CLIAMS:1. A system for real time tracking hot rolled coils in steel rolling mill, the system
comprising:
a memory along with a server configured to store and process a first data from a
plurality of coils, a second data from the plurality of coils, a first period of time, and a
second period of time;
a plurality of cameras located at different positions configured to take a snapshot of
the data present on the plurality of coils at different time intervals;
an interface connected to the memory, the interface operative to communicate with a
user and plurality of camera which detects the presence of hot rolled coils in a period
of time; and
a processor operatively connected to the memory and the interface, the processor
operative to receive data from the camera, via the interface, the first data, the first
period of time, the second data and the second period of time wherein the first data
and second data were detected by the camera upon at least one platform in a
plurality of platforms, determine whether the first period of time and the second
period of time overlap, and communicate to the user, via the interface, that the first
data and the second data are upon the same platform if the first period of time
overlaps the second period of time, otherwise communicate to the user, via the
interface, that the first data and the second data are on consecutive platforms.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the interface is operatively connected
to the memory and operative to communicate with a user via low loss fibre optic
network.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of cameras are positioned
at various strategic locations for capturing of coil image along with the coil numbers.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the acquired snapshot is transmitted to
the through a low loss fibre optic network.
5.The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the snapshot is recorded on motion
detection mode where in the image was recorded only when there was movement in
coil, so that unnecessary recording during mill stoppage time is avoided.
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6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of platforms comprises a
plurality of places wherein the hot rolled coils are rolled and/or stored. (rolling mill or
storage places)
7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is operatively connected
to a control room.
8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data is captured as a snapshot,
thereby automatically decoded and stored in the database.
9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the captured data is stored in the
memory of computer server for coil tracking and analysis
10. The method for tracking hot rolled coils in steel rolling mill using the system as
claimed in any of the preceding claims. ,TagSPECI:2
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRACKING HOT ROLLED COILS IN STEEL
ROLLING MILL
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system and method for real time tracking Hot
Rolled Coils in steel rolling mill using camera vision technology. More particularly,
the present invention relates to capturing of coil image along with the coil numbers.
The acquired image is transmitted to the respective control rooms through a low loss
fibre optic network. The developed system provides viewing and capturing of coil
numbers which can be stored in computer (server) database.
BACKGROUND ART
Integrated steel plant produces numerous steel products generally classified as flat
and long products with varying physical & chemical properties from basic raw
materials such as iron ore, coal, limestone etc. on continual basis. There are several
stages for operations of hot metal to various grades of steel followed by rolling of
final products. The present application was considered for the Hot Roll Coil Finish
(HRCF) of Bokaro Steel Plant. Prime role of HRCF is to transport the hot rolled coils
to the coil yards for direct shipping and Cold Rolling Mills (CRM) for further
processing. Besides, HRCF also makes sheets from coil in the shearing lines as per
the requirements of customer.
In Hot Strip Mill (HSM), after the coilers (4 nos), the coils are sent to either Additional
Coil Yard (ACY) or Hot Roll Coil Finish (HRCF) end, over the chain conveyor by Lift
& Turn Table (LTT) operator as per the production schedule. Fig.1 represents the
material flow diagram for hot coil transportation. Coil details such as coil no., size,
grade, destination and weight (viz. B424242, 2.9x1250, CT2K, FR, 19.96T) etc. are
printed on the curved surface of the coil. Due to design/orientation of the coils and
the direction of the conveyors, the coil details are sighted on either side of the
conveyor and LTT operator cannot view the same for all the coils. The operator has
to rotate the coils to-wards his field of view and again re-rotate the same to the
designated conveyor for onward transportation. This leads to delay in operation
besides, sometimes due to wrong identification, few coils are sent to the wrong
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destination which creates complexities in operation leading to added cost for manual
transportation of coils to right locations. Similar problem exist both at HRCF and ACY
ends, where LTT operators are unable to view coil details directly. As such, it is
mandatory to know the coil details before directing the same to the designated
destinations. Therefore, it is essential to track the coils from HSM end to ACY/HRCF
over the conveyor belt to ensure smooth and efficient operation of the shop. In order
to improve the operational efficiency of this complex process, a tracking system of
HR coils using camera vision technology has been installed. In the installed system,
several CCD cameras has been positioned at the strategic locations at (a) coiler bay
(b) ACY & (c) HRCF ends for viewing, capturing and recording the coil numbers.
Hundreds of thousands of coils of steel may be transported from a steel mill in a
given year. An individual shipment of steel coils may have several distinct delivery
destinations and each delivery destination may be allocated specific coils within the
shipment. Upon arriving at a destination the shipper may need to locate the coils of
steel within the shipment allocated to the destination. Locating the allocated coils
within the shipment may require manually identifying each coil in the shipment until
all the allocated coils are found. Manual identification of each steel coil may be a
slow and time consuming process. A slow process may be particularly undesirable
as there may be little time available for unloading, allocating, and reloading the steel
coils. Additionally, manual identification of each coil may increase the costs
associated with shipping the coils.
Therefore there is a need for an improved method for tracking of Hot Rolled Coils in
steel rolling mill using camera vision technology.
SUMMARY ON INVENTION
The method of tracking for Hot Rolled coils in steel rolling mill using camera vision
technology is elaborated in this section. CCD cameras were installed in critical
location of HRCF and HSM. The image was viewed as live display of moving coils on
LTT and conveyors so that the coil numbers are visible in the image. The location of
cameras on coil conveyor is given in Fig. 2. Analogue cameras were selected
because of its unique advantage of low latency over Internet Protocol (IP) cameras.
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Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to introduce a suitable tracking
system for HR coil movement and tracking over a 4Km network including hot
tunnels.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide the operator real time image
and coil numbers for monitoring and controlling the coil movement.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to use the captured data to optimize
the coil tracking process.
As per an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the camera suitable for
working at an ambient 50°C is placed, at suitable location for viewing 600°C hot roll
coils and maintaining the temperature of the camera housing within limit without use
of any external water/forced air cooling.
Therefore such as herein described there is provided a system for determining a
relative location of a plurality of hot rolled coils upon a plurality of platforms may
include at least one camera, memory, an interface, and a processor. The memory
may be operatively connected to the processor and the interface and may store a
first data from in a plurality of coils, a second data from the plurality of coils during a
first period of time and a second period of time wherein the data is written on a hot
rolled coil after capturing data using a plurality of camera located at different places.
The interface may be operatively connected to the memory and may be operative to
communicate with a user via low loss fibre optic network. The low loss fibre optic
network may be able to communicate an item in the plurality of items for a period of
time. The processor may be operatively connected to the memory and the interface.
The processor may be operative to receive from the camera, via the interface, the
first item, the first period of time, the second item and the second period of time. The
first item and the second item may have been detected by the camera on at least
one platform in a plurality of platforms. The processor may determine whether the
first period of time and the second period of time overlap. If the periods of time
overlap the processor may communicate to the user that the first item and the
second item are upon the same platform. Otherwise the processor may
communicate to the user that the first item and the second item are on consecutive
platforms.
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Other systems, methods, features and advantages will be, or will become, apparent
to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed
description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and
advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the
embodiments, and be protected by the following claims and be defined by the
following claims. Further aspects and advantages are discussed below in
conjunction with the description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 illustrates material flow diagram for Hot Roll Coil Transportation system in
accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2 illustrates the location of cameras on coil conveyor in accordance with the
present invention;
Fig. 3 illustrates the flow chart of video signal transmission in accordance with the
present invention;
Fig. 4 illustrates camera mounted near hot coil in accordance with the present
invention;
Fig. 5 illustrates camera positioning for viewing curved surface of coil in accordance
with the present invention;
Fig. 6 illustrates coil image captured from four sides in accordance with the present
invention;
Fig. 7 illustrates coil details written on a coil in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates to tracking of Hot Rolled Coils using camera vision
technology, where several cameras have been positioned at various strategic
locations for capturing of coil image along with the coil numbers. The acquired image
is transmitted to the respective control rooms through a low loss fibre optic network.
The developed system provides viewing and capturing of coil numbers which can be
stored in computer (server) database.
Research & Development Centre for Iron & Steel (RDCIS) Ranchi and Bokaro Steel
Plant (BSL), Bokaro have designed, developed, installed and commissioned “An
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improved method for tracking of hot rolled coils in steel rolling mill using camera
vision technology”. The system is being utilized successfully since commissioning.
A system for real time tracking hot rolled coils in steel rolling mill comprises of
hardware components namely a memory along with a server, a plurality of
camera located of different strategic positions, an interface for the real time
connections and transmission and receipt of data and a processor operatively
connected to the memory and the interface, the processor operative to receive
data from the camera, via the interface.
The memories connected with a server configured to store and process a first
data from a plurality of coils, a second data from the plurality of coils, a first
period of time, and a second period of time. The pluralities of cameras are
located at different positions configured to take a snapshot of the data present
on the plurality of coils at different time intervals;
The said interface connected to the memory is wired and is optical fibre based.
The interface is further operative to communicate with a user and plurality of
camera which detects the presence of hot rolled coils in a period of time. The
other component which is a processor is operative to receive the first data, the
first period of time, the second data and the second period of time wherein the
first data and second data were detected by the camera upon at least one
platform in a plurality of platforms, determine whether the first period of time
and the second period of time overlap, and communicate to the user, via the
interface, that the first data and the second data are upon the same platform if
the first period of time overlaps the second period of time, otherwise
communicate to the user, via the interface, that the first data and the second
data are on consecutive platforms.
The image was recorded on motion detection mode where in the image was
recorded only when there was movement in coil, so that unnecessary recording
during mill stoppage time is avoided. This has two basic advantages, firstly only the
relevant image is recorded making it easy to search and analyze and secondly it
saves the critical hard disk space in computer. Additionally, the recorded image can
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be played back in slow motion (1/4 x, 1/8 x, 1/10 x etc.) to evaluate reasons of any
wrong operation during coil movement. The flow chart of video signal transmission is
given in Fig. 3.
The system is essentially integrated with CCD cameras, multi-channel DVRs, LCD
monitors, Video Distribution Amplifiers (VDA), Fibre optic transmitters and receivers,
power supply units, RF cables, Fibre optic cable and accessories. Each DVR is
suitably configured for simultaneous viewing and storing of images on real time
basis.
The camera for industrial use is set up on a hot rolling line transmits the picture
image signal to a picture image processing circuit by picking up the image of the
rolling line, the processor performs the sampling at the prescribed period to quantize
and for sampling. The signal which performed the picture image processing is
transmitted to a tracking process circuit, the line information is inputted from a host
computer and the position and moving speed of the billet located on the line are
calculated based on the picture image processing signal. In this way the tracking of
the hot billet is performed simply and accurately to automate the line and to make
the line efficient.
DESIGN FOR COIL TRACKING SYSTEM USING CAMERA VISION
TECHNOLOGY IN HARSH ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION
The Hot rolled coil temperature is 600 degree C. The ambient temperature of the
surroundings were studied and it was found that near the bottom of coil, the ambient
temperature as 45+ 5° C , as hot air near coil goes upwards, making the surrounding
temperature less. The cameras with built in housing and heat sink could with stand a
maximum of 500 C ambient temperatures and was mounted 8 to 10 meters away
near the bottom of coil. This obviated the need of any forced water cooling/air
cooling of cameras and the cameras got cooled using natural cooling. This made the
design industrially most viable and cost effective. The above concept is shown in
above fig. 4.
INTERFACING OF CAMERA SIGNAL WITH MILL WIDE FIBRE OPTIC NETWORK
FOR TRANSMISSION OF VIDEO IMAGE TO CONTROL ROOM
The following activities were carried out
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• Design of a hybrid network for data transmission over fibre optic
network; both analogue & digital signals.
?? Transmission of analog camera signal to a distance of 2 KM through a fibre
optic network using suitable analog-analog fibre optic converters and
reproduction of the analog signal in control room.
?? Conversion of analog camera signal to digital signal for transmission to local
area network using suitable digital-digital fibre optic converters.
?? The camera positioning for viewing coil numbers is shown below in figure 5.
METHOD FOR CAPTURING OF COIL NUMBERS AND GENERATING
RESPECTIVE SNAPSHOTS THROUGH APPLICATION SOFTWARE
The following activities were carried out.
?? A method has been developed for capturing of coil numbers and generating
respective snapshots using Video Management Software
?? The system captures snapshots of coils with coil numbers printed on the
curved surface of HR coils
?? The captured data is stored in the computer server for coil tracking and
analysis
?? The captured image of coil from all four sides is shown in figure 6.
CRITERIA FOR VIEWING OF MOVING COILS AND CAPTURED SNAPSHOTS
WITH DATE TIME STAMP
The following activities were carried out
?? A search criteria has been developed for viewing the records of moving coils
and snapshots over one month period.
?? The searched records with date & time enables user for further analysis.
?? The data is captured as a snapshot, thereby automatically decoded and
stored in the database.
?? The coil number and other details written on coil are shown in figure 7.
BENEFITS
?? DVR- based CCD camera systems over a Fibre Optic Network are useful for
close monitoring of any continuous process, which otherwise dependant on
operator skills, who may remain blind folded to the object of interest due to
vision hindrances
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?? Viewing & tracking of HR Coils from HSM to HRCF has resulted in correct
placement of coils at designated places & also reduced coil spill over from
conveyors.
?? This has led to improved operational logistics and reduced mill delays
significantly.
System cost is comparatively low with high quantified benefits, leading to its
justification on the Return on Investment (ROI) scale. Design of the system is such
that it can be deployed to any Rolling Mills for process monitoring application in
steel plants.
Although the foregoing description of the present invention has been shown and
described with reference to particular embodiments and applications thereof, it
has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not
intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the particular embodiments
and applications disclosed. It will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in
the art that a number of changes, modifications, variations, or alterations to the
invention as described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit
or scope of the present invention. The particular embodiments and applications
were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the
invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in
the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such changes,
modifications, variations, and alterations should therefore be seen as being
within the scope of the present invention as determined by the appended claims
when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally,
and equitably entitled.