Electric heating – Metal heating – By arc
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-01
2001-07-10
Evans, Geoffrey S. (Department: 1725)
Electric heating
Metal heating
By arc
C700S116000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06259056
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to manufacturing methods, and more particularly, to production line manufacturing methods which employ computer controls.
In a build-to-order production facility, a number of components are placed on a single production line but receive different manufacturing operations. A typical example of such a build-to-order production facility is an automobile manufacturing plant, where automobile vehicle bodies are placed on a single production line but receive different manufacturing operations. For example, such vehicle bodies may be painted different colors in a paint facility on the production line, receive a different engine, a different interior, and so on.
In such plants, each individual component, such as an automobile vehicle body, has been ordered by a purchaser or dealer and must carry information which identifies the configuration of the particular vehicle body and the custom manufacturing operations to be performed on that vehicle, such as color, vehicle interior components, vehicle engine specifications, and the like. Typically, such information is in the form of a random identifier, which may be simply a number, which has associated with it in the factory computer system the particular specifications. Such identifying information is placed on a paper label which is attached to a vehicle body. When the vehicle body is placed on a production line, this paper label is scanned and the random identifier number is fed to the factory system so that the factory system is aware of the location of the vehicle body. Thus, the identification tag enables the factory system to identify the location of a particular vehicle body within the plant and to ensure that the necessary manufacturing operations are performed upon it to result in the desired a configuration.
With such systems, it is impracticable to change the “identity” (i.e., the specific color, interior, engine and the like) of a vehicle body once it has been placed on the production line and identified with the paper label. While it is possible to remove the paper identification method label and replace it with one carrying different information, to effect such a change would require slowing down or stopping the production line, or removing the vehicle body from the line. A further disadvantage is that the print on the tag may smear or otherwise degrade as successive manufacturing operations are performed upon the associated vehicle body.
It is also known to use an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag, which is a hang tag having a microchip embedded within it which carries vehicle identification information. However, such RFID tags often fail, resulting in a loss of “identity” of the associated vehicle body.
Furthermore, in order to optimize use of the production line and maximize output, it is sometimes necessary to change the order in which such vehicle bodies are sequenced on a production line. Accordingly, there is a need for a method and system for “rearranging” the order in which vehicle bodies are sequenced on a production line with minimal disruption of the operation of the line. Preferably, such a method and system would eliminate the need for replacing the paper labels or physically removing the bodies from the production line and reinserting them on the production line in a desired sequence.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a method and system for identification of manufacturing components on an assembly line in which the identity of a component can be changed in real time so that the sequence of build-to-order components on an assembly line can be arranged to optimize the operation of the line and the rate of production of finished components. This method and system eliminates the need for physically rearranging the sequence of components on a production line and therefore eliminates the need for any equipment which would have been necessary to create such a physical rearrangement. Further, this system and method eliminates any production line stoppage or downtime which would have been necessary to replace conventional paper labels carrying identifying information. In addition, this system utilizes a tagging system which is more robust than prior art systems, so that the likelihood of an identification tag being damaged or lost is minimal in comparison to prior art systems.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method and system includes the placing of a second identification label on a component on a production line, the second label having a laminate overlay and a substrate. A laser engraver is positioned adjacent to the production line and the label is oriented so that it can be etched by the laser engraver with an alphanumeric identification code which contains actual job data, specifying the manufacturing operations to be performed on the component and thus specifying its “identity.” The etching process is performed by the laser with sufficient speed that the assembly line does not have to be stopped or slowed to enable such an etching process to occur. The laser is preferably controlled by a separate computer control which receives information from the associated factory computer control system and the PLC (programmable logic controller) that scans the paper identification label.
The laser engraving device is incorporated into a station which preferably is positioned immediately upstream of a manufacturing station, such as a paint booth. Consequently, a component on the production line, such as an automobile vehicle body, can be engraved with identifying information which either confirms the identifying information associated with the random identifier imprinted on the paper label, or is different from that associated identifying information, immediately prior to the vehicle body entering the paint booth. Consequently, this information etched on the label by the laser can give the component a new “identity,” if desired.
The laminate label includes an overlay which is transparent to the laser so that the substrate of the label is etched with the new identification information. Once the vehicle body emerges from a paint booth, for example, the overlay, which may have been painted over and thus become opaque, can be removed, revealing the new identification code which will determine what subsequent manufacturing operations and accessories need to be performed and added to the painted vehicle body to complete its manufacture. As a result, the identity, and therefore the sequencing, of automobile vehicle bodies (in the preferred embodiment) on a production line can be changed in real time to optimize utilization of manufacturing facilities.
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, a laser engraving station is provided immediately upstream of the first manufacturing operation on the production line. This station includes a roll of laser-engravable labels from which a sheet of such labels is unrolled past a laser engraver. The laser engraver is actuated by a central processing unit to imprint identification information on a label on the sheet. That label is separated from the sheet and manually applied to a vehicle body on the production line.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system of identification of manufacturing components on an assembly line; a method and system for identification of manufacturing components in which the sequencing of components on an assembly line can be varied without physically rearranging the order of the components on the assembly line; a method and system for identification of manufacturing components on an assembly line which is more robust and resistant to degradation and damage than paper labels or RFID labels; and a method and system for identification of manufacturing components which is of a relatively simple construction and can easily be integrated into the overall factory production system.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawing and the appended claims.
R
Color Wheel Systems, L.L.C.
Evans Geoffrey S.
Thompson Hine & Flory LLP
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