Patent GB-1334061-A (GB)
Title: Production monitoring system
IPC: G07C3/10
Filed: 1970-10-21
Abstract: 1334061 Selective signalling WORLDTRONIC Inc 21 Oct 1970 [12 Nov 1969] 50022/70 Heading G4H A production monitoring system includes a plurality of work stations and a central station and means at each work station for producing and supplying to the central station signals representing a sensed production parameter and selected information entered by an attendant, the central station having means, individual to each work station, to alert an attendant at the central station to the entry of information at the work station by the attendant there, and means enabling the central station attendant to cause the latter information to be displayed by display means at the central station and common to a plurality of work stations. At each work station in a tyre manufacturing plant there is a control box 11 (left of dotted line in Fig. 4), on which the attendant can enter the status of the station (viz "run", "down", or "off") by a keyoperated switch 14, the "run" and "down" statuses lighting green and red lamps 12, 13 respectively at the work station, and corresponding green and red lamps 16, 17 respective to the work station on a central-station console via negative or positive half-cycles of A.C. sent over line 50 respectively. The work station attendant can enter a trouble call by selectively positioning a rotary switch 15 having three decks 39, 40, 47. Decks 39, 40, in conjunction with diodes 54, 56, 59, 61, produce on leads 43, 44 a binary-coded indication of the switch 15 position, the weights 1, 2, 4, 8 being respectively represented by negative half-cycles (of A.C.) on lead 43, positive half-cycles on 43, negative half-cycles on 44, and positive half-cycles on 44 (except that position "11" is encoded as "12"). Deck 47 (when not at zero) causes blinking of the lamps 13, 17 (in the "down" or "off" status), or of the lamps 13, 17 alternately with the lamps 12, 16 respectively (in the "run" status). The signals on leads 50, 43, 44 are supplied via 82, 192, 194 respectively to circuitry (Fig. 5, not shown) where diodes separate the different polarities on to different leads and clipping, filtering, transformers and smoothing remove noise prior to gating to a computer under control of the computer. Count or sense pulses are also passed to the computer, Fig. 4 (bottom), showing a typical switch 65 for producing such a pulse. In the case of sense pulses, switch 65 may be a limit switch, a cycle timer switch, or a switch sensitive to pressure or temperature. In the case of count pulses, a photo-cell or limit switch may be used. The count pulses can also be counted at 143 (Fig. 4, bottom left). If the central station attendant presses a switch 33 (Fig. 4, left of middle) respective to the work station, the signals on leads 43, 44 are supplied on leads 160, 161 to circuitry (Fig. 6, not shown) where diodes separate the different polarities on to different leads and noise is removed similarly to before, the output being converted to 1-out-of-n form to energize a selected projection lamp to display the setting of the work station rotary switch 15, on the central station console at one of four display positions (which can be used for different work stations). The conversion to 1-out-of-n form mentioned is by connecting 1 or 2 of the 4 leads to each of n SCR control circuits (one per projection lamp), in some cases via diodes to prevent sneak energization, the control circuits for 1, 2, 4, 8 inhibiting (in some cases via diodes) those for numbers containing 1, 2, 4, 8 respectively in their binary breakdown (but "12" is decoded as "11"). Pressing of switch 33 also extinguishes the lamps 13, 17 (in the case of "run" status) or replaces the blinking by continuous operation on lamps 13, 17 ("down" status) or switches off the lamps 12, 13, 16, 17 ("off" status). Pressing of switch 33 also displays the work station identity adjacent the lamps 16, 17. Work station status can alternatively be controlled from the central station.