Conveyor system with automated carriers

1. A conveyor system comprising:

a fixed, non-powered rail defining a conveyor path; and

a plurality of automated conveyor carriers (ACC) supported on the rail to be movable along the conveyor path, each of the plurality of ACCs including an on-board motor and an on-board electrical power source selectively powering the on-board motor to drive the ACC along the rail, wherein each of the plurality of ACCs operates to power the on-board motor from the on-board electrical power source under the direction of instructions programmed to a local controller on the respective ACC,

wherein each of the local controllers of the respective ACCs is programmed to carry out independent power level management for its own on-board electrical power source and configured to selectively operate an adaptive low power indicator to communicate a low power status based only in part on the power level of the on-board electrical power source and further based on one or more parameters of a current work cycle.

2. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein the adaptive low power indicator of each respective ACC is positioned in an observable location on an exterior thereof.

3. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein the local controller is configured to provide the adaptive low power indicator as a wireless signal to one or both of a system level controller and at least one additional ACC of the plurality of ACCs.

4. The conveyor system of claim 1 , further comprising a charging station configured to recharge the on-board electrical power source, wherein the adaptive low power indicator is configured to communicate the low power status based on a distance along the rail from the charging station.

5. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein the adaptive low power indicator is configured to communicate the low power status via a visible light.

6. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein the adaptive low power indicator is configured to communicate the low power status via an audible alarm.

7. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein the current work cycle parameters include a location of the respective ACC along the conveyor path and/or a weight of a load suspended therefrom.

8. The conveyor system of claim 7 , wherein the adaptive low power indicator is configured to communicate the low power status based on continuous monitoring of a charge level of the on-board electrical power source in cooperation with a predicted power requirement that is based on travel distance along with speed and acceleration profiles of the current work cycle.

9. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein the local controller on each respective ACC is programmed to automatically adapt the current work cycle by re-routing or automatically switching to a power-saving mode of operation upon identifying the low power status.

10. The conveyor system of claim 9 , wherein the rail includes a series of pull-outs whereby a respective one of the ACCs experiencing the low power status can seamlessly exit the conveyor path associated with an active production line, during operation without disrupting the conveyor system.

11. A method of operating a conveyor system having a fixed, non-powered rail defining a conveyor path and a plurality of automated conveyor carriers (ACC), the method comprising:

supporting the plurality of ACCs on the rail;

independently driving each of the plurality of ACCs along the conveyor path by an on-board motor and an on-board electrical power source selectively powering the on-board motor; and

independently managing power levels of the respective on-board electrical power sources of the plurality of ACCs by local controllers of each of the respective ACCs, such that a local controller selectively operates an adaptive low power indicator upon identifying a low power status based only in part on the power level of the on-board electrical power source and further based on one or more parameters of a current work cycle.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein each local controller determines the low power status based on a distance along the rail from a charging station configured to recharge the on-board electrical power source.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein each local controller provides the adaptive low power indicator as a wireless signal to one or both of a system level controller and at least one additional ACC of the plurality of ACCs.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the adaptive low power indicator communicates the low power status via a visible light.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the adaptive low power indicator communicates the low power status via an audible alarm.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the current work cycle parameters include a location of the respective ACC along the conveyor path and/or a weight of a load suspended therefrom.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein each local controller identifies the low power status based on continuous monitoring of a charge level of the on-board electrical power source in cooperation with a predicted power requirement that is based on travel distance along with speed and acceleration profiles of the current work cycle.

18. The method of claim 11 , further comprising automatically adapting the current work cycle of one of the plurality of ACCs by the direction of the local controller thereof by re-routing or automatically switching to a power-saving mode of operation upon identifying the low power status.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein automatically adapting the current work cycle includes driving the ACC experiencing the low power status onto one of a series of pull-outs provided along the rail to seamlessly remove the ACC from the conveyor path associated with an active production line, during operation without disrupting the conveyor system.

20. A method of operating a conveyor system having a fixed, non-powered rail defining a conveyor path, the method comprising:

providing an automated conveyor carrier (ACC) on the rail;

independently driving the ACC along the conveyor path by an on-board motor and an on-board electrical power source under the direction of a local controller of the ACC, the local controller programmed with independent power level management to monitor for a low power status as a condition for operating an adaptive low power indicator, the controller monitoring for the low power status based only in part on the power level of the on-board electrical power source and further based on one or more parameters of a current work cycle;

receiving with the local controller an update or replacement for the current work cycle; and

reprogramming the manner in which the local controller monitors for the lower power status based on the update or replacement.