JP2007265058A - Production management method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a computer system having an RFID tag storing production information and installing position inside a casing of the computer system in association with each other in each function portion constituting the computer system. <P>SOLUTION: The RFID tag 204 is disposed in each the function portion 202 of the computer system, a memory part 206 of the RFID tag 204 stores installing position information written by a controller part 201 after the production information written in production and the function portion 202 are loaded in the casing, and an RFID tag reader can read the production information and the installing position information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to production management using a tag for a product composed of a plurality of functional parts, and more particularly to a technique for detecting an installation position of each functional part. The product includes electronic devices such as a computer system, a storage system, or a network device having a structure in which the functional part can be easily attached to or detached from the housing. The tag includes a passive RFID tag.

  In the computer system, what is called a blade type has been developed. That is, a computing device, a main storage device, a hard disk, etc. are compactly integrated into one module, a chassis capable of mounting a plurality of the modules is prepared, and the chassis has a backplane having connectors for coupling with the modules. The module communicates with other modules and peripheral devices via the backplane. The modules are usually covered and attached with handles for easy handling.

  Even in a large-scale storage system, a controller unit, an IO interface unit, a hard disk, an AC-DC power source, and the like are modularized and mounted in a single case or a connected case. A hard disk that is housed in a case with a handle for easy handling is called a canister. Even in a large-scale storage system, communication between the control unit, the IO interface unit, and the hard disk is performed via a backplane in the housing.

  In the network device, functional parts are prepared according to the network to be connected, such as a line or a LAN. For example, a Gigabit Ethernet (Ethernet is a registered trademark) interface module or an optical access line interface module. Usually, the combination of interface modules changes according to the user's order.

  When these electronic devices fail, a defective module is identified and only the module is replaced. Therefore, maintenance parts are prepared in units of modules. This is also the case with other products such as modularized cars.

  In order to identify a normal module, a sticker with a product name and a serial number is affixed to the module. A bar code may be printed on the sticker.

  In the manufacturing process of these electronic devices, the product name, manufacturing number or lot number, mounting position, etc. of the module to be mounted are recorded for the purpose of product management. The purpose of recording the manufacturing number or lot number is to specify a shipment product on which the module is mounted when a failure in design or manufacturing of the module is found at a later date. The purpose of recording the mounting position is that when the module returns to the factory for repair at a later date, the mounting position may be useful information for identifying the cause of the defect. In addition, information about a phenomenon when a failure occurs, for example, information such as an error code is recorded on paper by a maintenance staff and attached to the module when returning to the factory. The factory identifies and repairs defective parts with reference to the serial number, mounting position, and maintenance staff records.

JP-A-11-120308

  The recording of the module mounting position in the manufacturing process of the electronic device does not make sense by simply recording the module name and the module name in which slot position. It is necessary to record a module that can identify an individual module, for example, a manufacturing number and mounting position information. However, in order to associate and record the manufacturing number and the mounting position information, it is necessary for the worker to manually record after the final inspection for determining the mounting position is completed. Recently, a means for attaching an RFID tag to a module, recording manufacturing information such as a manufacturing number on the RFID tag, and reading the information with an RFID reader is being put into practical use. In this case, writing of the manufacturing number or the like to the RFID tag is usually performed at the manufacturing stage of the module. Therefore, the mounting position information determined after the final inspection cannot be written. For this reason, the recording in the form where the mounting position information and the manufacturing number are linked is inevitably a manual operation. In a large-scale storage system, there are cases where 100 or more canisters are mounted in a connected casing, and the work man-hours required for recording in a form in which mounting position information and production numbers are linked are large.

  The present invention attaches a passive RFID tag to a module, writes manufacturing information typified by the product name and serial number of the module in the RFID tag in the manufacturing stage of the module, and further in the RFID tag in the final inspection stage. The mounting position of the module in the housing is written, and after the final inspection is completed, the manufacturing information and mounting position information of the module recorded on the RFID tag are read in a lump and recorded on the product management server. Further, the present invention includes a product completed in this way as one aspect thereof. That is, the computer system, the storage system, or the network device has a controller unit that controls a functional part, the functional part has a passive RFID tag, and the controller part and the passive RFID tag have a controller part. A computer system comprising means for writing the result of calculation in a nonvolatile memory of the RFID tag. Further, in the computer system, when the functional part is manufactured, the manufacturing information of the functional part is written in the non-volatile memory of the RFID tag, and the functional part is mounted on a housing to complete the computer system. The present invention also includes a computer system in which mounting position information in the casing of the functional part is written in the nonvolatile memory of the RFID tag as information calculated by the unit. Further, in this computer system, the controller unit includes a function of writing a code for identifying the fault in the nonvolatile memory of the RFID tag of the functional part where the fault is detected when the fault of the functional part is detected.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the process of recording work in the form of linking the mounting position information and the manufacturing number, which has been conventionally performed manually.

First, the configuration of the storage system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
A storage system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a casing 101 and a controller unit 102, a canister 103, and an AC-DC power supply module 104 in the casing. An interface bus is connected between the controller unit 102, the canister 103, and the AC-DC power supply module 104. Communicate via 105. The canister 103 houses a hard disk drive 106. The hard disk drive 106 is connected to the interface bus 105 via the canister 103.

  FIG. 2 shows details of the controller unit 201, canister 202, and interface bus 203 in the storage system 200 so that the interrelationships can be understood. An RFID tag 203 is mounted on the canister 202. The RFID tag 203 includes an RF unit 204, a memory unit 205, and a logic unit 206. The logic unit 206 can be controlled from the controller unit 201 via the interface bus 203.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the controller unit 201 when the storage system 200 is powered on. According to this figure, the controller unit detects the mounting position of each mounted canister and writes the mounting position information to the RFID tag 203 attached to the canister 202.

  Next, the manufacturing procedure of the storage system in this embodiment will be described. In the storage system, a housing, a controller unit, a canister, and an AC-DC power supply module are manufactured in separate processes, and assembled in an apparatus in a final assembly process.

  In the assembly process of the canister, there is an RFID tag writing device, and manufacturing information of a hard disk drive built in the canister is written into the RFID tag. FIG. 4 is an external view of the hard disk drive. Thus, the sticker 401 which printed the barcode is stuck on the back side of the hard disk drive 400, and the manufacturer's model, manufacturing number, and manufacturing lot number are described. A barcode reading device is connected to the RFID tag writing device, and the barcode reading device reads the barcode portion of the sticker 401 to record a manufacturing number or the like on the RFID tag. In addition to the model name of the device, a sticker on which the manufacturer model number, serial number, etc. are printed is attached to the outside of the canister in order to individually identify the built-in hard disk drive.

  In the final assembly process, the manufacturing worker mounts the canister on the housing according to the mounting instruction described in the work instruction sheet. In the canister mounting instruction, the mounting position and the model name of the canister are instructed. In addition to the canister, when the mounting of the controller unit and the AC-DC power supply module is completed, the final inspection process is performed. If a defect is found in this process, repair or replacement of a defective part is performed. If the canister is defective, it can be replaced with one of the same type. In the final inspection process, the controller unit writes the canister mounting position information to the RFID tag in order to check the operation of the hardware connected to the power source. When the final inspection process is completed, it is removed from the power source and ready for shipment. In preparation for shipment, the information recorded on the RFID tag mounted on the canister is read by the RFID tag reader, and the information is transferred to the manufacturing information management server. The manufacturing information management server records the canister mounted for each storage system, the built-in hard disk drive, and the mounting position information in association with each other.

  In this embodiment, the storage system is taken as an example. However, even in an electronic device having a structure that is divided into a plurality of functional parts and stored in a casing in units of functional parts, for example, a blade-type computer or a multi-line accommodation network device. The present invention can be applied.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the mounting position information of the functional part is given as information that the apparatus writes to the RFID tag. However, the present invention can also be applied to information that can be written by the calculation processing of the apparatus, for example, log information.

It is a figure showing an example of composition of a storage system in an example of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the relationship between the storage system and RFID tag in the Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the state of the memory part of the RFID tag corresponding to the initialization process of the controller part in the Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100 storage system 101 chassis 102 controller unit 103 canister 104 AC-DC power supply module 105 interface bus 106 hard disk drive 200 storage system 201 controller unit 202 canister 203 interface bus 204 RFID tag 205 RF unit 206 memory unit 207 logic unit

Claims (2)

In a production management method for a product composed of a plurality of functional parts and a housing for storing these functional parts,
Attaching an RFID tag storing functional part information related to the functional part corresponding to each of the plurality of cases,
When the product is assembled, the functional part writes position information indicating the mounting position of the functional part in the product to the RFID tag,
When the product is returned as a defective product, an RFID reader reads the functional part information and the position information from the RFID tag to identify information related to the product defect. The production management method according to claim 1,
The production management method, wherein the functional part information is manufacturing information in the functional part.

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