System and method for counting spatially arranged, moving markers

Abstract

A method for counting spatially arranged, moving markers, the markers being arranged to move along a movement axis parallel to a sensors axis of sensors for detecting the markers during movement. The number of sensors is lower than the number of markers in order to decrease the cost of the sensors system. The present system supports stacks having objects, associated with the markers, of different sizes (such as weight plates of increasing height) or different weights.

1 . A method for counting spatially arranged, moving markers, wherein said markers are arranged to move along a movement axis being parallel to a sensors axis of sensors configured to detect said markers during movement, whereas there are fewer sensors than markers,
 the method comprising the steps of:
 arranging said sensors, in said initial setup, such that at least two of the sensors are arranged such that all the markers precede them taking into account the axis of movement of a direction of an engaging movement 
 providing a computer implemented method comprising the steps of:
 providing information on a number of markers; 
 providing information on a sequence of said sensors; 
 providing information on the initial setup by specifying how many markers are preceding and following each sensor taking into account the axis of movement and a direction of an engaging movement; 
 arranging said sensors, in said initial setup, such that at least two of the sensors are arranged such that all the markers precede them taking into account the axis of movement and said direction of the engaging movement; 
 determining a sensor S T  having 0 following markers and a sensor S T-1  following the S T  sensor in the direction of the engaging movement; 
 awaiting detection of a marker by the sensor S T-1 ; 
 determining a sensor S B  closest to a starting sensor taking into account said direction of an engaging movement and at the same time having more than 0 detected markers; 
 verifying whether the S B  sensor is the starting sensor and in case it is not, determining a number of moved markers as a sum of detected markers and following markers for the S B . 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1  further comprising the steps of:
 in the case the verifying step is positive, setting a variable H as a sum of predefined heights of objects associated with said markers preceding the starting sensor based on the number of markers preceding the starting sensor as well as the number of markers counted by the starting sensor; 
 determining a sensor S TT  as the closest sensor following S T −H; and 
 awaiting detection of a marker by the sensor S TT . 
 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein said number of moved markers is increased by 1 when the S B  is facing a marker. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein said information on the initial setup of the system comprises a list defining heights of all objects associated with said markers. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein said information on the initial setup of the system comprises a list defining weights of all objects associated with said markers whereas after said verifying step the method is configured to provide a total weight as a sum of weight of all objects associated with said moved markers. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein the method further comprises a step of awaiting a return of weight plates to an initial position and increasing a counter of repetitions. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein said information on the initial setup of the system further comprises information on whether each sensor is facing a marker. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein said sensors are mounted on at least one rail being configured to be connectable to other such rails in order to form longer rails along said sensors axis. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing at least one reference sensor positioned to detect a first marker of the set of markers at the resting position;   detecting, via the reference sensor, an absence of the first marker to determine that movement of the set of markers has commenced; and   detecting, via the reference sensor, a return of the first marker to said resting position to confirm that the set of markers is fully lowered or returned to its initial position.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising:
 calibrating the system by storing in memory, upon a detection by the reference sensor of the first marker in the resting position, a zero-point position for the set of markers; and   using the zero-point position for automatically resetting a repetition counter upon each return of the first marker to the reference sensor.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the reference sensor is configured such that it is in a physical contact or a visual contact with the first marker when said first marker is in the resting position, thereby minimizing measurement error associated with determining a fully lowered position. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing in a memory, for each marker, at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of: a weight, a height, or both; and calculating a total load moved based on which markers are determined to have been moved during the engaging movement and determining a travel distance for each marker from said height parameter and incrementing a repetition count upon detecting that each marker has returned to the initial resting position. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensors are mounted on at least one rail configured to be connectable to other rails, and the method further comprises enumerating the sensors to establish a sequence along the sensor axis, such that fewer sensors than markers are deployed while still detecting all markers. 
     
     
         14 . A computer program comprising program code for performing all the steps of the computer-implemented method according to  claim 1  when said program is run on a computer. 
     
     
         15 . A computer readable medium storing computer-executable instructions performing all the steps of the computer-implemented method according to  claim 1  when executed on a computer. 
     
     
         16 . A system for counting spatially arranged, moving markers, wherein said markers are arranged to move along a movement axis being parallel to a sensors axis of sensors configured to detect said markers during movement, whereas there are fewer sensors than markers,
 the system comprising:
 a memory storing a configuration that comprises:
 information on a number of markers; 
 information on a sequence of said sensors;
 information on an initial setup of the system by specifying how many markers are preceding and following each sensor taking into account the axis of movement and a direction of an engaging movement; 
 
 wherein at least two of the sensors are arranged in said initial setup, such that all the markers precede them taking into account the axis of movement and the direction of the engaging movement; 
 
   a controller configured to execute the steps of:
 determining a sensor S T  having 0 following markers and a sensor S T-1  following the S T  sensor in the direction of the engaging movement; 
 awaiting detection of a marker by the sensor S T-1 ; 
 determining a sensor S B  closest to a starting sensor taking into account said direction of an engaging movement and at the same time having more than 0 detected markers; 
 verifying whether the S B  sensor is the starting sensor and in case it is not, determining a number of moved markers as a sum of detected markers and following markers for the S B . 
   
     
     
         17 . The system according to  claim 16  wherein one of said sensors is arranged facing or preceding a first marker being the starting marker in said spatially arranged group of markers taking into account a direction of an engaging movement. 
     
     
         18 . The system according to  claim 16  wherein said sensors are arranged on at least two connected rails arranged along the sensors axis wherein each rail is configured to provide a report to the controller wherein such report comprises sensors identifiers and sensors sequence. 
     
     
         19 . The system according to  claim 18  wherein said controller is physically separated from said rails. 
     
     
         20 . The system according to  claim 16  wherein said controller is further configured to execute the steps of:
 in the case the verifying step is positive, setting a variable H as a sum of predefined heights of objects associated with said markers preceding the starting sensor based on the number of markers preceding the starting sensor as well as the number of markers counted by the starting sensor; 
 determining a sensor S TT  as the closest sensor following S T −H; and 
 awaiting detection of a marker by the sensor S TT .