Control system and control method of assembly platform

Abstract

The invention provides a control system and a control method of an assembly platform. The control system comprises a control device and a plurality of electric screw drivers. And the plurality of electric screw drivers are coupled with the control device. And the configurations of the electric screw drivers are different from each other. The control device obtains a name identifier of a material piece, identifies a torque value for locking or removing the material piece according to the name identifier of the material piece, selects one of the plurality of electric screw drivers according to the torque value of the material piece, and controls the electric screw drivers to lock or remove the material piece. And the selected electric screw drivers are powered on, and the unselected electric screw drivers are powered off.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of an assembly or disassembly process, and in particular to a control system and a control method for an assembly station. Background Art

[0002] Although the assembly process is moving towards automated assembly, there are still many components that need to be done by manpower, such as the assembly or maintenance of precision instruments. At the assembly or maintenance station, the responsible personnel need to use many electric devices to facilitate the manual configuration of various materials on the machine parts, or to remove various materials from the machine parts. Taking maintenance as an example, the electric devices used to remove materials need to be divided into electric screwdrivers used to remove screws of different shapes (such as straight, cross,... hexagonal, etc.), and the torque value and screwdriver type (such as high speed and low speed distinction) of each electric screwdriver are also different. Therefore, there may be 6 or more electric screwdrivers of different specifications on the platform, and the responsible personnel need to remember the differences between the many electric screwdrivers, or identify them by marking them, and take the corresponding electric screwdriver according to these marks to remove the materials.

[0003] Because there are many types of electric screwdrivers, responsible personnel often run the risk of using the wrong electric screwdriver, resulting in the wrong torque value for locking or removing screws, which brings potential risks to the machine or product, such as the screw not being locked in place, the screw stripping and damage, the material may fall off the machine...etc., which invisibly increases the risk of damage to the product and wastes personnel's operation time. Summary of the invention

[0004] The invention provides a control system and a control method for an assembly station, which ensure that the responsible personnel use appropriate electric tools to perform corresponding operations.

[0005] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a control system of an assembly station includes a control device and a plurality of electric screwdrivers. The plurality of electric screwdrivers are coupled to the control device. The configuration of each electric screwdriver is different from each other. The control device obtains a name identifier of a material, identifies a torque value for locking or removing the material according to the name identifier of the material, selects one of the plurality of electric screwdrivers according to the torque value of the material, powers on the selected electric screwdriver, and powers off the unselected electric screwdrivers.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a control method for an assembly station includes: obtaining a name identifier of a material; identifying a torque value for locking or removing the material based on the name identifier of the material; and selecting one of a plurality of electric screwdrivers based on the torque value of the material, powering on the selected electric screwdriver and powering off the unselected electric screwdrivers.

[0007] Based on the above, the control system and control method of the assembly station identify the torque value for locking or removing the material according to the name identifier of the material, power on the electric screwdriver corresponding to the identified torque value and power off other electric screwdrivers to ensure that the operator uses appropriate power tools to perform the corresponding operation. Therefore, the control system is used to replace human control, reduce the risk of product damage and reduce the operator's operating time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a control system of an assembly station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0009] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a control method of an assembly station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0010] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 Example diagram of a user interaction interface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

[0012] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a control system 100 for an assembly station according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The control system 100 mainly includes a control device 110 and a plurality of electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N, where N is a positive integer. The configuration of each electric screwdriver 120-1 to 120-N is different from each other. For example, the rotation direction of each electric screwdriver 120-1 to 120-N and the preset torque of each electric screwdriver 120-1 to 120-N are different from each other. Even the screw shapes (e.g., straight, cross, ... hexagonal, etc.) on the electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N may also be different. The electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N are coupled to the control device 110.

[0013] The control device 110 mainly includes a processor 111 and a connection interface 112. The connection interface 112 is coupled to the electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N. The power on or off of the electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N can be controlled by the processor 111 through the connection interface 112. In detail, the connection interface 112 has a plurality of electromagnetic relays, and the power supply end of each electric screwdriver 120-1 to 120-N is electrically connected to these electromagnetic relays, so that the processor 111 controls the power on or off of the electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N through the connection interface 112.

[0014] The control device 110 further includes a detector 113 and a user interaction interface 114. The detector 113 and the user interaction interface 114 are coupled to the processor 111. The user interaction interface 114 may be a user interface displayed on a display. The responsible personnel may use the user interaction interface 114 to adjust or set the control device 110. The control device 110 will present the activation status of the electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N on the user interaction interface 114, so that the user interaction interface 114 can know the current status of the control device 110 through the user interaction interface 114.

[0015] Figure 2 4 is a flow chart of a control method of an assembly station according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 Control methods are applicable to Figure 1 The control system 100. Please also refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 In step S205, when the control system 100 starts to operate, Figure 1 The processor 111 in the control device 110 first checks the electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N to prevent the electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N from being damaged or failing to meet the requirements of subsequent applications. In step S207, Figure 1 The processor 111 in the control device 110 determines whether there is an unchecked electric screwdriver that has not been inspected or has failed the inspection. If there is an unchecked electric screwdriver that has not been inspected or has failed the inspection, the process proceeds from step S207 to step S209. Figure 1 The processor 111 in the control device 110 turns off the power of the unchecked electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N that have not been inspected or have failed the inspection, and does not power them on. In addition, the processor 111 warns the user interface 114 of the corresponding data of the unchecked electric screwdrivers, so that the responsible personnel know that some of the electric screwdrivers cannot be used normally or are turned off for non-operating personnel.

[0016] If there is no unchecked electric screwdriver that has not been inspected or has failed the inspection, or if the process proceeds to step S210 after executing step S209, Figure 1 The processor 111 obtains the name identifier of the material. The processor 111 can obtain the name identifier of the material through the detector 113. The detector 113 is used to scan and obtain the name identifier of the material, and provide the scanned name identifier of the material to the processor 111. The user of this embodiment can provide the name identifier of the material or corresponding data to the processor 111 according to different requirements. For example, the name identifier of the material can be provided to the processor 111 according to the data preset in the storage device in the control device 110 or the data can be transmitted through the cloud server. When the assembly station starts to run at a specific time point, the name identifier of the corresponding material is provided to the processor 111 according to the pre-arranged estimated schedule of the assembly station.

[0017] After obtaining the name identifier of the material, the processor 111 in the control device 110, in step S220, Figure 1 The processor 111 identifies the torque value for locking or removing the parts according to the name identifier of the parts. The processor 111 can identify the torque value for locking or removing the parts according to the name identifier of the parts based on the database 115 preset in the storage device of the control device.

[0018] In step S230, Figure 1 The processor 111 selects one of the electric screwdrivers 120-1 to 120-N according to the torque value of the material, and powers on the selected electric screwdriver and powers off the unselected electric screwdrivers. Therefore, since only one selected electric screwdriver that meets the torque value of the material is powered on, the other unselected electric screwdrivers are powered off and will not be powered on, so as to ensure that the operator can only use the selected electric tool to perform the corresponding operation. Therefore, the operator is less likely to use the wrong electric screwdriver, reducing the potential risk to the product.

[0019] Furthermore, if it is desired to improve the operating efficiency of the operator, in step S235, Figure 1 The processor 111 may also control the selected electric screwdriver to be powered on within an operation time period preset in the control system, and, Figure 1 After the operation time period has expired, the processor 111 will Figure 1 The connection interface 112 controls the selected electric screwdriver to be powered off, and all the electric screwdrivers are powered off and cannot be used. Based on the operation of step S235, the operator needs to complete the specific operation within the operation time period, thereby appropriately improving the work efficiency.

[0020] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 An example diagram of the user interaction interface 114 . Figure 1 The user interface 114 presents channels 310-1 to 310-8, which are described as the first channel 310-1, the second channel 310-2, the third channel 310-3, the fourth channel 310-4, the fifth channel 310-5, the sixth channel 310-6, the seventh channel 310-7 and the eighth channel 310-8. Each channel 310-1 to 310-6 is connected to a corresponding electric screwdriver (such as Figure 1 Electric screwdriver 120-1~120-N). Figure 3 Channels 310 - 7 to 310 - 8 are not connected to an electric screwdriver and are therefore displayed in white.

[0021] During the inspection, the electric screwdrivers corresponding to the first path 310-1 and the sixth path 310-6 have not been inspected or have failed the inspection, so the user interaction interface 114 marks the first path 310-1 and the sixth path 310-6 in red ( Figure 3 The first road 310-1 and the sixth road 310-6 are presented with the same background color), and the second road 310-2, the third road 310-3, the fourth road 310-4 and the fifth road 310-5 are marked in green ( Figure 3 The second path 310 - 2 , the third path 310 - 3 , the fourth path 310 - 4 and the fifth path 310 - 5 are presented in another same background color. Thus, the user interaction interface 114 graphically represents the activation status of each electric screwdriver.

[0022] In summary, the control system and control method of the assembly station identify the torque value for locking or removing the material based on the name identifier of the material, power on the electric screwdriver corresponding to the identified torque value and power off other electric screwdrivers to ensure that the operator uses appropriate power tools to perform the corresponding operation. Therefore, the control system is used to replace human control, reduce the risk of product damage and shorten the operator's operation time.

[0023] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control system for an assembly station, characterized in that: include: Control devices; as well as A plurality of electric screwdrivers are coupled to the control device, wherein the configuration of each electric screwdriver is different from that of the other. The control device obtains a name identifier of the material. identifying a torque value for locking or removing the material according to the name identifier of the material, One of the plurality of electric screwdrivers is selected according to the torque value of the workpiece, the selected electric screwdriver is powered on and the unselected electric screwdrivers are powered off.

2. The control system according to claim 1, wherein the control device further controls the selected electric screwdriver to be powered on within an operation time period, and controls the selected electric screwdriver to be powered off after the operation time period has expired.

3. The control system according to claim 1, wherein the control device further inspects the plurality of electric screwdrivers before selecting one of the plurality of electric screwdrivers according to the torque value of the workpiece, and powers off the uninspected electric screwdrivers among the plurality of electric screwdrivers that have not been inspected or have failed the inspection, The non-calibrated electric screwdriver will not be selected by the control device.

4. The control system according to claim 1, wherein the control device comprises: processor; as well as A connection interface is coupled to the plurality of electric screwdrivers. The powering on or off of the plurality of electric screwdrivers is controlled by the processor through the connection interface.

5. The control system according to claim 4, wherein the control device further comprises: The detector is coupled to the processor and is used to scan and obtain the name identifier of the material.

6. The control system according to claim 5, wherein the control device further comprises: A user interaction interface is coupled to the processor and is used to present the activation status of the plurality of electric screwdrivers. When the control system detects that there is an unverified electric screwdriver among the plurality of electric screwdrivers which has not been inspected or has failed the inspection, the corresponding data of the unverified electric screwdriver is alerted to the user interaction interface. 7 . The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the configurations of the plurality of electric screwdrivers include rotation directions of the plurality of electric screwdrivers and respective preset torques of the plurality of electric screwdrivers.

8. A control method for an assembly station, characterized in that: include: Get the name identifier of the material; Identifying a torque value for locking or removing the material according to the name identifier of the material; as well as One of a plurality of electric screwdrivers is selected according to the torque value of the workpiece, the selected electric screwdriver is powered on and the unselected electric screwdrivers are powered off.

9. The control method according to claim 8, powering on the selected electric screwdriver and powering off the unselected electric screwdriver further comprises: The selected electric screwdriver is controlled to be powered on within an operation time period, and the selected electric screwdriver is controlled to be powered off after the operation time period has expired.

10. The control method according to claim 8, further comprising: Before selecting one of the plurality of electric screwdrivers according to the torque value of the workpiece, inspecting the plurality of electric screwdrivers; as well as The non-inspected electric screwdrivers among the plurality of electric screwdrivers which have not been inspected or have failed the inspection are powered off and not powered on.

Images