JP7571588B2 - Parts Supply System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a parts supply system.

Patent Document 1 discloses a parts supply system for supplying parts to a work line installed in a factory. This parts supply system employs a "kanban system." In the kanban system, kanbans bearing various information such as the names of the parts contained and the number of parts contained are fitted into storage boxes delivered to the factory. The storage boxes are placed in a parts storage area in the factory and supplied to the work line at a specified timing. On the work line, when the first part is taken out of the storage box, the kanban is removed and sent to a collection post. The kanbans sent to the collection post and collected are then collected by each parts factory as purchase orders for parts supply again. At the parts factory, parts are manufactured based on the information on the collected kanbans. In this way, excess parts inventory can be reduced by manufacturing and supplying parts used on the work line at the parts factory.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-61536

In the parts supply system described in Patent Document 1, an automatic conveying device is used to supply parts from a parts storage area to one work line. When multiple work lines are provided in a factory, multiple conveying devices are assigned to each work line, but the workload on each conveying device may vary depending on factors such as the number of parts supplied to each work line. The parts supply system described in Patent Document 1 does not take this into consideration, and there is room for improvement.

The object of the present invention is to realize a parts supply system that equalizes the workload involved in parts supply.

The parts supply system for solving the above problem is a parts supply system for supplying parts to multiple work lines from a parts storage location that is different from the multiple work lines in a factory having the multiple work lines, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires used parts information, which is information on parts used in the multiple work lines, a designation unit that designates a supply part to be supplied from the parts storage location to each of the work lines based on the used parts information acquired by the acquisition unit, and a receiving unit that receives information about the supply parts designated by the designation unit, and a plurality of the receiving units are provided and assigned to each of the work lines, and the designation unit transmits to the receiving units information about the supply parts that includes both the supply parts corresponding to the work line to which the receiving units are assigned and the supply parts corresponding to the work line different from the work line to which the receiving units are assigned, as information about the supply parts.

In the above configuration, the receiving unit receives information on parts to be supplied, including not only the work line to which the receiving unit is assigned, but also other work lines to which the receiving unit is not assigned. Therefore, based on the information transmitted to the receiving unit, it is possible to supply parts not only to the assigned work line, but also to the unassigned work lines. For example, when there are many parts to be supplied to one work line and few parts to be supplied to the other work line, information including the parts to be supplied corresponding to the one work line is transmitted to the receiving unit assigned to the other work line. In this way, if information on the parts to be supplied corresponding to the one work line is transmitted not only to the receiving unit assigned to the one work line but also to the other receiving units in a distributed manner, it is possible to level the workload when supplying parts based on the information transmitted to each receiving unit. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to realize a parts supply system in which the workload for supplying parts is leveled.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a state in which parts are delivered from each parts factory to a production factory in which a parts supply system according to an embodiment is provided; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which parts are supplied from a parts storage area to each work line in a production factory. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a parts supply system. 4 is a flowchart showing a series of steps involved in a part supply process executed by the part supply system. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an image when containers are virtually assigned to each mobile terminal. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an image when containers are virtually assigned to each mobile terminal. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an image when a container to be allocated to each mobile terminal is reselected. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an image when the containers to be assigned to the mobile terminals are reset a second time. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between each supplier and the work value. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an image when a carryover storage box is selected from the storage boxes assigned to the first mobile terminal; FIG. 13 is a graph showing the workload per cycle in the parts supply operation of a supplier.

An embodiment of a parts supply system will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, parts are delivered from a plurality of parts factories R (a first parts factory R1, a second parts factory R2, a third parts factory R3, ...) to a production factory Q in which a parts supply system 10 is installed. Parts manufactured in each parts factory R are transported to a parts storage site S of the production factory Q in a state of being stored in a storage box 80. In the parts storage site S, the parts are placed in a state of being stored in the storage box 80. A kanban K on which information on the stored parts is written is fitted in the storage box 80. For example, the name of the stored part, the identification code of the storage box 80, the number of parts stored, the delivery position in the parts storage site S, the name of the parts factory R that manufactured the parts, etc., and a code such as a QR code (registered trademark) storing such information are printed on the kanban K. The volume of each storage box 80 corresponds to the size and number of parts stored, and is different from one another.

The parts delivered to the parts storage area S of the production factory Q are stored in a storage box 80 and supplied to the work line L at a predetermined interval.
The production factory Q is provided with three work lines L, namely, a first work line L1, a second work line L2, and a third work line L3. In each work line L, at least one of various operations such as product assembly, machining, molding, and inspection is performed.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, within the production factory Q, the parts storage area S is located at a position different from each work line L. In the following, the left hand side when looking at each work line L from the parts storage area S will be simply referred to as the left side, and the right hand side will be simply referred to as the right side.

2, each work line L is provided with a parts shelf T on which the storage box 80 is placed. The first work line L1 is provided with a first left parts shelf TL1 and a first right parts shelf TR1 as the parts shelves T. On the first work line L1, a work table (not shown) composed of a belt conveyor or the like is arranged between the first left parts shelf TL1 and the first right parts shelf TR1. The second work line L2 is located on the right hand side of the first work line L1. On the second work line L2, a second left parts shelf TL2 and a second right parts shelf TR2 are provided as the parts shelves T. On the second work line L2, a work table (not shown) composed of a belt conveyor or the like is arranged between the second left parts shelf TL2 and the second right parts shelf TR2. The third work line L3 is located on the right hand side of the second work line L2. In other words, the second work line L2 is located between the first work line L1 and the third work line L3. The third work line L3 is provided with a third left component shelf TL3 and a third right component shelf TR3 as component shelves T. On the third work line L3, a work table (not shown) composed of a belt conveyor or the like is arranged between the third left component shelf TL3 and the third right component shelf TR3. A placement position corresponding to each storage box 80 is preset on each component shelf T. Therefore, each storage box 80 is placed on a predetermined position on the component shelf T.

The storage boxes 80 placed in the parts storage area S are placed on a dolly D by a supplier P and transported to each work line L based on the parts supply process executed by the parts supply system 10 at a predetermined cycle. The supplier P places the storage boxes 80 transported to each work line L in a predetermined placement position on the parts shelf T. In this way, the parts are supplied from the parts storage area S to the work line L in a state where they are contained in the storage boxes 80. In the production factory Q, the number of suppliers P for supplying parts is arranged so that it is three, the same as the number of work lines L. In the following, the supplier P mainly responsible for supplying parts to the first work line L1 is referred to as the first supplier P1, the supplier P mainly responsible for supplying parts to the second work line L2 is referred to as the second supplier P2, and the supplier P mainly responsible for supplying parts to the third work line L3 is referred to as the third supplier P3.

In each work line L, a worker (not shown) is positioned at a predetermined position on the work table. The worker takes parts from the storage box 80 according to the type of work and uses them. In this embodiment, different parts are supplied to the first work line L1, the second work line L2, and the third work line L3. However, the same parts may be supplied to each work line L. When the worker takes the first part out of the storage box 80, he or she removes the kanban K from the storage box 80.

As shown in FIG. 1, the removed kanbans K are collected and consolidated in a collection post 20 located downstream of each work line L. The collection post 20 is provided with a code reader (not shown) that reads the code written on each collected kanban K. The method of collecting the kanban K from the work line L to the collection post 20 may be manual or automatic.

The kanbans K collected in the collection post 20 are collected at a specified time to each parts factory R as purchase orders for parts supply. Each parts factory R manufactures parts based on the collected kanbans K. The manufactured parts are stored in storage boxes 80 and are delivered again from the parts factory R to the production factory Q.

The production factory Q is provided with a management device 30 that is configured to be able to communicate with the collection post 20, a server 40 that is configured to be able to communicate with the management device 30, a mobile terminal 50, and a display device 60. As a communication method, a wireless or wired WAN (Wide Area Network) and LAN (Local Area Network) can be adopted. The collection post 20, management device 30, server 40, mobile terminal 50, and display device 60 make up the parts supply system 10.

The management device 30 is, for example, a stationary personal computer, and is equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. The management device 30 executes the part supply process repeatedly at a predetermined cycle by the CPU expanding the program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executing various arithmetic processes.

The server 40 has a database DB that stores various parameter information related to parts. The database DB stores information such as the name of the part, the identification symbol of the storage box 80 in which the part is stored, the placement position of the storage box 80, a distance coefficient Kd set for each storage box 80, a volume coefficient Kv set for each storage box 80, and a priority order set for each storage box 80. The distance coefficient Kd is preset to be a larger value for a storage box 80 whose placement position on the parts shelf T is farther from the parts storage area S. The volume coefficient Kv is also preset to be a larger value for a storage box 80 with a larger volume.

The supply parts supplied to the work line L include parts that are frequently used on the work line L and parts that are not frequently used on the work line L. For example, parts that are frequently used are likely to run out of stock immediately if the part supply is delayed, so they can be said to be supply parts with high priority in the part supply work. On the other hand, parts that are not frequently used are unlikely to run out of stock immediately if the part supply is delayed, so they can be said to be supply parts with low priority in the part supply work. In this embodiment, the priority of the supply parts is set based on such frequency of use. That is, starting from the storage box 80 that stores the supply parts with high frequency of use, the priority is set in four stages, high, medium, low, and rare, and such information is stored in the database DB. In this way, the database DB of the server 40 also functions as a priority storage unit that stores the priority set for each storage box 80.

The mobile terminal 50 may be, for example, a tablet PC or a wearable terminal such as a smart watch. A plurality of mobile terminals 50 are provided and assigned to each work line L, including a first mobile terminal 50A assigned to the first work line L1, a second mobile terminal 50B assigned to the second work line L2, and a third mobile terminal 50C assigned to the third work line L3. The first mobile terminal 50A is owned by the first supplier P1, and the second mobile terminal 50B is owned by the second supplier P2. The third mobile terminal 50C is owned by the third supplier P3.

The display device 60 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display or an LED display.
Next, a functional unit for performing the part supply process in the part supply system 10 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the collection post 20 has an acquisition unit 21 and a first communication unit 22 as functional units.
The acquisition unit 21 reads the code of the kanban K when the kanban K is collected in the collection post 20. In this way, used part information, which is information on parts used in a plurality of work lines L, is acquired.

The first communication unit 22 communicates with the management device 30 to send and receive information.
The management device 30 has, as functional units, a designation unit 31, a carryover information storage unit 37, a priority promotion unit 38, and a progress information collection unit 39.

The designation unit 31 designates parts to be supplied from the parts storage area S to each of the work lines L based on the used parts information acquired by the acquisition unit 21. The designation unit 31 has, as functional units, a second communication unit 32, a used parts information reading unit 33, a parameter reading unit 34, an upper limit storage unit 35, and a selection unit 36.

The second communication unit 32 transmits and receives information by communicating with the collection post 20, the server 40, the mobile terminal 50, and the display device 60.
The used part information reading unit 33 reads the used part information from the acquisition unit 21 of the collection post 20 via the second communication unit 32 .

The parameter reading unit 34 accesses the database DB of the server 40 via the second communication unit 32 based on the information read by the used part information reading unit 33. The parameter reading unit 34 reads parameter information related to the used part from among various parameter information stored in the database DB. The parameter information to be read includes the identification symbol of the storage box 80 corresponding to the used part, the placement position, the distance coefficient Kd, the volume coefficient Kv, and the priority order.

The upper limit memory unit 35 stores a preset upper limit for a single part supply operation. The upper limit is preset in consideration of the execution cycle (takt time) of the part supply process, the transport distance of the supplied parts, the loading capacity of the cart D, and the calculation method of the work value described below.

The selection unit 36 selects the storage box 80 so that the sum of the work values set for each storage box 80 does not exceed the work upper limit value stored in the upper limit value storage unit 35. The selection unit 36 uses both the distance coefficient Kd and the volume coefficient Kv as the work value. In this embodiment, the selection unit 36 uses, as an example, the value obtained by integrating the distance coefficient Kd and the volume coefficient Kv as the work value. When using the distance coefficient Kd and the volume coefficient Kv, the selection unit 36 may use values calculated in other ways, such as a value obtained by adding these coefficients Kd and Kv or a value obtained by dividing one coefficient by the other coefficient. In addition to the work value calculated in this way, the selection unit 36 selects the storage box 80 based on the priority order stored in the database DB of the server 40, the used part information read by the used part information reading unit 33, the information on the carried-over storage box 80 stored in the carried-over information storage unit 37, and the priority order information stored in the priority order advancement unit 38. By selecting a storage box 80 in this manner using the selection unit 36, the designation unit 31 designates the supply parts to be supplied from the parts storage area S to each of the work lines L. Information on the storage box 80 selected by the selection unit 36 is transmitted from the second communication unit 32 to the receiving unit 52 (described later) of each mobile terminal 50 as information on the supply parts.

The carry-over information storage unit 37 stores information about storage boxes 80 that were not designated in the previous parts supply process and were carried over. That is, the carry-over information storage unit 37 stores information about storage boxes 80 that store parts that were not selected as supply parts among the used parts, based on the used parts information read by the used parts information reading unit 33 in the previous parts supply process and the information about the supply parts selected by the selection unit 36, as information about the carry-over storage boxes 80.

The priority advancement unit 38 advances the priority of the storage box 80 stored in the carry-over information storage unit 37 by one and stores it as advancement information. That is, for example, if the first storage box 80A was not specified in the previous part supply process and was carried over, the first storage box 80A is stored in the carry-over information storage unit 37 as information on the carried-over storage box 80. Also, if the priority stored in the server 40 for the first storage box 80A is "low", the priority advancement unit 38 sets the priority of the first storage box 80A to "medium" and stores it as advancement information. In this case, in the next part supply process, the selection unit 36 uses the priority (medium) stored in the priority advancement unit 38 as the priority of the first storage box 80A, rather than the priority (low) stored in the server 40.

In addition, if the first storage box 80A, which is the carryover storage box 80, is not specified again in the same part supply process, the carryover information storage unit 37 stores the first storage box 80A again as information on the carryover storage box 80. The priority advancement unit 38 sets the priority of the first storage box 80A to "high" and stores it as advancement information. Note that thereafter, until the first storage box 80A, which is the carryover storage box 80, is specified in the part supply process, the priority advancement unit 38 maintains the priority of the carryover storage box 80 as "high" and stores it as advancement information.

The progress information collection unit 39 collects and stores progress information on the parts supply work from each mobile terminal 50.
The server 40 has, as a functional unit, a third communication unit 41 that can access the database DB. The third communication unit 41 communicates with the management device 30 to send and receive information.

Each mobile terminal 50 has, as functional units, a fourth communication unit 51, a first display unit 54, and an operation unit 55.
The fourth communication unit 51 has a receiving unit 52 and a transmitting unit 53 as functional units. The receiving unit 52 receives information on the container 80 selected by the selecting unit 36 as information on the supply part designated by the designating unit 31. The transmitting unit 53 transmits information operated by the supplier P on the mobile terminal 50 to the management device 30. Since the first mobile terminal 50A is assigned to the first work line, the receiving unit 52 provided on the first mobile terminal 50A is assigned to the first work line L1. Similarly, the receiving unit 52 provided on the second mobile terminal 50B is assigned to the second work line L2, and the receiving unit 52 provided on the third mobile terminal 50C is assigned to the third work line L3.

The first display unit 54 displays the information about the storage box 80 received by the receiving unit 52. In this way, information about the supplied part is transmitted to the supplier P.
The operation unit 55 outputs information operated by the supplier P on the mobile terminal 50 to the first display unit 54. The operation unit 55 also transmits information operated by the supplier P on the mobile terminal 50 to the transmission unit 53. For example, in a part supply operation, when the supplier P loads a designated storage box 80 onto the dolly D, the information is input to the mobile terminal 50. The input information is reflected on the first display unit 54 of the mobile terminal 50, so that the supplier P can check the display to confirm that the supply part has not been loaded onto the dolly D. The input information is also transmitted from the transmission unit 53 to the management device 30, and is stored in the progress information collection unit 39 in the management device 30. In this way, the operation unit 55 transmits progress information to the management device 30 via the transmission unit 53, so that in the part supply operation, information on the storage box 80 loaded onto the dolly D and information on the storage box 80 moved from the dolly D to the part shelf T can be collected in real time by the management device 30. Therefore, the management device 30 can grasp the progress of each supplier P's part supply work.

The display device 60 has, as functional units, a fifth communication unit 61 and a second display unit 62 .
The fifth communication unit 61 receives information by communicating with the management device 30 .
The second display unit 62 receives the progress information stored in the progress information collection unit 39 of the management device 30 via the fifth communication unit 61. The second display unit 62 displays the acquired progress information on the display device 60. As a result, the progress degree of the parts supply work at each supplier P is displayed on the display device 60 in the production factory Q.

Next, a series of steps involved in the part supply process executed by the part supply system 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 4. The part supply process transmits information about the storage box 80 as information about the parts to be supplied to the receiving unit 52 of each mobile terminal 50, and is executed repeatedly at a predetermined cycle. Note that in this embodiment, an example will be described in which the transmission cycles of information about the parts to be supplied to the receiving units 52 of the first mobile terminal 50A, the second mobile terminal 50B, and the third mobile terminal 50C are the same, i.e., the takt times are the same.

When the parts supply system 10 starts the parts supply process, the parts used information reading unit 33 of the management device 30 first acquires the parts used information acquired by the acquisition unit 21 of the collection post 20 (step S40). As a result, the management device 30 acquires information about the parts used that have been used since the previous parts supply process was performed until the start of the current parts supply process.

Then, in the management device 30, the selection unit 36 acquires the used part information and acquires carryover information regarding the carryover storage box 80 from the carryover information storage unit 37 (step S41). This also acquires information about the storage box 80 that was not designated in the previous part supply process and was carried over.

The selection unit 36 then acquires the parameter information read by the parameter reading unit 34, i.e., the identification symbol of the container 80 corresponding to the used part, the placement position, the distance coefficient Kd, the volume coefficient Kv, and information regarding the priority. The selection unit 36 also acquires the priority advancement information stored in the priority advancement unit 38 (step S42).

Then, the selection unit 36 selects a storage box 80 to virtually assign to each mobile terminal 50 from among all of the storage boxes 80 corresponding to the used parts and the carried-over storage boxes 80 (step S43).

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the selection unit 36 first assigns the storage boxes 80 corresponding to the first work line L1 to the first mobile terminal 50A in the order of decreasing priority, assigns the storage boxes 80 corresponding to the second work line L2 to the second mobile terminal 50B in the order of decreasing priority, and assigns the storage boxes 80 corresponding to the third work line L3 to the third mobile terminal 50C in the order of decreasing priority. The storage boxes 80 corresponding to the first work line L1 correspond to storage boxes 80 whose placement positions are set to either the first left component shelf TL1 or the first right component shelf TR1. Similarly, the storage boxes 80 corresponding to the second work line L2 correspond to storage boxes 80 whose placement positions are set to either the second left component shelf TL2 or the second right component shelf TR2, and the storage boxes 80 corresponding to the third work line L3 correspond to storage boxes 80 whose placement positions are set to either the third left component shelf TL3 or the third right component shelf TR3.

In Figure 5, identifiers "○△△□" are used to distinguish storage boxes 80. The "○" contains a number "1 to 3" indicating which work line L it corresponds to. "△△" contains "LH" (left parts shelf) or "RH" (right parts shelf) to distinguish the parts shelf T on which it is placed. The "□" contains an alphabet as an identifier. In other words, storage box 80 (2RHa) refers to a storage box 80 stored on the second right parts shelf TR2 of the second work line L2.

Once all of the storage boxes 80 extracted from the used parts information and carryover information have been allocated in this manner, the process proceeds to step S44 in FIG. 4. In step S44, the selection unit 36 calculates the sum of the work values in the storage boxes 80 allocated to each mobile terminal 50.

As shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, as a first example, a case will be described in which the total work value of the storage box 80 assigned to the first mobile terminal 50A is 17, the total work value of the storage box 80 assigned to the second mobile terminal 50B is 17, and the total work value of the storage box 80 assigned to the third mobile terminal 50C is 19. Note that the upper limit value memory unit 35 is set to 20 as an example of the work upper limit value.

After calculating the sum of the work values in the storage boxes 80 assigned to each mobile terminal 50, the selection unit 36 proceeds to the process of step S45 in FIG. 4 and determines whether each sum is equal to or less than the work upper limit value.

In this first example, since each total is equal to or less than 20, the determination in the process of step S45 is affirmative (step S45: YES), and the process proceeds to step S46.
In the process of step S46, the designation unit 31 of the management device 30 transmits information about the storage box 80 assigned by the selection unit 36 to the receiving unit 52 of each mobile terminal 50 as information about the supply parts. Therefore, the information about the supply parts corresponding to the first work line L1 is transmitted to the receiving unit 52 of the first mobile terminal 50A assigned to the first work line L1, and the information about the supply parts corresponding to the second work line L2 is transmitted to the receiving unit 52 of the second mobile terminal 50B assigned to the second work line L2. Also, the information about the supply parts corresponding to the third work line L3 is transmitted to the receiving unit 52 of the third mobile terminal 50C assigned to the third work line L3.

Then, the management device 30 proceeds to the process of step S47 and stores the carryover information in the carryover information storage unit 37. In the first example, the carryover information is updated to indicate that there are no carried-over storage boxes 80.

When the process of step S47 is thus executed, the component supply system 10 ends the series of processes related to the component supply process.
Through this process, information about the storage boxes 80 to be supplied to the work line L is transmitted to each portable terminal 50. The suppliers P who possess each portable terminal 50 perform the work of supplying parts from the parts storage area S to each work line L based on the information transmitted to the portable terminal 50 that they possess.

Next, a case where the total of the work values of the storage boxes 80 assigned in the process of step S43 exceeds the work upper limit value will be described as a second example.
That is, in the second example, as shown in Fig. 6, the sum of the work values of the storage boxes 80 assigned to the first mobile terminal 50A is 18, and the sum of the work values of the storage boxes 80 assigned to the third mobile terminal 50C is 19. On the other hand, the sum of the work values of the storage boxes 80 assigned to the second mobile terminal 50B is 22 (> upper work limit value). In this case, the process of step S45 in Fig. 4 results in a negative determination (step S45: NO).

If the determination is negative in this way, the process proceeds to step S48, where a storage box 80 to be assigned to each mobile terminal 50 is reselected. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the last assigned storage box 80 (2LHd) is selected from the storage boxes 80 assigned to the second mobile terminal 50B, whose total work value exceeds the work upper limit value, and assigned to the other mobile terminal 50. In this embodiment, the range of storage boxes 80 that can be assigned by the selection unit 36 is set in advance as follows.

That is, the storage boxes 80 supplied to the first left component shelf TL1 and the first right component shelf TR1 on the first work line L1 and the second left component shelf TL2 on the second work line L2 can be assigned to the first mobile terminal 50A. Also, the storage boxes 80 supplied to the first right component shelf TR1 on the first work line L1, the second left component shelf TL2 and the second right component shelf TR2 on the second work line L2, and the third left component shelf TL3 on the third work line L3 can be assigned to the second mobile terminal 50B. Also, the storage boxes 80 supplied to the third left component shelf TL3 and the third right component shelf TR3 on the third work line L3 and the second right component shelf TR2 on the second work line L2 can be assigned to the third mobile terminal 50C.

Therefore, in the process of step S48, the selection unit 36 reselects the above-mentioned storage box 80 (2LHd) in the second mobile terminal 50B by changing the allocation to the first mobile terminal 50A. After that, the process of steps S44 and S45 in FIG. 4 is executed again, and it is determined whether each total is equal to or less than the work upper limit value.

As shown in FIG. 7, after reselecting the above storage box 80 (2LHd), the total work value of the storage box 80 assigned to the first mobile terminal 50A is 19.5, and the total work value of the storage box 80 assigned to the second mobile terminal 50B is 20.5. The total work value of the storage box 80 assigned to the third mobile terminal 50C remains unchanged at 19.

In this case, the sum of the work values of the storage boxes 80 assigned to the second mobile terminal 50B still exceeds the work upper limit value, so the processing of step S45 in FIG. 4 returns a negative judgment (step S45: NO).

Therefore, the process next proceeds to step S48 again, and the storage boxes 80 to be assigned to each mobile terminal 50 are reselected. That is, the second-to-last storage box 80 (2RHd) is selected from the storage boxes 80 assigned to the second mobile terminal 50B, and assigned to another mobile terminal 50. Since this storage box 80 (2RHd) is supplied to the second right parts shelf TR2 and can be assigned to the third mobile terminal 50C, the selection unit 36 changes the assignment of the storage box 80 (2RHd) to the third mobile terminal 50C and reselects it. Thereafter, the process of steps S44 and S45 in FIG. 4 is executed, and it is determined whether the total number of storage boxes 80 assigned to each mobile terminal 50 is equal to or less than the work upper limit value.

As shown in FIG. 8, after reselecting the above storage box 80 (2RHd), the total work value of the storage box 80 assigned to the first mobile terminal 50A is 19.5, the total work value of the storage box 80 assigned to the second mobile terminal 50B is 20.0, and the total work value of the storage box 80 assigned to the third mobile terminal 50C is 19.5.

In this case, since each total is less than or equal to 20, the determination is affirmative in the process of step S45 in FIG. 4 (step S45: YES). Therefore, the process proceeds to the process of step S46.

In the process of step S46, the designation unit 31 of the management device 30 transmits information on the storage box 80 selected by the selection unit 36 to the receiving unit 52 of each mobile terminal 50 as information on the supply parts. Therefore, the receiving unit 52 of the first mobile terminal 50A assigned to the first work line L1 transmits information including both the supply parts corresponding to the first work line L1 and the supply parts corresponding to the second work line L2. In addition, the receiving unit 52 of the second mobile terminal 50B assigned to the second work line L2 transmits information regarding the supply parts corresponding to the second work line L2. In addition, the receiving unit 52 of the third mobile terminal 50C assigned to the third work line L3 transmits information including both the supply parts corresponding to the third work line L3 and the supply parts corresponding to the second work line L2. Thus, in the second example, the designation unit 31 of the management device 30 transmits information about the supply parts to the receiving unit 52 of each of the first mobile terminal 50A and the third mobile terminal 50C, the information including both the supply parts corresponding to the assigned work line L and the supply parts corresponding to a work line L different from the assigned work line L.

Then, the management device 30 proceeds to step S47 and stores the carryover information in the carryover information storage unit 37. In this example, the carryover information is updated to indicate that there are no carried-over storage boxes 80.

When the process of step S47 is thus executed, the component supply system 10 ends the series of processes related to the component supply process.
Through this process, information on the storage boxes 80 to be supplied to the work line L is transmitted to each portable terminal 50. The suppliers P possessing each portable terminal 50 perform the work of supplying parts from the parts storage area S to each work line L based on the information transmitted to the portable terminal 50 possessed by each supplier. That is, the first supplier P1 possessing the first portable terminal 50A mainly supplies parts to the first work line L1, but also supplies parts to the second work line L2. The third supplier P3 possessing the third portable terminal 50C mainly supplies parts to the third work line L3, but also supplies parts to the second work line L2.

9, for the first supplier P1 and the third supplier P3, the work value can be increased within a range not exceeding the work upper limit (solid line in FIG. 9) compared to the case where the storage box 80 is selected without considering the parts to be supplied to other work lines L (dashed line in FIG. 9). This can reduce the waiting time for the first supplier P1 and the third supplier P3. In addition, for the second supplier P2, the work that exceeded the work upper limit can be distributed to the first supplier P1 and the third supplier P3, so the work value can be reduced within a range not exceeding the work upper limit (solid line in FIG. 9) compared to the case where the storage box 80 is selected without considering the parts to be supplied to other work lines L (dashed line in FIG. 9). This prevents the work load of the second supplier P2 from becoming so excessive that the work time required for one part supply exceeds the execution period of the part supply process. Therefore, it is possible to level the work load for part supply between the suppliers P.

Next, as a third example, we will explain a case where the sum of the work values in the first mobile terminal 50A exceeds the work upper limit value when the allocation of the storage box 80 (2LHd) allocated to the second mobile terminal 50B is changed to the first mobile terminal 50A in the processing of step S48 in the second example described above.

That is, in the part supply process, in the process of step S48 in FIG. 4, the allocation of the above-mentioned storage box 80 (2LHd) of the second mobile terminal 50B is changed to the first mobile terminal 50A and reselected, and then the process proceeds to step S44 to calculate the total work value. Note that in the third example, in this process, the total work value of the storage box 80 allocated to the first mobile terminal 50A is calculated to be 20.5 (> upper work limit value), the total work value of the storage box 80 allocated to the second mobile terminal 50B is calculated to be 19.5, and the total work value of the storage box 80 allocated to the third mobile terminal 50C is calculated to be 19.

Therefore, the next step S45 results in a negative judgment (step S45: NO), and the process moves to step S48 again. If the selection unit 36 reassigns a storage box 80 assigned to one mobile terminal 50 to another mobile terminal 50 through reselection, and the sum of the work values in the other mobile terminal 50 exceeds the upper limit, the process of step S48 selects the storage box 80 with the lowest priority out of all storage boxes 80 assigned to the mobile terminal 50 as the carryover storage box 80.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, in the third example, the selection unit 36 sets the storage box 80 (1LHc) that has the lowest priority and is set to "low" among the storage boxes 80 (1RHa, 1RHb, 1RHc, 1LHa, 1LHb, 1LHc, 2LHd) assigned to the first mobile terminal 50A as the carryover storage box 80. In this case, the storage box 80 (1LHc) is not assigned to any mobile terminal 50, and the process of step S48 in FIG. 4 ends. Then, the process proceeds to step S44 to calculate the total work value. In the third example, the storage box 80 (1LHc) is carried over, and the total work value of the storage box 80 assigned to the first mobile terminal 50A becomes 19.5. Therefore, the process of step S45 in FIG. 4 is judged to be positive (step S45: YES), and the process proceeds to step S46.

In the processing of step S46, the designation unit 31 of the management device 30 transmits information about the storage boxes 80 that the selection unit 36 assigned and selected to each mobile terminal 50 to the receiving unit 52 of each mobile terminal 50 as information about the supply part.

Then, the management device 30 proceeds to processing in step S47 and stores the carryover information in the carryover information storage unit 37. In the third example, storage box 80 (1LHc) is stored as information on the carryover storage box 80. The priority advancement unit 38 also advances the priority of storage box 80 (1LHc) by one, sets the priority to "medium", and stores it as advancement information. As a result, in the next parts supply process, the priority of storage box 80 (1LHc) will be one higher and will be less likely to be set as a carryover storage box 80, so it will be assigned to the mobile terminal 50 and parts will be supplied.

When the process of step S47 is executed, the component supply system 10 ends the series of processes related to the component supply process.
In addition, each time the management device 30 completes a part supply process, it may send information about the parts used and information about the specified storage box 80, i.e., information about the supplied parts and information about the carryover storage box 80, to the server 40 and store them in the database DB.

Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.
(1) In this embodiment, the designation unit 31 transmits to the receiving unit 52 information including both the supply parts corresponding to the work line L to which the receiving unit 52 is assigned and the supply parts corresponding to the work line L different from the work line L to which the receiving unit 52 is assigned, as information on the supply parts. Therefore, information on the supply parts including not only the assigned work line L but also other unassigned work lines L is transmitted to the mobile terminal 50 provided with each receiving unit 52. Therefore, based on the information transmitted to the receiving unit 52, the supplier P can supply parts not only to the assigned work line L but also to the unassigned work line L. That is, as described above, when there are many supply parts to the second work line L2 and few supply parts to the first work line L1 and the third work line L3, information including the supply parts corresponding to the second work line L2 can be transmitted to each receiving unit 52 of the first mobile terminal 50A and the third mobile terminal 50C.

In this way, information on the supply parts corresponding to the second work line L2 is distributed and transmitted not only to the receiving unit 52 assigned to the second work line L2, but also to the receiving unit 52 assigned to the first work line L1 and the receiving unit 52 assigned to the third work line L3. This makes it possible to equalize the workload when supplying parts based on the information transmitted to each receiving unit 52. Therefore, it is possible to realize a parts supply system 10 in which the workload for supplying parts is equalized.

(2) In this embodiment, a work upper limit value is set in advance for one part supply operation, and a storage box 80 is selected so that the sum of the work values set for each storage box 80 does not exceed the work upper limit value. Any amount that exceeds the work upper limit value is carried over to the next part supply process.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, when supplier P supplies parts based on information transmitted to receiver 52 of mobile terminal 50, the load on a single part supply operation is prevented from exceeding the upper limit and becoming excessively large. In addition, since the amount of work that exceeds the upper limit during part supply operation can be carried over to the next or subsequent part supply operation, it is also possible to level out the workload of supplier P during part supply operation for each cycle.

(3) In this embodiment, the selection unit 36 uses a distance coefficient Kd that is set for each storage box 80 as the work value of the storage box 80, and is set to a larger value for the storage box 80 whose placement position is farther from the parts storage location S. The transport distance is longer for a storage box 80 placed in a position farther from the parts storage location S, and the time required to supply the storage box 80 from the parts storage location S to the parts shelf T is also longer. In this embodiment, the distance coefficient Kd that correlates with the placement position of the parts shelf T is used as the work value of the storage box 80, and is set so that the work value is larger for a storage box 80 that is transported to a farther position. As a result, when a storage box 80 whose placement position is far away is included as a supply part, the number of storage boxes 80 selected by the selection unit 36 can be reduced compared to when this is not the case. Therefore, it is possible to select a storage box 80 taking the transport distance into consideration, which can further contribute to leveling out the workload.

(4) In this embodiment, the selection unit 36 uses a volume coefficient Kv, which is set for each storage box 80 and is set to a larger value for a storage box 80 with a larger volume, as the work value for the storage box 80. In the part supply work, the supplier P loads the specified multiple storage boxes 80 onto the dolly D and transports them at once. The dolly D is set to a load capacity that allows safe transportation. In this embodiment, the volume coefficient Kv is used as the work value for the storage box 80, and is set so that the work value is larger for storage boxes 80 with a larger volume. As a result, when a storage box 80 with a large volume is included as a supply part, the number of storage boxes 80 selected by the selection unit 36 can be reduced compared to when this is not the case. Therefore, it is possible to select a storage box 80 taking into account the load capacity of the dolly D, which can contribute to improving safety during transportation in the part supply work.

(5) In this embodiment, a priority is set for each storage box 80, and when the total work value exceeds the work upper limit value, the selection unit 36 carries over the storage box 80 with the lowest priority. Therefore, by setting a high priority for storage boxes 80 that are frequently used or otherwise prone to shortages, it is possible to prevent unintentional carryover and to prevent delays in the supply of parts.

(6) In this embodiment, the priority of a storage box 80 that was not specified in the previous part supply process and was carried over is raised by one. Therefore, the priority of a supply part that is a low-priority storage box 80 and was not specified in the previous part supply process can be raised in the next part supply process. In this way, even if a supply part originally had a low priority, if it was not specified in the part supply process, the priority is raised to make it more likely to be specified in the next part supply process, thereby preventing the supply interval for low-priority supply parts from becoming excessively long. Therefore, even in a configuration in which supply parts are specified based on priority, it is possible to prevent stockouts of low-priority supply parts.

This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that there is no technical contradiction.
In the above embodiment, when selecting the storage box 80 in the part supply process, first, all of the storage boxes 80 corresponding to the used parts and the carried-over storage boxes 80 are assigned to each mobile terminal 50 to select the storage box 80. The method of selecting the storage box 80 is not limited to this. For example, after the process of step S42 in FIG. 4, only the storage boxes 80 set to the highest priority level "high" from among the storage boxes 80 corresponding to the used parts and the carried-over storage boxes 80 are assigned to each mobile terminal 50 to select the storage box 80. Then, the work value of each mobile terminal 50 is calculated (step S44) and compared with the work upper limit value (step S45). In this process, for a mobile terminal 50 whose total work value exceeds the work upper limit value, a part of the assigned storage box 80 is changed to an assignment to a mobile terminal 50 whose total work value does not exceed the work upper limit value, and reselected.

After that, the processes of steps S44 and S45 are executed again, and a storage box 80 is selected so that the sum of the work values does not exceed the work upper limit value. Then, for a mobile terminal 50 whose sum of the work values has dropped significantly compared to the work upper limit value, the storage box 80 with the next highest priority set to "medium" is assigned from among the storage box 80 corresponding to the next used part and the carried-over storage box 80. In this case, as before, a storage box 80 is selected so that the sum of the work values in each mobile terminal 50 does not exceed the work upper limit value. By repeating this process, it becomes possible to select the storage boxes 80 specified in the part supply process in order of priority. Even with this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same actions and effects as those of (1) to (6) above.

- In the above embodiment, the range of storage boxes 80 that can be assigned to each mobile terminal 50 in the selection unit 36 may be changed as appropriate. For example, storage boxes 80 supplied to the first left component shelf TL1 and the first right component shelf TR1 of the first work line L1 and the second left component shelf TL2 and the second right component shelf TR2 of the second work line L2 may be assigned to the first mobile terminal 50A. Also, it is not necessary to set a range of storage boxes 80 that can be assigned.

- In the above embodiment, a display device 60 is provided to display progress information for each supplier P, but this configuration may be omitted. In such an omitted configuration, collection of progress information in the management device 30 may be performed or omitted.

- In the above embodiment, the priority advancement unit 38 advances the priority of the storage box 80 that was not specified in the previous part supply process and was carried over by one and stores it. Instead of this configuration, the priority advancement unit 38 may advance the priority of the carried over storage box 80 by two or more places and store it, or may change the number of advancements for each set priority. That is, when a storage box 80 with a medium priority is carried over, the priority may be advanced by one place and stored; when a storage box 80 with a low priority is carried over, the priority may be advanced by two places and stored; and when a storage box 80 with a rare priority is carried over, the priority may be advanced by three places and stored. In this configuration, when a storage box 80 is carried over once, the priority is advanced to the highest setting.

It is also possible to omit the priority level raising unit 38 and not raise the priority level when the storage box 80 is carried over.
In the above embodiment, four levels of priority, namely high, medium, low, and rare, are set for each storage box 80, but it is also possible to set three or fewer levels or five or more levels of priority. Also, it is not necessary to set a priority for each storage box 80.

- In the above embodiment, both the distance coefficient Kd and the volume coefficient Kv are used as the work value, but at least one of them may be omitted. Also, instead of the distance coefficient Kd and the volume coefficient Kv, the total number of storage boxes 80 may be used as the work value. In this configuration, the selection unit 36 selects storage boxes 80 so that the number of storage boxes 80 does not exceed the work upper limit value.

- In the above embodiment, the storage boxes 80 are selected so that the sum of the work values in the storage boxes 80 does not exceed a preset work upper limit value. Instead of this configuration, a configuration in which the work upper limit value is not set may be used. In this case, the selection unit 36 assigns all of the storage boxes 80 corresponding to the used parts to each mobile terminal 50 so as to supply them as supply parts in one part supply process, and selects the storage boxes 80. Note that even with this configuration, the receiving unit 52 of each mobile terminal 50 can transmit information including both the supply parts corresponding to the work line L to which the receiving unit 52 is assigned and the supply parts corresponding to the work line L different from the work line L to which the receiving unit 52 is assigned as information regarding the supply parts. Therefore, even with this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same action and effect as the action and effect of (1) above.

- In the above embodiment, a receiving unit 52 is provided in the mobile terminal 50, and an example is described in which the supplier P supplies parts based on information received by the receiving unit 52. As an alternative to this configuration, it is possible to omit the mobile terminal 50 by providing multiple robots configured to transport storage boxes 80 from the parts storage area S to each work line L and providing the robots with receiving units 52. In this configuration, parts can be supplied from the parts storage area S to each work line L without human intervention.

- In the above embodiment, the takt time of the part supply work on each work line L is the same, but the takt time of the part supply work on each work line L may be different. When the takt times are different, the supply parts can be selected based on the part use information acquired up to the last moment in the part supply process for the target work line L. The acquired part use information includes information on the parts used in all work lines. Therefore, it is possible to transmit, to the receiving unit 52 assigned to the target work line L, information including both the supply parts corresponding to the work line L and the supply parts corresponding to a work line L other than the work line L to which the receiving unit 52 is assigned, as information on the supply parts. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the same action and effect as the action and effect of (1) above.

- In the above embodiment, a component supply system 10 for supplying components to a work line L having a component shelf T on which a storage box 80 is placed has been described. Even in a component supply system for supplying components to a work line L that does not have a component shelf T, it is possible to apply a configuration similar to that of the above embodiment. In this case, for example, the storage box 80 may be stored on a work table, or the storage box 80 may be placed around the work table.

In the above embodiment, the supply parts are supplied in a state where they are stored in the storage box 80. However, it is also possible to supply the supply parts to each work line L without storing them in the storage box 80.
The number of receiving units 52 and the number of work lines L can be changed as appropriate. In addition, the number of receiving units 52 does not necessarily have to be the same as the number of work lines L, so long as there are a plurality of receiving units 52.

- In the above embodiment, the part-used information is obtained from the kanban K fitted into the storage box 80 at each parts factory R, but this configuration is not essential. For example, a tag storing part-used information may be attached separately to the storage box 80 at the parts storage area S, and the part-used information may be obtained from the tag. Also, it is not necessary to obtain the part-used information at the collection post 20. For example, when a worker first removes a part from the storage box 80 on the work line L, the part-used information may be obtained by reading the information from the tag with a scanner carried by the worker. In this case, the scanner functions as the acquisition unit.

- In the above embodiment, the parts supply system 10 is configured with the collection post 20, the management device 30, the server 40, the mobile terminal 50, and the display device 60, and each of these components is equipped with a functional unit. The layout of the functional units can be changed as appropriate. For example, a database DB may be provided in the management device 30 to provide a priority storage unit, or a progress information collection unit 39 may be provided in the display device 60. In addition, it is not necessary for all of the components of the parts supply system 10 to be located within the production factory Q. For example, the server 40 may be located outside the production factory Q. Even with this configuration, as long as the components of the parts supply system are capable of communicating with each other, the same configuration as in the above embodiment can be applied.

SYMBOLS WITHIN 10 PARTS SUPPLY SYSTEM 20 COLLECTION POST 21 ACQUISITION UNIT 22 FIRST COMMUNICATION UNIT 30 MANAGEMENT DEVICE 31 DESIGNATION UNIT 32 SECOND COMMUNICATION UNIT 33 USED PARTS INFORMATION READING UNIT 34 PARAMETER READING UNIT 35 UPPER LIMIT MEMORY UNIT 36 SELECTION UNIT 37 CARRYOVER INFORMATION MEMORANDUM UNIT 38 PRIORITY ADVANCEMENT UNIT 39 PROGRESS INFORMATION COLLECTION UNIT 40 SERVER 41 THIRD COMMUNICATION UNIT 50 MOBILE TERMINAL 50A FIRST MOBILE TERMINAL 50B SECOND MOBILE TERMINAL 50C THIRD MOBILE TERMINAL 51 FOURTH COMMUNICATION UNIT 52 RECEIVING UNIT 53 SENDING UNIT 54 FIRST DISPLAY UNIT 55 OPERATION UNIT 60 DISPLAY UNIT 61 FIFTH COMMUNICATION UNIT 62 SECOND DISPLAY UNIT 80 STORAGE BOX 80A FIRST STORAGE BOX D TROLLEY DB DATABASE K KANBAN L WORK LINE L1...First work line L2...Second work line L3...Third work line P...Supplier P1...First supplier P2...Second supplier P3...Third supplier Q...Production factory R...Parts factory R1...First parts factory R2...Second parts factory R3...Third parts factory S...Parts storage area T...Parts shelf TL1...First left parts shelf TL2...Second left parts shelf TL3...Third left parts shelf TR1...First right parts shelf TR2...Second right parts shelf TR3...Third right parts shelf

Claims (5)

1. A parts supply system for supplying parts from a parts storage location located at a position different from a plurality of work lines in a factory having the plurality of work lines, to the plurality of work lines, comprising:
The parts are placed in a container in the part storage area,
The supply part is supplied to the work line in a state where it is contained in the container,
an acquisition unit that acquires used part information, which is information on used parts in the plurality of work lines;
a designation unit that designates a supply part to be supplied from the parts storage area to each of the work lines based on the used part information acquired by the acquisition unit;
a receiving unit that receives information about the supply part designated by the designation unit,
The receiving unit is provided in a plurality of units assigned to each of the work lines,
the designation unit transmits to the receiving unit information including both the supply parts corresponding to the work line to which the receiving unit is assigned and the supply parts corresponding to a work line different from the work line to which the receiving unit is assigned as information related to the supply parts , and has a part usage information reading unit that reads the part usage information from the acquisition unit, an upper limit value storage unit that stores a work upper limit value that is set in advance for one part supply operation, a selection unit that selects the storage box based on the part usage information read by the part usage information reading unit such that a total of work values set for each storage box does not exceed the work upper limit value, and a communication unit that transmits information about the storage box selected by the selection unit as information related to the supply parts,
The selection unit selects the receiving box corresponding to the work line to which the receiving unit is assigned and the receiving box corresponding to a work line different from the work line to which the receiving unit is assigned.
Parts supply system. the work line is provided with a parts shelf on which the storage box is placed,
The component shelf is provided with placement positions corresponding to the respective storage boxes,
the selection unit uses a distance coefficient set for each of the storage boxes as the operation value for the storage box,
2. The parts supply system according to claim 1, wherein the distance coefficient is set to a larger value for the container whose placement position is farther away from the parts placement area . The selection unit uses a volume coefficient set for each of the storage boxes as the working value for the storage box,
3. The component supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the volume coefficient is set to a larger value for the storage box having a larger volume . A priority order storage unit stores a priority order set for each of the storage boxes,
A parts supply system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the selection unit selects the storage box based on the priority stored in the priority memory unit and the used parts information read by the used parts information reading unit . a carry-over information storage unit that stores information on the container that was not designated and carried over in the previous part supply process;
a priority advancement unit that advances the priority of the storage box stored in the carryover information storage unit by one and stores the priority,
The selection unit selects the storage boxes including the carried-over storage box based on the used part information, the storage box information stored in the carry-over information storage unit, and the priority order information stored in the priority order advancement unit, and selects the storage box using the priority order stored in the priority order advancement unit for the carried-over storage box.
5. The parts supply system according to claim 4 .