Matching system

Abstract

This system enables quick and accurate matching of the specification information of an object moving along a line with the part-specific information of a part located in a parts shelf at a predetermined position on the line. [Solution] The matching system performs the following steps: Step S1: to fly a drone 5 in sync with an object 2 flowing along line 1; Step S2: to identify part-specific information of a part 4 to be mounted on the object 2 based on the specification information of the object 2; Step S3: to determine the part mounting position on the object 2 based on the identified part-specific information; Step S4: to determine the part-specific information of a part 4 by reading the part-specific information tag 6 of the part 4 in the parts shelf 3 with a reader 52; Step S5: to determine whether the part 4 in the parts shelf 3 is compatible with the object 2; and Step S6: if it is determined to be compatible, to instruct the part 4 in the parts shelf 3 to be mounted at the part mounting position on the object 2.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a collation system.

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes that "in a system for managing parts, after part replacement, an exchange history evaluation unit 18 acquires, as monitoring data Ds, identification information transmitted from an RFID tag which is a parts sensor 6, and evaluates the replacement history of the constituent part 4 by comparing it with reference data Dref."

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the above Patent Document 1, the state after part replacement is determined, and the state before part installation is not determined. Also, in the above Patent Document 1, it is not possible to infer the technical idea of collating the vehicle specification information of the vehicle and the part unique information of the part using a drone in the process of moving the vehicle to be produced along the line, stopping the vehicle in the middle of the line, taking out the parts stored in the parts shelf, and attaching them to the vehicle. There is room for improvement here.

[0005] In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a collation system that can accurately collate the specification information of an object and the part unique information of a part in a short time in the process of moving the object along a line, taking out the parts in a parts shelf installed at a predetermined position on the line, and attaching them to the object.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The matching system according to the present invention is characterized by performing the following steps: flying a drone in sync with an object moving along a line; identifying part-specific information of a part to be mounted on the object based on the specification information of the object; determining the part mounting position on the object based on the identified part-specific information; reading part-specific information tags attached to parts in a parts shelf located at a predetermined position on the line using a reader device mounted on the drone to obtain part-specific information of the part; determining whether the part in the parts shelf is compatible with the object by comparing the obtained part-specific information with the specification information of the object; and, if it is determined to be compatible, instructing the part in the parts shelf to be mounted at the part mounting position on the object.

[0007] According to this configuration, when the object is in motion, the drone's reader reads the part-specific information tag attached to the part to obtain the part-specific information of the part, and by comparing the obtained part-specific information with the specification information of the object, it is determined whether or not the part in the parts shelf is compatible with the object.

[0008] This makes it possible to quickly and accurately compare the specification information of the object with the part-specific information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The matching system according to the present invention makes it possible to accurately and quickly match the specification information of the object with the part-specific information of the part while moving the object along the line and taking out a part from a parts shelf installed at a predetermined position on the line and attaching it to the object. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows a schematic configuration of one embodiment of the matching system according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the general configuration of a drone. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart used to explain the operation of the verification system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The best embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Figures 1 to 3 show one embodiment of the present invention. In this line production system, a vehicle 2, which is the object, is moved along a line 1, and parts 4 are taken from a parts shelf 3 located near a parts mounting position on the line 1 and attached to the vehicle 2. Vehicle specification information, which is defined for each vehicle 2 being moved, is loaded into a drone 5, and the drone 5 is flown in sync with each vehicle 2 being moved, taking parts 4 that are suitable for the vehicle 2 from the parts shelf 3 at the parts mounting position and attaching them to the vehicle 2.

[0013] The vehicle specification information includes information such as the specifications and model of vehicle 2, as well as information indicating the compatibility relationship between vehicle 2 and part-specific information of part 4 that is compatible with vehicle 2.

[0014] Component 4 is, for example, an airbag, battery, etc., which are installed in various types of vehicles (not shown).

[0015] A part-specific information tag 6 is attached to a designated location on part 4 as part-specific information. This part-specific information tag 6 transmits part-specific information of part 4, and a wireless tag called an RF (radio frequency) tag is used, for example. The part-specific information includes information such as the specifications and model of part 4, and information indicating its compatibility with the vehicle specifications of the vehicle 2 to which it is to be installed.

[0016] The drone 5 is capable of flying in any direction as necessary and is configured to fly in accordance with commands from the control device 53.

[0017] This drone 5 is configured to perform flight utilizing a technology called SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). SLAM is a general term for technologies that simultaneously perform self-position estimation of a moving object and creation of an environmental map.

[0018] This drone 5 is equipped with, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a camera 51, a reading device 52, a control device 53, etc.

[0019] The camera 51 is for taking still images and moving images. Information acquired by the camera 51 is transmitted to the control device 53 by a known wireless communication technology.

[0020] The reading device 52 is a wireless communication reading device called an RFID reader adopting RFID (radio frequency identification). Note that RFID is an automatic identification technology for non-contact reading and writing of component unique information tags 6 using radio waves, and is a known technology capable of reading a plurality of component unique information tags 6 from a distant position and instantly identifying an individual. Information acquired by the reading device 52 is transmitted to the control device 53 by a known wireless communication technology.

[0021] The control device 53 consists of an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). Although not shown in detail, this ECU includes a CPU, a ROM (also called a non-volatile memory), a RAM (also called a memory), a communication I / F, and an input / output I / F that are communicably connected to each other via a bus.

[0022] This control device 53 at least executes a process for dealing with the case where the reading of the component unique information tag 6 by the reading device 52 is not performed normally.

[0023] In this embodiment, for example, it is assumed that vehicle specification information defined for the vehicle 2 to be synchronized with the drone 5, component specific information of the component 4, etc. are stored in advance in the non-volatile memory. Note that instead of the non-volatile memory, although not shown, an external memory or the like can be used.

[0024] Next, referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, the operation of the control device 53 of the drone 5 will be described.

[0025] First, in step S1, the drone 5 is synchronized and flown for each vehicle 2 that is moved along line 1. In step S2, based on the vehicle specification information of the vehicle 2 stored in the storage unit of the drone 5, the component specific information of the component 4 to be mounted on the vehicle 2 is specified.

[0026] Next, in step S3, the component mounting position on line 1 is grasped based on the component specific information specified in step S2.

[0027] In the subsequent step S4, the drone 5 is flown toward the component shelf 3 installed near the component mounting position grasped in step S3, and the component specific information tag 6 of the component 4 stored in the component shelf 3 is read by the reading device 52 of the drone 5, and the component specific information of the read component specific information tag 6 is grasped.

[0028] Furthermore, in step S5, by collating the component specific information grasped in step S4 with the vehicle specification information stored in the storage unit, it is determined whether the component 4 stored in the component shelf 3 is suitable for the vehicle 2 to be synchronized with the drone 5.

[0029] If it is determined in step S5 that the product is suitable, i.e., if a positive determination is made, in step S6, an instruction is given to, for example, a worker or a robot (not shown) to attach the part 4 in the parts shelf 3 to the part mounting position on the object 2. This instruction can be given, for example, by displaying it on a display device installed at a predetermined position on line 1 or on a portable electronic device held by each worker.

[0030] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the product is not compliant, i.e., if a negative determination is made, in step S7, for example, a rotating light is turned on to stop production work, for example, the worker is notified of the incorrect product, and for example, the worker or a robot (not shown) is instructed to remove the incorrect product from the parts shelf 3, and then this flowchart is terminated.

[0031] Subsequently, in step S8, the drone 5 is flown toward the location where the vehicle 2 is located, and the drone 5's reader 52 reads the part-specific information tag 6 of the part 4 attached to the part mounting position.

[0032] In the subsequent step S9, the part-specific information of the part-specific information tag 6 read in step S8 is compared with the part-specific information identified in step S2 to determine whether the part 4 is installed in the correct position within the vehicle 2 in the correct state.

[0033] If a positive result is obtained in step S9, the other parts are installed in step S10 in the same manner as described above, and this flowchart is terminated.

[0034] On the other hand, if a negative result is determined in step S9, in step S11, for example, a rotating light is turned on to stop the production work, and an operator or a robot (not shown) is instructed to reattach part 4, before this flowchart is terminated.

[0035] As described above, in an embodiment to which the present invention is applied, in a line production system in which a vehicle 2 as an object is moved along a line 1, and a part 4 is taken out from a parts shelf 3 located near a part mounting position along the line 1 and attached to the vehicle 2, the part-specific information of the part 4 is grasped by reading the part-specific information tag 6 attached to the part 4 in the parts shelf 3 with a reader device 52 mounted on a drone 5, and by comparing the grasped part-specific information with the vehicle specification information of the vehicle 2, it is determined whether or not the part 4 in the parts shelf 3 is compatible with the vehicle 2.

[0036] This makes it possible to accurately match the vehicle specification information with the part-specific information in a short amount of time. As a result, compared to, for example, using a two-dimensional code and a two-dimensional code reader, it becomes possible to improve the matching efficiency by eliminating the need for manual adjustment work for reading and the time required to adjust the two-dimensional code reader.

[0037] Furthermore, in the aforementioned production line system, the drone 5 is moved in sync with the vehicle 2, which is the target object, so that it is possible to confirm in real time that the correct part 4 has been properly installed.

[0038] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims and equivalents thereof.

[0039] (1) In the above embodiment, an example is given in which the drone 5 is pre-stored with vehicle specification information of the vehicle 2 to be produced, but the present invention is not limited to that.

[0040] For example, although not shown in the diagram, it is also possible to pre-store vehicle specification information of the vehicle 2 to be produced in the non-volatile memory of the control device 53, and have the drone 5 read the vehicle specification information from the non-volatile memory and store this vehicle specification information in a storage device (not shown) of the drone 5.

[0041] (2) In the above embodiment, an example is given in which the drone 5 is flown using SLAM technology, but the present invention is not limited to that.

[0042] For example, although not shown in the diagram, it is possible to use technologies such as GPS, WiFi, and beacons to enable drone 5 to fly while knowing its own position.

[0043] (3) In the above embodiment, although not shown in the figures, it is also possible to use a directional RFID reader for the reading device 52.

[0044] (4) In the above embodiment, although not shown in the figures, the reader 52 can be a QR code (registered trademark) reader, and the part-specific information tag 6 can be a QR code (registered trademark).

[0045] (5) The present invention also includes a configuration in which steps S8 to S10 in Figure 3 are omitted in the above embodiment. [Industrial applicability]

[0046] The present invention can be suitably used in a matching system. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 1 line 2 vehicles 3 Parts shelves 4 parts 5 Drones 51 Camera 52 Reading device 53 Control device 6. Component-specific information tags

Claims

1. The steps include:

1. Flying the drone in sync with the object moving along the line; A step of identifying part-specific information of a component to be mounted on the object based on the specification information of the object, The steps include determining the mounting position of the part on the object based on the identified part-specific information, The steps include: obtaining the part-specific information of a part by reading the part-specific information tag attached to the part in the parts shelf located at a predetermined position on the line using a reader mounted on the drone; The steps include determining whether the parts in the parts shelf are compatible with the object by comparing the part-specific information obtained with the specification information of the object, A matching system characterized by performing the step of, if it is determined that the parts are compatible, instructing the parts in the parts shelf to be attached to the parts mounting position of the object.

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