controller communicates the results of the detecting step to at least one of an adjacent upstream controller.

108. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a signal representative of an auto-slug condition received from at least one adjacent downstream controller.

109. The system of claim 108 wherein the controller evaluates the existence of a jam condition exists in a zone local to the controller.

110. The system of claim 109 wherein the controller initiates the operation of a delay timer in response to detected jammed object condition.

111. The system of claim 108 wherein the controller stores the signal relating to an auto-slug condition to serve as a reference for evaluation of a subsequent received signals representative of a jammed object condition.

112. The system of claim 111 wherein the controller terminates the operation of a delay timer.

113. The system of claim 112 wherein the controller communicates the signal to at least one adjacent upstream controller representative of the jammed object condition.

114. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a change in the operation of a timer.

115. The system of claim 114 wherein the controller stores an auto-slug setting representative of whether at least one of the plurality of controllers is initiating a slug condition.

116. The system of claim 114 wherein the controller stores a sleep setting representative of the initiation of a sleep condition to serve as a reference for further evaluation of a sleep condition.

117. The system of claim 114 wherein the controller stores a jam setting representative of a jam condition to serve as a reference for further evaluation of a jam condition.

118. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a signal received that is representative of the presence of an object in an upstream zone.

119. The system of claim 118 wherein the controller stores the signal relating to the presence of an object local to an upstream controller to serve as a reference for further evaluation of the presence of an object local to an upstream controller.

120. The system of claim 119 wherein the controller communicates a signal to at least one adjacent downstream controller representative of the state of the upstream controller.

121. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a signal representative of the presence of an object local to a downstream controller.

122. The system of claim 121 wherein the controller stores the signal relating to the presence of an object local to a downstream controller to serve as a reference for evaluation of a subsequent received signal relative to the presence of an object local to a downstream controller.

123. The system of claim 122 wherein the controller communicates the signal to at least one adjacent upstream controller representative of the state of the downstream controller.

124. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a signal from an adjacent downstream controller relating to the status of an object detector as a smart object detector.

125. The system of claim 124 wherein the controller communicates a signal to at least one adjacent upstream controller representative of the state of the downstream controller as having a smart object detector.

126. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a signal from an adjacent upstream controller concerning the release of an object from an upstream zone.

127. The system of claim 126 wherein the controller determines whether the controller is adjacent to a downstream controller.

128. The system of claim 127 wherein the controller communicates the signal to at least one adjacent downstream controller representative of the result of the evaluating step.

129. The system of claim 127 wherein the controller operates the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone in response to the received signal in order to actuate the actuator and operate the movement of objects in the zone local to the controller.

130. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a signal received that is representative of a change in a slug condition from at least one upstream controller.

131. The system of claim 130 wherein the controller determines whether the controller is adjacent a downstream controller.

132. The system of claim 131 wherein the controller communicates the signal to at least one adjacent downstream controller representative of the slug condition in the at least one adjacent downstream controller.

133. The system of claim 131 wherein the controller updates the slug condition in in the local controller in response to the received signal.

134. The system of claim 133 wherein the controller communicates the slug condition to at least one adjacent upstream controller to update a slug condition in the at least one adjacent upstream controller.

135. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a signal from an adjacent downstream controller relating to presence of an object local to the zone of the adjacent downstream controller.

136. The system of claim 135 wherein the controller stores the signal from the adjacent downstream controller representative of the presence of the object local to the zone of the adjacent downstream controller.

137. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a signal received from at least one downstream controller representative of a change in a slug condition.

138. The system of claim 137 wherein the controller stores the signal from the at least one downstream controller representative of the change in the slug condition to serve as a reference for evaluation of a subsequent received signal representative of a change in a slug condition.

139. The system of claim 138 wherein the controller determines whether a jam condition exists.

140. The system of claim 139 wherein the controller communicates a signal representative of the slug condition to at least one upstream controller to propagate the slug condition to the at least one upstream controller if the jam condition is determined not to exist.

141. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a signal received from at least one downstream controller representative of a jam condition.

142. The system of claim 141 wherein the controller communicates the signal representative of the jam condition to at least one upstream controller to propagate the jam condition to the at least one upstream controller.

143. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to the expiration of a sleep timer.

144. The system of claim 143 wherein the controller stores information representative of the initiation of a sleep condition to serve as a reference for further evaluation of the sleep condition of the controller.

145. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to the expiration of a jam timer.

146. The system of claim 145 wherein the controller stores information representative of the activation of a jam condition to serve as a reference for further evaluation of the jam condition of the controller.

147. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller determines whether the operable interconnections of the controller to at least one of the upstream controller and the downstream controller is in a ground state.

148. The system of claim 147 wherein the controller initiates a slug condition in the controller if the detecting step detects a ground state.

149. The system of claim 147 wherein the controller terminates a slug condition in the controller if the detecting step does not detect a ground state.

150. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a determination of whether a sleep mode is enabled.

151. The system of claim 150 wherein the controller determines whether the controller is a downstream end controller if sleep mode is not enabled.

152. The system of claim 150 wherein the controller determines whether the controller is an upstream end controller if sleep mode is enabled.

153. The system of claim 152 wherein the controller determines whether the controller and at least one upstream controller have detected the presence of an object.

154. The system of claim 153 wherein the controller initiates a sleep condition and deactivates a sleep timer if the controller and at least one adjacent upstream controller detect the presence of an object in a zone local to the at least one of the controller and the at least one adjacent upstream controller.

155. The system of claim 153 wherein the controller evaluates whether a sleep condition is active if the controller and at least one adjacent upstream controller do not detect the presence of an object in a zone local to the controller and at least one adjacent upstream controller.

156. The system of claim 155 wherein the controller evaluates whether a sleep timer is running if the sleep condition is not active.

157. The system of claim 156 wherein the controller resets and activates the sleep timer if the sleep timer is not running.

158. The system of claim 157 wherein the controller evaluates whether the controller is a downstream end controller if the sleep timer is running.

159. The system of claim 155 wherein the controller deactivates the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if a sleep condition is active.

160. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a determination of whether the controller is a downstream end controller.

161. The system of claim 160 wherein the controller determines whether a jam mode is enabled if the controller is not a downstream end controller.

162. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a determination of whether a jam mode is enabled.

163. The system of claim 162 wherein the controller determines whether an object is present in a zone local to the controller and an object is not present in a first downstream zone and a second downstream zone.

164. The system of claim 163 wherein the controller determines whether a signal representative of a jam condition in the first downstream controller has been received by the controller if an object is not present in a zone local to the controller and an object is present in both the first downstream zone and the second downstream zone.

165. The system of claim 164 wherein the controller deactivates the jam condition, sending a signal representative of the jam condition to the first upstream controller, and deactivating the jam timer, if a signal representative of an active jam condition has not been received from the first downstream controller.

166. The system of claim 164 wherein the controller sends a signal representative of a terminated slug condition, deactivating an auto-slug condition, and sending a signal representative of an activated jam condition to the first upstream controller if a signal representative of an activated jam condition has been received from the first downstream controller.

167. The system of claim 163 wherein the controller determines whether a jam condition exists if an object is present in zone local to the controller and an object is not present in at least one of the first downstream zone and the second downstream zone.

168. The system of claim 167 wherein the controller determines whether a jam timer is running if a jam condition does not exist.

169. The system of claim 168 wherein the controller activates the jam timer if the jam timer is not running.

170. The system of claim 168 wherein the controller evaluates whether a slug mode is enabled if the jam timer is running.

171. The system of claim 167 wherein the controller sends a signal representative of a deactivated slug condition and a deactivated auto-slug condition local to the controller, and sending a signal representative of an activated jam condition to the first upstream controller if a jam condition is detected.

172. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a determination of whether a slug mode is enabled.

173. The system of claim 172 wherein the controller determines whether a current slug condition exists if slug mode is enabled.

174. The system of claim 172 wherein the controller determines whether auto-slug mode is enabled if slug mode is not enabled.

175. The system of claim 173 wherein the controller determines whether an auto-slug mode is enabled if the current slug condition does not exist.

176. The system of claim 173 wherein the controller activates the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if the slug condition does exist.

177. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a determination of whether auto-slug mode is enabled.

178. The system of claim 177 wherein the controller determines whether a first downstream object detector does not detect an object if auto-slug mode is not enabled.

179. The system of claim 177 wherein the controller evaluates whether an auto-slug delay timer has been started if auto-slug mode is enabled.

180. The system of claim 179 wherein the controller determines whether a first downstream object detector and a second downstream object detector each do not detect an object if the auto-slug delay timer is not running.

181. The system of claim 180 wherein the controller sends a signal to a first upstream controller representative of a stop auto-slug condition if the first downstream object detector or the second downstream object detector each do not detect the object.

182. The system of claim 180 wherein the controller activates the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if the first downstream object detector and the second downstream object detector each do not detect an object.

183. The system of claim 179 wherein the controller determines whether the auto-slug delay timer has expired if the auto-slug delay timer has been started.

184. The system of claim 183 wherein the controller activates the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if the auto-slug delay timer has expired.

185. The system of claim 184 wherein the controller sends a signal to a first upstream controller representative of a start auto-slug condition.

186. The system of claim 182 wherein the controller sends a signal to a first upstream controller representative of a start auto-slug condition.

187. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller initiates a response to a determination of a change in state of a first downstream object detector.

188. The system of claim 187 wherein the controller activates the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if the first downstream object detector does not detect an object.

189. The system of claim 187 wherein the controller deactivates the actuator corresponding to the controller local to the zone if the first downstream object detector detects an object.

190. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller activates the particular one of the plurality of actuators in response to a signal initiated by the at least one object in the particular zone.

191. The system of claim 102 wherein the controller performs a plurality of event logic elements for evaluating and controlling the position of the at least one object in the particular zone, and transmits a signal relating to the position of the at least one object to the at least one of the adjacent upstream controller and the adjacent downstream controller.

192. The system of claim 191 wherein the controller determines whether to actuate a particular one of the actuators responsive to a hierarchy process called by an event logic element based on the enablement of at least one function mode.

193. The system of claim 192 wherein the at least one function mode comprises at least one of a sleep mode, a downstream end module mode, a jam mode, a slug mode, an auto-slug mode, and a valve operation mode.