Control device, conveyor for transporting products, and method for controlling a conveyor for transporting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10793372-B2
Application number	US-201816619117-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2018
Priority date	Jun 9, 2017
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

A control device ( 1 ) for a goods transport conveyor ( 100 ) has a processor ( 10 ) that generates control signals for at least one drive motor ( 350 ) of a transport section ( 110; 120; 130 ) of the goods transport conveyor ( 100 ). The motor operates in stop-and-go mode. The processor ( 10 ) is configured to control the drive motor ( 350 ) by means of a forward phase and/or reverse phase when the transport section ( 110; 120; 130 ) of the goods transport conveyor ( 100 ) stops such that the torque (M(t)) produced by the drive motor ( 350 ) is reduced according to an adjustable stopping function. The processor ( 10 ) sets the stopping function depending on detected process data of the transport section ( 110; 120; 130 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A control device ( 1 ) for conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ), the conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ) having a processor ( 10 ) that generates control signals for at least one drive motor ( 350 ) of a transport section ( 110 ; 120 ; 130 ) of the conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ), the motor being operable in a stop-go-mode;
wherein
the processor ( 10 ) is configured, when stopping the transport section ( 110 ; 120 ; 130 ) of the conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ), to control the drive motor ( 350 ) by means of a phase-cut on and/or phase-cut off in such a manner that the torque (M(t)) generated by the drive motor ( 350 ) is reduced in accordance with an adjustable stop function, and
the processor ( 10 ) adjusts the stop function in dependence on detected process data of the transport section ( 110 ; 120 ; 130 ).

2. The control device of claim 1 , wherein the stop function is a time-dependent function of the torque (M(t)) of the drive motor ( 350 ).

3. The control device of claim 2 , wherein the processor ( 10 ) adjusts a stopping period (ΔT A ), during which the torque (M(t)) of the drive motor ( 350 ) is reduced from an operating torque to a stopping torque, in dependence on the detected process data.

4. The control device of claim 1 , wherein the detected process data include information about a current operating temperature and/or information about a transported product weight of a transported product ( 250 ) transported along the conveyor for transporting products.

5. The control device of claim 1 , wherein the processor ( 10 ), when adjusting the stop function, takes into consideration, as process data, an operating temperature of the drive motor ( 350 ).

6. The control device of claim 5 , wherein the processor ( 10 ) generates control signals for the drive motor ( 350 ) of a drive roller ( 300 ) of the transport section ( 110 ; 120 ; 130 ), and the operating temperature of the drive motor ( 350 ) is determined by establishing temperature-dependent electrical resistance of a holding brake ( 360 ) of the drive roller ( 300 ).

7. The control device of claim 6 , wherein the holding brake ( 360 ) is adjacent to the drive motor ( 350 ) on a stationary shaft ( 330 ) of the drive roller ( 300 ).

8. The control device of claim 6 , wherein the holding brake ( 360 ) is operated with a smaller operating voltage than the drive motor ( 350 ).

9. The control device of claim 1 , wherein the processor ( 10 ), when adjusting the stop function, takes into consideration, as process data, a transported product weight of a transported product ( 250 ) conveyed on the conveyor for transporting products.

10. The control device of claim 1 , wherein the processor ( 10 ) is configured to determine information about a transported product weight of a transported product ( 250 ) conveyed on the conveyor for transporting products from the electrical power that is required on start-up of the drive motor ( 350 ) to accelerate the transported product ( 250 ) to a desired speed.

11. The control device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one sensor data input via which the processor receives at least some of the detected process data of the conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ).

12. The control device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one control output ( 21 ; 22 ) for outputting the control signals to the at least one drive motor ( 350 ) of the conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ).

13. The control device of claim 12 , further comprising a supply input ( 30 ) for a supply voltage with at least one phase, wherein the processor ( 10 ) provides the at least one phase of the supply voltage as control signal at the control output ( 21 ; 22 ) such that, on start-up and stopping of the drive motor ( 350 ), it is provided with a phase-cut on and/or a phase-cut off.

14. The control device of claim 13 , wherein the control output ( 21 , 22 ) is configured in two parts for outputting two control signals for controlling two drive motors ( 350 ) of the conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ), and wherein the processor ( 10 ) generates the two control signals from the same supply voltage that is present at the supply input ( 30 ).

15. The control device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one signal input ( 31 ; 32 ) via which input signals can be transmitted to the processor ( 10 ), wherein the input signals include information about start times and stop times of the at least one drive motor ( 350 );
and wherein the processor ( 10 ) is configured to generate the control signals for the at least one drive motor ( 350 ) at the transmitted start times and stop times in such a way that the drive motor ( 350 ) is started and stopped by a phase-cut on and/or phase-cut off.

16. The control device of claim 1 , wherein the processor ( 10 ) generates control signals for the drive motor ( 350 ) of a pallet conveyor ( 100 ) as the conveyor for transporting products.

17. A conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ) comprising: at least one transport section ( 110 ; 120 ; 130 ) that is driven by at least one drive motor ( 350 ), and the control device ( 1 ) of claim 1 , wherein the control device ( 1 ) outputs control signals generated by the processor ( 10 ) of the control device ( 1 ) to the at least one drive motor ( 350 ).

18. The conveyor for transporting products of claim 17 , further comprising a temperature sensor for detecting an operating temperature of the at least one drive motor ( 350 ), wherein the temperature sensor provides information about the detected operating temperature as process data to the processor ( 10 ) of the control device ( 1 ).

19. A method for controlling a conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ), comprising:
operating at least one drive motor ( 350 ) of a transport section ( 110 ; 120 ; 130 ) of the conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ) in a stop-and-go mode;
detecting process data of the transport section ( 110 ; 120 ; 130 ) ;
controlling the at least one drive motor ( 350 ) by means of a phase-cut on and/or phase-cut off in such a way that, on stopping of the transport section ( 110 ; 120 ; 130 ) of the conveyor for transporting products ( 100 ), the torque (M(t)) generated by the drive motor ( 350 ) is reduced in accordance with an adjustable stop function; and
adjusting the stop functions in dependence on the detected process data.

Assignees

• Interroll Holding Ag

Inventors

• Niu Huiping
• Theis Normen

Classifications

• B65G43/00

  Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting · CPC title

• H02P3/20

  by reversal of phase sequence of connections to the motor · CPC title

• B65G2811/097

  with reversal of the conveying direction · CPC title

• B65G13/06 Primary

  Roller driving means · CPC title

• B65G2203/045

  Thermic · CPC title