Accumulation control

摘要

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.

主权项

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.