Process and equipment for optimizing production

• US 6,381,508 B1
• Filed: 10/15/1998
• Issued: 04/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Stéphane Marrie
• Original Assignee: Stéphane Marrie
• Inventors: Marrie, Stéphane
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): RODRIGUEZ, PAUL L
• Application Number:
  US09/172,850
• Time in Patent Office: 1,293 Days
• Field of Search: 700/80, 700/81, 700/103, 700/104, 700/108, 700/110, 700/96, 700/79, 714/25, 714/47, 714/48
• US Class Current: 700/96
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0294 Optimizing process, e.g. process efficiency, product quality
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 9/02 electric

Abstract

A process and equipment for optimizing production includes identifying the breakdown that is actually responsible for a shutdown on a machine production line, and hence of introducing this specific criterion into the process for handling malfunctions, at the level of a man-machine interface. Thus, the true cause of a given breakdown is determined, and it becomes possible to act on this primary cause, and not just on the secondary breakdowns generated downstream; therefore productivity control is improved considerably.

Claims

1. A fully automated system for monitoring operation on machine lines of interconnected logical systems, comprising three modules:

a module for knowledge of machine interactions of any type, capable of having repercussions at the level of breakdowns, between elements under control;

a module for recognizing, for each breakdown, a primary breakdown, from information contained in the module for knowledge; and

a module for attributing down time to the primary breakdown and with the appropriate coefficients, for the primary breakdown and to the other elements under control which, as a result of the primary breakdown, have either triggered an alarm, or have necessarily been affected by one of the primary breakdown or a secondary breakdown, even though they have not generated alarms themselves.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the module for knowledge knows only some of the machine interactions, between only some of the elements under control.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the module for knowledge comprises a data bank into which functional links of the system have been entered.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the module for knowledge knows a functional layout of each element under control, upstream line, and downstream line, and can determine whether the source of the breakdown is internal or external.

5. A machine or machine line comprising a system according to claim 1.

6. A process for optimizing production, particularly in machine lines, comprising three steps:

(a) knowing machine interactions of any type, capable of having repercussions at the level of breakdowns, between elements under control;

(b) recognizing, for each breakdown, a primary breakdown, from information known in step (a); and

(c) attributing down time to the primary breakdown and, with the appropriate coefficients, for the primary breakdown and to the other elements under control which, as a result of the primary breakdown, have either triggered an alarm, or have necessarily been affected by one of the primary breakdown or a secondary breakdown, even though they have not generated alarms themselves.