# US 10,871,767 B2 · Production control system, production control program, and production control method for identifying a plurality of workpieces > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,871,767 B2 - Document ID: US10871767B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/954,915 - Filed: 2018-04-17 - Published: 2018-11-22 - Granted: 2020-12-22 - Earliest claimed: 2017-05-16 - Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Yohei Sano - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10871767B2 ## CPC - G05B 19/4183: {characterised by data acquisition, e.g. workpiece identification} - G05B 19/41865: {characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow} - G05B 2219/32252: Scheduling production, machining, job shop - G05B 2219/45054: Handling, conveyor - G05B 2219/49302: Part, workpiece, code, tool identification - Y02P 90/02: Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] - G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G) - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS ## Abstract A production control system includes a plurality of processing machines configured to successively process a plurality of workpieces conveyed on a production line, and a system server connected to the plurality of processing machines, in which the system server acquires an operating status associated with a time from each of the plurality of processing machines, associates the acquired operating statuses with the plurality of workpieces successively arriving at the processing machines, and thereby identifies each of the plurality of workpieces conveyed on the production line. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A production control system comprising: a plurality of processing machines configured to successively process a plurality of workpieces conveyed on a production line; and a system server communicatively connected to the plurality of processing machines, wherein the system server comprises: a processor configured to: for each of the plurality of processing machines: (i) acquire an operating status of a processing machine of the plurality of processing machines for each of the plurality of workpieces that the processing machine processes, and (ii) associate the acquired operating status with an acquired operating time of the operating status, the operating time being a time that the workpiece is processed by the processing machine, and identify each of the plurality of workpieces conveyed on the production line based on the associating of the acquired operating statuses with the acquired operating times, wherein the processor is further configured to identify each of the plurality of workpieces conveyed on the production line by: when an operating status of the acquired operating statuses indicates an abnormality or interruption of one of the plurality of processing machines, recognizing that a workpiece corresponding to the one of the plurality of processing machines has been taken out from the production line, advancing an order of a workpiece that has been conveyed subsequent to the workpiece taken out from the production line, and associating an operating status acquired from a processing machine disposed on a downstream side of that processing machine with the advanced workpiece, wherein the workpiece that has been conveyed subsequent to the workpiece taken out from the production line is different from the workpiece taken out from the production line, wherein the processor is further configured to: when a first workpiece is recognized as having been taken out from the one of the plurality of processing machines, acquire a taking-out elapsed time that is a time elapsed before the first workpiece is re-put onto the production line again, associate an operating status associated with an earliest time after the taking-out elapsed time has elapsed from a time associated with the abnormality or interruption of an operation of the one of the plurality of processing machines with the first workpiece, and identify that the first workpiece is conveyed on the production line again. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The production control system according to claim 1, further comprising an operation terminal configured to transmit terminal time information to the system server in response to an operation performed by a user. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The production control system according to claim 1, wherein when one of the plurality of workpieces has been taken out from the one of the plurality of processing machines but the system server has not been able to recognize that the one of the plurality of workpieces has been re-put onto the production line again before a predetermined time has elapsed, the system server regards the one of the plurality of workpieces as being a discarded workpiece. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The production control system according to claim 1, further comprising an integration server communicatively connected to the system server, wherein the processor is further configured to control a communication interface to transfer identification information of the plurality of workpieces to the integration server at a predetermined timing. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The production control system according to claim 4, wherein the integration server regards, among the plurality of workpieces, a workpiece that has been taken out from the one of the plurality of processing machines but has not been recognized as having been re-put onto the production line again as being a discarded workpiece. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The production control system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of processing machines performs a predetermined process for each of the plurality of workpieces based on an identification status in the system server. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The production control system according to claim 1, wherein the identifying of each of the plurality of workpieces conveyed on the production line is based on an order of the plurality of workpieces. ### Claim 8 A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores a production control program comprising computer-executable code configured to be executed by a system server communicatively connected to a plurality of processing machines, the plurality of processing machines being configured to successively process a plurality of workpieces conveyed on a production line, the computer-executable code being configured to cause a processor of the system server to: for each of the plurality of processing machines: (i) acquire an operating status of a processing machine of the plurality of processing machines for each of the plurality of workpieces that the processing machine processes, and (ii) associate the acquired operating status with an acquired operating time of the operating status, the operating time being a time that the workpiece is processed by the processing machine, and identify each of the plurality of workpieces conveyed on the production line based on the associating of the acquired operating statuses with the acquired operating times, wherein the processor is further configured to identify each of the plurality of workpieces conveyed on the production line by: when an operating status of the acquired operating statuses indicates an abnormality or interruption of one of the plurality of processing machines, recognizing that a workpiece corresponding to the one of the plurality of processing machines has been taken out from the production line, advancing an order of a workpiece that has been conveyed subsequent to the workpiece taken out from the production line, and associating an operating status acquired from a processing machine disposed on a downstream side of that processing machine with the advanced workpiece, wherein the workpiece that has been conveyed subsequent to the workpiece taken out from the production line is different from the workpiece taken out from the production line, wherein the computer-executable code is further configured to cause the processor of the system server to: when a first workpiece is recognized as having been taken out from the one of the plurality of processing machines, acquire a taking-out elapsed time that is a time elapsed before the first workpiece is re-put onto the production line again, associate an operating status associated with an earliest time after the taking-out elapsed time has elapsed from a time associated with the abnormality or interruption of an operation of the one of the plurality of processing machines with the first workpiece, and identify that the first workpiece is conveyed on the production line again. ### Claim 9 A production control method using a plurality of processing machines and a system server communicatively connected to the plurality of processing machines, the plurality of processing machines being configured to successively process a plurality of workpieces conveyed on a production line, the production control method comprising: for each of the plurality of processing machines: (i) acquiring an operating status of a processing machine of the plurality of processing machines for each of the plurality of workpieces that the processing machine processes, and (ii) associating the acquired operating status with an acquired operating time of the operating status, the operating time being a time that the workpiece is processed by the processing machine, and identifying each of the plurality of workpieces conveyed on the production line based on the associating of the acquired operating statuses with the acquired operating times, wherein the identifying of each of the plurality of workpieces conveyed on the production line includes: when an operating status of the acquired operating statuses indicates an abnormality or interruption of one of the plurality of processing machines, recognizing that a workpiece corresponding to the one of the plurality of processing machines has been taken out from the production line, advancing an order of a workpiece that has been conveyed subsequent to the workpiece taken out from the production line, and associating an operating status acquired from a processing machine disposed on a downstream side of that processing machine with the advanced workpiece, wherein the workpiece that has been conveyed subsequent to the workpiece taken out from the production line is different from the workpiece taken out from the production line, wherein the production control method further comprises: when a first workpiece is recognized as having been taken out from the one of the plurality of processing machines, acquire a taking-out elapsed time that is a time elapsed before the first workpiece is re-put onto the production line again, associate an operating status associated with an earliest time after the taking-out elapsed time has elapsed from a time associated with the abnormality or interruption of an operation of the one of the plurality of processing machines with the first workpiece, and identify that the first workpiece is conveyed on the production line again. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The production control system according to claim 7, wherein the order of the plurality of workpieces is corrected based on the associating of the acquired operating statuses with the acquired operating times.