Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Specific application – apparatus or process – Product assembly or manufacturing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-05
2002-08-13
Patel, Ramesh (Department: 2121)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Specific application, apparatus or process
Product assembly or manufacturing
C700S096000, C700S097000, C700S099000, C700S105000, C700S103000, C700S117000, C340S003100, C340S003900
Reexamination Certificate
active
06434438
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an assemblability and reverse-assemblability evaluating method and apparatus for simultaneously evaluating the assemblability of evaluation targets including, for example, at least one component, composite products in which a plurality of components are combined together, semifinished products in which a plurality of components are assembled together, and finished products, and the reverse assemblability including at least disassemblability, classifiability, reusability, and safety of the evaluation targets.
2. Description of Related Art
As this type of evaluation method, conventionally, there has been available, for example, an evaluation method in which a commercial product is evaluated in terms of producibility at its design stage so that its components evaluated with low scores are found out. Also, independently of this method, a reusability evaluation method for designs taking into account the recent year's recyclability has also begun to be developed.
However, there has conventionally been available no method for simultaneously evaluating producibility and recyclability, and moreover for exploiting the evaluation for design improvement.
Therefore, as a conventional practice, data is entered into and used in various data evaluation units for assemblability evaluation of a product. Further, the data that has once been used for the evaluation of assemblability has been re-entered into evaluation units for evaluation of recyclability of the product, which has been troublesome. Also, some products involve evaluating assemblability and reusability independently of each other. Such independent evaluation makes it impossible to determine, in a single evaluation, whether the recyclability can be improved when the assemblability is improved. Therefore, it is necessary to re-enter, after the assemblability has been improved, data to the evaluation apparatus with respect to the reusability, and re-evaluate the reusability. In such a case, the reusability may become much worse, while the assemblability has been improved. This would give rise to balancing improvement in assemblability and reusability by relying on trial and error or an operator's experience. Thus, it has been quite difficult to simultaneously improve both assemblability and reusability.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve these and other issues and to provide an assemblability and a reverse-assemblability evaluating method and apparatus capable of simultaneously evaluating assemblability including producibility and reverse assemblability including recyclability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following constitutions.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assemblability and reverse-assemblability evaluating method, comprising: with respect to a plurality of evaluation items for evaluating assemblability of an evaluation-target product, entering assemblability evaluation information as to the evaluation-target product; and performing assemblability evaluation based on the entered assemblability evaluation information and, simultaneously, performing reverse-assemblability evaluation based on reverse-assemblability evaluation information which is among the entered assemblability evaluation information and which is usable for evaluation items for performing the reverse-assemblability evaluation.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assemblability and reverse-assemblability evaluating method as described in the first aspect, wherein the method comprises: with respect to a plurality of evaluation items for evaluating the reverse assemblability of the evaluation-target product, further entering reverse-assemblability evaluation information as to the evaluation-target product; and performing the assemblability evaluation based on the entered assemblability evaluation information and, simultaneously, performing the reverse-assemblability evaluation based on the reverse-assemblability evaluation information as well as on the entered reverse-assemblability evaluation information which is among the entered assemblability evaluation information and which is usable for the evaluation items for, evaluating the, reverse-assemblability evaluation.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an, assemblability and reverse-assemblability evaluating method as described in the first or second aspect, wherein the term, assemblability, refers to, at least, ease of production or ease of assembly of the evaluation-target product which is a single component, a composite product in which a plurality of components are combined together, a semifinished product in which a plurality of components are assembled together, or a finished product, and the term, reverse assemblability, refers to, at least, ease of disassembly, ease of classification, ease of reuse, and safety.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assemblability and reverse-assemblability evaluating method as described in any one of the first to third aspects, wherein entering the. evaluation information is implemented by entering selectional information to be selected from among a plurality of answer items, numerical information to be answered by entering specific numerical values, and YES/NO type information to be entered as YES or NO in response to questions in the evaluation items with respect to the evaluation-target product, and evaluating the assemblability and the reverse assemblability based on the entered evaluation information is implemented by giving evaluation scores for the acquired evaluation information to thereby simultaneously accomplish the evaluation of the assemblability and the reverse assemblability.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assemblability and reverse-assemblability evaluating method as described in any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the evaluation items for the assemblability are preparation for a base component of the evaluation-target product, suppliability, holdability, assemblability, combinability, necessity or non-necessity of adjustment, component sharability, and component omittability of the evaluation-target product.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assemblability and reverse-assemblability evaluating method as described in the fifth aspect, wherein as more detailed evaluation items for the preparation of the base component, posture change of the base component, and necessity or non-necessity of any special jig for the base component are evaluated; as more detailed evaluation items for the suppliability of the evaluation-target product, at least, posture change of the evaluation-target product, vulnerability of the evaluation-target product, indefinite shape as an evaluation-target product's own shape, outline feature of the valuation-target product, and entanglement of the evaluation-target product are evaluated; as more detailed evaluation items for the holdability, at least, necessary chuck and chuck space for holding the evaluation-target product are evaluated; as more detailed evaluation items for the assemblability, at least, positionability, direction of assembly, and stability of the evaluation-target product are evaluated; as more detailed evaluation items for the combinability, at least, number and direction of tightening screws in assembly process of the evaluation-target product, and places number and direction of tightening other than the tightening screws in the assembly process are evaluated; as a more detailed evaluation item for the necessity or non-necessity of adjustment, at least, necessity or non-necessity of various adjustments in the assembly process of the evaluation-target product is evaluated; as a more detailed evaluation item for the component sharability, at least, how sharability of components of the
Jin Keiichi
Onoda Tadayuki
Otsuki Toshinori
Suzuki Ken-ichiro
Tatsukami Kazuo
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Patel Ramesh
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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