Parts supply system applied to a versatile production line

Abstract: The present invention relates to a parts supply system applied to a versatile production line, which strives to eliminate manual labor and prevent misdelivery. The parts supply system includes at least one of the product assembling sites (3) on the production line, at least one of the parts supplying sites (4), at least one of the unit assembling sites (5), at which units are assembled from parts delivered from a warehouse and a plurality of sets are arranged with the units, and a delivery means for delivering the set automatically between each of the product assembling sites (3) and each of the parts supplying sites (4) by an automatic carrier (2) or conveyors.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a parts supply system applied to a versatile production line that manufactures various kinds of products including small quantities on a single production line. 2. Description of the Prior Art In general, a production line for manufacturing products is supplied with parts necessary for assembling the products. The products are assembled, tested and inspected after completion of the assembling operation on the line, and finally are conveyed to a packing site after receiving acceptable test results. It is preferable to provide a separate production line for each product in the case of mass production. However, it is disadvantageous to do so when producing various kind of products or a small quantity of products because required space and production facilities are not effectively utilized and the operators on the line are sometimes idle. Thus the applicant of the present invention developed an invention previously filed at the Japanese Patent Office entitled "A versatile production system" that solves the above mentioned problems. The filed invention provides only one production line for manufacturing various kind of products including a small quantity thereof. (EP-A1-0 598 978, a document according to Art. 54 (3) EPC). A parts supply system in a prior art comprises a unit assembling site and a kit arranging site. In the unit assembling site, various kinds of units are assembled with parts delivered from a warehouse. In the kit arranging site, various kinds of kits are arranged by collecting necessary units for making up a product at a product assembling site. In such a parts supply system in a prior art, labor is required for delivering units from the unit assembling site to the kit arranging site and delivering kits from the kit arranging site to the product assembling sites. The parts supply system described above is disadvantageous, especially when only one kit is delivered in container from the kit arranging site to the product assembling sites. The kit arranging site is absolutely necessary, which is separate from the unit assembling site, so that delivery of the kits between the two sites is necessary, and if assembling robots are employed at the product assembling site, they cannot be used for unit assembling or for kit arranging. Another automated parts supply system is known from the document 2: 1990 Winter Simulation Conference Proceedings, 9-12 December 1990, The Fairmont Hotel, New Orleans, Lousiana, ONUR M UELGEN: Using Simulation in Design of a Cellular Assembly Plant, pages 683-691: This known automated parts supply system for delivering a container loaded with a plurality of units for producing products applied to a versatile production system with product assembling sites, testing and inspecting sites, and for conveying each product to a packing site in a single line, comprises: at least one product assembling site at which units are assembled into products, at least on unit assembling site at which parts are assembled into units and an automatic carrier for moving between the unit assembling site and the product assembling site and for carrying containers, containing units, from the unit assembling site to the product assembling site and for carrying empty containers from the product assembling site to the unit assembling site. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automated parts supply system for a versatile production line that includes an automatic carrier or otherwise for supplying parts, thereby reducing transport time and preventing a misdelivery from occurring. In order to solve the above described problems, the present invention provides an automated parts supply system for delivering a container loaded with a plurality of units for producing products applied to a versatile production system with product assembling sites, testing and inspecting sites, and for conveying each product to a packing site in a single line, wherein said parts supply system comprises: at least one product assembling site at which units are assembled into products; at least one parts supplying site, at least one unit assembling site located next to said parts supplying site at which parts are assembled into units and having a temporary parts storing table which supports to be assembled into units; a main conveyor, coupled to the product assembling site, for conveying assembled products from the product assembling site to a remote location; an automatic carrier for moving between the unit assembling site and the product assembling site and for carrying containers, containing units, from the unit assembling site to the product assembling site and for carrying empty containers from the product assembling site to the unit assembling site, wherein the automatic carrier comprises: a power supply which supplies power to the automatic carrier, a first deck which holds a container, having units placed therein, to be carried from the unit assembling site to the product assembling site, a second deck which holds an empty container to be carried from the product assembling site to the unit assembling site; unit assembling site conveyor, at the unit assembling site, having a first conveyor for conveying a container, with units placed therein, from the unit assembling site to the first deck of the automatic carrier and a second conveyor for conveying empty containers from the second deck of the automatic carrier to the unit assembling site; a product assembling site conveyor at the product assembling site, having a first conveyor for conveying a container, with units placed therein, from the first deck of the automatic carrier to the products assembling site and a second conveyor for conveying empty containers from the product assembling site to the second deck of the automatic carrier; a power supply charging station for charging the power supply of the automatic carrier; automatic carrier control means for controlling the movement of the automatic carrier between the product assembling site, the unit assembling site and the power supply charging station, the automatic carrier control means comprising: a plurality of local communication units, a first local communication unit of the plurality of local communication units for transmitting signals to and from the product assembling site, a second local communication unit of the plurality of local communication units for transmitting signals to and from the unit assembling site and a third local communication unit of the plurality of local communication units for transmitting signals to and from the power supply charging station, respectively; main communication means, interfaced to the automatic carrier, for communicating with the plurality of local communication units; a plurality of detectors for outputting detection signals, one of the plurality of detectors being located at the product assembling site and interfaced to the first local communication unit, one of the plurality of detectors being located at the unit assembling site and interfaced to the second local communication unit and one of the plurality of detectors being located at the power supply charging station and inferfaced to the third local communication unit; and a controller, interfaced to the main communication means, for controlling the movement of the automatic carrier in accordance with the detection signals output by the plurality of detectors. Each of said carrier, unit assembling site conveyor and product assembling site conveyor of the present invention may have three or more decks. Each of said carrier, unit assembling site conveyor and product assembling site conveyor of the present invention may have a flat deck with two conveyors adjacent to each other. A parts supply system of the present inventing may have a container realized as a basket-like bucket, a plate-like pallet, or a tray having blocks; each of which contains a set of units necessary for assembling at a product assembling site. Each of said carrier, unit assembling site conveyor and product assembling site conveyor of the present invention may have a slope. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is an explanatory drawing of a parts supplying method in a versatile production system in prior art; Fig. 2 is a general perspective view of the constitution of a parts supply system of the present invention applied to a versatile production line; Fig. 3A is a general top plan view of a parts supply system of the present invention; and Fig. 3B is a perspective view of a parts supply system of the present invention applied to one of product assembling sites on a versatile production line; DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Before describing the preferred embodiments, a prior art will be explained. Fig. 1 is an explanatory drawing of a parts supplying method in a versatile production system in a prior art. The parts supply system in the prior art shown in Fig. 1 supplies parts for assembling and making a product includes a unit assembling site 11, a kit arranging site 12 and a product assembling site 13. In the unit assembling site 11, units composing a product are assembled with necessary parts delivered from a stock room. After assembly, units assembled are contained in a basket called a "bucket", and the bucket is then delivered to the kit arranging site 12. In the kit arranging site 12, necessary units are collected and contained in the bucket. By the way, the contents of this bucket are called a kit assembly. These kit assemblies are delivered to the product assembling site 13 where the kit assemblies are assembled so as to make a product, and the empty buckets are then returned to the unit assembling site 11 or the kit arranging site 12. However, the parts supply system mentioned above requires manual labor for delivering the bucket from the unit assembling site to the kit arranging site 12, from the kit arranging site 12 to the product assembling site 13, and from the product assembling site 13 to the unit assembling site 11 or the kit arranging site 12. There is a problem although delivering the bucket or the like, in which units or kit assemblies are contained for making a plurality of products is preferable, it is not preferable when a small quantity of products, for example, one product, is required. There is another problem in that expensive robots used for product assembling cannot be effectively used for other purposes. Furthermore, the kit arranging process cannot be omitted, so that delivery costs are required. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described. Fig. 2 is a general perspective view of the constitution of a parts supply system of the present invention applied to a versatile production line. In the versatile production line 1, parts necessary for assembling and making a product are supplied, the parts are assembled at at least one assembling site on the line, wholly assembled products are performance tested and inspected and the products approved as a result of the tests are then conveyed to a packing site. The versatile production line 1 copes with manufacturing various kinds of products including a small quantity thereof. In the versatile production line 1 shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of product assembling sites 3 are shown, to which a bucket containing units for making a product is carried by an automatic carrier 2. The carrier 2 carries a bucket from a parts supplying site 4 to a product assembling work site 3. At a kit assembly arranging site 5, various kinds of kit assemblies are prepared and thrown into the bucket at the parts supplying site 4. In Fig. 2, two of the automatic carriers 2 are shown for the sake of convenience, but only one automatic carrier 2 is actually used. During a normal period of time, the carrier 2 is located in front of a battery charger 6 and charged until it receives a command to move to a parts supplying site 4 or a product assembling site 2. The carrier 2 is controlled by a controller (not shown) based on signals input from detectors provided in front of double decker conveyor units installed in the products assembling sites 3 and the parts supplying sites 4, and in front of the battery charger 6. The signals are input to a communication and memory unit accommodating the carrier from each o f the means for communication installed in the product assembling sites 3, the parts supplying sites 4 and the battery charger 6. Hereinafter, operations of the automatic carrier for a parts supplying system of the present invention will be described. The carrier 2 moves back and forth between the product assembling sites 3 and the parts-supplying sites 4, carrying a bucket containing units for making a product from the parts supplying sites 4 on the way to the assembling sites 3, and then carrying the empty bucket such that units are removed from the product assembling sites 3 on the return trip to the parts supplying sites 4. Again at the supplying sites 4, the empty bucket is taken out of the top deck, and after filling the bucket with units, the bucket is then laid on the bottom deck of the carrier 2. The control signals to move the carrier 2 with a bucket are transmitted to each of the communication means in the assembling sites 3, the supplying sites 4 and the battery charger 6 from the controller via a communication cable, and then transmitted to the communication-memory unit on the carrier 2. The carrier 2 moves up to the battery charger 6 and remains there until it receives a signal to move to the assembling sites 3 or the supplying sites 4. In each of the carriers 2, the assembling sites 3 and the supplying sites 4, a double-decker conveyor is provided; the top of which is for the empty bucket; the bottom of which is for the bucket containing units for product assembly. The double-decker conveyor, especially for the carrier 2, is wide enough to carry one bucket. For the sake of convenience when explaining the operations of the carrier 2, each of the assembling sites 3 from the starting point of the line is denoted A, B and C in order, while each of the supplying sites starting from the vicinity of the battery charger 6 is denoted a, b and c in order, as shown in Fig. 2. In the following, as an example, the operation of the carrier 2 that is required to carry the bucket with units for assembly at the assembling site C an empty bucket is returned after removing the units from the bucket and supplying the units to the assembling site A. In the assembling site C, optical detectors or otherwise detect the absence of a bucket containing units, and the controller receives the detector signal via a communication means. The controller transmits a signal to the communication-memory unit of the carrier 2 via the communication means at the assembling site A, and commands the carrier 2 to move to the supplying site C. The carrier 2 drives its driving unit after receiving the signal until it arrives at the supplying site C, and when it reaches the supplying site C, the optical detectors or otherwise at the site C detect the carrier 2 and the controller receives the detected signal via the communication means at the site C; the controller then transmits the signal to the carrier 2, and the carrier 2 stops itself. The carrier 2 drives the upper deck conveyor so as to return the empty bucket to the site C, and receives the bucket containing units on the bottom deck simultaneously. At this time, on the other hand, at the site C, the top deck conveyor is driven so as to receive the empty bucket from the carrier 2, and the bottom deck conveyor is also driven so as to load the bucket containing units to the carrier 2, after receiving a signal from the controller informing same that the carrier 2 is at the site C. The carrier 2 moves to the assembling site C, after confirming that there is not an empty bucket on the top deck and that there is a bucket containing units on the bottom deck by the optical detectors provided therewith. If there is no command signal to carry the bucket containing units to any of the assembling sites, the carrier 2 then moves to the location in front of the battery charger 6, and the optical detectors located in front of the battery charger 6 then detect the carrier 2 and the detected signal is transmitted to the controller via the communication means at the battery charger 6, and the controller transmits the stop signal to the carrier 2. The carrier 2 remains stationary during the battery charge until the command signal to carry the bucket is transmitted from the controller. By this way, the automatic carrier 2 is automatically controlled to carry the bucket. Fig. 3A is a general top plan view of a parts supply system of the present invention. As can be seen in Fig. 3A, there are 3 sets of a kit supply conveyor 21, a unit assembling/kit arranging table 22 and a temporary parts storing table 23 corresponding to three product assembling sites on the versatile production line. Fig. 3B is a perspective view of a parts supply system of the present invention applied to one of the product assembling sites on a versatile production line. In a parts supply system, there are a kit supply conveyor 21, a unit assembling/kit arranging table 22 and a temporary parts storing table 23. Each of the kit supply conveyors 21 has double decks; the top deck being used for carrying an empty bucket, or a basket returning from a product assembling site; the bottom deck is used for carrying a bucket containing a kit arranged with units assembled with necessary parts. Each of the unit assembly/kit arranging tables 22 is used for assembling units from necessary parts delivered to the temporary parts storing table 23, and then used to arrange the units and make a kit for use at each product assembling site by throwing the units into the bucket. Each of the temporary parts storing tables 23 is used for placing the necessary parts that are delivered from a warehouse for making units. In the other embodiment, each of the double decker conveyors can be triple decker or morel, thereby ensuring that a sufficient number of kits can be stocked, and therefore it is advantageous when manufacturing intervals during production are short. In the case of the triple decker or more, the top deck is used for empty buckets, and the other decks are used for buckets contained with units. The bottom deck is used prior to the other decks. Optical detectors are provided in each deck for determining whether or not buckets are on the deck. In another embodiment of the parts supply system of the present invention for a versatile production line, said conveyors for the carriers 2, product assembling sites and the kit supply conveyors 21 can be flat and adjacent to each other, thereby ensuring that the delivery conditions of the buckets can be easily determined even from a long distance when problems arise and that access to the buckets is easy, and it is more advantageous when tall units are contained in the buckets. As heretoforth explained, according to the present invention, the parts supply system with an automatic carrier that reduces transport time and has no delivery errors and is applied to a versatile production line, can be realized. As previously explained, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, product assembly and parts assembly can be done on the same production line, so that time and labor necessary for delivering parts can be saved; thus, a universal and flexible assembling line can be realized.

Claims: An automated parts supply system for delivering a container loaded with a plurality of units for producing products applied to a versatile production system with product assembling sites, testing and inspecting sites, and for conveying each product to a packing site in a single line, wherein said parts supply system comprises: at least one product assembling site (3) at which units are assembled into products; at least one parts supplying site (4), at least one unit assembling site (5) located next to said parts supplying site (4) at which parts are assembled into units and having a temporary parts storing table (7) which supports to be assembled into units; a main conveyor (1), coupled to the product assembling site (3), for conveying assembled products from the product assembling site (3) to a remote location; an automatic carrier (2) for moving between the unit assembling site (5) and the product assembling site (3) and for carrying containers, containing units, fromt the unit assembling site (5) to the product assembling site (3) and for carrying empty containers from the product assembling site (3) to the unit assembling site (5), wherein the automatic carrier (2) comprises: a power supply which supplies power to the automatic carrier (2), a first deck which holds a container, having units placed therein, to be carried from the unit assembling site (5) to the product assembling site (3), a second deck which holds an empty container to be carried from the product assembling site (3) to the unit assembling site (5); a unit assembling site conveyor, at the unit assembling site (5), having a first conveyor for conveying a container, with units placed therein, from the unit assembling site (5) to the first deck of the automatic carrier (2) and a second conveyor for conveying empty containers from the second deck of the automatic carrier (2) to the unit assembling site (5); a product assembling site conveyor at the product assembling site (3), having a first conveyor for conveying a container, with units placed therein, from the first deck of the automatic carrier (2) to the products assembling site (3) and a second conveyor for conveying empty containers from the product assembling site (3) to the second deck of the automatic carrier (2); a power supply charging station (6) for charging the power supply of the automatic carrier (2); automatic carrier control means for controlling the movement of the automatic carrier (2) between the product assembling site (3), the unit assembling site (5) and the power supply charging station (6), the automatic carrier control means comprising: a plurality of local communication units, a first local communication unit of the plurality of local communication units for transmitting signals to and from the product assembling site (3), a second local communication unit of the plurality of local communication units for transmitting signals to and from the unit assembling site (5) and a third local communication unit of the plurality of local communication units for transmitting signals to and from the power supply charging station (6), respectively; main communication means, interfaced to the automatic carrier (2), for communicating with the plurality of local communication units; a plurality of detectors for outputting detection signals, one of the plurality of detectors being located at the product assembling site (3) and interfaced to the first local communication unit, one of the plurality of detectors being located at the unit assembling site (5) and interfaced to the second local communication unit and one of the plurality of detectors being located at the power supply charging station (6) and inferfaced to the third local communication unit; and a controller, interfaced to the main communication means, for controlling the movement of the automatic carrier (2) in accordance with the detection signals output by the plurality of detectors. A parts supply system claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said carrier, unit assembling site conveyor and product assembling site conveyor has three or more decks. A parts supply system claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said carrier, unit assembling site conveyor and product assembling site conveyor has a flat deck with two conveyors adjacent to each other. A parts supply system claimed in claim 1, wherein said container is a basket-like bucket, a plate-like pallet, or a tray having blocks; each of which contains a set of units necessary for assembling at a product assembling site. A parts supply system claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said carrier, unit assembling site conveyor and product assembling site conveyor has a slope.

Inventors: MIYASAKA KAZUMI, OYANAGI KEISUKE, SASAKI KATSUNAO, SASANO TOSHIO, TERABAYASHI EIICHI, TERASHIMA HIROYOSHI, MIYASAKA, KAZUMI, OYANAGI, KEISUKE, SASAKI, KATSUNAO, SASANO, TOSHIO, TERABAYASHI, EIICHI, TERASHIMA, HIROYOSHI
Applicants: PFU LTD, PFU LIMITED
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B23Q7
IPC codes: B23Q41, B65G47, G05B19, B23Q7, B23P21, G01R31