IP Library Granted Patent US 12,298,277
Granted Patent B2
US 12,298,277 · App. 17/865,588 · Granted May 13, 2025

Data processing device, data processing system, data processing method, and storage medium

Inventors: Masahiro Saito (Yokohama, JP); Yasunori Chiba (Yokohama, JP); Hiromasa Takahashi (Minato, JP)
Assignees: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA; TOSHIBA INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
G01N29/44G01N29/0654G01N2291/02854G01N2291/0289G01N2291/267
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,298,277
App. No.
17/865,588
Granted
May 13, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

According to one embodiment, a data processing device receives welding device data from a welding device. The welding device makes a joined body by joining a plurality of parts. The welding device data includes a welding device ID for identifying the welding device. The data processing device receives inspection data. The inspection data includes position data and angle data. The position data is of a position of a weld portion of the joined body. The position data are calculated from a result of a probe of the joined body. The probe uses an ultrasonic wave. The angle data is of an angle of the weld portion. The data processing device associates the inspection data with the welding device data.

Claims (75)

1. A data processing system, comprising:

a welding device configured to make a joined body by joining a plurality of parts;

an inspection device configured to perform a probing process using a detector and generating inspection data, the detector including a plurality of detection elements arranged along a first direction and a second direction crossing the first direction, in the probing process, each of the plurality of detection elements transmitting an ultrasonic wave toward a weld portion of the joined body along a third direction and detecting a reflected wave to obtain intensity data, the third direction crossing a first plane that is parallel to the first direction and the second direction, the inspection device being configured to perform

detecting the weld portion from intensity data by determining whether or not each of a plurality of points is in the first plane,

calculating a center position of the weld portion and an angle between the weld portion and the first plane, the angle being obtained by calculating three-dimensional intensity gradients of the reflected wave based on the intensity data and averaging the three-dimensional intensity gradients, and

generating inspection data including position data including the center position and angle data including the angle;

a data processing device configured to

receive a plurality of sets of welding device data from the welding device, each of the plurality of sets of welding device data including a welding device ID for identifying the welding device,

receive a plurality of sets of the inspection data,

associate the plurality of sets of inspection data with the plurality of sets of welding device data, respectively; and

an output device, the data processing device configured to

cause the output device to display a user interface showing a change of a plurality of the positions with respect to time or a change of a plurality of the angles with respect to time,

accept a selection of one of the times through the user interface, and

cause the output device to display one of the plurality of sets of inspection data obtained at the selected time.

2. The data processing system according to claim 1 ,

the data processing device configured to

receive a plurality of sets of the welding device data and a plurality of sets of the inspection data, and

output a change of a plurality of the positions with respect to time or a change of a plurality of the angles with respect to time to the output device.

3. The data processing system according to claim 1 , wherein

when the data processing device accepts a selection of one of the plurality of positions or one of the plurality of angles through the user interface, the data processing device

causes the output device to display one of a plurality of the welding devices ID associated with one of the plurality of sets of inspection data including the position data or angle data.

4. The data processing system according to claim 3 , wherein

each of the plurality of sets of inspection data further includes at least one datum selected from the group consisting of an image of the weld portion based on the intensity data, a thickness of the weld portion, a depth of a recess of the weld portion, and a diameter of the weld portion, and

the data processing device configured to cause the output device to display the at least one datum included in the one of the plurality of sets of inspection data when the selection of the one of the plurality of positions or the one of the plurality of angles is accepted.

5. The data processing system according to claim 3 , wherein

the data processing device configured to cause the output device also to display welding condition data of a condition of a weld related to the selected one of the plurality of positions or one of the plurality of angles.

6. The data processing system according to claim 5 , wherein

the welding condition data further includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a current value flowing in the plurality of parts, a pressing force on the plurality of parts, a pressing time on the plurality of parts, and a number of consecutive uses of an electrode of the welding device.

7. The data processing system according to claim 1 , wherein

the data processing device configured to output a notification when a distance between the position of the position data and a predesigned position of the weld portion or the angle of the angle data is greater than a threshold.

8. The data processing system according to claim 7 , the data processing device configured to cause the output device to output at least one of the inspection data or the welding device data when a distance between the position and a predesigned position of the weld portion or the angle is greater than the threshold.

9. The data processing device according to claim 7 , wherein

the data processing device configured to

receive welding condition data of a condition of a weld performed by the welding device identified by one of a plurality of the welding devices ID, the welding condition data including a number of consecutive uses of an electrode of the welding device,

determine whether or not the number of consecutive uses is less than a lower limit or greater than an upper limit when the position or the angle is greater than the threshold, and

output at least one selected from the group consisting of a notification indicating a likelihood of a defect of the electrode and a notification prompting maintenance of the electrode when the number of consecutive uses is less than the lower limit or greater than the upper limit.

10. The data processing system according to claim 1 , wherein

the welding device data includes an operation start date of the welding device.

11. The data processing system according to claim 1 , wherein

weld portion data that includes data for identifying the weld portion of the joined body also is received, and

the data processing device configured to associate the weld portion data with the inspection data and the welding device data and stored.

12. The data processing system according to claim 1 , wherein

the data processing device is configured to correct a condition of a weld performed by the welding device when a distance between the position and a predesigned position of the weld portion or the angle is greater than a threshold.

13. The data processing system according to claim 1 ,

the data processing device configured to

refer a database including an event and a cause of the event for each type of a plurality of abnormalities,

estimate the cause of the position or the angle when a distance between the position and a predesigned position of the weld portion or the angle is greater than a threshold, and

cause the output device to output an estimation result of the cause of the position or the angle.

14. The data processing system according to claim 13 , wherein

the data processing device configured to cause the output device to output the cause and a score for each type of the plurality of abnormalities, and

the score indicates likelihoods of the cause.

15. The data processing system according to claim 1 , wherein

the position of the weld portion is a center position of the weld portion in the intensity data.

16. The data processing system according to claim 15 , wherein

the center position is a centroid position of the weld portion in the intensity data.

17. A data processing method, comprising

causing a welding device to make a joined body by joining a plurality of parts;

causing an inspection device to perform a probing process using a detector and generating inspection data, the detector including a plurality of detection elements arranged along a first direction and a second direction crossing the first direction, in the probing process, each of the plurality of detection elements transmitting an ultrasonic wave toward a weld portion of the joined body along a third direction and detecting a reflected wave, the third direction crossing a first plane that is parallel to the first direction and the second direction,

causing the inspection device to perform

detecting the weld portion from intensity data by determining whether or not each of a plurality of points is in the first plane,

calculating a center position of the weld portion and an angle between the weld portion and the first plane, the angle being obtained by calculating three-dimensional intensity gradients of the reflected wave based on the intensity data and averaging the three-dimensional intensity gradients, and

generating inspection data including position data including the center position and angle data including the angle;

causing a data processing device to receive a plurality of sets of welding device data from the welding device, receive a plurality of sets of the inspection data, associate the plurality of sets of inspection data with the plurality of sets of welding device data respectively, and store the inspection data, the welding device data including a welding device ID for identifying the welding device;

causing an output device to display a user interface showing a change of a plurality of the positions with respect to time or a change of a plurality of the angles with respect to time;

causing the data processing device to accept a selection of one of the times through the user interface; and

causing the output device to display one of the plurality of sets of inspection data obtained at the selected time.

18. The data processing method according to claim 17 , wherein

when the data processing device accepts a selection of one of the plurality of positions or one of the plurality of angles in the user interface, the data processing method causes the processing device to

cause the output device to display one of a plurality of the welding devices ID associated with one of the plurality of sets of inspection data including the selected position data or angle data.

19. The data processing method according to claim 18 , wherein

the result of the probing process includes intensity data of a reflected wave intensity of the ultrasonic wave from the weld portion, and

the position of the weld portion is a center position of the weld portion in the intensity data.

20. The data processing method according to claim 19 , wherein

the center position is a centroid position of the weld portion in the intensity data.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program causing a processing device to perform the data processing method according to claim 17 .

Assignments (2)
MERGER Recorded Jul 29, 2025
From: TOSHIBA INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
To: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
Reel/Frame 072239/0263 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 23, 2022
From: SAITO, MASAHIRO; CHIBA, YASUNORI; TAKAHASHI, HIROMASA
To: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA; TOSHIBA INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 060872/0466 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2021-119054 · Jul 19, 2021 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230024687A1 · Jan 26, 2023
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