Trace device, trace method, and trace program

Abstract

To properly provide trace information associated with a selected event according to user's selection of an event, and upgrade user's convenience.SOLUTION: A tracing device of the present disclosure acquires an operation log at intervals of a predetermined acquisition cycle from plural apparatuses included in a production line, stores the operation log in a memory unit. When a user selects any of plural evens that have occurred in the plural apparatuses, the tracing device reads an operation log, which is acquired from an apparatus where at least the selected event has occurred, among from operation logs acquired from the plural apparatuses during a period of time from a date of occurrence of the user selected event until a period of time equivalent to the acquisition cycle elapses, and outputs the acquired operation log as trace information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a trace device, a trace method, and a trace program for acquiring an operation log from a plurality of devices included in a production line and outputting trace information based on the operation log in response to a user's request.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a traceability system that associates an event output by each facility on a production line for manufacturing a product with the product is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This traceability system includes a line model design unit that supports setting rules for associating an event with a product ID, a trace execution unit that receives an event output by a facility, associates the event with a product ID using the rules, and traces events in all facilities of the product corresponding to the product ID using the association result, and a trace result output unit that outputs the trace result traced by the trace execution unit. According to such a traceability system, an event that occurred in each facility of the production line can be specified from the product ID of the product.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, if it is possible to obtain trace information (trace results) in the manufacturing process of a product or the like using not only the product ID as described above but also an event that occurred in any device (facility) included in the production line as a key, the convenience for the user can be improved. However, if the user is entrusted with setting the date and time range of the trace information to be retrieved in addition to the selection of the event, there is a risk that the target trace information cannot be retrieved promptly due to incorrect input of the date and time range or excessive expansion of the range, or that the capacity of the retrieved trace information becomes excessive. And the above Patent Document 1 does not disclose or suggest a procedure for obtaining trace information using an event as a key.

[0005] Therefore, the main object of the present disclosure is to appropriately provide trace information corresponding to a selected event in response to the selection of an event by the user and improve the convenience for the user.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] The trace device of the present disclosure is a trace device that acquires an operation log from a plurality of devices included in a production line at a predetermined acquisition cycle and stores it in a storage device, and outputs trace information based on the operation log in response to a user's request. When any event is selected by the user from among a plurality of events that occurred in the plurality of devices, at least the operation log acquired from the device in which the selected event occurred among the operation logs acquired from the plurality of devices until the time corresponding to the acquisition cycle has elapsed since the occurrence date and time of the selected event selected by the user is read out from the storage device and output as the trace information.

[0007] When any event is selected by a user from among a plurality of events that have occurred in a plurality of devices included in a production line, the trace device of the present disclosure reads, from a storage device, at least the operation log acquired from the device in which the selected event has occurred, among the operation logs acquired from the plurality of devices until the time corresponding to the acquisition period of the operation log has elapsed since the date and time of the selected event selected by the user. Then, the trace device outputs the read operation log as trace information corresponding to the selected event. That is, in the operation log acquired from the device in which the selected event has occurred until the time corresponding to the acquisition period has elapsed since the date and time of the selected event, the selected event is always recorded as long as there are no defects in the generation of the operation log. Therefore, according to the trace device of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide the user with trace information including the log of the selected event without entrusting the user with setting the date and time range of the trace information to be retrieved. As a result, it is possible to appropriately provide trace information corresponding to the selected event in response to the selection of an event by the user, thereby improving the convenience for the user.

[0008] Another trace device of the present disclosure is a trace device that acquires an operation log from a plurality of devices included in a production line and stores it in a storage device, and outputs trace information based on the operation log in response to a user's request. When any event is selected by a user from among a plurality of events that have occurred in the plurality of devices, the selected event selected by the user is an error event, and another error event related to the selected event has occurred between the date and time of the selected event and a predetermined time before, at least a part of the operation log acquired from the plurality of devices between the date and time of the selected event and a predetermined time before is read from the storage device and output as the trace information. According to such a trace device, it is possible to appropriately provide trace information that is extremely useful for specifying the cause of the occurrence of the selected error event and the like in response to the selection of an event by the user, thereby improving the convenience for the user.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Next, embodiments for carrying out the invention of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a production line 1 including a line control device 10 which is the trace device of the present disclosure. The production line 1 shown in the figure produces a substrate S on which components P are mounted under the management and control of the line control device 10. In addition to the line control device 10, it includes a printing device 2, a printing inspection device 3, a storage unit (buffer station) 4, a plurality (in this embodiment, for example, 4 units) of component mounters 5, a mounting inspection device 6, a reflow device 7, a reflow inspection device 8, and the like. The printing device 2, the printing inspection device 3, the storage unit 4, the plurality of component mounters 5, the mounting inspection device 6, the reflow device 7, and the reflow inspection device 8 are arranged in this order along the predetermined conveyance direction of the substrate S.

[0012] The printing device 2 prints solder onto the wiring pattern of the substrate S, and includes a substrate transfer device for transferring the substrate S, a printing head, a head moving device for moving the printing head, a fixing frame to which a screen mask is fixed, a control device such as a computer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, a non-volatile storage device, an input / output interface, etc. (all not shown). The printing inspection device 3 inspects the state of the solder printed on the substrate S by the printing device 2, and includes an inspection mechanism and a control device (computer) for controlling the inspection mechanism. The control devices of the printing device 2 and the printing inspection device 3 exchange information with the line control device 10 via wireless or wired communication, respectively.

[0013] In this embodiment, the storage unit 4 is incorporated between the printing inspection device 3 and the most upstream component mounter 5 of the production line 1, and includes a plurality (two in this embodiment) of storage spaces 41 and a plurality (two in this embodiment) of electric conveyors 42 installed in the storage spaces 41 corresponding to receive and deliver articles to and from the electric conveyors 110 of the automated guided vehicle (AGV) 100, respectively. Also, in this embodiment, the line control device 10 of the production line 1 is installed in the storage unit 4 and controls control targets such as the electric conveyor 42 of the storage unit 4. In such a storage unit 4, a plurality of articles used in the production of the substrate S on which the component P is mounted are temporarily stored in order to improve the production efficiency of the production line 1. In this embodiment, the articles stored in the storage unit 4 are the feeders 5F to be mounted on each component mounter 5, and a plurality of feeders 5F scheduled to be mounted on the component mounter 5 (before use) are stored in one storage space 41, and a plurality of used feeders 5F removed from the component mounter 5 are stored in the other storage space 41.

[0014] Feeder 5F is a cassette-type tape feeder, and includes a tape reel, a tape feeding mechanism, a feeder connector, and a feeder control device that controls the tape feeding mechanism (all are not shown in the figures). A tape wound with a plurality of components P is wound around the tape reel. In each tape reel, the plurality of components P are respectively protected by a film covering the surface of the tape, and the film is peeled off before the component P reaches the component supply position in the component mounter 5. The tape feeding mechanism pulls out the tape from the tape reel and feeds it to the component supply position. The feeder control device includes a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc.

[0015] Also, in this embodiment, in order to transfer a plurality of feeders 5F between the storage unit 4 and the automated guided vehicle 100 in a batch, a box-shaped storage case (magazine) 90 is used. The storage case 90 includes a plurality (for example, 30) of slots into which the feeders 5F are inserted respectively, and a plurality (for example, 30) of connectors that can be coupled to the feeder connectors of the corresponding feeders 5F respectively. The plurality (for example, 30) of feeders 5F are inserted into the corresponding slots so that the feeder connectors are coupled to the corresponding connectors of the storage case 90, and are stored in the storage case 90. Further, the storage case 90 has an external connector (not shown) that can be coupled to a connector (not shown) provided in the storage space 41 of the storage unit 4 and connected to the plurality of connectors. Each feeder 5F is connected to the line control device 10 and the power supply of the storage unit 4 (not shown) via the corresponding connector and the external connector. Thereby, each feeder 5F and the line control device 10 can communicate with each other, and the feeder information of each feeder 5F can be taken into the line control device 10. Note that the plurality of feeders 5F stored in one storage case 90 may store different components from each other, or may store the same components as each other.

[0016] Furthermore, the production line 1 includes a loader 9. The loader 9 is controlled by a line control device 10 to move along the conveyance direction of the substrate S and transfer the feeder 5F between the storage unit 4 and the plurality of component mounters 5. That is, the loader 9 collects the used plurality of feeders 5F from the corresponding component mounter 5 and stores them in the storage case 90 stored in the other storage space 41 of the storage unit 4. Also, the loader 9 takes out the plurality of feeders 5F before use from the one storage space 41 (storage case 90) of the storage unit 4 and mounts them on the corresponding component mounter 5.

[0017] The plurality of component mounters 5 are all surface mounters that can pick up the components P from the tape sent out by the feeder 5F and mount them on the substrate S. As shown in FIG. 1, they are arranged along the conveyance direction of the substrate S on the downstream side of the printing inspection device 3. Each component mounter 5 includes a housing, a feeder set table on which a plurality of feeders 5F are mounted, a substrate conveyance device, an XY moving device, a mounting head including at least one suction nozzle, a parts camera, a mark camera, a nozzle station (all not shown), and a control device 50, etc. The control device 50 of each component mounter 5 is a computer including a CPU 50a, a ROM 50b, a RAM 50c, a non-volatile storage device 50d, an input / output interface 50e, etc., and exchanges information with the line control device 10 via wireless or wired communication. Also, the control device 50 acquires the imaging data of the parts camera and the mark camera, and the detection values of various sensors (not shown) installed in the substrate conveyance device, the XY moving device, the mounting head, etc. Furthermore, the control device 50 executes a production program based on the information from the line control device 10, the imaging data of the parts camera and the mark camera, the detection values of various sensors, etc., and controls the plurality of feeders 5F (component supply units), the substrate conveyance device, the XY moving device, the mounting head, etc. The production program defines the mounting order of the components P on the substrate S in the plurality of component mounters 5 of the production line 1, the production quantity of the substrate S, etc., and is stored in the ROM 50b, etc.

[0018] The mounting inspection device 6 inspects the mounting state of the component P mounted by each component mounter 5, and includes an inspection mechanism and a control device (computer) that controls the inspection mechanism. The control device of the mounting inspection device 6 also exchanges information with the line control device 10 via wireless or wired communication. The reflow device 7 is arranged on the downstream side of the mounting inspection device 6, and includes a substrate transfer device that transfers the substrate S from the mounting inspection device 6, a heating unit that heats the substrate S transferred by the substrate transfer device, and a control device that controls the substrate transfer device, the heating unit, etc. The reflow device 7 melts the solder on the substrate S by heating the substrate S to a predetermined reflow temperature (for example, 220°C - 250°C) in the heating unit. As a result, when the melted solder is cooled and solidified, each component is electrically connected and fixed to the wiring pattern of the substrate S. The reflow inspection device 8 inspects the state of the component P on the substrate S subjected to the reflow process, and includes an inspection mechanism and a control device that controls the inspection mechanism. The control devices of the reflow device 7 and the reflow inspection device 8 are both computers including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a storage device, etc., and each exchanges information with the line control device 10 via wireless or wired communication.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the line control device 10 is a computer that includes a CPU 10a, a ROM 10b, a RAM 10c, a non-volatile storage device 10d such as a hard disk drive or a solid state drive, an input / output interface 10e, etc., and to which input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse and a display device (both not shown) are connected. In the storage device 10d of the line control device 10, various production information related to the production of the substrate S is stored. The production information includes the inventory status and supply status of the components P mounted on the substrate S, the production plan of the substrate S (including the usage plan of the components P), the production status of the substrate S, the operating status of a plurality of component mounters 5 that constitute the production line 1, etc. Further, the line control device 10 gives various command signals, etc. to the printing control unit of the printing device 2, the control device 50 of each component mounter 5, the reflow control unit of the reflow device 7, etc. according to requests from the device side, etc. Note that the line control device 10 may be constituted by a server and a terminal connected to the server via a network.

[0020] Here, when a malfunction occurs in at least any one of a plurality of devices that constitute the production line 1, that is, the printing device 2, the printing inspection device 3, the devices in the storage unit 4, a plurality of component mounters 5, the mounting inspection device 6, the reflow device 7, the reflow inspection device 8, the loader 9, and the line control device 10, the operation logs of each device are required to identify the cause of the malfunction, etc. Also, the operation logs of each device are required when checking the operation status of each device or when actually operating newly introduced component mounters 5, etc. for debugging work.

[0021] Therefore, the control devices (not shown) of the plurality of component mounters 5, the printing device 2, the printing inspection device 3, the mounting inspection device 6, the reflow device 7, and the reflow inspection device 8 generate operation logs (files) that record events (such as operating states, errors, warnings, etc.) occurring in the corresponding component mounters 5, etc. within a predetermined time (in this embodiment, for example, 30 seconds) every predetermined time (in this embodiment, for example, 30 seconds). Also, the line control device 10 generates operation logs for each device of the controlled objects in the storage unit 4, the loader 9, and itself every predetermined time (in this embodiment, for example, 30 seconds). Furthermore, the line control device 10 requests the control devices (not shown) of the plurality of component mounters 5, the printing device 2, the printing inspection device 3, the mounting inspection device 6, the reflow device 7, and the reflow inspection device 8 to transmit operation logs every predetermined acquisition cycle (in this embodiment, for example, 30 seconds), stores the operation logs received from each device in the storage device 10d for each device, and stores the operation logs generated by itself in the storage device 10d for each device. Note that the control devices (not shown) of the plurality of component mounters 5, the printing device 2, the printing inspection device 3, the mounting inspection device 6, the reflow device 7, and the reflow inspection device 8 delete the operation log after transmitting it to the line control device 10 and generate a new operation log.

[0022] Also, in this embodiment, a trace program that causes the line control device 10 to function as a trace device for outputting trace information based on the operation logs stored in the storage device 10d in response to a request from a user such as the administrator of the production line 1 for the line control device 10 is installed. Then, the user can extract desired trace information by operating the line control device 10 or a terminal (not shown) connected to the line control device 10 via wireless or wired communication to execute the above trace program.

[0023] That is, the user can retrieve desired trace information by setting the date and time range of the trace information to be retrieved or selecting the device for which the trace information is to be retrieved on the display device of the line control device 10 or the terminal. However, if the user misenters the date and time range, expands the date and time range too much, or increases the number of devices, it may become impossible to quickly retrieve the target trace information, or the capacity of the retrieved trace information may become excessive. Based on this, when any event is selected from among a plurality of events generated by a plurality of devices constituting the production line 1, the trace program that causes the line control device 10 to function as a trace device is created so as to automatically retrieve, without excess or deficiency, the trace information corresponding to the selected event (hereinafter referred to as the "selected event").

[0024] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure for retrieving trace information using the selected event selected by the user as a key. In the present embodiment, after the above trace program is started, by clicking on the tab "Device Event Log" on the menu displayed on the display screen of the display device, it becomes possible to retrieve trace information using the selected event as a key. When the user clicks on the tab, the CPU 10a of the line control device 10 causes the display device to display a device event log as shown in Figure 4 (step S100). As shown in the figure, the device event log shows event data including the occurrence date and time of a plurality of events that occurred within a predetermined date and time range or a date and time range specified by the user, the name (ID) of the device on which the event occurred, the type of event, the event code, and the content of the event, etc.

[0025] After causing the display device to display the device event log, the CPU 10a determines whether or not any of the events included in the device event log have been selected by the user (step S110). When it is determined that the user has selected any event (selected event) (step S110: YES), the CPU 10a acquires the event code of the selected event (step S120). Further, the CPU 10a identifies the trace target device corresponding to the event code acquired in step S120 (step S130). In the present embodiment, a table as shown in FIG. 5 that defines the trace target device, which is the device to be traced for each of a plurality of event codes, is created in advance. In step S130, the CPU 10a refers to the table in FIG. 5 to identify the trace target device corresponding to the selected event (event code). In the present embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 5, the trace target device includes at least the device in which the selected event has occurred.

[0026] After the process of step S130, the CPU 10a reads out from the storage device 10d the operation log acquired from the trace target device among the operation logs acquired from the above-described plurality of devices (step S140). More specifically, in step S140, after acquiring the occurrence date and time of the selected event selected by the user, the CPU 10a reads out from the storage device 10d the operation log acquired from the trace target device corresponding to the event code of the selected event until the time corresponding to the acquisition period of the above-described operation log (in the present embodiment, for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed since the occurrence date and time of the selected event.

[0027] Subsequently, the CPU 10a determines whether the selected event is an error event based on the event code of the selected event acquired in step S120 (step S150). If it is determined that the selected event is an error event (step S150: YES), the CPU 10a identifies the event code (hereinafter referred to as the "related error code") and the related time of another error event related to the selected event (hereinafter referred to as the "related event") based on the event code acquired in step S120 (step S160). The related event is an event that causes or induces the selected event. The related time is the time when there is a possibility that the related event has occurred before the occurrence of the selected event when the selected event occurs. In the present embodiment, a table as shown in FIG. 6 that defines the related error code and the related time of the related event for each of a plurality of error codes (event codes) is created in advance. In step S160, the CPU 10a identifies the related error code and the related time corresponding to the selected event from the table in FIG. 6.

[0028] Furthermore, the CPU 10a determines whether the related error code has been identified in step S160, that is, whether there is a related event for the selected event (step S170). If it is determined that there is a related event for the selected event (step S170: YES), the CPU 10a determines whether a related event has occurred during the period from the occurrence date and time of the selected event to the time before the predetermined related time specified for the selected event in step S160 (step S180). If it is determined that the related event has occurred before the occurrence of the selected event (step S180: YES), the CPU 10a reads from the storage device 10d the operation log acquired from the trace target device specified in step S130 during the period from the occurrence date and time of the selected event to the time before the related time (predetermined time) (step S190).

[0029] After the process of step S190, the CPU 10a causes the display device to display the operation logs read in steps S140 and S190 in a predetermined format (step S200), and ends the routine of FIG. 3. Further, when it is determined in step S150 that the selected event is not an error event (step S150: NO), the CPU 10a skips the processes of steps S160 - S190, causes the display device to display only the operation log read in step S140 in a predetermined format (step S200), and ends the routine of FIG. 3. Furthermore, when it is determined in step S170 that there is no related event for the selected event (step S170: NO), the CPU 10a skips the processes of steps S180 - S190, causes the display device to display only the operation log read in step S140 in a predetermined format (step S200), and ends the routine of FIG. 3. Also, when it is determined in step S180 that the related event did not occur before the selected event occurred (step S180: NO), the CPU 10a skips the process of step S190, causes the display device to display only the operation log read in step S140 in a predetermined format (step S200), and ends the routine of FIG. 3.

[0030] As described above, when a user selects any event from among a plurality of devices included in the production line 1, that is, the printing device 2, the print inspection device 3, the devices in the storage unit 4, the plurality of component mounters 5, the mounting inspection device 6, the reflow device 7, the reflow inspection device 8, the loader 9, and a plurality of events generated by the line control device 10, the line control device 10 as a trace device reads from the storage device 10d the operation logs acquired from the plurality of devices until the time corresponding to the acquisition period of the operation logs has elapsed since the date and time of the selected event. (Steps S100 - S140). Then, the line control device 10 causes the display device to display (output) the read operation logs as trace information corresponding to the selected event (Step S200). That is, in the operation logs acquired from the device in which the selected event occurred until the time corresponding to the acquisition period has elapsed since the date and time of the selected event, the selected event is always recorded as long as there are no defects in the generation of the operation logs. Therefore, according to the line control device 10 as a trace device, it is possible to provide the user with trace information including the log of the selected event without entrusting the user with setting the date and time range of the trace information to be retrieved. As a result, it is possible to appropriately provide the trace information corresponding to the selected event in response to the selection of the event by the user, thereby improving the convenience for the user.

[0031] Further, the line control device 10 selects the operation logs read from the storage device 10d based on the event code of the selected event (Steps S140, S190). That is, as shown in FIG. 5, in the line control device 10, for each of the plurality of event codes, the target device for reading the operation logs is predetermined. When a user selects a selected event, the line control device 10 reads from the storage device 10d the operation logs of the target device corresponding to the event code of the selected event and outputs them as trace information. This makes it possible to preferably suppress the situation where the capacity of the retrieved trace information becomes excessive.

[0032] Furthermore, when the selection event is an error event and another error event related to the selection event has occurred between the occurrence date and time of the selection event and a predetermined related time (predetermined time) for the selection event (Steps S150 - S180), at least a part of the operation log acquired between the occurrence date and time of the selection event and the related time before is read from the storage device 10d and output as trace information (Steps S190, S200). Thereby, in response to the selection of an event by the user, appropriate trace information extremely useful for specifying the cause of the selected error event and the like can be provided, and it becomes possible to further improve the convenience for the user.

[0033] In the above embodiment, in Step S190, the operation log acquired from the trace target device specified in Step S130 between the occurrence date and time of the selection event and the related time before is read from the storage device 10d, but it is not limited thereto. That is, in Step S190, the operation log acquired from a predetermined trace target device for the related error code between the occurrence date and time of the selection event and the related time before may be read from the storage device 10d. Further, for example, when the user hopes to specify the cause of the error event and a predetermined operation is performed by the user on the display screen of the display device, the process of Step S140 may be omitted, and in Step S200, only the operation log read in Step S190 may be displayed on the display device in a predetermined format.

[0034] The invention of the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment at all, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made within the scope of the extension of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the above embodiment is merely a specific form of the invention described in the summary section of the invention, and does not limit the elements of the invention described in the summary section of the invention.

Industrial Applicability

[0035] The invention of the present disclosure can be used in the manufacturing industry of trace devices.

Description of Symbols

[0036] 1 Production line, 2 Printing device, 3 Printing inspection device, 4 Storage unit, 5 Component mounter, 50 Control device, 5F Feeder, 6 Mounting inspection device, 7 Reflow device, 8 Reflow inspection device, 10 Line control device (Trace device), 10a, 50a CPU, 10b, 50b ROM, 10c, 50c RAM, 10d, 50d Storage device, 10e, 50e Input / output interface, P Component, S Substrate.

Claims

1. A trace device that acquires operation logs from a plurality of devices included in a production line at a predetermined acquisition cycle, stores them in a storage device, and outputs trace information based on the operation logs in response to a user's request, when any event is selected by the user from among a plurality of events that have occurred in the plurality of devices, at least the operation log acquired from the device in which the selected event has occurred among the operation logs acquired from the plurality of devices until the time corresponding to the acquisition cycle has elapsed since the date and time of occurrence of the selected event selected by the user is read from the storage device and output as the trace information.

2. In the trace device according to Claim 1, a trace device that selects the operation log read from the storage device based on the event code of the selected event.

3. In the trace device according to Claim 2, a target device to be traced is predetermined for each of a plurality of the event codes, and when the selected event is selected by the user, the operation log of the target device corresponding to the event code of the selected event is read from the storage device and output as the trace information.

4. In the trace device according to Claim 3, when the selected event is an error event and another error event related to the selected event has occurred between the date and time of occurrence of the selected event and a predetermined related time for the selected event, at least a part of the operation log acquired between the date and time of occurrence of the selected event and the related time is read from the storage device and output as the trace information.

5. A trace device that acquires operation logs from a plurality of devices included in a production line, stores them in a storage device, and outputs trace information based on the operation logs in response to a user's request, A trace device that reads out the operation log obtained from the target device corresponding to the event code of the selected event among the plurality of devices from the storage device from the time of occurrence of the selected event up to a predetermined related time before the selected event, when a user selects any event from among the plurality of events that occurred in the plurality of devices, the selected event selected by the user is an error event, and another error event related to the selected event has occurred between the time of occurrence of the selected event and a predetermined related time for the selected event, and outputs the read operation log as the trace information. **Claim 6** A trace method for acquiring operation logs from a plurality of devices included in a production line at a predetermined acquisition cycle, storing the operation logs in a storage device, and outputting trace information based on the operation logs in response to a user's request, When a user selects any event from among the plurality of events that occurred in the plurality of devices, among the operation logs acquired from the plurality of devices until a time corresponding to the acquisition cycle has elapsed since the time of occurrence of the selected event selected by the user, at least the operation log acquired from the device in which the selected event occurred is read out from the storage device, and the read operation log is output as the trace information. **Claim 7** A trace method for acquiring operation logs from a plurality of devices included in a production line, storing the operation logs in a storage device, and outputting trace information based on the operation logs in response to a user's request, When a user selects any event from among the plurality of events that occurred in the plurality of devices, the selected event selected by the user is an error event, and another error event related to the selected event has occurred between the time of occurrence of the selected event and a predetermined related time for the selected event, the operation log acquired from the target device corresponding to the event code of the selected event among the plurality of devices from the time of occurrence of the selected event up to a predetermined related time before the selected event is read out from the storage device, and the read operation log is output as the trace information. **Claim 8** In a computer, A procedure for acquiring operation logs from a plurality of devices included in a production line at a predetermined acquisition cycle and storing the operation logs in a storage device, When any event is selected by the user from among a plurality of events that have occurred in the plurality of devices, among the operation logs acquired from the plurality of devices until the time corresponding to the acquisition period has elapsed since the date and time of the selected event selected by the user, at least the operation log acquired from the device in which the selected event has occurred is read out from the storage device and output as trace information; A trace program for causing the above to be executed.

9. On a computer, A procedure for acquiring an operation log from a plurality of devices included in a production line and storing it in a storage device; When any event is selected by the user from among a plurality of events that have occurred in the plurality of devices, the selected event is an error event, and another error event related to the selected event has occurred between the date and time of the selected event and a predetermined related time for the selected event, at least a part of the operation log acquired from the target device corresponding to the event code of the selected event among the plurality of devices between the date and time of the selected event and the related time before is read out from the storage device and output as trace information; A trace program for causing the above to be executed.

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