DIGITAL CONTROL OF INDUSTRIAL DATA IN A MASS-PRODUCING SYSTEM

Abstract: For managing industrial data pertaining to a mass-produced discrete product that encompasses multiple physical modules whilst basing on digital control information, interfaces are defined between various mechanical, electrical, and software parts, as well as between parts of more than one of these categories. In particular, from the above interfaces conformance data are defined for any said part figuring directly or indirectly in the interface in question. Each part is standalone designed in accordance with the pertaining conformance data. Next, electrical, mechanical, and software dynamic interfacing operations are designed for assembling the product in successive and hierarchical assembling stages according to all said interfaces. Next, inter-module interfaces are updated exclusively under condition of part amendments influencing such inter-module interface in a bottom-up direction whilst maintaining all non-influenced inter-module interfaces.

Description: DIGITAL CONTROL OF INDUSTRIAL DATA IN A MASS-PRODUCING SYSTEM BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION The invention relates to a method for managing industrial data pertaining to a mass-produced discrete product that encompasses multiple physical modules, which method is based on digital control information and allows interfaces in the respective categories of between various mechanical parts, between various electrical parts, and between various software parts, as well as between various parts of more than one of the above categories. A non-limiting embodiment of such product is a consumer electronic product. In particular, the manufacture thereof requires a correct functionality of many internal and external interfaces between disparate partnering modules or parts. Moreover, during successive design, manufacturing, and testing phases on functional as well as on physical levels, many changes may be implemented throughout by different persons and groups of persons. An additional complication occurs when the same product part may figure in various different products or in separate instances within the same product. Often, the above procedure may lead to design results that will not conform to each other through electrical, mechanical, or data processing misfits, although taken in isolation, various such changes are fully in order. SUMMARY TO THE INVENTION In consequence, amongst other things, it is an object of the present invention to control the design, manufacturing, testing and other processes related to the product in such a way that the occurrence of the above types of misfit may occur much more rarely. Now therefore, according to one of its aspects the invention is characterized by the steps recited in the characterizing part of Claim 1. By itself, US Patent 5,392,220 to the present assignee discloses a method and system for organizing data pertaining to an engineering process. The environment of the prior art is the design of subprocesses and the linking of the data between various versions of the same process or subprocess. Now, although the present invention may use the prior art for linking recent data to earlier data, the invention proper is dedicated to caring that the interfaces between parts of the product and/or its manufacture procedure would effectively conform. Provided that it is well-measured, the above recited bottom-up method helps avoiding most or all misfit problems. Predominantly, all interfaces are defined in a stationary manner. However, to let the respective parts, and also modules that on a hierarchically higher organizational level are constituted from a plurality of parts, actually interface to each other, various dynamic interfacing operations must be effected. Depending on the actual type of interface, such operations may be things like inserting particular plugs, fixing by screws, blowing particular electric fuses, defining software addresses, and many others on various levels of complexity and hierarchy. Advantageously, said manufacturing is organized in a serial column that successively comprises printed board manufacturing, sub-assembly manufacturing, bundle manufacturing, and distributive manufacturing categories, whilst allowing organizational disjoining among said categories. The inventors have recognized that the manufacturing column may in many cases be categorized according to these four distinguishing principles. The eventual manufacturing organization may reflect these distinctions that are based on technology. Eventually, the invention results in design for optimum logistics. Advantageously, the manufacturing is distributed into a plurality of parallel-arranged bundles that exclusively interface to preceding or succeeding stages of the manufacturing column. This allows to avoid almost all discordance relating to individual parts within a particular bundle. The invention also relates to a system for implementing the method recited supra. Further advantageous aspects of the invention are recited in dependent Claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING These and further aspects and advantages of the invention will be discussed more in detail hereinafter with reference to the disclosure of preferred embodiments, and in particular with reference to the appended Figures that show: Figure 1 , a first type of manufacture organization; Figure 2, a second type of manufacture organization; Figure 3, inter-part information relations for the system of Figure 1 ; Figure 4, ditto for the system of Figure 2; Figure 5, a multiple factory organization for use with the invention; Figure 6 the development of a part list; Figures 6, 7a-7c, various effects of part modification; Figure 8, a product with various hierarchical interfaces; Figures 9, 10, 11, various particular interface situations; Figure 12, an interface data accessing mechanism; Figure 13, a system according to the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Figure 1 shows a first type of manufacture organization. Herein, the overall production process is symbolized by element 20 that broadly represents an assembly- line, although various other manufacturing organizations would lend itself to the improvements according to the invention. Elements like item 22 are successive sub-modules or parts that must be added to a provisional product to eventually produce the overall product that would be ready for application by a user entity, which eventual readymaking in this Figure has been symbolized by packaging step 24. Although the manufacture may pertain to various branches of mass-producing industry, the inventors foremostly intend the manufacture of consumer electronic products that are assembled from numerous parts or subassemblies, and moreover, are manufactured in large series that may number up to hundreds of thousands of ready products. Now, it would be clear that upon introducing of a new or amended item into the manufacturing process, the electrical, mechanical and software interfaces of the item in question should conform to all other relevant items that are already present or may be added later to the provisional product. Any amendment or change to be introduced in any of the parts could therefore necessitate corresponding changes at all other levels of the manufacture. Such would be a large burden to the design, manufacture and test aspects of the process, and could heavily tax the interactivity between persons executing the various steps of industrial creation. Figure 2 shows a further type of manufacture organization according to the invention, which to an appreciable degree would lessen the recited problems. Here, next to the assembly line parts 26, 32 that add similar types of items as in Figure 1, various logistic bundles or intermediate assemblies like 28, 30 are entered. These are self-contained items and may each comprise a larger number of the earlier items which internally interface within the assembly in question. Generally, only a fraction of these internal items will interface immediately to any item outside the subassembly in question, so that in the overall assembly this organization may cause fewer interfacing variables than before. Ultimately, the same type of presentation to user entity 24 as before takes place. Now, the feature of what has been called logistic bundles 28, 30 is not restricted to physical subassemblies such as those that are plugged into sockets and the like; for example, they may represent software to be loaded into EEPROM, or a subsystem encompassing both software and hardware. A mechanical example will be illustrated infra. Figure 3 shows various inter-part information relations for the system of Figure 1 as they evolve in the design process. First, product management specifies commercial features, which are generally operational functionalities of the eventual product. Next, the design would specify family group features, which should be represented by the design itself. Finally, the design would specify development functions that are aspects of the product in question which need to be developed by a systems architect. The development functions are listed as a column of partial functions in block 42. Various industry prescriptions such as process codes, preferred components and standard designs (46) now imply various further specifications for the items subsequently to be entered into the overall constituting process for the product, and thus, will present further conditions for the items in column 42 to adhere to. The items in column 42 now represent mappings on elementary parts of the product generation, each such mapping being symbolized by one of the dots 44 which link to the product parts on row 47 that together are intended for being assembled into product 48. Inasmuch as they are indiscriminately linked to that product, amendment of any interface of these parts may or may not influence the correct conformance with any of the other parts. Such in effect represents a great burden for the procedures that are necessary for part amending, as well as for the negotiating process that is required in a larger organization encompassing many persons and departments. Figure 4 shows the inter-part information relations for a system like the system of Figure 2. First, the development functions exactly correspond to those of Figure 3. Also, the eventual product 48, from an external point of view exactly conforms to the requirements 40 of Figure 3. However, in similar manner as the various logistic bundles 28, 30 of Figure 2, the constituting parts 54 from Figure 4 have been bundled into respective logistic bundles 50, 52. Thereby the pattern consisting of dots like 44 remains unchanged. The advantage in doing so is that any change in one of the blocks 54 need only be considered by the other blocks 54 from the same bundle, but not in the other bundle, inasmuch as the external interface of block 52 remains the same. It should be clear that the schematic of Figure 4 can be hierarchized in a multi-level fashion, thereby relatively further restricting the number of amendable interfaces. Figure 5 shows a organization based on multiple factories for use with the invention. The inventors have recognized that the manufacturing of each of various particular product types from scratch to finalizing, in a respective factory location, is outdated, because the reusability of various partial solutions will more and more favour the centralized manufacture of a particular partial solution or part, that may subsequently be applied in various different products, at geographical locations that are in principle arbitrary. In line with the present embodiment of electronic consumer apparatuses, the manufacturing column has been separated into printed board factory 60, subassembly factory 62, bundling factory 64, and distribution factory 66. Inter-factory interfaces have been indicated by tube-like constructions that may or may not include non-local physical transport, and possibly intermediate packaging and unpackaging. Printed board factory 60 needs as building blocks printed circuit boards from supplier 72, electronic components such as integrated circuit chips, capacitors, etcetera from component supplier 70, and various modules, such as plug-in programmed memories from module supplier 68. Likewise, subassembly factory 62, next to receiving the mounted printed boards from factory 60, may need further modules, such as smaller printed circuits that may be inserted by edge connectors, from module supplier 68. Note that the "module supplier" may in principle refer to multiple independent physical and/or economic entities. Likewise, bundling factory 64 receives the sub-assemblies from sub-assembly factory 62, and needs further modules, such as casings and ready-to-insert OEM modules from module supplier 68. Likewise, distribution factory 66 receives bundling assemblies from bundling factory 64, and needs further modules, such as packaging material, user instruction matters, and further products from module supplier 68 that by themselves would be fully functional, such as headphones and remote controllers, but are necessary to constitute a commercially viable entity. After traversing all successive stages from the manufacturing column, the product is ready for distribution. Further, net or line 74 symbolizes information procurement from the development system, and by itself may operate in a conventional manner. The structure of the above column may be amended. First, feeding branches may be more extensive, for example in that printed boards from various printed board factories would be combined to a single logistic bundle. Second, derived branches may be more extensive, for example in that a subassembly may be used in various different logistic bundles that would constitute the next stage. Still further, the column may in principle encompass a loop, for example when testing would show a defect that should be corrected in a preceding stage of the manufacturing column. Figure 6 shows the development of a parts list. Herein, a product T is associated to a list Q of parts which if bundled, will form the product or assembly T. All parts, not shown for simplicity, within the product have a relation with at least one other part of the product, and furthermore, an interface with the product T itself. Nevertheless, in certain circumstances assembly T may exclusively have an existence, and therefore an external interface, on the basis of its presently constituting parts. Figure 7a shows the interfaces between the above product T and two constituent parts or modules Z en Y thereof. If a change in a part on the parts list does not influence the product T in any of its functionalities as recited therefor, the relevant interface is not changed. Figure 7b shows an interface between the above product T and two constituent parts or modules Z en X, the latter being amended with respect to module Y supra, in such manner that the interface with respect to the overall product T remains the same. In this case, no new version of T is necessary to distinguish previous and new versions of the changed parts in the parts list. Figure 7c shows a further interface between the product K and the two constituent parts or modules Z en X. Here, the latter has been amended with respect to module Y (as symbolized in a pictorial manner), in such a manner that the interface with respect to the overall product T is changed. Therefore it is necessary to distinguish the new version of the hierarchically higher product K with respect to its earlier version T. Figure 8 shows an exemplary product in exploded view with various hierarchical interfaces. Plug-in modules 104, 106 must fit into corresponding sockets of hierarchically higher part 102. This "fitting" has a mechanical aspect, as well as an electrical aspect, in that electrical correspondence must exist between pin pairs that will match mechanically. Also, various software aspects should match, for example, in that a program memory present in part 104 should carry the correct software information, such as data or program. On a next higher level, part 102 should fit into casing 100, which again might have the same three categories of interface aspects. On the other hand, the Figure clearly shows various plug-in circuits, that itself may be printed circuit boards or standard elements. Element 108 can be clearly distinguished to be a third level printed circuit board that has horizontally been inserted in a vertical printed circuit board of next higher level. The structure of the various interfaces will be discussed infra. Figure 9 shows a first interface situation in an abstracted manner. Here, mechanical part 110 interfaces to a second mechanical part 118 through interface 116 that is based on mechanical parameters. Part 110 interfaces to electrical part 114 through interface 112 that is based on electrical and/or electronic parameters. Part 114 in its turn interfaces to software part 122 through interface 120 that is based on software parameters. Figure 10 mostly repeats Figure 9, be it that items 114, 120 and 122 have been combined into a higher level bundle 124. In principle, interface 112 may contain different categories of parameters, for example, if the software 122 is directly controlling one or more aspects of mechanical part 110. Figure 11 presents a further extension of Figure 10, wherein part 114 has been separated into subaltern electrical parts 128, 132, 136, that have respective electrical interfaces 126, 130, 134, and together constitute a logistic bundle as recited. As long as amendments in this bundle do not influence mechanical aspects of interface 112, there is no need to reconsider the mechanical parameters of interface 116. Figure 12 shows an interface data accessing mechanism according to the invention. Herein, bundle T comprises the constitory parts Y, R, S, G. The internal interfaces of the parts with respect to the bundle have been indicated by interconnecting lines. Now, during designing, a person may want to know all interfaces of a particular item with other items. Clicking in "Windows" fashion on the displayed image of the part will retrieve data on all relevant interfaces. This may apply to any of items T, Y, R, S, G (172- 178), and to all higher level entities that have the item in question as a constituent element. Similar clicking on the interconnection between the product and one of its constituents will lead to displaying all interfaces related to item T 170, as well as those related to the other item such as G 178, which displaying has been symbolized by blocks 182, 184, respectively. Figure 13 shows an exemplary interfacing system according to the invention, which in this embodiment for brevity has been restricted to mechanical aspects of the bundle in question. There are eight parts, to wit foot-cover 150, foot-ring 152, foot- sleeve 154, foot-wheel 156, foot-leg 158, foot-tip 160, foot-pin 162, and foot spring 164. For simplicity, the exploded view only summarizes these various parts of a foot design for a television tube, for use in a particular television set. Some of the parts only interface to one or two other parts within the mechanical item. Others would be "visible" to parts external of the bundle, which could have consequences for the overall bundle during the design process thereof. Certain ones of the parts could for elements of a similar foot design for use with another type of television tube, or rather, in another design type of television set. Now, it would be clear that in an example as this, conformance data may relate to sizes, tolerances, surface roughness, elasticity, and a host of other data that by themselves are standard. In other instances, such conformance data may relate to electrical quantities, such as voltage, currents, or stray capacitance. Software conformance may be defined in quantities like bit rate or format, memory capacity, register set size, and the like. For realizing the method according to the invention on a hardware platform, in principle standard facilities would suffice, be it programmed in an appropriate manner. Given the particular teachings and requirements of the invention recited supra, this would by and large represent only skilled, but otherwise non-inventive activity.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A method for managing industrial data pertaining to a mass-produced discrete product that encompasses multiple physical modules, which method is based on digital control information and allows interfaces in the respective categories of between various mechanical parts, between various electrical parts, and between various software parts, as well as between various parts of more than one of the above categories, said method being characterized by the steps of predefining various ones of the above interfaces, and from each such defined interface deriving conformance data for any said product part figuring in the interface in question, whether directly or indirectly, standalone designing each such part in accordance with the conformance data pertaining to its interfaces; standalone designing electrical, mechanical, and software dynamic interfacing operations to enter the respective parts into any interface associated to the part in question; and planning for manufacturing the product in successive and hierarchical assembling stages according to all said interfaces, whilst updating inter-module interfaces on various hierarchical levels exclusively under condition of part amendments influencing such inter-module interface in a bottom-up direction whilst maintaining all non-influenced intermodule interfaces. 2. A method for manufacturing according to the principles of Claim 1 , wherein said manufacturing is organized in a serial column that successively comprises printed board manufacturing, sub-assembly manufacturing, bundle manufacturing, and distributive manufacturing categories, whilst allowing organizational disjoining among said categories. 3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 , wherein said manufacturing is distributed into a plurality of parallel-arranged bundles that exclusively interface to preceding or succeeding stages of the manufacturing column. 4. A method according to Claim 1 , wherein a preceding managing stage includes development functions as being based on Commercial Features, Family Group Functions, and Development Functions. 5. A method as claimed in Claim 1, furthermore comprising a design facility for accessing an individual interface, and thereupon signalling any further interface linked to any part, bundle, or subassembly featuring in that individual interface. 6. A system for managing industrial data pertaining to a mass-produced discrete product that encompasses multiple physical modules, said system encompassing a digital control information processing device and a interface definition device for defining interfaces in the respective categories of between various mechanical pans, between various electrical parts, and between various software parts, as well as between various parts of more than one of the above categories, said system characterized by comprising a definition subsystem for defining various ones of the above interfaces, and for each such interface deriving conformance data for any said part figuring in the interface in question, whether directly or indirectly, a standalone designing subsystem for designing each such part in accordance with the conformance data pertaining to its interfaces, standalone designing electrical, mechanical, and software interfacing operations to conform to any interface in question; and a planning module for planning the manufacture of the product in successive and hierarchical assembling stages according to all said interfaces, whilst updating inter-module interfaces exclusively under condition of part amendments influencing such inter-module interface in a bottom-up direction whilst maintaining all non-influenced intermodule interfaces.

Inventors: GAN KIM SONG, KAMMENGA ROELOF, GAN, KIM, SONG, KAMMENGA, ROELOF
Applicants: KONINKL PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NV, PHILIPS SVENSKA AB, KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V., PHILIPS AB
Application year: 1998
Main classification: G06F17
IPC codes: G05B15, G05B19, G06F17