US 12,116,212 B2
Conveyor system, motor roller controller and method for operating a conveyor system
Dimitar Ivanov Petrov, Sofia (BG); Nikola Aleksandrov Yankov, Sofia (BG); Dimitar Hristov Suvandzhiev, Sofia (BG); Ivan Dimitrov Petrov, Sofia (BG); Kazuya Ichieda, Miki (JP); Randy Combs, Burlington, KY (US); and Georg Malina, Düsseldorf (DE)
Assigned to KYOWA EUROPE GMBH, Leichlingen (DE); and INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE, Sofia (BG)
Filed by Dimitar Ivanov Petrov, Sofia (BG); Nikola Aleksandrov Yankov, Sofia (BG); Dimitar Hristov Suvandzhiev, Sofia (BG); Ivan Dimitrov Petrov, Sofia (BG); Kazuya Ichieda, Miki (JP); Randy Combs, Burlington, KY (US); and Georg Malina, Düsseldorf (DE)
Filed on Oct. 12, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/485,686.
Application 18/485,686 is a continuation of application No. PCT/EP2022/057417, filed on Mar. 22, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 21169396 (EP), filed on Apr. 20, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0043223 A1, Feb. 8, 2024
Int. Cl. B65G 43/00 (2006.01); B65G 13/02 (2006.01); B65G 13/04 (2006.01); B65G 13/06 (2006.01); B65G 39/12 (2006.01); G05B 19/418 (2006.01)
CPC B65G 43/00 (2013.01) [B65G 13/02 (2013.01); B65G 13/04 (2013.01); B65G 13/06 (2013.01); B65G 39/12 (2013.01); G05B 19/4189 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A motor-roller controller comprising:
at least one motor-roller control port and at least one wired signal bus port,
a wireless communication unit arranged to sense identification signals of wireless motor-roller controllers and to obtain signal strength information from the sensed identification signals,
a wired communication unit arranged to send the signal strength information and to receive signal strength information and
a computing unit arranged to compute a position of the wireless motor-roller controller relative to at least two wired motor roller controllers based on the received signal strength information.
 
4. A conveyor system, for conveying goods and packages comprising:
a motor-roller controller comprising:
at least one motor-roller control port and at least one wired signal bus port,
a wireless communication unit arranged to sense identification signals of wireless motor-roller controllers and to obtain signal strength information from the sensed identification signals,
a wired communication unit arranged to send the signal strength information and to receive signal strength information and
a computing unit arranged to compute a position of the wireless motor-roller controller relative to at least two wired motor roller controllers based on the received signal strength information;
the at least two wired motor-roller controllers,
at least two of the wireless motor-roller controllers, wherein each wireless motor-roller controller has at least one control port and a wireless port, and
wherein the two wired motor-roller controllers are connected in series along a signal bus via the signal bus port,
wherein
each wired motor-roller controller senses a signal strength of wireless signals of the wireless motor-roller controllers, and
the wired motor-roller controllers exchange information about the sensed signal strengths.
 
16. A method for operating a conveyor system comprising:
a motor-roller controller comprising:
at least one motor-roller control port and at least one wired signal bus port,
a wireless communication unit arranged to sense identification signals of wireless motor-roller controllers and to obtain signal strength information from the sensed identification signals,
a wired communication unit arranged to send the signal strength information and to receive signal strength information and
a computing unit arranged to compute a position of the wireless motor-roller controller relative to at least two wired motor roller controllers based on the received signal strength information;
the at least two wired motor-roller controllers,
at least two of the wireless motor-roller controllers, wherein each wireless motor-roller controller has at least one control port and a wireless port, and
wherein the wired motor-roller controllers are connected in series along a signal bus via the signal bus port,
wherein
each of the wired motor-roller controller senses a signal strength of wireless signals of the wireless motor-roller controllers, and
the wired motor-roller controllers exchange information about the sensed signal strengths;
the method comprising:
sensing a signal strength of identification signals wirelessly send by at least two wireless motor-roller controllers, and
exchanging the information about the sensed signal strengths of the identification signals between at least two wired motor-roller controllers and
compute a position of a wireless motor-roller controller relative to at least two wired motor roller controllers based on the exchanged information.