JP2876926B2 - Production management device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a production management apparatus for managing each step of a production line for producing a product by a line operation, and more particularly to an apparatus for managing a step of printing a unique number of a product on a label.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, the method of assembling and manufacturing industrial products is as follows.
This is a production method based on a so-called flow operation in which work steps are subdivided and work is performed for each of the subdivided steps. Among them, a line production system in which each work is carried out while a work is conveyed by a conveyor or the like is widespread. Further, mixed production in which various types of products corresponding to various demands are mixed and produced on one line is also performed. In particular, in the production line of automobiles, it is necessary to produce various specifications according to the needs of consumers, and when exporting, it is necessary to produce specifications conforming to the laws and regulations of the exporting country. It is required to produce many models and specifications. Therefore, as described above, it is necessary to produce a plurality of vehicle types and specifications on one production line. In this case, it is necessary to accurately grasp information such as what kind of processing needs to be performed and what kind of parts must be assembled for the type and specification of the workpiece being transported. There is. An apparatus for instructing and managing such production is described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-143128. The device disclosed in this document is provided with an ID tag for storing a vehicle type and use of each vehicle on which the vehicle is to be transported. Then, in each process, a radio signal emitted from the ID tag is received to determine a vehicle type and a specification to be assembled, and work corresponding to this is performed.

Further, in one of the processes provided in such a production line, the solid number of the conveyed work is read from a signal generated by an ID tag, and this is printed on a label with a bar code and a number. There is a step to do. For example, if the workpiece is an engine, there is a step of printing the engine-specific solid number (engine number) stamped on the engine on a label including a barcode. By attaching this label to a predetermined portion of the engine, the engine can be managed by reading the bar code of the engine number in the subsequent steps. In other words, even when the assembly of the engine is completed and the ID tag is no longer attached after being removed from the trolley, the specification and the assembly history of the engine can be managed by the label.

[0004]

Since the conventional apparatus is configured as described above, there is a problem that a label cannot be printed if there is an error in the reception of the radio wave from the ID tag. Reasons for receiving errors include when the battery built in the ID tag is dead, when the ID tag is broken by hitting another part in the upstream process, or when the ID tag is damaged.
There are cases where other components such as a wire harness intervene between the tag and the receiving antenna to interfere with transmission and reception. When a reception error occurs due to such a cause, the operator reads the stamped engine number and inputs the number with a keyboard or the like. However, the engine number is often imprinted on the side of the cylinder block, and reading it in the assembled state requires considerable effort. In addition, when the read number is input from the keyboard, it is easy to make a mistake, and there is a possibility that a correct label cannot be created.

As described above, in the conventional apparatus, when an error occurs when receiving a radio wave from the ID tag, the operator must read the engine number and create a label. There was a problem that an incorrect label was created. The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and does not impose a burden on an operator when reception from an ID tag is not successful.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a production management device capable of accurately forcing a label.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a production management apparatus according to the present invention is directed to a production management apparatus including a continuous unique number indicating a production order of individual works conveyed on the production line. Instruction information is stored and includes an ID tag conveyed together with the work, a receiving unit that reads out the production instruction information stored in the ID tag, and a label printing unit that prints the received unique number on a label. And a number storage unit for storing the received unique number, and, when an error occurs in the reception by the receiving unit, displaying a number next to the unique number last stored in the number storage unit. And a print instruction unit for instructing the label printing unit to print the displayed unique number.

[0007]

The present invention has the above-described structure, and once stores the unique number of the work, and when the unique number of the next conveyed work cannot be read, the stored unique number of the previous work is stored. The number following the number is displayed on the display. Then, the operator determines whether or not the display and the work number match, and instructs to print a label if they match.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a case where the apparatus of the present embodiment is used in an engine production line. In particular, FIG. 1 shows a step of printing a label indicating an engine number. The engine 10 is transported from left to right in the figure by a conveyor 14 while being mounted on a transport vehicle 12. An ID tag 16 is attached to each of the transport vehicles 12, and the ID tag 16 stores various information of the engine to which the tag is attached. This information, for example,
It relates to various engine specifications such as a code number indicating the type of the engine, an engine number indicating a unique number of the engine, a destination, whether or not to install a compressor for an air conditioner (air conditioner) and an oil pump for power steering. Information is stored.

[0010] The ID tag 16 has an internal battery, and can transmit the stored contents by this power. You can always send this,
It may be configured to transmit only when a radio wave instructing transmission is received. In this embodiment, an ID tag that constantly transmits radio waves is used.

The radio wave transmitted from the ID tag 16 is received by the antenna 18 and the receiving device 20, and the control unit 22 reads out the engine number from the received signal. Then, the read engine number is sent to the label printer 24, and the label printer 24 prints this number. When the target engine is transported to a predetermined position, the operator can print the printed label 30.
To a predetermined position of the engine, for example, the side surface 10a of the timing belt cover.

The above description shows a case where the process has proceeded smoothly from reception to printing. The following describes a case where a label 30 cannot be printed due to an error in reception due to some reason.

As described above, there is no problem if the radio wave transmitted from the ID tag 16 is normally received by the antenna 18 or the like, but for example, between the ID tag 16 and the antenna 18, electric components of the engine and various sensors. If a signal line such as a wire harness is interposed, transmission and reception may be hindered. In such a case, the engine number cannot be specified.

The engines transported on the line are assigned engine numbers in the order of transport. That is, it is very likely that the engine number that could not be specified due to transmission / reception errors as described above is a number obtained by adding 1 to the engine number immediately before this engine.

The apparatus of this embodiment utilizes this point to display a temporary engine number on the display unit 28 of the operation panel 26. Specifically, the control unit 2 determines the engine number that has been received normally.
The numbers stored sequentially in the storage unit 32 provided in the storage unit 2 are erased at this time. When a transmission / reception error occurs, the adder 34 adds 1 to the stored engine number and instructs the operation panel 26 of this information. On the operation panel 26, the display unit 28 displays the number to which this 1 has been added.

Details of the operation panel 26 are shown in FIGS. The operation panel 26 provided in the apparatus of the present embodiment has a screen 2
The touch monitor 7 is configured by a so-called touch monitor that can perform a predetermined operation by touching a predetermined position on the touch panel 7. FIG. 3 shows details of this screen. The screen 27 has a display unit 28 and an operation unit 26a. The display unit 28 is a part for displaying an engine number. When transmission / reception is performed without error, the received engine number is displayed. Thus, the number obtained by adding 1 to the engine number received last time is displayed. FIG. 3 shows an engine number “0123456” as an example. At this time, if the actual engraving of the engine matches this number “0123456”, the set key 43 of the operation unit 26a is pressed. This allows the label printer 24
Is instructed to print a label. If this number is different from the actual engine number, for example, if the actual engine number is “0123457”, when the operator presses the increment key 41, “0123456” is displayed.
Is added, and “0123457” is displayed. Then, when the set key 43 is pressed, printing of a label is instructed. Further, a decrement key 42 for subtracting 1 from the displayed number is provided. The number printed on the label can be changed only by the key operation of adding or subtracting 1 to the displayed number.

In the engine production line, the engine numbers are basically assigned in the order of transportation as described above, so that an engine with a number far from the engine number received last time is rarely transported. Even if an engine with a far apart number is transported due to the cause, the probability of occurrence of a transmission / reception error with the ID tag in this engine and the next engine is quite low. Therefore, in most cases, the number can be set by operating the increment key 41 and the decrement key 42 described above. However, in the apparatus of the present embodiment, 0 is set so that the number can be manually input.
Numerical keys from 1 to 9 and a reset key 44 are also provided. As a result, if the displayed number is different, the reset key 44 can be pressed as in the prior art, and then the correct number can be input.

As described above, it is not necessary to input a new number even when there is a transmission / reception error. In most cases, it is possible to respond by printing the next number of the previous engine. With the increment key and the decrement key, the engine number can be set without performing many key operations. If it is necessary to enter a seven-digit number, for example, in an inspection process provided at several points on an assembly line, an assembly error or a part defect is found, and the engine once dropped off from the line is repaired. This is the case, for example, when a person is put on the line again after a long delay.

The operation described above is shown as a flowchart in FIG.

When the new engine 10 arrives at the reading position (S101), the engine number is read from the ID tag 26 (S103). Then, label production is instructed to the label printer 24 (S105). Then, it is determined whether or not the label is printed normally (S107). If the label is printed normally, the operator attaches the label 30 to a predetermined position of the engine 10. In addition, when printing is not performed normally, for example, when a mistake is made in receiving from the ID tag 16 and the number cannot be read, the number is manually set (S111), and the label creation instruction is issued again (S1).
05).

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, when information relating to a work cannot be read out from the ID tag, a number obtained by adding 1 to the solid number of the previous work is displayed as a temporary number, whereby the operation is performed. The operation of directly inputting the individual number can be omitted. As a result, it is possible to reduce human errors caused by the operator's misreading of the engraving and the key pressing, and to shorten the operation time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a production management device according to the present invention, and is a diagram showing, in particular, a label creation process.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation panel of the apparatus of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation unit and a display unit of an operation panel of the apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the apparatus of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 engine (work) 16 ID tag 22 control unit 24 label printer 26 operation unit 32 storage unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65C 1/00-11/02 B23P 21/00 B23Q 41/00-41/08 G09F 3/00-3 / 20 G06F 15/00-15/82

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A production management apparatus for managing a production line that performs production by a series of operations, wherein production instruction information including a continuous unique number indicating a production order of individual works conveyed on the production line is stored. An ID tag conveyed with the work, receiving means for reading production instruction information stored in the ID tag, and label printing means for printing the received unique number on a label. Number storage means for storing the unique number, and display means for displaying a number next to the unique number last stored in the number storage means when an error occurs in reception by the receiving means, And a print instructing unit for instructing the label printing unit to print the unique number.