Computer integrated manufacturing rework apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A computer integrated manufacturing apparatus for supporting rework of a manufactured article, said article comprising a plurality of components, said apparatus comprising:
- means for storing and retrieving with a computer unique component descriptive information for each of said plurality of components, said unique component descriptive information identifying a list of possible defect diagnoses associated with said component;
means for displaying a representation of said manufactured article on a display coupled to said computer, wherein said representation comprises a graphical image which resembles the article in visual appearance;
means, interactive with said display means, for selecting a component of said manufactured article; and
means, responsive to said means for selecting a component, for displaying, on said display coupled to said computer, said list of possible defect diagnoses associated with said selected component.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A manufacturing rework station is integrated with a computer. A repair cell program running on the computer functions as an interface between the rework station operator, one or more databases, and one or more knowledge bases. The repair cell provides the operator with an easy to use graphical environment which aids in the diagnosis and repair of defects. The cell simultaneously provides operator assistance, records operator activity, and collects new knowledge when the problem under analysis was previously unknown. The databases contain manufacturing history for each individual article. The operator will input the serial number of the article with a bar-code reader, causing the program to fetch the record of the article. The computer generates an image of the article on the display. The operator may select a component of the article with a lightpen. In response to the selection of a component, the computer displays the possible diagnoses and repair actions associated with that component, together with a figure of merit. The operator may also invoke an expert consultation mode, in which the computer suggests a diagnosis or requests additional information while searching a directed graph. When a diagnosis is made, the computer automatically updates its databases. A plant monitoring and reporting program has access to the diagnostic statistics, and can generate a warning when a particular defect exceeds a limit, or generate defect reports on request.
122 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A computer integrated manufacturing apparatus for supporting rework of a manufactured article, said article comprising a plurality of components, said apparatus comprising:
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means for storing and retrieving with a computer unique component descriptive information for each of said plurality of components, said unique component descriptive information identifying a list of possible defect diagnoses associated with said component; means for displaying a representation of said manufactured article on a display coupled to said computer, wherein said representation comprises a graphical image which resembles the article in visual appearance; means, interactive with said display means, for selecting a component of said manufactured article; and means, responsive to said means for selecting a component, for displaying, on said display coupled to said computer, said list of possible defect diagnoses associated with said selected component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of using a computer coupled to a computer display to support rework of a manufactured article, comprising the steps of:
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storing one or more set of failure symptoms which may occur with respect to said manufactured article; storing one or more sets of possible defect diagnoses of said manufactured article, wherein each of said sets of failure symptoms is associated with one of said sets of possible defect diagnoses and wherein each of said sets of possible defect diagnoses is associated with at least one component of said manufactured article; displaying a representation of said manufactured article on a display coupled to said computer, said representation comprising a graphical image which resembles the article in visual appearance; interactively selecting from said representation on said display a component of said manufactured article; identifying a set of failure symptoms associated with an individual manufactured article; retrieving the set of possible defect diagnoses associated with said set of failure symptoms associated with said individual manufactured article and with said component selected by said interactively selecting step; and displaying on said display said set of possible defect diagnoses associated with said set of failure symptoms associated with the individual manufactured article. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification