JP3017518B2 - Transport instruction device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport instruction device that instructs a plurality of transport devices to perform a transport operation, and more particularly to a transport instruction device that can efficiently perform a transport operation. It is.

2. Description of the Related Art When a part request is made to a master station from a fixed station arranged in a plurality of parts assembling processes, etc., a request is made to a mobile station arranged in each of a plurality of transport devices. Transport instruction information on parts is transmitted from a master station, and a transport operator performs a transport operation of components in accordance with the transport instruction information, and is used in various production lines and the like. In such a component transport system, when the transport instruction is sent from the master station to the mobile slave station, if the same transport instruction information is sent to all the mobile slave stations, the transport operation is duplicated. Priority is set in advance, and a transport instruction is issued to a mobile station having a higher priority. If the mobile station is in the process of being transported or is absent, the mobile station having the next priority is set. It is common to give a transportation instruction to As another method, a type of a component to be transported is determined in advance for each mobile station, and when a component is requested, a transport instruction is issued only to the mobile station in charge of the component.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the former in which the priority is determined, not only it takes time to search for a mobile station that can be transported, but also because the transport instruction is easily biased to mobile stations with high priority, There is a problem that the work load of each mobile station becomes unbalanced. In addition, in the latter case in which the parts to be transported for each mobile station are determined, even though the average workload of each mobile station can be substantially the same, due to the time variation of the required transport parts, Temporarily high and low workloads are inevitable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the purpose thereof is that the workload of each mobile station varies, or the workload is temporarily concentrated on any mobile station. And to improve the transportation work efficiency.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the object, information on a plurality of transport parts is passed to a plurality of mobile stations, and in each mobile station, a part to be transported from among the plurality of transport parts is transmitted. What is necessary is just to make it possible for the transport operator to select arbitrarily, and the present invention
A transport instruction device for transmitting transport instruction information from a master station to a mobile slave station disposed in each of a plurality of transport devices for transporting parts, thereby performing a transport operation, wherein: (a) the master station; (B) information transmission means provided at a plurality of mobile parts to transmit transport instruction information relating to a plurality of transport parts to the plurality of mobile child stations; A display for displaying data relating to the transport component; and (c) a transport selection provided at each of the mobile stations and selected and operated according to a component to be transported among the plurality of transport components displayed on the display. A switch; and (d) a selection transmitting unit that is provided in the mobile station and transmits a selected component signal representing a component selected by a selection operation of the transport selection switch to the parent station; and (e) the parent station. To And a duplicate transport prevention means for transmitting a duplicate transport prevention signal to the mobile station to prevent the component represented by the selected component signal from being transported redundantly in a plurality of mobile stations. Features.

Operation In such a transportation instruction device, first, when the transportation instruction information on a plurality of transportation parts is transmitted to the mobile station by the information transmitting means, the data on the plurality of transportation parts is moved based on the transportation instruction information. Displayed on the display of the slave station, the transport operator selects a component to be transported from the plurality of transport components displayed on the display by the transport selection switch. The data displayed on the display unit includes
It suffices if at least information for specifying the transport part is included, for example, it may be only the part number of the transport part,
It is desirable to include information that is helpful when making a selection.

When a component to be transported is selected by the transport selection switch, a selected component signal indicating the selected component is transmitted from the selection transmitting means of the mobile station to the master station, while the transport of the mobile station is transmitted. The operator carries out the work of transporting the selected component. In this case, in order to prevent the same part from being conveyed repeatedly by a plurality of mobile stations, when a selected part signal is transmitted from a mobile station, data on the part represented by the selected part signal is transmitted to another mobile station. If the mobile station is deleted from the display of the mobile station, or the part indicated by the selected part signal is stored and the same part is later requested to be transported by another mobile station, the request for transporting the part is issued. Is transmitted from the duplicate transport prevention means of the master station.

As described above, according to the transport instruction device of the present invention, transport instruction information on a plurality of transport components is transmitted to a plurality of mobile child stations, and each mobile child station transports the mobile component from among the plurality of transport components. Parts can be selected arbitrarily, so that transport instructions are not temporarily concentrated on any of the mobile stations and the work load does not fluctuate, and transport operators must carry out transport at their own pace. Can be. In other words, as long as there is at least one unselected transport component, none of the mobile stations will lose their work, and all the mobile stations will transport all the transport components in cooperation with each other. In addition, the efficiency of transportation work is improved.

In addition, since the parent station is provided with the duplicate transport prevention means, it is possible to prevent a plurality of mobile child stations from repeatedly transporting the same part. Further, since the master station does not need to perform a troublesome process of searching for a mobile station capable of carrying out the transport operation and transmitting the transport instruction information, the time required for transmitting the information can be reduced.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a communication system in a component transport system that transports components to each process such as a component assembling line using a plurality of transport devices, and includes one master station 10 and a plurality of stator stations 12 and And a mobile station 14. Station 12
Are installed in each process such as the above-described component assembly line that handles a plurality of types of components, while the mobile station 14 is provided in a transport device such as a forklift or a trolley. In each process where the stator station 12 is installed, up to 8
Various types of parts are handled, and the number of transport devices is determined according to the number of parts handled in all processes, consumption amount, and the like.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the stator station 12 includes an information processing device 16 composed of a microcomputer or the like, eight call switches 18, and the call switches.
Eight lamps 20 provided corresponding to 18 and a setting device 22 are provided, and information is transmitted to and from the master station 10 via a transceiver 26. Call switch 18 above
Is turned on by a worker when requesting a part. Each call switch 18 corresponds to a part handled in each process, and a call switch to be turned on according to the type of part. 18 are predetermined. Also,
The setter 22 is for setting an ID number specified by the stator station 12 in advance.
Stored in 16 RAMs. The ID number specifies the process in which the stator station 12 is provided, and the required component can be specified based on the ID number and the operation state of the call switch 18.

When at least one of the call switches 18 is turned ON, the transport data DD1 including switch information indicating the operating states of the eight call switches 18 and ID numbers is transmitted to the master station 10 in a predetermined format. You. In the switch information, the operation states of the eight call switches 18 are represented by an 8-bit information amount by expressing each operation state of each of the eight call switches 18 with one bit.

When the call switch 18 is turned ON, the lamp 20 corresponding to the call switch 18 is turned on and off, and after the transport data DD1 is transmitted to the master station 10, the confirmation signal SA1 is sent to the fixed slave station. When it is transmitted to 12, it is turned on. Also, when the transport of the parts is completed and the transport completion signal SE2 is transmitted from the master station 10, the light is turned off.

Returning to FIG. 1, the master station 10 is a control computer.
32, keyboard 34, parts table memory 36, printer 38,
CRT display 40, CCU (communication control unit) for stator station 42,
And a mobile station CCU 44 for transmitting information to and from the fixed station 12 and the mobile station 14 via a transceiver 46. A plurality of transceivers 46 are provided so as to be able to communicate with all the fixed stations 12 and the mobile stations 14. The parts table memory 36 previously stores a parts table including data relating to storage locations, product names, and the like of all parts.
Reference numeral 32 reads out the required component data represented by the continuous data DD1 transmitted from the stator station 12 from the component table, creates a required component list, and displays the required component list on the CRT display 40.

FIG. 4 is an example of the required parts list displayed on the CRT display 40, in which the parts data read from the parts table based on the transport data DD1 are arranged. In FIG. 4, the column of "fixed station" corresponds to the ID number and switch number of the fixed station 12,
For example, "U112" of "U112-8" at the top corresponds to the ID number, and "8" corresponds to the switch number of the call switch 18 of the fixed child station 12. Therefore, the "fixed station" is specified from the ID number and the switch information of the transport data DD1 transmitted from the fixed station 12, and the component data is read from the component table based on the "fixed station" number. When the switch information indicates the ON state of the plurality of call switches 18, a plurality of "fixed stations" corresponding to the call switch 18 are specified, and a plurality of component data are read.

In the above part data, “flight” indicates the transportation priority, that is, “#” indicates an express service, “*” indicates an express service, and “store address, manufacturer / back number” indicates the storage location of the part. The “packing style” indicates the type of pallet that stores the part, the “se” indicates a set part suitable for being transported together, and the “line” indicates that the part is handled. The "division" is a lift division determined in advance for each part in order to efficiently carry the work. The set parts are set in advance based on a storage location, an assembling process position, and the like, and these data and “part number” and “article name” are stored in the parts table together with the “fixed station” number. .

On the CRT display 40, as a general rule, 20 pieces of component data are displayed starting from the one with the shorter required time, and the transported component data is scrolled. "61 points in total" in the upper row indicates that the number of parts requested after the start of the work is 61, and "49 points not yet" indicates 49 of the requested parts that have not been transported yet. Means that. The “required number of parts” on the lower right is the number of incompletely transported parts for each lift section. Further, the parts of “progress” 1 and 3 with meshes mean that a transport operation is being performed by any transport device. This mesh represents white inverted characters. In addition,
The display order is, in principle, in the order of the required time, but the display is rearranged when, for example, a predetermined requirement is satisfied so that an efficient transport operation is performed.

On the other hand, the master station 10 transmits the transport data DD2 representing the required parts to all the mobile stations 14 at predetermined time intervals, or the progress of the transport operation, a request from any of the mobile stations 14 and the like. I do. In the transport data DD2 in this case, in addition to the information on the ID number and the switch number for specifying the “fixed station”, “lift section” and “during transport”
Information on whether or not the requested parts are to be transported is transmitted. The 20 required parts are ordered in the order of the required time in principle, and the CRT
It matches the part displayed on the display 40. It should be noted that the transport data for all requested parts may be transmitted.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the mobile station 14 disposed in the transport device includes an information processing device 50 configured by a microcomputer or the like, an operation unit 52,
A component table memory 54 and a PDP (plasma display panel) 56 as a display are provided.
Information is transmitted to and from the master station 10 via 58. The operation unit 52 includes a lift section selection dial 60 for selecting a lift section, a push button type transmission key 62, five transport selection switches 64 for selecting transport parts, and five transport completion switches 66 operated upon completion of transport. Is provided. The component table memory 54 stores the same component table as the component table stored in the component table memory 36 of the master station 10. This parts table is
The data registered in the master station 10 is transferred to the mobile station 14 or the data input in advance to a personal computer or the like is transferred to the master station 10 and the mobile station.
You can easily enter them by transferring them to 14 respectively.

Then, of the 20 required parts included in the transport data DD2 transmitted from the master station 10, those of the lift section selected by the lift section selection dial 60,
From the information of "lifting work" included in the transport data DD2, only those that have not been transported yet are identified from the information of "lifting work" included in the transport data DD2. Five pieces are taken out and the data relating to the required parts are stored in the part table memory 54.
Is read from the component table stored in the PDP 56 and displayed on the PDP 56. FIG. 7 shows an example of the required part data displayed on the PDP 56, in which the lift section “2” is selected.

The transport selection switch 64 and the transport completion switch 66
Are provided corresponding to the five required parts displayed on the PDP 56, and the transport operator can select the transportation priority such as “#” and the set parts in the “S” column from the displayed five required parts. Select one or more arbitrarily in consideration of the above, turn on the corresponding transport selection switch 64 and turn on the transmission key 62
By performing the operation, the transport execution request signal SB representing the selected required component is transmitted to the master station 10. As a result, the display of the selected component on the PDP 56 flashes, and the request confirmation signal SA2 is transmitted from the master station 10, so that the character becomes a white inverted character. In FIG. 7, the part columns of "progress" 1 and 3 shown by meshes indicate blinking or inverted characters, which means that this part has been selected. If the selected component is already selected by another mobile station 14, the work cancel signal SC is transmitted from the master station 10 to the mobile station 14, and data relating to the part is deleted from the PDP 56. You.

The transport worker grasps the storage location from the selected component column, that is, the component column “store address” of the inverted character, runs the transport device to the storage location, and based on “part number / article name”, “packing style”, and the like. The parts are loaded and the parts are transported to the process represented by the "station". When the transport is completed, the transport completion switch 66 is turned ON for the component corresponding to the component, a transport completion signal SE1 indicating that the transport of the component is completed is transmitted to the master station 10, and the transport related switch is described above. CR
The displays on the T display 40 and the PDP 56 are scrolled.

Each of the mobile stations 14 has a lift section determined in advance, and carries out a transport operation by sharing a large number of parts.
The required number of parts for each lift section is displayed in the lower right on the PDP56, and the transporter changes the lift section based on this required number of parts and supports the work of transporting parts in other lift sections. can do. A plurality of mobile stations 14 are prepared in advance for each lift section as needed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a sequence of the above-mentioned communication system. Hereinafter, a series of operations will be described with reference to this sequence.

First, when at least one call switch 18 of any of the fixed stations 12 is turned ON, the transport data DD1 including information on the ID number of the fixed station 12 and the operation state of the call switch 18 is transmitted to the master station 10. At the same time, the light flashes on and off the lamp 20 corresponding to the call switch 18 that has been turned on. When the transport data DD1 is received by the master station 10, the confirmation signal SA1 is transmitted to the stator station 12, and the blinking lamp 20 is turned on.

The master station 10 that has received the transport data DD1 transmits the transport data D1.
While adding the required parts represented by D1 to the required parts list,
The order is rearranged as necessary. And
Based on the latest required parts list at predetermined time intervals, etc., the transport data DD2 related to the top 20 required parts is
Sent to 4. Each mobile station 14 stores the above-mentioned 20 required parts, and selects the top five required parts which are in their own lift division and are not currently being transported, from among them, and stores them in the storage location for the required parts. PD data
Display on P56. However, if there is a part currently being transported in the mobile station 14 of its own, the data relating to that part is left in the PDP 56 as it is, and only the data relating to the other parts are deleted and rewritten.

Thereafter, when the transport operator turns on the transport selection switch 64 to select the transport component and turns on the transmission key 62, the transport execution request signal SB representing the selected component is transmitted to the master station 10.
And the display of the PDP 56 relating to the selected part flashes. Master station 10 that has received the transport execution request signal SB
Determines whether the component has already been selected by another mobile station 14, and if not, transmits a request confirmation signal SA2 to the mobile station 14. This gives P
The corresponding component columns displayed on the DP 56 and the CRT display 40 are white inverted characters. If another mobile station 14 has already been selected, a work cancel signal SC relating to the part is transmitted to the mobile station 14 and the part is deleted from the PDP 56 and stored. From the required parts, the next required part relating to the lift category is read out and its data is displayed.

That is, at the time of selecting such a transport part, the master station 10 and the mobile slave station 14 execute signal processing in accordance with the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, respectively. For computer
32, this is performed according to a program preset in the information processing device 50. In these figures, in step S1, the master station 10
Transport data DD transmitted to all mobile stations 14 from
2 is equivalent to the transport instruction information, the part that executes step S1 in a series of signal processing by the control computer 32,
The information transmitting means is constituted together with the mobile child station CCU 44 and the transceiver 46. In the mobile station 14, the transport selection switch 66 and the transmission key 62 are turned ON (step
R3) The step R4 of transmitting the transport execution request signal SB representing the selected component constitutes a selection transmitting means together with the transceiver 58. The transport execution request signal SB is a selected component signal.

Further, the master station 10 receiving the transport execution request signal SB,
The steps S3, S4, and S6 of transmitting the request confirmation signal SA2 or the work cancellation signal SC depending on whether or not a request has already been made from another mobile station 14, are performed by the mobile station CCU 44 and the transceiver 4
Together with 6, it constitutes means for preventing duplicate transport. The request confirmation signal SA2 and the work cancellation signal SC are duplicate transport prevention signals. Note that the master station 10 is configured to store a component represented by the transport execution request signal SB.

Then, the transport worker performs a component transport operation based on the component data shown in the component column of the inverted character, and when the transport operation is completed, turns on the transport completion switch 66 corresponding to the component. As a result, the data of the part is deleted from the PDP 56, new part data is displayed, and the transport completion signal SE1 is transmitted to the master station 10. The master station 10 deletes the data of the part displayed on the CRT display 40 based on the transport completion signal SE1 and displays the data of the new requested part, and sends the data to the stator station 12 that has requested the part. On the other hand, a transport completion signal SE2 is transmitted, and the lamp 20 turned on when a component is requested is turned off.

Here, in the present embodiment, the transport data DD2 regarding the 20 transport parts is transmitted to all the mobile stations 14 and each mobile station 14
In this case, parts to be transported can be arbitrarily selected from among the five transport parts related to their own lift division, so that transport support is temporarily concentrated on any of the mobile stations 14 and the work load varies. In addition, the transport operator can perform the transport operation at his own pace. In other words, as long as there is at least one unselected transport component, any mobile station 14 can transport the transport component by changing the lift section as necessary, so that All mobile parts will be transported by all the mobile stations 14 in cooperation with each other, and the transport work efficiency will be improved.

When the transport execution request signal SB is transmitted from the mobile station 14, the master station 10 sends a request confirmation signal based on whether or not the component represented by the transport execution request signal SB has already been requested from another mobile station 14. Since the SA2 or the work canceling signal SC is transmitted, it is possible to prevent the plurality of mobile stations 14 from carrying the same part redundantly.

Further, the master station 10 transmits the transport data DD2 relating to the 20 transport parts to all the mobile slave stations 14, so that the mobile station 14 searches for the mobile slave station 14 that can perform the transport work as before and transmits the transport data. No troublesome signal processing is required, and the time required for transmitting the information is reduced. In particular, in this embodiment, since the mobile station 14 is also provided with the part table memory 54, the transport data DD2 transmitted from the master station 10 to each mobile station 14 is provided.
Is small, and the transport data DD2 for as many as 20 transport parts can be transmitted in a relatively short time.

As mentioned above, although one Example of this invention was described in detail based on drawing, this invention can be implemented in another aspect.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the lift division is determined for each part in order to efficiently transport the parts. However, it is not always necessary to set the lift division when the type of parts or the number of transportation devices is relatively small. There is no. If a plurality of transport devices are arranged in each lift section,
It is not always necessary that the 14 lift sections can be changed, and the transport instruction information on a plurality of transport parts may be transmitted from the master station 10 for each lift section.

Also, in the above embodiment, when the transport data DD2 is transmitted to the mobile station 14, the PDP 56 displays the component data including the product number and the product name, but at this stage, it is necessary to select the transport component. Necessary data, such as transport priority such as “#” and set parts convenient to transport together, are displayed in addition to “fixed station” with only the information in the “se” column.
After receiving the ten request confirmation signals SA2, information necessary for carrying work such as a store address may be displayed. In such a case, the parts table is not necessarily stored in the mobile station 14.
There is no need to store the information in the storage unit, and when a part to be transported is determined, information necessary for the work of transporting the part may be transmitted from the master station 10 to the mobile child station 14. This is because the amount of transmitted information can be reduced as compared with the case where the component data as shown in FIG. 7 is transmitted for all 20 transport components.

Further, in the above embodiment, the request confirmation signal SA2 or the work cancellation signal SC is transmitted depending on whether or not a request has already been made from another mobile station 14, but each time the transport execution request signal SB is received, A signal for deleting the data display or storage related to the component represented by the signal can be transmitted to all the other mobile stations 14 to prevent duplicate transportation.
In this case, it is not necessary for the transport operator to reselect the transport component by canceling the operation.

In the mobile station 4 of the above embodiment, five transport selection switches 64 are provided in correspondence with the number of transported parts to be displayed. However, one switch of a dial selection type may be provided. No problem.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the information regarding the transport priority, the set parts, the pallets, etc. is displayed on the PDP 56, but at least the information necessary for the transport work, such as the parts to be transported, the storage location, the destination, etc., is displayed. I hope it is done.

Further, the stator station 12 can be changed as appropriate. For example, a stator station for inputting a part number, a process number, or the like using a numeric keypad can be employed.

Although not specifically exemplified, the present invention can be implemented in various modified and improved modes based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the stator station in the communication system of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the stator station. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on a CRT display of a master station in the communication system of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a mobile station in the communication system of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the mobile station. Seventh
The figure shows an example of the display screen displayed on the PDP of the mobile station in the communication system of FIG. FIG. 8 shows the first
It is a figure explaining the sequence operation of the communication system of the figure. FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the master station when issuing a transport instruction in the communication system of FIG.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the mobile station when selecting a transport part in the communication system of FIG. 10: master station, 14: mobile station 32: control computer 44: mobile station CCU 46: transceiver, 50 information processing device 56: PDP (display), 58: transceiver 64: transport selection switch DD2: Transport data (transportation instruction information) SB: Transport request signal (selected part signal) SA2: Request confirmation signal (duplicate transport prevention signal) SC: Work cancellation signal (duplicate transport prevention signal) Step S1: Information transmission means Steps S3, S4, S6: Means for preventing duplicate transport Step R4: Selective transmission means

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tsuyoshi Ikeda 1216 Kuginoda-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Shinwa Communication Equipment Hachioji Works (56) References JP-A-3-51300 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B23Q 41/02 B23P 21/00 307 H04B 7/26 B65G 43/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A transport instruction device for transmitting transport instruction information from a master station to a mobile slave station disposed in each of a plurality of transport devices for transporting components, thereby performing a transport operation. Information transmitting means provided in the master station for transmitting transport instruction information on a plurality of transport parts to the plurality of mobile child stations; and a plurality of transports provided in the mobile child stations, respectively, based on the transport instruction information. A display for displaying data relating to a part, a transport selection switch provided at each of the mobile stations, and a selection switch for performing a selection operation according to a part to be transported among a plurality of transport parts displayed on the display; A selection transmission unit that is provided in the mobile station and transmits a selection component signal representing a component selected by the selection operation of the transport selection switch to the master station; and Means for transmitting to the mobile station a duplicate transport prevention signal for preventing a component represented by the selected part signal from being transported redundantly by a plurality of mobile stations. Display device.