JP2019168763A - Operation start condition conversion device and operation start condition conversion method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an operation start condition conversion device for creating an operation plan in which a calculation load related to the determination of operation start of each facility in a production system is suppressed.SOLUTION: The operation start condition conversion device comprises: a work resource classifying unit that classifies multiple works included in an operation schedule specified by the time of a production system that produces products into work resources with different priorities; a work type classifying unit that classifies the multiple works into direct work on products and indirect work on products including setup changes; a product assembly order condition setting unit that sets work completion of low-priority work among the direct work on products as a first operation start condition; and a component supply condition setting unit that sets work completion of work that is affected by setup change among the indirect work on products as a second operation start condition. The operation schedule is converted into an operation plan specified by an event according to the first and second operation start conditions, and input to a control system that operates the production system.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation start condition conversion device for creating an operation plan in a production system.

  In a production system that transports a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses and a workpiece (product) produced by each manufacturing apparatus using an automatic guided vehicle (AGV), as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, A method is known in which the production sequence of workpieces to be produced is planned in advance and the operation of AGV is controlled so that the arrival sequence of AGVs that require workpieces is the same as the production sequence of workpieces in the manufacturing apparatus. . Here, a product number is assigned to a product conveyed by the AGV, and work information necessary for the product number is determined in advance.

  Further, Patent Document 2 calculates the margin of the product being manufactured until the completion delivery date, determines the manufacturing priority based on the margin, and operates the manufacturing apparatus and the AGV based on the priority. A method for determining an indication is disclosed.

JP 2009-143716 A JP 2008-250826 A

  The operation management method disclosed in Patent Document 1 is based on the premise that the production order of products and the order of manufacturing apparatuses that the AGV circulates are fixed. Therefore, when the product production order is not fixed, there is a problem that the AGV circulation order becomes unclear. In other words, even if the order of AGVs arriving at each manufacturing apparatus is fixed, if the cyclic order of each AGV to the manufacturing apparatus is not fixed, the waiting time of the manufacturing apparatus depends on the cyclic order of each AGV. There is a possibility that the operation plan will break down.

  In the operation management method disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the priority is calculated and the next operation is determined online, the number of manufacturing, the number of manufacturing apparatuses, and the number of AGVs are increased, which is necessary for determining the execution start of the operation. There is a problem that computational resources increase. Further, since the determination is made based only on the priority at the present time, a global determination cannot be made, and there is a possibility that the operation plan is wasteful as a whole.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an operation start condition conversion device that creates an operation plan that suppresses a calculation load related to determination of operation start of each facility in a production system. With the goal.

  The operation start condition conversion device according to the present invention includes a work resource classification unit that classifies a plurality of works included in an operation schedule specified by a time of a production system that produces a product into work resources having different priorities, and the plurality The work type classifying unit for classifying the work of the above into the direct work on the product and the indirect work on the product including changeover, and the completion of the work of the low priority among the direct work on the product in the first operation A product assembly order condition setting unit that is set as a start condition; a component supply condition setting unit that sets work completion of work affected by the setup change as second operation start condition among indirect work on the product; A control system for operating the production system by converting the operation schedule into an operation plan designated by an event according to the first and second operation start conditions. Forces.

  According to the present invention, since the operation schedule specified by the time is converted into the operation plan specified by the event according to the first and second operation start conditions, the calculation load necessary for determining the operation start condition is suppressed. An operation plan capable of operating the production system according to the operation schedule can be generated.

It is a figure which shows an example of an operation schedule typically. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the production system provided with the driving | running start condition conversion apparatus of Embodiment 1 which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram showing an example of a job shop. It is a figure which shows an example of an operation schedule typically. It is a figure which shows typically the software architecture in the case of carrying out a driving | operation instruction | indication to each installation based on the driving | operation plan output from the driving | running start condition conversion apparatus of Embodiment 1 which concerns on this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the driving | running start condition conversion apparatus of Embodiment 1 which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the result of having classified the operation | work of each equipment in an operation schedule into work resources. It is a figure which shows an example of the restrictions added in the product assembly order condition setting part. It is a figure which shows an example of the restrictions added in the components supply condition setting part. It is a flowchart which shows the driving | running | working start condition conversion method of Embodiment 1 which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the interlock contained in the control program of an installation. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the production system provided with the driving | running start condition conversion apparatus of Embodiment 2 which concerns on this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the driving | running start condition conversion apparatus of Embodiment 2 which concerns on this invention.

<Embodiment 1>
The application target of the present invention is a job shop production system using an AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle). AGV is a vehicle that automatically transports products and parts in the factory. Recently, AGV that can move to any position in the factory by self-localization and mapping technology such as Slam (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) Has been developed.

  A job shop is a production facility that independently performs some work, such as a product or part input function, work such as processing or assembly, and product delivery, and a plurality of certain functions. A job shop production system using AGV is a production system in which AGV transports products between job shops and products are completed via a plurality of job shops. Hereinafter, production equipment and AGV are collectively referred to as equipment. There are a plurality of job shops having equivalent functions, and there is a degree of freedom in selecting which job shop performs work on the product.

  In order to operate the job shop production system efficiently, the operation schedule of AGV and production equipment is important. The production system schedule is generally created based on the production capability of the manufacturing apparatus, the operation time of the production facility in each operation instruction, and the operation capability information such as the travel time of the AGV. For the order data including the type and number of products to be manufactured, an operation schedule that is considered optimal is created based on the driving capability information.

  Here, examples of the objective function that is determined to be optimal include a short production time in the entire production system, a short total operation time of each production facility, and a short work-in-progress time. In addition, when the order includes delivery date information and / or priority information, there are cases where constraints such as keeping the delivery date and keeping the priority are included.

  The delivery date information may be expressed not by the delivery date to the customer but by the production completion time in the factory. By appropriately setting the operation schedule, it is possible to increase the operating rate of the equipment and shorten the operation time, thereby reducing the production cost.

  Since creation of an operation schedule in a job shop production system is a large-scale optimization problem, it is the mainstream to handle operation capability information such as production equipment work time and AGV movement time as fixed values. Therefore, the operation schedule can be described uniquely by what kind of work the production facility and AGV perform. Further, when the in-process time of work in process is not included in the objective function, it can be described only by the order of operation instructions. FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of an operation schedule.

  In FIG. 1, the work in the manufacturing apparatuses 1 to 3 and the movement schedule in the AGVs 1 to 3 are shown. For example, the AGV 1 performs the work 2-2 on the work carried by the movement 1-1. Thereafter, AGV1 is moved by movement 1-2. In addition, the AGV 2 performs the operation 3-2 on the workpiece carried by the movement 2-1. In addition, the AGV 3 moves the workpiece that has completed the operation 1-1 by the movement 3-2.

  Such an operation schedule is created on the basis of operation capacity information such as the work time of the production facility and the travel time of the AGV. However, in such an operation schedule, the production system cannot actually be operated. This is because an error from the capacity information occurs in the actual production facility work time and AGV travel time. In addition, unpredictable events occur at the time of creating a schedule, such as work mistakes in production facilities due to errors in input parts, avoidance of other vehicles in the movement of AGV, traffic congestion, and the like. For these reasons, the operation schedule specified by time cannot be strictly operated. For this reason, it is necessary to convert the operation schedule specified by time into an operation plan based on the completion of work, such as executing an operation instruction based on the completion of work.

  Moreover, in actual operation, it is desirable to operate by combining local optimization and global optimization. As an example of local optimization, a situation is assumed in which both transfer work between the AGV and the job shop, and processing or assembly of parts in the job shop can be performed.

  For example, considering increasing the operating efficiency of other equipment, it may be better to prioritize the transfer work with the AGV over the work in the job shop. Specifically, if priority is given to work on a product that is passed to a job shop different from the next destination of AGV in a certain job shop, the transfer work to AGV is not completed, and the start of movement of AGV is suspended. As a result, the operation efficiency at the job shop, which is the next destination of AGV, is reduced. As described above, simple optimization can be realized only by information on the local state of the current state in the job shop. Such optimization that is performed only with spatially or temporally local information such as information in the job shop or the current state in the job shop is referred to as local optimization.

  Local optimization has the advantage that it requires fewer computational resources for judgment and can be realized by a control device of a manufacturing apparatus. It is often realized by a method in which the priority of work is set in advance and the work is started from the work with higher priority among the work for which the operation start condition is satisfied.

  Global optimization is optimization that is performed based on the entire factory, the entire operation schedule, or both. For example, in order to give priority to the manufacture of a product with a close delivery date, there is a method in which the manufacture of other products is suspended and a production facility is left waiting. Another method is to schedule the operation so that the same operation can be performed continuously so that the number of setup changes of the manufacturing apparatus is reduced.

  Global optimization involves a wide variety of information and criteria for optimization, so it is often processed by equipment that has a dedicated function such as a scheduler and is separate from the operation of the production system. In the processing, a solution of a scheduling problem that has been widely studied conventionally can be applied to an operation schedule defined by time.

  In actual operation, work delays will occur from the operation schedule, so work will start if the conditions are met even if the start time is around, for example, within a range that does not affect global optimization. It is preferable to apply local optimization, for example, by not waiting for the completion of a non-work.

<Production system configuration>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the production system 100 including the operation start condition conversion device 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the production system 100 includes a scheduler 10, an operation start condition conversion device 20, a MES (Manufacturing Execution System) 30, a plurality of manufacturing devices 41, 42-4n, and a plurality of AGVs 51-5m. I have.

  The scheduler 10 creates and outputs an operation schedule for production facilities and AGVs based on order data input from a data input device (not shown) and operation capacity information of the production system. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, this operation schedule is expressed in the form of what kind of work each facility performs at what time.

  The operation start condition conversion device 20 converts the operation start condition for the operation schedule input from the scheduler 10 from designation by time to designation by an event such as work completion, and outputs it as an operation plan that can be operated in an actual system. To do. The operation start condition conversion device 20 is constituted by, for example, an arithmetic processing device including a storage unit 21, a processing unit 22, and the like.

  The MES 30 is a control system that transmits an operation instruction to each facility such as the manufacturing apparatuses 41 to 4n and the AGVs 51 to 5m based on the operation plan input from the operation start condition conversion apparatus 20.

  The manufacturing apparatuses 41 to 4n and the AGVs 51 to 5m that have received the operation instruction from the MES perform work based on a preset operation program. In FIG. 2, the MES 30 and each facility are directly connected. However, a relay or integrated management computer and a dedicated controller may be arranged between the MES 30 and each facility.

<Composition of job shop>
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a job shop. The job shop shown in FIG. 3 includes two sets of robots, work tables, and parts supply machines, and one processing machine. Robots RB1 and RB2 include product transfer operations between AGV1 and AGV2 and work benches WS1 and WS2, assembly operations of parts supplied from component supply machines PS1 and PS2, respectively, and processing machines. Carry out the product input work to MC.

  Since two sets of work tables and component feeders are provided and the AGV standby location varies depending on the robot, the work on the work table and the transfer work to the AGV can be performed independently by each robot. On the other hand, since there is one processing machine at the job shop, it is shared by two robots.

  The robots RB1 and RB2 are well-known vertical articulated industrial robots. The work tables WS1 and WS2 are places where the robots RB1 and RB2 perform work, respectively, and a jig or the like for fixing the product is installed, but the illustration is omitted.

  The parts supply machines PS1 and PS2 have a function of supplying parts to the robots RB1 and RB2, respectively, and changing the type of parts to be supplied such as a pallet changer. Further, the processing machine MC has a function capable of automatically changing a tool.

  AGV1 is loaded with products PD1 and PD2, and AGV2 is loaded with products PD3 and PD4. FIG. 3 is an example of a job shop and is not limited to this form.

<Operation schedule and operation plan>
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an operation schedule output by the scheduler 10 (FIG. 2). The horizontal axis represents time, the blocks in each work resource represent that work is being performed in the period corresponding to the length, and what kind of work is performed on each manufacturing apparatus at what time This is expressed by the type of block. The data includes the work type and work start time of each work. Further, it may include additional information specifying work parameters and the like, work time, and the like.

  The operation schedule shown in FIG. 4 is an operation schedule corresponding to the job shop shown in FIG. 3, and for each of the processing machine MC, the parts supply machines PS1 and PS2, and the robots RB1 and RB2, the work type, work start time, work Represents time.

  In addition, the operation | work with each manufacturing apparatus attaches | subjects the serial number to the block in order of an operation | work, for example, 1-6 are attached | subjected about the processing machine MC. In addition, each block represents that the work type is different by hatching. In the processing machine MC, the work of No. 1, 4, and 6, and the work of No. 2, 3, and 5 The hatching is different. In addition, in order to show that this serial number is a series of work in each manufacturing apparatus, it attaches | subjects similarly also in FIGS.

  The processing machine MC includes tool change work and processing work, the parts supply machines PS1 and PS2 are only supply part change work, and the robots RB1 and RB2 are respectively transferred to AGV, It includes input work to the processing machine and assembly work on the work table.

  In any manufacturing apparatus, the work is arranged in time series, and the operation start of each work is an operation schedule designated by time. By inputting such an operation schedule specified by time to the operation start condition conversion device 20, the operation start condition specified by time is converted into an operation start condition specified by an event such as completion of work. Convert to an operation plan that can be operated in an actual system.

  FIG. 5 shows the software architecture of the MES 30 that inputs the operation schedule shown in FIG. 4 to the operation start condition conversion device 20 and instructs each facility to operate based on the operation plan output from the operation start condition conversion device 20. It is a figure showing typically.

  The operation plan output from the operation start condition conversion device 20 is expressed by work contents, task numbers, and work tasks. Work in each facility is classified as a work resource based on priority and type. The task number is a number uniquely determined within each work resource. The operation start condition is a condition when the MES 30 transmits a work instruction included in the work task to each facility.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a task queue is held for each work resource, and work tasks included in the operation plan are extracted in the order of task numbers. For example, when the executed last task number is 1 and the work task being executed is empty (NULL), such as the work resource for changing the supply part in the parts supplier PS1, the work task at the head of the task queue That is, the second work task is taken out, but when the operation start condition of the work task is not satisfied, the work task is set as a guarded work task, and the guarded work task number is set to 2. On the other hand, when the operation start condition of the work task taken out from the task queue is satisfied, the work task is set as a running task, and the running task number is set to 2.

  The work task that has become an active task is the active task until the work content is sent to the corresponding equipment and the work completion is received from the equipment, but when the work completion is received, Discarded and emptied. The executed last task number is updated to 2.

  The operation start condition is specified by the work resource and the task number, and if the executed last task number of the specified work resource is greater than or equal to the specified task number, the condition is satisfied. To do. For example, in FIG. 5, in the work resource of the AGV1 transfer work of the robot RB1, the operation start condition of the work work No. 3 taken out from the task queue is the work task No. 3 in the work resource of the processing machine input work of the robot RB1. If the final task number of the work resource for the processing machine input work of the robot RB1 is 3, the work task No. 3 of the work resource of the AGV1 transfer work of the robot RB1 is Assuming that the condition is satisfied, the third work task is set as a running task, and the running task number changes from NULL to 3.

  The case where the operation start condition of the work task extracted from the task queue is not satisfied is the case where the executed last task number of the designated work resource is larger than the designated task number. Even if the operation start condition is not satisfied and the work task is being guarded, the work of the specified work resource proceeds, and if the operation start condition is satisfied, the work task being guarded becomes an executing task. . If there is a guarded work task, the work task is not taken out of the task queue even if the task being executed is empty.

  In addition, the processing method demonstrated above is an example, and application in the driving | running start condition converter 20 of this Embodiment is not limited to this, The restrictions used as driving | running start conditions are input to the driving | running schedule. It only needs to be set appropriately. Here, “appropriate” means that in a production system that executes an operation plan according to a predetermined rule, global optimization can be performed with few restrictions and a necessary work order can be maintained.

  As described above, the software architecture shown in FIG. 5 inputs the operation schedule output from the scheduler 10 (FIG. 2) to the operation start condition conversion device 20, and sets the operation start condition specified by time to the work start condition. A work instruction is given based on an operation plan obtained by converting to an operation start condition designated by an event such as completion. Hereinafter, the operation start condition conversion device 20 will be described.

<Configuration of operation start condition converter>
FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the operation start condition conversion device 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the operation start condition conversion device 20 outputs the data to the operation start condition conversion device 20 from the scheduler 10 (FIG. 2) via a data input unit 23 that is a functional unit responsible for data input to the operation start condition conversion device 20. Product data D2 and work data D3 are input in addition to the operation schedule D1 and stored in the storage unit 21. Note that the data input unit 23 may be included in the storage unit 21.

  The product data D2 is data related to a product manufacturing method, such as the assembly order of products to be manufactured and the part type. The work data D3 is data relating to work performed by each manufacturing apparatus, and is used to distinguish whether the work performed by each manufacturing apparatus is a direct work related to product manufacturing or an indirect work related to component supply or setup change. Information is included. These data are basically input to the storage unit 21 when the production system 100 is constructed, and updated and added when the production system 100 is changed.

<Operation of operation start condition converter>
<Classification in the work resource classification unit>
The work resource classification unit 221 included in the processing unit 22 reads the operation schedule D1, the product data D2, and the work data D3 from the storage unit 21, and cancels the operation start condition specified by the time in the operation schedule D1. Then, the work of each facility included in the operation schedule D1 is classified as a work resource according to priority. Since the job shop can perform a plurality of different operations, local optimization can be realized by giving priority to the types of operations.

  In order to set a priority for the work in each facility in the operation schedule, the work resource classification unit 221 classifies the work of each facility in the operation schedule into work by priority. For example, transfer work between the production facility and AGV is set as the highest priority work, other work is set as two priorities as lower priority work, and the work included in the operation schedule is set to either Classify. However, even if the work is included in one production facility, it can be classified as a separate work resource if it can work independently of each other.

  FIG. 7 shows the result of classifying the work of each facility in the operation schedule shown in FIG. 4 into work resources in the work resource classification unit 221, the horizontal axis represents time, and the blocks in each work resource are: This means that the work is performed during the period corresponding to the length.

  Moreover, in FIG. 7, the work described in the upper side of each production facility is expressed as a work having higher priority. That is, in the processing machine MC, the tool exchange has a higher priority than the processing, and in the robots RB1 and RB2, the transfer work to the AGV, the input work to the processing machine, and the assembly work on the work table are in order of priority. It is set high.

  In the work resources in each production facility classified in this way, for example, for the processing machine MC, work Nos. 1, 4, and 6 correspond to tool change, and work Nos. 2, 3, and 5 are performed. Corresponds to processing. As for the robot RB1, work Nos. 1 and 12 corresponds to transfer work to AGV1, work Nos. 2, 6, 7 and 11 correspond to input work to the processing machine MC, The operations of No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10 correspond to the assembly work on the work bench WS1. For robot RB2, No. 1 and No. 10 work correspond to transfer work to AGV2, No. 8 and No. 9 work correspond to input work to processing machine MC, No. 2-7 The work corresponds to the assembling work on the work bench WS2.

  Note that if all local optimizations based on priority are applied, global optimization may be affected. Therefore, in the processing after the work type classification unit 222, the operation start condition is set so that global optimization is not affected.

<Classification in the work type classification section>
The work type classification unit 222 classifies the work types based on the work data D3 for the work resources classified by the work resource classification unit 221. This classification is classified into two categories: “(a) Direct work on products” and “(b) Indirect work on products such as setup change”. “(A) Direct work on product” refers to work that touches the product, such as processing or assembly of the product, transfer of the product, and the like. “(B) Indirect work on the product such as setup change” is a so-called setup change operation such as change of supply parts or tool change, and is related to the production of a plurality of products. It is a work that does not touch. In the example of FIG. 7, “(a) Direct work on product” is “work” work on the processing machine MC and all work on the robots RB1 and RB2. "(B) Indirect work on the product such as setup change" is a "tool change" work on the processing machine MC and a "supply part change" work on the parts supply machines PS1 and PS2.

<Addition of restrictions in the product assembly order condition setting section>
The product assembly order condition setting unit 223 adds restrictions on the work order for manufacturing each product to “(a) Direct work on products” classified by the work type classification unit 222. That is, the operation start restriction is added to the work that satisfies the following condition in the operation schedule. Specifically, the work to which restrictions are added is the work classified as “(a) Direct work on products”, and the work with low priority in the same device is performed in advance on the same product. Work that has been done. The restriction to be added is that the work performed in advance is completed, and if the work performed in advance is work for a plurality of products, if any one product is applicable. Add constraints. Note that the operation start restriction added by the product assembly order condition setting unit 223 is referred to as a first operation start condition.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the constraints added by the product assembly order condition setting unit 223 applied to the work resources classified in FIG. 7, and is classified as “(a) Direct work on products”. Completion of the assembly work in the robots RB1 and RB2 is added as a constraint.

  In order to explain the added constraints, in FIG. 8, for robot RB1, the operations of No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 8, No. 9, and No. 10 corresponding to the assembly work on work bench WS1 are performed. , A, b, c, d, e, and f are added, which are IDs of products to be processed in each work. In addition, d is assigned as the product ID to the No. 2 and No. 6 operations corresponding to the input work to the processing machine MC, and b is assigned to the No. 7 and No. 11 operations as the product ID. In addition, since the work No. 12 corresponding to the transfer work to AGV1 is for products with IDs a to f, a to f are assigned as IDs.

  Similarly, with respect to the robot RB2, g, h, i, j, k, and l are assigned as product IDs to the work Nos. 2 to 7 corresponding to the assembly work on the work bench WS2, respectively. The 8th and 9th work corresponding to the MC input work is marked with h as the product ID. In addition, since work No. 10 corresponding to the transfer work to AGV2 is for products with IDs g to l, g to l is assigned as IDs.

  In FIG. 8, an arrow is used to represent a constraint. In other words, the completion of the work that generates the arrow indicates that the operation start condition of the work that the arrow reaches reaches.

  Specifically, in the operation of loading the robot RB1 into the processing machine MC, when the product of ID No. 7 as the target of work No. 7 is input to the processing machine MC, the work table WS1 having a lower priority is used. In the assembling work, the fact that the work on the product whose ID is c is completed is added as a restriction.

  In addition, in the transfer operation of the robot RB1 to the AGV1, when transferring the products having IDs a to f which are the targets of the twelfth operation, in the input operation to the processing machine MC having a lower priority, Processing for the product whose ID is the target of work No. 11 is completed, and the work for the product whose ID is the target of work No. 10 in the assembly work on the work bench WS1 is completed. Is added as a constraint.

  Similarly, in the loading operation of the robot RB2 into the processing machine MC, when a product whose ID is h is input to the processing machine MC, the assembly on the work platform WS2 having lower priority is performed. In the work, it is added as a restriction that the work for the product whose ID is l is completed.

<Addition of restrictions in the parts supply condition setting section>
The component supply condition setting unit 224 adds a constraint such as waiting for the start of setup change to “(b) Indirect work on a product such as setup change” classified by the work type classification unit 222. That is, an operation start restriction (second operation start condition) is added to an operation that satisfies the following condition in the operation schedule. The work to which the restriction is added is a work classified as “(b) Indirect work on the product such as setup change”, and work that has been performed in advance using an object that is changed in the setup work, In other words, it is a work performed in advance that is affected by the changeover. The constraint to be added is that the work performed in advance is completed.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the constraints added by the component supply condition setting unit 224 applied to the work resources classified in FIG. 7, and is classified as “(a) Direct work on products”. Completion of assembly work in the robots RB1 and RB2 and completion of the machining work in the processing machine MC are added as constraints.

  In FIG. 9, the arrows are used to represent the constraints. In other words, the completion of the work that generates the arrow indicates that the operation start condition of the work that the arrow reaches reaches.

  Specifically, in changing the supply parts of the parts supply machines PS1 and PS2, the parts used in the assembly work of the robots RB1 and RB2 are changed, respectively. Therefore, the work is an assembly work on the work bench WS1 having a lower priority. No. 5 and the work No. 5 that is the assembly work on the workbench WS2 are added as a restriction. However, in each of the component feeders PS1 and PS2, no restriction is added to the first operation for changing the supply component because there is no operation that has been completed in advance.

  In addition, in the tool change of the processing machine MC, it is added as a restriction that work No. 3 and No. 5 which are lower priority work are completed.

  As described above, through the processing in each functional block in the operation start condition conversion device 20, the work resources and work types are classified, and the classified “(a) Direct work on products” and An operation start condition can be added to “(b) Indirect work on a product such as setup change”.

<Operation start condition conversion method>
The operation start condition conversion method in the operation start condition conversion apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the work resource classification unit 221 cancels the operation start condition specified by the time in the operation schedule D1 read from the storage unit 21 (step S1), and classifies the work included in the operation schedule into work resources having different priorities. (Step S2).

  Next, based on the work data D3, “(a) direct work on the product” and “(b) indirect work on the product such as setup change” are performed on the work resources classified in the work type classification unit 222. (Step S3).

  Next, in the product assembly order condition setting unit 223, the completion of the work performed in advance with a low priority in the work classified as “(a) Direct work on the product” is limited to the start of operation (No. (Operation start condition 1) is added (step S4).

  Next, in the parts supply condition setting unit 224, the operation classified as “(b) Indirect work on the product such as setup change” is operated, and the completion of the work performed in advance that is affected by the setup change is operated. This is added as a start restriction (second operation start condition) (step S5).

<Add interlock>
In order to avoid interference between the facilities constituting the production system with respect to the operation start conditions added by the operation start condition conversion device 20, an interlock is given as a constraint incorporated in the control program of the facilities.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the interlock included in the equipment control program applied to the work resources classified in FIG. For example, the operation of putting the product into the processing machine MC by the robots RB1 and RB2 can be performed only when the processing machine MC is in a stopped state in which tool replacement and processing are not performed. In other words, the tool exchange and processing work on the processing machine MC can be executed only when the product stuffing work on the processing machine MC by the robots RB1 and RB2 is not being executed. For example, in FIG. 10, the work No. 2 that is the work of loading the product into the processing machine MC in the robot RB <b> 1 can be performed only after the work No. 1 that is the tool replacement work in the processing machine MC is completed. The work No. 2 that is the machining work in the processing machine MC can be performed only after the work No. 2 that is the work of loading the product into the machining machine MC in the robot RB1 is completed.

  Further, the assembly work of the products by the robots RB1 and RB2 can be executed only when the work of changing the parts supply in the parts supply machines PS1 and PS2 is not being executed in order to confirm that the parts for the assembly work are supplied. is there. For example, in FIG. 10, the work No. 8 that is the product assembly work in the robot RB <b> 1 can be performed only after the work No. 2 that is the part supply change work in the parts supply machine PS <b> 1 is completed.

  By combining such an interlock included in the equipment control program with an operation plan in which restrictions are set by the product assembly condition setting unit 223 and the component supply condition setting unit 224 of the operation start condition conversion device 20, a job can be obtained. The shop production system can realize operation in accordance with the operation schedule output by the scheduler 10.

  Note that the start time of the work may be different from the operation schedule output by the scheduler due to the release of the operation start condition specified by time and the addition of interlocks and constraints described above. Further, depending on the situation, there is a possibility that the work order in each apparatus is also changed. However, the restrictions for maintaining global optimization, such as the manufacturing order from which the product is manufactured and the timing of setup change, are observed.

  In this embodiment, an example of adding a constraint in one job shop has been described. However, the addition of a constraint may be performed in the entire factory, and product assembly may be performed across a plurality of job shops. In some cases, the added restriction may be the completion of work in another job shop.

  As described above, the operation start condition conversion apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes the work resource classification unit 221 that classifies the work included in the operation schedule into work resources having different priorities, and each work is a product. A work type classification unit 222 that classifies whether the work is direct work or indirect work to the product such as setup change, and a product that sets work completion of a low-priority work among the direct work to the product as a restriction for starting operation An assembly order condition setting unit 223, and a component supply condition setting unit 224 that sets operation completion of operations that are affected by changeover among indirect operations to a product as a constraint for operation start. Convert to the specified operation plan and output. As a result, it is possible to generate an operation plan capable of operating the production system in accordance with the operation schedule while suppressing the calculation load necessary for determining the operation start condition.

<Embodiment 2>
In an actual production system, disturbances such as work failures and work delays occur, so operations cannot be performed according to the operation schedule. Therefore, it is desirable to correct the operation schedule when it is determined that there is a high possibility that the created operation schedule and the actual operation result of the production system are in operation and there is a high possibility that the delivery date constraint cannot be observed.

  In operation of the production system, it is only necessary that the operation plan is input to the MES by the time when the operation instruction is transmitted to each facility.

  Therefore, the scheduler only needs to create and output only the operation schedule that is necessary at that time, and there is a possibility that the operation schedule may not meet the delivery date due to the large difference between the operation schedule output in the past and the operation results. If it is determined that the operation schedule is high, it is possible to increase the possibility of complying with the restrictions by setting the operation schedule to be highly likely to meet the restrictions on the delivery date.

<Production system configuration>
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a production system 200 including the operation start condition conversion device 20A according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the production system 200 includes a scheduler 10A, an operation start condition conversion device 20A, a MES 30, a plurality of manufacturing devices 41, 42 to 4n, a plurality of AGVs 51 to 5m, a schedule division instruction device 60, and an operation state transmission device. 70.

  Similar to the scheduler 10 of the production system 100 of the first embodiment, the scheduler 10A sets the operation schedule of the production facility and the AGV based on order data and the operation capacity information of the production system input from a data input device (not shown). While creating and outputting, the operation state in each equipment, such as the manufacturing apparatuses 41-4n and AGV51-5m detected in the MES 30, is received via the operation state transmission apparatus 70, and the operation information of each equipment is also referred to for operation. Create a schedule.

  As described above, in the operation of the production system, the operation plan only needs to be input to the MES by the time when the operation instruction is transmitted to each facility. It is not necessary to create the operation schedule at once, and if the difference between the assumed operation schedule and the actual operation becomes large, the operation schedule may be divided and created so that the operation schedule can be corrected.

  For this purpose, the schedule division instruction device 60 instructs the scheduler 10A on a method for dividing the operation schedule to be created. Examples of the division method include division by time such as a unit of 15 minutes. What is necessary is just to output the driving schedule in which the driving | operation instruction | indication which MES30 assumes that 15 minutes unit transmits is included. However, since the processing time in the operation start condition conversion device 20A, the processing time in the MES 30 and the like are also generated, an operation schedule including these processing times as margin time is output. For example, if the margin time is 15 minutes, an operation schedule including an operation instruction that is assumed to be transmitted by the MES 30 within 15 minutes to 30 minutes from the current time may be output.

  Based on the operation plan input from the operation start condition conversion device 20A, the MES 30 not only transmits an operation instruction to each facility such as the manufacturing devices 41 to 4n and AGV 51 to 5m, but also monitors the operation state of each facility. The result is transmitted to the operation state transmitting device 70. The operation state transmission device 70 receives the operation state of each facility transmitted from the MES 30 and transmits it to the scheduler 10A and the operation start condition conversion device 20A.

  Based on the operation state information of each facility transmitted from the operation state transmitting device 70, the scheduler 10A determines the difference between the operation schedule created in the past and the operation result that is the operation state of the production system based on the operation schedule. It has a divergence detector 11 to detect.

  Similar to the operation schedule created by the scheduler 10 described above with reference to FIG. 4, the operation schedule created by the scheduler 10 </ b> A is also a time-designated operation schedule in which the operations in each manufacturing apparatus are arranged in time series. Therefore, the divergence detection unit 11 creates an operation result designated by time based on the information on the operation state of each facility, and compares it with the operation schedule. May be detected. Alternatively, it may be detected whether the delivery date constraint can be observed. Then, when it is determined that the possibility of meeting the delivery date constraint is low or the constraint cannot be observed, the operation schedule to be output next is corrected so as to keep the delivery date.

  The scheduler 10A inputs the corrected operation schedule to the operation start condition conversion device 20A.

  FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the operation start condition conversion device 20A. In the operation start condition conversion device 20A shown in FIG. 13, the same components as those of the operation start condition conversion device 20 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 13, an operation schedule D1, product data D2, and work data D3 output from the scheduler 10A (FIG. 12) are input to the operation start condition conversion device 20A via the data input unit 23. It is stored in the storage unit 21. The storage unit 21 also stores an output operation plan D4 output in the past by the operation start condition conversion device 20A. The output operation plan D4 may be all the operation plans in the past, or may be an operation plan including work for a certain period or an incomplete product.

  In addition, information on the operation state of each facility transmitted from the operation state transmission device 70 is input to the operation start condition conversion device 20 </ b> A via the operation state input unit 225. The operation state D5 of each facility is input to the product assembly order condition setting unit 223 via the operation state input unit 225, and the output operation plan D4 is also input from the storage unit 21. The output operation plan D4 may be input to the product assembly order condition setting unit 223 via the operation state input unit 225.

  Then, the product assembly sequence condition setting unit 223 extracts, for example, work related to the unfinished product based on the operation state and the output operation plan, and starts the first operation for the newly input operation schedule. Add a condition.

  Similarly, the parts supply condition setting unit 224 extracts, for example, work related to unfinished products and related changeover work based on the operation state and the output operation plan, and sets the newly input operation schedule. On the other hand, a second operation start condition is added.

  As described above, according to the operation start condition conversion device 20A of the second embodiment, when the operation schedule is divided and created, the operation start condition can be added in consideration of the operation state of each facility. .

  Such a method is effective when a product with a high priority is processed first, even if the number of setup changes increases, in order to satisfy the delivery date when there is a delay in production, Even if the number of setup changes increases and the overall work time increases, it is effective when the highest priority is to satisfy the delivery date.

<Modification>
In the above description, although the method of dividing the operation schedule by time has been shown, it may be divided not by time but by product. For example, with respect to work for one product, the operation schedule is not divided and output as an operation schedule including all the work necessary until the product is completed. With this method, if the production of the product is not likely to be in time, measures such as creating an operation schedule that prioritizes the production of the product over other low-priority product operations may be taken. it can.

  Note that division by time and division by product unit may be combined, or division by time or division by product unit may be combined with division by other elements.

<Acknowledgment>
This research was conducted as part of the Innovative Research and Development Promotion Program (ImPACT) led by the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation. "This work was found by ImPACT Program of Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (Japan)."

  It should be noted that the present invention can be freely combined with each other within the scope of the invention, and each embodiment can be appropriately modified or omitted.

  20 Operation start condition conversion device, 221 Work resource classification unit, 222 Work type classification unit, 223 Product assembly order condition setting unit, 224 Parts supply condition setting unit.

Claims (5)

A work resource classification unit that classifies a plurality of work included in an operation schedule specified by the time of a production system that produces products into work resources having different priorities;
A work type classification unit for classifying the plurality of operations into direct operations on products and indirect operations on products including changeover;
A product assembly order condition setting unit that sets work completion of a low priority work as a first operation start condition among direct work on the product;
A component supply condition setting unit that sets work completion of work affected by the changeover among the indirect work on the product as a second operation start condition,
An operation start condition conversion device that converts the operation schedule into an operation plan designated by an event according to the first and second operation start conditions, and inputs the operation plan to a control system that operates the production system. The driving schedule is input by being divided into specific units,
The operation start condition conversion device further includes an operation state input unit that receives the operation state of the production system from the outside according to the output operation plan created based on the operation schedule input in advance.
The product assembly order condition setting unit includes:
Based on the operation state and the output operation plan, the first operation start condition is set in a newly divided operation schedule,
The component supply condition setting unit
The operation start condition conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the second operation start condition is set in the newly divided operation schedule based on the operation state and the output operation plan. The newly divided operation schedule is:
The operation start condition conversion device according to claim 2, wherein the operation start condition conversion device is an operation schedule modified so as to reduce a deviation between the operation schedule input in advance and the operation state of the production system based on the operation schedule. The operation plan including the first and second operation start conditions is:
The operation start condition conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the operation start condition conversion device is input to the control system together with constraints between the facilities for avoiding interference between facilities constituting the production system. Classifying a plurality of operations included in an operation schedule specified by the time of a production system for producing a product into work resources having different priorities;
Classifying the plurality of operations into direct operations on products and indirect operations on products including changeover;
Of the direct work on the product, a step of setting work completion of a low priority work as a first operation start condition;
A step of setting work completion of work affected by setup change as indirect work to the product as a second operation start condition, and
An operation start condition conversion method for converting the operation schedule into an operation plan designated by an event according to the first and second operation start conditions.

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