JPH0669849B2 - Storage charging method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a work production line for automobiles and the like, and in particular, a method of inputting a work into a storage for temporarily storing the work between predetermined steps. Related to the improvement of.

[Prior Art] In a work, for example, an automobile manufacturing line, a buffer line, which is generally called a storage, is formed between a painting process and an assembling process and is called a storage.

FIG. 6 shows an example of such storage.
In this figure, the vehicle W sent from the painting process (not shown) is provided with a flag signal F designating which line the vehicle W should enter. The flag signal F is, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, and the line in the storage 1 is designated by the pattern of the square white background portion and the black background portion. The illustrated example is a case where there are six lines in the storage 1, and six patterns of flag signals are prepared. Therefore, when the sorting into the storage shown in FIG. 6 is performed, five of the six flag signals shown in FIG. 7 are used.

The vehicle with the flag signal as described above is sent to the entrance of the storage 1 after the defective product is splashed. Then, the flag signal is read by the signal reading device 2, and this data is transferred to the control panel 3 of the storage conveyor.

On the other hand, in the storage 1, it is determined in advance which line a particular vehicle or vehicle type should be put into, based on the production ratio. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle type C is on the line L1 and the vehicle type A is on the line L2. It is set as follows.
Then, the vehicle W is inserted into the line designated by the control panel 3 among these lines L1 to L5.

That is, the line concerned is judged by the control panel 3 based on the flag signal F read by the signal reading device 2, and the vehicle W is put into the line.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned method, the production line for each vehicle type is generally determined by the monthly production ratio, which causes various inconveniences during actual operation. .

For example, inventory factors are not always equal in each line due to fluctuation factors during operation, such as a plan error and a defect. Therefore, a particular line may be full or empty.

In particular, when the vehicle is full, it becomes impossible to insert the vehicle into the determined line, which causes the production line to stop.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a storage loading method and an apparatus therefor capable of satisfactorily storing a work even if various fluctuation factors occur. .

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the storage loading method according to the present invention is a buffer in which a plurality of storage lines and a backup line are installed in parallel with each other, and A storage loading method for loading a plurality of types of work into a storage, the storage loading method including at least 1 for each type of work.
When the storage lines are assigned to each of the storage lines, the spare line is defined as a mixed type line, and the workpieces sequentially sent are sorted according to the type, when one of the storage lines in charge of the type is full, If there is another storage line to which the same type is assigned, the work is put into the storage line, if not, the work is put into the spare line, and when neither line can be put in, a warning is generated. .

Further, the storage loading apparatus according to the present invention is a buffer in which a plurality of storage lines and a backup line are installed in parallel with each other, and is a buffer for temporarily storing a plurality of types of works to be sent. Storage for which any type is allocated to the backup line and the spare line is defined as a mixed type line, input means for setting the type allocation for each storage line, and the maximum stock number of each storage line; Setting information storage means for storing the information set by the means, inventory quantity detecting means for detecting the stock quantity of works on each storage line, and inventory quantity storage means for storing the detected inventory quantity of each storage line And arranged on the input side to the storage, detects the flag signal attached to the work,
Signal detection means for outputting a flag detection signal, the setting information,
A means for controlling the input of the work based on the stock number and the flag detection signal, and when any of the storage lines into which the work is to be input is full, another storage line in charge of the same type If there is any, throwing into that, if there is none, throwing into the above-mentioned spare line, and if there is not all, throwing control means for generating a warning is included.

[Operation] According to the above storage loading method, in addition to a plurality of storage lines, a spare line is provided in the storage, and when the storage line corresponding to the type of work is full, the spare line is regarded as a mixed type line. Since it is used, even if one or a plurality of storage lines assigned to any type become full, it is possible to avoid the stoppage of the manufacturing line by using the spare line.

Further, according to the above-mentioned storage input device, when the work is input to each storage line according to the flag signal attached to the work, when one or more storage lines to which the work is to be input are full, the work is added to the spare line. Is thrown in. Therefore, in principle, the work is put into the storage line corresponding to the flag signal, but when the storage line is full, a spare line is used as an auxiliary to prevent the line from being interrupted.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

Description of Configuration First, the configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an embodiment of a storage input device according to the present invention. In this figure, a flag signal reading device 12 including a tube and an image processing device for reading the flag signal x attached to the vehicle W sent from the painting process is provided on the vehicle loading side of the storage 10.

The storage 10 has six lines L1 to L6, and limit switches 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 3 are respectively provided on the vehicle loading side and the unloading side of each line.
0, 32, 34, 36 are provided. Of these, the limit switches 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 on the closing side are for counting the vehicles W thrown into the storage 10, and the limit switches 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 is for counting the number of vehicles W carried out from the storage 10.

The above flag signal reading device 12, limit switches 14, 16 ...
26, 28, ... Are all connected to the indicating device main body 38.

A storage conveyor control panel (hereinafter simply referred to as “control panel”) 40, a warning light 42, and an input device 44 are also connected to the instruction device main body 38. Of these, the control panel
Reference numeral 40 controls the movement of the vehicle into the storage 10. The warning light 42 informs the operator that the vehicle W cannot be put into the storage 10. Also,
The input device 44 is for setting which line of the storage 10 the vehicle W of which vehicle type is to be carried in, and the maximum inventory number of each line.

Next, the configuration of the above-mentioned pointing device main body 38 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, the indicating device main body 38 is mainly composed of a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as "CPU") 38A. CPU38A
The memories 38B, 38C, 38D, the input ports 38E, 38F, the input / output port 38G, and the output ports 38H, 38I are connected to each other by appropriate bus means. Of these, the memory 38B is a memory for storing the number of stocks in the storage 10 managed by signals input from the limit switches 14, 16, .... Next, the memory 38C is connected to the input device 44.
It stores the maximum number of stocks of each line set and input by. Also, the memory 38D is the same as the input device 4
The correspondence relationship between the vehicle type and the line set and input by 4 is stored.

Next, input port 38E has limit switches 14, 16, ...
It is for inputting the signal of…, and input port 38F
Is for inputting a signal from the input device 44. The input / output port 38G is for inputting and receiving a flag signal by exchanging signals with the flag signal reading device 12.

Further, the output port 38H is for outputting the data designating the line into which the vehicle W is to be input to the control panel 40, and the output port 38I is for outputting a signal to the warning lamp 42.

Description of Operation and Operation Next, the overall operation of the above embodiment will be described based on the specific examples shown in FIGS. In addition, the flow chart of FIG. 3 will be referred to.

In the specific example shown in FIGS. 4 to 5, the vehicle type C is on the line L1 of the storage 10, the vehicle type A is on the lines L2 and L3, and the line L4.
Is assigned to vehicle type H and line L5 to vehicle type x,
The line L6 is a spare line. Also, the maximum number of units in stock for each line is 5. As described above, these data are input to the indicating device 38 via the input device 44 via the input port 38F and stored in the memories 38C and 38D, respectively.

Next, when the vehicle W is transferred from the painting process, the flag signal of the vehicle W is read by the flag signal reading device 12, the corresponding line is selected based on the data stored in the memory 38D, and the line is selected from the CPU 38A. A signal to that effect is output to the control panel 40, and the vehicle W is carried into the relevant line. At this time, the stock quantity in each line is grasped by the limit switches 14, 16 ... 26, 28 ...
It is stored in the 38B, and the CPU 38A determines whether or not the number of such lines exceeds the maximum inventory number in the memory 38C (see steps SA and SB in FIG. 3). If not, the flag signal of the vehicle. Is output to the control panel 40 (see step SC), and the vehicle W is turned on.

For example, it is assumed that the vehicle W having the flag signal “1” which is the vehicle type C is transferred from the painting process. In this case, the flag signal reading device 12 reads the flag signal “1” and inputs it to the indicating device main body 38 via the input / output port 38G. Then, the inventory quantity of the line L1 indicated by the flag signal "1" in the memory 38B is compared with the maximum inventory quantity (5 units) of the line L1 stored in the memory 38C, and when the inventory quantity of the line L1 is small, the flag signal "1" is directly input to the control panel 40, and the vehicle W is inserted into the line L1. Normally, the above operation is repeated (see step SD).

Next, a case will be described in which the lines L1, L2, and L3 are brought into a state as shown in FIG. 4 by the above operation, and the vehicle W having the flag signal "2" is transferred from the painting process on the other hand.

Also in this case, first, the flag signal "2" is read, and the stock quantity in the memory 38B of the corresponding line L2 is compared with the maximum stock quantity in the memory 38C by the CPU 38A (see step SB). At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the maximum inventory number (5 units) and the current inventory number match. That is, the line L2 is full. So CP
Based on the data stored in the memory 38D, the U38A determines whether or not there is another line in which the same vehicle type as the line L2 is set (see step SE).

In this example, the line L3 is the same for the vehicle type A, and it is understood that the vehicle W may be put in the line L3.

Therefore, the current inventory quantity of line L3 is read from memory 38B, and the maximum inventory quantity of line L3 is stored in memory.
It is read from 38C and compared (see step SF).
In the example shown in FIG. 4, the number of stocks is three, which is less than the maximum stock of five. That is, the line L3 is not full.

Therefore, the CPU 38A resets the flag signal "2" to "3" indicating the line L3 (see step SG), which is output to the control panel 40 to be inserted into the line L3 of the vehicle W. (See steps SC and SD). This situation is
It is shown in broken lines in FIG.

Next, in the above case, as shown in FIG. 5, when the line L3 is full, the stock quantity of the spare line L6 is similarly compared with the maximum stock quantity (see step SH). Then, as shown in the figure, when the maximum inventory quantity is not reached, that is, when the vehicle is not full, it is determined that the vehicle can be inserted, and the flag signal is reset to "6" representing the spare line L6 (see step SI), The vehicle W is put into the backup line L6 (see the broken line in FIG. 5).

At this time, when the spare line L6 is full, the CPU 38A outputs a flag signal "2" to the warning light 42 via the output port 30I to issue a warning to the operator (steps SH, SJ, SK). reference).

In the case shown in FIG. 4, the same operation is performed even when there is no line of the same vehicle type. (Step SE,
See SH, SI, SJ, SK).

By performing the interrupt processing as described above, the vehicle W
Is put on another line of the same vehicle type or a spare line, or a warning to that effect is given without being put on any line.

Effects of the Embodiments According to the above embodiments, the following effects can be obtained.

(1). Since multiple lines are set for one vehicle type, even if one of the lines is full, you can put the vehicle in another line, and even if all the lines of the vehicle type are full Vehicles can be put into the spare line and the number of times the coating process is stopped can be reduced.

(2). If the vehicle cannot be put into any of the storage lines, the operator will be warned to that effect. Therefore, if the vehicle type of the line concerned is carried out early, the stop time per line stop in the painting process Is shortened.

Modified Example of the Present Invention In this embodiment, a spare line is provided, and this spare line stores the work when the line designated by the flag signal to which the work should be inserted is full. , It has the excellent effect of alleviating the difficult state of inputting work to storage.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, each line may correspond to all work types without providing a spare line, the number of lines included in the storage may be changed as necessary, and the number of lines of the same vehicle type is also required. You may increase or decrease according to. The same applies to the spare line.

In particular, since vehicles of different vehicle types coexist on the backup line, it is necessary for the operator to know those vehicle types. On the other hand, if the flag signal is set as in the example shown in FIG. 7, the operator can judge the vehicle type, but it is difficult to judge. Therefore, a flag signal reader may be provided at the head position of the spare line so that the operator can be informed by grasping the type of vehicle on the spare line and displaying it by a display means such as a color CRT.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although it is the case of the painting process or the vehicle to be sent out, it may be another process or a work other than the vehicle.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the storage loading method and the apparatus thereof according to the present invention, it is possible to satisfactorily store the work even if various fluctuation factors occur, and reduce the number of times the manufacturing line is stopped. The effect is that it can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the indicating device main body shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation algorithm of the embodiment. 4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams showing a specific example of the operation, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional device, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a flag signal. 10 …… Storage 12 …… Flag signal reader 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 ……
Limit switch 38 …… Instruction device body 40 …… Storage conveyor control panel 42 …… Warning light 44 …… Input device L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6 …… Line F …… Flag signal W …… Vehicle

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Souichi Ishikawa 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideo Murata 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (56) References Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 52-129157 (JP, A) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-53315 (JP, A) Actually developed No. 56-13421 (JP, U)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A buffer in which a plurality of storage lines and a backup line are installed in parallel with each other, the storage system having a storage for temporarily storing a plurality of types of works between processes, and the works are input to the storage. In the storage loading method, at least one storage line is allocated for each type of the work, the spare line is defined as a mixed type line, and the works sequentially sent are sorted according to the type, When one of the storage lines in charge of the type is full, if there is another storage line to which the same type is assigned, the work is put into that storage line, otherwise, the work is put into the spare line, A storage loading method characterized by issuing a warning when none of the lines can be loaded. 2. A buffer comprising a plurality of storage lines and a backup line installed in parallel with each other for temporarily storing a plurality of types of works to be sent. Storage assigned and the spare line is determined to be a mixed type line, type allocation for each storage line, and input means for setting the maximum inventory of each storage line, and information set by the input means Setting information storage means for storing, a stock quantity detection means for detecting the stock quantity of works on each storage line, a stock quantity storage means for storing the detected stock quantity of each storage line, and Signal detecting means arranged on the input side, detecting a flag signal attached to the work, and outputting a flag detection signal; A means for controlling the loading of the work based on the fixed information, the inventory quantity, and the flag detection signal, and is in charge of the same type when any of the storage lines into which the work is to be loaded is full. If there is any storage line, if there is no storage line, if there is no storage line, the above-mentioned backup line, if there is no storage line, the input control means, and a storage input device.