Accumulation control
First Claim
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1. A method for controlling an accumulation conveyor, the accumulation conveyor comprising a plurality of zones, the method comprising:
- receiving, at a controller, data indicating conditions for each zone of the plurality of zones; and
setting, at the controller, an operating speed for a first zone of the plurality of zones based on at least a condition of a downstream zone of the plurality of zones, the condition of the downstream zone being a speed of the downstream zone, wherein setting the operating speed comprises determining, at the controller, a potential speed of the first zone based on the speed of the downstream zone.
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Abstract
Zones of an accumulation conveyor are controlled using a look ahead approach. The speed and article presence conditions of downstream and upstream zones are used to assess the condition of article flow in the neighborhood of a particular zone. The respective speeds of individual zones are then selected and implemented based on the assessment.
28 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for controlling an accumulation conveyor, the accumulation conveyor comprising a plurality of zones, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a controller, data indicating conditions for each zone of the plurality of zones; and setting, at the controller, an operating speed for a first zone of the plurality of zones based on at least a condition of a downstream zone of the plurality of zones, the condition of the downstream zone being a speed of the downstream zone, wherein setting the operating speed comprises determining, at the controller, a potential speed of the first zone based on the speed of the downstream zone. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A material handling system, comprising:
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an accumulation conveyor comprising a plurality of zones; and a controller in communication with the accumulation conveyor to perform operations to; receive data indicating conditions for each zone of the plurality of zones, and set an operating speed for a first zone of the plurality of zones based on at least a condition of a downstream zone of the plurality of zones, the condition of the downstream zone being a speed of the downstream zone, wherein to set the operating speed comprises the controller to perform operations to determine a potential speed of the first zone based on the speed of the downstream zone. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A controller comprising:
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an interface to an accumulation conveyor; at least one processor; and a memory, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to the memory and the interface and configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations to; receive data indicating conditions for each zone of the plurality of zones, and set an operating speed for a first zone of the plurality of zones based on at least a condition of a downstream zone of the plurality of zones, the condition of the downstream zone being a speed of the downstream zone, wherein to set the operating speed comprises said at least one processor configured with processor-executable instructions to determine a potential speed of the first zone based on the speed of the downstream zone. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification