Automatic work allotment system for EDS fabrication machines

Details Automatic work allotment system for EDS fabrication machines Automatic work allotment system for EDS fabrication machines

1998-06-19

2001-07-17

Grant, William (Department: 2121)

Data processing: generic control systems or specific application

Specific application, apparatus or process

Product assembly or manufacturing

C700S097000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06263254

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a work allotment system for automatically determining respective quantities of various work to be allotted to a number of diverse available EDS (electrical distribution system, hereafter sometimes called “wiring harness”) fabrication machines in consideration of specified particulars for individual circuits to be prefabricated by or in the machines for fabrication of required EDS products, as well as conditions and performances of the machines.
2. Description of Relevant Art
Automobiles employ various types of EDS, which typically comprise assemblies of electric wires amounting to several hundreds to about one thousand in wire number, ranging about several tens of centimeters in wire length. Such wires have their desirable lengths and desirable termination figures set through a prefabrication process including three steps: a cutting step in which an electric wire wound on a roll is unrolled straight and cut in a desirable wire length; a stripping step in which the cut wire is stripped along a desirable strip length of an insulation cover at either or both of its ends; and a crimping or solder-less connection step in which a desirable terminal is attached to the stripped wire end. After such a prefabrication, respective wires have their connectors fixed thereto as well as their housings fitted thereon, and are arranged in their desirable layout patterns different by automobiles and assembled, as necessary, to provide complete EDS products. Each wire constitutes a single circuit in any EDS that may include 1000 or more circuits. Some circuits may have accessories such as a conduit or tube fitted thereon, when prefabricated.
In usual, the fabrication of an EDS comprises a “lot production” including the prefabrication process in which a variety of electric wires are cut in lengths and cut wires are stripped at their ends and terminated by solder-less terminals, and a “set production” in which prefabricated circuits are assembled. The lot production is automated by a number of available EDS fabrication machines different in function and/or performance, covering varieties of work fields in the prefabrication process.
In a conventional system, an eventual number of various EDS order reception sheets at a factory were analyzed by technical staffs to know respective numbers of necessary circuits to be prefabricated, and associated data were collected and listed to be printed in the form of circuit-level order reception tables, which were analyzed by an expert of EDS work allotment, who determined respective daily quantities of circuit prefabrication work to be allotted to a limited number of available EDS fabrication machines, by reference to printed books describing technical characteristics of the machines, such as applicable wire types, terminal types and circuit accessories. Then, for each EDS fabrication machine, an allotted quantity of work was specified in a printed EDS fabrication instruction book prepared for a daily service of the machine.
A very simplified situation is now supposed, for example, such that a total of three different machines are available for a lot production of a total of three types of circuits that are necessary for a set production of required quantities of two or more wiring harness assemblies for promised ex-factory dates, which may be today and tomorrow. A first machine is adaptive for the prefabrication of each of an A-type and a B-type circuit, a second machine, simply for the B-type circuit, and a third machine, for any of the A-type, the B-type and a C-type circuit. The three machines have their production rates individually variable by the circuit types. Further, for the three types of circuits, required quantities are different. Still more, the set production of any wiring harness assembly cannot start until necessary lot quantities of the three types of circuits have become available therefor.
For such an EDS fabrication work allotment service, even a skilled person took much time. Still less, any person on the way of a long training might have, not merely a wasted time, but also an inefficient allotment, incurring a reduced EDS productivity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been achieved with such points in view.
It therefore is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic work allotment system for EDS fabrication machines, permitting a relatively short training to effect an adequate work allotment for an increased EDS productivity in an inexpensive manner.
It also is an object of the invention to provide the automatic work allotment system in the form of a software program stored in an available storage medium, permitting a processor to execute an efficient work allotment.
To achieve the object, a first aspect of the invention provides an automatic work allotment system for an EDS (electrical distribution system) production system including a material supply section for supplying a plurality of types of electric wires and a plurality of types of terminals, an EDS fabrication section for fabricating a plurality of kinds of EDS products, the EDS fabrication section having a plurality of identified machines each adaptive for one or more performances to automatically execute one or more sub-regions of a work region for processing one or more types of electric wires to prefabricate one or more types of circuits employable, alone or in combination, to fabricate one or more kinds of EDS products, the one or more sub-regions of the work region including one of a first sub-region for cutting one or more specified types of electric wires in a variable wire length, a combination of the first sub-region and a second sub-region for stripping a cut wire of an insulating cover thereon over a variable strip length at one of either end and both ends thereof, and a combination of the first sub-region, the second sub-region and a third sub-region for applying a specified terminal to a stripped end of the cut wire, and a production control section for controlling a circuit quantity of a respective type of circuit to be prefabricated by a specified completion date therefor in consideration of a production quantity of a respective ordered EDS product to be completed within a delivery term thereof, the automatic work allotment system comprising a first master for controlling a first set of data on specifications for the plurality of types of electric wires, one or more second masters for controlling a second set of data on specifications for the one or more performances and the one or more sub-regions of the work region of each identified machine, and a processor cooperative with the first and second masters and the production control section for processing a combination of a subset of the first set of data, a subset of the second set of data and a third set of data covering the circuit quantity of the respective type of circuit and the specified completion date therefor to have allotted, to the plurality of identified machines, a plurality of fractions of an entirety of circuit fabrication work to be done within an arbitrary one of time sections of a concerned term to provide one or more necessary types of circuits in required circuit quantities by specified completion dates therefor, respectively.
According to the first aspect of the invention, a processor, which may be a personal computer, receives necessary data from first and second masters which may be programmed files, and from a production control section which may have a host computer. The processor processes the received data to calculate a quantity of an entirety of circuit fabrication work to be done within an arbitrary one of time sections, such as working days, of a concerned term that may be a delivery term, and automatically allots fractions of the entire quantity of circuit fabrication work to a plurality of identified machines that may be circuit prefabrication machines or EDS fabrication lines, thus permitting a relatively short training of a fresh person to effect an adequate wo

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