Method and device for determining production beat in mixed product production line and electronic equipment
Technical Field
The embodiment of the invention relates to a production beat determining technology, in particular to a production beat determining method and device in a mixed product production line and electronic equipment.
Background
In production management, the production tempo is a key idea of lean production. The production tempo, also called linear speed for short, is an index for controlling the production speed. The production process of the whole factory can be commanded by determining the production tempo, and the production process can be ensured to produce processed products at a uniform speed, so that the balance and synchronization of production are achieved.
The tact is not data obtained by measurement, but data obtained by calculation. In the related art, the tact time of the product may be a ratio of the total effective production time to the production amount. However, in a production line of mixed products, the above method has difficulty in calculating the tact time of mixed model products.
Disclosure of Invention
The embodiment of the invention provides a method and a device for determining the production beat in a mixed product production line and electronic equipment, which can calculate the production beat of a product with one model or a plurality of models which are produced in a mutually crossed manner, are accurate and simple in calculation and are beneficial to balancing the production management of the product.
In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for determining a production cycle in a mixed product production line, including:
acquiring offline time, model information and line body information of each product through recording/scanning equipment;
aiming at products with the same line information, determining the production rhythm of each product based on the offline time of each product;
determining each type of product and the number of each type of product based on the type information of each product;
the tact of each type of product is determined based on the tact of each product in each type and the number of products of each type.
In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a production beat determining apparatus in a mixed product production line, including:
the acquisition module is used for acquiring the offline time, model information and line body information of each product through recording/scanning equipment;
the first determining module is used for determining the production rhythm of each product based on the offline time of each product aiming at the products with the same line information;
the second determining module is used for determining each type of product and the number of each type of product based on the type information of each product;
and the production beat determining module is used for determining the production beat of each type of product based on the production beat of each product in each type and the quantity of each type of product.
In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device, including:
one or more processors;
a memory for storing one or more programs,
when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement a method for determining a tact time in a mixed product production line according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements a method for determining a production beat in a hybrid product production line provided by an embodiment of the present invention.
According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the offline time, the model information and the line body information of the product are acquired through the recording/scanning equipment, and the production beat of each product is determined based on the offline time of each product aiming at the product with the same line body information; determining each model product and the number of each model product based on the model information of each product, and determining the production beat of each model product based on the production beat of each product in each model and the number of each model product; the production rhythm determining method comprises the steps that offline time, model information and line body information of products are obtained through recording/scanning equipment, and the production rhythm of each product is determined according to the offline time of each product aiming at the products with the same line body information; aiming at products with the same model information, the production rhythm of each model of product is determined based on the production rhythm of each product and the quantity of the products corresponding to the model information, the production rhythm of the products (mixed model products) produced by one model or a plurality of models in a cross mode on a line body can be calculated, the calculation is accurate and simple, and the production management of balanced products is facilitated.
Drawings
FIG. 1a is a flowchart of a method for determining a tact time in a production line of a mixed product according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of a hybrid product manufacturing line provided by an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 1c is a schematic view of a hybrid product manufacturing line according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for determining a tact time in a production line of a hybrid product according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for determining the tact time in a production line of a hybrid product according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for determining the tact time in a production line of a hybrid product according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 5 is a block diagram of a beat determining apparatus in a production line of a mixed product according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not limiting of the invention. It should be further noted that, for the convenience of description, only some of the structures related to the present invention are shown in the drawings, not all of the structures.
Fig. 1a is a flowchart of a method for determining a takt in a hybrid product production line according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the method may be performed by a takt determining apparatus in the hybrid product production line, the apparatus may be configured in an electronic device such as an operation terminal or a cloud, and the method may be applied in a scenario of mixed production of discrete industries and multiple models, and optionally, may be applied in a scenario of mixed production of small-lot and multiple models of products in the discrete industries. The discrete industry may be an industry that produces products in units of pieces, for example, a home appliance industry. Wherein, the household electrical appliances industry can produce household electrical appliances by parts. Optionally, the method provided by the embodiment of the invention can be applied to a scene that one production line produces various types of household electrical appliances.
As shown in fig. 1a, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes:
s110: and acquiring offline time, model information and line body information of each product through recording/scanning equipment.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the recording/scanning device may be disposed at a job post or a line offline point. The offline time, model information, line body information and the like of each product can be acquired through the recording/scanning equipment. One recording/scanning device may be provided in one production line, or a plurality of recording/scanning devices may be provided. The recording/scanning device may be a counting instrument or a scanning terminal, or may also be a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), and the offline labor reporting function of the MES system may be used to count offline time, model information, line information, operators, devices, process parameters, and the like of each product in detail.
In the embodiment of the invention, the recording/scanning terminal can also acquire the operator, equipment, process parameters of each product or other information of the product.
S120: and aiming at the products with the same line information, determining the production rhythm of each product based on the offline time of each product.
In the embodiment of the invention, when the line body information of the product is the same, the product is produced by the same line body. The line body information can be understood as the identification information of the production line.
In an implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, determining the production tempo of each product based on the offline time of each product includes: determining the production rhythm of the current product based on the offline time of the previous product and the offline time of the current product; and taking the next product as the current product, and returning to the step of determining the production tempo of the current product until the production tempos of all the products are determined.
Specifically, the time interval from the offline time of the previous product to the offline time of the current product may be used as the production tact of the current product. The tact of a single product can also be understood as the working time of the single product. As shown in fig. 1b, products a1, a2, A3, and a4 are each a product of type a produced on a line body L, wherein point O is a down line point, and the time when passing point O is the down line time of each product. Wherein the takt time T of product A2A2And may be the time interval from the time the last product a1 went off line to the time product a2 went off line (the time product a2 reached point O).
S130: each model product and the number of each model product are determined based on the model information of each product.
In the embodiment of the present invention, in a production line of mixed products, model information of each product may be different, and each model product and the number of each model product may be determined based on the model information of each product.
For example, in products having the same line body information (in the production of the same line production), the model information of the products acquired in order is A, B, A, B and a, respectively, and then it can be determined from the model information that the products of the a model are produced, and the number of the a model products is 3 and the number of the B model products is 2. Or the model information of the products obtained in sequence is 01, 02, 01, 02 and 01, the model A product corresponding to 01 is a model A product, the model B product corresponding to 02 is a model B product, the model A product corresponding to 01 and the model B product corresponding to 02 can be determined according to the model information, the number of the model A products is 3, and the number of the model B products is 2.
S140: the tact of each type of product is determined based on the tact of each product in each type and the number of products of each type.
In an implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining the production cycle of each model product based on the production cycle of each product in each model and the number of each model product includes: summing the production beats of each product in each model to obtain the sum of the production beats; and dividing the sum of the production beats by the quantity of each type of product to obtain the average value of the production beats of each type of product, and taking the average value as the production beats of each type of product. The tact of each model of product is understood to be the average of the tact of the model of product over a period of time. As shown in fig. 1c, each of products a1, a2, A3, and a4 is a product of type a produced on line L, product B1 is a product of type B produced on line L, and the tact of type a is the tact of type a per product/number of type a. Namely, tact time of A1, tact time of A2 (T)A2) And tact (T) of A3A3) The sum is divided by 3 to obtain the tact time of the type A product.
In the related art, the tact of the product (which may be referred to as the tact) may be a ratio of an effective production time (available working time) to the production quantity. Specifically, T may be defined as Takt Time (tact Time), T
a=TimeAvailable (available or effective working time, minutes/day), T
dTime demand or custom demand (production or demand, number of pieces/day); the tact can be based on a formula
And (6) performing calculation. Wherein the available work time is the time after the rest time and all expected downtime (such as maintenance and shift time) has been removed. For example, there are 8 hours (480 minutes) in total for each day and only one day shift. Minus 30 minutes lunch, 30 minutes rest, 10 minutes shift and 10 minutes basic maintenance check, the available working time is 480-30-30-10-400 minutes. When the customer demand is 400 pieces per day, the production cycle of each product should be controlled within one minute to ensure the customer demand.
The production beat is actually a target time, can be changed along with the change of the required production quantity and the effective working time, and can be made manually. In small-batch and multi-model mixed-line production in the discrete industry, the actual production tempo of the product needs to be accurately calculated, applied, scheduled and performance assessed. In the related art by formula
![Figure BDA0002256475030000072](https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/2d/7a/c0/0e82925afbc533/BDA0002256475030000072.png)
Calculating the production beat of the product, and calculating the production beat with obvious boundaries among the single models, the single line bodies or the models according to the formula, for example, a production line produces the single model A, the production quantity of 500 machines takes 3 hours, and the production beat is 21.6 seconds; for another example, if the production line produces two models of products and has obvious limits to produce the model A product and the model B product respectively, wherein the model A product is produced, and 300 machines take 2 hours; the production time of the model B product is 100, the production time of the model A product is 24 seconds, and the production time of the model B product is 36 seconds.
However, when the products of the A/B models are produced in a cross way at the same time or more than two models are produced in a cross way, the method in the related art cannot calculate the production rhythm: such as production interleaved in the order of ABAAB … … products, the tact calculation cannot be calculated according to the method in the related art.
According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the offline time, the model information and the line body information of the product are acquired through the recording/scanning equipment, and the production beat of each product is determined based on the offline time of each product aiming at the product with the same line body information; determining each model product and the number of each model product based on the model information of each product, and determining the production beat of each model product based on the production beat of each product in each model and the number of each model product; the production rhythm of each product is determined based on the offline time of each product aiming at the products with the same line information; determining the production rhythm of each model product based on the production rhythm of each product and the quantity of the products corresponding to the model information aiming at the products with the same model information; the production rhythm of the product produced by the model or a plurality of models in an interactive way on the line body can be calculated, and the calculation is accurate and simple.
Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for determining a tact time in a production line of a mixed product according to an embodiment of the present invention, where in the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the method according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes:
aiming at the products with the same line body information, the production beat of the line body is determined based on the production beat of each type product, the quantity of each type product and the quantity of all model products produced by the line body corresponding to the line body information.
As shown in fig. 2, the counting method provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes:
s210: and acquiring offline time, model information and line body information of each product through recording/scanning equipment.
S220: and aiming at the products with the same line information, determining the production rhythm of each product based on the offline time of each product.
S230: each model product and the number of each model product are determined based on the model information of each product.
S240: the tact of each type of product is determined based on the tact of each product in each type and the number of products of each type.
S250: aiming at the products with the same line body information, the production beat of the line body is determined based on the production beat of each type product, the quantity of each type product and the quantity of all model products produced by the line body corresponding to the line body information.
In the embodiment of the present invention, specifically, the number of each model of product and the ratio of the number of all models of products produced by the line body corresponding to the line body information are determined, and the production tempo of the line body is determined based on the ratio and the production tempo of each model of product. In an implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the production cycle of the wire body may be determined based on the following formula:
wherein L is
bIn the tact of the wire, T
iFor the tact of the i-th model product, P
iThe ratio of the number of the ith model product to the number of all model products produced by the line body, and N is the number of the model products produced by the line body.
For example, for products with the same line body information, there are a model a and a model B, the number of the model a products is 3, the tact time of the model a is 10min, the number of the model B products is 5, the tact time of the model B products is 20min, the number of all the model products produced by the line body is 8, and the tact time of the line body is 8
From this, acquire the line body information of product, information and the model information of inserting the production line through record/scanning equipment, to the product of same line body information, the takt time of every product is confirmed based on the time of inserting the production line of each platform product, to the product of same model, the takt time of every model product is confirmed based on the takt time of every product and the quantity of every model product, based on the takt time of every model product, the quantity of every model product and the quantity of all model products of line body production, the takt time of the line body is confirmed, can be used for calculating in the scene of the cross production of polytypic product, it is accurate and simple to calculate.
On the basis of the above embodiment, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention may further include: and determining the production rhythm of a factory based on the production rhythm of each line body, the quantity of all models of products produced by each line body and the total quantity of the products produced by all line bodies. Specifically, the ratio of the number of all models of products produced by each line body to the total number of products produced by all line bodies is calculated, and the production beat of the factory is determined based on each ratio and the production beat of each line body. Wherein the tact of the plant can be calculated based on the following formula:
wherein, F
bIs the beat of the plant, L
bjProduction takt for jth line, P
bjThe ratio of the number of all models of products produced by the jth line body to the total number of products produced by all line bodies, and M is the number of line bodies in a factory.
Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for determining a tact time in a production line of a mixed product according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 3, a technical solution according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:
s310: and acquiring offline time, model information and line body information of each product through recording/scanning equipment.
S320: and aiming at the products with the same line information, determining the production rhythm of each product based on the offline time of each product.
S330: and if the actual production stopping time range exists, determining a target production rhythm corresponding to the actual production stopping time range, and replacing the target production rhythm by the difference value between the target production rhythm and the actual production stopping time period corresponding to the actual production stopping time range.
In the embodiment of the invention, the actual production stop time can be processed through the operation end. The actual downtime range includes a start time, an end time, and an actual downtime period. If the actual production stop time range is 12:00-12:30, the actual production stop time period is 30 min.
In the embodiment of the invention, in some factories, workers can go on duty by punching a card, open a line by punching the card, leave duty by punching the card, stop the line by punching the card, and the like. And the actual production stop time range can be obtained through the recorded card punching condition. The actual production stoppage can be caused by specific items such as rest, eating, training, equipment maintenance, meeting or maintenance of workers.
In the embodiment of the present invention, after the production tact of each product is determined by the offline time of each product, if an actual production stop range exists, a target production tact corresponding to the actual production stop range may be determined. And if the actual production stop time range is included between the two offline times for calculating the target production beat, determining that the target production beat corresponds to the actual production stop time range. The target production tempo will be replaced by the difference between the target production tempo and the actual production downtime period encompassed by the actual production downtime range. For example, the actual production stop range is 12:00-12:30, if the offline time of the product a1 is 11:55, the offline time of the product a2 is 12:40, the production tact of the product a2 is 45min by preliminary calculation, and as the target production tact, since the actual production stop range is 12:00-12:30, the actual production stop period (30min) needs to be removed in the target production tact, thereby obtaining the final production tact of the product a2 of 15 min.
Therefore, the production rhythm of each product can be accurately calculated by processing the special production rhythm, and the error in determining the production rhythm caused by production halt is avoided.
S340: determining each type of product and the number of each type of product based on the type information of each product;
s350: the tact of each type of product is determined based on the tact of each product in each type and the number of products of each type.
Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for determining a production cycle time in a production line of a hybrid product according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 4, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes:
s410: and acquiring offline time, model information and line body information of each product through recording/scanning equipment.
S420: and aiming at the products with the same line information, determining the production rhythm of each product based on the offline time of each product.
S430: judging whether a set production stopping time range exists through the cloud, and determining the maximum production rhythm of the product within a target time range; wherein the target time range comprises a set production stop time range.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the set downtime range may be an in-plan rest time range set in advance. Wherein the time range includes a start time and an end time of the planned rest, and a length of the rest time.
In the embodiment of the invention, after the operation end acquires the data of the product, no specific content needs to be marked by the staff, the cloud end sets the rest time in the plan in advance, and when the rest time range in the plan is reached, the cloud end automatically deducts the rest time so as to calculate the production beat.
The maximum tact of the product in the target time range including the set downtime range is the maximum tact of the product produced in the target time range.
S440: and taking the difference between the maximum production tempo and the production stop time period corresponding to the production stop time range as the final production tempo of the product corresponding to the maximum production tempo through a cloud.
In the embodiment of the invention, the production beat of each product can be determined based on the off-line time of each product for the products produced in the target time range; and if the set production stop time range exists, selecting the maximum production beat, and taking the difference value between the maximum production beat and the production stop time period as the final production beat of the product or the production beat of the production stop time period. For example, the eating time is 12:00-12:30 per day, and the duration is 30min, so the production stop time range is set to be 12:00-12: 30. A target time range may be selected, which may be, for example, 12:00 to 12:40, and which includes the set downtime range. The final production tempo of the product corresponding to the maximum production tempo can be obtained by subtracting the set production stop time period from the maximum production tempo in the production of the product within the target time range. For example, the maximum tact between 12:00 and 12:40 is 35min, and the final tact of the product is 35-30-5 min. And if the maximum production beat is less than the set production stop time period, recording the production beat of the product as 0.
Therefore, the production rhythm under special conditions can be accurately calculated, and the error in determining the production rhythm caused by production stoppage is avoided.
S450: each model product and the number of each model product are determined based on the model information of each product.
S460: the tact of each type of product is determined based on the tact of each product in each type and the number of products of each type.
Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a structure of a beat determining apparatus in a mixed product production line according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 5, the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: an acquisition module 510, a first determination module 520, a second determination module 530, and a tempo determination module 540.
The acquiring module 510 is configured to acquire offline time, model information, and line information of each product through a recording/scanning device;
a first determining module 520, configured to determine, for products with the same line information, a production tempo of each product based on offline time of each product;
a second determining module 530 for determining each model product and the number of each model product based on model information of each product;
a tact determining module 540 for determining the tact of each type of product based on the tact of each product in each type and the number of products of each type.
Optionally, the production tempo determining module 540 is configured to sum the production tempos of each product in each model to obtain a sum of the production tempos;
and dividing the sum of the production beats by the quantity of each type of product to obtain the average value of the production beats of each type of product, and taking the average value as the production beats of each type of product.
Optionally, the first determining module 520 is configured to determine a production cycle of the current product based on the offline time of the previous product and the offline time of the current product;
and taking the next product as the current product, and returning to the step of determining the production tempo of the current product until the production tempos of all the products are determined.
Optionally, the production cycle determining module 540 is further configured to determine, for the product of the same line body information, the production cycle of the line body based on the production cycle of each type of product, the number of each type of product, and the number of all model products produced by the line body corresponding to the line body information.
Optionally, the production beat of the line body is determined based on the production beat of each model product, the quantity of each model product and the quantity of all model products produced by the line body corresponding to the line body information, and the method includes the following steps:
determining the production beat of the wire body based on the following formula:
wherein L isbIn the tact of the wire, TiFor the tact of the i-th model product, PiThe ratio of the number of the ith model product to the number of all model products produced by the line body, and N is the number of the model products produced by the line body.
Optionally, the first determining module 520 is further configured to:
and if the actual production stopping time range exists, determining a target production rhythm corresponding to the actual production stopping time range, and replacing the target production rhythm by the difference value between the target production rhythm and the actual production stopping time period corresponding to the actual production stopping time range.
Optionally, the first determining module 520 is further configured to:
judging whether a set production stopping time range exists through the cloud, and determining the maximum production rhythm of the product within a target time range; wherein the target time range comprises the set production stop time range;
and taking the difference between the maximum production tempo and the production stop time period corresponding to the production stop time range as the final production tempo of the product corresponding to the maximum production tempo through a cloud.
The device can execute the method provided by any embodiment of the invention, and has the corresponding functional modules and beneficial effects of the execution method.
Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 6, the apparatus includes:
one or more processors 610, one processor 610 being exemplified in fig. 6;
a memory 620;
the apparatus may further include: an input device 630 and an output device 640. Wherein the device may further comprise a recording/scanning device (not shown in fig. 6)
The processor 610, the memory 620, the input device 630 and the output device 640 of the apparatus may be connected by a bus or other means, and fig. 6 illustrates the example of connection by a bus.
The memory 620, as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, may be used for storing software programs, computer-executable programs, and modules, such as program instructions/modules corresponding to a method for determining a tact in a hybrid product manufacturing line according to an embodiment of the present invention (for example, the obtaining module 510, the first determining module 520, the second determining module 530, and the tact determining module 540 shown in fig. 5). The processor 610 executes various functional applications and data processing of the computer device by running the software programs, instructions and modules stored in the memory 620, namely, implementing the beat determination method in the mixed product production line of the above-mentioned method embodiments, namely:
acquiring offline time, model information and line body information of each product through recording/scanning equipment;
aiming at products with the same line information, determining the production rhythm of each product based on the offline time of each product;
determining each type of product and the number of each type of product based on the type information of each product;
the tact of each type of product is determined based on the tact of each product in each type and the number of products of each type.
The memory 620 may include a storage program area and a storage data area, wherein the storage program area may store an operating system, an application program required for at least one function; the storage data area may store data created according to use of the computer device, and the like. Further, the memory 620 may include high speed random access memory, and may also include non-transitory memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, or other non-transitory solid state storage device. In some embodiments, memory 620 optionally includes memory located remotely from processor 610, which may be connected to the terminal device via a network. Examples of such networks include, but are not limited to, the internet, intranets, local area networks, mobile communication networks, and combinations thereof.
The input means 630 may be used to receive input numeric or character information and generate key signal inputs related to user settings and function control of the computer apparatus. The output device 640 may include a display device such as a display screen.
An embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements a method for determining a production beat in a mixed product production line, according to an embodiment of the present invention:
acquiring offline time, model information and line body information of each product through recording/scanning equipment;
aiming at products with the same line information, determining the production rhythm of each product based on the offline time of each product;
determining each type of product and the number of each type of product based on the type information of each product;
the tact of each type of product is determined based on the tact of each product in each type and the number of products of each type.
Any combination of one or more computer-readable media may be employed. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated data signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may also be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C + + or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the case of a remote computer, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet service provider).
It is to be noted that the foregoing is only illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and the technical principles employed. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is capable of various obvious changes, rearrangements and substitutions as will now become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, although the present invention has been described in greater detail by the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include other equivalent embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the appended claims.