JPH1015787A - Production line controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent operational troubles of a production line, and prevent production efficiency from reducing. SOLUTION: In a production line consisting of a plurality of stations, when the operations of the respective stations 10 are controlled, a controller 13 provided in each station is provided with a memory having a region to record the condition of its own station and a region to record the condition of the other station. The memories are interconnected between all stations. Then, in the respective stations, the operational commands of their own stations, upon grasping the conditions of the other stations, can be outputted. Thus, when abnormalities occurs in the other stations, they can be soon recognized so that the operational command of its own station can be adjust so that any troubles does not occur between its own station and the other stations.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a production line management device for controlling the operation of processing equipment between processing equipment arranged on a production line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a plurality of processing steps are performed on a work, a processing apparatus is arranged for each step, and transfer of the work between the processing apparatuses is performed by a transfer apparatus, thereby producing a production line. Is being automated. As shown in FIG. 5, in a conventionally used production line, a processing device 2 for processing a work 1 in each process is connected by a common transfer device 3. And all the processing devices 2
The transfer device 3 is controlled by a common sequencer 4. In the case of the production line having this configuration, when the sequencer 4 recognizes that all the processing apparatuses 2 have finished processing and returned to the operation origin (or the standby position), the sequencer 4 issues an operation command to the transfer apparatus 3. And output
The work 1 that has completed each process is conveyed all at once to the processing device of the next process. When the transfer is completed, all the processing devices 2 are operated again on the work transferred from the previous process,
Work on the workpiece is advanced.

Although the above-mentioned production line has a simple configuration, it is necessary to change the control contents of the sequencer 4 when a part of the processing apparatus is relocated, and it takes time and effort to change the line configuration. is there. Therefore, in order to facilitate the transfer of a part of the processing apparatus, a production line having a configuration as shown in FIG. 6 has been devised. In this case, a processing line 8 is formed by forming a processing station 8 (8a, 8b, 8c) having a transfer device 6 and a sequencer 7 in each of the processing devices 5, and arranging the processing stations 8a, 8b, 8c. doing. In this case, the operation of the processing device 5 and the transfer device 6 is controlled by the sequencer 7 of its own station. Then, in order to synchronize the transfer device 6 of each processing station, the sequencer 7 of each processing station 8a, 8b, 8c
Further, it is controlled by the general sequencer 9.

In the case of the production line shown in FIG. 6, when the sequencer 7 recognizes that each processing device 5 has finished processing and has returned to the operation origin, each of the processing stations 8a, 8b,
Sequencer 7 8c sends a transport permission signal I ₁ toward the overall programmable controller 9. When the central sequencer 9 receives the transport enable signals I ₁ from all the sequencers, it simultaneously transmits the transport instruction signal I ₂ to all the sequencers 7.
Sequencer 7 of each processing station 8a, 8b, 8c
Receives the transport instruction signal I ₂ at about the same time, by operating simultaneously the transfer device 6, conveys the workpiece 1 to the processing device of the next step.

[0005]

However, a production line constituted by combining a plurality of processing stations has the following problems. As described above, in order to synchronize the operation of the transfer device 6 in each processing station, each processing station 8a, 8b, 8c
Is controlled by the overall sequencer 9. Therefore, each processing station 8
a, 8b, 8c sends a transport permission signal I ₁ toward the overall programmable controller 9, further from the central sequencer 9 until it receives the transport instruction signals I _2, resulting slight time required. Assuming that the required time is T, T = t ₁ + t ₂ + t ₃ + t ₄ where: t ₁ : after the sequencer 7 transmits the transport enable signal I ₁ ,
Time to reach the overall sequencer 9 t _2: All the time t to the carry enable signal I ₁ from the sequencer 7 is output _3: from the central sequencer 9 sends a transport command signal I _2, the sequencer 7 T ₄ : Time until the sequencer 7 gives an operation instruction to the controller of the transfer device 6 in its own processing station.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the transfer device 6 conveys the work 1 to the processing station of the next process, each transfer device 6 moves to the position of 6 'shown by the dotted line in the figure. (See the hatched portion in the figure). Normally, there is no risk of collision because the transfer devices 6 move simultaneously. However, for example, the processing station 8
When an abnormality occurs in the transfer device 6 of the processing station 8b, the transfer device 6 of the processing station 8b stops immediately upon receiving an instruction from the sequencer 7 of its own station. However, the transfer device 6 of the other processing stations 8a and 8c stops. Since the stop command arrives after the required time T has elapsed, there is a risk that adjacent transfer devices 6 may come into contact with each other and be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to eliminate a synchronization delay of a movable portion such as a transfer device provided for each processing station, and to prevent trouble such as breakage due to contact. To prevent the production efficiency of the production line from decreasing.

[0008]

A means according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a production line management device for controlling a production process between a plurality of stations arranged for performing a predetermined processing on a workpiece. The control device provided for each station includes a memory having an area for recording the state of the own station and an area for recording the state of another station, and the memory is connected between all the stations. It is characterized by.

According to the above configuration, each station can issue an operation command for its own station after grasping the state of other stations. Therefore, when an abnormality occurs in another station, the abnormality is promptly recognized, and the operation command of the own station is adjusted so that no trouble occurs with the other station.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same or corresponding parts as those in the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a production line using a production line management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The production line has multiple processing stations 10 (10
a, 10b, 10c). Each processing station 10 has a processing device 11 (11a, 11b, 11c), a transfer device 12 (12a, 12b, 12c) and a sequencer 13 (13a, 13b, 13c). Each sequencer
As shown in FIG. 2, a shared register, which is capable of grasping the state in a register of another sequencer, separately from an area for recording the state of its own station, as shown in FIG.
14 (14a, 14b, 14c). The sequencer 13 includes a CPU and an input / output I / F (interface). The memories of the sequencers 13 are connected so that information can be directly exchanged.
Also in the present embodiment, similarly to the conventional example shown in FIG.
When the work 1 is transported, the transfer device 12 has a portion (not shown) that buffers the standby position of the transfer device 6 in the next process. By the way, FIG.
Parts indicated by a, 15b and 15c) are jig devices for the work 1. Further, it is assumed that the processing steps proceed from the processing stations 10a to 10c.

Here, a general operation procedure of the transfer device 12 will be described. Upon receiving the transfer instruction, the transfer device 12 ascends from the standby position, places the work 1 located above the standby position, and advances toward the next processing station. Then, the work 1 descends in front of the processing station in the next process, and unloads the work 1 to a predetermined height. Then, it retreats again to the standby position of its own descending station.

An operation procedure of the production line management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows a state of signal transmission and reception during operation between shared registers. Here, for convenience of explanation, attention is focused on the processing station 10b. First, when the work 1 is transported from the processing station 10a to the processing station 10b, the jig device 15b is operated to hold the work 1. Then, the processing device 11b is operated to process the workpiece 1. When processing is completed, release the jig device 15b,
The processing device 11b and the jig device 15b are returned to the standby position. Then, the sequencer 13b recognizes that the processing in the processing station 10b has been completed. Then, the transfer device rising enable signal 100 is stored in the second bit 101 of the shared register 14b in the sequencer 13b (this is
"Set a flag"). This makes the sequencer
In the second bit of the shared registers 14a and 14c of the registers 13a and 13c, the transfer device ascending enable signal 100 transmitted at the processing station 10b is stored.
a and 13c also recognize that the processing is completed in the processing station 10b.

When the processing is completed in the processing station 10a, a flag is set in the first bit 102 of the shared register 14a as the transfer device rise enable signal 100. Similarly, when the processing is completed in the processing station 10c, the transfer device ascending enable signal 100 is given as
A flag is set in the third bit 103 of the shared register 14c.
By setting a flag in the shared register 14 of the own sequencer 13, the other sequencers 13 can recognize this. Then, when all the first to third bits of the shared register 14 are flagged,
Each sequencer 13 outputs a command to raise the transfer device 12 to its own processing station 10.

Next, when the transfer device is lifted at the processing station 10b, the transfer device advance enable signal 200 is output as the fifth bit 2 of the shared register 14b.
Flag 01. Similarly, processing station 10
When the transfer device a is completed, the fourth bit 202 of the shared register 14a is flagged, and when the transfer device of the processing station 10c is completed, the sixth bit 203 of the shared register 14c is flagged. The same operation is performed for the transfer device descending enable signal 300 and the transfer device retreat enabling signal 400.

In this manner, the completion of the operation of each processing station 10 is determined by each sequencer 13 (13a, 13b, 13c).
At the time when the end of the operation of all the processing stations 10 is confirmed, the next operation command of the own processing station is output. FIG. 4 shows an operation flow of each processing station when the above procedure is applied to all operations. Each operation starts when all the sequencers 13a, 13b, and 13c recognize that flags are set in all the designated bits of the shared register 14 (at the time indicated by white circles in the figure). Is done. Therefore, in each of the processing stations 10a, 10b, and 10c, the operations of the movable parts are all synchronized.

When a malfunction occurs in one of the processing stations 10, the following operation procedure is performed.
For example, the transfer device 12b of the processing station 10b
However, if a failure occurs during the operation, the sequencer 13b immediately stops the transfer device 12b and, at the same time, turns off the flag of the designated bit of the shared register 14b. Then, the designated bits of the other shared registers 14a and 14c are also turned off.
Then, the transfer devices 12a and 12c of the other processing stations 10a and 10c are also immediately stopped. Therefore, even in an emergency, no synchronization delay occurs between the processing stations, and there is no possibility that the transfer devices of the adjacent processing stations may come into contact with each other.

The operation and effect obtained from the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration are as follows. The processing stations 10 constituting the production line each have a sequencer 13, and the memory of each sequencer 13 has a shared register that can grasp the state in the register of another sequencer.
It has 14 When one operation is completed in each processing station 10, signals 100, 200, 300, and 400 indicating that the next operation can be performed are output, and designation of the shared register 14 of the own processing station 10 is performed. Flag a bit. Then, it is recognized that the designated bit is flagged also in the shared register 14 of the other processing station 10. Then, when all the designated bits of the shared register 14 are flagged, each sequencer 13
Outputs the following operation command to its own processing station 10. In this way, it is possible to simultaneously output the next operation command in all the processing stations, so that it is possible to prevent synchronization failure between the respective processing stations. Further, even if a failure occurs in one processing station, it is immediately transmitted to another processing station through the shared register 14, so that a synchronization delay between the stations can be prevented even in an emergency.

[0019]

According to the present invention, the following effects are obtained. In the present invention, an area for recording the state of another station is provided in the memory of the control device, and the memory is connected between the stations, so that each station grasps the state of the other station, and An operation command can be issued.
Therefore, it is easy to make the command timing of the next operation coincide between all the stations, and it is possible to prevent synchronization loss. Also, even if an abnormality occurs in a certain station, the other station can recognize the situation promptly and adjust the operation command of the own station instantly so that no trouble occurs with the other station. . Therefore, troubles such as contact and breakage due to synchronization delay between adjacent stations can be prevented. Further, it is not necessary to install a general sequencer for synchronizing the operation of each station unlike the related art, and the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a production line using a production line management device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a sequencer of the production line management device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state of signal transmission and reception when the production line management device according to the embodiment of the present invention operates between shared registers.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of operation of each processing station in the production line shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional production line.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional production line that facilitates configuration change of the production line.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Processing station 11 Processing device 12 Transfer device 13 Sequencer 14 Shared register

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A production line management device for controlling the operation of equipment between a plurality of stations arranged for performing predetermined processing on a work, wherein a control device provided for each station includes A production line management device, comprising a memory having an area for recording the status of another station and an area for recording the status of another station, wherein the memory is connected between all the stations.