Patent US5239487A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5239487A
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US
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Computer integrated manufacturing rework apparatus and method
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1990-10-24
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Granted: 1993-08-24
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Expires: 2010-10-24
Abstract
Abstract A manufacturing rework station is integrated with a computer. A repair cell program running on the computer functions as an interface between the rework station operator, one or more databases, and one or more knowledge bases. The repair cell provides the operator with an easy to use graphical environment which aids in the diagnosis and repair of defects. The cell simultaneously provides operator assistance, records operator activity, and collects new knowledge when the problem under analysis was previously unknown. The databases contain manufacturing history for each individual article. The operator will input the serial number of the article with a bar-code reader, causing the program to fetch the record of the article. The computer generates an image of the article on the display. The operator may select a component of the article with a lightpen. In response to the selection of a component, the computer displays the possible diagnoses and repair actions associated with that component, together with a figure of merit. The operator may also invoke an expert consultation mode, in which the computer suggests a diagnosis or requests additional information while searching a directed graph. When a diagnosis is made, the computer automatically updates its databases. A plant monitoring and reporting program has access to the diagnostic statistics, and can generate a warning when a particular defect exceeds a limit, or generate defect reports on request.
Inventors
- 👤 Steven A. Horejsi
- 👤 Jack R. Landon
- 👤 Gregg C. Marquardt
- 👤 John C. Stokes
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 11:30
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/06; G05; G05B; G05B2219/00; G05B2219/30; G05B2219/32; G05B2219/32228; Y; Y02; Y02P; Y02P90/00; Y02P90/02; Y02P90/80; Y10; Y10S; Y10S706/00; Y10S706/902; Y10S706/911; Y10S706/916
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 33
Claim 1
Independent Claim
131 words
A computer integrated manufacturing apparatus for supporting rework of a manufactured article, said article comprising a plurality of components, said apparatus comprising: means for storing and retrieving with a computer unique component descriptive information for each of said plurality of components, said unique component descriptive information identifying a list of possible defect diagnoses associated with said component; means for displaying a representation of said manufactured article on a display coupled to said computer, wherein said representation comprises a graphical image which resembles the article in visual appearance; means, interactive with said display means, for selecting a component of said manufactured article; and means, responsive to said means for selecting a component, for displaying, on said display coupled to said computer, said list of possible defect diagnoses associated with said selected component.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
131 words
A computer integrated manufacturing apparatus for supporting rework of a manufactured article, said article comprising a plurality of components, said apparatus comprising: means for storing and retrieving with a computer unique component descriptive information for each of said plurality of components, said unique component descriptive information identifying a list of possible defect diagnoses associated with said component; means for displaying a representation of said manufactured article on a display coupled to said computer, wherein said representation comprises a graphical image which resembles the article in visual appearance; means, interactive with said display means, for selecting a component of said manufactured article; and means, responsive to said means for selecting a component, for displaying, on said display coupled to said computer, said list of possible defect diagnoses associated with said selected component.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
57 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means, responsive to said means for selecting a component, for removing said component from the displayed image representation of said manufactured article, and substituting therefor an image of components that would be visible beneath the selected component if said selected component were physically removed from the article.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising expert system consultation means for invoking an expert system to recommend one of said possible defect diagnoses.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
38 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 3, wherein said expert system consultation means comprises: a knowledge base of expert system production rules; and an inference engine for applying input data to said knowledge base to draw inferences.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
59 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said unique component descriptive information comprises information for constructing a graphical representation of said component; and wherein said means for displaying a representation of said manufactured article comprises means for constructing an image of said article from said information for constructing a graphical representation of each component of said article.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
57 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 5, further comprising means, responsive to said means for selecting a component, for removing said component from the displayed image representation of said manufactured article, and substituting therefor an image of components that would be visible beneath the selected component if said selected component were physically removed from the article.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
27 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 5, further comprising expert system consultation means for invoking an expert system to recommend one of said possible defect diagnoses.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
38 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 7, wherein said expert system consultation means comprises: a knowledge base of expert system production rules; and an inference engine for applying input data to said knowledge base to draw inferences.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
38 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said display means further displays, with respect to each of a plurality of said possible defect diagnoses, a representation of the probability that said possible defect diagnosis is correct.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
68 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 9, further comprising: means for storing and retrieving, for each of said possible defect diagnoses, a quantity representing the frequency of occurrence of said possible defect diagnosis; and means for calculating said representation of the probability that said possible defect diagnosis is correct, wherein said probability is calculated from said quantity representing the frequency of occurrence of said possible defect diagnosis.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
87 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: means, interactive with said display means, for selecting one of said possible defect diagnosis for execution of a corresponding repair action; repair action result feedback means for identifying whether said repair action, when executed, corrected said set of failure symptoms; and defect tracking means, responsive to said repair action result feedback means, for incrementing said quantity representing the frequency of occurrence of said defect diagnosis if said repair action, when executed, corrected said set of failure symptoms.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
70 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 11, further comprising: defect rate monitoring means, responsive to said defect tracking means, for determining when said quantity representing the frequency of occurrence of said defect diagnosis is incremented beyond a predetermined level; and remedial action means, responsive to said defect rate monitoring means, for automatically taking remedial action when said defect rate monitoring means determines that said quantity exceeds said predetermined level.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
96 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 9, further comprising: frequency set determination means for determining, for each of said sets of failure symptoms which may occur with respect to said manufactured article, a set of quantities representing the frequency of occurrence of a set of possible defect diagnoses when the set of failure symptoms is present; and means for deriving said representation of the probability that said possible defect diagnosis is correct, wherein said representation is derived from the quantity in said set of quantities representing the frequency of occurrence of said possible defect diagnosis.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
98 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 13, wherein said frequency set determination means comprises: means for storing a plurality of sets of failure symptoms generated by testing individual manufactured articles; means for storing, for each of said set of failure symptoms, a defect diagnosis associated with a repair action which subsequently corrected said set of failure symptoms; and means for deriving said set of quantities representing the frequencies of occurrence of a set of possible defect diagnoses from said stored sets of failure symptoms and defect diagnoses associated with repair actions which subsequently corrected the failure symptoms.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
79 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 14, further comprising: means, interactive with said display means, for selecting one of said possible defect diagnosis for execution of a corresponding repair action; repair action result feedback means for identifying whether said repair action, when executed, corrected said set of failure symptoms; and defect tracking means, responsive to said repair action result feedback means, for automatically storing said defect diagnosis in a database of defect diagnoses determined to have been correct.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
29 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein each individual manufactured article has a unique identifier, and said apparatus further comprises means for uniquely identifying a manufactured article.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
38 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 16, wherein said unique identifier is a series of characters printed on a bar-code label, and said means for uniquely identifying a manufactured article comprises a bar code reader input device.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
70 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 16, wherein said failure identification means comprises: failure symptom input means for inputting said set of failure symptoms and said unique identifier from a testing station; means, coupled to said failure symptom input means, for storing said set of failure symptoms with said unique identifier; and means, responsive to said means for uniquely identifying an article, for retrieving said set of failure symptoms.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
23 words
The computer integrated manufacturing apparatus of claim 18, wherein said display means is located at a rework station remote from said testing station.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
199 words
A method of using a computer coupled to a computer display to support rework of a manufactured article, comprising the steps of: storing one or more set of failure symptoms which may occur with respect to said manufactured article; storing one or more sets of possible defect diagnoses of said manufactured article, wherein each of said sets of failure symptoms is associated with one of said sets of possible defect diagnoses and wherein each of said sets of possible defect diagnoses is associated with at least one component of said manufactured article; displaying a representation of said manufactured article on a display coupled to said computer, said representation comprising a graphical image which resembles the article in visual appearance; interactively selecting from said representation on said display a component of said manufactured article; identifying a set of failure symptoms associated with an individual manufactured article; retrieving the set of possible defect diagnoses associated with said set of failure symptoms associated with said individual manufactured article and with said component selected by said interactively selecting step; and displaying on said display said set of possible defect diagnoses associated with said set of failure symptoms associated with the individual manufactured article.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
199 words
A method of using a computer coupled to a computer display to support rework of a manufactured article, comprising the steps of: storing one or more set of failure symptoms which may occur with respect to said manufactured article; storing one or more sets of possible defect diagnoses of said manufactured article, wherein each of said sets of failure symptoms is associated with one of said sets of possible defect diagnoses and wherein each of said sets of possible defect diagnoses is associated with at least one component of said manufactured article; displaying a representation of said manufactured article on a display coupled to said computer, said representation comprising a graphical image which resembles the article in visual appearance; interactively selecting from said representation on said display a component of said manufactured article; identifying a set of failure symptoms associated with an individual manufactured article; retrieving the set of possible defect diagnoses associated with said set of failure symptoms associated with said individual manufactured article and with said component selected by said interactively selecting step; and displaying on said display said set of possible defect diagnoses associated with said set of failure symptoms associated with the individual manufactured article.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of: determining, with respect to each defect diagnosis in said set of possible defect diagnoses displayed on said display, a representation of the probability that said defect diagnosis is correct; and displaying on said display each of said representations of the probability that a defect diagnosis is correct.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
78 words
The method of claim 21, wherein said step of determining, with respect to each defect diagnosis, a representation of the probability that said defect diagnosis is correct, comprises the steps of: storing, for each of said possible defect diagnoses, a quantity representing the frequency of occurrence of said possible defect diagnosis; and deriving said representation of the probability that said possible defect diagnosis is correct from said quantity representing the frequency of occurrence of said possible defect diagnosis.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 22, further comprising the steps of: selecting one of said possible defect diagnosis for execution of a corresponding repair action; executing said repair action; identifying whether said repair action, when executed, corrected said set of failure symptoms; and incrementing said quantity representing the frequency of occurrence of said defect diagnosis if said repair action, when executed, corrected said set of failure symptoms.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 23, further comprising the steps of: determining when said quantity representing the frequency of occurrence of said defect diagnosis is incremented beyond a predetermined level; and automatically taking remedial action in response thereto.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
89 words
The method of claim 21, further comprising the steps of: determining, for each of said sets of failure symptoms which may occur with respect to said manufactured article, a set of quantities representing the frequency of occurrence of a set of possible defect diagnoses when the set of failure symptoms is present; and deriving said representation of the probability that said possible defect diagnosis is correct, wherein said representation is derived from the quantity in said set of quantities representing the frequency of occurrence of said possible defect diagnosis.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
107 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said step of determining a set of quantities representing the frequency of occurrence of a set of possible defect diagnoses comprises the steps of: storing a plurality of sets of failure symptoms generated by testing individual manufactured articles; storing, for each of said set of failure symptoms, a defect diagnosis associated with a repair action which subsequently corrected said set of failure symptoms; and deriving said set of quantities representing the frequencies of occurrence of a set of possible defect diagnoses from said stored sets of failure symptoms and defect diagnoses associated with repair actions which subsequently corrected the failure symptoms.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
64 words
The method of claim 26, further comprising the steps of: selecting one of said possible defect diagnosis for execution of a corresponding repair action; identifying whether said repair action, when executed, corrected said set of failure symptoms; and automatically storing said defect diagnosis in a database of defect diagnoses determined to have been correct, if said repair action was determined to have been correct.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 20, wherein each manufactured article contains a unique identifier, and said method further comprises the step of uniquely identifying said individual manufactured article to said computer.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 28, wherein said step of uniquely identifying said individual manufactured article to said computer comprises reading a unique identifier contained on a bar-code label on the card with a bar-code reader input device.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
62 words
The method of claim 28, wherein said step of identifying a set of failure symptoms comprises the steps of: inputting said set of failure symptoms and said unique identifier from a testing station; storing said set of failure symptoms with said unique identifier; and retrieving said set of failure symptoms in response to said step of uniquely identifying said individual manufactured article.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 30, wherein said step of uniquely identifying said individual manufactured article to said computer comprises reading a unique identifier contained on a bar-code label on the card with a bar-code reader input device.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
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| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-08-23 | 2001-02-22 | 2001-08-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-08-23 | 2005-02-22 | 2005-08-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |