Method and system for generation of manufacturing process plans
First Claim
1. A method for generating a manufacturing process plan for a selected product utilizing a computer system having a visual display, said method comprising the steps of:
- importing a visual image of at least a portion of said selected product;
creating a library of icons representative of various steps within said manufacturing process;
displaying said visual image of at least a portion of said selected product and said library of icons simultaneously within said visual display of said computer system;
automatically generating a textual instruction describing a particular step within said manufacturing process in response to each selection of a particular icon;
altering said visual image of at least a portion of said selected product at a graphically designated point within said visual image to depict a physical location for each particular step within said manufacturing process; and
sequentially storing each automatically generated textual instruction and each altered visual image for each particular step within said manufacturing process wherein a manufacturing process plan is generated.
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Abstract
A method and system are disclosed for the efficient generation of manufacturing process plans. A visual image of at least a portion of a selected product is captured or generated and displayed on a portion of the video display of a computer system. A library of iconic representations of manufacturing process steps is also displayed, each having a stored textual instruction associated therewith. By utilizing a graphical pointing device, the operator may select a location within the visual image and thereafter select the iconic representation of the manufacturing step desired. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the operator may selectively alter the textual instruction utilizing a known text editor. In the depicted embodiment of the present invention, the textual instructions are automatically sequentially numbered and stored for later use by a manufacturing technician during the manufacturing process. The visual image of the selected product is also altered to include reference numerals corresponding to each sequentially numbered textual instruction.
65 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A method for generating a manufacturing process plan for a selected product utilizing a computer system having a visual display, said method comprising the steps of:
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importing a visual image of at least a portion of said selected product; creating a library of icons representative of various steps within said manufacturing process; displaying said visual image of at least a portion of said selected product and said library of icons simultaneously within said visual display of said computer system; automatically generating a textual instruction describing a particular step within said manufacturing process in response to each selection of a particular icon; altering said visual image of at least a portion of said selected product at a graphically designated point within said visual image to depict a physical location for each particular step within said manufacturing process; and sequentially storing each automatically generated textual instruction and each altered visual image for each particular step within said manufacturing process wherein a manufacturing process plan is generated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system for generating a manufacturing process plan for a selected product, said system comprising:
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a computer system having a visual display device; a graphical pointing device coupled to said computer system; means for creating a plurality of iconic representations of various manufacturing steps; means for generating a visual image within said visual display device of at least a portion of said selected product and said plurality of iconic representations; means for displaying a selected textual instruction describing a particular step within said manufacturing process in response to each selection of a particular iconic representation; means for altering said visual image of at least a portion of said selected product at a location designated by said graphical pointing device wherein a location for a particular step within said manufacturing process is indicated for each selection of a particular iconic representation; and means for sequentially storing each displayed selected textual instruction and each altered visual image for each particular step within said manufacturing process wherein a manufacturing process plan is generated. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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Specification