Conveyance system

• US 6,370,447 B1
• Filed: 10/06/2000
• Issued: 04/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyowa Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Kyowa Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Miyazaki, Toshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi H.
• Application Number:
  US09/680,839
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 700/3, 700/13, 700/228, 700/230, 700/225, 700/226, 198/358, 198/349.8, 198/349.9, 198/368, 198/369.1, 198/370.01, 198/572, 198/780, 198/781.01, 198/781.05, 198/786, 198/790
• US Class Current: 700/230
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 43/10 Sequence control of conveyors operating in combination
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/54 at least one of which is a roller-way

Abstract

A communication master unit of a conveyance controller and communication slave units for a main conveyor, loading conveyors and unloading conveyors are connected by a serial transmission line to transmit and receive different kinds of data signals to and from motorized rollers for conveying items and their corresponding sensors by the packet-switching exchange system. Conveyance control can be executed by transmitting and receiving the different kinds of data signals via reduced number of wirings while connecting the master unit and the slave units corresponding to the respective conveyors by the serial transmission line in a conveyor system.

Claims

1. A conveyance system comprising:

a conveyor assembly including a first conveyor unit and a second conveyor unit arranged after the first conveyor unit, each conveyor unit being provided with a plurality of motorized rollers each having a rotary drum and a motor for rotating the rotary drum, and a plurality of free rollers arranged between two adjacent motorized rollers, the motorized rollers being driven to convey items from the first conveyor unit to the second conveyor unit;

a conveyance controller having a communication master function;

a sensor provided at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of motorized rollers in each of the first and second conveyor units for detecting presence or absence of an item;

a first communication slave unit provided in a position corresponding to the first conveyor unit and be able to communicate with the conveyance controller in serial transmission;

a second communication slave unit provided in a position corresponding to the second conveyor unit and be able to communicate with conveyance controller in serial transmission; and

a transmitting/receiving device for rendering communications between each sensor and the corresponding communication slave unit and communications between each motorized roller and the corresponding communication slave unit to transmit a drive signal for the corresponding motorized roller to the corresponding communication slave unit and receive a detection signal of the corresponding sensor;

wherein the conveyance controller includes;

a receiver for cyclically receiving respective detection signals of the sensors via the first and second communication slave units;

a command data generator for generating operation command data to rotate or stop relating motorized rollers in response to the detection signals from the sensors received by the receiver; and

a transmitter for cyclically transmitting generated operation command data to the first and second communication slave units in serial transmission.

2. A conveyance system according to claim 1, wherein the speed of data communications between each communication slave unit and the corresponding transmitting/receiving devices is higher than the speed of one-scan data communications including the data communication between the conveyance controller and the each communication slave unit.

3. A conveyance system according to claim 1, wherein the first conveyor unit is so arranged as to continuously join the second conveyor unit, and the conveyance controller controllably drives motorized rollers of the first conveyor unit in accordance with detection signals of the sensors of the second conveyor unit.

4. A conveyance system according to claim 3, wherein the speed of data communications between each communication slave unit and the corresponding transmitting/receiving devices is higher than the speed of one-scan data communications including the data communication between the conveyance controller and the each communication slave unit.

5. A conveyance system according to claim 1, wherein the second conveyor unit is so arranged as to continuously branch off from the first conveyor unit, further comprising a reader for reading a conveyance end of the item from the item in a position upstream from a branched-off position of the second conveyor unit from the first conveyor unit,

wherein the conveyor controller controls the conveyance end of the item based on the result of the reader.

6. A conveyance system according to claim 5, wherein the speed of data communications between each communication slave unit and the corresponding transmitting/receiving devices is higher than the speed of one-scan data communications including the data communication between the conveyance controller and the each communication slave unit.

7. A conveyance system according to claim 5, further comprising a conveyance end switching mechanism at the branched-off position, wherein the conveyance controller controllably drives the conveyance switching mechanism based on the read result of the reader.

8. A conveyance system according to claim 7, wherein the speed of data communications between each communication slave unit and the corresponding transmitting/receiving devices is higher than the speed of one-scan data communications including the data communication between the conveyance controller and the each communication slave unit.