Accumulation control

摘要

Systems, methods, devices, and non-transitory processor readable media of the various embodiments enable control of a conveyor having a plurality of zones each having a control module configured to control a selectable speed of the zone. The various embodiments are disclosed in connection with, but not necessarily limited to, accumulation conveyors with control systems which selectively set the speeds of zones based on conditions of upstream and downstream zones. The various embodiments are directed to improving efficiency of accumulation systems by controlling zones based upon consideration of conditions of neighboring zones. The various embodiment also enable the generation and use of translation tables correlating zones with network addresses of their respective control modules.

主权项

1. A method for controlling a conveyor having a plurality of zones each having a control module configured to control a selectable speed of the zone, the method comprising:
automatically generating, at a controller, a translation table correlating an identifier of each zone of the plurality of zones with a network address of its respective control module; receiving, at the controller, a command indicating a speed setting for a first zone of the plurality of zones and the identifier of the first zone; using, at the controller, the translation table to determine a network address of a control module of the first zone based on the identifier of the first zone; and sending the command indicating the speed setting for the first zone of the plurality of zones from the controller to the determined network address of the control module of the first zone.