Control system for production facilities

• US 5,787,002 A
• Filed: 03/29/1995
• Issued: 07/28/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Inventors: Iwamoto, Hiroshi, Morimoto, Tatsurou, Ueyama, Masato
• Primary Examiner(s): Elmore, Reba I.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, THOMAS
• Application Number:
  US08/413,875
• Time in Patent Office: 1,217 Days
• Field of Search: 364/468, 364/478, 364/132, 364/131, 364/133-135, 364/468.01, 364/468.02, 364/468.05, 364/468.15, 364/474.11, 364/468.18, 364/468.19 , 364/468.22, 364/468.23, 364/474.16, 364/474.18, 364/474.17
• US Class Current: 700/115
• CPC Class Codes: B23Q 41/00 Combinations or associations of metal-working machines not directed to a particular result according to classes B21, B23, or B24 B23Q37/00, B23Q39/00 take precedence; features relating to operations performed, if the different metal-working operations are of the same kind, see the subclass for the kind of operation, e.g. punching B21D, welding B23K, grinding B24B; features relating to technically specified combinations of different metal-working operations B23P23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41865 characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31086 Communication of carriage, agv data, workpiece data at each station
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31088 Network communication between supervisor and cell, machine group
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31304 Identification of workpiece and data for control, inspection, safety, calibration
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A control system for controlling a production facility, including a plurality of work stations each of which is provided with an automatically controllable working apparatus, has a control device for controlling the working apparatus so as to perform specified working and a data communications network through which the control means communicates data on operation of the working apparatus with other work stations so as to reflect the data in operation of each working apparatus.

Claims

1. A control system for controlling a production facility including a plurality of work stations, each said work station being provided with a plurality of working apparatuses having machining tools, said control system comprising:

working apparatus control means for controlling said working apparatuses, respectively, so as to perform a specified machining operation independently from one another;

intermittent control means interfaced to said working apparatus control means by means of a data communication network so as to communicate data on deterioration of said machining tools of said working apparatus with one another, said intermittent control means governing said working apparatus control means of said respective apparatuses for each said work station and unifying said data on deterioration of said machining tool of said respective working apparatus for each said work station transmitted from said respective working apparatus control means so as to present predetermined attributes of data; and

inclusive control means for interfacing to said respective intermittent control means by means of a data communications network so as to communicate data with one another and for governing said intermittent control means for said respective work stations and unifying said data transmitted from said intermittent control means for said respective work stations;

said intermittent control means transmitting, on one hand, data among said predetermined attributes of data intrinsic to each said working apparatus control means and, on the other hand, data of said predetermined attributes of data to said inclusive control means.

2. A control system as defined in claim 1, wherein said inclusive control means comprises a host computer.

3. A control system as defined in claim 1, wherein said data on determination of said machining tool includes number of times a tool is worked for each said working apparatus.

4. A control system as defined in claim 3, wherein each said working apparatus control means displays data the number of times the tool is worked for said working apparatus among said predetermined attributes of data transmitted thereto from said intermittent control means.

5. A control system as defined in claim 3, wherein said inclusive control means lists and displays data on exchanges of tools of said respective working apparatus among said predetermined attributes of data transmitted thereto from said intermittent control means.

6. A control system as defined in claim 1, wherein said data on deterioration of the machining tools includes number of times that a tool of each said working apparatus has serviced and said predetermined attributes of data includes said number of times of serviced working and a predetermined extreme number of times that the tool of said working apparatus is expected to serve.

7. A control system as defined in claim 6, wherein said intermittent control means includes means for changing said predetermined extreme number of times of working.

8. A control system as defined in claim 1, wherein said data on operation includes data on failures of each said working apparatus.

9. A control system as defined in claim 8, wherein said predetermined attributes of data include data on types of failures.

10. A control system as defined in claim 1, wherein the production facility comprises a machining line for machining works.