JP2000198050A - Buffer control device and processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently carry out the control of timing with which a workpiece is fed downstream, and the allocation of works for maintenance to workers. SOLUTION: A buffer control device for a processing line is composed of a facility control part 12 for controlling operation data obtained by monitoring an operating condition of processing devices 2 (2a to 2r), tact time and maintenance data for the processing devices 2 (2a to 2r) inputted by the data input device 17, a worker control art 13 for controlling working condition data for workers, a data control part 14 for controlling workpiece presence data in the processing devices 2 (2a to 2r) and buffer devices 4 (4a, 4b), and a scheduling part 15 for carrying out the control of timing with which a workpiece is fed downstream, the allocation of works for workers in accordance with the operating condition data, the tact time, the maintenance data, the working condition data and the workpiece presence data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a buffer control device provided on a processing line having a plurality of processing devices, and in particular, to efficiently control the timing at which a work is made to flow downstream and efficiently allocate work to workers. The present invention relates to a buffer control device that can be used and a processing system including the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a processing line including a plurality of processing devices, a buffer serving as a temporary work storage location is used in order to suppress the occurrence of a failure in the processing device or regular maintenance from affecting the entire processing line. Equipment has been installed on processing lines. These buffer devices exist only as work shelters,
It did not have a control function. However, when the buffer device is merely an evacuation site, there is a problem that a buffer overflow occurs depending on the buffer capacity and the original function of the buffer device cannot be fulfilled. In order to solve such a problem, in "Buffer control device and method" disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-269805, a charging device is arranged at the head of a process line (processing line), and When the arranged buffer device receives a request from one of a plurality of process devices (processing devices) arranged in parallel downstream thereof, the processing object (workpiece) flows to the process device that has requested the processing device. Then, the buffer device detects the process device that is actually operating, and determines the input tact of the input device according to the detected number of process devices.

[0003]

However, in the above-described prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-269805, the input tact is determined based only on the number of working machines in an operable state. Therefore, there is a problem that the accuracy is low and the work cannot be flowed even though the work can be flowed originally. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the related art, and to efficiently control the timing at which a work is caused to flow downstream, and to efficiently perform maintenance work assignment to an operator and the like. It is to provide a buffer control device.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a buffer control device for a processing line provided on a processing line having a plurality of processing devices. Operating status monitoring means for monitoring the operating status of the device and obtaining operating status data, tact time setting means for setting the tact time of each of the processing devices, and maintenance information setting means for setting the maintenance information of each of the processing devices; Equipment management means for managing the operation status data, tact time and maintenance information, presence management means for managing work presence information in each of the processing devices, and operation status data managed by the equipment management means. A schedule that controls the timing of the flow of the work downstream based on the tact time, maintenance information, and the work presence information. And a-ring means. Further, in the invention according to claim 2, in the invention according to claim 1,
The presence management means also manages the number of works in the downstream buffer device, and the scheduling means is configured to control the timing at which the work flows downstream based on the number of works in the buffer device. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a worker setting means for setting a worker's work status data in association with each worker information indicating each worker;
Worker management means for managing the work situation data, wherein the scheduling means further controls the timing of flowing the work downstream based on the work situation data managed by the worker management means, and Work assignment. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second, or third aspect of the invention, the facility management means for managing the maintenance information manages a standard return time for each failure in the processing apparatus. It was configured.

According to the invention described in claim 5, according to claim 3,
In the invention described above, the worker management means manages a standard work time coefficient for each piece of worker information, and the scheduling means performs work assignment based on the standard work time coefficient to allocate a specific worker to maintenance work of the processing apparatus. It was configured. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the scheduling means allocates the work to the maintenance work of the processing apparatus such that the work load of each worker indicated as the worker information is leveled. Was performed. Further, according to the invention described in claim 7, according to claim 5,
In the invention described above, the scheduling means is configured to assign the worker indicated by the worker information having the minimum standard work time coefficient to the maintenance work of the processing apparatus. Also, in the invention according to claim 8, in the invention according to claim 5, 6, or 7, the worker management means determines each worker from history information of work time associated with each worker information. The standard work time coefficient associated with the information is corrected, and the scheduling means controls the timing at which the work is caused to flow downstream based on the corrected standard work time coefficient and allocates the work to the worker. According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or third aspect of the present invention, the scheduling means controls the timing of flowing the work downstream in the work input device in addition to the buffer device. It was configured.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in a processing system including a plurality of processing devices, a plurality of buffer devices, and a work input device, a buffer control device for controlling a flow timing of the plurality of buffer devices and the work input device. With. With the above-described configuration, in the first aspect of the invention, the timing at which the work is caused to flow downstream is controlled based on the operation status data of each processing device, the tact time, the maintenance information, and the work presence information. Claim 2
According to the invention described in the first aspect, the timing of flowing the work downstream is controlled based on the number of works in the downstream buffer device. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first or second aspect, the timing at which the work is caused to flow downstream is further controlled based on the work situation data, and the work is assigned to the worker. . According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or third aspect of the invention, the standard return time for each failure in the processing device is managed as the maintenance information. In the invention according to claim 5, in the invention according to claim 3, the standard work time coefficient is managed for each worker information, and at the time of maintenance of the processing apparatus, a specific worker is operated based on the standard work time coefficient based on the standard work time coefficient. Assigned to maintenance work.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the work is allocated to the maintenance work of the processing apparatus so that the work load of each worker is leveled. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the worker having the minimum standard operation time coefficient is assigned to the maintenance work of the processing apparatus. According to the invention described in claim 8, in the invention described in claim 5, 6, or 7, the standard work associated with each worker information from the history information of the work time associated with each worker information. The time coefficient is corrected, the timing of flowing the work downstream is controlled based on the corrected standard work time coefficient, and the work is assigned to the worker. According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or third aspect of the invention, in addition to the buffer device, the work input device controls the timing at which the work flows downstream. According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the timing (flow timing) at which the work flows downstream in the plurality of buffer devices and the work input device is controlled by the buffer control device.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a processing system (processing line) showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in the drawing, the processing system according to the present embodiment includes a buffer control device 1 in which the present invention is implemented, and a previous process (upstream).
Processing devices 2 for processing workpieces flowing from
(2a, 2b,..., 2r), the work input device 3 arranged at the head of the machining line, the plurality of buffer devices 4 (4a, 4b) arranged in the middle of the machining line, and arranged at the end of the machining line Work storage 5, one to one for each processing device 2
Processing control device 6 that controls each processing device 2
(6a, 6b,..., 6r), etc., and the work input device 3, each buffer device 4, the work storage 5, and each processing control device 6 are connected to the buffer control device 1 via a line 7. I have. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a buffer control device 1 includes a production management unit 1 for managing a production plan and a production result.
1. It is an operation status monitoring means for monitoring the operation status of each processing apparatus 2 and acquiring operation status data, and also operates the operation status data and the tact time (from the time when a work is input to the processing apparatus until the work is discharged). Equipment management unit 12 for managing time and maintenance information, a worker management unit (worker management unit) 13 for managing the number of workers and information on each worker, A work presence information management unit (management management unit) 14 that manages work presence information as presence / absence information, and a scheduling unit (scheduling unit) that performs scheduling such as work flow timing in each buffer device and work assignment to a worker. 15) A control unit 16 for managing and controlling the entire buffer control device, a production plan, the number of workers, and the number of workers. An information input device 17 for inputting information about each worker including worker information, a tact time of each processing device, maintenance information, etc., and outputting maintenance work instruction data for recovering a failure of the processing device 2 to the worker. And a work instruction data output device 18 for performing the operation.
The information input device 17 for inputting information on each worker, tact time, maintenance information, and the like constitutes an operator setting unit, a tact time setting unit, and a maintenance information setting unit together with the control unit 16. As shown in FIG. 2, each processing control device 6 includes a processing instruction data storage unit 21 that stores processing conditions and the like of the corresponding processing device 2, and a facility operation status monitor that monitors an operation status of the corresponding processing device 2. The system includes a unit 22, a work detection unit 23 for detecting the presence or absence of a work, a data input unit 24 for an operator to input error information, error recovery information, and the like.

With this configuration, in this embodiment, the production plan of the day and the workers to be arranged on the day, which are input from the information input device 17, are assigned to the production management unit 1.
1. Stored (set) in the worker management unit 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the worker information such as the worker name and the standard work time coefficient are registered in the worker management unit 13 in advance, and the workers arranged on the day are registered in the worker management unit 13. Is identified and set by the name of the worker who is working. Then, in accordance with the production plan stored in the production management unit 11, a work is input from the work input device 3 to each processing device 2 downstream thereof, and the processing instruction data storage unit 2 in each processing control device 6 is processed.
The processing is sequentially performed according to the processing condition set to 1. Then, the operation status data of each processing device 2 managed by the equipment management unit 12, the tact time of each processing device 2,
The standard return time for each error (failure) in each processing device 2 (see FIG. 4), the workers arranged on the day stored in the worker management unit 13, the standard work time coefficients of the respective workers, and the work presence. Each processing device 2 managed by the information management unit 14
From the work presence information in the buffer device 4 and the work presence information in each buffer device 4, the scheduling section 15 performs the work flow timing (payout timing) of each buffer device 4 and the work assignment for the failure recovery of the processing device 2. Will be

Next, the operation of this embodiment in the scheduling unit 15 will be described with reference to the operation flow shown in FIGS. The following operation is performed for each buffer device. As shown in FIG. 5, when starting the operation of the processing line, first, the control unit 16 initializes various parameters of the buffer control device 1 (S1),
The work presence information management unit 14 determines whether a work exists in the buffer device 4 (for example, 4a) (S2). The buffer device 4 is also provided with a work detection unit similarly to the processing control device 6, and constantly detects the presence or absence of a work.
The work presence information management unit 14 of the buffer control device 1 acquires the work presence information (work presence / absence information) that changes every moment in each of the buffer devices 4 and each of the processing devices 2 in accordance with the change. . And the buffer device 4
If there is no work (No in S2), the process waits for the work to be input from the upstream processing device 2 to the buffer device 4 (S2 → S2). On the other hand, when a work exists in the buffer device 4 or when a work is input (Yes in S2), the scheduling unit 15 inputs the work to the processing device 2 next (downstream) from the buffer device 4. The work input time is calculated (S3). That is, scheduling such as work flow timing and worker assignment in the buffer device 4 is performed. Thereafter, the process waits until the work input time comes (S4 → S5 → S4). During this time, the processing state of the processing device 2 between the next (downstream) buffer device 4 (for example, 4b) due to a failure or the like is changed. If it has changed, or if the work presence information has changed (Yes in S5), the next work input time to the processing device 2 is calculated again (S3).
Then, when the work input time has been reached (Yes in S4),
The work is put into the downstream processing device 2 (S6). Since then
Unless the processing line is completed (No in S7),
Returning to step S2, steps S2 and subsequent steps are repeated, and when the operation of the machining line ends (Yes in S7), this operation flow is ended.

As shown in FIG. 6, the work input time calculation (S3) is firstly performed with the work presence information of the next (downstream) buffer device 4 (for example, 4b). The work presence information of a certain processing device 2 is obtained from the work presence information management unit 14 (S11), and the device status of the buffer device 4 and each of the processing devices 2 is further obtained from the equipment management unit 12 (S12). . Then, it is determined whether or not there is a non-operating device due to a device error or the like according to the obtained device state (S13). As a result, if it is determined that there is no inactive device (S13
No), the scheduling unit 15 determines whether or not the following relational expression holds, and if it holds, immediately performs the scheduling process (S16). Allowable work number of the next buffer device−Work number of the next buffer device> Number of works on the processing device up to the next buffer device The above relational expression is satisfied, and the work can be input to the next processing device 2 immediately. In this case, “current time + α” is set as the work input time, and when the next processing apparatus 2 is still processing the work, scheduling is performed with the next work processing start time of the next processing apparatus 2 as the work input time. Note that α is a CPU
Represents overhead due to processing. If the above relational expression does not hold, it is determined whether the above relational expression holds again after a predetermined time, and scheduling is performed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S13 that there is a non-operation device (Yes in S13), the processing device 2 and the like which are in non-operation state due to the occurrence of a failure or the like are used to recover the failure of the device. A maintenance worker is selected (S14). In this case, when a plurality of workers can be assigned in the assignment of the maintenance worker, the assignment is performed such that the total of the working hours of each worker is equalized. When one person is assigned, the worker with the smallest standard working time coefficient is assigned. Subsequently, the scheduling unit 15 obtains a predicted return time of the device (S15). It is determined from the product of the standard work time coefficient of the worker shown in FIG. 3 and the device standard return time corresponding to each error shown in FIG. That is, the device standard return time is a return time when a worker with the standard work time coefficient of 1.0 works, and the smaller the standard work time coefficient of the worker, the shorter the return time by the worker.
After obtaining the expected return time of the apparatus in this way, the scheduling unit 15 determines whether the relational expression is established, and if it is, performs the scheduling process (S16). That is, the work input time to the next processing device 2 is calculated according to the tact time of each processing device 2, the predicted return time of the non-operation state processing device 2 as maintenance information, the work presence information of each processing device, and the like.
If the relational expression does not hold, it is determined whether the relational expression holds again after a predetermined time, and scheduling is performed.

Further, the control unit 16 outputs maintenance work allocation information for recovering the failure of the processing apparatus 2 to the work instruction data output device 18 and transmits the information to the worker, whereby the allocated worker performs the processing. The maintenance work of the device 1 is performed. The work time of this maintenance work is input from the information input device 17 as a history of the work time of the worker, and the worker management unit 13 acquires it, stores it in the worker management unit 13, and stores the information. Periodically correct the standard working time coefficient based on this. Therefore, thereafter, the work input time and the work assignment to the worker are determined according to the corrected standard work time coefficient. The above work input time calculation processing will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 7 for the buffer device 4a. In FIG. 7, the allowable number of workpieces of the buffer devices 4a and 4b is, for example, "6", and the processing device 2 and the buffer device 4 between the buffer devices 4a and 4b have work presence information as indicated by black circles. (The number of black circles is the number of workpieces), and an error 9 (see FIG. 4) occurs in the processing device 2j. In this case, first, a predicted return time of the processing device 2j is obtained. Assuming that the worker B (see FIG. 3) is selected for the maintenance work for return, the predicted return time Tr is t9 × 0.9.
Becomes Next, it is checked that the above-mentioned relational expression holds, and further, the total Tp of the processing time in the processing devices 2f and 2g into which the workpiece is input is obtained from the current work presence information and the tact time of each processing device 2. , Tp ≧ Tr are determined. Then, if the above relationship is established, the scheduling is ended with the current time + α as the work input time. On the other hand, when Tp <Tr, the current time + (Tr−Tp) is set as the work input time. The reason why the processing time in the processing device 2h is not added to the total processing time Tp is that the processing device 2h has a workpiece at this time.

In the above embodiment, it is also possible to determine the work input time without considering a standard work time coefficient or the like as work situation data. However, a more accurate predicted return time Tr can be obtained by considering the standard work time coefficient or the like, and the work input time determined accordingly becomes appropriate. In the above, the work flow timing (work payout timing, work input time to the next processing device) for the buffer device 4 and the work assignment process to the worker have been described. A method for determining the injection timing can be applied. That is, the production plan stored in the production management unit 11 corresponds to a work in progress in the buffer device 4. Therefore, the input device 3 inputs the work to the next processing device 2a according to the input time calculated by the scheduling unit 15 until the production plan is achieved.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention,
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the timing at which the work is caused to flow downstream is controlled based on the operation status data, the tact time, the maintenance information, and the work presence information of each processing apparatus. Can be performed efficiently. According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the timing at which the work is caused to flow downstream is controlled based on the number of works in the downstream buffer device. It can be performed more efficiently. Claim 3
According to the invention described in claim 1, in the invention according to claim 1 or 2, the timing of flowing the work downstream is controlled based on the work status data, and the work is assigned to the worker. In addition to the effects of the first or second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently allocate maintenance work to workers. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the first, second or third aspect of the present invention.
In the described invention, since the standard return time for each failure in the processing apparatus is managed as the maintenance information, it is possible to efficiently control the timing at which the work flows downstream based on the standard return time for each failure.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect,
In the described invention, a standard work time coefficient is managed for each worker information, and at the time of maintenance of the processing device, a specific worker is assigned to the maintenance work of the processing device based on the standard work time coefficient. Work assignments can be made. Also, in the invention according to claim 6, in the invention according to claim 5, the work can be allocated to the maintenance work of the processing device so that the work load of each worker is leveled. Also, in the invention according to claim 7, in the invention according to claim 5, the worker having the minimum standard operation time coefficient is allocated to the maintenance work of the processing apparatus, and similarly, the workload of each worker is equalized. Can be changed. Also, in the invention according to claim 8, in the invention according to claim 5, 6, or 7, the history information of the work time associated with each worker information is associated with each worker information. The standard work time coefficient is corrected, and the work flow to the downstream is controlled based on the corrected standard work time coefficient, and the work is assigned to the worker. Therefore, the control and processing of the work flow to the downstream is performed. The work assignment to the maintenance work of the apparatus can be performed more efficiently. According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the buffer apparatus of the first, second or third aspect,
Since the timing at which the work is caused to flow downstream of the work input device is also controlled, the work can be efficiently flowed over the entire processing line. According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the flow timing of the plurality of buffer devices and the work input device is controlled by the buffer control device, so that the work can be efficiently flown over the entire machining line.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a processing system showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a processing control device showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a data configuration diagram of a main part of a buffer control device showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is another data configuration diagram of a main part of a buffer control device showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of a buffer control device showing one example of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is another operation flowchart of the buffer control device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a processing system showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Buffer control device 2 Processing device 3 Work input device 4 Buffer device 5 Work storage 6 Processing control device 7 Line 11 Production management unit 12 Equipment management unit 13 Worker management unit 14 Work presence information management unit 15 Scheduling unit 16 Control unit 17 information input device 18 work instruction data output device 21 instruction data storage unit 23 work detection unit

Claims (10)

[Claims] An operating status monitoring means for monitoring an operating status of each processing device and acquiring operating status data, wherein the operating status monitoring means is provided in a processing line buffer control device provided on a processing line having a plurality of processing devices. A tact time setting means for setting the tact time of the processing device, a maintenance information setting means for setting the maintenance information of each of the processing devices, a facility management means for managing the operation status data, the tact time and the maintenance information, A presence management means for managing the work presence information in each processing device, operation status data, tact time and maintenance information managed by the equipment management means, and timing for flowing the work downstream based on the work presence information. And a scheduling unit for controlling the buffer control. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the presence management unit also manages the number of works in the downstream buffer device, and the scheduling unit controls a timing at which the work flows downstream based on the number of works in the downstream buffer device. The buffer control device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. An operator setting means for setting work status data of a worker in association with each worker information indicating each worker, and a worker management means for managing the work status data, wherein the scheduling means The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: controlling the timing of flowing the work downstream based on the work status data managed by the worker management means, and allocating the work to the worker. The buffer control device according to claim 2. 4. The buffer control device according to claim 1, wherein the equipment management means manages a standard return time for each failure in the processing device. 5. The worker management means manages a standard work time coefficient for each piece of worker information, and the scheduling means assigns a specific worker to maintenance work of a processing device based on the standard work time coefficient. 4. The buffer control device according to claim 3, wherein allocation is performed. 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein said scheduling means allocates the work to the maintenance work of the processing apparatus such that the work load of each worker indicated as the worker information is equalized. 6. The buffer control device according to 5. 7. The buffer control device according to claim 5, wherein said scheduling means assigns a worker indicated by worker information having a minimum standard work time coefficient to maintenance work of the processing device. 8. The worker management means corrects a standard work time coefficient associated with each piece of worker information from history information of work times associated with each piece of worker information, and the scheduling means corrects the standard work time coefficient. 8. The buffer control according to claim 5, wherein the timing of flowing the work downstream is controlled based on the standard work time coefficient and the work is allocated to the worker. apparatus. 9. The scheduler according to claim 1, wherein the scheduler controls the timing at which the work flows downstream in the work input device in addition to the buffer device. Buffer control device. 10. A processing system comprising a plurality of processing devices, a plurality of buffer devices, and a work input device, comprising a plurality of buffer devices and a buffer control device for controlling a flow timing of the work input device. Processing system.