Computerised control device and computer-implemented method for controlling a product processing plant, and computer program product

A computer-implemented method for control of a product processing plant, which comprises a collecting plant with a conveyor and a plurality of feeders for preparing product collections of flat products of various types supplied by the feeders, comprising:

• detecting a production configuration, which defines production of multiple production sequences for multiple delivery routes, such that one or more production sequences are assigned to each delivery route, each production sequence defining the production of multiple product collections of a type of collection comprising multiple products;
• determining for the feeders an occupancy by products which are to be supplied by the feeder to the conveyor to prepare the product collections;
• receiving a production optimization parameter that determines whether a defined production order is to be maintained for the delivery routes or whether the production order of the delivery routes can be altered , and if the production order can be altered for multiple delivery routes;
• combining the production sequences of multiple delivery routes for the production of product collections of the same type of collection to form a cohesive production sequence;
• and
• determining the occupancy of the feeders for the production order with combined production sequences, wherein the products are each assigned to one of the feeders, such that the products which belong to a common type of collection are not assigned to the same feeder, and products that are present in successive production sequences are, if possible, not assigned to the same feeder.

A computer program product comprising an accessible non-transitory computer-readable memory medium having stored computer code, which is configured to control one or more processors of a control device for controlling a product processing plant, which comprises a collecting plant with a conveyor and multiple feeders for preparing product collections of flat products supplied by the feeders, so that the control device is configured to:

• detect a production configuration which defines the production of multiple production sequences for multiple delivery routes, such that one or more production sequences are assigned to each delivery route, each production sequence defining the production of multiple product collections of a type of collection comprising multiple products;
• determine an occupancy with products for the feeders, these products to be supplied from the feeder to the conveyor for preparing product collections;
• receive a production optimization parameter that determines whether a defined production order is to be maintained for the delivery routes or whether the production order of the delivery routes can be altered with a variable production order, and if the production order can be altered for multiple delivery routes;
• combine the production sequences of multiple delivery routes for the production of product collections of the same type of collection into a cohesive production sequence;
• and
• determine the occupancy of the feeders for the production order with combined production sequences.

A computerized control device for controlling a product processing plant, which comprises a collecting plant having a conveyor and a plurality of feeders for preparing product collections of flat products of various types supplied by the feeders, wherein the control device comprises one or more processors and a computer-readable memory having stored computer code, when executed, the computer code is configured to control the one or more processors so that the control device is configured to:

• detect a production configuration, which defines production of multiple production sequences for multiple delivery routes, wherein one or more production sequences are assigned to each delivery route and each production sequence defines the production of multiple product collections of a type of collection comprising multiple products;
• determine occupancy with products for the feeders, these products to be supplied from the feeder to the conveyor for preparing the product collections;
• receive a production optimization parameter, which determines whether a defined production order is to be maintained for the delivery routes or whether the production order of the delivery routes can be altered, and if the production order can be altered for multiple delivery routes;
• combine the production sequences for the production of product collections of the same type of collection, to form a cohesive production sequence;
• and
• determine the occupancy of the feeders for the production order with the combined production sequences such that the products are each assigned to one of the feeders, wherein the products which do not belong to a common type of collection are assigned to the same feeder for products that are present in successive production sequences, an expected period of time for the product change with feeders and/or an interruption in production of the collecting plants to be determined and the occupancy of the feeders is to be defined in such a way that the expected total period of time for the product change and the production interruption are as short as possible.

A computer-implemented method for control of a product processing plant, which comprises a collecting plant with a conveyor and a plurality of feeders for preparing product collections of flat products of various types supplied by the feeders, comprising:

• detecting a production configuration, which defines production of multiple production sequences for multiple delivery routes, such that one or more production sequences are assigned to each delivery route, each production sequence defining the production of multiple product collections of a type of collection comprising multiple products;
• determining for the feeders an occupancy by products which are to be supplied by the feeder to the conveyor to prepare the product collections;
• receiving a production optimization parameter that determines whether a defined production order is to be maintained for the delivery routes or whether the production order of the delivery routes can be altered , and if the production order can be altered for multiple delivery routes;
• combining the production sequences of multiple delivery routes for the production of product collections of the same type of collection to form a cohesive production sequence;
• and
• determining the occupancy of the feeders for the production order with combined production sequences, wherein the products are each assigned to one of the feeders, such that products that belong to a common type of collection are not assigned to the same feeder;
• for products that are present in successive production sequences, determining an expected period of time for a product change with feeders and/or a production interruption of the collecting plant and defining the occupancy of the feeders, such that the total period of time expected for a product change or a production interruption is as short as possible.