JPH0778201A - Operating schedule planning system for production machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To plan the optimum schedule by allocating the schedule to an applicable machine according to a production machine with small in allowance of a production item by referring to the stopping schedule data of each production machine, specification data, and data with respect to throughput stored in a registration file at every plural production items. CONSTITUTION:The print completion allowance defined by delivery date and schedule planning day/number of read in item data is calculated at every item by a print completion allowance calculating means 106. A data sort means 102 sorts calculated print completion allowance in an ascending order. Sorted item data is allocated to a printer with applicable specification starting from the one small in print completion allowance. When plural applicable printers exist, the printer with the minimum load is selected. By performing such allocation. schedule data is generated. and is stored in a data file 130. Also, the schedule data whose allocation is completed is displayed on a display device 141, and is printed at need.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation schedule planning system for a production machine, and more particularly, to efficiently operate the production machine by assigning a plurality of production items to be processed to the plurality of production machines. The operation schedule planning system that can be done.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in various production systems,
It is generally practiced to use a plurality of production machines having different processing capacities and specifications, and to allocate a plurality of production items to appropriate production machines according to their contents and process them. For example, in the case of production processing of printed matter, processing is performed by being assigned to a plurality of printing machines having different specifications according to the size, the number of colors, etc. of the printed matter. In this case, in order to operate a plurality of printing machines in the most efficient manner, that is, in such a manner that the production efficiency is the highest, a schedule is made as to which printing machine is to be assigned a printed matter of which item. Conventionally, the planning of this kind of operation schedule has been mainly performed manually by the planner.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned work schedule planning work is a very complicated work, and it takes a lot of time and effort to make an optimum schedule. There was a problem that the difference occurred depending on the experience and way of thinking of the person.

The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and automatically allocates a plurality of production items to be processed to a plurality of production machines to make an optimal schedule. It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation schedule planning system for a production machine capable of performing the above.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a schedule planning system for planning an operating schedule of each production machine when a plurality of production items are produced by a plurality of production machines. An item file that stores data of a plurality of production items produced by a machine, and a registration that stores, in advance, scheduled stop data that specifies the date and time to stop production, data related to specifications, and data related to processing capacity for each of the plurality of production machines. The file and the production item data are allocated to a suitable production machine with reference to the contents of the production item data and the scheduled stop data of each production machine stored in the registration file, the specification data, and the processing capacity data. It is equipped with allocating means for generating scheduled data and an output device for outputting the generated scheduled data. It has a configuration. In addition, claim 2
In the system for planning the operation of production machines, the margin calculation is performed to calculate the data indicating the margin until the production is completed by dividing the number of days obtained by subtracting the planned planning date from the production completion stricture date for each of the production item data described above. The allocating means includes a content of the production item data, data on the scheduled stop of each production machine stored in the registration file, data on the specifications, and data on the processing capacity, and a margin for each production item. Schedule data is generated by referring to and allocating to a suitable production machine. Further, in the system for planning operation of the production machine according to claim 3,
The allocation means, in order from the item with the smallest margin,
Sequentially allocate to production machines that meet specifications.

[0006]

In the present invention, the stop scheduled data of each production machine stored in the registration file for each of a plurality of production item data,
With reference to the data on the specifications and the data on the processing capacity, the production items are allocated to the conforming production machines in ascending order. This allocation is processed so as to meet the delivery deadline of each production item. By this allocation,
Schedule data is generated. Further, the schedule data is output as a schedule table to a display device or the like.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an operation schedule planning system for a production machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a production system to which the system for planning actual operation is applied. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a case where a plurality of printing machines are used as production machines.

First, the overall construction of the production system will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the operation schedule planning system 10 is installed in a factory equipped with a plurality of printing machines,
Each of the printing machines P1 and P via a line 30 that constitutes a LAN
2, P3, ... Managing terminals 40a, 40b,
···It is connected to the. The schedule data created by the operation schedule planning system 10 is stored in the management terminals 40a, 40b, ...
, And each of the management terminals 40a, 40b, ... Manages the printing machine under management according to the sent schedule data. The operation schedule planning system 10 is a host system (host computer) that manages item data of printed matter.
The item data of a plurality of printed materials to be processed by the printing facility is connected to the operation schedule planning system 10 via the line 30.

In FIG. 1, an operation schedule planning system 10 for this printing machine includes a processor 100 for planning a schedule, an item data file 110 for storing item data of printed matter,
A registration data file 120 for storing registration data relating to the processing capability and specifications of the printing machine, a schedule data file 130 for storing planned data, a display device 141 for displaying a screen for the planned schedule, and an output including a printer 142 for printing out. Device 140, keyboard 151 and mouse 152 for inputting data and instruction commands
The input device 150 is composed of.

Further, the function of the processing apparatus 100 is that the data read / write means 101 for controlling the input / output of data to / from each file, the data sort means 102 for performing the data sort processing, and the item data are assigned to a plurality of printing machines and scheduled data is allocated. Input / output control means 10 for controlling the output of the schedule data created by the allocation means 103 to the display device 141 or the printer 142 and the input from the keyboard 151 or the mouse 152.
4. Item data dividing / combining means 105 for dividing item data and combining divided data, a print margin calculating means 106 for calculating a print margin for each item data, and a control means 107 for controlling the entire apparatus. It is composed of. The processing device 100 of this operation schedule planning system is realized by a workstation, a personal computer, or the like.

The item data of the printed matter is sent from the above-mentioned host system 50 through the line 30. This item data is data relating to specifications of printed materials such as catalogs, magazines, calendars, etc., and as shown in FIG. 3, an order number, a content code, a printing surface, a component, a size, a number of colors,
It is composed of data such as planned printing date (delivery date), planned printing date (planned printing date), item name and number of sheets.
The item data sent from the host system 50 is stored in the item data file 110.

Here, the order number is a multi-digit number assigned to each item, and the content code is a code indicating how the printed matter is physically divided, for example, printed matter such as magazines. In this case, it is divided into a cover and a body, and a code is attached to each. The printing surface is data that specifies whether to print on the front, back, or both sides. The component parts are the units divided by the above content code for printing. Upper system 5
The item data sent from 0 further has a division history storage unit. The division history is history information that is added when the operation schedule planning apparatus 10 further divides an item divided into units of constituent parts by quantity or elements (number of colors).

FIG. 4 shows the relational structure of the order number, the content code, the printing surface, the component parts, and the division history among the item data representing one certain printed matter. As shown, these data form a hierarchical structure starting with the order number. Here, the printed matter of the order number 111 is divided into a cover and a body, and content codes 01 and 02 are attached to each. Further, data designating a surface to be printed is attached to each portion corresponding to each content code, and further divided into constituent parts. Here, content code 01
(Cover) consists of one component, content code 02
It shows that the (text) consists of three components.
Details of the division history will be described later. The item data of the above-mentioned printed matter is sent from the host system 50 in a state of being divided up to the component level. That is, FIG.
In this example, as shown in FIG. 5, one printed matter (managed by one order number) is divided into four item data and sent.

Registration data such as processing capacity and specifications for the plurality of printing machines P1 to Pj are prepared in advance and stored in the registration data file 120. Registration data file 1
The data registered in 20 are the printing machines P1 to P
data 600 indicating the specifications of j and the printing machines P1 to Pj
Data 700 indicating the processing capacity of each of the printing machines P1 to P
The data 800 includes the scheduled stop data 800 of j. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the data 600 indicating the specifications of each printing machine includes, for each printing machine P1 to Pj, its plate type (rotation or sheet-fed discrimination) data 601, format size data 602,
The printable color number data 603 and the like are registered. The number-of-colors data 603 shows the number of front and back colors that can be printed by the printing machine.

Data 700 showing the processing capacity of each printing machine
Is, for each of the printing machines P1 to Pj, as shown in FIG.
The printing speed data 701 and the time required for switching the printing are registered. The time required to switch printing is
There are basic switching time data 702, size switching time data 703 for changing the print size, color switching time data 704 for changing the color, and the like. As shown in FIG. 8, the scheduled operation stop data 800 of each printing machine includes operation stop date and time data 801 for stopping the operation of each printing machine P1 to Pj due to maintenance and the like, and stop time data 802.
Is registered for each of the printing machines P1 to Pj.

Next, the operation of the printing machine operation schedule planning system will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the outline of schedule planning. The item data sent from the host system 50 and stored in the item data file 110 is read by the data read / write means 101 (step 901). at the same time,
A plurality of printing machines P1 to P from the registration data file 120
The registration data (specification data 600, processing capacity data 700, suspension schedule data 800) relating to j is read by the data read / write means 101 (step 902).
As shown in FIG. 3, each read item data is individually given a continuous ID number, and thereafter managed by this ID number.

With respect to the read item data, a printing margin defined by (delivery date-planned planning day) / number of sheets is calculated by the printing margin calculating means 106 for each item (step 9).
03). Then, the data sorting means 102 sorts the calculated printing margins in ascending order (step 9).
04). The sorted item data are assigned to the printing machines P1 to Pj having the specifications in order from the item with the smallest printing margin (step 905). When there are a plurality of printing machines that meet the specifications, the printing machine with the smallest load is selected and allocated. Schedule data is generated by the allocation to the printing machines P1 to Pj and stored in the schedule data file 130 (step 906). Also,
The schedule data that has been allocated to the printing machine is displayed as a schedule on the display device 141, and is printed out by the printer 142 as necessary.

Details of the allocation processing in step 905 are shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, the allocation according to the size is performed (step 1001). This is a process of allocating each item to a printing machine having a compatible size by collating the size of the item data with the size of the size recorded in the specification data of each printing machine. Next, allocation is performed according to the number of colors (step 1002). This is a process of assigning each item to a printing machine having a matching number of colors by collating the number of colors of item data with the number of colors of specification data of each printing machine. Allocation status of each printing machine and scheduled operation stop data 80 of the registration data file 120
The scheduled print start date and time for each item is calculated based on 0 and the scheduled completion date of the plate making of the assigned items (step 1003). The scheduled finish date of the plate making is taken into consideration because the actual printing cannot be performed unless the plate making for printing the item is completed.

Next, the scheduled printing end date and time for each item is calculated based on the allocation status of each printing machine, the data 700 indicating the processing capacity of the registration data file 120, and the scheduled operation stop data 800 (step 1004). ). The schedule data is generated as described above, and the schedule is displayed on the screen of the display device 141 based on the schedule data (step 1005). After that, the control means 107 checks whether or not the scheduled data of each item is allocated within the delivery date (step 1006). If the delivery condition is satisfied, the allocation process is terminated.

Each item data is transferred to a plurality of printing machines P1 to Pj.
13 to 16 show the structure of the schedule data generated by allocating to the. The schedule data includes allocation data, item data and related data of allocation data, scheduled print start date / time data, and scheduled print end date / time data.
FIG. 13 shows allocation data generated by the allocation process. Here, it is recorded which printing machine and which number is assigned to each item identified by the ID number. FIG. 14 is data showing a relation between the item data and the allocation data shown in FIG. 13, and shows which item data (ID number) is allocated to each printing machine P1 to Pj.

Further, FIG. 15 shows data in which the scheduled print start date and time obtained in step 1003 of FIG. 10 is recorded for each allocation order in each printing machine. FIG. 16 shows data in which the scheduled printing end date and time obtained in step 1004 of FIG. 10 is recorded for each allocation order in each printing machine. In FIG. 17,
The screen image of the schedule displayed in step 1005 is shown. Here, the ID number of the allocated item data is displayed in the display band 17 by taking the time axis of the date and time vertically for each printing machine.
It is displayed as 0 in the allocation order. The height of the display band 170 corresponds to the time required for the printing process. In the display band 170 of each item, an order number, a content code, a component, a division history, etc. of the item data are displayed, and by visually observing the display band 170, it is possible to know which item the data is. .

In step 1006, if the delivery date of the particular item is overdue, a warning of late delivery is displayed on the schedule displayed on the display device 141 to call attention (step 1007). In this case, the allocation is changed by dividing the number of items or the number of colors, which will be described later (step 1008). This allocation change is repeated until the delivery date condition is satisfied. Step 100
With respect to the warning No. 7, for example, by changing the display color of the display band 170 of each item of the schedule shown in the image of FIG. 17, it is possible to easily confirm which item is past the delivery date.

Next, the contents of the allocation changing process in step 1008 will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is selected whether the item data that does not meet the delivery date condition is divided by the number of sheets or the number of colors (step 110).
1). Each item data is divided based on the number of sheets or the number of colors according to the selection of the dividing method (steps 1102, 1).
104). Then, history information is added to the division history shown in FIG. 3 for the new item data obtained by division so that it is possible to identify that they have a sibling relationship with each other.

FIG. 18 shows an example in which the item data shown in FIG. 4 is divided by the number of sheets and the number of colors. Here, the number of colors is 6
Components of content code 01 (cover) that is color (1/1)
Is divided into two by the number of colors. The division information of C1 and C2 is added to the division history. Content code 0
The first component (1/3) of 2 (text) is divided into two by the number of sheets. The division information of L1 and L2 is added to the division history.

Further, FIG. 19 shows how the item data of FIG. 5 is changed by the division of FIG. Here, two item data are newly added and inserted by division, and ID numbers (numbers 1 and 3) are added. When new item data is inserted, the ID numbers after that are automatically updated and become continuous ID numbers. With respect to the item data of ID numbers 0 and 1, history information C1 and C2 indicating that the number of colors is divided is added to the division history, and the sibling relationship is designated. In addition, the number of colors is 6 colors in the original item data of FIG. 5, but is divided into 3 colors and 3 colors. For item data of ID numbers 2 and 3,
History information L1 and L2 indicating that the lot is divided is added to the division history, and the sibling relationship is designated. Further, the number of sheets is 2000 in the original item data of FIG. 5, but is divided into 1500 and 500.

The divided item data (for example, ID numbers 0 and 1 and ID numbers 2 and 3 in FIG. 19) are assigned to a printing machine conforming to the specifications (steps 1103 and 110).
5). This allocation is performed by the above-mentioned printing machines P1 to Pj.
It is done with reference to the registration data of. Also, the divided item data can be assigned automatically,
It is also possible to perform it manually by the operation of the operator. When manually allocating, by specifying the divided item data by clicking with the mouse 152 on the screen of the schedule displayed as shown in FIG. 17, and by specifying the allocation destination with the mouse 152. To do.

With respect to the item data divided by the number of colors, which color is to be printed first may be predetermined. For example, if the order is determined such that yellow, magenta, indigo, and black are printed first, and then other special colors (eg, gold, silver, etc.) are printed, the colors are divided by color. The control means 107 checks whether or not the item data is assigned according to a predetermined order (step 1106). For example, when the spot color item data is assigned earlier in time, a warning indicating that the order is wrong is issued. This warning is given by changing the color of the display band of the corresponding item data on the display screen of the calendar. If the order is different, the allocation is performed again so that the order is predetermined (step 1107).

When the above item data is divided by the number of sheets or the number of colors and the change of allocation is completed, it is checked again in step 1006 of FIG. 10 whether each item data satisfies the delivery date. If satisfied, the allocation is complete. If not satisfied, the allocation changing process by division is repeated. In addition to such delivery date handling, of course, the number of colors is divided for items that exceed the machine's color number limit.

Next, the process for synthesizing the divided item data is shown in the flowchart of FIG. When combining the once divided item data for reasons such as schedule change, first, the divided item data is designated (step 120).
1). This designation is made by clicking the item data display band 170 with the mouse 152 on the display screen of the schedule shown in FIG. By specifying the item data, the history information recorded in the division history is read (step 1202). Then, based on the read history information of division, it is determined whether or not division data exists (step 1203). If the divided item data does not exist, it indicates that the item data specified first is incorrect, and the process ends.

When the divided item data exists,
The item data is rewritten based on the division history information and combined (step 1204). For example, in the item data of FIG. 19, the item data of ID numbers 0 and 1 and the item data of ID numbers 2 and 3 are combined to obtain the content of FIG. When the divided item data is combined, the original divided data is deleted, and the combined item data is allocated (step 1205).

FIG. 20 shows an example of a screen display when confirming and editing item data. Here, an example is shown in which the window 200 for displaying the contents of the item data is displayed overlapping the schedule table by designating the display band 170 of the specific item on the schedule display screen of FIG. ing. On this screen, as shown in the figure, the content of the data regarding the item is divided into a plurality of item names 201 and displayed. With this display, the detailed contents of each item data can be confirmed. When editing the displayed item data, such as changing the item data, the item number 202 attached to the left of the displayed item name 201 can be edited by inputting from the item number input window 203. Become. Here, editing by division and combination is shown as an example, but of course, edit operations such as moving, exchanging, and inserting can be performed regardless of division or combination. Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments.

[0032]

As described above, according to the operation schedule planning system for a production machine of the present invention, a plurality of production items to be processed are automatically assigned to a plurality of production machines to create an optimum schedule. You can Since it is assigned to the production machines based on the scheduled stop data of each production machine, the data regarding the specifications, and the data regarding the processing capacity, it is possible to make an efficient schedule for each production machine. Moreover, if the production machines having the specifications are sequentially assigned in order from the production item having the smallest margin, the optimum schedule can be automatically planned.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an operation schedule planning system for a production machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a production system to which a main operation schedule planning system is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of item data for allocation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a hierarchical structure of item data.

5 is a diagram showing an example of item data corresponding to the hierarchical structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of specification data of each printing machine.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of processing capacity data of each printing machine.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of scheduled stop date and time data for each printing machine.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of an operation performed by the operation schedule planning system.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating details of allocation processing in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an allocation change process by dividing item data.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a combining process of divided item data.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of allocation data of item data to each printing machine.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing relational data between item data and allocation data.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating scheduled print start date and time data of each printing machine.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating scheduled print end date / time data of each printing machine.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an image of a schedule table displayed on a display device.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a hierarchical structure of item data divided by the number of colors or the number of sheets.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of item data divided by the number of colors or the number of sheets.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display when confirming and editing item data.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 system for planning operation 30 line 40a, 40b, 40c management terminal 50 host system 100 processor 101 data read / write means 102 data sort means 103 allocation means 104 input / output control means 105 item data division / synthesis means 106 printing margin calculation means 107 Control means 110 Item data file 120 Registration data file 130 Scheduled data file 140 Output device 141 Display device 142 Printer 150 Input device 151 Keyboard 152 Mouse P1-Pj Printing machine

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hitoshi Ichimura 1-1-1, Ichigayakacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A planning system for planning an operation schedule of each production machine when a plurality of production machines are produced by a plurality of production machines, wherein an item file storing a plurality of production item data produced by the production machine, For each of the plurality of production machines, a registration file that stores in advance scheduled stop data that specifies the date and time to stop production, data regarding specifications, and data regarding processing capacity, the production item data, and the contents of the production item data. And an allocation means for generating scheduled data by allocating to the applicable production machine by referring to the scheduled stop data of each production machine, the data regarding the specifications, and the data regarding the processing capacity stored in the registration file, and the generated schedule data. System for planning the operation of production machines, which is equipped with an output device for outputting . 2. A margin calculation means for calculating data indicating a margin until production completion by dividing the number of days obtained by subtracting a planned planning date from the production completion stricture date for each of the production item data, The allocating means conforms to the contents of the production item data, the scheduled stop data of each production machine stored in the registration file, the data regarding the specifications, the data regarding the processing capacity, and the margin for each production item for reference. The schedule planning system for a production machine according to claim 1, wherein the schedule data is generated by allocating the schedule to the production machine. 3. The production schedule planning system for a production machine according to claim 2, wherein the allocating means sequentially allocates the production machines having conforming specifications in order from the item having the smallest margin.