Information processing apparatus

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus which determines validity of a process capability index of a manufacturing process.SOLUTION: In a manufacturing system comprising a manufacturing device which manufactures a product, an inspection device 30 which inspects the manufactured product, and an information processing apparatus which performs process management, the information processing apparatus comprises an acquisition unit for acquiring, from the inspection device, data associating measurement data of measurement items and measurement time or required time in a process with each other, a process capability index generation unit for generating a process capability index on the basis of the measurement data, a time interval detection unit for detecting time intervals on the basis of the measurement time or the required time in the process, and a variation detection unit for detecting a variation in the time intervals, and determines validity of the generated process capability index and transmits the process capability index and a result of determining the validity of the process capability index to a server 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, information and communication systems and the Internet of Things (IoT) have become widespread in production sites. For example, systems are being used in which inspection and measurement devices in production processes autonomously upload their measurements to a server, which then aggregates and distributes process capability index values ​​for information sharing. The adoption of such systems can reduce the amount of work required by workers on site.

[0003] Conventionally, a process control system has been proposed that includes a means for displaying, as a single graph, the trend in the process capability index summarized in units of, for example, one week and the trend in the number of SPC alarms, such as control limit violations, and uses this graph to control the process (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-173911 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The above-mentioned conventional techniques have a problem in that they do not determine the effectiveness of the manufacturing process. The process capability index is effective when monitoring a process that performs steady mass production. This is because the process capability index monitors a process that is in a stable state. On the other hand, the process capability index is not effective in situations where production conditions are frequently changed or adjusted, such as test production performed after the start-up of a production line or equipment adjustment. When data on such an unstable manufacturing process and data on a stable manufacturing process are uploaded to a server, it may be difficult to distinguish between them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present disclosure provides an information processing device for determining the validity of a process capability index.

[0007] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires data in a process that associates measurement data of a measurement item with a measurement time or a required time in the process, a generation unit that generates a process capability index based on the measurement data, a time interval detection unit that detects a time interval based on the measurement time or the required time in the process, and a variation detection unit that detects variation in the time interval. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present disclosure, the validity of the process capability index can be determined. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a manufacturing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the information processing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display on the display unit according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0011] [Manufacturing System] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a manufacturing system according to an embodiment. The figure shows an example of the configuration of a manufacturing system 1. The manufacturing system 1 includes a manufacturing apparatus 20, an inspection apparatus 30, and an information processing apparatus 10.

[0012] The manufacturing device 20 manufactures a product. The manufacturing device 20 processes the semi-finished product 2 conveyed by the conveyor 40 to manufacture the product 3.

[0013] The inspection device 30 inspects the product 3 manufactured by the manufacturing device 20. This inspection device 30 measures predetermined measurement items (e.g., dimensions) related to the inspection of the product 3 and generates measurement data. The inspection device 30 outputs the measurement data to the information processing device 10. The inspection device 30 also generates time data. This time data is the measurement time associated with the measurement data or the time required in the process. Here, the measurement time is, for example, the time when the inspection device 30 measured the measurement item. The time required in the process is, for example, the time from the start to the end of processing in the manufacturing device 20. The inspection device 30 outputs the measurement data and the time data to the information processing device 10.

[0014] The information processing device 10 performs process control. This information processing device 10 performs process control based on a process capability index. Here, the process capability index is an index that determines the degree of distribution variation (standard deviation) relative to a specification. This process capability index is defined by the following formula. Cp=|Us-Ls| / 6σ Here, Cp represents the process capability index, Us represents the upper limit specification value of the product, Ls represents the lower limit specification value of the product, and σ represents the standard deviation. The information processing device 10 generates the process capability index based on the measurement data from the inspection device 30.

[0015] The information processing device 10 further determines the validity of the generated process capability index. The information processing device 10 transmits the process capability index and the determination result of the validity of the process capability index to the server 4.

[0016] [Information processing device] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment. The figure is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing device 10. The information processing device 10 includes an acquisition unit 11, a process capability index generation unit 12, a time interval detection unit 13, a variation detection unit 14, a determination unit 15, and a display unit 16.

[0017] The acquisition unit 11 acquires measurement data and time data from the inspection device 30. The acquisition unit 11 outputs the acquired measurement data to the process capability index generation unit 12, and outputs the time data to the time interval detection unit 13.

[0018] The process capability index generation unit 12 generates a process capability index based on measurement data. This process capability index generation unit 12 generates a process capability index based on a data group in which the measurement data is arranged in chronological order of measurement time. Specifically, the process capability index generation unit 12 performs calculations based on the above-mentioned formula for a predetermined number of measurement values ​​included in the data group to generate a process capability index. The process capability index generation unit 12 transmits the generated process capability index to the server 4 and outputs it to the display unit 16. The process capability index generation unit 12 is an example of a "detection unit" in the present disclosure.

[0019] The time interval detection unit 13 detects a time interval based on time data. The time interval detection unit 13 can detect a time interval from the difference in measurement time for each measurement data of the above-mentioned data group. This simplifies measurement because it is only necessary to measure one time for each measurement item of the product. The time interval detection unit 13 can also detect a time interval from the required time for each process of measurement data of the data group. In this case, since each measurement data is accompanied by a time interval, it is not necessary to calculate the time interval from the time data accompanying multiple measurement data. This simplifies the process of detecting the time interval. The time interval detection unit 13 outputs the detected time interval to the variation detection unit 14.

[0020] The variation detection unit 14 detects the variation in the time intervals detected by the time interval detection unit 13. The variation detection unit 14 can detect the variation in the time intervals based on, for example, the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the time intervals based on the data group. The variation detection unit 14 can also detect the variation in the time intervals based on, for example, the standard deviation of the time intervals based on the data group. The variation detection unit 14 transmits the detected variation in the time intervals to the server 4. The variation detection unit 14 also outputs the detected variation in the time intervals to the determination unit 15 and the display unit 16.

[0021] The determination unit 15 determines the validity of the process capability index based on the variation in the time interval detected by the variation detection unit 14. When the variation in the time interval exceeds a predetermined threshold, the determination unit 15 can determine that the process capability index corresponding to the time interval is invalid. The determination unit 15 outputs, for example, the data number of the process capability index determined to be invalid as the determination result. The determination unit 15 transmits this determination result to the server 4. The determination unit 15 also outputs the determination result to the display unit 16.

[0022] The display unit 16 displays the change in the process capability index and the variation in the time interval. For example, the display unit 16 displays a graph with the measurement time or required time on the horizontal axis and the process capability index and the variation in the time interval on the vertical axis. This display will be explained using Figure 3.

[0023] [display] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display on the display unit 16 according to an embodiment. The horizontal axis of the diagram represents measurement time. The vertical axis on the left represents the process capability index. The vertical axis on the right represents the time interval variability. The open circles in the diagram represent the process capability index, and the filled circles represent the time interval variability. The dotted-line area represents the range in which the judgment unit 15 determines that the process capability index is invalid. Displaying such a graph can provide information to process managers and others. For example, the dotted-line area in FIG. 3 shows a simultaneous decrease in the process capability index and an increase in the time interval variability. This suggests that the decrease in the process capability index is due to an unstable operating state in which the process cycle time fluctuates, and that the process capability index may be invalid.

[0024] In this way, the information processing device 10 of the present disclosure generates a process capability index for process management and further determines the validity of the process capability index. This makes it possible to improve process management capabilities. Furthermore, since the validity of the process capability index can be determined using only time data, there is no need for complex measurements. This makes it possible to simplify the process of determining the validity of the process capability index.

[0025] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure. Furthermore, components of different embodiments and modifications may be combined as appropriate.

[0026] (effect) The information processing device includes an acquisition unit that acquires data relating measurement data of measurement items in a process to measurement times or required times in the process, a generation unit that generates a process capability index based on the measurement data, a time interval detection unit that detects a time interval based on the measurement times or required times in the process, and a variation detection unit that detects variations in the time intervals, thereby achieving the effect of detecting variations in the time intervals.

[0027] The generating unit may generate the process capability index based on a data group in which the measurement data is arranged in order of the measurement time, and the variation detecting unit may detect a variation in time intervals of the measurement data based on the data group, thereby enabling the process capability index and the variation in time intervals to be generated for each data group.

[0028] The variation detection unit may detect the variation in the time interval based on the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the time interval in the data group, thereby obtaining the distance between the maximum and minimum values ​​and easily detecting the magnitude of the variation in the time interval.

[0029] The variation detector may detect the variation in the time intervals based on a standard deviation of the time intervals in the data group, thereby making it possible to detect the frequency of variation in the time intervals based on the standard deviation.

[0030] The system may further include a determination unit that determines the validity of the process capability index based on the variation in the time interval. This allows the validity of the process capability index to be determined. This also allows the system to determine whether the process is in a stable state or an unstable state. Here, the stable state corresponds to a state in which normal production is performed. The unstable state corresponds to a state in which the cycle time of the process fluctuates, such as during test production or adjustment of manufacturing conditions.

[0031] The system may further include a display unit that displays the change in the process capability index and the variability of the time interval, thereby enabling the change in the process capability index and the variability of the time interval to be presented to a manager or the like, thereby improving the efficiency with which the manager can determine the effectiveness of the process capability index.

[0032] The display unit may display a graph with the measurement time or the required time on the horizontal axis and the process capability index and the variation in the time interval on the vertical axis, thereby improving visibility.

[0033] The display unit may further display the validity of the process capability index, thereby improving convenience and providing information about the state of the process to a manager.

[0034] The effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limiting, and other effects may also be present.

[0035] The present technology can also be configured as follows. (1) an acquisition unit that acquires data in which measurement data of measurement items is associated with measurement times or required times in the processes; a generation unit that generates a process capability index based on the measurement data; a time interval detection unit that detects a time interval based on the measurement time or the time required in the process; a variation detection unit that detects variations in the time intervals; An information processing device comprising: (2) the generation unit generates the process capability index based on a data group in which the measurement data is arranged in order of the measurement time; the variation detection unit detects a variation in the time intervals of the measurement data based on the data group; The information processing device according to (1) above. (3) The information processing device according to (2), wherein the variation detection unit detects the variation in the time interval based on a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of the time interval in the data group. (4) The information processing device according to (2), wherein the variation detection unit detects the variation in the time intervals based on a standard deviation of the time intervals in the data group. (5) The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (4), further comprising a determination unit that determines the validity of the process capability index based on the variation in the time interval. (6) The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (5), further comprising a display unit that displays the change in the process capability index and the variation in the time interval. (7) The information processing device according to (6), wherein the display unit displays a graph with the measurement time or the required time on the horizontal axis and the process capability index and the variation in the time interval on the vertical axis. (8) The information processing device according to (7), wherein the display unit further displays the validity of the process capability index. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10. Information processing equipment 11 Acquisition Department 12 Process capability index generation section 13 Time interval detector 14 Variation detection unit 15 Judgment section 16 Display

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires data in which measurement data of measurement items is associated with measurement times or required times in the processes; a generation unit that generates a process capability index based on the measurement data; a time interval detection unit that detects a time interval based on the measurement time or the time required in the process; a variation detection unit that detects variations in the time intervals; An information processing device comprising:

2. the generation unit generates the process capability index based on a data group in which the measurement data is arranged in order of the measurement time; the variation detection unit detects a variation in the time intervals of the measurement data based on the data group; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the variation detection unit detects the variation in the time interval based on a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of the time interval in the data group.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the variation detection unit detects the variation in the time intervals based on a standard deviation of the time intervals in the data group.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a determination unit that determines the validity of the process capability index based on the variation in the time interval.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a display unit that displays the change in the process capability index and the variation in the time interval.

7. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display unit displays a graph with the measurement time or the required time on the horizontal axis and the process capability index and the variation in the time interval on the vertical axis.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the display unit further displays the validity of the process capability index.

Images