Conveyor with flexible zone parameter control
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A conveyor system for conveying a workpiece comprising:
- a plurality of rollers spaced along a conveyor path and operable via a plurality of motors coupled to the plurality of rollers along the conveyor path and the plurality of motors being separately identifiable via unique motor addresses;
an address interface coupled to the plurality of motors; and
a control assembly coupled to the address interface to configure a control zone to control a series of the plurality of motors based upon corresponding motor addresses for the series of the plurality of motors.
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Abstract
A conveyor with flexible zone parameter control. A flexible zone conveyor includes a zone address interface coupled to a plurality of motors to configure at least one zone control unit or control zone to control a designated series of motors along a conveyor path to provide a flexible control zone adaptable for different applications. Control parameters for the control zone can be user inputted or automatically defined for flexible operating control.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A conveyor system for conveying a workpiece comprising:
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a plurality of rollers spaced along a conveyor path and operable via a plurality of motors coupled to the plurality of rollers along the conveyor path and the plurality of motors being separately identifiable via unique motor addresses;
an address interface coupled to the plurality of motors; and
a control assembly coupled to the address interface to configure a control zone to control a series of the plurality of motors based upon corresponding motor addresses for the series of the plurality of motors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A conveyor system comprising:
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a plurality of rollers spaced along a conveyor path and operable via a plurality of motors coupled to the plurality of rollers along the conveyor path and a plurality of control units coupled to the plurality of motors; and
an interface bus and the plurality of control units coupled to the interface bus and having a unique bus address and the plurality of control units being configured to define at least one control zone comprising a designated series of the plurality of control units. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for conveying a workpiece along a conveyor path comprising steps of:
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programmably configuring a control zone to control a plurality of motors coupled to a plurality of rollers along a conveyor path through a zone control interface coupled to the plurality of motors; and
conveying the workpiece along the conveyor path via operation of the control zone. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
inputting operating parameters of the control zone to configure the control zone to control a designated series of the plurality of motors.
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22. The method of claim 20 including a plurality of control zones along the conveyor path and comprising the steps of:
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programmably configuring the plurality of control zones to a first zone configuration for a first application based upon operator inputted parameters; and
programmably configuring the plurality of control zones to a second zone configuration for a second application based upon the operator inputted parameters.
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23. The method for conveying the workpiece of claim 20 wherein the control zone includes a plurality of drivers to operate the plurality of motors and a plurality of control units coupled to the zone control interface to control the plurality of drivers.
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24. A method for conveying a workpiece along a conveyor path comprising steps of:
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configuring a first control zone for a workpiece to control a first series of drivers coupled to a first series of motors along a conveyor path through a control interface or interface bus; and
configuring a second control zone for the workpiece to control a second series of drivers coupled to a second series of motors as the workpiece moves along the conveyor path through the control interface or interface bus. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
providing a plurality of sensors along the conveyor path; and
configuring the first and second control zones based upon feedback from the plurality of sensors.
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26. The method for conveying the workpiece of claim 24 wherein the first and second control zones include a plurality of control units coupled to the control interface or interface bus and plurality of drivers to configure the first and second control zones through the control interface or interface bus.
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27. The method of claim 26 including a plurality of sensors coupled to the plurality of control units to provide feedback to configure the first and second control zones.
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28. The method of claim 24 wherein the steps of configuring the first and second control zones comprises the steps of:
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determining workpiece position along the conveyor path; and
configuring the first and second control zones based upon the workpiece position and a control status of the plurality of motors.
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29. The method of claim 28 wherein the conveyor path includes a plurality of sensors spaced along the conveyor path and the step of determining the workpiece position comprises:
detecting the workpiece along the conveyor path via feedback from the plurality of sensors.
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30. The method of claim 28 wherein the first and second control zones are configured based upon defined control parameters or desired spacing between workpieces along the conveyor path.
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31. A conveyor system comprising:
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a plurality of rotating conveyor elements spaced along a conveyor path and a plurality of motors to operate the plurality of conveyor elements along the conveyor path; and
a control system including a control input device and a zone control interface coupled to the plurality of motors and the control system configured to define at least one control zone including a designated series of the plurality of motors and the at least one control zone being configured based upon control input from the control input device through the zone control interface. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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Specification