JP2000042871A - Workpiece conveyance control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve handling efficiency in a main process and a post-process by adjusting a line of workpieces forming one product. SOLUTION: In a manufacturing line of a cab and a deck used to manufacture a motor truck, a body number and specification information in the case of a workpiece being the cab, and a deck identification number different from the body number, and specification information in the case of the deck are written in an ID tag fitted to a truck for conveying each of them. A branching- converging control device 30 refers to the specification information of the workpieces conveyed from conveyors 21, 22 and read by reading sensors 27, and controls conveyance so as not to disorder a line by the interruption of a return truck or the like when the cab and deck to be a pair are conveyed in a line and to re-form the line in the case of the cab and deck being conveyed in disorder.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a work for controlling the transfer of a work in a manufacturing line provided with a junction where a plurality of works forming a product by combining the work are individually processed. The present invention relates to a transfer control system, and more particularly to a transfer control for maintaining and forming a row of works that form a set when a product is formed in this production line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One process for manufacturing vehicles is a painting process in a painting factory. In the painting process, works (usually vehicles) brought in from the body factory are arranged in order and subjected to painting such as undercoating and overcoating. The work is painted in a designated color according to the vehicle information relating to the specification, and this vehicle information is written in an ID tag attached to a transport trolley onto which the work is transferred. The workpieces are painted into the booth one after another to paint the specified color on each workpiece.However, in order to prevent the paint sprayed on the preceding workpiece from painting in a different color and sticking to subsequent workpieces, a The paint that is flying in the air for the spread is dropped on the floor.

[0003] Normally, painting is performed on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis, but is slightly different when the vehicle is a truck. Since the cab of the driver's seat and the deck of the cargo platform that make up the truck are manufactured separately and transported to the painting factory, the cab and deck are treated as individual workpieces at the painting factory, and after painting separately, Take out to.

However, since the final product is manufactured as one truck, it is not possible to simply set vehicle information including a body number for each truck. This is because, if a body number is given to each of them, they are counted as two vehicles. Usually the cab I
Write the vehicle information on the D tag, and on the ID tag of the deck,
Only the specification information for the deck is written without including the body number. Each work is provided with a vehicle card, and work identification information, which is a body number, is set in advance. Therefore, the type of the work can be identified by reading the vehicle card. However, since the body number is not assigned to the deck as described above, the deck type for identifying the deck is written. The vehicle card on which this deck type is written is particularly called a deck card.

[0005] In an assembly factory, a deck that meets the specifications of the cab specified for production is selected from decks stocked in the stay space. Note that there is not only one deck to be combined with the cab specified for production, but any deck that matches the specifications (deck type, color, etc.) set in the cab's vehicle information Can also be selected. The cab and deck thus assembled are put into an assembly process and manufactured as a truck.

[0006]

As described above, the cab and the deck are processed as different works. However, since the cab and the deck are manufactured as one truck, the cab and the deck are arranged as a set in the arrangement of the works to be input to the painting process. It is desirable to do.

However, in the prior art, even if a cab and a deck are put in a set at the time of carrying in to a coating plant, the work is carried out to a downstream line in a first-come-first-served manner at a merging point of a plurality of lines. If another work is carried in to the junction after the cabs are unloaded and before the deck is unloaded, the cab / deck pair will be broken by the other works.

In the prior art, since the cab and the deck are not associated with each other, even if the cab and the deck are put together as a set at the time of being carried into the painting factory, the cab and the deck are re-painted by inspection and the line of the reworked work is changed. Once the line is destroyed by re-introduction, the line cannot be rebuilt.

The combination of a cab and a deck to be put into the assembly line is always performed by selecting a deck from a stagnant space at the time of putting into the assembly line. No adjustment or control was performed. For this reason, a large stay space was required for the deck waiting for combination.

Further, it is well known that even when the same color is applied, if the time of painting is different, the actually applied color of the work is slightly different. The cab and deck that form one product had slightly different colors because they were not painted in consideration of the pair. That is, conventionally, it was difficult to match the colors of the cab and the deck.

As described above, in the conventional work transfer control system in the painting step, the deck and the cab are arranged in a convenient manner in the processing in the painting step and further in the processing in the assembly step in the subsequent step. could not.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to adjust the arrangement of the workpieces forming one product to thereby improve the processing efficiency in this step and the subsequent steps. An object of the present invention is to provide a work transfer control system for improving the work transfer.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a work transfer control system according to the present invention comprises:
In a work transfer control system for controlling transfer of a work in a manufacturing line for individually processing a plurality of types of work that form a product by combining the first branch and the second branch which is a main part of the product. The specification information of the product in which the first work is used and the product identification information of the product corresponding to the one work are set as the work identification information of the first work, and at least one of the main parts of the product is not the main part of the product. Information setting processing means for setting specification information of a product in which the second work is used and work identification information different from the product identification information of the product in correspondence with each of the two second works; Work transfer to select one of the works that are arranged and carried in from the upstream production line and carry it out to the downstream production line And the work transfer control means, wherein the first and second works used for the same product are brought in side by side by referring to specification information set for each work to be carried in. When recognizing, the work is carried out while maintaining the arrangement of the first and second works.

The work transport control means forms the same product as the immediately preceding unloaded first work by referring to the specification information set for each of the loaded work and the immediately unloaded work. When it is recognized that the second work has been carried in from any one of the production lines, the second work is preferentially carried out to form a line with the first work.

[0015]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a case where the work transfer control system according to the present invention is applied to a painting process in a truck production factory will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a rough flow of vehicles in a truck production factory, mainly in a painting factory using an embodiment of a work transfer control system according to the present invention. In the painting factory according to the present embodiment, painting is performed not only on trucks but also on other vehicles (eg, wagons). The work carried in from the body factory is painted in the painting factory and carried into the assembly factory. The painting factory consists of the steps of undercoating, building, middle coat, topcoat, rebuilding, and rework. In the present embodiment, cabs and decks used for manufacturing one truck are put into the painting process as a set in principle. The set of cabs and decks used to manufacture one truck will be referred to as a "set". The work means a unit to be processed, and here, a cab, a deck, and a wagon correspond to the work. In the case of a vehicle, it refers to a product such as a truck composed of a set of cab and deck works and a wagon that is a single work.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic processing flow of a painting process in a painting factory. In the present embodiment,
It has processing that is characteristic of vehicle information writing processing that is performed when the vehicle is carried into the production line in the coating factory, branching and joining control processing, transport interval control processing, and coating instruction processing that are performed in actual coating processing. Hereinafter, the system configuration and operation in the present embodiment will be described for each process.

Vehicle Information Writing Process FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle information writing device for executing a vehicle information writing process. The vehicle information writing device 10 includes a vehicle card (or deck card) 1 attached to the work 3.
Receiving an identification information reading processing unit 11 for reading information written in a computer with a card reader (not shown), and vehicle information transmitted from a host computer in response to a request;
The contents of the buffer 12 are copied to the previous write buffer 14 in accordance with the type of the work for which the information is to be set and the vehicle information reception processing unit 13 to be stored in the buffer 12. An information control processing unit 16 for writing the generated information to the buffer 12; and a cart 4 for transferring information necessary for the painting process from information stored in the buffer 12 via an antenna (not shown). And an information transmission processing unit 17 for writing in the ID tag 2 attached to.

In this vehicle information writing process, a process of writing the information necessary for the coating process to the ID tag 2 to assign the information to the work is performed. This process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. . In addition,
In the coating factory according to the present embodiment, it is assumed that a truck manufactured by a set of a cab and a deck and a wagon manufactured by a single work are coated.

When detecting the work put into the painting process (step 101), the identification information reading processing section 11 receives information of the vehicle card 1 read by the operator using the card reader (step 102). Since the read information includes information for identifying the type of the work, the information control processing unit 16 can determine the type of the card, that is, the vehicle card or the deck card, based on the information (step). 103). When the read card is a vehicle card, the work can be recognized as a cab or a wagon. In this case, the information control processing unit 16 transmits a transmission request for vehicle information to the host computer based on the work identification information extracted from the vehicle card 1 (step 104). The work identification information in the case of a vehicle card is the product identification information of a truck, that is, the body number, and in the case of a cab, it is also the cab identification number.

The host computer has vehicle information of all vehicles and has a function of returning vehicle information corresponding to the body number specified in the request. When the vehicle information reception processing unit 13 receives the vehicle information transmitted from the host computer and stores the vehicle information in the buffer 12 (step 105), the information transmission processing unit 17 transmits the vehicle information stored in the buffer 12 to the painting process. Necessary information is extracted and written into the ID tag 2 attached to the cart 4 on which the work is mounted (step 106). In addition, ID tag 2
Is referred to as specification information here. The specification information naturally includes information such as a paint color and a two-tone color. However, when the work is a cab, the specification information also includes specification information of a deck to be paired. Here, when the work to be processed is a cab, the information control processing unit 16
The vehicle information stored in the buffer 12 is temporarily stored by copying it to the previous write buffer 14 (step 1).
07, 108). On the other hand, if the work is a wagon, the vehicle information stored in the previous write buffer 14 is deleted (steps 107 and 109). Whether the work to be processed is a cab or a wagon can be determined by, for example, the presence or absence of deck information.

On the other hand, when the read card is a deck card, the information control processing section 16 determines the deck type taken out from the deck card 1 and the deck type contained in the vehicle information stored in the previous write buffer 14. Is checked to see if they match (step 110). As described above, since the cab and the deck are continuously loaded, the work immediately preceding the deck in the row of works to be carried in should be a cab constituting a set. At 108, it should have been previously stored in the write buffer 14. It should be noted that as a result of the collation, if they do not match, it is treated as an error. Thereafter, the information control processing unit 16 obtains the work identification information of the deck from the cab identification number (body number) of the cab included in the vehicle information using the conversion table 15 (step 111). In the conversion table 15, a body number that is also a cab identification number and a deck identification number that is work identification information of a deck are set in one-to-one correspondence. In the present embodiment, the deck identification number is obtained by simply replacing the first character of the body number with the letter "A" such as the cab identification number "12345" as the deck identification number "A2345". Then, the information control processing unit 16 replaces the cab identification number of the vehicle information stored in the previous writing buffer 14 with the deck identification number, and then stores the information in the buffer 12 (step 112).

The information transmission processing unit 17 extracts specification information necessary for the painting process from the vehicle information stored in the buffer 12 and writes it into the ID tag 2 for the work, ie, the deck (step 106). That is, the same information other than the work identification information is written in each ID tag 2 of the cab and deck of the set. If the work is a deck, the information control processing unit 16
Deletes the vehicle information stored in the previous write buffer 14 (steps 107 and 109).

As described above, the specification information required in the painting process can be written in the ID tag 2 of each work. In the present embodiment, especially when the specification information is written in the ID tag 2 of the deck, the body number is used. Is not duplicated with the cabs that make up the set,
It does not count as one vehicle.

In this embodiment, the conversion table 1
5 is provided to obtain the deck identification number from the body number. However, a certain rule may be provided so that the deck identification number can be automatically obtained from the body number input by an application or the like.

The branching control processing Figure 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a system configuration for executing a branching control process in the embodiment. Here, a description will be given of an example of an overcoating process in which the vehicle returns. In the top coating process, the conveyor 2 transports the work from the previous process.
1. The branching and joining of the work is performed by a conveyor 22 that conveys a returning work for a defective vehicle or repainting or the like, and a traverser 23 that connects the conveyors 24 and 25 that are the carry-out destinations. In this embodiment, two conveyors 2
4 and 25, and one conveyor 25 is a masking line for a two-tone vehicle. Conveyor control for branching and joining in the traverser 23 is performed by a conveyor control panel 26. Further, each of the conveyors 21 and 22 is provided with a reading sensor 27 for reading an ID tag attached to a cart carrying a work passing through the installation location. In addition, each conveyor 21, 22,
The passage sensors 24 and 25 are provided with passage sensors 28 for detecting passage of a carriage carrying a work at each installation location.
Note that a passage sensor (not shown) is also provided on the transport path from the conveyor 22 to the conveyor 25 inside the traverser 23.
Is provided.

The control of the branching and joining at the entrance of the top coating process is performed by a branching and joining control device 30 which issues an instruction to the conveyor control panel 26. The branching / joining control device 30 is provided as a work transfer control unit, and the reading sensor 2
7 manages the work arrangement based on the work arrangement data 31 based on the specification information of each work read by 7 and the work passage detection signal from the passage sensor 28, and determines the work to be carried into the traverser 23 based on the work arrangement data 31. It has a management unit 32 and a conveyor control instruction unit 33 that issues an instruction for conveyor control to the conveyor control panel 26. FIG. 6 shows the work arrangement data 31
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a data configuration of FIG. 6, the work identification information and the specification information obtained from the ID tag using the reading sensor 27 and the reading time are stored in the rectangular frame portion. The arrangement positions of the rectangular frames correspond to the actual work arrangement on the conveyors 21, 22, 24, 25. The information stored in the work arrangement data 31 is sequentially shifted by the work arrangement management unit 32 according to a work passage detection signal from the passage sensor 28. In the present embodiment, by holding the specification information for the two works at the loading source side, it is possible to execute a characteristic process of performing control while considering the set of the cab and the deck. The unloading side is capable of holding the specification information of three works, but is not particularly required as long as the branching / joining control processing is executed. In the present embodiment, a truck manufactured by using two works, that is, a cab and a deck, is exemplified as a product. Therefore, an area for holding specification information for two works is provided on the loading side of the work arrangement data 31. It suffices to prepare it. However, if the target is a product manufactured by three or more workpieces, it is necessary to prepare a holding area for specification information corresponding to the number.

Next, the branching / joining control processing according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The processing shown in FIG.
This is a process for generating a work carry-in instruction to the traverser 23 with respect to the work. The work for which the carry-in instruction to the traverser 23 was given in the previous process is carried out of the traverser 23, and the next work is carried in to the traverser 23. This is the processing to be performed. The branching / joining control process according to the present embodiment is performed by the
25 based on the specification information of each work on
The process for determining the priority order of the traverser 23 can be broadly divided into the process of determining the priority order of the traverser 23 and the process of determining the priority order of the work 4 and 25. A feature of this embodiment is that when a set cab and deck are brought in side by side at a branching and joining point, the set can be carried out to the next step without breaking the set arrangement. That is what we did. Also, if the cab and deck of the broken set can be re-established at this junction, the arrangement is made.

The work arrangement management section 32 selects a first carry-in source (for example, the conveyor 21) from the work arrangement data 31 (step 121). If the specification information of the work is not set in the selected loading source, there is no room for selection, and the priority order for the loading source is set to 0 (steps 122 and 123). In the present embodiment, three priorities are set, and the higher the number, the higher the priority.

When the work specification information is set,
At the beginning of the loading source, processing branches according to the deck, wagon or cab. First, if the head of the loading source is a deck, and if the type of the work for which the loading instruction was previously issued is other than the cab, the priority for the loading source is set to 1 (steps 124 to 126). When the type of the work for which the carry-in instruction has been given last time is a cab and the deck and the cab are set, the priority of the carry-in source is set to 2 (steps 125, 127, and 125).
128). On the other hand, if the deck and the cab are not set, the priority for the loading source is set to 1 (steps 125, 127, 129).

If the head of the loading source is a wagon, the priority for the loading source is set to 1 (steps 124 and 13).
0).

If the head of the loading source is a cab, the priority order is set to 1 if the specification information on the second work is set at the loading source (steps 131 and 132), and if not, the priority is set. Rank 0 (Step 1
31, 133).

In this way, the priority of the loading source is determined. If there is a source (for example, the conveyor 22) for which the priority has not yet been determined, the priority of all the sources is determined by selecting the source and repeating the above processing (steps 134 and 135). ).

When the priorities of all the loading sources are determined, the loading source for loading the workpieces into the traverser 23, that is, the workpiece to be loaded, is determined. First, when the priorities of all the import sources are not 0 and there are a plurality of import sources with the highest priority, the import source of the first-come work is selected (steps 136 to 138). Since the work arrangement data 31 stores the time at which the specification information and the like of each work are read, it is possible to easily specify the corresponding carry-in source. If there is only one import source with the highest priority, that import source is selected (step 13).
9). When the loading source can be specified in this way, the work arrangement management unit 32 generates a loading instruction from the loading source and notifies the conveyor control unit 33 that the workpiece is loaded into the traverser 23 from the loading source. (Step 140). With this movement, the contents of the work arrangement data 31 are updated.

On the other hand, when the priority order of all carry-in sources is 0, there is no work that can be carried into the traverser 23. A wait instruction is generated (steps 136, 141).

As described above, in the present embodiment,
The cab and the deck each have specification information, and the work to be carried into the traverser 23 is determined based on the specification information. In other words, in the past, the work was carried into the traverser 23 in the order of arrival at the junction, so that when the return work arrived from another conveyor after the arrival of the set cab and before the arrival of the deck, the cab of the set was returned. The return work will be interrupted between the decks.
In the present embodiment, by referring to the specification information, when the cab and the deck of the set are lined up, it is possible to prevent another work from being inserted between the set. Further, if a deck that can constitute a set with the cab exists on a different loading source after the cab is loaded, the deck is loaded into the traverser 23 with the highest priority. That is, the cab and the deck of the set, which are no longer conveyed side by side due to a splash or the like, are given an opportunity to be lined up again at this stage. The processing corresponding to the maintenance of the set and the reconstruction of the work arrangement is the processing shown in steps 124 to 128, where the highest priority 2 is given.

Further, if the head of the loading source is a cab and if the specification information regarding the second work is not set at the loading source, a deck that can be set as a set with the cab will be any one of the future. The priority order was set to 0, assuming that a set that had been transported to the loading source and collapsed could be restored. The processing corresponding to the reconstruction of the work arrangement is shown in step 133.

According to the branching / joining control processing in this embodiment, the set of cabs and decks arranged side by side is prevented from being broken, and if a set can be formed again at the joining / branching point in the traverser 23, it is re-set. The branching / joining control is performed as configured.

In the present embodiment, the branching / joining control processing in the top coating process has been described as an example. However, the processing described above can be applied to a point where the branching / joining control is performed.

Transport Interval Control Process FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an apparatus configuration for executing the transport interval control process in the present embodiment. As an example, a workpiece transported from the conveyor 25 in FIG. From the storage conveyor 41 in the painting factory to the traverser 4
2 shows a merging point of the storage conveyor 41 in which a work is put into a main conveyor 43 such as a booth for overcoating via the second coating booth. The work selected at this point is carried into the traverser 42 from the storage conveyor 41,
It is pushed into the main conveyor 43 by the feeder 44. Dogs 45 are attached to the main conveyor 43 at regular intervals, and the cart on which the work is placed is hooked by the dog 45 and transported on the main conveyor 43, and the loaded work is painted.

In the overcoating step, the space between the works is spread so that the paint sprayed on the previous work and flying in the air is not attached to the subsequent work to be coated with a different color. Conventionally, the interval between the workpieces has always been constant. The present embodiment is characterized in that it is possible to control the timing of feeding a work to the main conveyor 43. For example, when a set of cabs and decks to be painted with the same color are conveyed side by side, the interval between works is positively reduced. Since the same color is painted, there is no problem even if the paint on the previous work (cab) adheres to the subsequent work (deck). Instead, the set can be painted at the same time. Color matching can be facilitated.

The transfer interval control device 50 is provided as a work transfer control means. The transfer interval control device 50 is provided with the specification information of each work read by the read sensor 46 of the storage conveyor 41 and the passage sensor 47 of the main conveyor 43 and the passage inside the traverser 42. A work arrangement management unit 52 that manages the work arrangement based on the work arrangement data 51 based on a work passage detection signal from a sensor (not shown) and determines a work to be input to the main conveyor 43 based on the work arrangement data 51; A conveyor control instructing unit 54 for instructing the conveyor control panel 53 to perform conveyor control.

The contents of the control in the transport interval control device 50 are basically the same as those in the branching / joining control device described above, so that the details of the transport interval control will be omitted. That is, the main conveyor 43 is referred to by referring to the work specification information stored in the work arrangement data 51.
Decide the work to be put into Then, the selected work is put into the main conveyor 43 via the feeder 42, and the transport interval control device 50 controls the start timing of the feeder 42 according to the type of the selected work. Specifically, if the work to be subsequently input is a cab and a deck of a set, the work is to be shortened and the main conveyor 43
Is controlled so that Otherwise,
As described above, a predetermined interval is provided depending on the type of the arranged works. FIG. 9 shows a difference in the transport interval between the works due to the transport interval control.

According to this embodiment, in the case of a set cab and a deck, the cab and the deck are successively thrown into the main conveyor 43 so as to be treated as almost one vehicle.
Color matching is facilitated, and unnecessary conveyance intervals and paint can be prevented.

The present embodiment is characterized in that the work transfer interval on the main conveyor 43 is determined based on the specification information. For this reason, in the case of a set cab and a deck, they can be continuously loaded into the main conveyor 43. In practice, however, no problem arises if the same color is used, regardless of whether a set is used or not. On the other hand, even in the case of a set, such as a coating process of a different color or a two-tone color, it is not possible to reduce the conveyance interval and feed the set. In the present embodiment,
Since the specification information is added to each work, such a determination can be made easily.

The present embodiment is characterized in that specification information is added to each work and the work is conveyed on a production line. In the above-described vehicle information writing process, the specification information and the work identification information associated with the conversion table are further given to each of the cab and the deck carried in as a set from the body factory. But the cab,
Even if it is not a deck loaded as a set, the deck can be combined if it is a deck having the same specification as the deck, that is, a deck in which specification information matching the specification information of the cab is set. In the transport interval control process and the branching / joining control process described above, the set that has collapsed is reconfigured, but at this time, the deck that reconfigures the cab and the set is a different deck from when the paint factory was brought in. There is no problem at all. For this reason, in the present embodiment,
It is set to work to write specification information instead of just group information. This increases the probability that the cab and deck can be transported to a subsequent process as a set.

Painting Instruction Processing FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of an apparatus for executing the painting instruction processing in the present embodiment. The painting instruction process is a process performed when the paint is actually sprayed on the workpiece conveyed at a predetermined interval by the conveyance interval control process. This painting instruction processing is executed by the vehicle type instruction device 60 and the automatic machine control panel 70. The vehicle type indicating device 60 stores the specification information written in the ID tag read by the reading antenna 81 in the buffer 61, and the contents of the buffer 61 to the previous reading buffer 63 at the detection timing by the sensor 82. It has a moving specification information shift section 64 and an instruction output section 65 for issuing a coating instruction to the automatic machine control panel 70 in accordance with the result of comparison between the contents of the buffer 61 and the previous reading buffer 63. The reading antenna 81 and the sensor 82
The dogs 45 are arranged at equal intervals. The automatic machine control panel 70 is a vehicle type instruction requesting unit 71 that issues an instruction request to the vehicle type instruction device 60 at the detection timing of the instruction request sensor 83.
And a buffer 7 for holding an instruction from the vehicle type indicating device 60
2 and a painting robot control unit 73 that controls the operation pattern of the painting robot 84 in accordance with instructions.

Next, a description will be given of the coating instruction processing in this embodiment. When the specification information is read by the reading antenna 81 from the ID tag 2 attached to the carriage 4 on which the work 3 to be transported on the main conveyor 43 is placed. , The ID tag reading unit 62 stores the specification information in the buffer 61. Further, when the work 3 is conveyed on the main conveyor 43 and detected by the sensor 82, the specification information shift unit 6
4 shifts the contents of the buffer 61 to the previous reading buffer 63 at that timing. Further, when the work 3 is conveyed on the main conveyor 43 and detected by the instruction request sensor 83, the vehicle type instruction request unit 71 issues an instruction request to the instruction output unit 65 at that timing. When receiving the instruction request, the instruction output unit 65 specifies the type of the work being conveyed according to the comparison result between the buffer 61 and the previous reading buffer 63. When the cab and the deck of the set are being conveyed, the cab and the deck should have been hooked on the continuous dog 45 without any interval, as is clear from the above-mentioned conveyance interval control processing. Therefore, at the timing when the cab corresponding to the work is detected by the sensor 82 and the contents of the buffer 61 are shifted to the reading buffer 63 last time, the specification information of the subsequent work, that is, the deck, is written into the buffer 61. Therefore, when the cab and the deck of the set are being conveyed, the result of comparison between the contents of the buffer 61 and the previous reading buffer 63 by the instruction output unit 65 should match, and thus the vehicle type is recognized as a truck. Can be. At this time, the instruction output unit 65 outputs an instruction to the automatic machine control panel 70 as specification information of one truck. When the cab and the deck of the set are not conveyed, the contents of the buffer 61 and the previous reading buffer 63 do not match because the cab and the deck are hooked at an interval with the dog 45. This is because the buffer 61 must be empty. At this time, the instruction output unit 65 outputs the contents (specification information) of the previous reading buffer 63 as an instruction to the automatic machine control panel 70.

In the automatic machine control panel 70, the coating robot control section 73 controls the coating robot 84 based on the instructions (specification information) from the vehicle type indicating device 60 written in the buffer 72 to control the work on the main conveyor 43. To paint. In the case of a set of cabs and decks regarded as one truck, painting is performed on two works in a series of operations. Thereby, the coating process is efficient, and the color matching between the cab and the deck can be ensured.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the set of the cab and the deck is not broken, and the broken set is reconstructed at the junction if possible. In the above, in the above-described coating process, the cab and the deck can be coated as one truck while the set is kept. Also, since the set can be carried out to the next assembler, there is no need to constantly select the deck to be combined with the cab.
The staying space for the deck waiting for combination can be narrowed.

In this embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a painting process in a truck production factory has been described as an example. However, when a plurality of works are combined to manufacture a product, a manufacturing line for individually manufacturing the works is used. Then, the present invention can be applied to a production factory for products other than trucks.

[0053]

According to the present invention, the same specification information and non-overlapping identification information are set for each work. By referring to this specification information at the merging branch point on the production line, the first information can be obtained. And when the second work is conveyed side by side, the work can be carried out to the next production line while maintaining the work arrangement without breaking.

If the first and second works are not aligned at the merging / branching point on the production line, the second work is prioritized after carrying out the first work regardless of the order of arrival at the merging / branching point. By unloading the work, the arrangement of the works can be reconstructed.

As described above, by transporting the first and second works forming the product side by side, efficient processing in a process on a production line or a subsequent process can be desired.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a rough flow of vehicles in a truck production factory centering on a painting factory using an embodiment of a work transfer control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic processing flow of a painting process in a painting factory in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle information writing device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle information writing process according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a device configuration for executing a branching / joining control process in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a data configuration of work arrangement data in the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a branching / joining control process according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an apparatus configuration for executing a transport interval control process according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a difference in a work transfer interval that varies depending on a combination of works arranged in a transfer interval control process according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an apparatus configuration for executing a coating instruction process in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 vehicle card (deck card), 2 ID tag, 3
Work, 10 vehicle information writing device, 11 identification information reading processing unit, 12, 61, 72 buffer, 13 vehicle information reception processing unit, 14 previous writing buffer, 15 conversion table, 16 information control processing unit, 17 information transmission processing Part 2,
1, 22, 24, 25 Conveyor, 23, 42 Traverser, 26, 53 Conveyor control panel, 27, 46 Reading sensor, 28, 47 Passing sensor, 30 Branch / merge control device, 31, 51 Work arrangement data, 32, 52 work Line management unit, 33, 54 Conveyor control instruction unit, 4
1 storage conveyor, 43 main conveyor, 44
Feeder, 45 dog, 60 model indicator, 62
ID tag reading section, 63 previous reading buffer, 64 specification information shift section, 65 instruction output section, 70 automatic machine control panel,
71 Vehicle type instruction request unit, 73 Painting robot control unit, 8
1 reading antenna, 82 sensor, 83 instruction request sensor, 84 painting robot.

Claims (2)

[Claims] A work transfer control system for controlling the transfer of a plurality of workpieces that form a product by combining them in a production line, wherein the workpiece transfer control system is provided with a merging branch point. The specification information of the product in which the first work is used and the product identification information of the product are set as the work identification information of the first work in association with the first work forming the main part, and the main Information setting processing means for setting specification information of a product in which the second work is used and work identification information different from the product identification information of the product in association with at least one second work which is not a part; Selects one of the works to be brought in from the upstream production line, which is located at the merging point of the line, and unloads it to the downstream production line A work transfer control unit, wherein the work transfer control unit arranges the first and second works used for the same product by referring to specification information set for each of the works to be carried in. When it is recognized that the first work and the second work are carried in, the work is transported while maintaining the arrangement of the first and second works. 2. The work transfer control means forms the same product as the first work carried out immediately before by referring to specification information set for each of the work carried in and the work carried out immediately before. When the second work is recognized as being carried in from any one of the production lines, the second work is preferentially carried out to form a line with the first work. 2. The work transfer control system according to 1.