US5231271A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Management method of printed circuit boards in assembling process and management system therefor
Assignee: Fujitsu Ltd
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Filing: 1991-06-03
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Granted: 1993-07-27
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Expires: 2011-06-03
Abstract
Abstract Finished printed circuit boards and their identity data are stored in an automatic warehouse and in a stock file, respectively. It is determined whether all necessary printed circuit boards inserted into the shelf of an electronic apparatus are stored in the automatic warehouse by examining the identity data of the printed circuit boards, and if the all necessary printed circuit boards are found to be stored in the automatic warehouse, the identity data of all the necessary printed circuit boards are stored in a delivery file, and the printed circuit boards are delivered according to contents of the delivery file. Employing this method, an amount of "goods in process" and their retention time are decreased, and information about individual parts used in a dispatched apparatus is easily obtained.
Inventors
- 👤 Toshikatsu Hino
- 👤 Nobukatsu Wakabayashi
- 👤 Koji Kobayashi
- 👤 Kazuhide Toyoda
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 23:16
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/06; G06Q10/08
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
159 words
A management method of printed circuit boards in an assembling process of electronic apparatuses having a shelf or a plurality of shelves wherein a plurality of the printed circuit boards are inserted, comprising the steps of: i) reading identity codes appended to the printed circuit boards; ii) storing identity data of the printed circuit boards derived from the identity codes, in a stock file; iii) automatically storing the printed circuit boards in an automatic warehouse; iv) examining whether all necessary printed circuit boards inserted into a shelf of the electronic apparatus are stored in the automatic warehouse by examining the identity data of the printed circuit boards; v) storing the identity data of all the necessary printed circuit boards in a delivery file, if all the necessary printed circuit boards are found to be stored in the automatic warehouse in the step iv); and vi) automatically delivering the printed circuit boards according to the contents of the delivery file.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
159 words
A management method of printed circuit boards in an assembling process of electronic apparatuses having a shelf or a plurality of shelves wherein a plurality of the printed circuit boards are inserted, comprising the steps of: i) reading identity codes appended to the printed circuit boards; ii) storing identity data of the printed circuit boards derived from the identity codes, in a stock file; iii) automatically storing the printed circuit boards in an automatic warehouse; iv) examining whether all necessary printed circuit boards inserted into a shelf of the electronic apparatus are stored in the automatic warehouse by examining the identity data of the printed circuit boards; v) storing the identity data of all the necessary printed circuit boards in a delivery file, if all the necessary printed circuit boards are found to be stored in the automatic warehouse in the step iv); and vi) automatically delivering the printed circuit boards according to the contents of the delivery file.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
A management method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of storing the identity code of individual parts mounted on the individual printed circuit boards in a storage.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
35 words
A management method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the identity codes are bar code appended to the printed circuit boards, and in step i) the bar codes are read by a bar code reader.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
162 words
A management system of printed circuit boards in an assembling process of electronic apparatuses having a shelf or a plurality of shelves wherein a plurality of the printed circuit boards are inserted, comprising; means for reading identity codes appended to the printed circuit boards; means for storing identity data of the printed circuit boards derived from the identity codes, in a stock file; means for automatically storing the printed circuit boards in an automatic warehouse; means for examining whether all necessary printed circuit boards inserted into a shelf of the electronic apparatus are stored in the automatic warehouse by examining the identity data of the printed circuit boards; means for storing the identity data of all the necessary printed circuit boards in a delivery file, if all the necessary printed circuit boards are found to be stored in the automatic warehouse in the examining means; and means for automatically delivering the printed circuit boards according to the contents of the delivery file.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
162 words
A management system of printed circuit boards in an assembling process of electronic apparatuses having a shelf or a plurality of shelves wherein a plurality of the printed circuit boards are inserted, comprising; means for reading identity codes appended to the printed circuit boards; means for storing identity data of the printed circuit boards derived from the identity codes, in a stock file; means for automatically storing the printed circuit boards in an automatic warehouse; means for examining whether all necessary printed circuit boards inserted into a shelf of the electronic apparatus are stored in the automatic warehouse by examining the identity data of the printed circuit boards; means for storing the identity data of all the necessary printed circuit boards in a delivery file, if all the necessary printed circuit boards are found to be stored in the automatic warehouse in the examining means; and means for automatically delivering the printed circuit boards according to the contents of the delivery file.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
A management system as claimed in claim 4, further comprises means for storing the identity code of individual parts mounted on the individual printed circuit boards in a storage.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
A management system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the identity codes are bar code appended to the printed circuit boards, and the reading means is a bar code reader.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said step (iii) includes providing a plurality of robots and a plurality of lines of storage units, said robots being capable of moving printed circuit boards in an out of the storage units.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 7, wherein a respective one of said robots is provided for each one of said storage units.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said step (iii) includes storing the printed circuit boards in accordance with a width of each of the printed circuit boards.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 3, wherein the bar codes include indications of a width of the respective printed circuit board, and wherein said step (iii) includes storing the printed circuit boards in accordance with the width of each of the printed circuit boards.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1, further including the step of displaying on a display terminal inserting positions of printed circuit boards which are delivered said step (vi).
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
96 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said step (iii) includes (a) placing at least one printed circuit board to be stored in a new carrying case, (b) moving the new carrying case to a storage part, (c) emptying the at least one printed circuit board from the new carrying case for storage, (d) returning an already present empty carrying case from a buffer toward an entry part of the automatic warehouse when such an already present empty carrying case is in the buffer, and (e) placing the new carrying case in the buffer after step (c).
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
79 words
The management system of claim 4, wherein said means for automatically storing the printed circuit boards in an automatic warehouse includes an entry part of the automatic warehouse, said entry part having (a) a board supporter which supports both sides of a printed circuit board from a lower side, (b) means for grasping a leading edge of a printed circuit board, and (c) means for moving said board supporter from a retracted stand-by position to a raised operative position.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
28 words
The management system of claim 13, wherein said board supporter supports both sides of a printed circuit board from a lower side via a plurality of tapered rolls.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
40 words
The management system of claim 13, wherein said entry part further includes a spring for contacting the leading edge of a printed circuit board so as to define a horizontal position of the printed circuit board on said entry part.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
47 words
The management system of claim 6, wherein each of said identity code bar codes include indications of (i) a width of the respective printed circuit boards, (ii) lot numbers of parts on the respective printed circuit board, and (iii) the number of the respective printed circuit board.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-07-26 | 1997-01-25 | 1997-07-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-07-26 | 2001-01-25 | 2001-07-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-07-26 | 2005-01-25 | 2005-07-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |