Patent ID: 12242254

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG.1shows a production system10having a production apparatus12including a plurality of production tools14. The production tools14are used for producing components16. In some embodiments, at least one production tool14is embodied in the form of a metal or sheet-metal processing tool, e.g., a stamping machine and/or a laser cutting machine. At least one component16can be embodied in the form of a sheet-metal part.

At least one component16, or a plurality of components16, e.g., a plurality of components16combined to form a component assemblage, is/are transported between production tools14by carriers18. The components are the parts combined to produce a complex product. The carriers can be, for example, automated guided vehicles. The carriers18are controlled by a controller20and tracked or monitored by a locating system22. The controllers can be, for example, processors, ASICs, or FPGAs. The locating systems can be or include omlox—the open locating standard, wi-fi, ultra-wideband (UWB), GPS, 5G, RFID, or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) locating systems, for example. The locating system22can include a plurality of transceiver units to determine the position of the carriers18in the production apparatus12by means of the calculation of signal times-of-flight between the transmitters and the carriers18. The transceiver units can be embodied to receive and to transmit electromagnetic signals. In this case, the time-of-flight of these signals can be determined by the locating system22and the instantaneous position in the production apparatus12can thus be determined. A plurality of the transceiver units can be fixedly installed units, the positions of which are known to the locating system22. In this case, the identification of the carriers18in the locating system22is effected by means of mobile units24, which are arranged or embodied in each case indirectly or directly on the carriers18. Alternatively or additionally, further mobile units can be assigned to a transport aid, component, and/or component assemblage and possibly also to tools. In this regard, the positions of these units can also be tracked.

The mobile units24can themselves be embodied as transceiver units embodied to receive and to transmit electromagnetic signals (indicated by dashed lines17), and can include omlox markers, UWB tags, or other hardware tags, for example. In this case, the time-of-flight of these signals can be determined by the locating system22and the instantaneous position in the production apparatus12can thus be determined. Locating with an accuracy of 1 meter or less, e.g., 30 cm or less, is achievable in this way.

The mobile units24can be assigned to the carriers18, transport aids19and/or individual components16and/or component assemblages and also tools23. The data of the locating system22can then be assigned to the job orders of the production controller.

The unloading and loading of the carriers18can be effected—in particular in a manner monitored by an image recording unit26, e.g., a camera, a 3D camera, or light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system, in a loading zone28of the production tool14. In this case, for the purpose of optimizing the production apparatus12, the controller20can be embodied to have recourse to the data of the image recording unit26. Such a system is described for example in the document DE 10 2016 120 131 A1. The content of DE 10 2016 120 131 A1 is concomitantly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The controller20has recourse to a digital model30of the production apparatus12. Digital modelling of factories and production sequences are known (e.g., FlexSim®). A simulation of the production sequences of the production apparatus12can be implemented in the digital model30. This simulation is based on the data of the locating system22. As a result, the simulation becomes particularly precise.

The data of the locating system22can be processed in a data processing and analysis unit21(e.g., a processor, computer, ASIC, or FPGA) before they are fed to the controller20. The data processing and analysis unit21can condition the position data, that is to say, e.g., associate them with the production tools, assign data to a specific work step, such as transport A-B, manufacturing step on machine C, manufacturing on machine D, sorting and placement on transport aid E, transport by carrier F to bending machine G, etc.

Additionally or alternatively, however, the data of the locating system22can also be fed directly to the controller20. The controller20can then improve the simulation during ongoing manufacturing, which is to say, during production operation, and update the digital model30.

Additionally or alternatively, however, the data of the locating system22can also be fed directly to the digital model30. The digital model30can then even more rapidly improve the simulation during ongoing manufacturing and update the digital model30.

Additionally or alternatively, the data of the locating system22can be processed in the data processing and analysis unit21before they are fed to the digital model30.

In addition to the data of the locating system22, the data of the production tools14and/or of the image recording unit26can influence the simulation.

The simulation, i.e. the simulation results, are made available to the controller20. Furthermore, the controller20can be embodied to have recourse to a model library32having a plurality of simulations or simulation results. The controller20can be embodied to carry out automatically, and/or upon the instruction of a user, the control of the production apparatus12, optionally with the parameters used during the simulation or with parameters from the model library32.

Additionally or alternatively, the digital model30can be embodied to have recourse to the model library32having a plurality of simulations or simulation results. The digital model30can be embodied to use automatically, and/or upon the instruction of a user, the parameters used for the simulation or the parameters from the model library32.

The digital model30and/or the model library32can be embodied in a cloud to enable a plurality of users to have access to a large data set.

Taking all the FIGURES of the drawing jointly into consideration, the present disclosure relates in summary to a digital model30of a production apparatus12. The digital model30is embodied to generate a simulation of a production sequence of the production apparatus12. A controller20can access the simulation to most efficiently operate the production apparatus12. The digital model30is embodied to use data of a locating system22for creating the simulation. The locating system22monitors carriers18for transporting components16. The controller20can be embodied to compare parameters of the simulation results with corresponding parameters of earlier simulation results and/or actually obtained parameters of earlier production sequences. These parameters of earlier simulation results and/or actually obtained parameters may be stored in a model library32. By virtue of the methods and systems described herein, the controller20is able to control the production apparatus12very effectively. The present disclosure furthermore relates to a correspondingly implemented production control methods.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

It is to be understood that while the inventions have been described herein in conjunction with the detailed description thereof, the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the inventions, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are within the scope of the following claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

10Production system12Production apparatus14Production tool16Component17Electromagnetic signals18Carrier19Transport aid20Controller21Data processing and analysis unit22Locating system23Tool24Mobile unit26Image recording unit28Loading zone30Digital model of the production apparatus32Model library