# US 2020/0401117 A1 · Apparatus, method and computer program for identifying defective devices > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2020/0401117 A1 - Document ID: US20200401117A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/011,143 - Filed: 2020-09-03 - Published: 2020-12-24 - Earliest claimed: 2018-04-19 - Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation - Applicants: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation - Inventors: Masashi TATEDOKO; Tsuyoshi HIGUCHI; Kiyoto KAWAUCHI; Takeshi YONEDA - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200401117A1 ## CPC - G05B 19/4185: {characterised by the network communication} - G05B 19/4184: {characterised by fault tolerance, reliability of production system} - G05B 19/41845: {characterised by system universality, reconfigurability, modularity} - G05B 19/41865: {characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow} - G06Q 10/06395: {Quality analysis or management} - G06Q 50/04: Manufacturing - G05B 23/0205: {by means of a monitoring system capable of detecting and responding to faults} - G05B 2219/32222: Fault, defect detection of origin of fault, defect of product - Y02P 90/02: Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] - Y02P 90/30: Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing - 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) - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS ## Abstract An apparatus for identifying a path pattern of devices that produces a defective product in a production line where a product is produced via a plurality of device is provided. The device is configured to estimate a path pattern quality indicating a quality of a group of products produced through a production path included in a path pattern, based on a production path quality and an association relationship between a path pattern and a production path indicating devices via which the product is produced and an order of passing through the devices; and to identify a path pattern suspected to be defective based on the estimated path pattern quality. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A apparatus for identifying a path pattern of devices that produces a defective product in a production line where a product is produced via a plurality of devices, the apparatus comprising: a production path extractor configured to extract a production path indicating devices via which the product is produced and an order of passing through the devices; a production path quality generator configured to generate a production path quality indicating a quality of a group of products produced through the production path; a path pattern generator configured to generate a possible path pattern indicating devices via which the product is produced and an order of passing through the devices, in accordance with a number of indispensable devices indicating a number of devices that must be included in the path pattern; an association relationship generator configured to generate an association relationship between the production path and the path pattern; a path pattern quality estimator configured to estimate a path pattern quality indicating a quality of a group of products produced through a production path included in the path pattern, based on the association relationship and the production path quality; and a defective path pattern identifier configured to identify a defective path pattern for which a value of the path pattern quality is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the path pattern generator is configured to: set an initial value of the number of indispensable devices to 1 to generate the path pattern; and repeatedly generate the path pattern by incrementing the number of indispensable devices by one until a number of defective path patterns is equal to or larger than a predetermined value. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the path pattern generator is configured to: set an initial value of the number of indispensable devices to 1 to generate the path pattern; and repeatedly generate the path pattern by incrementing the number of indispensable devices by one until a comparison result between a tendency of a path pattern quality estimated at a previous iteration and a tendency of a path pattern quality estimated at a current iteration converges to a predetermined range. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the path pattern generator is configured to: set an initial value of the number of indispensable devices to 1 to generate the path pattern; and repeatedly generate the path pattern by incrementing the number of indispensable devices by one until the number of indispensable path devices with a least number of defective path patterns is identified. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the defective path pattern identifier is further configured to identify a path pattern for which temporal transition of the value of the path pattern quality deviates from a predetermined range as the defective path pattern. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the defective path pattern identifier is further configured to identify a device commonly included in the defective path pattern as a device suspected to be defective and to output the identified device in an order of degree of defectiveness. ### Claim 7 A method of identifying a path pattern of devices that produces a defective product in a production line where a product is produced via a plurality of devices, the method comprising the steps of: extracting a production path indicating devices via which the product is produced and an order of passing through the devices; generating a production path quality indicating a quality of a group of products produced through the production path; generating a possible path pattern indicating devices via which the product is produced and an order of passing through the devices, in accordance with a number of indispensable devices indicating a number of devices that must be included in the path pattern; generating an association relationship between the production path and the path pattern; estimating a path pattern quality indicating a quality of a group of products produced through a production path included in the path pattern, based on the association relationship and the production path quality; and identifying a defective path pattern for which a value of the path pattern quality is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of generating the path pattern includes: setting an initial value of the number of indispensable devices to 1 to generate the path pattern; and repeatedly generating the path pattern by incrementing the number of indispensable devices by one until a number of defective path patterns is equal to or larger than a predetermined value. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of generating the path pattern includes: setting an initial value of the number of indispensable devices to 1 to generate the path pattern; and repeatedly generating the path pattern by incrementing the number of indispensable devices by one until a comparison result between a tendency of a path pattern quality estimated at a previous iteration and a tendency of a path pattern quality estimated at a current iteration converges to a predetermined range. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of generating the path pattern includes: setting an initial value of the number of indispensable devices to 1 to generate the path pattern; and repeatedly generating the path pattern by incrementing the number of indispensable devices by one until the number of indispensable devices with a least number of defective path patterns is identified. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of identifying the defective path pattern further includes identifying a path pattern for which temporal transition of the value of the path pattern quality deviates from a predetermined range as the defective path pattern. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of identifying the defective path pattern further includes identifying a device commonly included in the defective path pattern and outputting the identified device in an order of degree of defectiveness. ### Claim 13 (depends on 7) A computer program for executing the method of claim 7.