Method and system for generating a digital model of a feeding station as well as a computer program product

Abstract

The invention relates to a computer-implemented method for generating a digital model of a feeding station that feeds circuit boards to a press line for the production of a vehicle component, comprising the following steps: a. Opening at least one application; b. Selecting a circuit board geometry and / or a vehicle part in a user interface of the application; and c. Generating the digital model based on the selected circuit board geometry and / or the selected vehicle part. The invention further relates to a system (28) for generating a digital model of a feeding station and a computer program product.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a computer-implemented method for generating a digital model of a feeding station that feeds circuit boards to a press line for the production of a vehicle component. The invention further relates to a system for generating a digital model of a feeding station and a computer program product.

[0002] A press line of the type mentioned above is used in vehicle manufacturing to produce body parts, such as a tailgate or a vehicle door, fully automatically from circuit boards. Such a press line comprises several presses connected in series. A feeding station, also known as the front of line, is located upstream of the press line to supply the circuit boards to the presses. Stacks of circuit boards are arranged at the feeding station, separated by handling devices, and placed onto a conveyor belt. The separated circuit boards then travel via a feeder along the conveyor belt to the presses, which are oriented beforehand by handling devices located on the conveyor belt. An example of such a feeding station is described in WO 2006 / 128393 A1.

[0003] To configure such a feeding station for different circuit boards and / or presses, a data model of the feeding station exists for the press line, specifically for the presses themselves. In this data or design model, the parameters for the press line are defined and transferred to the actual press, i.e., the production press line, during initial setup. The disadvantage of this approach is that generating a digital model of the feeding station by setting the parameters in a hierarchical structure is complicated, confusing, and time-consuming.

[0004] The present invention is based on the objective of creating a method, a system and a computer program product that enable the simple and rapid generation of a digital model of a feed station.

[0005] To solve the problem, a method with the features of claim 1, a system with the features of claim 8 and a computer program product with the features of claim 9 are proposed.

[0006] Advantageous variations of the process are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method for generating a digital model of a feeding station that feeds circuit boards to a press line for the production of a vehicle component is proposed. In the first step of the method, at least one application is opened. In a second step, a circuit board geometry and / or a vehicle part is selected in a user interface of the application. And in a third step, the digital model is generated based on the selected circuit board geometry and / or the selected vehicle part.

[0008] The process is based on the idea that the circuit board geometry and / or vehicle parts, which are repetitive across vehicle types, can be used as the data basis for generating the digital model. A wide variety of circuit board geometries and / or vehicle parts can be selected for this purpose in the user interface. Based on this selection, the digital model of the feeding station is generated. This allows for the quick and easy creation of a digital model of a feeding station.

[0009] Advantageously, the user interface features a drop-down menu by which the circuit board geometry and / or the vehicle part can be selected. Furthermore, the user interface can include control panels and / or input fields in which additional parameters, such as the press system, the press itself, or a component number, can be entered or set. Within the scope of the invention, the user interface can also be referred to as a macro interface.

[0010] Advantageously, the user interface features a start button. Pressing this button allows the digital model to be generated based on the configured circuit board geometry and / or the selected vehicle part. The application can include a macro for this purpose.

[0011] The vehicle part can be, for example, an outer skin for a front flap, a side wall, an outer skin for a roof, a door outer skin, a longitudinal beam or a side frame.

[0012] Furthermore, it is advantageous for the application to be stored in a memory unit of a data processing unit, which is loaded into a computing unit of the data processing unit by opening and selecting the circuit board geometry and / or vehicle part. In a further advantageous embodiment, a database is stored in the memory unit, in which parameters for generating the digital model of the feed station are stored for each circuit board geometry and / or vehicle part. By selecting a circuit board geometry and / or a vehicle part, the application accesses the parameters stored in the database to generate the digital model.

[0013] Advantageously, the digital model of the feeding station includes at least one destacking point, at least one conveyor belt, at least one handling device, and at least one feeder. Furthermore, the press line advantageously includes at least one press. The circuit board can be a sheet metal board, in particular a steel or aluminum board. At the destacking point, one stack of circuit boards or two stacks of circuit boards, which can be arranged side by side or one behind the other, can be positioned. Advantageously, the digital model is a CATIA® model.

[0014] In an advantageous embodiment, parameters relating to the selected circuit board geometry and / or the selected vehicle part are stored in a database of a data processing device, on the basis of which the digital model is created.

[0015] In an advantageous embodiment, the user interface includes a preview window that displays the selected circuit board geometry and / or the selected vehicle part. The preview window thus graphically represents the selected circuit board geometry and / or the selected vehicle part, making selection easier for the user.

[0016] In an advantageous embodiment, a press system and / or a press is selected in the user interface. The press system can be selected by clicking on a predefined press system, such as PGA / SB or PGB. For this purpose, the user interface can include press system selection fields for clicking. The press can be selected using a drop-down menu. For this purpose, the user interface can include a press selection field.

[0017] In an advantageous embodiment, a flowchart is selected in the user interface. For this purpose, the user interface can have a flowchart input field in which a file containing a flowchart and / or a filename of a flowchart is selected.

[0018] In an advantageous embodiment, the user interface allows the selection of a storage location in a database of a data processing system, the entry of a component number, and / or the entry of a file name. To select the storage location, the user interface may include a storage location input field in which a file and / or a file name is selected. To enter the component number, the user interface may include a component number input field, and to enter the file name, the user interface may include a file name input field.

[0019] In an advantageous embodiment, the application is a macro and the user interface is an interface of the macro. The user interface can therefore also be referred to as a macro user interface.

[0020] According to a further aspect of the invention, a system for generating a digital model of a feeding station that feeds circuit boards to a press line for the production of a vehicle component is proposed. The system includes a data processing unit configured to carry out the method according to the invention.

[0021] The data processing device may include a storage device for storing at least one application and / or a database in which parameters are stored for each circuit board geometry and / or each vehicle part, based on which the digital model is generated, a computing unit, for example a CPU, an interface for connecting the data processing device to an output device, such as a monitor, and / or an input device, such as a keyboard and / or a mouse.

[0022] According to another aspect of the invention, a computer program product is proposed which includes commands that cause the system according to the invention to execute the method according to the invention.

[0023] The following section describes a system and method for generating a digital model of a feeding station, along with further features and advantages, using an exemplary embodiment schematically illustrated in the figures. This illustrates: Fig. 1 a schematic representation of a digital model of a feed station; Fig. 2 a schematic representation of a data processing device with an output device connected to the data processing device and an input device connected to the data processing device; Fig. 3 a schematic representation of a computer-implemented method for generating a digital model of a feed station; and Fig. 4 A schematic representation of a user interface of an application for generating a digital model of the feed station.

[0024] In Fig. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a digital model 11 of a feeding station 10 for feeding circuit boards 12 to a press 14 of a press line not shown.

[0025] The feeding station 10 has two destacking points 16, at which a stack of circuit boards 12, in particular sheet metal circuit boards made of steel or aluminium, can be arranged, two first handling devices 18, for example two robots, for singulating and feeding one circuit board 12 each to a conveyor belt 20, two second handling devices 22, for example robots, which are arranged on the conveyor belt 20 and which serve to orient the circuit boards 12 on the conveyor belt 20, and a feeder 24, which positions the circuit boards 12 on a press base 26, which is arranged on a press table of the press 14.

[0026] The digital model 11 can be modified or adjusted by changing its parameters. To generate the in Fig. 1 schematically represented digital model 11 is the one in Fig. System 28 is used, as shown schematically.

[0027] System 28 includes a data processing unit 30, an output unit 32 and an input unit 34.

[0028] The data processing unit 30 has a storage unit 36 ​​for storing a computer program product and a database in which parameters are stored for each circuit board geometry and / or each vehicle part, a computing unit 38, for example a CPU, and an interface 40 for connecting the output unit 32 and the input unit 34 to the data processing unit 30 via a data cable 42 each.

[0029] The output device 32 has a monitor 44 for displaying the digital model 11 and / or an operator interface 50 of an application 48, and the input device 34 has a keyboard 46 and / or a mouse (not shown) for setting or entering or adjusting parameters.

[0030] To generate the in Fig. In the schematically represented digital model 11 of the feed station 10, a computer program product based on commands executes the computer-implemented procedure described below, which is shown in Fig. 3 is shown schematically.

[0031] In the first step of the process, S1 loads the computer program product, in the form of application 48, from the storage device 36 into the processing unit 38. This causes a user interface 50 of application 48 to appear on the monitor 44, as shown in Fig. Figure 2 is shown. Application 48 is a macro and user interface 50 is a macro user interface.

[0032] In a second step S2, a circuit board geometry 51 and / or a vehicle part, a press system, a flow plan, a storage location, a component number, a press and a file name are selected and / or entered in the user interface 50 as shown below. Fig. 4 will be explained in more detail.

[0033] In a third step S3, a start button 52 in the user interface 50 is pressed to start application 48. This starts application 48 or the macro, and the digital model 11 is generated based on the selected circuit board geometry 51 and / or the selected vehicle part by accessing the parameters stored in the database for the selected circuit board geometry and / or the selected vehicle part.

[0034] In Fig. Figure 4 shows the user interface 50 of application 48. The user interface 50 has a drop-down menu 54 by means of which the circuit board geometry 51 and / or the vehicle part can be selected. The selected circuit board geometry 51 and / or the selected vehicle part is displayed in a preview window 56 of the user interface 50.

[0035] As also in Fig.As can be seen in Figure 4, the user interface has 50 press system selection fields 58 for clicking on a press system. Furthermore, the user interface has a flow plan input field 60 for selecting a flow plan from a folder, a storage location input field 62 for selecting a storage location or folder, a component number input field 64 for entering a component number, a press selection field 66 for selecting a press, such as PGA / SB or PGB, and a file name input field 68 for entering a file name. The press selection field 66 is implemented here as a drop-down menu 54.

[0036] System 28 and the procedure are characterized by the fact that a digital model 11 of a feed station 10 can be generated simply and clearly by selecting a circuit board geometry 51 and / or a vehicle part. Reference symbol list 10 Feeding station 11 digital model 12 circuit boards 14 Press 16 destacking point 18 first handling device 20 conveyor belt 22 second handling device 24 Feeder 26 Table 28 System 30 Data processing equipment 32 Output device 34 Input device 36 Storage device 38 computing units 40 interface 42 data cables 44" monitor 46 keyboard 48 Application 50 User interface 51 Circuit board geometry 52 Start button 54 Drop-down menu 56 preview windows 58 Press system selection field 60 Flow plan input field 62 Storage location input field 64 Component number input field 66 Press selection field 68 File name input field S1 first step S2 second step S3 third step QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] WO 2006 / 128393 A1

[0002]

Claims

[1] Computer-implemented method for generating a digital model (11) of a feeding station (10) that feeds circuit boards (12) to a press line to produce a component for a vehicle, comprising the following steps: a. Opening at least one application (48); b. Selecting a circuit board geometry (51) and / or a vehicle part in a user interface (50) of the application (48); and c. Generating the digital model (11) based on the selected circuit board geometry (51) and / or the selected vehicle part. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that parameters for the selected circuit board geometry (51) and / or the selected vehicle part are stored in a database of a data processing facility (30), on the basis of which the digital model (11) is created. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by, that the user interface (50) has a preview window (56) in which the selected circuit board geometry (51) and / or the selected vehicle part is displayed. [4] Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that a press system and / or a press is selected in the user interface (50). [5] Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that a flow plan is selected in the user interface (50). [6] Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that in the user interface (50) a storage location in a database of a data processing facility (30) is selected, a component number is entered and / or a file name is entered. [7] Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the application (48) is a macro and that the user interface (50) is an interface of the macro. [8] System (28) for generating a digital model (11) of a feed station (10) that feeds circuit boards to a press line to produce a component for a vehicle, comprising a data processing device (30) configured to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7. [9] Computer program product comprising instructions that cause the system (28) according to claim 8 to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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