JPH0141465B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a production instruction device suitable for use on a parts assembly line. The present invention relates to a production instruction device that can instruct parts to be assembled when assembling the parts.

[Background of the invention]

Recently, with the aim of making efficient use of assembly lines, a production system has been implemented in which various types of workpieces are transported on the same assembly line and different parts are assembled onto each workpiece. In such a production method,
If workers judge the workpieces that are sequentially conveyed on the assembly line and select the parts to be assembled accordingly, not only will the burden on the workers increase, but there is also the risk of assembly errors. Therefore, the type of work being transported is identified by an identification device, and
The operator is instructed about the parts to be assembled by means such as a lamp or voice.

However, in this type of production system, instructions for sequentially assembling parts are given as the belt conveyor moves, and the actual work situation is not taken into account at all. Therefore, if the work is delayed for some reason, the timing of the actual work and the update of the instructions will be different,
The following instructions are output even though the work is not completed.
Workers are not always given accurate information.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide a production instruction device that instructs information regarding the next part to be assembled in synchronization with the work of assembling the part to the workpiece.

[Structure of the invention]

The present invention is designed to instruct the next part to be assembled on a workpiece transported on an assembly line only when the instructed part and the actually selected part match. It is designed to indicate parts.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, in which various kinds of workpieces W1, W2, W3, W4, W.
5 and W6 are being conveyed on the belt conveyor 1 in the direction of arrow A. The belt conveyor 1 is divided into areas WA1 to WA6 for each workpiece, and a workpiece detection sensor 3 is provided that outputs a position signal when the rear end of each workpiece area reaches its first position P1. . The workpiece detection sensor 3 can be composed of, for example, a limit switch or a photoelectric sensor.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, each workpiece W _i is attached with a barcode 5 indicating the specifications of the parts to be assembled to each workpiece, and the barcode 5 is attached to the position signal from the sensor 3. In response, the barcode reading device 7 reads the barcode 5, and the reading device 7 outputs a reading signal corresponding to the barcode 5. Furthermore, an instruction device 11 is provided in a work area 9 along the belt conveyor 1 to indicate parts to be assembled. This instruction device 11
For example, it can be configured with a lamp lighting device and an audio output device.

Further, the work area 9 is provided with work detection devices 13A, 13B, and 13C as shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 2, different assembly parts A,
Photoelectric sensors 13A,
13B and 13C are provided respectively, and when the worker puts his hand into the shelf to take out the parts, the optical path 1
5 is blocked, and this causes the photoelectric sensors 13A to
13C outputs a work completion signal.

Workpiece detection sensor 3, barcode reader 7,
The instruction device 11 and the work detection device 13 are each connected to a control circuit 17. Further, a buzzer 19 is also connected to the control circuit 17. Here, the control circuit 17 can be constituted by a well-known microprocessor, and controls various devices according to the calculation procedure shown in FIG.

When the program shown in Figure 3 is started, the procedure
In S1, set flag FLG2 to zero, and
Set conveyor pointer CP and work pointer WP to zero. Here, the conveyor pointer CP indicates that the rear end of each work area WA1 to WA6 divided at equal intervals on the belt conveyor 1 is at a first predetermined position P1.
Each time the position signal is output from the workpiece detection sensor 3, the position is incremented by one. Further, the work pointer WP is incremented by 1 each time the worker blocks the optical path 15 of the photoelectric sensor of one of the component storage shelves 12A to 12C and a work completion signal is output.

In step S2, based on the position signal from the workpiece detection sensor 3, it is determined whether the workpiece W _i is located at a position where the barcode 5 attached to the workpiece W _i can be read. That is, in this example, the workpiece detection sensor 3 detects the workpiece areas WA1 to WA6.
When the rear end is being detected, the barcode reading device 7 faces the barcode 5 of the workpiece W _i so that it can read the barcode 5. Therefore, when the above position signal occurs, the barcode 5 cannot be read. becomes possible.

If an affirmative determination is made in step S2, the process proceeds to step S3, where the barcode reading device 7 reads the barcode 5 and obtains a read signal. Then, proceed to step S4,
The specification information of the assembled parts indicated by the obtained read signal is processed. That is, the specification information, for example, the numbers A to C of the assembled parts are decoded, and the information is sequentially stored in a predetermined area of the storage device in the control circuit 17, for example, a stack memory. Which pointer information from the stack memory is to be retrieved is controlled by an instruction pointer IP, which will be described later.

Proceeding to step S5, the conveyor pointer CP is incremented by one. Then, in step S6, the instruction pointer IP is set to zero. Next, the process advances to step S7, and the instruction calculation process shown in FIG. 4 is executed.

Referring to FIG. 4, when this program is started, in step S41, the conveyor pointer CP
is the work area between the first position P1 along the belt conveyor 1 and the second position P2 of the work station 9.
Determine whether the number of WAs is greater than or equal to NWA. If a negative determination is made, in step S42, the conveyor pointer CP
The process proceeds to step S45 with the value of as the value of the work pointer WP. On the other hand, if a positive judgment is made in step S41, the step
Proceeding to S43, it is determined whether the flag FLG2 is 1 or not.
If a negative determination is made, the flag FLG2 is set to 1 in step S44, the work pointer WP is set to NWA, and the process proceeds to step S45. Further, if a negative determination is made in step S43, the process directly proceeds to step S45.

In step S45, the instruction pointer IP is calculated using the following equation (1).

IP = NWA + CP - WP ...(1) Then, in step P46, the information in the memory stored in the pointer that matches the value of the instruction pointer IP calculated by the above formula is read, and the instruction signal according to the information is read out. Output to the instruction device 11. Thereby, the instruction device 11 can notify the operator that the part to be assembled is, for example, one of A to C.

When the procedure shown in FIG. 4 is completed, the program returns to the program shown in FIG. 3 and executes step S8.

In step S8, the photoelectric sensors 13A to 13
Based on the work completion signal from C, it is determined whether the assembled parts have been taken out by the worker, in other words, whether the work has been completed. In this embodiment, the work is defined as completed when the assembled parts are taken out from the storage shelf. Next, in step S9, the instruction pointer obtained as described above is
The code related to the assembled part read out according to the IP and the judgment as to which of the three photoelectric sensors is outputting the work completion signal, in other words, the code of the three photoelectric sensor input ports of the control circuit 17. Based on the determination as to which port the work completion signal is input, it is determined whether the work has been performed as instructed by the instruction device 11. That is, it is determined whether the designated part and the actually selected part match.

If an affirmative determination is made in step S9, the work pointer WP is incremented by 1 in step S10, and the process proceeds to step S11. Also, if a negative determination is made, the buzzer 19 is activated in step S16.
sound. Then, when the program advances to step S11, the buzzer 19 is stopped.

When the process proceeds to step S12 following step S11, the work progress calculation process shown in FIG. 5 is executed.

Referring to FIG. 5, when this program is started, the work progress is determined in step S61. That is, (CP-WP) is calculated and it is determined whether the result is greater than 0 or not. When a negative determination is made, it is assumed that there is no delay, and the delay occurrence flag FLG1 is set to zero in step S62, and when an affirmative determination is made, it is assumed that there is a delay, and the delay occurrence flag FLG1 is set to 1 in step S63. Here, the above formula is the formula that defines the allowable range of delay,
In this embodiment, when the number of workpieces whose barcodes 5 have been read is two or more larger than the number of completed workpieces, the work is considered to have been delayed.

When the procedure shown in FIG. 5 is completed, the program returns to the program shown in FIG. 3 and executes step S13.
In step S13, it is determined whether a work delay has occurred based on the delay flag FLG1. flag
If FLG1 is 1, a positive determination is made and the process proceeds to step S15, and belt conveyor 1 is stopped.If a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S14.
If the belt conveyor 1 is stopped, the belt conveyor 1 is started.

Next, the designated pointer IP obtained by steps S41 to S45 in FIG. 4 and the information storage position of the attached part in the storage device will be explained with reference to FIG. 6. Note that in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the works W6 to W1 are sequentially moved to the first position P1.
The specification information for part A is written on the workpiece W6, part B on W5, part C on W4, part A on W3, part B on W2, and part C on W1 in barcode 5. It is assumed that Also, the first position P
1 and the second position P2 is a work area WA.
There are five, and therefore, five is set for NWA in equation (1).

When the rear end of the work area WA6 passes the first position P1, the conveyor pointer CP becomes 1, and the assembly part number A as specification information of the work W6 is stored in the pointer 1 of the storage device. At this time, the fourth
A negative determination is made in step S41 in the figure, and 1 is set in the work pointer WP in step S42. However,
In step S45, the calculation (IP=5+1-1=5) is performed. Since nothing is currently stored in the pointer 5 of the storage device, no meaningful information is output to the pointing device 11 (No. 1 in FIG. 6).

Next, the conveyor pointer CP and work pointer WP advance in the same way, and the conveyor pointer CP
When becomes 5, the process proceeds to step S45 via steps S41, S43, and S44, and 5 is set in the instruction pointer IP. Information regarding the attached parts is stored in the storage device while being shifted sequentially in accordance with the progress of the conveyor pointer CP, so that the specification information A regarding the workpiece W6 is stored in the pointer 5 of the storage device.
Pointer 4 has specification information B about workpiece W5, pointer 3 has specification information C about workpiece W4, pointer 2 has specification information A about workpiece W3, and pointer 1 has specification information about workpiece W2. Specification information B is stored (No. 6 in Figure 6).
5). Therefore, if the instruction pointer IP is now 5, the specification information A of the pointer 5 of the storage device is read out, and in step S46, an instruction signal indicating the information is output to the instruction device 11, thereby causing the instruction device to 11 displays information about the attachment part A, for example, the letter A.

Based on this information, when the operator takes out the mounting component A from the mounting component storage shelf 12, the photoelectric sensor 13
At the same time as the work completion signal is issued from A, the work pointer WP is incremented by 1 in step S10 of FIG.
The work pointer WP becomes 6. Therefore, when the conveyor pointer CP next increments to 6, the instruction pointer IP becomes 5 again according to the above formula (1), and the information B of the pointer 5 in the storage device is transferred to the instruction device 11 in the same manner as described above. It is output and displayed (Figure 6 No.
6).

Here, if the work is delayed and the conveyor pointer CP advances to 7 before taking out the attachment part B displayed on the indicating device 11, the work pointer WP remains at 6 (No. 6 Figure No. 7). Therefore, the instruction pointer calculated in step S45 in FIG.
The IP becomes (IP=5+7-6=6), and the information of the pointer 6 of the storage device is output to the indicating device 11, but the contents of the storage device are the conveyor pointer CP.
is shifted each time the conveyor pointer CP is advanced so that the latest information is always stored in pointer 1. Therefore, as the conveyor pointer CP advances, information on part B to be installed next is transferred from pointer 5. The pointer is shifted to pointer 6 (No. 6→No. 7 in FIG. 6). Therefore, if the work is delayed, the instruction contents are not updated and are held, so that information on the next part to be taken out can be reliably displayed on the instruction device 11. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the work pointer WP is the conveyor pointer.
The line is stopped when it is two or more behind the CP.

Next, another example of obtaining a work completion signal will be described.

Figure 7 shows three types of machining numbers 21A, 21B, 21C when attaching parts to workpieces W1 to W3.
In this example, a signal indicating that each processing machine 21A, 21B, 21C is operating, that is, a work The completion signal is taken into the control circuit 17, and it is determined which processing machine is outputting the work completion signal.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which the mounting positions of the mounting parts on the works W1 to W3 are different from each other. That is, three photoelectric sensors consisting of a pair of light emitting elements 25A and light receiving elements 25B are arranged at positions corresponding to the mounting positions of the respective mounting parts, and at a predetermined time, the optical path is interrupted from any one of the photoelectric sensors. The control circuit 17 determines whether a completed signal, that is, a work completion signal, is output. Therefore, if a work completion signal is output from any of the photoelectric sensors, an affirmative determination is made in step S8 of FIG. 3, and the attachment parts determined as described with reference to FIG. If the instruction content matches the work content determined as described above, an affirmative determination is made in step S9 of FIG.

Although the above explanation deals with the case where the worker attaches the attachment part to the workpiece, the present invention can be similarly applied to the case where the attachment part is attached to the workpiece by a robot, and in this case, the instruction device 11 The process is the same as described above, except that the robot takes out the specified attachment part and attaches it to the workpiece in response to the output from the robot.

According to this embodiment, since work errors can be ascertained, the operator's behavior can be analyzed based on the information, and this can contribute to solving problems. Also,
Since you can easily see the actual amount of parts used, you can manage parts and keep inventory to a minimum.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, when sequentially instructing parts to be attached to a workpiece being conveyed on a belt conveyor, updating of the sequential instructions is permitted only when the correct part to be attached is selected. Instructions can be given according to the progress of the work.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, if a part is forgotten to be installed, or in other words, if a part is missing, the line will stop, and if an incorrect part is installed, a buzzer will sound, so that missing or incorrect parts can be installed. This has the effect of being able to detect defective products in that process and take immediate action to deal with those defective products before they are sent to the next process.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a perspective view showing a photoelectric sensor installed on the component storage shelf, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the control procedure of the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the instruction calculation process. , Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the work progress calculation process, and Fig. 6 shows the conveyor pointer CP, work pointer WP,
A diagram showing a storage device pointer and instruction contents; FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another example of obtaining a work completion signal;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing still another example of obtaining a work completion signal. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Belt conveyor, 3... Work detection sensor, 5... Barcode, 7... Barcode reading device, 11... Instruction device, 13A-13C... Work detection device, 17... Control circuit, 21A- 21C...
...processing machine, 25A...light emitting element, 25B...light receiving element, W _i ...work, WA _i ...work area, P
1...first position, P2...second position.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a production instruction device that reads information about parts to be attached to a transported workpiece and instructs the information, means for determining whether or not the instructed parts match the actually selected parts; 1. A production instruction device comprising means for instructing a part to be assembled next only when the means determines that the parts match.