Manufactured product configuration

Abstract

One aspect related to design of systems and methods for manufacture of products is configuration. More particularly, this relates to verification of an existing configuration and to reconfiguration of a product following manufacturing. The present invention contemplates an approach to designing a station capable of configuration verification and reconfiguration and of preventing shipment of a product if an undesirable configuration is detected. A preferred approach also includes guiding the operator to take possible remedial action. The preferred approach further includes storing various types of data needed for the verification and reconfiguration in a server, thereby making such data substantially instantly accessible for verification and reconfiguration purposes. Such data preferably includes software capable of adapting the functions of the station itself, i.e., the tasks to be performed at the configuration verification and reconfiguration station. A system design using this approach is particularly useful in the manufacture of a microwave radio.

Description

[0001] Copyright Notice [0002] Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain copyrighted material. The copyright owner gives permission to anyone to reproduce this invention document or the invention disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights. technical field [0003] This invention relates generally to manufacturing, and more particularly to the construction of manufactured articles such as microwave radios. Background technique [0004] Product manufacturing includes processing components at a plurality of production stations, each assigned, for example, one or more of assembly, testing, branding, and configuration. Many products to be assembled include multiple components, one or more of which may be configured in a variety of ways. Configuration can occur at any stage of the manufacturing process, for example, during or prior to incorporation of components into a product or ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Errors in product configuration may cause unacceptable performance, liability for non-compliance with regulations or standards, or other foreseeable or unexpected problems after shipment

In some specialized technologies, such as those involved in medical equipment, errors could result in personal injury

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