Patent ID: 7162320

Claim:
A method of controlling an assembly line, comprising the steps of: providing a moving assembly line to move a series of articles along a number of processing stations; designating a first of the processing stations on the assembly line; providing the first processing station with a first length; providing an entry signal to be representative of an arrival of an article in the first processing station and/or an exit signal to be representative of a departure of the article from the first processing station; delivering a first article to the first processing station; providing a designated processing function in the first processing station; monitoring the designated processing function on the first article within the first processing station over a first monitoring period according to the entry signal and/or the exit signal; being ready to detect in the first processing station, a first condition in which the designated processing function on the first article is not complete within the first monitoring period and responsive to the first condition: issuing a signal to an operator in the first processing station that the designated processing function on the first article is not complete; extending the first processing station along the assembly line to allow the operator an additional length portion of the assembly line to complete the designated processing function; and monitoring the designated processing function in the extended first processing station over a second monitoring period; being ready to detect in the first processing station as extended, a second condition in which the designated processing function on the first article is not complete within the second monitoring period; and responsive to the second condition: associating a label with the first article for remedial attention; and advancing the first article along the assembly line from the first processing station as extended.