JPH04205003A - Educational work support system for machining cell or line - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable even an unskillful worker to operate a machining cell or line efficiently by using a means guiding the operating method of the controller by sound and light. CONSTITUTION:A host machine 24 is provided with a slave machine 30 as a codeless phone consisting one of a pair. The slave machine 30 together with a head phone set 37 is carried with a worker 43. The worker 43 selected a machine, operates an appropriate switch to generate a digital signal in the controller, and provides NC machine tools 12 with a DTMF signal via PBX 23 to carry out the start, temporarily stop, or emergency stop of each machine tool. Further, by operating a LCD indicator of slave machine 30 to set it at 'PRESS' or 'HELP' to enable the worker to receive the guidance and direction for operation of NC machine tools 12 by sound and light.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention includes a plurality of machines, a control device that controls each machine, and a control device connected to each control device via a communication line, In a processing cell or line equipped with a monitoring and control unit that monitors the machine status and operates each machine in an orderly manner, warm means such as sound and light are provided to workers working on the cell or line. The present invention relates to an educational work support system for a processing cell or line that can be used and supported to work efficiently in a safer, brighter, and cleaner manner.

(Prior Art) In recent years, with the advancement of FMS and CIM, various machines have come to be dynamically controlled on processing cells or lines.

For example, in a sheet metal processing line equipped with an automated warehouse, a press machine, a material loading/unloading device, etc., each machine is connected via a local area network (LAN), and a start signal is sent to the press machine under the supervision of a supervisory control room. Just give,
Workpieces are automatically supplied and pressed products or semi-finished products are automatically shipped with or without an automated warehouse.

Here, the workers (operators) located on the processing line are tasked with creating the conditions for each machine to operate, that is, setting up work, and after doing the setting work while communicating with the supervisory control room, each It is necessary to monitor the machine and prepare for the next step.

Furthermore, if any machine generates an alarm, the other machines must be stopped and restarted after the alarm is canceled.

In other words, workers are required to start and stop each machine, and perform light
″′7″′-L l: vs. T i;t 7-fy-1
The situation is such that a one-town phenomenon occurs around 7 to 6 days after the lifting of the lockdown, and workers are not able to gather to carry out dangerous, dirty, and difficult work. In many processing industries, it is difficult to secure workers who have the above-mentioned minimum knowledge.

Incidentally, each processing line employs many regular workers, including seasonal workers, part-time women, part-time students, and foreign workers.

On the other hand, in recent years, processing lines have become more oriented toward FMS, and the control devices of each machine have different layouts of switches on their operation panels, and their operation methods also vary. It is extremely difficult to train these workers to be able to handle the machines.

Therefore, the present invention provides educational work that allows even unskilled workers to efficiently operate processing cells and lines by supporting the workers' work using warm means such as sound and light. The purpose is to provide a support system.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention, which is intended to solve the above problems, includes a plurality of machines, a control device that controls each machine, and a device connected to each control device via a communication line. , a work support system for a processing cell or line, which is equipped with a monitoring and control unit that monitors the state of each machine and operates each machine in an orderly manner, in which a base unit of a wireless telephone is fixed to the processing cell or line. A handset that communicates wirelessly with the base unit is provided integrally with a portable operation box carried by a worker, and the portable operation box is configured to operate the handset as a wireless telephone. a headphone set, a notification unit that notifies the operating status of each machine, an operation command switch for each machine, and a guidance command for each control device to guide the operator on how to operate the control device. a guidance command switch that gives
The present invention is characterized in that a guide means is provided for guiding the operating method of the control device by sound and light when the guide command switch is operated.

(Function) In the educational work support system of the present invention, by providing the above-mentioned portable operation box to the worker working in the processing cell or line, it is possible to communicate with other workers via wireless telephone. or inform the operator of the operating status of the machine,
Timely and appropriate guidance on how to operate the control device by sound and light.

Therefore, each worker can know the operating status of the machine, such as the remaining machining time and the number of remaining sheets to be machined, even if he or she is located away from the machine, and can carry out other setup work with peace of mind. In addition, if something unclear occurs, it is possible to contact other workers, especially experts in the supervisory control room, via the radio telephone. Furthermore, if the operating method is unknown to the control device of each machine, guidance can be obtained by appropriately using sound and light by instructing the control device to guide the operating method. As sound guidance methods, there are a method of transmitting sound from the headphone and a method of outputting sound from speakers provided in each control device. Further, as a light guiding method, there are a method of blinking lamps provided on the operation panel surface of each control device, a method of shining a visible laser beam toward the operation panel surface, and the like.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 2 showing an example of an FMS machining line that implements the present invention, the machining line 1 is equipped with an automatic warehouse 3 having racks 2 in multiple rows and stages, and behind the racks 2 there are designated racks. On the other hand, a material carrying-in device 4 is provided for carrying in the sheet metal material from the rear side. Further, in front of the racks 2, there is provided a lifting platform 5 that can be positioned to the height position of each rack, and a material carrying-in/out device (traverser) 6 that can be moved to each rack position. Therefore, the materials stored in one rack by the material loading device 4 can be transferred to another rack by the general loading/unloading operation of the material loading/unloading device 6, and the stored materials or products can be transferred as appropriate. It can be taken out onto the lifting platform 5 as appropriate.

On the other hand, a turret punch press machine 9 equipped with a loading device 7 and an unloading device 8 is arranged on a line at a certain distance from the front side of the automated warehouse 2, and an automatic A transport path 10 is appropriately provided between the warehouse 3 and the material so that the material is processed into products in the order of arrows A, 口, C, 2, and E, and is transported to the next process or warehouse as appropriate. It has become.

In the processing line 1 with the above configuration, an intelligent stocker controller (ISC) is placed near the material loading device 4 of the automated warehouse 3, and a turret punch press machine 9 is placed near the turret punch press machine 9. [NC device for controlling] 2 is arranged, and the NC device 12
Nearby there is a computer that controls each machine connected to the loading device 7 and unloading device 8, respectively.
- roller] 3 and an intelligent data terminal (IDT) 14 that collectively processes data on this controller 13 and the NC device 12. This data terminal 14 serves as a host controller for the NC device 12. These controllers 11,
12, 13, and 14 are interconnected by LAN line 15,
The LAN line 15 is further connected to a main controller (IMC) 16 and an automatic programming device W17 located in the supervisory control room. A terminal (TH) connected to the stocker controller 11 via a line 18
) 19 and 20 are appropriately placed at separate locations to perform operations regarding the automated warehouse 4 at various locations.

Therefore, in the processing line 1 of this example, the controllers 11, 12, 14, the main controller 16, the automatic programming device 17, etc. are interconnected by the LAN wiring 15, and the schedule program created by the main controller 6 is transferred to the upper controller. ] 4, the scheduled NC programs can be executed sequentially.

As shown in FIG. 3, the turret punch press 9 includes:
The so-called bridge-shaped frame F is equipped with upper and lower turrets 21U and 21D that are arranged vertically opposite each other, and by rotating these turrets 21U and 21D, the mold that is indexed to the processing position is struck with a striker provided above. By pressing, the workpiece gripped by the workpiece clamp device and positioned on the table 22 can be appropriately pressed.

Here, in this turret punch press 9, it is necessary to perform setup work such as positioning the work clamp device on the carriage and replacing the mold.

For mold replacement work, refer to the work sheet, etc., and replace the turret 21.
A mold having a predetermined shape is set in advance at a predetermined mold device station U or 21D.

Thereafter, by operating the start switch of the NC device [2], the IMC [6] learns of its ready state, and scheduled operation is carried out. However, when starting the machine first thing in the morning, a preparatory procedure is required as described below.

In this example, for the processing line 1 as described above, IMCs 1 and 6, an automatic programming device] 7, and a private branch exchange (PBX) 23 are arranged in a supervisory control room. The PB
As shown in FIG. 4(a), the X23 is connected to the controller group, ie,
5C11, IDT14, and lMC16 are connected in a star connection.

As shown in FIG. 4(b), each controller (11, 1
4 and 16 are equipped with voice synthesis and PB signal levers (PBR).
) and a voice synthesis/signal conversion board 27 consisting of
AI Department 28 (Co+nputer-＾1ded In5
truction) is built-in.

Furthermore, a TC card 29 can be set in the CAI section 28 to provide information depending on the operator. boat 2
7 has a pushbutton (P B) oscillator, C
The digital information in the AI unit 28 is converted into an audio signal or a PB double signal and sent to the NCU 25, and conversely, the received PB double signal is converted into a parallel bit signal and sent to the CAI unit 28.

Therefore, in this example, it is possible to convert the information selected by the CAI unit 28 into audio using the audio synthesis/signal conversion board 27 and output the audio. Furthermore, since an IC card 29 can be set in the CAI section 28, it is possible to output audio in the language of the country to a foreigner, depending on the operator.

On the other hand, for the base unit 24, a slave unit 30 is provided which forms a pair with the base unit 24 to form a so-called cordless phone. However, this handset is formed as a portable operation box (handy terminal) as shown in FIG.

The handy terminal 30 shown in Fig. 5 has 32 characters x 6 characters.
A touch panel type LCD display 31, an emergency stop switch 32, start and stop switches 33 and 34 for issuing start and stop commands to the machine, and a hook switch for turning on and off the telephone. 3
5.36.

The display unit 31 is a display unit 3 that indicates the operating status of each machine]
a, and a display section 31b that displays the setting mode status of each machine.
and a display section 31 that displays the machining status such as machining time, number of sheets to be machined, and number of remaining machining pieces. c, 31d.

31e, and a mode selection display section 31f.

Further, a headphone 37 is detachably attached to the handy terminal 30.

In the figure, the shaded area on the LCD display 31 indicates the currently selected mode. That is, the status of the machine selected on the touch panel is displayed.

As shown in FIG. 4(a), the information displayed on the LCD is transmitted from the handy terminal 30 to the CAI unit 28 via the PBX 23 using the PB double signal (DTMF signal).
On the contrary, the data generated by the CAI unit 28 and the DTM
It consists of one that rides on the F signal and reaches the handy terminal 30.

In the display of FIG. 5, it is shown that the press is in a manual state, the machining time is 5.5 hours, the number of sheets to be processed is 1256, and 381 sheets remain to be processed.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG.
On the back side, there is a numeric keypad group 38 for telephone key-in,
A switch group 39 for speed dial operation is provided.

The speed dial is for calling the supervisory control room (M),
Items for calling other workers (B, C.

D) has been prepared.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the handy terminal 3o.

As shown in the figure, the controller 4o includes a transmitter/receiver 41 with an antenna, a telephone circuit 42, and the display 31.
Switches 32, 33, and 34 are connected. A headphone set 37, hook switches 35, 36, a numeric keypad 38, and a speed dial switch 39 are connected to the telephone circuit 42.

The controller 40 appropriately communicates with the base unit 24 and changes the display contents according to the switch states of the touch panel 31 and other switches 32, 33, and 34. Also, a call is made in accordance with the signal state of the numeric keys 38, 39, and the received contents are outputted as audio from the headphone set 37.

In the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 1, the handy terminal 30 is carried by the worker 43, and the headphone set 3
7 is set.

Therefore, the worker 43 can work while carrying the handy terminal 30, and can use it in the following manner during the work.

First, in FIGS. 5 and 6, the handy terminal 30 has a built-in function as a normal wireless telephone handset, so it can make calls to skilled personnel in the supervisory control room or other departments. be able to. If the PBX 23 is constructed as a general in-house phone, it can be used to call people outside the processing line, and to freely inquire about unclear matters regarding setup work or operation methods. It is.

Next, since the handy terminal 30 is provided with a touch panel type display 31, it is possible to select each machine and display its status.

For example, in the figure, "Press", that is, the aforementioned turret punch press 9, is selected and a command is issued to display its operating state, thereby indicating the processing state of the press.

Further, the handy terminal 30 is provided with start and stop (stop at -) switches 33 and 34, and an emergency stop switch 32.

Therefore, by selecting a machine and operating appropriate switches, the operator generates a digital signal in the controller 40 corresponding to the operation, and transfers the DTMF signal to the PBX.
23 to the NC device 12 to start, temporarily stop, or emergency stop each machine.

Next, it is assumed that the worker 43, who has a handy terminal, is unsure about the machine operation method.

At this time, the operator presses the LCD display 31a of the handy terminal 30 shown in FIG.
By operating “HELPJ” on 1f, NC device 1
Users will be able to receive guidance and guidance regarding the operations described in step 2 using sound and light.

Sound guidance is to provide audio guidance to the operator about the operating method. Light guidance involves flickering lamps on the panel surface or supporting switch positions on the panel surface using a laser beam. However, although the sound may be output from the headphone set 37, it may also be output from the speaker 46 provided on the upper left side of the operation panel 12P.

For example, when considering the startup procedure for the operation panel 12P shown in FIG. 8, the procedure shown in FIG. 9 can be used.

The operator first turns on the power-on switch 44 at the upper left side of the panel (step 901).

No guidance is necessary up to this point.

Therefore, depending on whether the next step is unknown or not, the rHE L PJ key is operated in step 902, and the step 9
In step 03, the user is guided by sound and light, and in step 904, the user is actually operated.

In the startup procedure of this example, first select "Origin" in the mode selection, operate the origin movement keys "+ After the lamp lights up, the mode can be switched to "Auto j", so in order to have these steps executed, the steps can be displayed in sequence on the CRT screen 45, and audio guidance can be given through the headphones 37. It is also a good idea to guide the switch to be operated by flashing a lamp embedded inside it.

To give an example of the voice guidance, when the power switch is turned on in the above startup procedure, a voice will be output saying, "Press the origin mode setting key in the center of the operation panel to set the origin mode." . At this time, the corresponding switch flashes.

Then, when the worker presses the switch, a voice says, ``In order to operate the X-axis of the machine, please hold down the plus (+) X switch until the LED lamp indicating the X-axis origin on the left side of the panel lights up.'' Output. At this time"
+X” switch flashes.

When this is completed, similar sound and light guidance will be performed for +YJ, and the procedures will be executed in sequence.

In this example, the handy terminal 30 is provided with a machine selection switch and an rHELPJ key, and the NC device 12 is equipped with a machine selection switch and an rHELPJ key.
Since the CAI unit 28 and the voice synthesis/signal conversion board 27 are provided on the side, it is possible to guide the operation method for each machine by sound and light.

Furthermore, the headphone set 37 outputs 1. By playing music with a /f fluctuation, the worker can work comfortably.Also, in the above example, guidance was provided on how to operate the NC device 12, but guidance on alarm processing was provided. You can also do that.

For example, if the front width of NC device [2] remains open, an alarm will occur, or in this case, if you close the front width and press the "Reset" switch on the upper right of panel 12P, the alarm will be canceled, so follow these steps. You can use sound and light to guide you.

Further, after the automatic start is applied to the NC device 12, the operator starts the next setup work, and the setup work can be guided in various ways by sound and light.

In this way, in this example, the handy terminal 30 is used to create a wireless factory work support system (Factory Work Support System).
Cordles Automation). This FCA uses the warm means of sound and light to evolve the relationship between humans and machines into a safer, brighter, and more innocent relationship.

In the above embodiments, a processing line is shown, but the same applies to a processing cell. In this case, it is possible to contact workers in the supervisory control room or other processing cells by radio telephone, and also to obtain sound and light guidance to the control device.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be implemented in any appropriate manner by making appropriate design changes.

[Benefits of the invention] As described above, the present invention is an educational work support system for a processing cell or line as described in the claims, and therefore the portable operation box is provided to workers working in a factory. This allows each worker to communicate with other workers via wireless telephone, inform them of the operating status of the machine, and guide them on how to operate the control device, so each worker can You can also know the operating status of the machine, such as the remaining machining time and the number of sheets remaining to be machined, so you can perform setup work with peace of mind. In addition, if something unclear occurs, the user can contact other workers, especially experts in the monitoring and control section, via the wireless telephone. Furthermore, if the operating method is unknown to the control device of each machine, a command can be given to guide the operating method, and guidance can be obtained by sound and light as appropriate.

In this way, by using warm means such as sound and light to support work, the processing line can be operated more efficiently in a safer, brighter, and cleaner manner.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings all show embodiments of the present invention, with Fig. 1 being an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between the NC device and workers, Fig. 2 being an explanatory diagram of the processing line, and Fig. 3 being a perspective view of the turret punch press.
Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a work support device using a wireless telephone, Fig. 5 is a front view of the handy terminal, and Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a work support device using a wireless telephone.
7 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the handy terminal, FIG. 8 is an enlarged front view of the operation panel, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the NC activation guide system. 1... Processing line 3... Automatic warehouse 7... Loading device 8... Unloading device 9... Turret punch press 12... - NC device 24... Main unit 26... Man... Machine interface 27...Speech synthesis/signal conversion board 28...CAI section 30...Handy terminal (child unit) 31...Touch panel LCD display 43...Worker representative Patent attorney Miyoshi Miyoshi Hidekazu Figure 1 Figure 3 11.14.16 27 (') Figure 4 (b) /3' / Figure 7 Figure 9

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A plurality of machines, a control device that controls each machine, and a monitoring control that is connected to each control device via a communication line and operates each machine in an orderly manner while monitoring the state of each machine. In the educational work support system for a processing cell or line, the base unit of a wireless telephone is fixedly provided to the processing cell or line, and the slave unit that communicates wirelessly with the base unit is connected to a work station. The portable operation box is provided integrally with a portable operation box carried by a person, and the portable operation box includes switches for operating the handset as a wireless telephone, a headphone set, and an alarm for informing the operating status of each machine. a control unit, an operation command switch that gives operation commands to each machine, and a guidance command switch that gives guidance commands to each control device to guide a worker how to operate the control device, and the guidance command switch is operated. 1. An educational work support system for a processing cell or line, characterized in that the educational work support system for a processing cell or line is provided with a guide means for teaching the operation method of the control device by sound and light when the control device is operated.