JPH0675972A - Production controlling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To flexibily execute the allotment of equipment and work for the alteration, etc., of a production condition, and to execute the production of a line nonstop type by describing the whole process of the production by a work process drawing and working contents independently of the equipment, and executing the working contents under the condition of the term, etc., in conformity with working sequence. CONSTITUTION:The work process drawing is described in a work flow 201, and the detail of each working contents is described in the working contents 202. An integrated programming system 205 interprets the programs of the work flow 201 and the working contents 202 described in the two hierarchies, and determines a virtual equipment group by selecting the equipment capable of executing each work and the replaceable equipment by using an equipment constitution table 203. Besides, the working contents 202 are developed into the work instruction of every virtual equipment by a processing part 206 by using a program generation rule 204, and are stored as intermediate language in a virtual equipment data 207. The outputs A to D of the virtual equipment data 207 are sent to a distributed type controller, and the allotment of the work is determined in accordance with the work/the priority of the work.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a work progress control system in a production site for machining and assembly, and particularly to a production control system in a production site in which there are factors such as a line abnormality or a rush of a special express item. Regarding optimization.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional production control system, all work assignments are centrally aggregated based on general forecasts without considering the peculiarities of the site, and are decided in advance on a daily basis, etc. It was difficult to change the work process at the production site for control, and the line often stopped due to an abnormality. Therefore, regarding a method of deciding work allocation in the field, Japanese Patent Application No. 63-154741 (process-driven work selection type production control system) JP-A-3-233601 (cell controller and cell control system) JP-A-4-69702 ( Work adaptive controller and control method thereof Japanese Patent Application No. 3-226872 (thing location confirmation and its device) Japanese Patent Application No. 3-298670 (autonomous decentralized production control system) Japanese Patent Application No. 3-304454 (work drive type) Production control system) etc. are disclosed.

[0003]

Although each of the above patent applications relates to individual work selection and work allocation methods,
Since the production method that integrates them is not stated, the relation between individual work and the whole is unclear, and the method of switching the dynamic constraint conditions corresponding to the actual occurrence of an abnormality is not shown. There was a problem. That is, since the advantages and disadvantages of each processing method are unclear, it was unclear which situation should be adopted and which one should be adopted. The present invention aims to provide a production control system in which individual lines can function in a coordinated manner depending on the current situation, particularly for efficient operation of the entire production line.

[0004]

In the present invention, in order to dynamically optimize the production process according to the situation of the site, the process program and work allocation are devised to dynamically and flexibly allocate the equipment. To do. For this reason, all the processes related to production are performed by a work process diagram in which the work sequence considering the preceding relation of work and the parallel executability condition is disassembled into unit work order, and the equipment or human corresponding to the work name of each unit work described above. It is divided into work contents described in the column of work action names in a facility-independent manner, and the work contents are executed in accordance with the work order under conditions such as a deadline.

For this reason, the work which can perform each work in accordance with the work process diagram indicated by the above work contents, the work in which the work is described by the correspondence table of the work and the equipment group, and the corresponding work are summarized, and the above work is performed. The equipment or equipment group capable of executing each work selected from the correspondence table of equipment and equipment is made into one virtual equipment, and work instructions such as production start are given to the virtual equipment.

[0006] In addition, the real equipment included in the above virtual equipment is given a work priority. (Multi-product small quantity / single piece / limited express interrupt product) Equipment priority. (When a lot of work takes a long time) Process priority. (Steady state at the time of lot production), etc. shall be determined dynamically before the start of work in accordance with work constraints.

Further, when a predetermined work cannot be performed in the virtual facility due to an abnormality in the production line,
The constraint condition regarding the facility or facility group allocation in the virtual facility is switched from the cost priority to the content based on another priority such as delivery date priority according to the nature of the work. Further, the constraint condition is determined for each individual work, and the virtual equipment is switched in consideration of the constraint condition for each work.

Further, a priority is set for each work, and when a work with a high priority is waiting for work, a work request for giving priority to the work is given to the virtual equipment.
Therefore, a work capable of performing work and having a high priority is selected from the works waiting for the work, a workable virtual facility is searched, and if the work exists, the work is continued.

Further, the work process information, work content information, priority information and the like are added to each work, or are collectively managed by a host computer, and production is progressed by communication between the equipment and each work or host computer. Try to manage. Further, work data such as work data manually created by an operator and assigned to each equipment and work instructions for humans are transferred to the equipment according to a work start instruction.

Further, when each equipment receives a message composed of standard work data other than the work data, it interprets the message and converts it into its own control command to carry out the work. Unify communication with the host computer. Further, if the standard work data is already registered, only the registration number data is transferred to the facility.

Furthermore, each operation of the work content is expanded into a detailed operation and stored in the virtual equipment, the virtual equipment sends a work start message to each equipment, and the equipment which receives this message is in the unit designated by the identifier. Perform the work and send its termination message to the virtual equipment. If the work does not arrive at the scheduled time after receiving the work start message, the virtual equipment searches the location of the work by communication, corrects the work plan, and detects an abnormality. .

[0012]

The whole process of production is described in a facility-independent manner by the work process diagram and work contents. In addition, it is possible to collect executable equipment for each work by using virtual equipment. In addition, according to the work priority, the equipment priority, the process priority, etc., the equipment in the virtual equipment is reorganized before the work is started to flexibly deal with the change of the constraint condition. Therefore, in the case of a production line abnormality or the like, the equipment in the virtual equipment is switched from cost priority to delivery priority or accuracy priority according to the nature of the work.

Further, since work process information, work content information, priority information, etc. for each work according to the above constraint conditions are added to each work or are collectively managed by a host computer, the equipment and each work, or the host Communication between computers creates a distributed environment in which production progresses.
It is possible to flexibly modify the work process, work content, etc. on the site.

With the above distributed environment, it is possible to search for a virtual facility capable of performing work from the site and make a work request giving priority to a work waiting for work, particularly a work having a high priority that can be executed. In addition, work data, work instructions, etc., which are automatically generated or created by an operator and assigned to each of the above-mentioned equipment, are transferred to the equipment according to a work start instruction.

Further, when each equipment receives a message composed of standard work data other than the work data, it converts the message into its own control command to perform work, and communicates between the equipment and the work / host computer. Unify. Further, when the standard work data is already registered, only the registration number data is transferred to perform the work.

Further, the virtual equipment further expands and stores each operation of the work content into a unit work, and each equipment executes the unit work by the identifier according to the work start message from the virtual equipment and sends the end message to the virtual equipment. Come on. Further, the virtual facility searches for an unarriving work by communication, corrects the work plan, or detects an abnormality.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a process flow chart showing the overall production control system according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a work process diagram such as work ordering and allocation is determined by a process design 102 based on information such as a product design and a production design created by a CAD 101, and a work design 103 processes, assembles, inspects, and conveys. It is disassembled into work contents such as. The first feature of the present invention is that the work process diagram and the work contents can be described without depending on the details of the actual equipment. The second feature is that when controlling each processing, assembly, and inspection equipment group in the processing line 105 based on each information from the line control 104,
This is the point that the real equipment group that can be executed for each work is put together as one virtual equipment, and there is a margin and flexibility for the real equipment decision. A third feature is that the actual equipment group in the virtual equipment can be changed according to the production condition (constraint condition). The fourth feature is that information such as priority, work process, work content, etc. is added to a work (workpiece), or the above information is managed by a host computer, and the above information can be viewed on site. The point is that the progress plan can be modified appropriately.

2 and 3 are overall system diagrams for explaining equipment allocation for each work according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, a work flow chart is described in a work flow 201, and details of each work content are described in a work content 202. The integrated programming system 205 interprets the program of the work flow 201 and the work content 202 described in the above two layers,
Using the equipment configuration table 203, equipment capable of executing each work and alternative equipment are selected to determine a virtual equipment group. The work content 202 is expanded by the processing unit 206 into work instructions for each virtual facility using the program generation rule 204, and stored in the virtual facility data 207 as an intermediate language. Since the intermediate language is generated for the virtual equipment group, it is not an individual command word corresponding to the actual equipment.

FIG. 4 is a work instruction program generation process diagram in the intermediate language. The lines shown in the equipment configuration 301 are each made up of several cells, and each cell has several machines. Each of the above machines
It consists of a control mechanism (element operation or unit operation), and these are decomposed into operations by actuators corresponding to respective functions. The program conversion rule 302 describes the operation to be performed by the actuator. For example, in the work of "transfer", a certain work is "held", which can be realized by opening and closing the hand. Continue to carry
The function can be realized by the movement of the arm "forward / backward".

The CAD 101 has operational specifications 3 such as conditions, control mechanisms, operations, etc. according to the above-mentioned transportation target, destination, etc.
03 is determined, the control mechanism and its operation are transmitted to the program conversion rule 302, and the control mechanism is transmitted to the device configuration 301. The device configuration 301 determines an actuator according to the control mechanism and transmits it to the program conversion rule 302. In addition, an automatic program such as a robot is notified of the operation program and position. If the above operation program is as simple as the positioning point, speed, and the number of repetitions, it is sufficient to transfer only the parameters. However, a motion generation mechanism is required for an operation program in which an operation program changes sequentially, such as an assembly operation.

Outputs A to D of the virtual equipment data 207 shown in FIG.
Is sent to the distributed controller shown in FIG. Cell controller module 208 in the distributed controller
Then, the work allocation is dynamically determined according to the work / work priority. That is, the work allocation, the priority determination method, and the like are changed and determined according to the progress status of the work. For example, anticipating a case where the operator inputs that cost is prioritized, or when the condition of the work has changed, individual cases are predicted.
Describe the assignment of the work to be prioritized in advance according to the situation, and change the constraint conditions according to the situation. However, a rule for selecting a constraint condition when an abnormality occurs is added in advance to information associated with a work or the like. The work selection / allocation method is performed in the same manner as the method disclosed in the above-mentioned patent, for example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the constraint condition information,
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the processing method. In FIG. 6, abnormal information is added to the work 405 in addition to the constraint condition in the normal case as shown in FIG. 5, and when an abnormality occurs in the line, the constraint condition coercion is performed according to the abnormal code of the abnormal information. -Select the code to modify the work.

Further, the work 405 is equipped with facilities 407 and 408.
And the like, and in accordance with this, each equipment determines the cost of the equipment work, the work start time, the work time,
The reply 407 such as delivery date and work accuracy is returned to the work 405. As a result, the work 405 selects the optimum equipment within the above-mentioned constraint conditions according to its own situation and the situation of the entire system. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the work start instruction and the operation content are notified to the respective equipments 213 and 214 by a message 212. The equipment receiving the message 212 waits for the arrival of the work and performs the work according to the message.

[0024]

According to the above-described two-step description programming (work process and work content) of the present invention, all processes can be decomposed and described into work units according to human thinking process, so that the process is made transparent. Management can be facilitated. Further, since the designated range of the actual equipment is expanded by the setting of the virtual equipment, it is possible to flexibly deal with the change of the production constraint conditions.

Further, by consolidating information such as work process, work content, and priority into the work, the constraint condition of the work is appropriately changed to cost priority or delivery date priority at the time of line abnormality at the work site. The work allocation system can be appropriately switched to a work-driven type, a process-driven type, a controller-driven type, etc. according to the above, so that line-non-stop production can be performed. Furthermore, when waiting for work, a work with a high priority can be put in to continue production.

Also, by message communication, the host computer sends work data and work instructions to each virtual equipment, the virtual equipment communicates with real equipment such as start and end of work, and a non-arrival work. Since the work plan is searched and corrected, the work allocation can be determined in real time while reflecting the situation of the site.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an entire stem of the present invention.

2 and 3 are flow charts of a production control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a program generation system diagram according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a constraint diagram in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing communication between a work and equipment in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 ... CAD, 102 ... Process design, 103 ... Work design, 104 ... Line control, 105 ... Machining line, 201
... work flow (work process diagram), 202 ... work content, 20
3 ... Equipment configuration table, 204 ... Program generation rule, 205
... integrated programming system, 206 ... program generation unit, 207 ... virtual equipment data, 208 ... cell controller module, 209 ... dynamic program distribution unit, 21
0 ... Equipment operation monitoring unit, 211 ... Coordination management unit, 212 ... Message bus, 213, 214 ... Control module, 30
1 ... Device configuration, 302 ... Program conversion rule, 303 ...
Operating specifications, 405 ... Work, 407, 408 ... Equipment.

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. In a production control method, a work process diagram in which all the processes related to production are decomposed into a unit work order in consideration of a preceding relation of work and a parallel executability condition, and a work name for each unit work. It is divided into the work content described in the column of the equipment and the work operation name performed by humans corresponding to
A production control method characterized in that the work contents are executed under given conditions such as a deadline according to the work order. 2. The work-to-equipment correspondence table according to claim 1, wherein a work-to-equipment correspondence table is created that describes the equipment, equipment group, etc. capable of executing each work in accordance with the work shown in the work process diagram. A production control method characterized in that a facility or a group of facilities for executing each selected work is set as one virtual facility, and a work instruction such as production start is given to the virtual facility. 3. The real equipment in the virtual equipment according to claim 2, wherein priority is given to work (multi-product small quantity / single flow / special interrupt product), equipment priority (when there are many operations with long working time), process priority The production control method is characterized in that it is dynamically determined before the start of work in accordance with work constraint conditions such as (steady state during lot production). 4. In claim 3, when a predetermined work cannot be performed in the virtual facility due to an abnormality in a production line or the like, a constraint condition for assigning a facility or a group of facilities in the virtual facility is set. A production control method characterized by dynamically switching from cost priority to delivery date priority or precision priority according to the nature of the work. 5. The production control method according to claim 4, wherein the constraint condition is determined for each individual work, and the production is performed in consideration of the circumstances of each work. 6. The work request according to claim 3, wherein a priority is set for each work based on the constraint condition, and when a work with a high priority is waiting for work, the work is prioritized to the virtual facility. A work control method of a work priority type work allocation method, characterized in that 7. The work according to claim 3, wherein a work that can be executed and has a high priority is selected from the works waiting for the work according to the constraint condition when the work of the virtual facility is completed. Production control method of equipment priority type work allocation method. 8. The process priority type work allocation method according to claim 3, wherein a workable virtual facility is searched according to a predetermined work process chart, and if the workable virtual facility exists, the work is performed. A production control method characterized by the following. 9. The method according to claim 3, wherein
The work process information, work content information, priority information, etc. are added to each work or are collectively managed by the host computer so that production can be advanced by communication between the equipment and each work or the host computer. The production control method characterized in that 10. The work data of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein at the time of work allocation, work data or a work instruction for a person is generated, or an operator manually creates a work instruction and allocates it to each facility. And a work instruction such as a work instruction for human beings are transferred to the equipment together with a work start instruction. 11. The equipment according to claim 10, when each equipment receives a message composed of standard work data other than the work data specific to the equipment, interprets the message and converts it into its own control command. A production control method characterized by unifying communication between an equipment and a work / host computer by performing work. 12. The production control method according to claim 11, wherein when the standard work data is already registered, only the registration number data is transferred to perform the work. 13. The work according to claim 11, wherein each operation of the work content is further expanded into a necessary detailed operation and stored in the virtual equipment together with an identifier, and the virtual equipment and the work / host computer start and end the work message. Etc., the message-driven production control method, characterized in that an instruction work unit is executed by an identifier accompanying a work start instruction and the end thereof is reported. 14. The virtual facility according to claim 1, wherein, after the work start instruction is received, if the work does not arrive even if the estimated arrival time deviates greatly, the virtual facility confirms the location of the work by communication. The production control method is characterized in that the work plan is dynamically corrected and controlled or abnormalities are detected.