JP2018025901A - Production line management device and management method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To determine whether to permit registration or operation continuation for a production line of a device, to efficiently manage the production line to improve user-friendliness.SOLUTION: A production line management device 100 includes: a communication unit 112 configured to communicate with at least one device installed in a production line 2 through a communication network; a device registration unit 142 configured to, based on predetermined registration request information acquired from the device through the communication network, determine whether to register the device on the production line and use it, and output a determination result; a production plan management unit 141 configured to instruct the device to execute operation based on the production plan, and acquire an execution result from the device; and a device state monitoring unit 142 configured to determine whether to continue using the device based on an operation state information of the device acquired through the communication network, and output a determination result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a production line management device and a management method.

  With the recent shortening of the product development life cycle and the progress of high-mix low-volume production, production lines used in factories and the like are required to have the ability to respond flexibly and quickly.

  In such a production line, in order to monitor the state of the production line in real time, a system that centrally manages each production facility, each peripheral device, and the entire production line with a computer has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

  In the system described in Patent Document 1, a computer that is a management device collects each device data and manages a production line based on the collected data. Furthermore, in the system described in Patent Document 1, the production line can be flexibly changed by automatically setting the changed apparatus setting data when the production line is changed.

JP-A-2005-276116

  Patent Document 1 does not describe a method for automatically determining and managing registration of various devices installed in a production line, and the user manually registers device information in a database, so that the usability is low. In the case of a production system that produces a wide variety of products in small quantities, devices with various performances provided by various vendors are installed in the production line. It becomes a bottleneck on the production line and production efficiency decreases. Therefore, if various devices are registered in the production line uniformly by manual operation, efficient high-mix low-volume production cannot be realized.

  Further, in Patent Document 1, only limited information such as the status of each device is used when the production line is changed. Therefore, for example, when there are a plurality of the same devices, it is not possible to make a change that equalizes the operating time of each device or a change according to the defect rate of the device with respect to the manufactured product, which is inconvenient.

  In the future, high-mix low-volume production is expected to progress further, and it is highly possible to produce multiple products with a single device. However, depending on the characteristics of the apparatus, there is a possibility that the defect rate and the manufacturing time vary from product to product. For this reason, when changing a production line according to a product, it is necessary to change in consideration of a failure rate for each product, but Patent Document 1 does not include such consideration.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to determine whether or not to use the apparatus by registering it on the production line, and to monitor and use the operating state of the apparatus. It is possible to determine whether or not to continue, and to provide a production line management device and a management method that can efficiently manage a production line.

  In order to solve the above problems, a production line management device according to the present invention includes a communication unit that communicates with at least one device installed in a production line via a communication network, and a predetermined registration acquired from the device via the communication network. Based on the request information, determine whether to register the device on the production line and use it, output the determination result, and instruct the device to execute based on the production plan, and obtain the execution result from the device A production plan management unit, and a device state monitoring unit that determines whether or not to continue using the device based on the operation state information of the device acquired via the communication network and outputs a determination result.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not an apparatus is registered and used in the production line and to determine whether or not to continue using the apparatus, and to efficiently manage the production line. be able to.

It is a block diagram of the whole production line. It is a block diagram of a production line management device. It is a block diagram of a manufacturing apparatus. It is a structural example of an apparatus management table. It is a structural example of a failure management table. It is an example of a structure of a defect management table. It is a structural example of an exception condition table. It is a structural example of a failure history table. It is a sequence diagram of the process which registers a manufacturing apparatus into a production line. 10 is a flowchart showing details of device registration processing in FIG. 9. It is a sequence diagram of the process which monitors the manufacturing apparatus of a production line. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the apparatus state monitoring process in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows a production simulation process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The production line management device according to the present embodiment automatically determines whether or not a device installed in the production line can be registered and used as described in the following examples. Furthermore, the production line management device according to the present embodiment can manage the production line in consideration of the role and circumstances of each device.

  When adding a device to the production line, the production line management device of the present embodiment refers to the past history such as the operation time of the device, the number of failures, the number of failures, and the product at the time of occurrence of the failure. Determine if you can add the device.

  Furthermore, the production line management apparatus according to the present embodiment also monitors the status of each apparatus in the production line that is in operation. When there is a device that frequently manufactures defective products due to a failure or other cause, the production line management device notifies the user who manages the production line that such a device exists on the production line. You can also.

  According to this embodiment, a production line can be changed without impairing the quality of the product. Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, in order to monitor the status of the production line, when there is a risk of damaging the quality of the product due to a failure or the like, the production line is It is also possible to immediately notify the situation.

  A first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 illustrates the overall configuration of a production system 1 including a production line management device 100.

  The production system 1 includes, for example, a production line management apparatus 100, a communication network 200, manufacturing apparatuses 300a and 300b, and inspection apparatuses 400a and 400b. Each apparatus 300a, 300b, 400a, 400b is arrange | positioned at the production line 2 or its vicinity. Hereinafter, unless otherwise distinguished, the manufacturing apparatuses 300a and 300b are referred to as the manufacturing apparatus 300, and the inspection apparatuses 400a and 400b are referred to as the inspection apparatus 400. The number of manufacturing apparatuses 300 and inspection apparatuses 400 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. Furthermore, the manufacturing apparatus 300 and the inspection apparatus 400 do not have to correspond one-to-one.

  In addition, the kind of article manufactured by the production line 2 is not particularly limited. In the production line 2, for example, articles such as automobiles, construction machines, railway vehicles, machine tools, copiers, computers, home appliances, and daily necessities can be manufactured. Furthermore, the articles manufactured on the production line 2 may be any of finished products, semi-finished products, parts, jigs, and the like. Hereinafter, an article manufactured on the production line 2 is referred to as a manufactured product.

  The production line management apparatus 100 is communicably connected to the manufacturing apparatus 300 and the inspection apparatus 400 via the communication network 200. The production line management apparatus 100 instructs the production apparatus 300 to produce via the communication network 200. In addition, the production line management device 100 receives the inspection result (including product information) of the product manufactured by the manufacturing device 300 from the inspection device 400 via the communication network 200.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the production line management apparatus 100. The production line management apparatus 100 is configured using a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. The production line management apparatus 100 includes, for example, a hardware module 110, an OS (Operating System) 130, and a software module 140.

  The hardware module 110 includes, for example, a processing unit 111 including a central processing unit (CPU), a communication interface (communication I / F) 112, a user interface unit 113, and a production line management device 100. A timer 114 used for managing time and a storage unit 120 are provided.

  The communication interface 112 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 200, and corresponds to a communication interface such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or a wireless LAN (Local Area Network).

  The user interface unit 113 is a device that receives information from a user and provides information to the user. The user interface unit 113 includes, for example, an information output device such as a display, a printer, and a voice synthesizer, and an information input device such as a keyboard, a touch panel, and a voice input device.

  The storage unit 120 includes a storage medium such as a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, a hard disk device, and a flash memory device. In the storage unit 120, for example, a device management table 121, a failure management table 122, a defect management table 123, and an exception condition table 124 are stored. Details of the tables 121 to 124 will be described later.

  The OS 130 is basic software that comprehensively controls the operation of the production line management apparatus 100.

  The software module 140 is software that operates on the production line management apparatus 100, and includes, for example, a production simulation function 141, an apparatus management function 142, and a screen display function 143.

  The production simulation function 141 receives the production plan of the product, the failure information transmitted by the manufacturing apparatus 300, and the inspection result transmitted by the inspection apparatus 400, and instructs the manufacturing apparatus 300 to manufacture based on the contents. It is software to issue.

  The apparatus management function 142 is software that manages the manufacturing apparatus 300 existing in the production system 1. The apparatus management function 142 receives failure information transmitted from the manufacturing apparatus 300 and inspection results transmitted from the inspection apparatus 400, and based on the contents, the apparatus management table 121, the failure management table 122, and the defect management table 123 are received. Update.

  The screen display function 143 is software that displays a screen to the user via the user interface unit 113. The user sets, for example, an exception condition to be described later through a screen displayed by the screen display function 143 via the user interface unit 113.

  The configuration example of the production line management apparatus 100 has been described above. Next, the device management table 121, the failure management table 122, the defect management table 123, and the exception condition table 124 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the device management table 121. The device management table 121 is a table for managing the manufacturing device 300 existing in the production system 1. The device management table 121 includes, for example, a device ID 1210, device information 1211, an operation time 1212, a failure count 1213, and a failure count 1214.

  The device ID 1210 is an identifier for uniquely identifying the manufacturing device 300 existing in the production system 1. When the manufacturing apparatus 300 is newly registered in the production system 1, the production line management apparatus 100 gives an apparatus ID 1210 to the manufacturing apparatus 300. A method for assigning the device ID 1210 will be described later.

  The device information 1211 is information regarding the manufacturing device 300. Examples of the device information include a manufacturer name, device type, model number, model, date of manufacture, and specifications.

  The operation time 1212 is a time when the manufacturing apparatus 300 is operated. As the operation time, the total operation time that the manufacturing apparatus 300 has operated so far is desirable. However, when it is difficult for the production line management apparatus 100 to obtain the total operation time of the manufacturing apparatus 300 from the manufacturing apparatus 300, the elapsed time from the time when the manufacturing apparatus 300 is registered in the production system 1 (when it is connected). May be adopted.

  The failure count 1213 is the number of times the manufacturing apparatus 300 has failed. The total number of failures that the manufacturing apparatus 300 has failed so far is desirable as the number of failures. However, when it is difficult for the production line management device 100 to obtain the total number of failures of the device 300 from the manufacturing device 300, the number of failures from the time when the manufacturing device 300 is registered in the production system 1 may be adopted.

  The number of defects 1214 is the number of times that the manufacturing apparatus 300 has manufactured a product that does not satisfy a predetermined quality standard. The inspection apparatus 400 transmits the inspection result of the product to the production line management apparatus 100 via the communication network 200. The production line management apparatus 100 determines which manufacturing apparatus 300 has a defect based on the inspection result from the inspection apparatus 400 and the corresponding relationship between the manufacturing apparatus 300 and the inspection apparatus 400, and determines the number of defects. This is reflected in the number of times 1214.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the failure management table 122. The failure management table 122 is a table for managing failure information transmitted from the manufacturing apparatus 300 existing in the production system 1 to the production line management apparatus 100. The failure management table 122 includes, for example, a device ID 1220, a failure occurrence time 1221, and a failure content 1222.

  The device ID 1220 is an identifier for specifying the device 300 in the production system 1, and the same value as the device ID 1210 of the device management table 121 is set.

  The failure occurrence time 1221 is a failure occurrence time indicated by the failure content 1222. When the time is managed by the manufacturing apparatus 300, the manufacturing apparatus 300 gives the value of the time 1221 when transmitting failure information to the production line management apparatus 100. When the manufacturing apparatus 300 does not manage the time, the time when the production line management apparatus 100 receives the failure information from the manufacturing apparatus 300 using the timer 114 is set as the failure occurrence time 1221.

  The failure content 1222 is the content of a failure that has occurred in the manufacturing apparatus 300. When the manufacturing apparatus 300 transmits the failure content as a failure code, the production line management device 100 may change the failure code to a text data format as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the defect management table 123. The defect management table 123 is a table for managing defects generated in the products manufactured by the respective manufacturing apparatuses 300 existing in the production system 1. The defect management table 123 includes, for example, a defect occurrence time 1230, a defect generation device 1231, and a product 1232 when a defect occurs.

  The defect occurrence time 1230 is a time when the inspection apparatus 400 detects a defect of the product. When the time is managed by the inspection apparatus 400, the inspection apparatus 400 gives the value of the current time 1230 when transmitting the defect of the product to the production line management apparatus 100. When the time is not managed by the inspection apparatus 400, the time when the production line management apparatus 100 receives a product defect from the inspection apparatus 400 using the timer 114 is set as a defect occurrence time 1230.

  The defect generator 1231 is the name of the manufacturing apparatus 300 in which a defect of the product has occurred. The production line management apparatus 100 detects which manufacturing apparatus 300 has a defect based on the inspection result of the product transmitted by the inspection apparatus 400 via the communication network 200 and the relationship between the manufacturing apparatus 300 and the inspection apparatus 400. To do.

  The product 1232 at the time of occurrence of defects is information for specifying a product manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus 300 when a defect occurs. The production line management apparatus 100 sets a value in this item 1232 based on information about the product that the inspection apparatus 400 transmits together with the inspection result.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the exception condition table 124. The exception condition table 124 is a table in which the correspondence of the manufacturing apparatus 300 by the production line management apparatus 100 is defined in advance. The production line management apparatus 100 refers to the exception condition table 124 and determines what action should be taken when a failure or failure frequently occurs in the manufacturing apparatus 300. The exception condition table 124 includes, for example, device information 1240 and an exception condition 1241.

  The device information 1240 is information regarding the manufacturing device 300. The same value as the device information 1211 of the device management table 121 described in FIG. 4 is set.

  The exceptional condition 1241 is a method for the production line management apparatus 100 when the manufacturing apparatus 300 frequently fails or fails. In the present embodiment, examples of the value of the exception condition 1241 include “always permitted” and “only when the user permits”. “Always permit” indicates that registration to the production line 2 and continuation of use are always permitted even in the manufacturing apparatus 300 in which failures and defects frequently occur. “Only when the user permits” indicates that the manufacturing apparatus 300 in which failures or defects frequently occur seeks the user's judgment.

  The user can set an exceptional condition for each manufacturing apparatus through a screen provided by the screen display function 143 via the user interface unit 113. For example, the screen can be configured to include items such as a manufacturing device ID, device information (device name), and an exception condition, and operation buttons such as an OK button and a cancel button. The user may select an exception condition value prepared in advance using a pull-down menu or a radio button, or may manually define an exception condition expression.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the manufacturing apparatus 300. The manufacturing apparatus 300 is an apparatus existing in the production line 2 and corresponds to, for example, an excavator, a screwdriver, a coating machine, or the like.

  The manufacturing apparatus 300 includes, for example, a controller 310, sensors 361a and 361b, and actuators 362a and 362b. The controller 310, the sensors 361a and 361b, and the actuators 362a and 362b can communicate with each other via a field network 363. It is connected.

  Hereinafter, unless otherwise distinguished, the sensors 361a and 361b are referred to as sensors 361, and the actuators 362a and 362b are referred to as actuators 362. The number of sensors 361 and actuators 362 in the manufacturing apparatus is not limited to the number illustrated in FIG.

  The controller 310 controls the actuator 362 based on the sensor 361 acquired via the field network 363 in accordance with an instruction from the production line management apparatus 100.

  The controller 310 is a device that controls the operation of the manufacturing apparatus 300 using a sensor 361 and an actuator 362, which will be described later, and corresponds to, for example, a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). The controller 310 includes a hardware module 320, an OS 340, and a software module 350.

  The hardware module 310 includes a processing unit 321 including a central processing unit (CPU), a communication interface 322, a timer 323, a field network interface 324, and a storage unit 330. In the figure, the interface is abbreviated as “IF”.

  The timer 323 is used for managing the time in the manufacturing apparatus 300. The field network interface 324 is a circuit for communicating with the sensor 361 and the actuator 362 via the field network 363. The storage unit 330 includes a storage medium such as a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, a hard disk device, or a flash memory device.

  The communication interface 322 is a circuit that is connected to the communication network 200 and communicates with the production line management apparatus 100. As the communication interface 322, for example, a communication interface such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) is applicable. The field network interface 324 corresponds to a serial communication interface such as Ethernet (registered trademark), RS485, or RS232C.

  In the storage unit 330, for example, device information 331, device operation time 332, failure frequency 333, and failure history table 334 are stored.

  The device information 331 is information related to the manufacturing device 300, for example, information such as manufacturer name, device type, model number, format, date of manufacture, and the like.

  The apparatus operating time 332 is the time after the manufacturing apparatus 300 is activated, and the time is acquired using the timer 323.

  The failure count 333 is a value indicating the number of times the manufacturing apparatus 300 has failed so far.

  The failure history table 334 is a table showing details of failures that have occurred in the manufacturing apparatus 300. Details of the failure history table 334 will be described later.

  The OS 340 included in the controller 310 is basic software that comprehensively controls the operation of the manufacturing apparatus 300.

  The software module 350 is software that operates on the manufacturing apparatus 300, and includes a control function 351, an abnormality processing function 352, and an apparatus information notification function 353.

  The control function 351 is software that acquires data by the sensor 361 and instructs the actuator 362 in accordance with an instruction from the production line management apparatus 100.

  The abnormality processing function 352 is software that detects an abnormality of the manufacturing apparatus 300 by using the sensor 361 and reflects the result in the failure frequency 333 and the failure history table 334.

  The device information notification function 353 is software that transmits the device information 331, the device operation time 332, the failure count 333, and the content of the failure history table 334 to the production line management device 100. The above is the description of the controller 310.

  The sensor 361 is a device for acquiring information necessary for the operation of the manufacturing apparatus 300 such as temperature, pressure, flow rate, torque, frequency, voltage, current, resistance, and image. The actuator 362 is an apparatus for actually operating the manufacturing apparatus 300 such as an inverter, a servo amplifier, and a solenoid. The above is the description of the manufacturing apparatus 300.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the failure history table 334. The failure history table 334 includes, for example, a failure occurrence time 3340 and a failure content 3341.

  The failure occurrence time 3340 is a failure occurrence time indicated by the failure content 3341. The manufacturing apparatus 300 records the time when the failure occurred in the failure occurrence time 3340 using the value of the timer 323.

  The failure content 3341 is the content of a failure that has occurred in the manufacturing apparatus 300. If the failure content managed by the manufacturing apparatus 300 is a failure code, the failure code may be set in the failure content 3341.

  FIG. 9 shows a processing sequence when the manufacturing apparatus 300 is registered in the production line 2. After power activation (S10), the apparatus information notification function 353 in the manufacturing apparatus 300 transmits an apparatus registration request as “predetermined registration request information” to obtain a network connection permission to the production line management apparatus 100 ( S11).

  The device registration request includes, for example, failure information, operation time, number of failures, and failure history. Here, transmission of information such as failure information every time the manufacturing apparatus 300 is connected to the communication network 200 may affect the start-up time of the production line 2. For this reason, the device information notification function 353 transmits information such as failure information to the production line management device 100 only at the first registration, and from the second time on, the device ID assigned at the first registration described later is used. Then, an apparatus registration request may be created and transmitted to the production line management apparatus 100.

  The production line management device 100 that has received the device registration request performs device registration processing (S20) using the production simulation function 141, the device management function 142, and the screen display function 143, and manufactures the result as a device registration response. To device 300. The device registration response includes a registration result and a device ID that uniquely identifies the device 300 in the production system 1.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of the device registration process (S20) in FIG. The device registration process (S20) is an example of a “device registration unit” and is executed by the device management function 142.

  The device management function 142 constantly monitors whether a device registration request has been received from the manufacturing device 300 (S200). When the device registration request is received (S200: YES), the operation time and failure included in the device registration request are detected. The failure rate is calculated with reference to the number of times (S201). For example, when the operation time is 500 hours and the number of failures is 10, the failure rate is 2% (= 10 ÷ 500 × 100).

  The device management function 142 compares the failure rate calculated in step S201 with a predetermined threshold Th1 set in advance, and determines whether the failure rate calculated in step S201 is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1 (S202). That is, the threshold value Th1 is a limit value of the failure rate allowed by the production line 2. The threshold value Th1 can be set to 0.1%, for example, but is not limited to this value.

  If the device management function 142 determines that the failure rate calculated in step S201 is greater than or equal to the threshold Th1 (S202: YES), the exception management table 124 described with reference to FIG. 7 is referred to (S203), and the failure rate is greater than or equal to the threshold Th1. It is determined whether the manufacturing apparatus 300 can be automatically registered in the production line 2 (S204).

  When “always permitted” is set in the exception condition 1241 of the exception condition table 124 for the manufacturing apparatus 300 in which the failure rate is determined to be equal to or greater than the threshold Th1, the apparatus management function 142 causes the manufacturing apparatus 300 to be connected to the communication network. 200 can be connected to the production line 2 (S204: YES). The registration process (S207 to S209) will be described later. “Register in production line 2” may be rephrased as “register in production system 1”.

  If the exception condition 1241 of the manufacturing apparatus 300 determined that the failure rate is equal to or higher than the threshold Th1 is not set to “always permitted” (S204: NO), the apparatus management function 142 determines that the manufacturing apparatus has the user's permission. It is determined whether 300 can be registered (S205). When the exception condition 1241 of the exception condition table 124 is set to “only when the user permits” (S205: YES), the device management function 142 requests the user's permission as described later (S210 to S212).

  When the device management function 142 determines that the exception condition 1241 “only when the user permits” is not set for the manufacturing device 300 that has been determined that the failure rate is equal to or greater than the threshold value Th1 (S205: NO), the device An apparatus registration response indicating that registration cannot be performed is returned to the manufacturing apparatus 200 that is the registration request issuing source (S206). This device registration response can include the device ID of the manufacturing device 300 that is the issuer of the device registration request and the registration result (registration is impossible here).

  On the other hand, when the failure rate calculated in step S201 is less than the threshold Th1 (S202: NO), the production line management apparatus 100 connects the manufacturing apparatus 300 that transmitted the apparatus registration request to the communication network 200 and registers it in the production line 2. can do. Therefore, the device management function 142 registers information included in the device registration request received in step S200 in the device management table 121 (S207). Then, the apparatus management function 142 notifies the production simulation function 141 that the new manufacturing apparatus 300 has been registered (S208). Furthermore, the device management function 142 transmits a device registration response including the registration and device ID to the manufacturing device 300 that is the issuer of the device registration request (S209).

  By the way, even when it is determined that the failure rate of the manufacturing apparatus 300 that is an apparatus registration request issuer is equal to or higher than the threshold Th1 (S202: YES), an exception condition 1241 of “always permitted” is set for the manufacturing apparatus 300. The device management function 142 can connect the manufacturing device 300 to the communication network 200 and register it in the production line 2. In this case, the device management function 142 executes the steps S207 to S209 described above.

  When the failure rate of the manufacturing apparatus 300 that is the issuer of the apparatus registration request is greater than or equal to the threshold Th1 (S202: YES), and the exception condition 1241 is set to “only when the user permits” (S205: YES), the device management function 142 notifies the screen display function 143 of generation of a screen requesting user permission (S210).

  Upon receiving the notification from the device management function 142, the screen display function 143 generates a predetermined screen and presents it to the user via the user interface unit 113. This predetermined screen can include, for example, the device ID, device information and failure rate of the target device, a message indicating that registration is possible with the user's permission, a registration permission button, a cancel button, and the like.

  By operating the predetermined screen generated by the screen display function 143, the user can instruct the production line management apparatus 100 whether or not the manufacturing apparatus 300 whose failure rate is equal to or higher than the threshold Th1 can be registered. When the apparatus management function 142 confirms that the user has permitted the registration of the manufacturing apparatus 300 through a predetermined screen (S211: YES), the apparatus management function 142 executes the above-described steps S207 to S209.

  On the other hand, when the user does not permit the registration (S211: NO), the device management function 142 includes the device ID of the manufacturing device 300 that is the issuer of the device registration request and the device registration that indicates that registration is not possible. A response is transmitted (S212). The processing sequence when the manufacturing apparatus 300 after power activation is connected to the communication network 200 of the production line 2 has been described above.

  In the above description, it has been described that the production line management apparatus 100 assigns an apparatus ID each time the manufacturing apparatus 300 is connected to the communication network 200. However, it may be undesirable to assign the device ID every time because it affects the start-up time of the production line. Therefore, once a device ID is assigned, a method may be used in which only the device ID is set for subsequent device registration requests. In this case, since the information on the number of failures and the number of failures has already been managed by the production line management device 100, the device management function 142 refers to the information on the number of failures and the number of failures stored in the storage unit 120 and refers to the failure rate. Alternatively, the defect rate (number of defects / operation time × 100) may be calculated, and the processes in and after step S212 may be performed.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a normal processing sequence between the production line management apparatus 100 and the manufacturing apparatus 300.

  For example, the production simulation function 141 in the production line management device 100 is based on the production plan of the product, the failure information transmitted by the manufacturing device 300, and the inspection result transmitted by the inspection device 400. A manufacturing execution request including operation parameters and operation execution instructions is transmitted (S30).

  Upon receiving the manufacturing execution request, the control function 351 in the manufacturing apparatus 300 operates the manufacturing apparatus 300 using the sensor 361 and the actuator 362, and transmits the result as a manufacturing execution response to the production line management apparatus 100 ( S31).

  The device management function 142 in the production line management device 100 transmits a device state request to the manufacturing device 300 in order to grasp the state of the manufacturing device 300 (S32).

  The device information notification function 353 in the manufacturing apparatus 300 that has received the device status request transmits the operation time, the number of failures, and the failure history set in the storage unit 330 to the device management function 142 as a device status response (S33). .

  The device management function 142 that has received the device status response executes a device status monitoring process (S40) described later with reference to FIG.

  In the above description, the sequence for separately transmitting the manufacturing execution request and the apparatus status request has been described as an example. However, the manufacturing apparatus 300 may transmit the apparatus status response as a response to the manufacturing execution request. Since sending the failure history to the device status response every time may cause pressure on the network bandwidth, a method of sending only the history update difference may be used.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the process of the apparatus management function 142 in the apparatus state monitoring process (S40). FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process of the production simulation function 141 in the process described in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 12, when the apparatus management function 142 receives an apparatus status response from each manufacturing apparatus 300 in the production system 1, the apparatus management function 142 refers to the apparatus management table 121 and calculates a failure rate and a failure rate (S400).

  The device management function 142 compares the failure rate and failure rate calculated in step S400 with the failure rate threshold Th1 and failure rate threshold Th2 that the production line management device 100 holds in advance (S401). The failure rate threshold Th2 is a limit value of the failure rate allowed by the production system, and is set to about 0.05%, for example. However, like the failure rate threshold Th1, the numerical value of the failure rate threshold Th2 is not limited to the value of the embodiment. In step S401, the apparatus management function 142 determines whether there is a manufacturing apparatus 300 having a failure rate equal to or higher than the threshold Th1 and a defect rate equal to or higher than the threshold Th2. Here, a case where the AND condition is that the failure rate is equal to or higher than the threshold value Th1 and the failure rate is equal to or higher than the threshold value Th2 is described, but an OR condition may be used instead.

  If there is a manufacturing apparatus 300 having a failure rate equal to or greater than the threshold Th1 and a defect rate equal to or greater than the threshold Th2 (S401: YES), the apparatus management function 142 proceeds to Step S402 described below, and otherwise (S401) : NO), this process is terminated. If the failure rate of each manufacturing apparatus 300 is less than the threshold value Th1, or if the defect rate is less than the threshold value Th2, each manufacturing apparatus 300 is operating normally, and thus this process can be terminated.

  On the other hand, when a manufacturing apparatus 300 having a failure rate equal to or higher than the threshold Th1 and a defect rate equal to or higher than the threshold Th2 is found (S401: YES), the apparatus management function 142 refers to the exception condition table 124 ( S402).

  The device management function 142 determines whether the exception condition 1241 of “always permitted” is set for the target manufacturing device 300 (a manufacturing device having a failure rate equal to or higher than the threshold Th1 and a defect rate equal to the threshold Th2) ( S403). If the exceptional condition 1241 of “always permitted” is set, the device management function 142 determines that the operation of the target manufacturing device 300 can be continued (S403: YES), and ends this processing.

  When the exception condition 1241 “always permitted” is not set in the target manufacturing apparatus 300 (S403: NO), the apparatus management function 142 determines that the exception condition 1241 “only when the user permits” is set in the target manufacturing apparatus 300. Is set (S404).

  The apparatus management function 142 displays a predetermined screen for the screen display function 143 when it is set in advance that the user's permission is required to continue the operation of the target manufacturing apparatus 300 (S404: YES). Notification is made to generate (S405).

  The screen display function 143 generates a screen for the user to instruct the operation of the manufacturing apparatus 300 to be continued, and provides the screen to the user via the user interface unit 113. By operating the screen, the user can instruct the production line management apparatus 100 whether or not to allow the operation of the target manufacturing apparatus 300 to continue. The screen includes, for example, the device ID of the target manufacturing device 300, device information, a failure rate and a failure rate, a message that the operation can be continued with the user's permission, an operation continuation permission button, a cancel button, and the like. be able to.

  The device management function 142 determines whether the user has permitted the operation to be continued for the target manufacturing device 300 through the screen provided by the screen display function 143 (S406). When the user does not permit the operation continuation (S406: NO), the device management function 142 notifies the production simulation function 141 that the operation continuation is not permitted (S407). The processing contents of the production simulation function 141 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  When notifying the production simulation function 141, the apparatus management function 142 notifies the target manufacturing apparatus 300 that the operation continuation is not permitted, and disconnects the target manufacturing apparatus 300 from the communication network 200. May be.

  When the exception condition 1241 “only when the user permits” is not set in the target manufacturing apparatus 300 (S404: NO), the apparatus management function 142 produces that the use of the target manufacturing apparatus 300 is not permitted. The simulation function is notified (S408).

  Next, referring to FIG. As described in steps S407 and S408 of FIG. 12, the production simulation function 141 determines whether a notification from the apparatus management function 142 has been received (S50). When the notification has not been received (S50: NO), this process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the production simulation function 141 receives a notification from the apparatus management function 142 (S50: YES), the production simulation function 141 refers to the defect management table 123 and acquires information on a product in which a defect has occurred (S51). ).

  The production simulation function 141 recalculates the production plan on the basis of the information of the product in which the defect has been acquired obtained in step S51 (S52), and notifies the screen display function 143 of the recalculation result (S53). . The screen display function 143 creates a screen showing the recalculation result of the production plan and presents it to the user through the user interface unit 113. The user confirms the recalculated production plan and gives an instruction as to whether to approve the production plan.

  If the production simulation function 141 determines through the screen display function 143 that the user has permitted the change of the production plan (S54: YES), the production simulation function 141 changes the production plan (S55). If the user does not permit the change of the production plan (S54: NO), the production plan is not changed and the apparatus state monitoring process (S40) is terminated. The above is the description of the normal processing sequence between the production line management apparatus 100 and the manufacturing apparatus 300.

  According to the present embodiment configured as described above, it is possible to automatically determine whether or not each manufacturing apparatus 300 installed in the production line 2 can be registered and to manage the production line 2 efficiently. improves.

  According to the production line management apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, it is possible to manage production line changes in consideration of the failure rate of the apparatus, the defect rate of the product, the operation time of the apparatus, etc. A suitable production line can be constructed. For example, when a number of defective products are generated during the manufacture of a certain product, the manufacturing apparatus that causes the manufacturing failure can be quickly identified and removed from the production line 2, and a new production plan can be created. And can be executed. By promptly changing the production plan, other products can be produced, and the production efficiency of the entire production line can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the manufacturing apparatus 300 having a failure rate or defect rate equal to or greater than the threshold value is not uniformly excluded, but registration to the production line 2 or operation continuation is determined according to a preset exception condition 1241. Can do. In the present embodiment, for example, exceptional conditions such as “always permitted” and “only when permitted by the user” can be set in advance for each manufacturing apparatus. Therefore, the production line can be managed, and the usability for the user is further improved. For example, the production line management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can flexibly cope with the case of a special manufacturing apparatus 300 having no alternative means or when production cannot be stopped due to a delivery date or the like.

  Although the embodiment has been specifically described above, the present invention is not limited to the above disclosure, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, although the case where it manages for manufacturing apparatus was described, it is not restricted to this, You may manage the precision etc. of an inspection apparatus together.

  Moreover, each component of the present invention can be arbitrarily selected, and an invention having a selected configuration is also included in the present invention. Further, the configurations described in the claims can be combined with combinations other than those specified in the claims.

  1: production system, 2: production line, 100: production line management device, 141: production simulation function, 142: device management function, 143: screen display function, 121: device management table, 122: failure management table, 123: failure Management table, 124: exception condition table, 300: manufacturing apparatus, 351: control function, 352: abnormality processing function, 353: apparatus information notification function, 331: apparatus information, 332: apparatus operating time, 333: number of failures, 334: Failure history table, 361: sensor, 362: actuator, 400: inspection device

Claims (9)

A production line management device,
A communication unit that communicates with at least one device installed in the production line via a communication network;
Based on predetermined registration request information acquired from the device via the communication network, it is determined whether to register and use the device in the production line, and a device registration unit that outputs a determination result;
A production plan management unit that instructs the apparatus to execute based on a production plan and obtains an execution result from the apparatus;
A device state monitoring unit that determines whether to continue using the device based on the operation state information of the device acquired via the communication network, and outputs a determination result;
Production line management device equipped with. The production plan management unit corrects the production plan except for the device determined to be unusable when the device state monitoring unit determines that the device is not usable on the production line.
The production line management apparatus according to claim 1. The apparatus includes a manufacturing apparatus,
The production line management device according to claim 2. The predetermined registration request information includes information for identifying the device, information about an operation time of the device, and information about a failure that has occurred in the device.
The production line management device according to claim 3. The device registration unit determines whether or not to register the device to the production line based on information on a failure that has occurred in the device. If it is determined to register, the device registration unit notifies the communication network from the communication unit. To the device via
The production line management device according to claim 4. The device registration unit calculates a failure rate from information related to a failure that has occurred in the device, and when the failure rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the device registration unit is configured according to the setting content of a predetermined exception condition table prepared in advance. It is determined whether or not to register in the production line, and if it is determined not to register, the fact is notified from the communication unit to the device via the communication network.
The production line management device according to claim 5. In the predetermined exception condition table, for each device, whether user permission is required or always permitted is set,
In the case of a device that requires user permission, the device registration unit registers a device in which the failure rate is determined to be equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold after confirming the user permission, and always permits the device. In the case of a device that performs, the device in which the failure rate is determined to be equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold is registered in the production line.
The production line management apparatus according to claim 6. The device state monitoring unit refers to the exception condition table for a device that is determined to have a bad operation state based on the operation state information, and in the case of a device that requires user permission, the user permission After confirming that, permitting the continuation of use of the device determined that the operating state is bad, in the case of a device that always permits, permitting the continuation of use of the device determined that the operational state is bad,
The production line management apparatus according to claim 7. A method for managing a production line by a computer,
Obtaining predetermined registration request information via a communication network from at least one device installed in the production line;
Based on the acquired predetermined registration request information, determine whether to use the device registered in the production line, and output the determination result,
Instructing the apparatus to execute based on a production plan generated in advance, obtaining an execution result from the apparatus,
Obtaining operational status information of the device from the device via the communication network;
Based on the acquired operating state information, determine whether to use the device in the production line, and output the determination result;
Production line management method.

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