JPH0314674B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to vehicle body assembly lines, parts assembly lines,
Workpieces on an automobile manufacturing line such as a painting line are equipped with communication devices that store information unique to the workpiece and transmit the information unique to the workpiece. The present invention relates to an automobile manufacturing management system in which a host device issues work instructions at a work station based on work-specific information from a communication device.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, there is a system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-209667, etc., as a manufacturing control system for automobiles of this type.

This system is an example of a system used in a painting line, and its basic configuration is shown in FIG. In the same figure, inside a car body 1 to be painted (an object to be painted as a workpiece), information unique to the car body 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as unique information) such as vehicle type information, paint color information, and painting part information of the car body 1 is stored. ) is stored in advance and a communication device 10 for transmitting the stored unique information is installed, while a painting robot 16 and a color changer for switching the paint supplied to the painting robot 16 are installed at the work station for the painting process. In addition to the device 18 installed, a receiving device 12 (which also has a transmission function such as outputting a trigger signal to the communication device 10) that receives unique information transmitted from the communication device 10 is installed. Then, when the vehicle body 1 moves to the work station, the receiving device 12 receives unique information from the communication device 10 attached to the vehicle body 1, and this received unique information is further transmitted to a higher-level device for process management. The information is transmitted to the control device 14 (computer). The control device 14 controls, for example, the painting robot 1 based on the unique information inputted from the communication device 10 via the receiving device 12.
In addition to giving work instructions to the color change device 18 according to the vehicle type, painting area, etc. of the vehicle body 1, the color change device 18
Robot 16 paints the paint of the specified color.
Work orders are issued to supply the required amount. Therefore, the painting robot 16 and the color change device 18 operate according to the work command from the control device 14, and the vehicle body 1 is painted in accordance with the unique information stored in the communication device 10.

Here, the specific configuration of the communication device 10 is as follows:
For example, it is as shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a data storage section composed of a semiconductor memory or the like in which unique information of the vehicle body 1 shown in FIG. ), 24 is a trigger circuit that supplies battery B to each circuit inside the device and controls the power supply to each circuit in synchronization with a predetermined timing pulse from a timing signal generation circuit 24, which will be described later. This timing signal generation circuit divides the frequency of the oscillation signal from the reference oscillation circuit 25 when activated by the circuit 22, and outputs a predetermined operation timing pulse to each circuit inside the device.
When receiving the trigger signal from the receiving device 12, the data signal generating circuit 26 synchronizes with the timing pulse from the timing signal generating circuit 24.
reads the unique information for the vehicle body 1 from the data storage section 21, creates a data signal corresponding to this unique information, and the output circuit 27 modulates this data signal and sends it to the receiving device 12 via the light emitting diode 28. I'm trying to send it. Note that while the trigger circuit 22 is operating, that is, the communication device 1
0 is in operation, a light emitting diode 29 indicating its operating state lights up.

On the other hand, since such a communication device 10 is attached to the vehicle body 1 etc. and is constantly moved on the production line,
Battery B will be used as a power source for the communication device 10. And that battery B
Since the functions of the communication device 10 are not exhibited when the battery is exhausted, the communication device 10 is conventionally provided with a battery check circuit 30 in addition to the above configuration. This battery check circuit 30
For example, if the current from battery B is constantly flowing through the reference resistance and the voltage drop across the reference resistance is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, that is, if the battery B voltage is a normal voltage, check switch 31 is activated.
When the light emitting diode 32 and the like are turned on, the light emitting diode 32 and the like are turned on. Therefore, when this check switch 31 is turned on, the light emitting diode 3
You can easily check whether the battery B is worn out by checking that the number 2 is lit.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the production line of automobiles, a large number of workpieces equipped with communication devices as described above are moved, and a worker must perform one-by-one operations on each communication device as described above. In practice, it is extremely difficult to check the consumption status of battery B by pressing a certain check switch.
For example, even if the check is carried out periodically, since the check is not done in real time, there may be a delay in discovering an abnormality in the battery B power supply, such as if some kind of failure (earth leakage, etc.) occurs in the communication equipment at any point in time. Therefore, it cannot be a stable system. Furthermore, if the communication device is used while the battery is exhausted, there is a problem in that desired specific information cannot be obtained and the production line may stop. The present invention was made to solve such conventional problems, and its purpose is to replace the communication device and write work-specific information to the new communication device, thereby improving the unmanned rate. do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention, as shown in FIG. a communication device 10 that transmits information unique to the workpiece stored in advance in the data storage unit 42; a receiving device 12 installed in the work station that receives the information unique to the workpiece transmitted from the communication device 10; In an automobile manufacturing control system having a host device 14 that issues work instructions at the work station based on the work-specific information inputted via the receiving device 12, a battery B installed in the communication device 10 is provided. battery consumption information transmitting means 51 for transmitting the consumption state of the battery along with the work-specific information to the host device 14; and data representing the consumption state provided in the host device 14 and sent from the battery consumption information transmitting means 51; a battery abnormality determining means 52 for determining whether the battery is abnormal; and a data storage section 42 of the communication device 10 when the battery abnormality determining means determines that the battery is abnormal.
The workpiece-specific information storage means 53 stores the work-specific information in the workpiece, and the writing means 55 writes the information in the workpiece-specific information storage means 52 to a new exchange communication device 50 in the event of a battery failure. It is something.

[Embodiments of the Invention] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

The basic system configuration is as shown in Figure 1, but we will explain the details in detail. Taking a painting line as an example, it is similar to the one shown in Figure 6. . Here, the specific configuration of the communication device 10 attached to the vehicle body 1 is as shown in FIG. 2, for example. In the figure, 41 is a battery checker circuit that constantly inputs the output voltage from battery B and outputs the input battery B voltage as encoded voltage information;
42 is the unique information of the vehicle body 1 in FIG. 6, that is,
Vehicle model information, paint color information, paint part information, etc. are stored in advance, and battery B voltage information from the battery check circuit 41 is stored in a predetermined area ((address)) via a shift register 43 (described later).
The shift register 43 sequentially stores voltage information serially output from the battery check circuit 41 in synchronization with a predetermined timing pulse from the timing generation circuit 24. At the same time, the voltage information stored in the shift register 43 is sequentially written into designated addresses of the data storage section 42.

Also, when a trigger signal from the receiving device 12 in FIG. 5 is input via the light receiving diode 23, the internal
In addition to supplying battery B power to each circuit,
A trigger circuit 22 controls the power supply to each circuit thereafter, and upon activation from the trigger circuit 22, the frequency of the oscillation signal from the reference oscillation circuit 25 is divided and a predetermined timing pulse is output to each circuit in the device. The timing signal generating circuit 24 is substantially similar to the conventional circuit shown in FIG. When receiving the trigger signal from the receiving device 12, the data signal generating circuit 26 reads out specific information and voltage information for the vehicle body 1 from the data storage section 42 in synchronization with the timing pulse from the timing signal generating circuit 24. , a data signal corresponding to this specific information and voltage information is created, and this data signal is modulated by the output circuit 27 and transmitted to the receiving device 12 via the light emitting diode 28.
Note that this device is also provided with a light emitting diode 29 that lights up while the communication device 10 is in operation, similar to the conventional device shown in FIG.

Next, control device 1 for process management, which is a host device.
The operation of step 4 will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

When a read command is output from the control device 14,
In response to this read command, a trigger signal is output from the receiving device 12, and transmission data from the communication device 10 activated by this trigger signal, that is, unique information and voltage information stored in the data storage unit 42. is input to the control device 14 via the receiving device 12.

When the data is transmitted to the control device 14 in this way, the control device 14 takes the data into its internal memory, detects general error codes, etc., and detects the voltage information in the transmitted data stored at a predetermined address in the internal memory. It is determined whether the battery B in the communication device 10 is normal. For this determination, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the control device 14 side has information on a predetermined voltage Vth that is slightly larger (ΔV) than the lower limit battery B voltage Vmin at which the communication device 10 operates normally. This predetermined voltage information Vth is compared with the voltage information V in the transmission data, and when the voltage information V becomes less than the predetermined voltage information Vth, it is determined that the battery B is abnormal.

When the battery B is determined to be normal (V>Vth), the control device 14 controls the painting robot 16 and color change installed at the work station based on the unique information in the transmitted data, as in the past. A work command is issued to the device 18 (normal processing). On the other hand, if it is determined that the battery B is abnormal (V≦Vth), an alarm signal is output to an alarm device (not shown) installed in the work station, etc., and a temporary internal memory is output. The above transmission data (unique information) stored in is saved. Then, the communication device 10 in which the battery B abnormality was discovered by activation of the alarm device based on the alarm signal is replaced with a new replacement communication device 50, but the data storage unit 42 of the new replacement communication device 50 is On the other hand, the data (unique information) stored in the control device 14, which is a host device, is written by the writing device 55 so as not to cause any trouble in the subsequent steps.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the operation of the host device when writing unique information of the vehicle body 1 to which the communication device 10 is to be attached to the data storage unit 42 of the communication device 10. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, a writing device 55 provided in the control device 14, which is a host device, is used, and when an abnormality in the battery B is detected, a new replacement communication device 50 is used.
The unique information is written in the . Note that FIG. 1 shows a state in which general processing such as data reception and demodulation from the control device 14 as a host device, and data control and address control for the data storage section 42 is performed.

Unique information to be written is transmitted from the host device together with a write command signal to the communication device 10 which becomes activated upon activation from the host device (corresponding to the trigger signal from the receiving device 12). Then, the communication device 10 that has received the transmitted unique information performs processing such as demodulation and then sequentially stores the unique information in the data storage unit 42. At this time, communication device 1
0 independently sequentially writes voltage information from the battery check circuit 41 to predetermined addresses in the data storage section 42 via the shift register 43. Thereafter, the host device reads the written data from the communication device 10 and determines whether the write result is normal or not. In this determination, the internal information of the communication device 10 is checked based on the battery voltage information as well as checking the unique information. It is determined whether the battery B is normal or not.

In the process of determining the write result, if the write result is abnormal (a mismatch between the write data and the read data), an alarm signal indicating the write abnormality is output and a replacement command for the communication device 10 is issued. Also, abnormality of battery B (above V≦Vth)
Even when it is determined that the communication device 10 has failed, it outputs an alarm signal indicating battery abnormality and issues a command to replace the communication device 10.

In the process of determining the write results, only when it is determined that everything is normal, the host device performs subsequent predetermined normal processing. and,
Data (unique information) is written again in the same way as described above to a new communication device that has been replaced based on the exchange command for the communication device 10 as described above.

As described above, according to this embodiment, each time the communication device 10 is activated from the host device, the communication device 10
The voltage information of battery B in the data storage section 41
Therefore, each time the host device starts up, the communication device 10
It becomes possible to confirm the battery abnormality in the device and write the work unique information to the new exchange communication device 50 using the writing device 55.

In this embodiment, the voltage information of the battery B is stored, and based on this voltage information, the host device determines whether the battery B is abnormal according to the characteristics shown in FIG. 4, for example. In addition, for example, a battery check circuit may determine whether the battery B voltage V is less than or equal to Vmin in FIG. 3, and when this determination is made, a flag may be set at a predetermined address in the data storage section. good. In this case, the host device may determine whether or not the battery B is higher by checking the presence or absence of the flag.

Furthermore, although the above embodiments have been explained using a painting line as an example, it goes without saying that the present invention can be employed in any other manufacturing line such as a vehicle body assembly line or a parts assembly line.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention,
A battery consumption information transmitting means provided in a communication device attached to a workpiece on an automobile production line and transmitting battery consumption status together with work-specific information to a host device; A battery abnormality determining means for determining an abnormality in the battery based on data representing a consumption state sent from the means, and a workpiece for storing work-specific information in a data storage section of a communication device when an abnormality is determined in the battery by the battery abnormality determining means. Since the device includes a unique information storage means and a writing means for writing the information in the work unique information storage means to a new replacement communication device in the event of a battery failure, it is possible to easily and quickly correct a battery power failure of the communication device. work-specific information can be written to a new exchange communication device using a writing device. Therefore, it becomes possible to realize an automobile production line with a higher degree of unmanned operation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a communication device used in the automobile manufacturing control system according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an operation of a control device for process management. Fig. 4 is a graph showing the battery check threshold, Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of the host device when writing data to the data storage section in the communication device, and Fig. 6 is the painting process. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a communication device used in a conventional automobile manufacturing control system. 1... Vehicle body, 10... Communication device, 12... Receiving device,
14...Control device (host device), 16...Painting robot, 18...Color change device, 22...Trigger circuit, 24...Timing signal generation circuit, 26...Data signal generation circuit, 27...Output circuit, 41...Battery check circuit , 42...data storage section, 43...
Shift register, 50...Replacement communication device, 51...
Battery consumption information transmitting means, 52...Battery abnormality determining means, 53...Work unique information storage means,
55...Writing means, B...Battery.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A communication device that is attached to a workpiece on an automobile production line, operates by power supply from a battery, and transmits information specific to the workpiece that is stored in advance in a writable data storage unit, and a workpiece. A receiving device is provided at the station and receives work-specific information transmitted from the communication device, and work instructions are given at the work station based on the work-specific information inputted via the receiving device. a battery consumption information transmitting means provided in the communication device and configured to transmit battery consumption status together with work-specific information to the host device; battery abnormality determining means for determining battery abnormality based on data representing the consumption state sent from the battery consumption information transmitting means; and data storage in the communication device when the battery abnormality determining means determines that the battery is abnormal. An automobile characterized in that it has a work-specific information storage means for storing work-specific information within the department, and a writing means for writing information in the work-specific information storage means to a new exchange communication device in the event of a battery abnormality. Manufacturing control equipment. 2. When the battery abnormality determining means determines that there is a battery abnormality in the communication device, the writing means temporarily saves the already received work-specific information as writing information to a new exchange communication device, and writes the new information. A patent characterized in that after the writing of the work-specific information to an exchange communication device is completed, the written work-specific information is read out and compared with the previously saved written information to determine whether the writing is normal or not. An automobile manufacturing control device according to claim 1.