JPH07182006A - Method for recovering test results in automatic thin plate mechanical testing - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] In an automatic thin plate mechanical testing system, to recover test results quickly when recovering from an abnormal situation. [Configuration] When an abnormality occurs in the process computer (procedure computer) and the auxiliary storage device, the test result transmitted to the business computer (visicon) is grasped by the process computer (steps 101 to 104). The test machine is requested to provide the test results including the test-completed lots (steps 105 and 106), and when there is no overlap in the results (step 107), the test results missing in the vidicon are collected (step 108). , And transmits it from the computer to the vidicon (step 109).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic thin plate mechanical test system for collecting a test piece from a thin plate product, and a computer side managing a testing machine records test results when an abnormality occurs in the system. The present invention relates to a method for returning test results so that the test results can be restored.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an iron mill, a test piece is collected in order to test whether or not a manufactured product (such as a thin plate) meets specifications. There is a thin plate automatic mechanical test system that automatically collects this test piece and further automatically tests it.

This thin plate automatic mechanical test system, as shown in FIG. 9, has a vidicon 21 as a host computer,
A process computer (hereinafter, referred to as "pro computer") 22 positioned as a subordinate computer of the vidicon 21 and a plurality of test devices 23, 24, 25 controlled by the process computer 22 are mainly configured. FA (Factory Automation) equipment (punching press equipment, pallet stacker, various conveyors, automatic testing machines, manual testing machines, etc.)
It is configured with.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, although it is extremely important to strictly guarantee the final test result, the abnormality of the process control and the abnormality of the connection line communication are caused. In such cases, it was not possible to restore the test results because no means was taken to restore the test results along with the return.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for returning test results in an automatic thin plate mechanical test, which enables quick recovery of the test results when returning from an abnormal situation.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention controls a plurality of testing machines under the control of a lower computer connected to a higher computer to perform an automatic thin plate mechanical test. In the thin plate automatic mechanical test system, when the system is restored after the operation is stopped due to an abnormality that occurs in the subordinate computer and the attached storage device, the subordinate computer grasps the missing transmission test result that is missing in the superordinate computer. The final transmission test results are collected by receiving all the test results from each of the testing machines, and the collected results are transmitted to the host computer.

[0007]

According to the above-mentioned means, when an abnormality occurs in the lower computer and the auxiliary storage device, the lower computer grasps the test record which has been transmitted to the upper computer, and further Requesting the provision of test results including test-completed lots, collecting the missing test results in the host computer when there is no overlap in the results, and transmitting this from the host computer to the host computer.

As a result, it is possible to promptly secure the test results that could not be grasped in the abnormal state, and to start up the system in a short time.

[0009]

1 is a flow chart showing a method for returning test results in an automatic thin plate mechanical test according to the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a layout diagram showing an outline of an automatic thin plate mechanical testing system according to the present invention. In addition, "S" added before the number in the flow of FIG. 1 means "step".

As shown in FIG. 2, the thin plate automatic mechanical test system is roughly divided into four blocks (process sections) of zones I to IV. Here, the I zone is “a zone that is operated in units of test materials”, the II zone is a “zone that is used in units of operation test materials” + “a zone that is operated in sample units”, and a III zone. "Is a zone in which operational specimens are operated in pallets (a type of container that stores unprocessed specimens or processed specimens)", and IV zone is "operational specimens are operated in pallet units, The actual pallet is a zone in the empty pallet collection status.

Here, the function of the FA device and the flow of the product (test piece) in FIG. 1 will be described.

In the I zone, the test material (thin plate) is carried in by the vehicle 1, and the test material is placed on the plurality of trucks 2 in the II zone. The test material on the carriage 2 is carried into the punching press device 4 by the loader device 3 and punched into a test piece (test piece) having a predetermined shape. The test piece carried out from the punching press device 4 is carried into the micro joint separating device 5 and can be carried there in a plurality of directions. A traverser 6 and a bar code labeler 7 are provided as one of the destinations, and a sorting robot 8 and a palletizing robot 9 are provided to transfer the test pieces to these.

In the III zone, a self-propelled carrier (AG
V) 10 is designed to run in an elliptical orbit, and a carry-out conveyor 11, a carry-in conveyor 12, and a plurality of tester stations 13 are arranged along the traveling path of the self-propelled carrier 10. There is. Testing machine station 13
A full-automatic tester 14, a manual tester 15, and a single-unit automatic tester 16 are sequentially arranged in opposition to each other.

Bar code labeler 7 and carry-out conveyor 11
An interrupt conveyor 17 and a pallet stacker 18 are arranged between them, and a processing robot 19 and an aligning device 20 are installed near the interrupt conveyor 17.

In the thin plate automatic mechanical testing system as described above, when all FA devices are normal, the sample is conveyed from the micro joint separating device 5 to the bar code labeler 7 and a bar code label is attached. Then, it is transferred to the pallet stacker 18 by the palletizing robot 9, further transferred to the interrupt conveyor 17, processed into a predetermined sample shape by the aligning device 20, and then transferred to the carry-out conveyor 11. From the carry-out conveyor 11 to the self-propelled transport vehicle 10, the self-propelled transport vehicle 10 sends it to the fully-automatic testing machine 14 via the testing machine station 13 to perform various automatic tests on the test pieces. The test piece after the test is carried into the traverser 6 by the self-propelled carrier 10, is sent to the micro joint separating device 5 via the sorting robot 8, and is further sent to the carry-out port.

In such a system, as shown in FIG. 9, each FA device is connected to the process controller 22,
The connection is done via the interface, and if there is a communication error on the line or an abnormality in the programming computer,
The system will be stopped and recovery work will be performed. Then, due to the occurrence of this abnormality, the test results of the test apparatus may disappear. Therefore, in the present invention, the test results are restored by the method shown in FIG.

Prior to the description of FIG. 1, the functions of the vidicon, the process controller, and the tester and the contents of communication between them will be outlined. At the vidicon, the test instruction is given to the procon in units of test materials, and the test results for each product are received from the procon, comprehensive judgment is made in units of test materials, and a mill sheet is issued. In the process control, the test instruction (all the pallet-loaded all test pieces at once) is sent to the tester, and the test results for each product are received from the tester to make a secondary judgment.
Send achievements to the vidicon. Further, in the tester, a test is performed on a test piece, a primary judgment is made with respect to the result, and a test result for each product is transmitted to the process controller.

Next, with reference to FIG. 1, a method of returning test results according to the present invention will be described. Here, it is assumed that the test computer and the vidicon have test results as shown in FIG. That is, for vidicons, the test piece d is placed on "Palette 1".
It is assumed that the “pallet 2” has a test record of four test pieces I, J, K and L. Further, it is assumed that the process control has test results of test pieces a, b, c, d, and the tester has test results of test pieces I, J, K, L and test pieces a, b, c, d. To do. The shaded test pieces in the figure represent the completed test results, and show the actual status of each system.

In the following description, it is assumed that an abnormality has occurred in the line connection between the test piece I of the "pallet 2" and the test computer when the test computer received the result from the test machine. Then, the state of each system immediately after restoration from the time of occurrence of an abnormality is as follows.

Vidicon: Although the actual results up to the previous test piece c for "pallet 1" are grasped by the procedure control + communication time difference, etc., the test piece d is in the end reception state. Further, after the restoration, the results of the test piece d and the test piece I are received.

Procon: The results of the test piece d and the test piece I, which have not been transmitted, are left in the vidicon due to the processing of the procedure and the difference in communication time. In this computer, it is assumed that an abnormality has occurred including the auxiliary storage device attached thereto, and the test pieces d and I have disappeared.

Tester: The test results for "pallet 1" are
It is copied to the test completed lot file at the timing of receiving the next instruction (for "Palette 2"). For "Pallet 2", the test on and after the test piece J is continued, but communication is disabled because the process control is stopped, and only the actual results are accumulated.

Next, the processing of FIG. 1 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the instructions for "pallet 1" and "pallet 2" have been sent to the testing machine, and the missing data in the process control is as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the test results of the pieces I, J, and K are obtained.

First, the test instruction from the process controller to the vidicon for completion of the comprehensive judgment in units of test materials (test material information)
Is requested to be retransmitted (S101). This request content is in the format shown in FIG. 4, and correspondingly, all the test instruction information having the content shown in FIG. 5 is sent from the vidicon to the process computer (S102). Based on this, the process controller restores the test instruction file.

Next, check the vidicon loss record,
It is determined whether or not the result completion classification is the end completion (S103). If the result completion is completed, the process is terminated.
4). Further, the tester is inquired about all the results of the format contents as shown in FIG. 6 (S10).
5). The process controller receives all test results (test results from test piece a to test piece d and test piece I to test piece K) in the format as shown in FIG. 7 from the tester (S106). In the process control, the sequence check in "pallet 1" and "pallet 2" is performed, and it is determined whether or not there is an overlap in the results (S107).

Further, in the test computer, the test piece d lacking the vidicon, the test piece I, the new actual test piece J and the test piece K are used.
A performance collecting process is executed (S108). Then, the result of the last transmission to the vidicon was transmitted in the format shown in FIG. 8 (test piece d, test piece I to test piece K).
Then, (S109), the test result return processing is ended.

[0027]

As is apparent from the above, according to the present invention, an automatic thin plate mechanical testing system for controlling a plurality of testing machines and performing an automatic thin plate mechanical test under the control of a lower computer connected to a higher computer. In the above, when the system is restored after the operation is stopped due to an abnormality that has occurred in the lower-level computer and the attached storage device, the lower-level computer grasps the end transmission test results that are missing in the higher-level computer and All the test results are provided by the company, and the end transmission test results are collected and the collected results are transmitted to the host computer, so it is possible to promptly secure the test results that could not be grasped due to an abnormal state. The system can be started up in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a method for returning test results in an automatic thin plate mechanical test according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a layout diagram showing an outline of an automatic thin plate mechanical testing system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of test results held in the process control and vidicon according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a message example of a sample material information resend request transmitted from the process controller to the vidicon in step 101 of FIG. 1;

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a message example of all test instruction information transmitted from the vidicon to the process computer in step 102 of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the content of an inquiry message regarding all performances transmitted from the process controller to the testing machine in step 105 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a message of all test results transmitted from the tester to the process computer in step 106 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a message of the end transmission record transmitted from the process controller to the vidicon in step 109 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an automatic thin plate mechanical testing system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vehicle 2 Truck 3 Loader Device 4 Punching Press Device 5 Micro Joint Separation Device 6 Traverser 7 Bar Code Labeler 8 Sorting Robot 9 Palletizing Robot 10 Self-propelled Transport Vehicle 11 Carry-out Conveyor 13 Testing Machine Station 14 Full-automatic Testing Machine 15 Manual Testing machine 16 Single unit automatic testing machine 17 Interruption conveyor 18 Pallet stacker 19 Processing robot 20 Aligning device 21 Visicon 22 Process computer 23 Testing device 24 Testing device 25 Testing device

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Tetsuya Ozeki 1 Kimitsu, Kimitsu-shi, Chiba Nittetsu Elex Kimitsu Branch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automatic thin plate mechanical testing system for controlling a plurality of testing machines under the control of a lower computer connected to a higher computer to perform an automatic thin plate mechanical test,
When the system is restored after the system is stopped due to an abnormality that has occurred in the lower-level computer and the attached storage device, the lower-level computer grasps the missing transmission test results that are missing in the upper-level computer and After receiving the test results, we collect the last transmission test results,
A method for returning test results in an automatic thin plate mechanical test, characterized in that the collected results are transmitted to the host computer.