Textile Machine Service Unit Priority Control for Faster Manual Maintenance

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing textile machine service units face inefficiencies due to long waiting times for manually requested service activities and movement orders, which hinder quick adjustment and maintenance work, leading to decreased productivity and reliability.

Innovation Solution

The method prioritizes evasive trips and parking orders with the highest priority, and manually set service activities and movement orders with high priority, ensuring immediate execution of essential tasks by the service employee, while automatically generated orders are processed subsequently.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If manually set service activities and movement orders are processed after automatically generated orders, then automatic operation smoothness is maintained, but waiting time for service employees increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewaiting time for service employeeVSAvoidservice employee productivity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The control device dynamically adjusts the priority of service orders based on their type and origin. Manually set service activities and movement orders are assigned high priority to enable service employees to perform adjustment and maintenance work immediately, while automatically generated orders are processed subsequently. This dynamic prioritization resolves the contradiction by making the system adaptable to different operational contexts.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The control device receives feedback from service employees through manual input of service activities and movement orders. This feedback mechanism allows the system to respond to actual operational needs and prioritize tasks accordingly, reducing waiting time and improving service employee productivity while maintaining smooth automatic operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Productivity

If service employees perform adjustment work immediately upon request, then productivity increases, but conflicts between multiple service units may occur

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice employee efficiencyVSAvoidoperation reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The control device dynamically determines the execution sequence of service orders by considering their priority level and current machine state. This dynamic scheduling ensures that service employees can perform adjustment work efficiently while the system maintains operational reliability by coordinating multiple service units to avoid conflicts.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The control device processes evasive trips and parking orders with the highest priority before executing manually set service activities. This preliminary action ensures that potential conflicts between service units are resolved in advance, maintaining operational reliability while enabling efficient service employee work.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If all service orders are processed in strict priority sequence, then operational conflicts are avoided, but adjustment and maintenance work experience delays

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice unit coordinationVSAvoidadjustment work waiting time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The control device uses dynamic priority assignment where manually set service activities and movement orders receive high priority, while automatically generated orders are processed subsequently. This dynamic approach ensures that adjustment and maintenance work experiences minimal delays while operational conflicts are still avoided through coordinated execution.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

Different priority levels are assigned to different types of service orders based on their specific requirements. Manually set orders requiring service employee intervention are given high priority locally, while automatic orders are processed in the background, resolving the contradiction between reliability and waiting time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

4Productivity

If service units operate with high automation, then operational efficiency increases, but flexibility for manual adjustments decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemachine operational efficiencyVSAvoidadjustment flexibility
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The control device serves multiple functions by processing both automatically generated service orders and manually input service activities. This multi-functionality allows the system to maintain high automation for routine operations while providing flexibility for manual adjustments when needed, resolving the contradiction between operational efficiency and adaptability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically switches between automatic and manual operation modes based on service order type. Automatically generated orders maintain high operational efficiency, while manually set orders provide adjustment flexibility, making the system universally applicable to different operational contexts.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3736360B1Method for controlling a service unit and service unit
Publication Date: 2021.12.08 SAURER SPINNING SOLUTIONS GMBH & CO KG
  • EP3736360B1 patent drawingFigure 1

AI summary

The invention relates to a service unit and a method for controlling a service unit performing various service activities at a workstation on a textile machine with multiple workstations, wherein the service activities and movement orders to be performed by the service unit are prioritized by a control unit. To provide a method for controlling a service unit performing various service activities and movement orders, as well as a service unit with a control device for executing movement orders and service orders, which enables the rapid execution of adjustment and maintenance work on the service unit, it is provided that evasive maneuvers and parking orders are executed with the highest priority, and manually set service activities and movement orders are also executed with high priority.