US20030196312A1 - Method for manufacturing an item - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for notifying installers14-22of the existence, type, and location of a portion26of an item within an assembly line10. The notification allows the installers14-22to respectively ensure that the components40which are needed to be placed upon the portion26are available for use by the installer14-22in a timely manner.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention generally relates to a method for manufacturing or assembling an item and more particularly to a method for manufacturing or assembling an item, such as a vehicle, which requires the assembly of a relatively large number of components.[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• Items, such as vehicles, are typically manufactured or assembled by the use of a relatively large number and variety of components such as, by way of example and without limitation, wiring harnesses, sun roofs, and hoods. It should be appreciated that the terms “manufactured” and “assembled”, in this Application, mean the creation or construction of an item, such as a vehicle.[0002]
• Oftentimes, an “assembly line” is used to manufacture or assemble vehicles or other items. In this arrangement, for example, the various components of the vehicle are operatively placed upon the body or frame of the vehicle at various stations or locations of the assembly line. In this manner, each station or location corresponds to a unique stage of the overall vehicle assembly process and requires the placement of a unique component or the performance of a certain function upon the partially formed vehicle. Oftentimes, a single assembly line is used to produce a wide variety of different models or types of vehicles in order to efficiently utilize the manufacturing machinery and personnel included within and/or cooperatively forming the assembly line.[0003]
• While the manufacture of a wide variety of vehicles by the use of a single assembly line does allow efficient use of existing resources, it does have some drawbacks. For example, many of these dissimilar vehicles respectively require unique types of components. Hence, the number of dissimilar vehicles which may be built or created by an assembly line is typically and directly proportional to the number of different types of components which must be used during the manufacturing process. Therefore, a great variety of components must be used in order to allow a great variety of vehicles to be produced.[0004]
• Further, since these vehicles are manufactured and “flow through” the assembly line at a relatively fast pace, this relatively large number of components must be readily available to the assembly line personnel. Due to the typical lack of component storage space existing along the assembly line, many of these components must be selectively “shuttled” into the assembly area on an “as needed” basis, thereby further complicating the manufacturing or assembly process. It is desirable to have these components available to the installers before these components are actually needed or utilized in order to allow for a continuous manufacturing process and to maximize the amount of vehicles which are produced.[0005]
• Particularly, in one non-limiting embodiment, the transport of these components into the assembly area is typically scheduled by the use of a “build schedule” which identifies the order that vehicles are to be manufactured by the assembly line. The build schedule is typically created before assembly actually begins, thereby allowing a planned or scheduled “shuttle” of components in the assembly area to occur.[0006]
• While this approach does sometimes allow a relatively accurate component transport schedule to be created, oftentimes the “build schedule” must be dynamically altered or changed due to difficulties or occurrences, which arise after the build schedule has been created (e.g. the identity of faulty components which prevent a certain type of vehicle to be built in accordance with the build schedule). Oftentimes the component transport schedule is not modified to reflect these “build schedule changes” or is incorrectly modified, thereby undesirably disrupting the assembly process.[0007]
• There is therefore a need for a new and improved method for manufacturing and/or assembling an item, such as a vehicle, which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior methods.[0008]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• It is a first object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing an item which overcomes the various and previously delineated drawbacks of prior manufacturing methodologies.[0009]
• It is a second object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing an item which overcomes the various and previously delineated drawbacks of prior manufacturing methodologies, which provides for the manufacture of an item by the use of several components which are cooperatively assembled onto a portion of the item by several individuals, and which further provides certain information to these individuals, effective to ensure that the several components are available for assembly, thereby allowing the item to be manufactured in a timely manner.[0010]
• According to a first aspect of the present invention a method is provided for manufacturing an item by the use of several components. The method comprises the steps of selecting a first individual; selecting a second individual; creating a first portion of the item; causing the first portion of the item to pass in close proximity to the first individual; assembling a first of the several components on the first portion of the item by the first individual; notifying the second individual of the existence of the first portion of the item and the location of the first portion of the item proximate to the first individual; causing the first portion of the item and the assembled first of the several components to pass in close proximity to the second individual; and assembling a second of the several components onto the first portion of the item by the second individual.[0011]
• These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and by reference to the following drawings.[0012]
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an assembly line to which the methodology of the preferred embodiment of the invention may be selectively applied.[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
• Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a vehicle manufacturing or[0014]assembly line10 which is adapted to produce avehicle12. It should be appreciated that whileassembly line10 is, in this example, adapted to produce avehicle12,assembly line10 could also be adapted to selectively produce other non-vehicular assemblies and/or items and that the methodology of the present invention is not limited to the manufacture and/or assembly of a vehicle.
• Particularly,[0015]assembly line10 includes several individuals or “installers”14,16,18,20, and22 who are respectively and uniquely positioned in close proximity to a transport assembly or member24 (e.g., a conveyor belt or assembly line). Afirst portion26 of a vehicle12 (e.g., a previously formed body or frame assembly) is placed at the beginning or “entry point”28 of theconveyor24 and is sequentially and subsequently transported in close proximity toindividuals14,16,18,20, and22 who respectively place unique components onto thefirst portion26, thereby cooperatively producing avehicle12. Several other substantially identical vehicularfirst portions26 may also be sequentially placed upontransport member24 and used to assemble or create a vehicle, such asvehicle12, in the foregoing manner. Each of these otherfirst portions26 may represent respectively unique models or types ofvehicles12 which respectively require unique types of components. These other components may be placed on these otherfirst portions26 by theseindividuals14,16,18,20, and22. Hence, each individual14,16,18,20, and22, during the vehicular assembly process may be respectively required to place many different types of components on the various receivedfirst portions26.
• Typically, some components, such as[0016]components32,34,36,38, and39 may respectively reside in close proximity to assemblers or installers14-22 while other components, such ascomponents40, are stored at area orlocation42 which is remotely located fromconveyor24 and fromassembly line10. These remotely locatedcomponents40 may be selectively transported to the individuals14-22 by an individual44 operating a “lift truck”46. Alternatively, these components may be transported to these individuals14-22 by use of a handcart or some other manual or selectively driven transport assembly or vehicle.
• In one non-limiting embodiment of the invention, each portion of the[0017]assembly line10 which is respectively proximate to a unique one of the individuals14-22 has a sensor50 (i.e. a radio frequency receiver). Eachsensor50 senses the identity of thefirst portion26 which is currently located proximate to it (e.g., by the use of aradio frequency tag52 on each first portion26). The sensor produced “identifying information” also includes the types of components which the identifiedfirst portion26 requires and/or the model of vehicle that thisfirst portion26 represents since such information may be selectively placed upon thetag52 which resides upon thisfirst portion26. Asensor50 is also placed atentry portion28 in order to identify the existence of eachfirst portion26 as it enters theassembly line10.
• In operation, the[0018]sensors50 respectively transmit a signal51 which is received by acomputer53. As shown,computer53 is physically and communicatively coupled, bybus54, to various computertype display devices56 and thesedevices56 are respectively and proximately positioned by a unique one of the individuals14-22. Signals51 are effective to cooperatively cause thesescreens56 to display the existence and location, withinassembly line10, of each of the identifiedfirst portions26 which are positioned uponconveyor24. The sensor information therefore allows the displayed location of theitems26 upondevices56 to be dynamically updated. That is, in one non-limiting embodiment, an icon is uniquely assigned to eachfirst item26 which is positioned uponconveyor24 and each uniquely assigned icon is displayed upon eachdisplay device56.
• The sensor information allows the location of an item upon the[0019]devices56 to be dynamically updated. That is, in one non-limiting embodiment, eachdisplay device56 includes or has a graphical representative of the assembly line which may, by way of example and without limitation, be substantially similar to the graphical representation which is shown in FIG. 1. The location of an icon upon each of thedisplay devices56 corresponds to the location, upon conveyor ortransport assembly24 of themember26 to which that icon is respectively and uniquely assigned. That is, as amember26 proceeds through theassembly line10 its corresponding icon “moves along” or changes position upon each of thedisplays56 in order to substantially ensure that an icon on adisplay56 resides at a position, within the displayed graphical representation of theassembly line10, which corresponds to its current position within theactual assembly line10. In an alternate embodiment of the invention,computer53 may contain and/or include the type of components required by and the model number or type of each such displayedfirst portion26.
• In this manner, each individual[0020]14-22 is apprised of the identity of each of thefirst portions26 which reside upon thetransport assembly24 and which are to be transported to the individuals14-22. Such information allows the individual to order, by telephone, or by use of radio pagers, individual44 to bring neededcomponents40 necessary to assemble thefirst portions26.Such components40 are then selectively transported to the individuals14-22. Hence, actual assembly data or information is presented to these individual assemblers1422 to “warn” or inform them of the need for remotely locatedcomponents40 and allows the assembly process to occur without substantial component transportation disruption. Hence, by providing actual or “real time” warning information of the existence of afirst portion26 uponconveyor24, each individual14-22 may ensure the availability of neededcomponentry40. The use of such “real time” warning data therefore improves upon the use of such previously delineated “build schedules” which were often times changed/modified and were susceptible to the previously delineated difficulties.
• It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact construction and method which has been previously delineated but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the inventions as are more fully delineated in the following claims.[0021]

Claims (7)

What is claimed:

1. A method for use with an assembly line of the type having a plurality of installers and an item which is to receive at least one component from each of said plurality of installers, said method comprising the step of:

notifying each of said plurality of installers of said existence of said item and said type of said item when said item enters said assembly line.

2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said item comprises a portion of a vehicle.

3. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising the steps of:

remotely locating some of said components from said assembly line; and

retrieving at least a portion of said remotely located components in response to said notification.

4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said step of notifying said installers comprises the step of visually notifying said installers.

5. The method ofclaim 4 wherein said step of visually notifying said installers comprises the steps of:

creating a visual representation of said assembly line; and

displaying an icon upon said visual representation.

6. The method ofclaim 5 wherein said visual representation comprises a computer screen.

7. The method ofclaim 6 wherein said member traverses various locations upon said assembly line and wherein said icon is displayed upon said computer screen at a position corresponding to a current location of said item.

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