Ultra-flexible production manufacturing

US8798787B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• ABB RESEARCH LTD. · CH

Inventors

• Thomas A. Fuhlbrigge · Ellington, US
• Jeremy T. Newkirk · Town of West Hartford, US
• Carlos Martinez · South Windsor, US
• George Q. Zhang · Windsor, US
• Gregory F. Rossano · Enfield, US
• Harald Staab · Peising, DE
• Remus Boca · Simsbury, US
• Sangeun Choi · Simsbury, US
• Soenke Kock · Schriesheim, DE
• William J. Eakins · Bloomfield, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 9, 2013
• Grant date: Aug 5, 2014
• Expiry date: Dec 9, 2033

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S901/01
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A manufacturing system has one or more work cells that each performs one or more manufacturing processes. The system also has one or more mobile transport units (“MTUs”) that deliver transportable containers containing workpieces to and from said work cells. The MTUs deliver the containers to the work cells in a manner such that the workpieces are localized in the work cells. The manufacturing system also has a computer system that has status information for each of the one or more MTUs and uses the status information to control each of the one or more MTUs to deliver the transportable containers to and from the one or more work cells.