Coal is an important energy source and, as with most such items, has considerable value on the black market. Therefore, a method of checking is required to ensure that the correct weight and products arrive at the destination.
This was the problem faced by a Chinese company that designs and develops weight checking and fraud prevention systems for coal mines and other industrial sites. It needed robust and reliable industrial computers with a large number of digital I/O ports to connect and command a variety of subsystems, including in-ground truck scale, RFID, remote control, barrier gate control, video, sound and light alarm, infrared, LED display systems and many others.
System requirements
Because they are to be installed in harsh environments, the computers have to be robust and capable of operating within a wide range of temperatures. Photo-isolated COM ports and digital I/O ports are particularly important, since they minimise interference of communications and protect the main system board. Fanless design is crucial since it prevents dust from entering the unit, therefore ensuring that it is not affected by a build-up of grime.
Designed specifically for harsh, dusty environments, Advantech’s UNO-2050G and EKI-1526 were deemed best suited to cope with the requirements. Of fanless design and with a large number of COM and isolated digital I/O ports, they are reliable and particularly suitable for operation under conditions like these.
System description
To build the platform for this application, Advantech’s embedded automation computer, UNO-2050G, is paired with an EKI-1526 serial to Ethernet device server, and is controlled using Advantech’s industrial touch panel, monitor, FPM-3121G, which features wide-temperature and sunlight readability, making it especially suitable for outdoor applications.
The UNO-2050G, is a robust and compact industrial computer which integrates control, communication and other computing functionalities in a small form factor, with 8-ch isolated digital input and 8-ch isolated digital output ports that allow for connecting a number of devices according to the desired application. Its isolated COM ports and digital I/O make it the ideal choice for operating in harsh environments. In addition, dual LAN provides teaming functionality to ensure reliable data transmission.
In this case, the computer system is connected to a reader that scans the RFID tags of the trucks and the items to be warehoused; it is also connected to an in-ground vehicle scale, so it can read the weight of the vehicles at the check point. All the information is collected and transmitted via the EKI-1526 to the UNO-2050G. The data is then sent to the central control room and is displayed on the FPM-3121G monitor and also an LED display next to the person checking the vehicle’s weight.
If the goods are consistent with their claimed weight, the UNO-2050G would command the road barrier to rise, if the weight is inconsistent, an alarm is sounded. The whole process is recorded by a video system with the images stored for management purposes.
Conclusion
The fanless design of Advantech’s products allows for stable and reliable operation in ultra-harsh outdoor environments such as those found at coal mines. The UNO-2050G integrates all the needed computation, communications and control functionalities in a small form factor, making it easy to install in limited space applications. The large number of ports on the UNO-2050G and EKI-1526 provides great flexibility for the system integrator to develop versatile applications according to actual needs, and to shorten the time-to-market of new industrial products.
For more information contact Fons de Leeuw, Profitek Industrial Communications, 086 165 4321, [email protected], www.profiteksa.com
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