QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEM, QUALITY CONTROL APPARATUS, QUALITY CONTROL METHOD AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM

• US 20100198387A1
• Filed: 09/14/2009
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: ADACHI, Koji, MATSUDA, Noriyuki, TAKANO, Masayasu, SETA, Akiko, YASUKAWA, Kaoru, SATONAGA, Tetsuichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,219,231 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/109
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0251 Abstraction hierarchy, e.g. "complex systems", i.e. system is divided in subsystems, subsystems are monitored and results are combined to decide on status of whole system
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/04 Manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/30 Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing

Abstract

A quality control method includes: extracting, from a time series distribution of troubles that have occurred in electronic equipments, a first characteristics of states of occurrence of the troubles; specifying one or more parts included in the electronic equipments, the parts being involved with the troubles; extracting, from another time series distribution of a rate of use corresponding to each of suppliers which supply the specified parts, a second characteristics of the parts; and specifying one or more of the suppliers supplying the parts correlated to the troubles based on a correlation between the extracted first characteristics and the extracted second characteristics.

Claims

1. A quality control apparatus, comprising:

a first extracting unit that extracts, from a time series distribution of troubles that have occurred in electronic equipments, a first characteristics of states of occurrence of the troubles;

a part specifying unit that specifies one or more parts included in the electronic equipments, the parts being involved with the troubles;

a second extracting unit that extracts, from another time series distribution of a rate of use corresponding to each of suppliers which supply the parts specified by the part specifying unit, a second characteristics of the parts; and

a part supplier specifying unit that specifies one or more of the suppliers supplying the parts correlated to the troubles based on a correlation between the first characteristics extracted by the first extracting unit and the second characteristics extracted by the second extracting unit.

2. A quality control system, comprising:

two or more quality control apparatuses,

wherein each quality control apparatus includes;

a first extracting unit that extracts, from a time series distribution of troubles that have occurred in electronic equipments, a first characteristics of states of occurrence of the troubles;

a part specifying unit that specifies one or more parts included in the electronic equipments, the parts being involved with the troubles;

a second extracting unit that extracts, from another time series distribution of a rate of use corresponding to each of suppliers which supply the parts specified by the part specifying unit, a second characteristics of the parts; and

a part supplier specifying unit that specifies one or more of the suppliers supplying the parts correlated to the troubles based on a correlation between the first characteristics extracted by the first extracting unit and the second characteristics extracted by the second extracting unit,

wherein the quality control apparatuses form a hierarchical structure respectively, and

the quality control apparatus at a superior hierarchy transmits information about the troubles of the parts to the quality control apparatus of the suppliers of the parts specified by the supplier specifying unit at a subordinate hierarchy.

3. A quality control method comprising:

extracting, from a time series distribution of troubles that have occurred in electronic equipments, a first characteristics of states of occurrence of the troubles;

specifying one or more parts included in the electronic equipments, the parts being involved with the troubles;

extracting, from another time series distribution of a rate of use corresponding to each of suppliers which supply the specified parts, a second characteristics of the parts; and

specifying one or more of the suppliers supplying the parts correlated to the troubles based on a correlation between the extracted first characteristics and the extracted second characteristics.

4. A computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process for quality control, the process comprising:

extracting, from a time series distribution of troubles that have occurred in electronic equipments, a first characteristics of states of occurrence of the troubles;

specifying one or more parts included in the electronic equipments, the parts being involved with the troubles;

extracting, from another time series distribution of a rate of use corresponding to each of suppliers which supply the specified parts, a second characteristics of the parts; and

specifying one or more of the suppliers supplying the parts correlated to the troubles based on a correlation between the extracted first characteristics and the extracted second characteristics.