JP2002207509A - Production order management device and method of producing product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a device for managing the order of production on a production line to easily cope with even a change in the order of production. SOLUTION: A production order management device 10 has a table for defining the order of production and outputs production commands to output terminals 12 disposed on the production line 16 according to the table. The production order management device 10 has a table making a certain product match the next product to be produced, and imparts predetermined flags to the first product to be produced and the final product to be produced. The order of production is not specified by consecutive numbers but specified between two products, whereby even a change in the order of production, for example, can be easily dealt with.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a production sequence management device and a product production method, and more particularly to data specifications for defining a production sequence of products.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a plurality of types of products such as a vehicle production plant are produced on one production line, the production order is determined in advance, and products to be started next are sequentially obtained in accordance with the determined production order. The method is general.

In this case, the production order is naturally determined earlier than the start of construction. Therefore, if there is a delay in arranging parts to be used on the production line between the determination of the production order and the start of construction, editing work such as changing the once determined production order is required. For example, the production order of a specific product is made earlier or later than planned, the production order of two specific products is interchanged, or the specific product is deleted from the production order.

FIG. 27A shows an example of a conventional table for defining a production order. The product numbers A, B, C,..., Which are codes for specifying products, correspond to the order Nos. (Serial numbers) 1, 2,. It is to define the mood. By referring to this table, the product to be produced first on the production line can be determined as product number A, and the product to be produced secondly as product number B. In addition,
Such a table is stored in the memory of the production management computer, and the computer instructs and outputs the production order to an operator or an assembly robot on the production line while sequentially monitoring the current production status.

[0005]

However, the method of defining the production order by the serial number as described above has a problem that the above-mentioned change of the production order cannot be easily coped with. For example, in FIG. 27A, when it is necessary to advance the product number F to the second one instead of the sixth, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7B, the second to sixth product numbers B to F must be changed to F to E, and there is a problem that fields to be changed or records to be changed increase.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 28A, a method of defining a production sequence using subserial numbers 1-1, 2-1,... Can be considered. By using this, for example, when the product number F is advanced to the second position, it is possible to use the subserial number 1-2 to make it unnecessary to change the data thereafter. If it is necessary to change the subsequence number, it is not possible to cope with it.Therefore, there is a problem that it is necessary to take measures such as making the serial number more multi-layered or limiting the number of changes according to the subserial number hierarchy. is there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for uniquely defining a production sequence of products on a production line, and to easily and easily specify a production sequence once defined. It is an object of the present invention to provide a production sequence management device and a product production method that can be edited quickly and thereby can output an accurate production instruction to a production line quickly.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has a storage means for storing product production order data, and stores a product production order in a production line based on the production sequential data. An apparatus for managing, wherein the storage unit stores a certain product in association with a product to be produced next. By defining the production sequence between two products and storing this relationship for all products, the production sequence can be unambiguously defined, and even if it becomes necessary to edit, only the relevant production sequence part can be edited. Editing becomes possible, and the amount of work can be reduced.

Here, it is preferable that the storage means stores a code specifying a certain product and a code of a product to be produced next in association with each other. The code that specifies a product is, for example, a product number, and a symbol or a number that specifies the product can be used.

Preferably, the storage means stores a product to be produced first on the production line in association with a predetermined flag as a product to be produced before that. It is preferable that the storage unit stores a product to be produced last in the production line in association with a predetermined flag as a product to be produced next. When matching the production order between two products, there is no corresponding partner between the product to be produced first and the product to be produced last. Therefore, by giving specific flags to these, uniformity of the format is maintained, and the first product and the last product can be easily searched or specified by referring to the flags.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the apparatus further comprises means for editing the production order data stored in the storage means. The editing means is, for example, a processor in a computer. By flexibly editing the production order in response to a change occurring in the production line, it is possible to produce products in a production order suited to the situation.

The present invention also provides a method for producing a product by managing a production sequence. The method includes the steps of: storing, in a computer, a table associating a product with a product to be produced next as the production order; and outputting a production instruction from the computer to a production line according to the table. It is characterized by having.

In the present method, the table may correspond to a code specifying a certain product and a code of a product to be produced next.

The table may be such that a product to be produced first on the production line is associated with a predetermined flag as a product to be produced before the product, A product to be produced at a predetermined time may be associated with a predetermined flag as a product to be produced next.

Preferably, the method further comprises the step of editing the table.

The method can be applied, for example, to produce vehicles.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings by taking as an example a case where vehicles are produced on a production line, that is, a case where a production order of vehicles is defined.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a production system using a production sequence management device 10 according to the present embodiment.
The production sequence management device 10 may be provided in a production factory, or may be provided in a remote place connected by a communication network. The production sequence management device 10 has a storage device that stores a production sequence table as described later, and refers to the production sequence table to refer to the plurality of output terminals 1 arranged at predetermined positions of the production line 16.
2 is output instruction information for instructing a vehicle to be produced next. When a plurality of types of vehicles are produced on the production line 16,
The production order between these vehicle types is stored in the storage device of the production sequential management device 10. The output terminal 12 is connected to the production line 16
The display may be a display for instructing the first worker, or a production robot arranged on the production line 16. Vehicle bodies to be produced are sequentially supplied to the production line 16,
Assembling is sequentially performed according to the instruction information supplied to the output terminal 12. It should be noted that information from sensors (not shown) arranged at various points on the production line 16 is input to the production sequence management device 10, and the current production status is grasped based on this information.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the production sequence management device 10 in FIG. The production order management device 10 can be constituted by a computer,
, A memory 10a such as a RAM, a CPU 10b, an interface I / F 10c, an order table storage unit 10d for storing a production order table, and a product information table storage unit 1 for storing information on individual products flowing through the production line 16.
0e.

The CPU 10b has an order table storage unit 10
The production instruction is output from the interface I / F 10c to the output terminal 12 based on the production order table stored in d. When data such as a delay in arranging parts used on the production line 16 is input via the interface I / F 10c, the production order table is edited based on the data and stored in the order table storage unit 10d again. Editing means that a new table is created by adding, deleting, or changing at least a part of the contents of the production order table.

In FIG. 2, the order table storage unit 10d and the product information table storage unit 10e are separate units, but they may be integrated into one unit so that the product information table and the production order table are one table. It is.
The order table storage unit 10d can be configured by a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, a CD, a DVD, or the like. The production order table is preferably recorded on a rewritable recording medium because it may be edited, but may be recorded on a write-once recording medium.

FIG. 3 schematically shows a production order table stored in the order table storage section 10d. The production sequence table is composed of a plurality of records. Each record has two fields, a product number field and a next product number field.
It consists of two fields. That is, in the present embodiment, a production order is not defined by using a serial number as in the related art, but a certain product and a product to be produced next are associated and tabulated. More specifically, referring to the figure, a product A (a product whose code is a product number is A accurately, but the product number A is referred to as a product A as appropriate for the sake of simplicity) will be described below. When the product to be performed is the product B, A is stored in the product number field of a record, and B is stored in the next product number field of the record. When the product to be produced next to the product B is the product C, B is stored in the product number field of the next record, and C is stored in the next product number field of the record. If the first product to be produced on the production line is product A,
A predetermined flag (* in the figure) indicating that the product is to be produced first is stored in the product number field of the record, and A is stored in the next product number field of the record. If the last product to be produced on the production line is the product G, G is stored in the product number field of the record, and the next product number field of the record must be the last product on the production line. (In the figure, the same flag as the flag indicating the first one) is stored.

As described above, a certain product and a product to be produced next are made to correspond to each other and made into a table, so that the production order in the production line can be uniquely determined. In FIG. 3, the product to be produced first is the product A, the product is determined to be BCDDEF, and the product G is produced last. Then, by defining the correspondence between the two products and using a table, the production order of the products is exchanged. For example, when a vehicle with a sunroof specification and a vehicle without a sunroof are produced on the production line 16, the sunroof is transferred to the production line 16. Due to a delay in the delivery of parts, it is possible to easily cope with a case where the production of the vehicle with the sunroof specifications is delayed from the initial plan and the production line 16 is not stopped.

For example, in the production sequence shown in FIG. 3, when it is necessary to change the production sequence of the product F from the stage after the product E to the stage after the product A, as shown in FIG.
The next product number field of the record (specifying the name of the record by the product stored in the product number field) is changed from B to F, and the product F originally has the next product number field of the record of the product E. It is only necessary to change to G in the next product number field, and to change the next product number field in the record of the product F from G to B, so that the load on the CPU 10b required for editing work can be remarkably reduced. Incidentally, the production order specified in the production order table of FIG. 4 is AFBBCDG.
The first product to be produced is from the product number field *
And the last product to be produced is determined by searching for * from the next product number field.

On the other hand, FIG. 5 shows an example of the product information table stored in the product information table storage section 10e in FIG. Product A has a displacement of 2000cc
Gasoline car, color white, product B specification is displacement 1800
Gasoline car in cc, color is red etc. By defining the production order table using product numbers as shown in FIG. 3 and defining product information using product numbers as shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 3 and FIG. It becomes possible to associate with each other. Thus, by using both tables, it is possible to instruct the production line which vehicle should be produced and in what order.

Hereinafter, when a production instruction is output using the production sequence table shown in FIG. 3, it is necessary to change the production sequence once determined due to a delay in arranging parts used in the production line. Editing of the production order table will be described in more detail. In addition, as a mode of editing,
Moving (making the production order of a particular product earlier or later than planned), swapping (reversing the production order of two particular products), and deleting (for a particular product, as being deleted from the production order or unordered) Evacuate), insert (insert a product whose production order has not been determined in the middle of the already determined production sequence), and add (add one or more production sequences after the determined production sequence) Get
These will be described sequentially. In each case, it is assumed that the production order once determined is ABCDE.

<Move> FIG. 6 shows a processing flowchart in the CPU 10b for shifting the production order. In this movement, the product B is moved not after the product A but after the product D. In this case, CPU1
0b is the data before the product B to be moved, that is, in the record of the product A having the product B in the next product number field, the product B has the next product number field as the next product number field in the record. Is changed to C (S101). That is, the next product number field in the record of the product A is changed from B to C. Next, in the record of the product B, the next product number field is changed to E which the product D has in the next product number field (S102). Finally, the next product number field in the record of the destination product D is changed to B to be moved (S103).

FIG. 7 shows the production order table edited as described above. When compared with FIG.
The next product number fields of the records of the product A, the product B, and the product D have been changed, and it can be seen that the production order can be edited only by changing these three fields.

<Replacement> FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the CPU 10b when the production order is replaced. In this case, the production order of the product B and the product D is interchanged. First, the CPU 10b changes the next product number field to the product D to be replaced in the record of the product A before the product B to be replaced (S201). Next, in the record of the product B to be replaced, the next product number field is changed to E which the product D to be replaced originally had as the next product number field (S202). Further, in the record of the product C, which is the data before the product D to be replaced, the product B field to be replaced is replaced with the next product number field.
(S203). Finally, in the record of the product D to be replaced, the next product number field is changed to the product C that the product B to be replaced originally had as the next product number field (S204).

FIG. 9 shows the production order table edited in this way. In the figure, product A,
The next product number fields of the records B, C, and D have been changed, and the desired production order can be edited only by changing these fields.

<Deletion> FIG. 10 shows the CPU for deletion.
The processing flowchart of 10b is shown. In this case, the product B is deleted from the production order table. First, the CPU 10b changes the next product number field in the record of the product A that is the data before the product B to be deleted to the product C that the product B originally had in the next product number field (S301). Next, the record of the product B to be deleted is deleted from the table (S302).

FIG. 11 shows the production order table edited in this way. In the figure, note that the deleted table is shaded, but does not actually exist as a record. The desired editing is completed only by changing the next product number field of the product A record and deleting the record unit.

<Insertion> FIG. 12 shows a CPU in the case of insertion.
The processing flowchart of 10b is shown. In this case, it is assumed that the product F is inserted as a product to be produced next to the product D. First, the CPU 10b changes the next product number field in the record of the product D at the insertion destination to the product F to be inserted (S401). Next, a record of the product F to be inserted is newly created, and the product D that the insertion destination product D originally had as the next product number field is stored in the next product number field (S40).
2).

FIG. 13 shows the production order table edited in this way. This can be handled only by changing the next product number field of the product D record and adding a new record.

<Addition> FIG. 14 shows a CPU in the case of addition.
The processing flowchart of 10b is shown. In this case, the product F and the product G are added after the product E to be produced last. First, the CPU 10b searches for a product E record having * in the next product number field, and changes the next product number field to the first product number F to be added (S501). Next, a record of the first product F to be added is newly created, and the second product G to be added is stored in the next product number field (S502).
Finally, a record of the second product G to be added is newly created, and * is stored in the next product number field as a predetermined flag indicating the last product (S50).
3). FIG. 15 shows the production order table created in this way.

As described above, the production order table can be edited and a production instruction can be output to the production line 16. At this time, it is necessary to sequentially shift the pointer of the production order table according to the current production stage. By confirming the position of the pointer, it is possible to easily grasp what kind of production instruction is to be output next.

FIG. 16 shows a processing flowchart of the CPU 10b when the progress is managed by moving the pointer as described above. Note that this flowchart is the one at the time when the first product A to be produced is started. In the production order table, the CPU 10b determines that the product A in which the next product number field of the record having a predetermined flag * (a record having a predetermined flag * (which can be called dummy data because it is not the original product number data)) is originally a next product. Product B in number field
(S601). Then, the record of the started product A itself is deleted from the production order table (S
602).

FIG. 17 shows a production order table in this case. In the figure, the record to be deleted is hatched. By referring to this table, it is found that the next product to be started is the product B by searching for the next product number of the record having * in the product number field. Is output.

The editing of the production order table and the management of the progress status have been described above. In the present embodiment, a predetermined flag * is added to a product to be produced first, and a product to be produced last is added to the product. A predetermined flag * is added to specify that the product is a product to be produced first and a product to be produced last. By giving a predetermined flag in this way, it is possible to easily cope with a change in the product to be produced first or the product to be produced last. Hereinafter, this point will be described.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a process for moving a product to be produced first to a product to be produced last. First, the CPU 10b changes the next product number field of the record having * in the product number field to B which the product A originally had as the next product number field (S701). Then, the next product number field is changed to * in the record of the product A (S70).
2) Further, in the record of the destination product E, the next product number field is changed to the destination product A (S70).
3).

FIG. 19 shows the production order table edited in this way. In the first record (record having a predetermined flag * in the product number field), B is stored in the next product number field, and in the product A record, * is stored in the next product number field. This defines that the product to be produced first is the product B and the product to be produced last is the product A. Incidentally, the entire production order defined in FIG. 19 is BCDDA.

FIG. 20 shows a processing flowchart in the case where a product to be produced first and a product to be produced last are interchanged. First, the CPU 10b
Is a product E for which the next product number field of a record having a predetermined flag * in the product number field is to be replaced.
(S801). Next, the next product number field in the record of the product A is changed to a predetermined flag * (S802). Then, the data D before the replacement target E
, The next product number field is changed to the product A (S803), and finally the next product number field of the product E record to be replaced is changed to B which the replacement target A originally had as the next product number field. (S804).

FIG. 21 shows the production order table edited in this way. In the first record, the product E is stored in the next product number field, and it is defined that the product to be produced first is the product E. In the last record (the record having * in the next product number field), the product number field is The product A is stored, and it is defined that the last product to be produced is the product A. Incidentally, the entire production sequence defined in FIG.
-CDA.

FIG. 22 shows a processing flowchart for deleting a product to be produced first and a product to be produced last. First, the CPU 10b changes the next product number field in the first record having * in the product number field to B which the product A to be deleted originally has as the next product number field (S9).
01). Then, the record of the deletion target A is deleted (S
902). Similarly, the next product number field is changed to * in the record of the data D before the deletion target E (S90).
3) The record of the deletion target E is deleted (S904).

FIG. 23 shows the production order table edited in this way. Both the product A record and the product E record are deleted (the hatched lines indicate that they are deleted in the figure), the product B is stored in the product number field of the first record, and the product number D is stored in the product number field of the last record. Is stored. The overall production order defined in FIG. 23 is BCD.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a process for newly inserting a product to be produced first and a product to be produced last. In this case, the product F is inserted as a product to be produced first, and the product G is inserted as a product to be produced last, in the production order ABCDCE once determined. In the figure, CPU 10b
Changes the next product number field of the first record to F to be inserted (S1001). Then, a new record of the product F to be inserted is newly created, and the next product number field of the record is changed to the product A that the original top record originally had as the next product number field (S1).
002). Next, the next product number field in the record of the insertion destination data E is changed to G to be inserted (S1).
003). Finally, a record of G to be inserted is newly created, and the next product number field of the record is set to a predetermined flag * (S1004).

FIG. 25 shows the production order table edited in this way. In the first record, the product F is stored in the next product number field, and in the last record, the product G is stored in the product number field.
In the record of the product F, it is defined that the product A is produced next to the product F, and in the record of the product E, it is prescribed that the product G is produced next to the product E. In addition, the whole production order is FABCCD-
EG.

As described above, in the present embodiment, a record is created with the product number field and the next product number field as a pair, and the record defines the production order between the two products, and the required number of records The production order can be defined by creating the production order. However, the format of the production order table in the present invention is not limited to this, and various changes can be made. For example, in the present embodiment, a predetermined flag * is given to a product number field for a product to be produced first, and a predetermined flag * is given to a next product number field of a product to be produced last. However, if a flag is provided by providing a field separate from the product number field and the next product number field, and the product to be produced first and the product to be produced last are specified by referring to this flag, Good. FIG. 26 illustrates a production order table in such a case. One record is composed of a product number field, a next product number field, a leading product flag field, and a final product flag field. The product number field and the next product number field define the production order between the two products, and the first product is produced. A predetermined flag * is stored in the head product flag field in the record of the product to be manufactured (product A in the figure), and the predetermined flag * is stored in the last product flag field in the record of the product to be manufactured last (product E in the figure). Is stored. The product E
, The next product number field is blank (because there is no product to be produced next).

In the present embodiment, the same flag * is given to the flag to be given to the product to be produced first and the flag to be given to the product to be produced last. Needless to say, it is good.

Further, in this embodiment, a vehicle is exemplified as a product to be produced. However, other products may be used. In particular, there are a plurality of types, and it is necessary to review the production order relatively frequently. Can be applied effectively.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention, instead of using a serial number, a certain product and a product to be produced next are stored in association with each other, so that a predetermined production order can be obtained. Can be easily changed even when it is necessary to change the production instruction, and a production instruction can be output to the production line accurately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual configuration diagram of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a production order management device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table.

FIG. 4 is a table explanatory diagram obtained by editing the production order table shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a product information table.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a movement process.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table as a result of movement.

FIG. 8 is a processing flowchart of replacement.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table as a result of replacement.

FIG. 10 is a processing flowchart of deletion.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table as a result of deletion.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an insertion process.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table of an insertion result.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an additional process.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table as a result of addition.

FIG. 16 is a processing flowchart of a progress situation.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table showing a progress status.

FIG. 18 is a processing flowchart of head movement.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table as a result of head movement.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a first and last replacement process.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table as a result of the first and last exchanges.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of the first and last deletion processing.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table of the first and last deletion results.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of the first and last insertion processing.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table of the first and last insertion results.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of a production order table according to another embodiment.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional production order table.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram for editing a conventional production order table.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 production order management device, 12 output terminals, 14 products, 16 production lines.

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for managing a product production order in a production line based on said production sequential data, said storage means comprising storage means for storing product production order data, wherein said storage means comprises: A production sequence management device for storing products to be produced next in association with each other. 2. The production order management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores a code specifying a certain product and a code of a product to be produced next in association with each other. . 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores a predetermined flag for a product to be produced first on said production line as a product to be produced before said product. A production order management device, wherein the production order management device stores the information in association with each other. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores a predetermined flag in a product to be produced last in said production line as a product to be produced next. A production order management device, wherein the production order management device stores the information in association with each other. 5. The production sequence management device according to claim 1, further comprising: means for editing said production sequence data stored in said storage means. 6. A method for producing a product by managing a production order, comprising: storing, in the computer, a table associating a product with a product to be produced next as the production order; Outputting a production instruction from the computer to a production line according to the table. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the table associates a code specifying a certain product with a code of a product to be produced next. 8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the table corresponds to a predetermined flag as a product to be produced before the product to be produced first on the production line. A method for producing a product, characterized in that the product is produced. 9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the table corresponds to a predetermined flag as a product to be produced next to a product to be produced last in the production line. A method for producing a product, characterized in that the product is produced. 10. The method according to claim 6, further comprising the step of editing the table. 11. The method according to claim 6, wherein the product is a vehicle.