Assembly Station Processing Time Determination via Offset Calculation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large assembly systems, determining the precise processing time of a specific article at a specific assembly station is challenging due to the lack of logged time stamps at each station, which is often omitted to conserve database space, yet this information is crucial for training personnel, identifying defective components, and meeting regulatory requirements.
Innovation Solution
A method is developed to determine the processing time of a specific article at a specific assembly station by calculating an offset based on the sequential arrangement of stations within a region, using logged entry and exit times from a database, and correlating assembly parameters such as personnel and components, employing structured query language (SQL) to retrieve relevant data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If detailed information is captured at the assembly station level, then measurement precision is improved, but database size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the data storage approach by capturing detailed information only at region level (coarse granularity) while computing station-level details on-demand through offset calculations. This segmentation allows the database to store minimal data (region entry/exit times) while still enabling precise station-level processing time determination through mathematical computation rather than direct storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary computational layer that bridges region-level logged data and station-level processing requirements. By using offset values and sequential article tracking as intermediaries, the system computes precise station processing times from region-level timestamps without storing redundant station-level timestamp data, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and data volume.
2Loss of information
If processing time information is stored for each assembly station, then information completeness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by logging region entry and exit times along with offset information during the assembly process. These preliminary logged data points contain all necessary information to later compute any station-level processing time without requiring complex real-time tracking or storage at each station, thus maintaining information completeness while reducing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of storing actual station-level timestamp copies at each station or in the database, the patent uses offset values that act as proxies or copies. These offset copies, combined with region-level timestamps, enable reconstruction of precise station processing times without duplicating the actual timestamp data multiple times, reducing storage complexity while maintaining information availability.
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly system may assemble articles of manufacture at a plurality of assembly regions and may log a time at which each article of manufacture enters or exits an assembly region. Assembly regions may include sequential assembly stations that process the articles. A method of determining when a specific article was processed by a specific assembly station may include receiving input identifying a specific article; receiving additional input identifying one of the plurality of sequential assembly stations; determining an offset of the identified sequential assembly station relative to a first assembly station or to a last assembly station within a region that comprises the identified sequential assembly station; and determining a time at which a second sequentially processed article entered or exited the region. The identified specific article and the second sequentially processed article may have been separated by a number of articles corresponding to the offset.