Inspection Standard Simulation for Intermediate Defect Detection

Solution Overview

Problem

In product production lines, setting appropriate inspection standards is challenging due to the trade-off between minimizing 'excessive-looking' and 'overlooking' defects, making it difficult for users to determine if the set standards are optimal, especially for intermediate inspections where quality determination methods are unclear and prone to user preference.

Innovation Solution

An inspection management system that includes an inspection content data acquisition unit, simulation unit, and inspection standard calculation unit to simulate and calculate more appropriate inspection standards based on current standards, providing users with base information to determine the appropriateness of the new standards and facilitating their adoption.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If inspection standards are set stricter to reduce overlooking, then the rate of detecting actual defective products increases, but excessive-looking increases causing deterioration in inspection efficiency

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedefect detection accuracyVSAvoidinspection efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs simulation inspection before actual inspection to predict the outcomes of different inspection standards. By calculating expected excessive-looking and overlooking rates in advance, users can set appropriate standards without experiencing the trade-off consequences in real production, thus maintaining both high detection accuracy and inspection efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback information showing the expected excessive-looking rate and overlooking rate for different inspection standard settings. This feedback loop allows users to adjust standards based on predicted outcomes, enabling them to find the optimal balance between detection accuracy and inspection efficiency without trial-and-error in actual production.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Productivity

If inspection standards are set loosely to decrease excessive-looking, then inspection efficiency improves, but overlooking increases causing deterioration in work efficiency in subsequent processes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinspection efficiencyVSAvoiddefect detection accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs simulation inspection before actual inspection to predict the outcomes of different inspection standards. By calculating expected excessive-looking and overlooking rates in advance, users can set appropriate standards without experiencing the trade-off consequences in real production, thus maintaining both high detection accuracy and inspection efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback information showing the expected excessive-looking rate and overlooking rate for different inspection standard settings. This feedback loop allows users to adjust standards based on predicted outcomes, enabling them to find the optimal balance between detection accuracy and inspection efficiency without trial-and-error in actual production.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If simulation inspection is performed for all possible inspection standards, then the accuracy of predicting excessive-looking and overlooking rates improves, but the complexity of the inspection management system increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprediction accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs simulation inspection for a limited range of inspection standards around the current setting rather than all possible standards. This partial action approach provides sufficiently accurate predictions for standard adjustment while significantly reducing computational complexity and system resource requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS11154001B2Inspection management system, inspection management apparatuses, and inspection management method

Publication Date: 2021.10.19 OMRON CORP

AI summary

An inspection management system having a plurality of processes and managing final inspection performed to inspect a completed product and one or more intermediate inspections performed to inspect an intermediate product manufactured in the processes earlier than a final process includes: an inspection content data acquisition unit that acquires inspection content data including an inspection standard for each inspection item of the product; an inspection content setting unit that sets inspection content based on the inspection content data acquired by the inspection content data acquisition unit; a simulation unit that simulates inspection in accordance with assumed inspection content; an inspection standard calculation unit that calculates an inspection standard more appropriate than a current inspection standard based on the simulation; and an output unit that outputs base information indicating that at least the inspection standard calculated by the inspection standard calculation unit is more appropriate than the current inspection standard.