JPH0647651A - Production instruction device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a production instruction device which can shorten time required by a process from the occurrence of abnormalities to their restoration by unitarily controlling abnormalities in operation by each part plant at all times. CONSTITUTION:A gate way 20 provided for each part plant 4 receives production designation data from an assembly plant 2 so as to display it at each corresponding terminal 6. In the gate way 20, the production designation data is received by a gate way process application 22, and the production instruction data is then displayed at the terminal 6 by a production designation distribution application 21. At the time of abnormalities happen to operations, information on abnormalities in operation is stored in an error information memory section 23, and a gate way display section 24 allows the information on abnormalities to be displayed. By this constitution, time required by a process from the occurrence of abnormalities to their restoration can thereby be shortened.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a production instructing device, and more particularly to a production instructing device for managing abnormal operation in a parts factory for each parts factory.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automobile is roughly classified into a car body, a car body, a painting process, a process of attaching parts to the car body, and an assembling process. These process lines are usually installed in separate factories, and in each process, process lines are also installed in separate factories.

Of the above-mentioned processes, in the assembly process, the automobile is assembled by attaching the respective parts. The parts used for the assembly are purchased from other companies,
It is produced at a parts factory and the parts are managed at the parts factory. Then, the parts required at the assembly factory where the assembly process is installed are procured by appropriately sending a production instruction to each parts factory.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional production instruction device, and in the production instruction system using the conventional production instruction device shown in FIG. 4, a flow of processing for issuing a production instruction from an assembly plant to a parts factory. Will be explained.

According to FIG. 4, a host computer 1 for transmitting / receiving data and managing the same and an assembly factory 2 for producing and transmitting production instruction data are connected via public lines 3a, 3b, 3c. Host computer 1 is line modem 5
a, the public line 3d, and the line modem 5b provided in the parts factory 4 to connect to the exchange 7. The parts factory 4 has a plurality of terminals 6 for displaying corresponding production instruction data.
And the exchange 7 for allocating the received production instruction data to the terminals 6a to 6e. And each terminal 6a
6e and the exchange 7 are connected by a modem 8.

In the assembly factory 2 in this conventional production instruction apparatus, in order to procure the parts required for the assembly work from the parts factory 4, the operator of the assembly factory 2 issues a production instruction to the terminal installed in the assembly factory 2. When input from (not shown), production instruction data is created based on the production instruction. In the host computer 1, based on the production instruction data created in the assembly factory 2, each terminal 6a of each parts factory 4 ...
The production instruction data including information such as the parts to be procured and the arrangement order of the parts is edited every 6e. The edited production instruction data is transmitted to a predetermined parts factory 4 by the transmission application 10 associated with each of the terminals 6a to 6e. In the parts factory 4, the exchange 7 distributes the production instruction data received via the line modem 5b to predetermined terminals 6.
Then, the production instruction data is displayed on the terminal 6.

As described above, in the conventional production instruction apparatus, the production instruction data is distributed to the terminals 6 corresponding to the production instruction data in accordance with the instruction from the host computer 1, and the worker in the parts factory 4 transmits to the terminal 6. In accordance with the displayed production instructions, work such as procurement of parts necessary for the assembly process or production is performed.

When the number of parts to be handled increases due to an increase in the number of automobiles and the like, the parts factory handles the increase in the number of parts by increasing the number of terminals 6 installed.
In response to this increase in the number of terminals installed, work for adding and modifying the transmission application 10 on the host computer 1 occurs.

Further, it is fully conceivable that, during the operation of the production instruction apparatus, an operation abnormality such as, for example, normal communication cannot occur due to some reason. Therefore, in order to deal with the occurrence of such an operation abnormality, a conventional general production instruction device is provided with a means for detecting and handling the operation abnormality. By this means,
When an operation abnormality occurs, in the host computer 1, the abnormality processing application provided in the host computer 1 detects the operation abnormality, and outputs the operation abnormality information including the error message indicating the operation abnormality and the content thereof to the host computer 1 It is displayed on a terminal (not shown) connected to.

[0010]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional production instruction apparatus, it is necessary to modify and replace the application on the host computer every time the number of terminals installed in each component factory is changed. There was a problem that the entire production instruction processing including the above had to be stopped. Furthermore, there are many restrictions on the host computer due to entanglement with other running applications,
There is a problem that it may affect the entire production control of automobiles.

Further, with the means for detecting the operation abnormality in the conventional production instruction apparatus, the operation abnormality of each terminal occurring in each parts factory can be grasped only on site, in other words, the conventional production instruction apparatus. In the host computer in the above, there is a problem that not only the operation abnormality occurring in the terminal cannot be detected, but also the component factory in which the terminal in which the operation abnormality occurs is installed cannot be immediately grasped. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes a lot of time and effort to notify the system management department of an operation abnormality that has occurred in the terminal and restore it.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to centrally manage an abnormal operation of each parts factory so that the occurrence of the abnormality and the restoration can be performed in a short time. It is to provide a production instruction device capable of performing the above.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the production instruction apparatus according to the present invention provides data between a plurality of assembly factories and a plurality of parts factories connected via a host computer. By transmitting and receiving, the production instruction data including the production instruction of the parts required for the assembly work in the assembly factory is installed in the parts factory, and the production instruction data is displayed on the terminal corresponding to the production instruction data. In the production instruction device for instructing workers to procure and produce, each component factory is provided with a gateway that distributes the production instruction data from the assembly factory to the terminals designated by the production instruction data. This gateway includes a monitoring unit that monitors an operation abnormality of a parts factory, a handling method selection unit that determines an operation abnormality detected by the monitoring unit, and selects a handling method for the operation abnormality based on the determination result, and the operation abnormality. And display means for displaying the coping method, and production instruction distribution means for distributing the production instruction data to terminals corresponding to the production instruction data.

In such a configuration, the production instruction device according to the present invention is characterized in that the operation abnormality is centrally managed for each parts factory.

[0015]

In the production instruction apparatus according to the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration, the production instruction data created in the assembly factory is transmitted to the predetermined parts factory via the host computer. At the gateway provided in each parts factory,
The production instruction distribution means transmits the received production instruction data to the terminals designated by the production instruction data. The terminal issues production instructions to the workers in the parts factory by displaying the production instruction data.

Here, the monitoring means monitors the operation abnormality of the parts factory. The coping method selection means discriminates the content of the operation abnormality detected by the monitoring means, and selects the coping method corresponding to the discrimination result. Then, the content of the operation abnormality and the coping method corresponding to the determination result are displayed on the display means.

Thus, the production instruction can be issued to each terminal in the parts factory. Further, it is possible to detect an operation abnormality that has occurred in the terminal.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a production instruction device according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the same elements as those in the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals.

The characteristic feature of this embodiment is that, as shown in FIG. 1, a computer called a gateway is provided for each component in order to perform communication between host computers, production instruction of a component factory, and management of operation abnormality. It was installed in the factory. As a result, according to the present embodiment, it becomes possible to centrally manage the operation abnormality for each parts factory. In particular, it becomes possible to detect the operation abnormality that has occurred in the terminal, and therefore the manager of the production instruction system can recover the operation abnormality in a short time.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of assembly plants 2, in this embodiment, three assembly plants 2a to 2c are connected to the host computer 1 via public lines 3a, 3b and 3c, respectively. The host computer 1 is equipped with a communication application 11 for transmitting the production instruction data created in the assembly factory 2 to the parts factory 4 designated by the production instruction data. The host computer 1 is further connected to the parts factory 4 via a line modem 5a and a public line 3d. The host computer 1 is also connected to a plurality of other component factories (not shown) via the line modem 5a. In the parts factory 4, the line modem 5b is connected to the public line 3d for transmitting / receiving data to / from the host computer 1. The gateway 20 is provided between the terminal 6 for displaying the production instruction data received from the host computer 1 and the above-mentioned line modem 5b. The gateway 20 distributes the production instruction data received from the host computer 1 to the terminals 6 corresponding to the production instruction data, so that the production instruction distribution application 2 installed in association with each of the terminals 6a to 6e is installed.
1 and the gateway processing application 22 that monitors the operation abnormality of the parts factory 4, determines the operation abnormality detected during the monitoring, and selects the coping method for the operation abnormality based on the determination result. An error information storage unit 23 that stores a detected operation abnormality, a description of the operation abnormality, and a method to be dealt with in order to recover the operation abnormality, and operation abnormality information and a production instruction stored in the error information storage unit 23. A gateway display unit 24 that displays operation abnormality display information including information such as an operation status indicating whether or not the system to be executed is running;
It is composed of In addition, the gateway 20 and the terminal 6
Is connected to the bus-type broadband network 30 via RF modems 31 and 32 using drop cables 33 and 34.

The operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described.

In the assembly factory 2, production instruction data is created to procure parts from the parts factory 4, and the production instruction data is sent to the host computer 1. A characteristic of this embodiment is that the host computer 1 does not have a function for distributing the production instruction data to the terminals 6, and the parts factory 4 specified by the production instruction data in the production instruction data.
Only send to.

In the gateway 20, when the gateway processing application 22 receives the production instruction data, the production instruction distribution application 21 is executed to display the production instruction data on the terminal 6 designated by the production instruction data. When an abnormality is detected in the series of processes described above, the operation display information is displayed on the gateway display unit 24. The processing flow of the gateway processing application 22 will be described with reference to FIG.

The gateway processing application 22 is a memory resident program, and normally waits in a waiting state for receiving data from the host computer 1. When the production instruction data is received from the host computer 1 in this state, the terminal 6 designated by the production instruction data is checked. Then, the production instruction data is transmitted to the terminal 6 designated by the production instruction data. When this process ends normally, an acknowledgment is transmitted to notify the host computer 1 of the normal end. When the transmission of the acknowledge is completed normally, the system waits again for receiving data from the host computer 1.

By the way, when an operation abnormality (error) that the production instruction data cannot be normally transmitted to the target terminal 6 due to a communication error or the like is detected, what kind of abnormality occurs depending on the error status obtained when the error occurs. It is determined whether or not it has been done, and based on the result of the determination, the content description and the coping method of the operation abnormality associated in advance are searched, and the searched content is retrieved and stored in the error information storage unit 23. Then, after disconnecting the path with the untransmittable terminal 6, the gateway processing application 22
Ends. Further, when an abnormality is detected when transmitting an acknowledgment to the host computer 1, the gateway processing application 22 causes the gateway display section 24 to display information regarding the operation abnormality, as in the case of the operation abnormality described above.
After disconnecting the path with the untransmittable terminal 6, the process ends.

When the error information storage unit 23 stores the information relating to the operation abnormality while the gateway processing application 22 is processing as described above, the gateway display unit 24 displays the operation abnormality information as the error information storage unit 23. Take it out and display it. Here, the gateway processing application 22 temporarily stores the operation abnormality information in the error information storage unit 23 and divides the display function so that the production instruction data sequentially transmitted from the host computer 1 can be received. This is also for the case where an abnormal operation occurs in a plurality of terminals 6 at the same time. That is, the operation abnormality information is stored in the error information storage unit 2
This is because the information to be referred to can be selected from a plurality of pieces of operation abnormality information and displayed by operating the operation unit (not shown) provided in the gateway display unit 24.

Next, FIG. 3 shows the layout of the information displayed on the gateway display section 24 when the operation is abnormal in this embodiment.

The screen of the gateway display section 24 is divided into several windows. In the window 1, the message of the operation abnormality which is the feature of the present invention, the message content explaining the content of the operation abnormality, and the coping method (action) for the operation abnormality are output. Therefore, the system administrator or the like of the production instruction device can perform the work of recovering the operation abnormality according to the message instruction or with reference to the message instruction. Also, in window 2,
It is displayed whether the system of the production instructing device is being started or has been started, that is, is being operated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the gateway 20 equipped with the application for distributing the production instruction data to the terminals 6a to 6e is provided for each parts factory 4, and the gateway display unit 24 is provided with the information about the operation abnormality. By displaying the above, it is possible to manage the operation abnormality for each parts factory as described above, so that it is possible to perform from abnormality occurrence to restoration in a short time.

Further, even when the terminal 6 is added, the operation of only the parts factory 4 in which the terminal 6 is desired to be added may be temporarily stopped, and the influence on the operation of the entire production instruction system can be suppressed.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the parts factory is provided with the gateway of the present invention, and the gateway is provided with the functions of monitoring the operation abnormality, displaying the operation abnormality, and distributing the production instruction data. Then, it becomes possible to issue a production instruction to each terminal in the parts factory. Further, it becomes possible to detect an operation abnormality that has occurred in the terminal. Further, since the operation abnormality can be centrally managed for each parts factory, the operation abnormality can be recovered in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a production instruction device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of a gateway according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen of a gateway display unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional production instruction device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 host computer 5 line modem 6a-6e terminal 20 gateway 21 production instruction distribution application 22 gateway processing application 23 error information storage section 24 gateway display section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Assembly work in an assembly plant by transmitting and receiving data between terminals installed in a plurality of assembly plants and terminals installed in a plurality of parts factories connected via a host computer. In the production instruction device for instructing the workers of the component factory to procure and produce the parts by displaying the production instruction data including the production instruction of the necessary parts on the terminal corresponding to the production instruction data, For each parts factory, the production instruction data from the assembly factory,
A gateway that distributes to the terminals specified in the production instruction data is provided, and the gateway discriminates the operating abnormality detected by the monitoring unit and the monitoring unit that monitors the operating abnormality of the parts factory, and based on the determination result. Coping method selecting means for selecting a coping method for the operation abnormality, display means for displaying the operation abnormality and the coping method, production instruction distribution means for distributing the production instruction data to terminals corresponding to the production instruction data, The production instructing device is characterized in that the operation abnormality is centrally managed for each parts factory.