A SYSTEM FOR MONITORING A PRODUCTION PLANT

Abstract

A system (100) for monitoring a production facility (200). The system comprises a manipulator (110), a position sensor (120), a vibration sensor (130), a computing unit (140), and a display unit (150). The manipulator is movable in the production facility between its home position (111) and other positions in the production facility. The position sensor is configured to detect and transmit signals relating to changes in the position of the manipulator relative to the home position. The vibration sensor is configured to detect and transmit signals relating to movement of the manipulator. The computing unit is configured to analyze data based on the signals received from the position sensor and the vibration sensor. The display unit is configured to display, based on the analysis, a plurality of key performance indicators indicating the performance of the manipulator.The system determines the key performance indicators required to optimize the processes in the production plant.

Description

PREAMBLE FOR DESCRIPTIONIn the following description, the invention and the manner in which it is to be carried out will be explained in more detail.TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure relates generally to a monitoring system. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to a system for monitoring a production plant. Further embodiments of the present disclosure disclose sensors attached to manually operable devices for generating data regarding the position and state of the devices.BACKGROUNDControl systems are widely used to control the operation and movement of mechanically movable equipment by commands and programming that enable the manufacture of components in a production facility. Such control systems are equipped with intelligent and advanced technologies to automate the work process without external intervention. As the importance of smart and automated systems in the production facility increases daily, there are other equipment in the production facility that is used manually by an operator for precise and controlled lifting and handling of heavy components and loads. Industrial manipulators are used by an operator, via an operator panel that is part of the industrial manipulator, to assist in material handling and handling of loads in various industrial applications, including lifting various components.Although industrial manipulators are used in many production facilities, it is not quite easy to monitor their performance during operation. Conventionally, monitoring the industrial manipulator requires manual input of data on idle time, maintenance time of the industrial manipulator, etc. by a person in the production facility, but this is a challenge when detailed evaluation of performance from a large dataset is required. Tracking such a large data set is a cumbersome task and there is the possibility of errors affecting precise and accurate monitoring of the production plant with respect to the performance and critical Key Performance Indicators (KPls) of the industrial manipulators. Moreover, stand-alone industrial manipulators do not have adequate power tracking to schedule backup in the event of failures and maintenance. The control and monitoring of these industrial manipulators is therefore impaired, which in turn leads to production losses to the companies.There are arrangements and mechanisms that provide a monitoring system in a technical installation. For example, patent publication US11339744B2 ['744] discloses a method for monitoring a system having mechanically movable parts to initiate maintenance measures for the system based on a determined technical state of the system. In such a monitoring system, however, solutions for detecting indicator parameters or indicators which determine the performance of the manually operated industrial plant remain untreated. Thus, the mechanisms and arrangements disclosed in '744 cannot solve one or more of the challenges described in the preceding paragraphs.The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more of the foregoing or other limitations associated with the prior art.The information disclosed in this Background of the Disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or an indication that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSUREOne or more deficiencies of conventional systems are overcome and additional advantages are provided by the system as claimed in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized by the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered part of the claimed disclosure.In a non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for monitoring a production plant. The system comprises a manipulator, a position sensor, a vibration sensor, a computing unit and a display unit. The manipulator is displaceable in the production plant between its starting position and other positions in the production plant. The position sensor is attached to a part of the manipulator. The position sensor is configured to sense and transmit signals relating to the change in position of the manipulator relative to its home position. The vibration sensor is attached to the manipulator. The vibration sensor is configured to sense and transmit signals related to the movement of the manipulator. The computing unit is communicatively connected to the position sensor and the vibration sensor. The computing unit is configured to analyze data based on the signals received from the position sensor and the vibration sensor. The display unit is communicatively coupled to the computing unit. The display unit is configured to display a plurality of main performance indicators indicating the performance of the manipulator based on the analysis.In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the manipulator is controlled by an operator and is configured to be actuated by either a pneumatic or a hydraulic action.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the position sensor includes a first module and a second module. The first module is attached in the vicinity of the starting position of the manipulator and the second module is attached in the vicinity of an end effector of the device.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first module indicates the home position of the manipulator, and the second module indicates the position of the end effector relative to the home position.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the data regarding the position and movement of the manipulator is uploaded and stored in a cloud storage.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the signals of the vibration sensor correspond to at least one of the following states: operating state, idling state, under maintenance and failure of the manipulator.In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for monitoring a production plant. The method includes detecting and transmitting signals related to the position and movement of a manipulator in the production facility through a position sensor and a vibration sensor. The method further comprises the acquisition and analysis of data relating to the position and the movement of the manipulator by a computing unit on the basis of the signals received from the position sensor and the vibration sensor, respectively. The method comprises monitoring the analyzed data evaluated by the computing unit by the display unit.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method includes creating customizable dashboards in the display unit by the computing unit.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method includes uploading and storing data related to the position and movement of the manipulator to a cloud storage by the computing unit.The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments and features described above, other aspects, embodiments and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGSThe novel features and characteristics of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. The disclosure itself, as well as a mode of use, other objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood, however, by reference to the following detailed description of an embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. One or more embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like elements, and in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a production facility including a system for monitoring a production facility according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a method for monitoring the production plant of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.In the figures, embodiments of the disclosure are shown for illustrative purposes only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the arrangement illustrated herein may be used without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONWhile the embodiments described in the disclosure are subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the figures and will be described below. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular form shown, but on the contrary, is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure.It should be appreciated that one skilled in the art will be rendered motivatable by the present disclosure and may modify various features of a system for monitoring a production plant without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Therefore, such changes are considered part of the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings show only the specific details that are relevant to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present description. Additionally, the system of the present disclosure may be used in any type of vehicle, including commercial vehicles, passenger cars, and the like. However, for simplicity, the entire vehicle is not illustrated in the drawings of the disclosure.The terms "comprises...a", "comprising", or other variations thereof used in the disclosure are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a system comprises a list of components that not only includes those components, but may also include other components not expressly listed or inherent in such a mechanism. In other words, one or more elements in a mechanism initiated with "comprises... a" does not exclude, without further limitations, the presence of other elements or additional elements in the system.Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a system for monitoring a production plant. The system comprises two types of sensors to be attached to an industrial manipulator in the production plant to track the activity of the industrial manipulator throughout its duration in the production plant. The system may also include an intelligent ecosystem that can create customizable dashboards that indicate the performance of the industrial manipulator based on indicators derived from monitoring the industrial manipulator.In the following sections, the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In the figures, the same element or elements having similar functions are denoted by the same reference numerals. Referring generally to the drawings, the system for monitoring a production facility is consistent with the teachings of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and is illustrated and generally identified in the corresponding figures by the reference numeral 100. Other features and elements of a system (100) are represented in the corresponding figures by corresponding reference numerals [see list of reference numerals], which will be used below according to the respective features. It should be understood that the teachings of the present disclosure are not limited to a particular vehicle. For the sake of simplicity, the entire vehicle is also not illustrated in the corresponding figures. Accordingly, the drawings show only those specific details that are relevant to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure in order not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art having the descriptions herein.The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the application and use. Moreover, there is no intention to be bound by any theory set forth in the foregoing background or in the summary or in the following detailed description. It is to be understood that the disclosure may take various alternative orientations, unless expressly stated otherwise. It is also to be understood that the specific devices or components illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification are merely exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Therefore, specific dimensions or other physical properties relating to the embodiments are not to be considered as limiting, unless expressly stated otherwise in the claims. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. While some specific terms are used that point in a particular direction, the use of these terms or words is merely intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Accordingly, it should be noted that the meaning of these terms or words should not unduly limit the technical scope of the present invention.It is also to be understood that the terminology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be considered as limiting. Unless otherwise specified or limited, the terms "housed," "mounted," "connected," "supported," and "coupled," and variations thereof, are used in the broadest sense to include both direct and indirect attachments, connections, supports, and couplings. Moreover, the terms "connected" and "secured" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the specific devices, methods, applications, conditions, or parameters described and / or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example and is not to be taken as a limitation on the invention as claimed. In the following description, various embodiments will be described. For purposes of explanation, specific configurations and details are outlined in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without the specific details. In addition, known features may be omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the described embodiment. The system for monitoring a production plant is explained in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a production plant ( 200). A production plant (200) in the sense of the present disclosure can be understood to mean a general facility or a room in which a company produces its products for sale on the market. The production plant (200) may comprise equipment which systematically facilitates the production or production of a product. The production plant ( 200) of the present disclosure may aim to enable an optimized manner of producing goods with minimal time, labor and raw material outlay. The production plant (200) may comprise a plurality of industrial manipulators (100). The production plant (200) can serve to facilitate production sequences in an automobile manufacturer. The industrial manipulator ( 110) of the present disclosure may be referred to as a single component throughout the disclosure to provide an exemplary understanding of its structural, operational, and functional aspects. The industrial manipulator (110) can be controlled in its general mode of operation by an operator (P) and is configured to be operated either pneumatically or hydraulically, i.e. the industrial manipulator (110) can be driven or operated by a pneumatic or hydraulic drive mechanism controlled by the operator (P) via an operator panel (114) connected to the industrial manipulator (110). Throughout the disclosure, the terms "industrial manipulator" and "manipulator" may be used interchangeably without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.The industrial manipulators (110) can be understood in their general operation as tools that relieve the operator (P) from laborious maneuvers such as moving, gripping, lifting, holding, and rotating loads (L). They belong to the most versatile and efficient tools for handling heavy components. The aforementioned control panel (114) of the manipulator (110) can be attached in the vicinity of the handles or grippers (H). The handles (H) of the manipulator (110) can be mounted at a height that is conveniently accessible to the operator (P) so that the operator (P) can grasp the handle (G) and also control and carry out tasks from the manipulator (110), such as lifting, gripping, handling and mounting a load between different points in the production plant (200). The control panel (114) may include a plurality of push buttons (114a) and levers (not explicitly shown) disposed near the hands of the operator (P) so that the operator (P) can perform tasks conveniently and precisely while grasping the handle (H) of the manipulator (110).The manipulator (110) of the present disclosure may be, but is not limited to, a roof-mounted manipulator (110), and the manipulator (110) may have a different configuration to facilitate and perform the same sequence of actions and tasks as the roof-mounted manipulator (110). Roof assembly may be possible by providing guide rails (210) that are secured proximate the roof of the production plant (200). The manipulator (110) can be configured to be guided along the guide rails (210) in order to displace the manipulator (110) between its starting position (111) and other positions in the production plant (200). The term "starting position" of the manipulator (110) can be understood as a position or a point in the production facility (200), which can serve as a starting point or rest location of the manipulator (110), at which the manipulator (110) can remain after its complete operating cycle or from which the operator (P) starts displacing the manipulator (110) in order to pick up the work in a planned work layer in the production facility (200). In one embodiment, the starting position ( 111) can also be understood as a natural rest position of the manipulator ( 110), in which its entire component system is positioned.In the present disclosure, the home position ( 111) may be indicated as an axis or a line to illustrate that an end effector ( 112) of the manipulator ( 110) may be configured to be movable relative to the fixed home position ( 111). The end effector (112) may be understood as a terminal of the manipulator (110), which may be configured to mechanically perform lifting, handling and moving operations of loads (L) between different points or positions. The home position ( 111) does not necessarily have to be a position in the vicinity of the manipulator ( 110), but rather the home position ( 111) can be provided outside the entire body of the manipulator ( 110) under such conditions. In the present disclosure, it may be intended to track the displacement of the end effector (112) of the manipulator (110) in the production facility (200) to generate some indicators that will be disclosed in later embodiments.Referring to FIG. 2, the system ( 100) of the present disclosure may enable monitoring the displacement of the end effector ( 112) of the manipulator ( 110) relative to the starting position ( 111) in the production plant ( 200) by a position sensor ( 120). The position sensor (120) may be attached to a part of the manipulator (110). The position sensor (120) may be configured to sense and transmit signals related to a change in position of the manipulator (110) relative to its home position (111). In other words, the position sensor ( 120) can acquire details with respect to the displacement of the end effector ( 112) of the manipulator ( 110) with respect to the starting position ( 111) of the manipulator ( 110). The position sensor (120) may include a first module (121) and a second module (122). The first module ( 121) can be attached in the vicinity of the starting position ( 111) of the manipulator ( 110) and the second module ( 122) can be attached in the vicinity of the end effector ( 112) of the manipulator ( 110). The first module ( 121) is an indicator for the starting position ( 111) of the manipulator ( 110) and the second module ( 122) is an indicator for the position of the end effector ( 112) relative to the starting position ( 111).The system ( 100) of the present disclosure may also serve to monitor the motion state of the manipulator ( 110) via a vibration sensor ( 130). The vibration sensor ( 130) of the present disclosure may also be understood and referred to as a "motion sensor" throughout the disclosure. The vibration sensor (130) may be provided on the manipulator (110) to detect and transmit signals related to the movement of the manipulator (110). The signals of the vibration sensor (130) may correspond to the state of the manipulator (110), such as the operating state, the idle state, the under maintenance, and the failure of the manipulator (110). In one embodiment, a toggle switch (not explicitly shown) is incorporated into the vibration sensor (130), which when activated may place the vibration sensor (130) in a sleep mode or a non-working mode to avoid additional data generation by the vibration sensor (130) during scheduled maintenance and failures.In one embodiment, both the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130) of the present disclosure may be understood as integral elements that may include a detector module and a transmitter module. The detector module may be configured to measure physical properties or characteristics and the transmit module may be configured to convert the detected physical properties into electrical signals that may be transmitted to another device or platform, such as a computing unit (140). The computing unit ( 140) may be communicatively connected to the position sensor ( 120) and the vibration sensor ( 130) of the present disclosure. The computing unit (140) may be configured to analyze data based on the signals received from the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130). The data acquired by the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130), which relate to the position and the movement of the manipulator (110), can be uploaded and stored in a cloud memory of the computing unit (140). The digital data generated by these sensors ( 120, 130) may be wirelessly transmitted to the computing unit ( 140) via at least one of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. In one embodiment, the data generated by the sensors (120, 130) may be transmitted via Bluetooth to an Internet of Things (loT) gateway, which may analyze the data and provide it for further visualization purposes.In one embodiment, the computing unit ( 140) may be a central control module or a dedicated control module. The computing unit (140) may be implemented by any computing system used to implement the features of the present disclosure. The computing unit (140) contains a processing module which comprises at least one data processor for executing program components for executing user- or system-generated requests. The processing module may be a specialized processing module, such as integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management controllers, floating point units, graphics processing modules, digital signal processing modules, etc. The processing module may include a microprocessor such as AMD Athlon, Durone or Opteron, ARMs Application, embedded or secure processors, IBM PowerPC, Intel's Core, Itanium, Xeon, Celeron, or other series of processors, etc. The processing module may be implemented using a mainframe, distributed processors, multicore, parallel, grid, or other architectures. In some embodiments, embedded technologies such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc. may be used.The computing unit ( 140) can fulfil its purpose in the system ( 100) by forwarding findings from the analysis of the data received from the position sensor ( 120) and from the vibration sensor ( 130) to a display unit ( 150). The display unit ( 150) may be communicatively connected to the computing unit ( 140). The display unit (150) may be configured to display a plurality of main performance indicators indicating the performance of the manipulator (110) based on the analysis by the computing unit (140). In one embodiment, the computing unit (140) may be configured to analyze data received in the form of signals from the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130) by algorithms and methods of data analysis.FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart which shows a method (300) for monitoring the production installation (200), in particular for monitoring the performance of the manipulator (110) in the production installation (200) by the data generation from the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130). The system (100) for monitoring the production facility (200) may receive inputs from the sensors (120, 130). The illustrated method (300) may take into account all of the components or features of the system (100) previously disclosed in the present disclosure with reference to FIGS. 1-3. The output is provided to the display unit (150) of the system (100) in the form of visualizations created by data visualization tools and software such as, but not limited to, Tableau, Power BI, and the visualizations may be created by any other tool and software capable of generating meaningful insights from the computing unit (140) for displaying the results on the display unit (150). The output to the display unit (150) is based on detection of the intensity and amplitude of waves detected by the sensors (120, 130) due to changes in position and generation of vibrations in the manipulator (110), in accordance with the previously disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure.As shown in FIG. 3, the method ( 300) comprises one or more steps for the detection and analysis of the inputs detected by the sensors ( 120, 130) for a further intelligent analysis by the computing unit ( 140). The method (300) may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions. In general, computer-executable instructions may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, entities, and functions that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types.The order in which the method ( 300) is described is not to be understood as limiting, and any number of the described method steps can be combined in any order to carry out the method ( 300). Moreover, individual steps may be deleted from the methods without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Moreover, the method ( 300) may be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.In one implementation of the work, the system ( 100) starts working as soon as the manipulator ( 110) is moved from its initial position ( 111) by the operator (P). The position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130) may become active and sense and transmit signals relating to the position and movement of the manipulator (110) in the production plant (200), as shown in step 301. The position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130) may facilitate sensing and analyzing the data relating to the position and movement of the manipulator (110) to the computing unit (140) by transmitting their respective signals to a computing unit (140), as illustrated in step 302. The data analyzed by the computing unit ( 140) can be stored in a cloud memory of the computing unit ( 140) in order to be viewed and analyzed in the future in order to record the performance of the manipulator ( 110) in the past. The analyzed data may be displayed in a display unit (150) to monitor the performance of the manipulator (110) by displaying important performance indicators that may be indicative of the performance of the manipulator (110), as shown in step 303. The method ( 300) can comprise the generation and display of customizable dashboards in the display unit ( 150) by the computing unit ( 140).The above-mentioned sections can illustrate the functioning of the system ( 100) for monitoring the production plant ( 200). It may be noted that monitoring the production plant (200) may be an essential prerequisite for further optimizing the performance of the manipulator (110) by analyzing parameters to obtain important performance indicators for the manipulator (110), such as load, availability, MTTR (Mean Time to Repair), MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure), number of cycles, etc. Further key parameters may become known by analyzing the data analyzed by the computing unit (140) in analyzing the data received from the sensors (120, 130).The following embodiments may describe the operation of the system (100) in various scenarios related to operational aspects of the system (100) for monitoring the production plant (200). The monitoring can take place in various states of the manipulator ( 110), such as, for example, in operation, in the idle state, in the failure state and in the maintenance state of the manipulator ( 110). The various scenarios may be as follows:Scenario - 1: Manipulator in useOnce the manipulator (100) is used by the operator (P), the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130) may be in the active mode. Here, the terms "active" and "inactive" may refer to the working and non-working modes of the respective component of the system ( 100). In its active mode, the vibration sensor (130) may tend to generate data relating to the movement of the manipulator (110). For example, the oscillation sensor ( 130) can determine a lower oscillation amplitude in the manipulator ( 110) if the end effector ( 112) of the manipulator ( 110) is in its operation in at least one of the following states: cycle start, cycle end, load and no load, no load and no load. The term "cycle start" may mean the start of a cycle of a task to be performed by the manipulator (110). The term "end of cycle" may mean that the cycle of a task is ended after the task is completed. The term "load and idle" may mean that the manipulator (110) holds a load (L) but is in a resting motion. The term "no load and no load" can mean that the manipulator ( 110) does not carry a load (L) on its end effector ( 112) and is in a resting movement.Similarly, the vibration sensor (130) can experience medium amplitude vibrations as compared to the previous states in its states such as load and motion and no load and motion. The term "load and movement" can mean the carrying of the load (L) by the manipulator ( 110) and the displacement of the end effector ( 112) relative to the starting position ( 111). The term "no load and movement" can mean that the manipulator ( 110) does not bear a load (L) and the end effector ( 112) moves relative to the starting position ( 111). The vibration sensor (130) may be subjected to higher amplitude vibrations as compared to the previous conditions when receiving a part load and adjusting a part. The term "part load bearing" herein may mean to bear the load (L) and "part installation" may mean to install the load (L) into an assembly or to place the load (L) in a particular space.It should be noted that the computing unit (140) can be configured during the entire operation of the manipulator (110) in use to continuously receive data generated by the sensors (120) and relating to the position and movement of the manipulator (110) when operated by the operator (P) in the various states described above. The same analysis may be transmitted to the display unit (150) to display it in adjustable formats on the dashboard. The above-mentioned toggle switch cannot trigger maintenance in the operating state of the manipulator ( 110), and the toggle switch can remain inactive.Scenario - 2: Manipulator in idle stateThe rest state of the manipulator ( 110) in the initial position ( 111) may result in the position sensor ( 120) and the vibration sensor ( 130) remaining inactive, resulting in vibrations with an amplitude of zero, and the computing unit ( 140) may be in the standby mode, i.e. not receiving signals from the position sensor ( 120) and the vibration sensor ( 130). This can also be reflected in the display unit ( 150). The aforementioned toggle switch cannot trigger maintenance in the idle state of the manipulator ( 110) and the toggle switch can remain in the inactive mode.Scenario - 3: Manipulator in the state of the faultThe failure state of the manipulator (110) can place the sensors (120, 130) in the maintenance mode and the generation of data for such recording can be facilitated. The record of such a state may be manually input to the arithmetic unit (140) and displayed on the display unit (150).Scenario - 4: Manipulator in the scheduled maintenance stateScheduled maintenance of the manipulator (110) may result in the sensors (120, 130) being placed in the maintenance state, resulting in the generation of record data for it. This scenario can be divided into two groups for better understanding, namely into the following two groupsManipulator at standstill (idle)If the manipulator (110) is interrupted in its idle state, the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130) remain inactive if the manipulator (110) is to be moved from its initial position (111) into a maintenance space in the production plant (200). The toggle switch remains inactive and the computing unit (140) may not receive signals from the sensors (120, 130). When maintenance begins in the maintenance room of the production facility (200), the sensors (120, 130) can be placed in the sleep mode, but still generate data for the computing unit (140). Therefore, the arithmetic unit ( 140) can obtain relevant signals from the sensors ( 120, 130). In this particular state of the manipulator (110), the toggle switch can be switched to the active mode. After the maintenance work in the idle state is completed, the sensors ( 120, 130) can be switched to the active mode, which leads to the generation of data and the reception of the signals from the sensors ( 120, 130) by the computing unit ( 140). The toggle switch can be switched to the inactive mode and the manipulator (110) can be returned to its initial position (111). The record of such a state may be manually input to the arithmetic unit (140) and displayed on the display unit (150).Manipulator in Panne (Use)When the manipulator (110) is interrupted in its operating state, the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130) remain in the active mode when the manipulator (110) is to be moved into a maintenance space in the production plant (200). The toggle switch remains inactive and the computing unit ( 140) can receive signals from the sensors ( 120, 130). When maintenance begins at the maintenance location in the production facility (200), the sensors (120, 130) may be placed in the sleep mode but still generate data for the computing unit (140). Therefore, the arithmetic unit ( 140) can obtain relevant signals from the sensors ( 120, 130). In this particular state of the manipulator (110), the toggle switch can be switched to the active mode. After the maintenance work in the idle state is completed, the sensors ( 120, 130) can be switched to the active mode, which leads to the generation of data and the reception of the signals from the sensors ( 120, 130) by the computing unit ( 140). The toggle switch can be switched into the inactive mode and the manipulator ( 110) can be brought back into its operating state. The record of such a state may be manually input to the arithmetic unit (140) and displayed on the display unit (150).The present disclosure need not necessarily disclose mathematical formulas that may be used by the computing unit (140) to evaluate key parameters such as cycle time, cycle number, idle time, operating time, maintenance mode, downtime, and total available time. Such terminology may already be well defined in industrial management and the same mathematical formulas may be applied in the analysis of the data transmitted from the sensors (120, 130) to the computing unit (140) for data analysis. The data analysis of the aforementioned parameters by the computing unit ( 140) can provide important performance indicators for the manipulator ( 110), such as, for example, load, availability, number of cycles, MTTR and MTBF, in order to understand and optimize the performance of the manipulators ( 110). The system (100) of the present disclosure may provide limited functionality when one of the sensors (120, 130) is in its operational state and another is in its non-operational state. Therefore, the most important performance indicators such as MTTR and MTBF can be detected even when using the manual maintenance switch, i.e., the toggle switch. Monitoring the production facility (200) of the present disclosure may be facilitated by monitoring the performance of the plurality of manipulators (110) provided in the production facility (200).Embodiments of the present disclosure enable the use of the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130) to monitor the production plant (200) by determining the performance of the plurality of manipulators (110) in the production plant (200). The system (100) may provide a more intelligent ecosystem for the manually controlled and operated manipulators (110) by analyzing the data generated by the sensors (120, 130) of the present disclosure. The system ( 100) may provide advantages in optimizing the overall performance of the production plant ( 200) through the customized dashboards that may be available in the cloud for data analysis. The system (100) may offer further important advantages, such as cost reduction in organization of a backup during failure of a manipulator. The production plant (200) can also be optimized for systematically monitored production and production, which leads to an efficient use of the plurality of manipulators (110) in the production plant (200).It is understood that a person skilled in the art can develop a system having a similar configuration without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Such modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the present disclosure cover such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.Equivalents:With regard to the use of terms in the plural and / or singular, the person skilled in the art can translate from the plural into the singular and / or from the singular into the plural depending on the context and / or application. The various singular / plural permutations may be expressly listed herein for clarity.Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms used herein, and particularly in the appended claims (e.g., the portions of the appended claims), are generally to be understood as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including, but not limited to", the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least", the term "comprising" should be interpreted as "comprising, but not limited to", etc.). Those skilled in the art will further understand that when a particular number of introduced claims are intended, such an intention is expressly recited in the claim and that when such a suggestion is absent, such an intention is not present. For convenience in explanation, the following claims may use the introductory terms "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim formulations, for example. However, the use of such terms should not be construed as the introduction of claim enumeration by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limiting a particular claim containing such introduced claim enumeration to inventions containing only such enumeration, even if the same claim contains the introductory terms "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and / or "an" should typically be construed to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same applies to the use of certain articles to initiate claim formulations. Although a particular number of claims introduced is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such a denomination should generally be construed to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the mere denomination of "two denominators" without other modifiers will generally mean at least two denominators or two or more denominators). Moreover, in cases where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, generally such a construction is meant in the sense that one skilled in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include, but is not limited to, systems having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc.). In cases where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B or C, etc." is used, such a construction is generally meant in the sense that one skilled in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B or C" would include, but is not limited to, systems having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B and C together, etc.). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that virtually any disjunction word and / or set of two or more alternative terms in the specification, claims or drawings should be understood to include one of the terms, one of the terms or both terms. Thus, for example, the formulation "A or B" includes the possibilities "A" or "B" or "A and B". Although various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and not restrictive, the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.List of reference characters100 System 110 Manipulator 111 Home position 112 End effector 114 Control panel 114 a Pushbuttons 120 Position sensor 121 First module 122 Second module 130 Vibration sensor 140 Computing unit 150 Display device 200 Production installation 210 Guide rails H Handle L Load P OperatorReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedUS 11359744B2

[0005]

Claims

A system (100) for monitoring a production plant (200), the system (100) comprising: a manipulator (110) in the production plant (200) that is moveable between its home position (111) and other positions in the production plant (200); a position sensor (120) attached to a portion of the manipulator (110), the position sensor (120) configured to sense and transmit signals related to a change in the position of the manipulator (110) relative to its home position (111); a vibration sensor (130) provided on the manipulator (110), the vibration sensor (130) configured to sense and transmit signals related to the movement of the manipulator (110); a computing unit (140) communicatively coupled to the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130), the computing unit (140) configured to analyze data based on the signals received from the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130); and a display unit (150) communicatively coupled to the computing unit (140), the display unit (150) configured to display a plurality of main performance indicators that indicate the performance of the manipulator (110) based on the analysis.The system (100) of claim 1, wherein the manipulator (110) is controlled by an operator (P) and is configured to be actuated by either a pneumatic or a hydraulic action.The system (100) of claim 1, wherein the position sensor (120) comprises a first module (121) and a second module (122), wherein the first module (121) is mounted near the home position (111) of the manipulator (110) and the second module (122) is mounted near an end effector (112) of the manipulator (110).The system (100) of claim 3, wherein the first module (121) indicates the home position (111) of the manipulator (110) and the second module (122) indicates the position of the end effector (112) relative to the home position (111).The system (100) of claim 1, wherein the data relating to the position and movement of the manipulator (110) is uploaded to and stored in cloud storage.The system (100) of claim 1, wherein the signals of the vibration sensor (130) correspond to at least one of operating state, idle state, under maintenance, and failure of the manipulator (110).A method (300) for monitoring a production plant (200), the method (300) comprising: acquiring and transmitting signals relating to the position and movement of a manipulator (110) in the production plant (200) by a position sensor (120) and a vibration sensor (130); acquiring and analyzing data relating to the position and movement of the manipulator (110) by a computing unit (140) via signals received from the position sensor (120) and the vibration sensor (130), respectively; and monitoring the analyzed data evaluated by the computing unit (140) via a display unit (150).The method (300) according to claim 7, comprising the computing unit (140) creating customizable dashboards in the display unit (150).The method (300) according to claim 7 comprises the computing unit (140) uploading and storing data relating to the position and movement of the manipulator (110) into a cloud memory.Production plant (200) comprising a system (100) according to claim 1.

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