CH711717B1 - Plant and method for carrying out a machining process. - Google Patents

Abstract

A plant for carrying out a processing process, in particular for the production and / or testing of chemical products, comprises at least two processing stations (1-11) and at least one self-propelled transport vehicle (W) for transporting an object to be processed to the processing stations, the processing stations respectively undergo at least one processing step. The system has a main control computer (C) designed for communication with the processing stations and the transport vehicles. The transport vehicles (W) are designed to store an individual identification information provided by the main control computer (C). The main control computer (C) provides process control information (I) which describes which processing steps to subject an object to under what conditions in which order and to which processing stations the object is to be transported by the transport vehicles. The main control computer (C) assigns the identification information of a transportation vehicle (W) to individual process control information (I). The processing stations (1-11) recognize the identification information of a transporting vehicle (W) approaching them and, on the basis of their associated process control information (I), carry out the processing of the object provided on the transporting vehicle (W).

Description

Description: The invention relates to a system for carrying out a machining process according to the preamble of independent claim 1. The invention also relates to a corresponding method.

In many areas of manufacturing technology, for example in the production of electronic components or food or in the automotive industry, it is known to use fully automatic production or production lines. The production or manufacturing takes place step by step in a number of processing stations, which are run through according to a predetermined workflow. A suitable transport system is used to transport to and between the processing stations. A usually computer-based controller controls and coordinates the manufacturing or production steps carried out in the processing stations and the transport.

The previously known production or production lines work strictly sequentially and are each specifically designed for the manufacture of a specific product.

In chemical research and development there is often a need for systems with which a chemical product can be produced fully automatically. For smaller product series and especially if, as is customary in research and development, each manufactured product is manufactured individually, i.e. at least one step or one component is different, however, a specific production system designed for a single workflow is often too complex to be able to be changed over in this cadence, or the automation would differ with regard to e.g. Not worth saving time. In addition, sequentially operating production systems, as they are known up to now, are not optimal for every workflow or in extreme cases the system would have to be converted or even converted for each new product. Such production plants usually work in parallel, whereby the same basic work steps (with usually small differences between individual product containers, e.g. with regard to the quantity of substances entered, physical conditions etc.) are processed simultaneously or staggered over time in order to produce a large number of products to obtain.

The present invention now provides a system and a method for carrying out a machining process, which enable a more universal use of the system and simple adaptation to a wide variety of workflows.

This object on which the invention is based is achieved by the system according to the invention defined in the independent claim and by the method according to the invention defined in independent claim 28. Particularly advantageous developments and refinements of the system according to the invention and the corresponding method result from the respective dependent claims.

With regard to the system, the essence of the invention consists in the following: A system for carrying out a machining process comprises at least two machining stations and at least one self-propelled transport vehicle for transporting an object to be machined to the machining stations. The processing stations are designed to subject the object provided by the transport vehicle to at least one processing step. The system has a main control computer designed for communication with the processing stations and the at least one transport vehicle. The at least one transport vehicle is designed to store individual identification information provided by the main control computer. The main control computer provides process control information that describes which processing steps an object has to be subjected to under which conditions in which order and to which processing stations the object is to be transported by the at least one transport vehicle. The main control computer is designed to assign individual process control information to the identification information of the at least one transport vehicle. The processing stations are designed to recognize the identification information of the transport vehicle approaching them and to process the object provided on the transport vehicle on the basis of the process control information individually assigned to this identification information. With this configuration of the system, the processing steps to which an object is to be subjected can be individually programmed, and it is thus possible to process different objects in the same system in the same or different manner. In this way, the system can be used extremely flexibly.

[0008] The processing stations advantageously have local control computers which are designed to control the processing steps to be carried out in the processing stations and to communicate with the main control computer. This enables a modular structure of the system.

Advantageously, the local control computers of the processing stations are designed to update the process control information associated with identification information by the status and / or the result of the processing steps carried out, the updated process control information then determining all the processing steps that may follow. In this way, the machining process can automatically be dynamically adjusted continuously.

[0010] The system expediently has a rail system connecting the processing stations and the at least one transport vehicle is designed as a rail-bound forward and reverse carriage.

CH 711 717 B1 [0011] The rail system advantageously has at least one switch leading to different processing stations. This makes it easy to implement branches of the machining process.

Advantageously, the car is designed to store a decision code provided by the main control computer relating to the direction to be taken by the car on a switch and the switch is further designed to recognize the decision code of an approaching car and the car into the to steer a certain direction through the recognized decision code. As a result, the car can control the route to be driven itself and on the way or data generated during the processing of previous processing steps can influence this route.

Advantageously, the rail system comprises switches, by means of which it can be divided into two or more sections running side by side and these sections can be brought together again. This allows parallel processing of individual machining processes.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the system, the at least one transport vehicle is a carriage that moves freely in two-dimensional space and is designed to automatically move to the processing stations in accordance with the process control information associated with it, which may be updated. This makes the system particularly flexible.

The system expediently has two or more transport levels with processing stations arranged thereon and at least one lifting device for moving the at least one transport vehicle between the transport levels. This allows the system to be built relatively compactly.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the system, the at least one transport vehicle is an aircraft which moves freely in three-dimensional space and is designed to automatically fly to the processing stations in accordance with the process control information associated with it and possibly updated. This design means that transport tracks can be dispensed with.

Particularly advantageously, at least one of the processing stations for sequential, staggered or simultaneous execution of one or more identical or different processing steps is formed on it via the at least one transport vehicle supplied objects. As a result, several objects can be processed in the approached processing stations.

[0018] Advantageously, at least one of the processing stations is designed to carry out at least one processing step in batches or in parallel or in stages. This measure increases the throughput of the processing station in question. This is particularly important or advantageous if e.g. most processing steps (e.g. dosing) only take a relatively short time and one or a few processing steps (e.g. temperature treatment) require a comparatively much longer time.

[0019] According to an advantageous development of the system, the at least one transport vehicle is designed to independently move to a selected processing station from a group of identical or different processing stations. In this way, bottlenecks in the processing sequence can be avoided.

Advantageously, the system is designed so that different objects can be processed in different processing stations simultaneously, if necessary offset. This measure increases the throughput of the plant.

The system is particularly advantageously designed in such a way that on average comparable processing times can be achieved per processing station. Bottlenecks (bottlenecks) can be parallelized as in road traffic, whereby the throughput of the system can be continuously increased. As described above, for very long cycle times such as Heat curing is then carried out in parallel by placing the samples in a temperature control unit for a certain period of time and then bringing them back onto the shuttle at the programmed time.

[0022] According to a particularly advantageous development of the system according to the invention, the at least one transport vehicle is provided with treatment agents in order to carry out a physical and / or chemical treatment of the object located on the at least one transport vehicle. In this way, processing steps can be carried out not only in the fixed processing stations, but also directly on the transport vehicles, especially during their movement. This makes the system even more universal and flexible to use.

[0023] Advantageously, the process control information provided by the main control computer and individually assigned to the at least one transport vehicle also includes information relating to treatment steps to be carried out on the at least one transport vehicle, in particular during its movement, and the treatment means are designed to carry out the treatment steps to be carried out by them in accordance with the at least one to carry out process control information associated with the transport vehicle.

The at least one transport vehicle is expediently designed to accommodate two or more objects designed as product containers and / or samples, and the treatment means are designed for physical and / or chemical treatment of the contents of all product containers and / or samples located on the at least one transport vehicle , In this way, several products and / or samples can be transported and treated on one transport vehicle. For example, Samples are summarized, which are basically the same / similar

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Workflows have - essentially approach the same processing stations, but sometimes experienced different treatments on these.

[0025] The at least one transport vehicle is advantageously designed to accommodate at least one object designed as a reactor, in which a chemical or biological reaction can be carried out. As a result, the system can be used to manufacture a chemical product.

The system is advantageously designed for the production and / or for application and / or for testing a chemical product, the processing stations being designed as processing steps for carrying out production steps and / or application steps and / or test steps.

Particularly advantageously, the at least one transport vehicle is designed as a mobile reactor or formulation unit which can travel to various processing stations and is equipped with its own means for chemical and / or physical treatment of the contents of an object carried as a reaction or formulation container. This further increases the efficiency and flexibility of the system.

[0028] Advantageously, at least one processing station of the system is designed for the manual triggering or execution of one or more processing steps / s. This possibility of processing stations staffed with people increases the flexibility of the system enormously.

With regard to the method, the essence of the invention consists of the following: In a method for carrying out a machining process with a system according to the invention, objects to be machined travel by means of at least one self-propelled transport vehicle between two or more machining stations in which the objects are subjected to machining steps, wherein:

- The at least one transport vehicle receives or receives individual identification information and individual process control information relating to processing steps to be carried out and already carried out on the transported objects from a main control computer. sends back to the latter that, based on the process control information assigned to it, at least one transport vehicle automatically goes to the next processing station in which the next processing step necessary for the current processing process is carried out; and

- The various processing steps in the different processing stations are carried out sequentially one after the other and / or in parallel / simultaneously and / or staggered in time. This procedure enables universal applicability and maximum flexibility.

Advantageously, process control information is adapted as needed during the machining process as a function of data originally present and / or during the previously completed machining steps and / or on the basis of external inputs in order to change the machining process while it is being processed. This measure also increases flexibility.

In the following the invention will be described in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing. Show it:

1-8 schematic overall overviews of various exemplary embodiments of the system according to the invention;

Fig. 9-11 three basic training variants of the transport vehicle of the system;

Fig. 12-20 different equipment variants of the transport vehicle of the system;

21-22 show two flow diagrams for explaining essential functional sequences of the system; and

23 shows an example of process control information in list form.

The following definition applies to the description below: If reference numerals are given in a figure for the sake of clarity in the drawing, but are not mentioned in the directly associated description part, reference is made to their explanation in the preceding or following description parts. Conversely, in order to avoid graphic overload, reference numbers that are less relevant for immediate understanding are not shown in all figures. For this purpose, reference is made to the other figures.

[0033] In the context of this invention, the processing process of an object is understood to mean the entirety of all chemical and / or physical processing steps to which an object is to be subjected. Processing processes in the context of the invention are also to be understood in particular to mean manufacturing processes, application processes and test processes for a chemical product.

In the context of this invention, a manufacturing process for a chemical product is understood to mean the entirety of all chemical and / or physical manufacturing steps which ultimately result in the desired chemical product. In particular, but not exclusively, this also includes mixing and formulation processes. A chemical product is therefore understood in the broadest sense to mean any product which is obtained by chemical conversion and / or addition and / or mixing of components, the mentioned ones

CH 711 717 B1

Components may include substances, reagents, compounds, catalysts, but also aids for physical processes (e.g. glass beads for grinding a product). The manufacturing steps can be both chemical and physical. Chemical manufacturing steps are usually chemical reactions changing at least one chemical parameter or the production of a new chemical molecule or a complex etc. Physical manufacturing steps are typically the addition of chemical substances, e.g. Educts of chemical reactions, reaction-relevant auxiliary substances such as catalysts, stabilizers, emulsifiers, etc., which are to react later, or other solid, liquid or gaseous ingredients, as well as stirring, heating, cooling, pressurization etc., although this list is not exhaustive. Manufacturing steps also include purely mechanical steps such as the provision of empty product containers, opening and closing them, exposure to inert or reactive gases, the outsourcing of product containers and taking samples, but also the application of samples or test substances (e.g. by spraying, Knife coating, spin coating, etc.) on, for example, test substrates or test containers, although this list is also not exhaustive. Examples of such mainly physically shaped manufacturing or work steps can be the spraying of sample plates from e.g. Glass, metal or cardboard, the filling of microtiter plates (MTP) with pre-dosed enzymes, the introduction of grinding beads into a mixture of colors and pigments to be homogenized etc. Applications include sprayed or otherwise coated sample plates, such as glass or metal plates, microtiter plates with pre-dosed enzymes, which have been mixed with an active ingredient, battery assemblies into which e.g. the cathode paste formulation was introduced as a variable part during the application, a petri dish which was introduced with a mushroom to challenge the resistance of the formulation (list not exhaustive). Test processes are the chemical or physical analysis of a manufactured product and the taking of product samples. The terms manufacturing step, processing step and treatment step used below are to be understood synonymously in the general sense explained above. Processing station is understood to mean a plant part in or on which at least one of the aforementioned chemical and / or physical or mechanical processing steps takes place. Analogously, machining means or machining tool is understood to mean a functional arrangement which can carry out at least one of the aforementioned chemical and / or physical machining steps.

Sequential machining or processing is understood to mean the sequential execution of different processing steps in different processing stations, but can additionally include several steps in one processing station. From the perspective of a product or a sample, the sequence is a sequence of processing steps that are processed one after the other. From the point of view of a processing station, a mode of operation is sequential if several products or samples or generally objects are processed or processed one after the other in the station.

Parallel or batch processing or processing is to be understood in the sense that two or more product containers or their contents or generally objects are subjected to the same processing steps essentially simultaneously. This can be done in a processing station and / or - as explained in more detail below - also on transport vehicles and in particular also during their movement or also by e.g. the simultaneous processing of several objects takes place in parallel, functionally identical processing stations. This can e.g. parallel shaking and tempering but also parallel curing of applied samples e.g. using UV or HeatCuring devices and much more.

Staggered processing is understood to mean a sequence in which samples / products or generally objects arrive one after the other in a processing station in which they are subjected to a certain treatment, usually over a defined period of time, and then after the completion of the working step of each individual sample / every single product or every single object is led away from the processing station. A large number of samples / products or objects are therefore being processed simultaneously (quasi-parallel), but the processing is staggered over time. Typically, the different samples / products or objects end their respective processing steps in the same order in which they started, but it is also possible that the input and output sequences are different (example: samples come into a drying oven staggered in time, and each depending on how long an individual sample takes to dry, it will sooner or later be swapped out and transported to the next processing station.) The term transport vehicle used here means any type of transport vehicle that is capable of being an object (eg in particular a product container). In particular, transport vehicles can be designed as rail-bound wagons or on freely moving wagons on one or more transport surfaces or as three-dimensional aircraft that can move freely in space.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 1 of the system according to the invention is designed as a paint formulation application and test system, on which in a first step sequence paints are produced from their starting substances, the paints in a second step sequence by means of different methods (eg doctor blades, spray, ...) are applied to test substrates and in a third step this varnish applied to the test substrates can be tested using various chemical and physical methods. It comprises a series of processing stations, which are connected to one another by a transport device, and a controller for the transport device and the processing stations. An analog system can e.g. can also be used for the production of cathode materials for batteries or many other R&D workflows.

CH 711 717 B1 The transport device designated as a whole here comprises a two-circuit rail system S, essentially in the form of an eight, on which a number of transport vehicles in the form of rail-bound carriages W move independently of one another. A distribution switch V allows a carriage W traveling on the rail system S to travel in one or the other direction of the rail system as required. The decision in which direction the carriage W travels is so-called hard-coded and follows an if logic ("If condition X is fulfilled, drive in one direction, if condition Y is fulfilled, drive in the other direction."). Another variant of a switch, a merging switch Z, allows wagons W that come from different sections of the system to travel back to a common rail section.

In general, the processing stations are usually designed so that they have one or more functions and thus can process one or more manufacturing or production steps. These functions can include the aspects of manufacturing, application (application, orders, ...) and testing (checking, measuring, analyzing). For this purpose, they contain individual or several different or identical tools from a wide range of options, as required. For example, dosing tools for liquids, solids or gases, mixing tools (stirrers, SpeedMixers, ...), storage units for samples and products / product containers, tools for labeling samples / sample containers or. Reading of labeled samples / sample containers, robots for manipulating samples / sample containers and tools, measuring and testing tools as well as countless other tools and functions can be implemented.

In an advantageous embodiment, certain tools (as described above) can also fulfill their function (s) for several processing stations accessible to them. For example, it is possible that a robot can manipulate samples / sample containers in several processing stations (example: a single multi-axis robot can transport empty sample cups from a warehouse to a trolley for a first processing station, and then a finished test substrate from another for a second processing station Take the trolley and transport it to an analysis device, and then take a finished, no longer required product container from a third trolley in a third processing station, move it to a processing station with a printer, where the container is labeled, and then place it in an exit warehouse.) In the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 1, the processing stations are arranged along the rail system S. The processing stations here specifically include a storage station 1 for empty product containers P, three dosing stations 2-4, a closing station 5, a transfer robot 6, a stirring station 7, an opening station 8, a storage station 10 for finished product containers P, an application station 9 and one another transfer robot 11.

The system has one (or more) main control computer C, on which one or more databases are installed, which contain all of the relevant process control information I. The arrows of the box symbolically representing the main control computer C in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 indicate the functional connection of the main control computer to the processing stations 1-11 and the transport device T with the wagons W. The main control computer can also be implemented as a server.

Usually - but not necessarily - the main control computer C is also connected to a network N which, for example, comprises a company-wide network, as is often used to plan, coordinate and coordinate all experiments, trials and production of a company and evaluate. The data or information present in the network are designated I '.

The processing stations themselves are each equipped with their own or with a local control computer shared with other processing stations (in FIG. 1, for example, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R8 and R11) on which the control programs run, that control the functions or processes of the corresponding processing station (s). It should be noted here that in this example, the storage station 1, the stirring station 7 and the storage station 10 are operated / manipulated by the transfer robot 6, which is controlled by the local control computer R6, and do not require and contain their own local control computer. The application station 9 is also controlled by the local control computer R11 of the second robot and therefore does not have its own local control computer.

The system has a so-called workflow management software (not shown in the figures) to program the software of the various local control computers. The workflow management software can also be used to start and monitor the individual control software programs in the system and to process the generated data and results. The workflow management software can e.g. be installed on the main control computer C. The control of the attached processing stations is done by the workflow management software influencing the control software programs running on the processing stations. This starts, monitors, supplies with parameters (e.g. dosing parameters etc.) and receives results (e.g. actually dosed quantities) and any error messages and system messages and makes them available to the plant operator and / or feeds this information into the process control information I on the main control computer C. where they can continue to be used. Since all processing stations and their local control computers as well as the main control computer are networked with each other and can constantly communicate with one another and exchange data, the workflow management software can be started and used from any local control computer or the main control computer in order to monitor and access the entire system check. The main control computer can also be physically implemented in one of the local control computers.

CH 711 717 B1 The process control information I can either be stored on the main control computer and assigned to a car or generally transport vehicle. Alternatively, the process control information can e.g. at the beginning of a machining process, they can also be saved directly on the respective wagon or general transport vehicle. The process control information I can contain variables and parameters, on the basis of which it can be decided during the machining process which actions are to be carried out or in which direction (i.e. to which machining process sections) the transport vehicles have to travel in order to be able to process the next required process steps. The process workflow of each individual transport vehicle can thus be adjusted directly during the workflow based on parameters, depending on the results of previously processed processing steps, so that the objects on the transport vehicle are processed in accordance with the target specifications.

The wagons W or generally transport vehicles are designed to independently travel to the required processing stations on the basis of the process control information I assigned to them and to process (have them processed) the respective processing steps. The self-driving wagons W or generally transport vehicles can thus be programmed via the process control information I.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, for example, the wagons W or generally transport vehicles are designed as a transport platform, which can be moved along the rail system S. The wagons can drive either forwards or backwards depending on current needs. In the example shown, there is space for one product container P on the trolley W. In addition, the trolleys are provided with a holder on which the lid D of the product container can be placed and transported. The carriages W are provided with a motor drive (not shown) and associated control electronics (also not shown) which cooperate with the local control computer of the processing station being approached and the main control computer C. The wagons W each also have unique (active or passive) identification information ID, which is assigned to the wagons W or generally transport vehicles by the main control computer C at the beginning of a processing process. The main control computer C also creates an individual assignment of this identification information ID to one of the process control information I stored in it, thereby determining which processing process is to be carried out by means of the wagon or transport vehicle. The identification information ID of the wagon or generally transport vehicle is recognized by recognition devices 30 provided in the processing stations and allows the local control computer R of the processing stations to access the process control information I stored on the main control computer C and the process control information associated with the individual wagons. The wagons log on via their identification information ID, so to speak, when entering a processing station and receive information about what needs to be done there. On the basis of this information, the processing station processes the carriage. Then, after updating (e.g. saving) the results of the processing step, the trolley logs off the processing station again and continues.

The wagons W also carry a decision code GID, on the basis of which the wagon on branches of the rail system, e.g. on a switch V, the car can be steered in one direction or the other. The switch V is equipped with a sensor, not shown, which recognizes and reads the decision code of a car approaching it and sets the switch accordingly. The decision code is derived from the process control information I assigned to the car and the results of previous processing steps. Further details are explained below in connection with FIGS. 22 and 23.

On the main control computer C, as already mentioned, for each transport vehicle or the objects transported on it, here e.g. Product containers and / or samples, an individual process control information I is stored, which determines which processing stations are approached by the transport vehicles in which order and which processing steps are to be carried out under which conditions in the processing stations approached. The process control information I thus represent a processing recipe for every object located on a wagon or generally transport vehicle, in the case of a manufacturing process it is a manufacturing recipe. The process control information of all planned, ongoing and also completed experiments are stored in databases installed on the main control computer C. When operating the system, the currently provided processing recipes or process control information are processed in a staggered manner, i.e. a “fresh” recipe is assigned to a trolley or transport vehicle in general and sent to the processing process, whereupon the processing steps required for this trolley / recipe the system can be processed. After completion of the processing process, the trolley or the transport vehicle in general reaches the starting point again, the associated process control information on the main control computer C is supplemented and stored with the data generated during the processing process (e.g. dosing results, measurement results, etc.) and the trolley or generally that Transport vehicle is then available for another new recipe.

In the embodiment of Fig. 1, according to which the plant is a manufacturing plant for a chemical product, the product containers P are preferably as reactors, e.g. with a lid that can be unscrewed or opened on the trolley or at a processing station, supply means (dosing systems, pumps, ...), heating and cooling agents, ... in which chemical and / or biological reactions (e.g. enzymatic reactions or derivatizations, parallel incubation of different cell cultures, ...) and / or physical processes and / or formulations can be carried out, whereby the products can then be used in processing stations provided for this purpose (e.g. spray coating, exposure of active ingredient to an enzyme, UV treatment, and much more) , These following

CH 711 717 B1

Processing stations can of course also process the product containers sequentially, within a trolley, or in stages or in parallel.

The objects transported on the wagons W or generally transport vehicles can also be samples, for example test substrates made of different materials (contrasting cartons, metal, glass, plastic or wooden plates are common in the color industry, for example) and in different forms ( Rectangular plates, but also round disks, differently shaped bodies, textile pieces, hair samples, ...), but also vessel-shaped samples (petri dishes, e.g. for cell cultures) or entire groups of vessels (e.g. multi-well micro-titer plates) or entire devices (eg batteries to be tested).

In addition to product containers and samples, it is of course also possible to transport certain aids onto the trolley that are required for certain processing steps, in particular manufacturing steps. Examples of this can be draw-down bars (squeegees), lids, dispensing tips, etc., which are only required for processing the products or samples on the trolley. This can be particularly advantageous in such cases when such an aid is used in more than one processing station or between individual processing stations. For example, a lid is carried, which closes the product container each time the carriage moves and thus protects its contents, but is temporarily removed from the product container for the manufacturing steps in the processing stations. In another example, a disposable dispensing aid (e.g., disposable syringe) is carried to transfer part of the sample in multiple processing stations without the need for a new syringe for the same sample each time.

The processing of a transport vehicle / a sample / a product takes place within a processing station as follows: When a transport vehicle arrives in a processing station, it is recognized on the basis of its identification information ID and, if this is provided by the process control information I assigned to it, stopped. Then, under the control of the local control computer in the processing station in question, the work steps recorded in process control information 1 (or possibly only a single work step) are carried out. Any data generated during the work step (e.g. dosing results, measurement results, ...) is then supplemented in the corresponding process control information on the main control computer C, and the carriage W is moved on to the next processing station.

21 shows the basic processes and decisions that take place in a processing station and are controlled by the associated local control computer. A program runs on the control computer of the processing station in which all steps are processed as partial steps as shown:

The processing station waits in a first program step. As soon as a car arrives and stops automatically, a sensor 30 detects its presence and reports this to the control computer or. the program that follows.

In a second program step, this sensor 30 of the station reads the identification information 20 from the carriage W and reports it to the control computer.

In the third program step, the control computer checks which recipe, respectively. Which process control information I from the database belongs to this car (or the product / sample on it).

In the fourth step, the program in recipe 1 checks whether this processing station has to complete a processing step of the carriage at this point in time. If not, the carriage is simply sent on in a further program step without processing and - again at program step 1 - the next carriage is waited for.

However, if a processing step is necessary (for example adding any substances), these processing steps are processed in a fifth program step under the control of the local control computer of the processing station.

After completion of the processing steps, the results of this processing (in the example of substance doses, for example, the actually dosed amounts of substance) are supplemented in the recipe (in process control information I) and this updated recipe version is stored in the database (the old version being overwritten) ,

If no further processing steps are necessary, the carriage is sent on in a last, sixth program step and the process cycle of the processing station starts again at program step 1, waiting for a next carriage.

The carriages W in the exemplary embodiments of the system according to the invention shown in FIGS. 1-4 are designed to move linearly on the rail system S. 10 shows a carriage W 'which can move freely in two dimensions without rails, as indicated by arrow 40. This carriage W 'can move to the processing stations in any order without being dependent on any switches of the rail system. It is of course also possible to design transport vehicles for free three-dimensional movement, as is shown in FIG. 11, for example. Here, the transport vehicle W is designed as a so-called drone with which the product containers P can be moved in three dimensions (illustrated by the arrows 41). In the present example, these drones are designed as "quadrocopters" with four impeller rotors, but they are

CH 711 717 B1 also a variety of differently trained autonomous aircraft are possible. The main control computer C must of course be designed to control the freely moving or flying transport vehicles W 'and W, respectively.

The embodiment of the system according to the invention shown in Fig. 1 is for e.g. provided for the formulation of color samples and their subsequent application on test substrates (whereby the test of the substrates in this example is not carried out on the system itself - in comparison see the system explained below in connection with FIG. 3. The system according to FIG. 1 works as follows:

The carriage W is carried out autonomously, i.e. each car moves independently through the system and processes the processing steps provided for this car based on the process control information I assigned to it. Each processing station is controlled by its associated local control computer, which receives only the required information (e.g. tool parameters, etc.) from the central main control computer C using the process control information, but otherwise independently controls the processes in the processing station. In the case of a dosing station, the main control computer C can e.g. only specify which quantities have to be dosed from which storage containers, the actual dosing process is then carried out independently by the dosing station under the control of its local control computer.

In the storage station 1, empty product containers P are kept in stock. The robot arm of the transfer robot 6 in each case places a product container P on the empty trolley W waiting at a holding position H. The trolley W then moves to the opening station 8, in which the product containers P are opened. The cover D unscrewed in this process is placed on the holder provided for this purpose on the trolley and is thus carried on the trolley during the following working steps.

When a distribution switch V is reached, the process control information I is used to decide in which direction (or in which of the partial machining processes formed in this system) the carriage W travels. This happens after hard-coded if decisions of the type: «If the product container P on the trolley W is still empty, turn right in the direction of the formulation process. If the product container P contains a fully formulated product, drive left in the direction of the application process. »In this phase, the carriage W will drive to the right in the direction of the dosing station 2. In this subsequent first metering station 2, a predetermined amount of a base colorant is poured into the product container P. In the subsequent second metering station 3, one or more further colorants are metered in, depending on the process control information I. In the subsequent third metering station 4, small amounts of further colorants made available by a gamma are metered in, likewise again in accordance with the process control information I assigned to the carriage.

After the dosing steps, the carriage W travels via the merging switch Z, which can bring the carriages approaching from different directions back onto a common rail section, to a closing station 5, where the sample container P is closed again with the cover D and then closed Stop position H is driven. The transfer robot 6 removes the product container P from the carriage W and inserts it into the stirring station 7, where its contents are thoroughly mixed in a centrifuge stirrer. After mixing, the product container P is placed again on the same or a subsequent trolley W and transported to the opening station 8, where the lid D is removed again.

Then the carriage W is moved to the holding position H, where the product container P with the finished product - the paint formulation - is removed from the carriage W by means of the robot arm of the transfer robot 6 and transferred to the storage station 10. The empty trolley W still standing in the holding position H is now ready for a new process cycle and a new empty product container P can be placed on it.

Instead of transferring the product container P with the finished coating formulation into the storage station 10, the product container P can also be opened a second time in the opening station 8 after mixing in the station 7 and returned to the trolley W by the transfer robot 6 and again via the distributor switch V is transported in the direction of the application process cycle with the application station 9, it being decided here again on the basis of the process control information I that the carriage should take the appropriate direction. There, a partial quantity can be removed from the product container by means of transfer robot 11 and used for direct internal system analysis (not shown here) or later external analysis of the smears on a suitable substrate F, e.g. in the application station 9. a piece of foil, a metal or glass plate, etc., are spread (doctored). The trolley is then forwarded and after passing through the re-connecting gate Z of the trolley W, the product container P in the closing station 5 is closed again and finally, when the trolley W has reached the stopping position H again, by means of a transfer robot 6 into the storage station 10 outsourced.

In addition, the product containers P containing the finished paint formulation can also be fed to the analysis station 10 and the paint formulations can be subjected to an analysis there. The transfer robot 11 takes care of the transfer of the product containers P into the analysis station 10 and, if necessary, back onto the carriages W.

As is clear from FIG. 1, the described system according to the invention realizes a sequence of purely sequential manufacturing steps. An extension of this can be understood as the system shown in FIG. 2, in which the individual processing stations are started up sequentially, but in each processing station

CH 711 717 B1 two or more product containers - depending on the manufacturing step - are subjected to the same manufacturing steps sequentially or in parallel.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2, in contrast to the system in FIG. 1, product containers P are used, which can be processed in the constantly open state, which is why the opening and closing stations 5 and 8 can also be dispensed with. In addition, the trolleys are designed so that a large number of product containers can be transported at the same time.

In the machining process shown in FIG. 2, a number of containers are now initially placed on the trolley in stop position H, and the trolley is then transported to the first machining station 2 via the distribution switch V. There, a predetermined amount of a base colorant is now filled into the product container P sequentially in one product container P after another. In the subsequent second metering station 3, depending on the process control information I, one or more additional colorants are metered into the various product containers P located on the carriage W. In the subsequent third metering station 4, small amounts of further colorants made available by a gamma are metered in, again again in accordance with the process control information I assigned to the carriage.

Arrived again at the holding position H, the sample container P of the carriage W is transported by transfer robot 6 into a shaker 12, where they are all shaken simultaneously (parallel processing step) and the substances placed in the product container P are mixed. After this parallel processing step, the product containers P are removed again and then either placed in the storage 10, or the product containers are again placed on the trolley W and transported to the application branch of the rail system S, where - analogously to the system shown in FIG. 1 - in each case a sample is taken and applied to test substrates F. Finally, the carriage is transported back to the stopping position H, where the transfer robot 6 stores all the sample containers in the storage 10 one after the other.

An example of a further system according to the invention for producing color mixtures and their subsequent application on test substrates and for the final measurement of these test substrates is shown in FIG. 3. For the sake of simplicity, the explicit representation of the individual control computers is omitted in this illustration, but their use should be understood analogously to the examples in FIGS. 1 and 2.

According to this exemplary embodiment, as in the system shown in FIG. 2, work is carried out with constantly open product containers P, which are stored in a product container store 1 at the start of the workflow. Another warehouse 9 is equipped with empty sample substrates F (e.g. in the form of foils, metal, glass or wooden plates, etc.). An empty carriage W, which has arrived at stopping position H, is loaded by a transfer robot 6 with both an empty product container P from warehouse 1 and a fresh test substrate from warehouse 9 and is forwarded on the rail system S. At a first distribution switch V1, it is decided (again according to hard-coded if conditions) that the carriage W with the empty product container P should enter the formulation and application process cycle to the right.

In a first metering station 2, a predetermined amount of a base colorant is poured into the product container P and the carriage W is sent on. In a subsequent distributor switch V2, it is decided in which of two identical dosing stations 3a and 3b the next processing step is to be carried out. In this example it is assumed that the dosing process of the dosing stations 3a and 3b takes considerably longer than other processing steps in the system. If every single carriage W had to be processed by a single available dosing station, this would result in a build-up of unprocessed carriages in front of the dosing station and thus a reduction in the cycle time of the system. Due to the fact that in this exemplary embodiment of the system the dosing station is in duplicate, carriages W approaching can each move to the next free dosing station 3a or 3b, while another carriage W is still being processed in the other dosing station 3b or 3a. Incoming carriages are thus guided to one of two dosing stations 3a and 3b by means of a distributor switch V2, the sum of which two samples are processed quasi-parallel (staggered). Via a merging switch Z1 following the two metering stations 3a and 3b, the first carriage W that has completed the metering process is then guided onto another common rail section and transported there to a metering station 4, in which further substances are metered into the product container.

After all dosing steps have been completed, the product container P is transported in a mixing station 7 by means of a separate transfer robot 18 into a mixing tool (e.g. SpeedMixer), mixed there and transported back to the trolley W, which is then forwarded on.

In a further distribution switch V3, it is now decided on the basis of the process control information I whether the product is applied to the test substrate F by means of an application station 13 (for example spray application) or an application station 14 (for example doctor blade applicator / drawdown) should be (hard-coded if function: "If spray is needed, drive right. If squeegee is needed, drive left".). In the correspondingly selected application station 13 or 14 is then by means of the associated transfer robots 19 respectively. 20 a sample is taken from the product container P and applied to the test substrate F which is also carried on the carriage W.

After the application, the carriage W is passed over two further merge switches Z2 (guides carriages coming from station 13 or 14 together) and Z3 (guides carriages from the formulation / application cycle or test cycle

CH 711 717 B1 coming together) again to stop position H. There, the finished product container P is now returned to the storage station 1 and the test substrate F to the storage 9, in which the test substrate is stored for a defined time (e.g. to allow the paint applied to it to dry / harden).

The trolley W is now ready for a new process cycle and can now - depending on current needs - again be equipped with an empty product container P and fresh test substrate F, or else a test substrate F which has dried in the meantime is placed on the trolley W stored, which is then forwarded via the previously described distributor switch V1 in the direction of the test cycle.

The storage station 9 is thus an example of a processing station in which products or samples are processed in a staggered manner: test substrates are stored one after the other and processed for a defined time (here: left to dry), and staggered one after the other after completion of the individual processing time for each test substrate fed back into the process cycle.

In the application subcycle of the system, the carriage W with the test substrate F transported thereon successively (sequentially) passes through several test stations 15, 16 and 17, in each of which one or more physical or chemical measurements (in the example presented here from the Color industry, for example color and gloss measurement, layer thickness measurement, measurement of chemical and physical resistance etc.) on the test substrate. The carriage W then again moves via the merge switch Z3 to the holding position H, where the transfer robot 6 picks up the test substrate F again and stores it in the storage station 9, whereupon the empty carriage W in turn for a further formulation or application cycle or a test cycle. Cycle is available.

4 shows a greatly simplified schematic diagram of a further exemplary embodiment of the system according to the invention, only the system parts essential for understanding the invention being shown.

The system comprises four processing stations 21-24, which are arranged along the transport rail system S of a transport device T. In turn, carriages W drive on the rail system, each carrying a product container P. So far, there is a fundamental agreement with the exemplary embodiments in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. In contrast to this, however, the processing stations 21 and 23 are designed for processing one individual product container P and the processing stations 22 and 24 for batch-wise processing of a plurality of product containers P. The processing steps for which the individual processing stations 21-24 are specifically designed are not relevant for understanding and are therefore not explained in more detail.

This embodiment clearly illustrates the inventive principle of the free combinability of sequential and batch processing operations.

With the system according to the invention, as the exemplary embodiments in FIGS. 1-4 show, sequential and / or batch-wise / parallel and / or staggered work processes can be freely combined as required.

5 shows - in a highly simplified manner - how a system according to the invention can look spatially. In this example, the system consists of a large number of processing stations placed next to one another in the form of modules 101 to 109 which are connected internally to a rail system. The arrows schematically indicate the path taken by a carriage (not shown here because it travels inside the system) during the Process cycle starts. Here too, a processing station (104) is designed several times, which in turn e.g. indicates a long and therefore parallelized processing step.

As can be seen from the above exemplary embodiments, the system is designed in such a way that it comprises a rail system which connects the individual processing stations to one another and along which the carriages can move along defined paths. This rail system normally forms a closed path (endless loop), so that the wagons constantly run along these rails in a circle, so to speak, and can therefore always approach the same processing stations. In the simplest version, the system consists of a circle (ring-shaped arrangement of the transport system, simple loop). It is important that the wagons moving in the system can be loaded or unloaded with samples / sample containers as required, and thus, after a process cycle with a sample / product has ended, remove it from the wagon and a fresh sample / on fresh sample container can be loaded and a new process cycle can be started. A trolley is thus usually loaded with a sample / sample vessel at the beginning of a product cycle and transports the corresponding load from processing station to processing station during the process cycle until the trolley is unloaded again at the end of the process cycle and thus for a new sample / a new sample container and thus a new process cycle is available.

Advantageously, the rail system can include branches / switches which, depending on the individual needs of each individual wagon (or the sample / sample container transported thereon), allow entry into different loops or processing stations of a process cycle, or vice versa, from several different loops to bring approaching wagons onto a common section of the rail system. The decision as to whether and in which direction / loop a car travels is based on the car or from the criteria dependent on the transported samples / sample containers or generally based on the process control information assigned to the trolley. The decision in which direction the switch is switched

CH 711 717 B1 is hard-coded, which means that fulfilling certain criteria always results in a switch in a clearly defined direction. For example, a first sample on a switch can be branched into a first loop if a first condition is met, and a subsequent second sample for which a second condition is met is branched off into a second loop. After running through and processing the corresponding loops, the two samples would be returned to a common path on a connecting switch, and the subsequent processing stations would all run through one after the other.

To control the turnouts, the carriages can be equipped with a decision code GID provided by the main control computer C (at the start of a process), which determines the direction that the carriages should take on a switch. The switches V are designed to recognize or read the decision code GID of an approaching car W and to steer the car W in the direction determined by the recognized decision code GID.

6 shows a further advantageous embodiment of the system according to the invention. In contrast to the examples shown in FIGS. 1, 2 or 3, the splitting of the rail system into different sections takes place here not in the horizontal but in the vertical: Here, the workflow is divided into two spatially subdivided levels, which are connected to each other by a lift. Here, the processing stations 101, 102, 103 and 104 are arranged on a lower level 115 and connected to one another in a circle by means of a rail system Sa. A second group of processing stations 101, 105, 106 and 107 is arranged on a higher level 116 and in turn connected to one another in a circle by means of a rail system Sb. The processing station 101 connecting the two levels 115 and 116 contains the lift Sc, by means of which carriages can be moved from the rail system Sa to the rail system Sb and vice versa. The Lift Seder Station 101 thus represents, so to speak, a vertically splitting switch.

Of course, thanks to its modularity, the system can be designed as required so that the different methods for dividing or. Merging of sections of the transport system (switch or lift) can be combined.

Overtaking lanes are thus also possible with switches as well as with lifts or lifting / lowering units, via which e.g. High priority cars can be guided past other, less priority cars without being hindered by them.

The system according to the invention can have one or more processing stations twice or more, so that they can operate two or more carriages in parallel. As a result, long processes with parallel functions as well as short and frequent processes can be achieved in a workflow by multiplying the workstations / functionalities. In principle, all of the functions listed here (processing steps) can be carried out sequentially, in parallel or in stages. The workflow required by the researcher and mostly (but not exclusively) the duration of the processing determines whether the workflow is carried out sequentially in one part or in parallel in one part or staggered in one part of the system.

The system is particularly advantageously designed in such a way that on average comparable processing times are achieved per processing station. Bottlenecks (bottlenecks) can be parallelized as in road traffic, whereby the throughput of the system can be continuously increased. For example, For example, processing steps with relatively long processing times (e.g. heat curing) can be carried out in parallel using two or more processing stations by depositing the samples in the processing stations for a certain period of time and then reloading them onto a transport vehicle at a programmed time.

These combination options mentioned and a correspondingly simple programming option for the plant operator (usually a researcher / developer) make it possible to achieve complex workflows with high throughput rates. In combination with the decision option via path branches (switches, conditional branching), an almost unlimited flexibility is made possible, which is particularly important in research and development. Even with a system designed as a simple circle, such conditional branches are possible, especially since the carriages traveling on the circular transport system each move to each processing station one after the other, but are only processed there if this is required for the carriage at the time. If not, the car would be sent on, processed further in the following stations and then, if it passed through the corresponding processing station again, complete the corresponding processing step, provided the conditions for this were met. The entire cycle is run through until the conditions are met and all work steps are completed. It is important to note that a work step can of course occur several times in a process cycle, which can also be done in a simple circle without any problems. If, for example, a work instruction includes the metering of a powder, then a liquid, then the addition of another powder with subsequent mixing of all these three components, this can be done in a circle with three stations (1x powder metering, 1x liquid metering, 1x mixing) because the car can run the circle twice. In the first run, powder and liquid are dosed, but not mixed, in the second run, the last powder is dosed, but no further liquid is added, and finally mixed.

CH 711 717 B1 [0102] Turnouts / loops / lifts can also advantageously be used if certain work steps take a long time and a jam would occur if all of the cars had to be processed by the same processing station. A plurality of identical processing stations could then be present in parallel and connected to a common supply and discharge transport system section by means of switches / lifts. An approaching car would then always select a "free" processing station and move to it if the other processing station (s) are still busy with other cars (so-called hard-coded criterion). This parallelization of individual sections of the actually sequential process cycle enables particularly time-consuming processing steps to be processed efficiently in a staggered manner.

In addition, such parallelization of sections of the system can also be advantageous if a sample / product is split into several sub-samples / sub-products, which are then to be processed in parallel by the following process steps (example: in a first processing station a first sample is divided into two sub-samples, which then travel on two different paths of the process cycle to two identical or different stations as required, and are processed further in the respective stations). Here too, of course, the opposite way is possible, i.e. a combination of several samples on a common sample.

7 shows a further exemplary embodiment of the system according to the invention, in which free-standing processing stations 201-205 are operated by free-running wagons W01-W09. It should be noted that the processing station 205 is in triplicate here. In this example, the local control computer and the main control computer etc. have not been shown. The solid arrows show the next direct travel routes of the wagons - a snapshot of the system at a certain point in time, so to speak, the dashed arrows show the travel routes of a next step at a short time thereafter.

In this example, a first processing station 201 is designed as a storage facility (analogous to a parking garage) for free wagons: it is shown how a wagon W01 is just about to leave the warehouse and then later move to a processing station 202 to find one there to complete the first processing step. The bearing is advantageous in this case if e.g. in regular operation, a certain low number of wagons work at the same time, while other wagons that are not currently being used are waiting without interfering with the operation of the wagons in operation, but all wagons can be accessed during operation with increased throughput rates.

In the processing stations 202 and 203 two carriages W02 and. W03 shown, which will come from somewhere in the corresponding stations to be processed there. A carriage W04 is currently visible in the processing station 204, which is being processed by the station at the time of the snapshot, which is shown in FIG. 6. As the dashed arrow indicates, he will have finished processing in the next step and will then leave the station.

A carriage W05 is shown as it leaves immediately after a processing step in processing station 203: in the next phase, this carriage will drive in the direction of a processing station 205a, 205b, 205c, which is designed in this example, and control the station there is just becoming free. In this example, the mentioned station 205a or 205b or 205c could be a station whose processing step takes a particularly long time, and parallelization of the station is advantageous in order to increase the overall throughput of the system. In the next phase, carriage W05 will therefore decide which station 205a or 205b or 205c it will travel to based on the prevailing conditions.

In this snapshot of FIG. 6, the processing station 205a shows a carriage W06 which is currently being processed and (note the absence of a dashed arrow) is still being worked on in the next phase. This station 205a is thus still occupied and could not yet be approached by car W05. The processing station 205b shows a carriage W07, the manufacturing step of which is currently being completed in this phase and which will break out from this station in the direction of the processing station 206 in the next phase. The processing station 205c shows exactly one carriage W08 which is about to leave the station in order to be processed in a processing station 206 in the next phase. Both the processing station 205b and the processing station 205c will therefore be free in the next phase and can be selected as a destination by the carriage W05.

Finally, a carriage W09 is shown as it - e.g. after he has completed all the tasks / processing steps required by the process control information - enters the storage station 201, where he is waiting for a new order.

8 shows a spatial representation of a further exemplary embodiment of the system according to the invention, which is equipped with flying drones as a transport vehicle instead of with rail-bound or other terrestrial vehicles. The plant room is divided into a lower working zone 114, in which the individual processing stations are located and the workers / researchers who assemble, operate and maintain the plant can also move, and an upper flight zone 113, in which the drones W1 to W3 are located can move freely. The two rooms are separated by a partition ceiling 112, in each of which there is an opening 110 exactly above the individual processing stations, through which the drones W1 to W3 can control or operate the processing stations underneath. W1 represents a drone that is moving down through such an opening to a processing station 101 in order to receive one of the product containers P available there. A drone W2 is shown as - with one

CH 711 717 B1

Equipped product container P, which has just been processed in a processing station 102, rises into the flight space 113 via the opening above the station 102, moves there to the opening via a station 103, sinks there to the product container P in the station 103 another To undergo manufacturing step. W3 represents a currently inactive drone waiting to get a new order.

In many manufacturing processes for chemical products, it may be expedient or even necessary that the content of the product containers P is also subjected to a certain treatment between the individual processing stations. Such treatment can e.g. a stirring, heating or cooling, adding solid, liquid or gaseous substances or the generation or maintenance of a certain pressure, but this list is not exhaustive. The combination of two or more of the above and not explicitly mentioned forms of treatment can also be advantageous.

For such manufacturing processes, the transport vehicles or trolleys of the system are equipped with treatment agents according to an important development of the invention in order to physically and / or chemically treat the contents of the product containers P located on the transport vehicles or trolleys or their contents on the Transport vehicles themselves and especially during the movement of the transport vehicles. 12-20 schematically show carriages W which are equipped with various such treatment agents. All versions apply to rail-bound as well as free-moving or flying transport vehicles.

12 shows a trolley W which holds a single product container P. The cart contains a treatment agent in the form of a stirring means 50, e.g. a conventional magnetic stirrer, the actual stirring element of which is located inside the product container P. Another type of stirrer can also be provided. The wagon provides the required electrical energy e.g. available through a built-in power source. Alternatively, power can also be supplied via electrical contacts on the rail. Communication with the treatment agent (e.g. for controlling and / or monitoring a value) can also be done via electrical contacts (sliding contacts) via the rail system and / or via wireless methods (radio, Bluetooth, infrared transmitter / receiver, laser, etc.) respectively. Wireless methods are particularly useful or even mandatory for applications that do not work via a rail system (2-dimensional moving cars, 3-dimensional flying drones). The processing means (e.g. stirring means) 50 can work autonomously or, if necessary, also under the control of the central main control computer C and / or the local control computers of the individual processing stations. Instead of a stirring means, a shaking device or other means for mixing substances can also be provided as a treatment agent.

13 and 14 show a trolley W similar to FIG. 12, but with two and six stirring means 50 for two and six product containers P.

15 shows a trolley W which is equipped with treatment agents in the form of two heating or cooling sleeves 60 for two product containers P. The carriage W can also have a temperature control, which can possibly also cooperate with the central main control computer C and / or the local control computer of the individual processing stations. The heating or cooling or temperature control function can e.g. by means of heating cartridges, thermocouples, Peltier elements etc. The carriage W in turn provides the energy required for this or receives it via the rail system as described above.

16 shows a trolley W which, in addition to two stirring means 50 for two product containers P, is also provided with a further treatment agent in the form of a gas tank 70, from which a gas can be introduced into the two product containers P. With a suitable design of the gas tank, the gas can also be used for pressure control in the product containers P. The gas tank 70 thus forms a supply means for gas and possibly also a pressurizing means.

17 shows a trolley W which, in addition to two stirring means 50 for two product containers P, is also equipped with a further treatment agent in the form of two liquid reservoirs 80 with associated pumps 81. The pumps 81 request liquid, possibly under the control of the central main control computer C, into the two product containers P. The liquid reservoirs 80 form supply means for a liquid medium. Correspondingly, supply means for solid substances can also be provided. The liquid reservoirs (or gas reservoirs elsewhere) can either be constantly stored on the carriage W or can be filled into the corresponding reservoirs at specially designed processing stations.

18 shows a trolley W with two product containers P, treatment means in the form of two stirring means 50, two heating or cooling sleeves 60 and two liquid reservoirs 80 with two pumps 81 associated therewith being present on the trolley W. A system with trolleys equipped with such a combination of treatment agents is practically suitable for every conceivable application and the corresponding processing agents can be used in any combination.

Fig. 19 shows a carriage W, which contains its own robot arm 90 as an additional treatment agent, with which the carriage W can be driven directly on the carriage W, e.g. can be manipulated by means of a gripper 91 attached to the robot arm 90. This robot arm (or a large number thereof) can also be combined accordingly with one or more other processing means and / or one or a large number of sample containers etc.

CH 711 717 B1 Finally, FIG. 20 shows a trolley W which is equipped both with a product container P and with an associated test substrate F.

Due to the inventive equipment of the trolleys with treatment agents for the product containers arranged on them or their contents, a system with moving reactors (a mobile processing station, so to speak) is implemented, which is very flexible and can be adapted to a wide variety of manufacturing workflows.

[0122] The processing steps in the individual processing stations are normally carried out when the transport vehicle is at a standstill. In principle, however, it is also possible, depending on the type of processing, not to stop the transport vehicle or to carry out the processing while the camouflage sports vehicle is being driven through or past a treatment station.

The process control information stored in the main control computer and assigned to the trolley also includes information relating to the treatment steps to be carried out on the trolley during its movement, which again can also include if functions as described above, which increases the flexibility enormously and often decisively. The process control information functions, so to speak, like a «recipe», based on which a desired product / sample with the desired parameters is produced or. is processed. (Example: The recipe of a target product contains the target quantities of all substances to be dosed during the process workflow of this product).

According to an advantageous embodiment, the system according to the invention is designed in such a way that the elements (transport system, processing stations, ...) described in detail above are also modular in terms of hardware, whereby one hardware module can process one or more functions of the processing cycle. These modules are built in such a way that they can be freely combined with one another and can also be replaced if necessary. For this purpose, for example in the case of rail-based systems, the rail sections of a module / processing station are arranged in such a way that they connect directly to the rail sections of adjacent modules and thus connect them. A system for mixing color samples could, for example, contain a storage module from which fresh product containers can be removed and placed on the trolley of the system, with a further module attached to it, in which the covers of the product containers can be unscrewed followed by a module in which the product containers can be filled with different liquids, etc. The construction of a system from such modules is therefore very flexible and can be optimally adapted to customer requirements, and allows simple replacement of individual modules or subsequent extensions with new modules if desired or required.

Due to the unlimited combinability of sequential and / or batchwise or parallel and / or staggered procedures, one of the main problems of process automation, so-called scheduling, can be largely addressed.

[0126] The transport vehicles form independent mobile units which can approach different processing stations and preferably also have one or more of their own functionalities (treatment agents) on board.

[0127] The transport vehicles, since they form independent mobile units, can be taken out of or inserted into the workflow as desired.

With the system according to the invention, each product container can be transported from processing station to processing station by means of a large number of self-propelled trolleys and processed in each processing station (the trolley registers with the station and is operated accordingly). The path of each individual sample or product is automatically selected through the stations of the system relevant for this sample / product, or a processing step is simply omitted if it is not necessary for the corresponding sample or product.

It is possible for more than just one product container to be transported on a single one of the many wagons in the system, which product containers are then processed in parallel (based on this product vessel group or this wagon), while the different wagons are sequentially carried out by the Entire processing or production system can be moved and processed.

A workflow with fully automatic branching options can be applied to the cars, which allow enormous flexibility to be brought into fully automatic research and development systems.

The system according to the invention enables individual, e.g. processing steps that take up a lot of time from the actual workflow, for example by branching sample / products or the wagons transporting them into a station in which time-consuming process steps can be processed without subsequent wagons with samples / products carrying out this time-consuming step not (yet) need to be hindered by the outsourced sample due to its time-consuming step. In the system, a large number of samples / products can process these time-intensive processes simultaneously or at least in a staggered manner and be put into a kind of warehouse / processing station, from which they can then be integrated back into the actual sequential workflow after the time-consuming process step has ended. Conversely, processing stations can be doubled or multiplied under high «loads», so that the system is able to withstand both relatively long periods of time

CH 711 717 B1 processes to be carried out in parallel as well as processes that are relatively short but very often required are carried out equally efficiently and flexibly.

With the system according to the invention, it is also possible for the samples / products on a trolley to be split into two or more samples / products / trolleys in a later step, each of which then has its own different process path. For example, a first sub-sample is applied and tested, a second sub-sample is outsourced for a rest / aging phase in order to be reintroduced into the process cycle later and to be processed further like the first sub-sample, but with a time difference. In another example, a first sample is sprayed onto a substrate for later tests and a second sample is knife-coated onto another substrate for another test.

Conversely, the system also allows two or more products / samples, which may come from possibly different sub-workflows, to be brought together and then continued in a common process path. For example, a first sample from a first process cycle is combined with a second sample from a second process cycle, the two samples are mixed and then further processed as a third sample in a third process cycle.

The system according to the invention also makes it possible to send transport vehicles with high priority on the way or to introduce them between different processing stations. to branch off later / to take from the cycle. The process control information of the priority carriages can influence their path and workflow to be driven such that the priority carriages are not, or at least only to a limited extent, hampered by the regular carriages of normal priority.

22 and 23 will be used to explain, for example, how the process control information (recipes) I can be used in the system according to the invention and can also be adapted during the machining process.

In addition, it is shown how a new, adapted recipe / experiment can be generated from a completed (processed) recipe (or a completed experiment). Here, an exemplary processing process (example workflow) shown in FIG. 22 as a flowchart is assumed, in which several substances are mixed with one another, the viscosity of the mixture is checked and, if necessary, corrected, the mixture is applied to a substrate and finally tested. The purpose of this exemplary processing process is to check the mixing ratio of substances such as Color pastes must be mixed together to obtain a color desired by the customer.

23 shows a list 300 of recipes, as it were, as an excerpt from the database containing the process control information I. The header of the list describes the content of the data columns, the lower lines show individual recipes and thus individual machining processes or experiments. These recipes contain all the important information needed to carry out the experiment, but also contain results that allow the experiment to be assessed.

Of the six example recipes listed, two (A-123-1 and A-124-1) have already been completed, the others are still being processed (A-125-1 and A-126-1) or have not even started (A-127-1 and A-124-2). The first column of the list contains a clear identification of the recipe (recipe ID), the second column the status of a recipe («Completed», «In progress», ...). Additional columns show the substances that are to be added during the process, their target weights and the amounts actually added. A last column, “measurement results” shows the final result of the measurement and thus of the experiment. Empty fields show that the corresponding processing step has not yet been completed and therefore no result is yet available.

22 very schematically and in simplified form shows a corresponding system with eight processing stations 301-308, which are connected to one another by a transport system 320 symbolized by arrows. Circles 321-324 represent switches of the transport system 320. Due to the nature of the system, the diagram of FIG. 22 can also be understood as a flow diagram, which shows the possible routes of a transport vehicle or wagon through the system and the associated decisions.

Some examples are explained below that are intended to illustrate the interaction between the recipe and the system:

A typical process cycle begins at station 301: an empty car (not shown) drives in and is identified on the basis of its identification information and is assigned a new recipe from the database by the control computer of the station. The information about the assignment can also be stored in a database, which temporarily stores the allocations of all the wagons currently on the system and makes them available for all stations (eg «wagon 1: recipe A-125-1», «wagon 2: empty",...). An empty product container is also placed on the trolley and the trolley is then sent on.

As soon as the car arrives at station 302, it is identified by the local control computer of station 302, and it is checked which recipe is assigned to the car and whether a processing step is necessary based on the recipe assigned to the car (here: dosing of substances S1 and / or S2). The necessary processing steps

CH 711 717 B1 are carried out and their results (here: actually dosed amounts of substances S1 or S2) are saved in the recipe. Station 302 then sends the car on.

Once in station 303, the car is again identified, processed and forwarded analogously to the processes in station 302. In station 304, the substances added in stations 302 and 303 are mixed together in the product container.

In the following station 305, the viscosity of the mixture is measured (in this context, the viscosity is an important parameter which shows whether the mixture can be successfully applied to a test substrate). Here the local control computer of station 5 now decides whether the measured viscosity corresponds to predefined tolerances or not, and stores this information in the recipe (column status: «Viscosity OK», «Viscosity bad but correctable», «Viscosity bad and not correctable "). This information is also stored directly on the car as a decision code (analogous to the car's identification information, e.g. 1 for "OK", 2 for "correctable", 3 for "not correctable"). The car is then sent on again.

The carriage now moves to a switch 322, at which a sensor, not shown, reads the decision code stored on the carriage and switches the switch automatically, depending on what information is stored: With code = 1 («viscosity OK» ) the switch 322 directs the carriage to the next processing station 306, in which the mixture is applied for the later test. With code = 2 («poor viscosity but can be corrected») or code = 3 («poor viscosity and cannot be corrected») the switch leads the carriage to another section of the transport system. There the car arrives at a further switch 323, at which, similarly to the previous switch 322, a decision is made based on the decision code as to whether the car should be sent to station 302 (code = 2), where additional substances are metered in due to the now adapted recipe and thus the viscosity can be adjusted or whether the car should be sent to station 301 (code = 3), where the unsuccessful, uncorrectable recipe is discarded, the product container is removed and a new fresh recipe can be assigned to the car.

In the event that the viscosity is ok and the carriage has been forwarded to station 306, it is processed there again (application of the mixture to a test substrate and placement of the test substrate on the carriage), forwarded to station 307, where the test substrate is dried until it finally comes to test station 308, in which the product applied and dried on the test substrate is tested (for example measurement of the color). On the basis of the test result, the local control computer of station 308 decides whether the mixing meets the required criteria or not. This information is also saved in the recipe (column «Measurement result»). If the product is classified as OK, the car is simply sent on and unloaded again in station 301 and is then available there for a new recipe. If the measurement result is bad (measured color does not meet expectations), the software of the local control computer can create a new recipe with slightly changed compositions (industrial standard, requires no further explanations for the specialists) based on the new information collected, and this in the Feed the database into the main control computer C. This new recipe is then also processed. In the list 300 shown in FIG. 23, the recipes A-124-1 and A-124-2 show just such an example: On the basis of recipe A-124-1, a color mixture of substances S1, S3 and S5 was produced, applied and tested. It was judged to be bad and a new recipe A-124-2 (note new index in the last place) with slightly adjusted amounts of substances S1, S3 and S5 was created and fed. This recipe is then mixed, applied, tested and assessed later - and depending on the new result, either again as OK or further adjusted and fed in as a third recipe.

In the exemplary embodiments of the system according to the invention described above, the various processing stations are implicitly assumed to be independent or automatically operating. Of course and even advantageously, the system according to the invention can also be equipped with one or more “manual” processing stations. This can e.g. a processing station in front of which a transport vehicle waits until a person presses a button, the transport vehicle then enters the station, and then the person e.g. carry out a manual inspection and e.g. enters a value into the process computer which is assigned to the sample or the samples on the transport vehicle or simply enriches existing data. Depending on the program, the value can be analogous to the explanations above for the further course (the further workflow) of the transport vehicle or determine the sample. This possibility of processing stations staffed with people increases the flexibility of the system enormously, because e.g. workflows that contain a processing step that either cannot be automated or cannot be automated economically or such a step e.g. is rarely used.

Claims (29)

claims 1. Plant for carrying out a machining process with at least two machining stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-206), with at least one self-propelled transport vehicle (W; W '; W) for transporting one processing object (P; F) to the processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-206), the processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21- 24; 201-206) are designed to subject the object (P; F) provided by the transport vehicle (W; W '; W) to at least one processing step, characterized in that the system has one for communication with the processing stations (1- 11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-206) and the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) designed main control computer (C) that the CH 711 717 B1 at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) is designed to store individual identification information (ID) provided by the main control computer (C) that the main control computer (C) provides process control information (I) that describes which Processing steps to subject an object (P; F) under which conditions in which order and to which processing stations the object (P; F) is to be transported by the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) that the main control computer (C ) is designed to assign individual process control information (I) to the identification information (ID) of the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W), and that the processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24 ; 201-206) are designed to recognize the identification information (ID) of the transport vehicle approaching them (W; W '; W) and on the basis of this identification information (ID ) individually assigned process control information (I) the processing of the on the transport vehicle (W; W '; W) provided object (P; F). 2. Plant according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-206) have local control computers (R2-R12), which are designed to do the in to control the processing steps to be carried out at the processing stations and to communicate with the main control computer (C). 3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the local control computers (R2-R12) of the processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-206) are designed to provide identification information ( ID) assigned process control information (I) to be updated by the status and / or the result of the processing steps carried out in each case, the updated process control information then determining all the processing steps that may follow. 4. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a rail system (S) connecting the processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24) and that the at least one transport vehicle as a rail-bound front and reversing car (W) is formed. 5. Plant according to claim 4, characterized in that the rail system (S) has at least one switch leading to different processing stations (V). 6. System according to claim 5, characterized in that the carriage (W) is designed to store a decision code (GID) provided by the main control computer (C) regarding the direction to be taken by the carriage on a switch, and in that the switch (V ) is designed to recognize the decision code (GID) of an approaching car (W) and to steer the car (W) in the direction determined by the recognized decision code (GID). 7. System according to one of claims 4-6, characterized in that the rail system (S) comprises switches (V, Z), by means of which it can be divided into two or more sections running side by side and these sections can be brought together again. 8. System according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the at least one transport vehicle is a carriage (W) traveling freely in two-dimensional space and is designed to process the processing stations (201-206) automatically in accordance with the associated, if appropriate Approach updated process control information (I). 9. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has two or more transport levels (115, 116) with processing stations (101-107) arranged thereon and at least one lifting device (Sc) for moving the at least one transport vehicle (W) between the transport levels ( 115, 116). 10. Plant according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the at least one transport vehicle is a freely moving in three-dimensional space aircraft (W) and is designed to the processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20 ; 21-24; 201-206) automatically according to the assigned, possibly updated process control information (I). 11. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-205) for sequential, staggered or simultaneous execution of one or more identical or different processing steps on it via the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) supplied objects. 12. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the processing stations (12-15) is designed for batchwise or staggered execution of at least one processing step. 13. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) is designed to independently from a group of the same or different processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20 ; 21-24; 201-206) to approach a selected processing station. 14. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is designed so that different objects (P, F) in different processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-206) can be edited at the same time. CH 711 717 B1 15. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is designed so that on average comparable processing times per processing station (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-206) can be achieved. 16. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) is provided with treatment means (50-91) in order to physically and / or chemically treat the on at least one transport vehicle (W ) located object (P; F) to perform. 17. The system as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that the process control information (I) provided by the main control computer (C) and individually assigned to the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) also includes information relating to the at least one transport vehicle (W ; W '; W), in particular during its movement, comprises treatment steps to be carried out and that the treatment means (50-91) are designed to carry out the treatment steps to be carried out by them in accordance with the process control information assigned to the at least one transport vehicle (W; W'; W) (I). 18. Plant according to one of claims 16-17, characterized in that the treatment means comprise stirring means (50). 19. Plant according to one of claims 16-18, characterized in that the treatment means comprise heating or cooling means (60). 20. Plant according to one of claims 16-19, characterized in that the treatment means comprise supply means (70, 80) for adding solid, liquid or gaseous substances into an object designed as a product container (P). 21. Plant according to one of claims 16-20, characterized in that the treatment means comprise pressurizing means (70) for an object designed as a product container (P). 22. System according to one of claims 16-21, characterized in that the treatment means comprise one or more robot arms for manipulating objects on the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W). 23. System according to one of claims 16-22, characterized in that the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) is designed to accommodate two or more objects designed as product containers (P) and / or samples (F), and that the treatment means (50-91) are designed for the physical and / or chemical treatment of the contents of all product containers (P) and / or samples (F) located on the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W). 24. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) is designed to accommodate at least one object designed as a reactor (P) in which a chemical reaction or a formulation or a biological Reaction can be carried out. 25. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is designed for producing and / or for applying and / or for testing a chemical product, the processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21- 24; 201-206) are designed as processing steps for carrying out manufacturing steps and / or application steps and / or test steps. 26. Plant according to claim 25, characterized in that the at least one transport vehicle is designed as a mobile reactor or formulation unit which can approach different processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24) and with its own resources (50 -91) is equipped for chemical and / or physical treatment of the content of an object carried as a reaction or formulation container (P). 27. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one processing station is designed for manual triggering or execution of one or more processing steps / s. 28. A method for carrying out a machining process with a system according to claim 1, wherein objects (P, F) to be machined between at least one self-propelled transport vehicle (W; W '; W) between two or more machining stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-206), in which the objects are subjected to processing steps, whereby - The at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) receives or receives individual identification information (ID) and individual process control information (I) relating to the processing steps to be carried out and already carried out on the transported objects from a main control computer (C). sends back to this; - The at least one transport vehicle (W; W '; W) automatically starts the next processing station (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-206) based on the process control information (I) assigned to it, in the next processing step necessary for the current processing process is carried out; and - The different processing steps in the different processing stations (1-11; 1-12; 1-20; 21-24; 201-206) are processed sequentially one after the other and / or in parallel / simultaneously and / or staggered in time. 29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that process control information (I) is adapted as required during the machining process depending on data originally present and / or during the previously completed machining steps and / or on the basis of external inputs in order to adapt the machining process during its processing change. CH 711 717 B1