Apparatus and method for managing distributing design and manufacturing information throughout a sheet metal production facility
First Claim
1. An intelligent facility for producing parts, said facility comprising:
- a database that stores job information relating to the production of at least one part previously produced by said facility, said previous job information for each said previously produced part including previous design data relating to part design features of each said previously produced part;
a system for receiving current job information relating to a current part to be produced by said facility in response to a current job request, said current job information including proposed design data relating to proposed part design features of said current part; and
a system for searching said database to compare said previous job information design data stored with respect to each said previously produced part to said current job information design data, and to determine if said previous job information design data and said current job information design data have at least a predetermined degree of similarity such that a plan can be developed for producing a current part, in response to said current job request, which utilizes at least a part of said previous job information.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method is provided for managing and distributing design and manufacturing information throughout a factory in order to facilitate the production of components, such as bent sheet metal components. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the management and distribution of critical design and manufacturing information is achieved by storing and distributing the design and manufacturing information associated with each job. By replacing the traditional paper job set-up or work sheet with, for example, an electronically stored job sheet that can be accessed instantaneously from any location in the factory, the present invention improves the overall efficiency of the factory. In addition, through the various aspects and features of the invention, the organization and accessibility of part information and stored expert knowledge is improved.
92 Citations
90 Claims
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1. An intelligent facility for producing parts, said facility comprising:
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a database that stores job information relating to the production of at least one part previously produced by said facility, said previous job information for each said previously produced part including previous design data relating to part design features of each said previously produced part; a system for receiving current job information relating to a current part to be produced by said facility in response to a current job request, said current job information including proposed design data relating to proposed part design features of said current part; and a system for searching said database to compare said previous job information design data stored with respect to each said previously produced part to said current job information design data, and to determine if said previous job information design data and said current job information design data have at least a predetermined degree of similarity such that a plan can be developed for producing a current part, in response to said current job request, which utilizes at least a part of said previous job information. - 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 for the intelligent production of parts in a facility, said method comprising:
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storing, in a data storage device, job information relating to the production of at least one part previously produced by said facility, said previous job information for each said previously produced part including previous design data relating to part design features of each of said previously produced part; receiving current job information relating to a current part to be produced by said facility in response to a current job request, said current job information including proposed design data relating to proposed part design features of said current part; searching said data storage device to compare said previous job information design data stored with respect to each said previously produced part to said current job information design data; and determining if said previous job information design data and said current job information design data have at least a predetermined degree of similarity such that a plan can be developed for producing a current part, in response to said current job request, which utilizes at least part of said previous job information. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. An intelligent production system, comprising:
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a data storage device for storing previous job information of previously produced parts, said previous job information including previous design data relating to part design features of each of said previously produced parts; means for receiving current job information relating to a current job request to produce a new part, said current job information including proposed design data relating to proposed part design features of the new part of said current job request; and means for searching said data storage device and for comparing said previous job information with said current job information to identify said previously produced parts that have a predetermined degree of similarity to the new part of said current job request. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A method for performing a similar part search, said method comprising the steps of:
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storing previous job information of previously produced parts in a data storage device, said previous job information including previous design data relating to part design features of each of said previously produced parts; receiving current job information relating to a current job request to produce a new part, said current job information including proposed design data relating to proposed part design features of the part of said current job request; and searching said data storage device and comparing said previous job information with said current job information to identify said previously produced parts that have a predetermined degree of similarity to the new part of said current job request. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
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69. An intelligent facility for producing parts, said facility comprising:
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a data storage device for storing previous data representing a plurality of predetermined part design features relating to parts previously produced by said facility; a data receiving system for receiving proposed data representing a plurality of predetermined part design features relating to a part to be produced by said facility; and a comparing system for making a comparison of the stored previous data with the received proposed data relating to said part to be produced, and for using the results of said comparison to determine whether at least one of said previously produced parts and said part to be produced are identical, similar, or different. - View Dependent Claims (70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77)
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78. A method for use in an intelligent part production facility, said method comprising the steps of:
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storing, in a data storage device, previous data representing a plurality of predetermined part design features relating to parts previously produced by said facility; receiving proposed data representing a plurality of predetermined part design features relating to a part to be produced by said facility; comparing the stored previous data with the received proposed data relating to said part to be produced; and determining, through the comparison of said stored previous data and said received proposed data, whether said at least one of said previously produced parts and said part to be produced are identical, similar, or different. - View Dependent Claims (79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90)
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Specification