Design device and design method for wiring harness

Abstract

The present application provides a harness design device and a harness design method, which can efficiently design a harness with high wiring efficiency to a vehicle body. The harness design device (1) includes: an achievement database (112) including configuration data of existing harnesses (10) and configured to determine total manufacturing time or total wiring time of each existing harness and configuration when the harness (10) is divided into a sub-harness (10b); an input unit (2) configured to input specification data including configuration data of a harness (10) as a design object according to a wiring layout; an extraction unit (3) configured to extract, according to the configuration data input by the input unit, an existing harness (10) having a configuration close to the harness (10) as the design object by referring to the achievement database (112); and a prompt unit (4) configured to be able to prompt the existing harness (10) extracted by the extraction unit in order of total manufacturing time or total wiring time and configured to be able to prompt the configuration of the sub-harness (10b).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a design apparatus and a design method for wire harnesses. Background Technology

[0002] Wiring harnesses used in railways or automobiles are constructed by bundling together multiple wires, or more specifically, multiple types and / or multiple wires (signal wires and / or power wires). Furthermore, regarding the design of wiring harnesses, for example, in a pre-designed 3D data layout of each wire, multiple wires sharing a common wiring path are bundled together to create a single wiring harness.

[0003] As prior art literature information associated with the invention of this application, there is Patent Document 1. In Patent Document 1, a method for creating a 2D diagram of a wire harness based on 3D data of the wire harness is disclosed.

[0004] In the wiring layout within the vehicle body, bundling multiple wires sharing a common wiring path into a single bundle allows for one-time wiring to the vehicle body, thus improving wiring efficiency. However, in situations like railway wiring harnesses where a large number of wires are used and their lengths are long, bundling too many wires can make the harness too heavy, leading to reduced wiring efficiency to the vehicle body.

[0005] In the wiring layout within a vehicle body, when multiple wires sharing a common wiring path are bundled together into one, the number of branches sometimes increases, making the wiring harness construction more complex. This complexity extends the manufacturing time of the wiring harness and may potentially increase manufacturing costs.

[0006] Therefore, in order to solve this problem, one approach is to divide a single wire harness into multiple sub-wire harnesses (i.e., to divide the wires shared by the wiring path into multiple bundles to form multiple sub-wire harnesses). However, the design related to dividing into sub-wire harnesses has become a rule of thumb for designers, so it is impossible to design wire harnesses that suppress manufacturing costs efficiently.

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-164087 Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a design device and design method for wire harnesses that can shorten the time from manufacturing to wiring.

[0009] To address the aforementioned problems, this invention provides a wire harness design apparatus that designs wire harnesses by bundling multiple wires according to the wiring layout of the wires. The apparatus comprises: a performance database including construction data of existing wire harnesses, configured to at least determine the total manufacturing time or total wiring time of each existing wire harness and the construction of each sub-wire harness when the wire harness is divided into sub-wire harnesses; an input unit that receives specification data including construction data of the wire harness to be designed, based on the wiring layout; an extraction unit that extracts existing wire harnesses having a construction similar to the wire harness to be designed, based on the construction data input by the input unit and referring to the performance database; and a prompting unit configured to prompt the existing wire harnesses extracted by the extraction unit in order of total manufacturing time or total wiring time, and to prompt the construction of the sub-wire harnesses.

[0010] Furthermore, in order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present invention provides a wire harness design method. This method designs a wire harness by bundling multiple wires according to the wiring layout. In this method, a performance database is prepared in advance. This database includes construction data of existing wire harnesses and is configured to at least determine the total manufacturing time or total wiring time of each existing wire harness, as well as the construction of each sub-wire harness when the wire harness is divided into sub-wire harnesses. Based on the wiring layout, specification data including the construction data of the wire harness to be designed is input to an input unit. Based on the construction data input to the input unit and referring to the performance database, existing wire harnesses with a construction similar to the wire harness to be designed are extracted. The extracted existing wire harnesses are displayed in order of total manufacturing time or total wiring time, and the construction of the sub-wire harnesses is also displayed.

[0011] According to the present invention, a design apparatus and design method for wire harnesses that can shorten the time from manufacturing to wiring can be provided. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a production system for a wire harness design apparatus that includes an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a wire harness manufacturing apparatus.

[0014] Figure 3 (a) is an example of a display in a wire harness manufacturing apparatus, and (b) is a diagram illustrating the marking strip.

[0015] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a wiring auxiliary device.

[0016] Figure 5 This is a diagram representing an example of a performance database.

[0017] Figure 6 This diagram illustrates how the main harness is divided into sub-harnesses.

[0018] Figure 7 (a) is a diagram showing an example of an input screen, (b) is a diagram showing an example of an extraction condition setting screen, and (c) is a diagram showing another example of an extraction condition setting screen.

[0019] Figure 8 (a) is an example of a candidate suggestion screen, and (b) is another example of a candidate suggestion screen.

[0020] Figure 9 (a) is a flowchart showing the process from wire harness design to wiring, and (b) is a flowchart of the wire harness design process.

[0021] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0022] 1…Design device for wire harness,

[0023] 2…Input Section

[0024] 3…Extraction Department

[0025] 4… Prompt Department

[0026] 5…2Video Production Department

[0027] 10…wire harness

[0028] 10a…Main harness,

[0029] 10b…sub-harness

[0030] 100… production system

[0031] 101… Vehicle design device,

[0032] 102… Wiring auxiliary devices,

[0033] 103… Manufacturing apparatus for wire harnesses

[0034] 104… Data server device,

[0035] 110…vehicle design data,

[0036] 111…3D design data,

[0037] 112… Performance Database

[0038] 113…2D graph

[0039] 114… Manufacturing time data,

[0040] 115… Wiring time data. Detailed Implementation

[0041] Implementation

[0042] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] (First Implementation)

[0044] (Overview of Production System 100)

[0045] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a production system 100 including the wiring harness design apparatus 1 of this embodiment. The production system 100 is used for designing, manufacturing, and assisting in the wiring of wiring harnesses for vehicles and railways. Furthermore, the production system 100 is not limited to railway use; it can also be used for other vehicles such as automobiles and airplanes, or for other mobile bodies, and can also be used for designing, manufacturing, and assisting in the wiring of wiring harnesses within buildings such as residences and factories—that is, for buildings.

[0046] The production system 100 mainly consists of a vehicle design device 101, a wiring auxiliary device 102, a wiring harness design device 1, a wiring harness manufacturing device 103, and a data server device 104. These vehicle design device 101, wiring auxiliary device 102, wiring harness design device 1, wiring harness manufacturing device 103, and data server device 104 are configured to communicate via a network 105 such as the Internet.

[0047] In addition, the vehicle design device 101 and the wiring auxiliary device 102 are installed in the vehicle manufacturer, while the wiring harness design device 1 and the wiring harness manufacturing device 103 are installed in the wiring harness manufacturer.

[0048] Furthermore, this embodiment illustrates a case where there is only one vehicle manufacturer and one wiring harness manufacturer, but there can also be multiple vehicle manufacturers and multiple wiring harness manufacturers. Additionally, when multiple vehicle manufacturers or multiple wiring harness manufacturers are connected to the data server device 104, the areas that each vehicle manufacturer and wiring harness manufacturer can access can be determined. For example, the accessible areas of the data server device 104 can be determined based on the authentication information assigned to each vehicle manufacturer and wiring harness manufacturer respectively. Furthermore, multiple data server devices 104 may also be provided.

[0049] (Overview of vehicle design device 101)

[0050] The vehicle design device 101 is a device for designing railway vehicles (more specifically, vehicle bodies), and may be composed, for example, of a computer capable of creating and storing 3D vehicle design data 110 using 3D CAD.

[0051] Additionally, the vehicle design device 101 sends the vehicle design data 110 generated by the vehicle design device 101 to the data server device 104 via the network 105. The data server device 104 stores the received 3D design data 111.

[0052] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the vehicle design data 110 produced by the vehicle design device 101 uses 3D data generated by 3D CAD, but it is not limited to this and can also be 2D data generated by 2D CAD.

[0053] (Overview of wire harness design device 1)

[0054] The wiring harness design apparatus 1 of this embodiment is an apparatus for designing wiring harnesses. First, based on the vehicle design data 110 generated by the vehicle design apparatus 101 described above, a wiring layout for multiple and / or several wires (signal lines and / or power lines) within the vehicle body is designed, and 3D design data (3D design data) 111 is generated by adding the wiring layout to the vehicle design data 110. Next, the wiring harness is designed based on the designed wiring layout within the vehicle body (3D design data 111).

[0055] In addition, the wiring harness design device 1 can also generate wiring information for each wire in the wiring layout within the vehicle body (e.g., connection destination information for each wire (which may be the device that connects to the destination), model information for each wire, purpose information for each wire (signal or power supply), and length information for each wire).

[0056] Furthermore, although details will be described later, the wire harness design device 1 inputs structural data of the wire harness as the design object. Based on the input structural data of the wire harness and a performance database (performance DB) 112 containing past manufacturing performance data, the wire harness design device 1 generates a 2D diagram 113 of the wire harness (or assists in generating the 2D diagram 113). Further details regarding the wire harness design device 1 will be described later.

[0057] The wiring harness design device 1 obtains vehicle design data 110 and a performance database 112 from the data server device 104 via network 105. Additionally, the wiring harness design device 1 sends the generated 3D design data 111 and 2D diagram 113 to the data server device 104. The data server device 104 stores the received 3D design data 111 and 2D diagram 113. The stored 2D diagram 113 is processed as a 2D diagram representing the structure of an existing sub-wiring harness for subsequent wiring harness design.

[0058] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the wiring layout within the vehicle body is designed using the wiring harness design device 1, but it is not limited to this; the wiring layout within the vehicle body can also be designed using the vehicle design device 101. In this case, the wiring layout of each wire can also be included in the vehicle design data 110 generated by the vehicle design device 101.

[0059] Alternatively, in the vehicle design device 101, instead of creating 3D vehicle design data 110 as in this embodiment, a 2D vehicle design data 110 generated by 2D CAD can be created. Based on this 2D vehicle design data 110, a wiring layout for multiple or / and many wires (signal lines and / or power lines) that are wired within the vehicle body can be designed.

[0060] (Overview of wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103)

[0061] The wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103 is an apparatus that manufactures wire harnesses by sequentially routing wires on a 2D drawing 113 created by the wire harness design apparatus 1. The wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103 obtains the 2D drawing 113 from the data server apparatus 104 via a network 105.

[0062] like Figure 2 As shown, the wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103 includes a wire supply device 121, a wire cutter 122 for cutting the wires 11 supplied from the wire supply device 121, and a worktable 123 for performing wiring operations on the wires 11. The wire supply device 121 includes a spool 121a wound with wires 11, and a conveying robot 121c that holds the wires 11 supplied from the spool 121a and moves them along a guide rail 121b to convey (pull out) the wires 11. The wire cutter 122 uses a built-in cutting blade (not shown) to cut the wires 11 pulled out by the conveying robot 121c.

[0063] The workbench 123 is configured, for example, as a display 124 with multiple liquid crystal displays showing 2D diagrams 113 at actual size. Here, the case where the 2D diagram 113 produced by the wiring harness design device 1 is displayed on the display 124 is shown, but a dedicated diagram, i.e., a wiring diagram, for display on the display 124 can also be produced separately and displayed on the display 124.

[0064] On the workbench 123, wires 11 are laid out sequentially. Identification tags are placed on each wire 11, or continuity checks are performed on each wire 11, or protective materials are applied, or inspections are conducted, thereby manufacturing a wire harness. Alternatively, for example, a 2D drawing 113 can be printed at actual size, and wires 11 can be laid out sequentially on the printed 2D drawing 113 to manufacture the wire harness.

[0065] Furthermore, the wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103 is configured to obtain the manufacturing time of each wire harness. The manufacturing time of each wire harness can be obtained, for example, from the manufacturing time data 114 during wire harness manufacturing. For example, the manufacturing time of the wire harness can be the time from the moment when the initially wired wire 11 is delivered to the end of the final process of wire harness manufacturing (e.g., the wire harness inspection process).

[0066] like Figure 3 As shown in (a), in this embodiment, the wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103 is configured to sequentially display barcodes 125 representing the identification codes of the wires 11 on the display 124 according to the wiring order of the wires 11. The barcodes 125 are displayed near the ends of the wires 11 being wired, and are displayed in a manner that overlaps with the 2D diagram 113. Furthermore, as... Figure 3 As shown in (b), the wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103 uses a printer (not shown) to create a marking tape 126 that prints a QR code 126a indicating the identification code of the wire 11 being wired. After the operator wires the wire 11 onto the 2D diagram 113, the marking tape 126 is attached to the end of the wire 11, and the QR code 126a and barcode 125 are read using a reader (not shown). When the wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103 determines that the code information of the QR code 126a and the barcode 125 matches, it stores the time when the barcode 146 is read. By repeating this operation, the wire harness is manufactured and manufacturing time data 114 related to the manufacturing time is obtained.

[0067] The wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103 stores the manufacturing time data 114 obtained by the wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103 within the wire harness manufacturing apparatus 103, and sends it to the data server apparatus 104 via the network 105. The data server apparatus 104 stores the received manufacturing time data 114. In addition, the data server apparatus 104 appends (integrates) the received manufacturing time data 114 to the performance database 112.

[0068] (Overview of wiring auxiliary device 102)

[0069] The wiring assistance device 102 is a device used to assist in the wiring operation when wiring a wire harness to a railway vehicle. The wiring assistance device 102 may include, for example, a mobile terminal such as a tablet computer that can be carried by the operator performing the wiring operation.

[0070] The wiring auxiliary device 102 receives 3D design data 111 from the data server device 104 via the network 105, and displays the wiring path of the wire harness and the connection destination of each wire 11 according to the wiring sequence.

[0071] The wiring assistance device 102 is configured to obtain the time (wiring time) spent wiring each wire harness. The wiring time of each wire harness can be obtained, for example, from the wiring time data 115. For example, the wiring assistance device 102 can also be configured to perform a confirmation action such as pressing a confirmation button or reading a code attached to the wire 11 each time the wire 11 is connected, and the wiring time can be obtained from the wiring time data 115 which stores the time of the confirmation action.

[0072] like Figure 4 As shown, in this embodiment, the wiring assistance device 102 includes a work terminal 131 with a display 131a and a management terminal 132 separately provided from the work terminal 131. The display 131a of the work terminal 131 displays the wiring paths of each wire 11 according to a pre-set wiring operation sequence. Additionally, the display 131a displays a QR code 134 for the wire 11 to be wired. During wiring operations, the operator uses a barcode reader 133 to read the QR code 134 displayed on the display 131a and the QR code 126a attached to the marking tape 126 on the wire 11 to verify the wire 11 to be wired. The code information of the read QR code 134 and QR code 126a is sent to the management terminal 132, where the time of reading the QR code 134 and QR code 126a is stored. By repeatedly performing this operation, wiring harnesses are wired, and wiring time data 115 related to the wiring time is generated.

[0073] The wiring assistance device 102 stores the wiring time data 115 obtained by itself and sends it to the data server device 104 via the network 105. The data server device 104 stores the received wiring time data 115. In addition, the data server device 104 appends (integrates) the received wiring time data 115 to the performance database 112.

[0074] also, Figure 1 The system structure described above is just one example. For instance, the wiring harness design device 1 and the wiring harness manufacturing device 103 could also belong to the vehicle manufacturer. In addition, the vehicle design device 101 could belong to an external design company of the vehicle manufacturer, and the wiring assistance device 102 could belong to an external construction company that undertakes wiring work.

[0075] (Details of the design device 1 for the wire harness)

[0076] Next, the details of the wire harness design device 1 according to this embodiment will be described. The wire harness design device 1 includes an input unit 2, an extraction unit 3, a prompting unit 4, a 2D image creation unit 5, and a component list creation unit 9. These input units 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9 are implemented by appropriately combining computing elements, memory, storage devices, interfaces, software, etc. In this embodiment, the wire harness design device 1 is composed of a personal computer and includes a display 7 such as a liquid crystal display.

[0077] First, the wiring harness design device 1 obtains vehicle design data 110 from the data server device 104 via network 105. Based on the obtained vehicle design data 110, the wiring harness design device 1 designs (or assists in designing) the wiring layout of various and / or multiple wires (signal wires and / or power wires) within the vehicle body. In the wiring harness design device 1, for example, 3D design data (3D design data) 111 containing the vehicle design data 110 and the wiring layout of the wires is created using 3D CAD.

[0078] The wire harness design device 1 stores the 3D design data 111 generated by the wire harness design device 1 in the storage unit 8 of the wire harness design device 1, and sends it to the data server device 104 via the network 105. The data server device 104 stores the received 3D design data 111.

[0079] Additionally, the wire harness design device 1 obtains the performance database 112 from the data server device 104 via the network 105. Based on the obtained performance database 112, the wire harness design device 1 extracts existing wire harnesses with structures similar to the wire harness to be designed and references them in the design of the wire harness to be designed.

[0080] Figure 5 This is a diagram representing an example of the performance database 112. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the performance database 112 is a database that records manufacturing performance and wiring performance, such as construction data of existing wire harnesses manufactured in the past. In this embodiment, the performance database 112 includes at least the total wiring time of each wire harness.

[0081] More specifically, the performance database 112 contains information such as manufacturing number, specification data (vehicle manufacturer, manufacturing base, structural data (category, total length, number of wires, weight, number of branches, special specifications (whether there is protective material, whether there is a shielding layer, etc.)), manufacturing date, manufacturing time, manufacturing cost, wiring time, and number of design drawings. Additionally, although not shown, the performance database 112 includes wiring cost, component cost, and the number of times a drawing is referenced. The category indicates the application, such as power supply, signal, or grounding. The manufacturing time is based on manufacturing time data 114 obtained by the wiring harness manufacturing device 103. The wiring time is based on wiring time data 115 obtained by the wiring aid device 102. The manufacturing cost is calculated based on the manufacturing time, and the wiring cost is calculated based on the wiring time. The number of times a drawing is referenced indicates the number of times it is referenced by the 2D drawing production unit 5, described later.

[0082] Here, the number of design drawings is explained. Simply bundling all the wires sharing a common wiring path into one bundle can sometimes result in an excessively heavy harness, reducing wiring efficiency to the vehicle body and increasing wiring time. Additionally, an increased number of branches complicates the harness construction. This complexity extends manufacturing time and may increase manufacturing costs. Furthermore, excessively bundled wires make the harness heavy, potentially delaying wiring. Therefore, as... Figure 6 As shown, a wire harness 10 with a large number of wires and branches is divided into multiple wire harnesses 10. Hereinafter, the wire harness 10 before division is referred to as the main wire harness 10a, and each wire harness 10 after division is referred to as a sub-wire harness 10b. The number of design drawings indicates the number of 2D diagrams 113 of the sub-wire harnesses 10b, that is, the number of sub-wire harnesses 10b that constitute the main wire harness 10a.

[0083] Furthermore, in the above Figure 5 As an example, various information about the main wiring harness 10a is shown. The manufacturing time of the main wiring harness 10a represents the total manufacturing time obtained by adding up the manufacturing times of each sub-wiring harness 10b corresponding to the main wiring harness 10a. Similarly, the wiring time of the main wiring harness 10a represents the total wiring time obtained by adding up the wiring times of each sub-wiring harness 10b corresponding to the main wiring harness 10a.

[0084] Furthermore, the performance database 112 is configured to determine the structure of each sub-wire harness 10b. More specifically, in this embodiment, the performance database 112 is configured to determine the 2D diagram 113 of each sub-wire harness 10b. The performance database 112 includes, for example, links, filenames, etc., that enable the determination of the 2D diagram 113 of each sub-wire harness 10b. The wire harness design device 1 obtains the 2D diagram 113 of each sub-wire harness 10b from the data server device 104 via the network 105 based on the links, filenames, etc., that enable the determination of the 2D diagram 113 of each sub-wire harness 10b. However, it is not limited to this; the 2D diagram 113 of each sub-wire harness 10b may also be included (embedded) in the performance database 112 itself. Moreover, it is more preferable that the performance database 112 includes not only the main wire harness 10a, but also construction data such as the type, total length, weight, number of branches, and special specifications of each sub-wire harness 10b, as well as various information such as manufacturing time and wiring time.

[0085] In input section 2, based on the wiring layout of wire 11 (pre-made 3D design data 111), specification data including the construction data of the wire harness 10 (main wire harness 10a) as the design object is input. For example... Figure 7 As shown in (a), the input unit 2 can also be configured to display an input screen 71 on the display 7 prompting for input items. In this case, the designer inputs the construction data of the wiring harness 10 (main wiring harness 10a), etc., based on the 3D design data 111, via a keyboard, mouse, or manual input. Furthermore, the display 7 can also be equipped with a touch panel, allowing the input unit 2 to be configured for input via the touch panel of the display 7. Items input on the input screen 71 are stored in the storage unit 8. Figure 7 In (a), as an example, the input of vehicle manufacturer, category, total length, weight, and number of branches is shown, but the input items can be set appropriately.

[0086] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the structural data of the wire harness 10 is manually input on the input screen 71. However, it is not limited to this; 3D design data 111 (or separately generated wire information) can also be directly input into the input unit 2, and the structural data of the wire harness 10 (main wire harness 10a) as the design object can be extracted from the input 3D design data 111 (or wire information). Furthermore, the design data input into the input unit 2 can also be 2D. Therefore, the effort of manually inputting the structural data of the wire harness 10 (main wire harness 10a) is eliminated, thus enabling efficient design work.

[0087] Based on the construction data input by the input unit 2, the extraction unit 3, referring to the performance database 112, extracts multiple existing wire harnesses 10 (main wire harness 10a) whose construction is similar to (or identical to) that of the wire harness 10 (main wire harness 10a) being designed. For example... Figure 7As shown in (b), in this embodiment, the extraction unit 3 displays an extraction condition setting screen 72 on the display 7 to set extraction conditions, and extracts multiple existing wire harnesses 10 (main wire harness 10a) that meet the extraction conditions set in the extraction condition setting screen 72 and are close to (or consistent with) the construction data input by the input unit 2. For example, the extraction unit 3 extracts information (including manufacturing number, specification data (vehicle manufacturer, manufacturing base, construction data (category, total length, number of wires, weight, number of branches, special specifications (whether there is protective material, whether there is a shielding layer, etc.)), manufacturing date, manufacturing time, manufacturing cost, wiring time, number of design drawings, etc.) of multiple wire harnesses that can identify existing wire harnesses 10 (main wire harness 10a).

[0088] In this embodiment, the extraction unit 3 is configured to set an upper limit value for the weight of the sub-wire harness 10b as an extraction condition. As a result, it is possible to easily select a wire harness 10 (main wire harness 10a) composed of sub-wire harnesses 10b with a weight that allows for efficient wiring operations.

[0089] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the extraction unit 3 is configured to set an upper limit on the total manufacturing time of the wire harness 10 (main wire harness 10a) as an extraction condition. This is because, for example, if the structure of the sub-wire harness 10b becomes too complex (e.g., the number of branches is too large), even with efficient wiring operations, the manufacturing of the wire harness 10 will take excessive time, and the manufacturing cost may become too high. By setting an upper limit on the total manufacturing time during extraction, manufacturing costs can be suppressed, and it is easy to select the wire harness 10 (main wire harness 10a) with high wiring efficiency. Figure 7 In (b), as an extraction condition, it is shown that an upper limit and a lower limit can be set for the manufacturing time, but it is also possible to set only the upper limit of the manufacturing time.

[0090] exist Figure 7 In (b) as an example, the case where vehicle manufacturer, number of design drawings, manufacturing cost, manufacturing time, and sub-harness weight limit are used as extraction conditions is shown, but the extraction conditions can be set appropriately. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the extraction unit 3 is configured such that extraction conditions can be set, but it is also possible to configure the extraction unit 3 to extract existing harnesses 10 (main harness 10a) that are similar to the construction data input by the input unit 2 without setting extraction conditions. In addition, in this embodiment, the extraction target is limited to the main harness 10a, but it is not limited to this; the sub-harness 10b may also be included in the extraction target.

[0091] During extraction in extraction unit 3, known extraction techniques (or retrieval techniques) can be used to compare the construction data input from input unit 2 with existing wiring harness construction data registered in the performance database 112, and extract construction data with a high degree of matching. There is no particular limitation on the degree of matching required to determine whether to extract; it can be set appropriately. Alternatively, in the extraction condition setting screen 72, for example, the weighting during extraction can be set by prioritizing the extraction of construction data with a high degree of matching based on the number of branches. The extraction results in extraction unit 3 are stored in storage unit 8.

[0092] The prompting unit 4 is configured to prompt the existing wire harness 10 extracted by the extraction unit 3 according to the wiring time sequence (total wiring time sequence). For example, such as Figure 8 As shown in (a), the prompting unit 4 can also sort the existing wire harnesses 10 extracted by the extraction unit 3 and stored in the storage unit 8 according to the wiring time order (in ascending order of wiring time, with the wire harnesses with shorter wiring time first), and display the candidate prompt screen 73 in the ranking form on the display 7. As a result, it is easy to select an existing wire harness 10 that is similar in structure to the wire harness 10 that is the target of the design and has a short total wiring time. For example, the prompting unit 4 prompts the extraction unit 3 with information on the existing wire harness 10 that can be identified according to the wiring time order (total wiring time order) (including manufacturing number, specification data (vehicle manufacturer, manufacturing base, structure data (category, total length, number of wires, weight, number of branches, special specifications (whether there is protective material, whether there is a shielding layer, etc.)), manufacturing date, manufacturing time, manufacturing cost, wiring time, number of design drawings, etc.).

[0093] In this embodiment, the prompting unit 4 is configured to indicate at least the weight of the heaviest sub-wire harness 10b (the maximum weight of the sub-wire harness). Therefore, considering the weight of the heaviest sub-wire harness 10b, the designer can easily select the wire harness 10, improving the convenience of the design process.

[0094] Furthermore, the prompting unit 4 is configured to prompt the structure of the sub-wire harness 10b within the selected wire harness 10 by selecting any wire harness 10 displayed in the candidate prompting screen 73. In this embodiment, the prompting unit 4 is configured to prompt a 2D diagram 113 of the sub-wire harness 10b within the selected wire harness 10 in the candidate prompting screen 73. For example, by clicking on any wire harness 10 in the candidate prompting screen 73 with a mouse (or touching it with a touch panel), a 2D diagram 113 of the sub-wire harness 10b constituting that wire harness 10 is displayed on the display 7. As a result, the combination of sub-wire harnesses 10b that shortens the total wiring time can be easily determined, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and simplifying the design process.

[0095] Here, the case where the existing wire harness 10 extracted by the extraction unit 3 is prompted according to the wiring time sequence (total wiring time sequence) has been described. However, as mentioned above, if the sub-wire harness 10b becomes too complex, it may result in a situation where it takes a lot of time to manufacture the sub-wire harness 10b. Therefore, the prompting unit 4 can also be configured to prompt the existing wire harness 10 extracted by the extraction unit 3 according to the total time sequence of manufacturing time and wiring time. To improve versatility, it is arguably more preferable that the candidate prompting screen 73 can select sorting conditions such as sorting by wiring time sequence or sorting by the total time sequence of manufacturing time and wiring time. In this embodiment, the candidate prompting screen 73 ( Figure 8 Select the sorting criteria from the drop-down menu in the upper right corner of (a)). The sorting criteria can also be manufacturing cost, wiring cost, or the total cost of manufacturing cost and wiring cost. Alternatively, the sorting criteria can be predetermined and cannot be selected.

[0096] The 2D drawing production unit 5 creates a 2D drawing 113 of the sub-wire harness 10b of the wire harness 10 as the design object, based on the construction data of the wire harness 10 input by the input unit 2 and the construction data of the existing sub-wire harness 10b of the wire harness 10 selected by the prompting unit 4. In creating the 2D drawing 113, information such as the length of each wire 11, connection destination, and branch position is required. Therefore, this information can be input from the input unit 2 or imported from the 3D design data 111. Based on this information and the selected 2D drawing 113 of the existing sub-wire harness 10b, the 2D drawing production unit 5 creates the 2D drawing 113 of the sub-wire harness 10b of the wire harness 10 as the design object. The created 2D drawing 113 is stored in the storage unit 8 and sent to the data server device 104. The data server device 104 stores the received 2D drawing 113. Regarding the specific method for creating a 2D drawing 113 using a past drawing, the known method described in Patent Document 1 above can be used, and detailed explanations are omitted here.

[0097] Furthermore, the 2D drawing production unit 5 does not need to be configured to automatically produce the 2D drawing 113; for example, it can be configured to allow manual adjustment of branch positions and wire lengths, etc. In other words, the 2D drawing production unit 5 can be configured to assist the designer in designing the sub-wiring harness 10b.

[0098] In this embodiment, the wire harness design device 1 includes a component list creation unit 9. Based on the 2D drawing 113 created by the 2D drawing creation unit 5 and the wire information contained in the 3D design data 111, the component list creation unit 9 lists the components required for manufacturing the wire harness 10 and creates a Bill of Materials (BOM). The created component list is stored in the storage unit 8. This component list is used for order processing during wire harness manufacturing. Alternatively, the created component list can be sent to the data server device 104 and stored therein. Furthermore, while the component list creation unit 9 is provided in the wire harness design device 1 in this embodiment, it is not limited to this; the component list creation unit 9 may also be provided in the wire harness manufacturing device 103 or in the data server device 104.

[0099] (From wire harness design to wiring process)

[0100] Figure 9 (a) is a flowchart illustrating the process from harness design to wiring. For example... Figure 9 As shown in (a), firstly, in step S1, a vehicle design process is performed. In the vehicle design process, railway vehicles are designed using vehicle design device 101, and vehicle design data 110 is generated. The generated vehicle design data 110 is sent to data server device 104 via network 105 and stored therein.

[0101] Next, in step S2, the wiring layout design process for the electrical wires is performed. In this process, the wiring harness design device 1 obtains vehicle design data 110 from the data server device 104 via the network 105, and designs the wiring layout of the electrical wires 11 based on the obtained vehicle design data 110, creating 3D design data 111. The created 3D design data 111 is stored in the storage unit 8 and transmitted to the data server device 104 via the network 105 for further storage.

[0102] Next, in step S3, the wire harness design process is performed. For example... Figure 9 As shown in (b), in the design process of the wire harness, input processing is first performed in step S31. In the input processing, based on the 3D design data 111 created in step S2, the construction data of the wire harness 10, which is the design object, is input to the input unit 2. The input construction data is stored in the storage unit 8.

[0103] Then, an extraction process is performed in step S32. In this extraction process, the extraction unit 3, based on the construction data input and stored in the storage unit 8 in step S21, and referring to the performance database 112, extracts an existing wire harness 10 with a construction similar to the wire harness 10 that is the design target. The extraction result is stored in the storage unit 8. Furthermore, the performance database 112 is obtained in advance from the data server device 104 via the network 105 and stored in the storage unit 8.

[0104] Then, a prompting process is performed in step S33. During this process, the prompting unit 4 sorts the existing wire harnesses 10 extracted and stored in the storage unit 8 according to the wiring time sequence and displays them on the display 7. In this embodiment, the structure of the sub-wire harnesses 10b among the extracted existing wire harnesses 10 can be prompted as a 2D diagram 113, etc. The designer can refer to the prompted 2D diagram 113 to select an appropriate wire harness 10 from the extracted existing wire harnesses 10.

[0105] Next, a 2D diagram creation process is performed in step S34. In this process, based on the construction data of the wire harness (the design target) input in step S31 and the construction data of the sub-wire harness 10b selected in step S33, a 2D diagram 113 of the sub-wire harness 10b of the wire harness 10 (the design target) is created. The created 2D diagram 113 is stored in the storage unit 8 and sent to the data server device 104.

[0106] Then, in step S35, a component table creation process is performed. In this process, the component table creation unit 9 creates a component table based on the 2D diagram 113 created in step S24. The created component table is stored in the storage unit 8.

[0107] Then return and proceed. Figure 9 The component ordering process in step S4 of (a) involves the wiring harness manufacturing apparatus 103 placing orders based on the component list created in step S35. Alternatively, the wiring harness manufacturing apparatus 103 can obtain the component list directly from the wiring harness design apparatus 1, or it can obtain it via the data server apparatus 104. Furthermore, the component ordering process can also be performed by the wiring harness design apparatus 1.

[0108] Next, in step S5, the wiring harness manufacturing process is performed. In this process, the wiring harness manufacturing apparatus 103 displays a 2D diagram 113 showing the actual dimensions on the display 124 of the worktable 123. The wires 11 are then sequentially routed on the 2D diagram 113 to manufacture each sub-wiring harness 10b. The manufactured sub-wiring harnesses 10b are then transported to the vehicle manufacturer. Furthermore, the wiring harness manufacturing apparatus 103 obtains the time spent manufacturing each sub-wiring harness 10b as manufacturing time data 114 and sends it to the data server apparatus 104.

[0109] Next, in step S6, the wiring process of the wire harness is performed. In the wiring process of the wire harness, the operator uses the wiring aid device 102 to wire each sub-wire harness 10b to the railway vehicle. The wiring aid device 102 obtains the time spent wiring each sub-wire harness 10b as wiring time data 115 and sends it to the data server device 104.

[0110] (The role and effects of the implementation method)

[0111] As explained above, the harness design apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes: an extraction unit 3, which extracts existing harnesses 10 with a structure similar to the harnesses 10 to be designed, based on the construction data of the harnesses 10 to be designed input by the input unit 2 and referring to the performance database 112; and a prompting unit 4, which is configured to prompt the extracted existing harnesses 10 in the order of total wiring time and to prompt the structure of sub-harnesses 10b.

[0112] By constructing it in this way, the structure (combination of wires) of the sub-wiring harness 10b with a shorter total wiring time can be easily determined, simplifying the design process. That is, according to this embodiment, a wiring harness design device 1 can be realized that can efficiently design wiring harness 10 with high wiring efficiency to the vehicle body.

[0113] Furthermore, in the case where the designer designs the sub-harness 10b based on experience as in the past, deviations in design quality caused by the designer may occur, which may lead to a decrease in wiring efficiency for the vehicle body. However, as in this embodiment, by taking into account the existing performance of the harness 10, the design quality can be kept constant, and the wiring efficiency for the vehicle body can be steadily improved.

[0114] (Second Implementation)

[0115] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The second embodiment is a variation of the first embodiment, and therefore will be described focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0116] exist Figure 7In (c), as an example, the case where vehicle manufacturer, number of design drawings, manufacturing cost, and manufacturing time are used as extraction conditions is shown, but the extraction conditions can be set appropriately. Furthermore, here the extraction unit 3 is configured such that extraction conditions can be set, but it is also possible to configure the extraction unit 3 to extract existing wiring harnesses 10 (main wiring harness 10a) that are similar to the construction data input from the input unit 2 without setting extraction conditions. In addition, in this embodiment, the extraction target is limited to the main wiring harness 10a, but it is not limited to this; the sub-wiring harness 10b may also be included in the extraction target.

[0117] During extraction in extraction unit 3, known extraction techniques (or retrieval techniques) can be used to compare the construction data input from input unit 2 with existing wiring harness construction data registered in the performance database 112, and extract construction data with a high degree of matching. There is no particular limitation on the degree of matching required to determine whether to extract; it can be set appropriately. Alternatively, in the extraction condition setting screen 72, for example, the weighting during extraction can be set by prioritizing the extraction of construction data with a high degree of matching based on the number of branches. The extraction results in extraction unit 3 are stored in storage unit 8.

[0118] The prompting unit 4 is configured to prompt the extraction unit 3 for existing wire harnesses 10 in the order of manufacturing time (total manufacturing time order). For example, such as... Figure 8 As shown in (b), the prompting unit 4 can also sort the existing wire harnesses 10 extracted by the extraction unit 3 and stored in the storage unit 8 according to the manufacturing time order (the wire harness with shorter manufacturing time is listed first, in ascending order of manufacturing time), and display the candidate prompt screen 73 in the sorted form on the display 7. As a result, it is easy to select an existing wire harness 10 that is similar in structure to the wire harness 10 that is the target of the design and has a short total manufacturing time. For example, the prompting unit 4 prompts the extraction unit 3 with information on the existing wire harness 10 that can be identified according to the manufacturing time order (total manufacturing time order) (including manufacturing number, specification data (vehicle manufacturer, manufacturing base, structure data (category, total length, number of wires, weight, number of branches, special specifications (whether there is protective material, whether there is a shielding layer, etc.)), manufacturing date, manufacturing time, manufacturing cost, wiring time, number of design drawings, etc.).

[0119] Here, the case where the existing wire harness 10 extracted by the extraction unit 3 is presented according to the manufacturing time sequence (total manufacturing time sequence) has been described. However, for example, if the number of sub-wire harnesses 10b increases, although the manufacturing time can be shortened, it may actually lead to a situation where it takes a lot of time to wire the sub-wire harnesses 10b to the railway vehicle. Therefore, the prompting unit 4 can also be configured to present the existing wire harnesses 10 extracted by the extraction unit 3 according to the total time sequence of manufacturing time and wiring time. To improve versatility, it is arguably more preferable that the candidate prompting screen 73 can select sorting conditions such as sorting by manufacturing time sequence or sorting by the total time sequence of manufacturing time and wiring time. In this embodiment, the candidate prompting screen 73 (… Figure 8 In the drop-down menu at the top right of (b), select the sorting criteria. The sorting criteria can also be manufacturing cost, wiring cost, or the total cost of manufacturing cost and wiring cost. Alternatively, the sorting criteria can be predetermined and cannot be selected.

[0120] The 2D drawing production unit 5 creates a 2D drawing 113 of the sub-wire harness 10b of the wire harness 10 as the design object, based on the construction data of the wire harness 10 input by the input unit 2 and the construction data of the existing sub-wire harness 10b of the wire harness 10 selected by the prompting unit 4. In creating the 2D drawing 113, information such as the length of each wire 11, connection destination, and branch position is required. Therefore, this information can be input from the input unit 2 or imported from the 3D design data 111. Based on this information and the selected 2D drawing 113 of the existing sub-wire harness 10b, the 2D drawing production unit 5 creates the 2D drawing 113 of the sub-wire harness 10b of the wire harness 10 as the design object. The created 2D drawing 113 is stored in the storage unit 8 and sent to the data server device 104. The data server device 104 stores the received 2D drawing 113. Regarding the specific method for creating a 2D drawing 113 using a past drawing, the known method described in Patent Document 1 above can be used, and detailed explanations are omitted here.

[0121] Furthermore, the 2D drawing production unit 5 does not need to be configured to automatically produce the 2D drawing 113; for example, it can be configured to allow manual adjustment of branch positions, wire lengths, etc. In other words, the 2D drawing production unit 5 can be configured to assist the designer in designing the sub-wiring harness 10b.

[0122] In this embodiment, the wire harness design device 1 includes a component list creation unit 9. Based on the 2D drawing 113 created by the 2D drawing creation unit 5 and the wire information contained in the 3D design data 111, the component list creation unit 9 lists the components required for manufacturing the wire harness 10 and creates a Bill of Materials (BOM). The created component list is stored in the storage unit 8. This component list is used for order processing during wire harness manufacturing. Alternatively, the created component list can be sent to the data server device 104 and stored therein. Furthermore, while the component list creation unit 9 is provided in the wire harness design device 1 in this embodiment, it is not limited to this; the component list creation unit 9 may also be provided in the wire harness manufacturing device 103 or in the data server device 104.

[0123] (The role and effects of the implementation method)

[0124] By constructing it in this way, the structure (combination of wires) of the sub-wire harness 10b with a shorter total manufacturing time can be easily determined, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and simplifying the design process. That is, according to this embodiment, a wire harness design device 1 can be realized that can efficiently design wire harnesses 10 while suppressing manufacturing costs.

[0125] Furthermore, in the case where the designer designs the sub-harness 10b based on experience as in the past, deviations in design quality caused by the designer may occur, potentially resulting in wasted manufacturing costs. However, as in this embodiment, by taking into account the existing performance of the harness 10, the design quality can be kept constant, and manufacturing costs can be steadily reduced.

[0126] (Summary of Implementation Methods)

[0127] Next, the technical ideas learned from the embodiments described above will be described by reference to symbols and the like. However, the symbols and the like in the following description do not limit the constituent elements within the scope of patent protection to the components specifically shown in the embodiments.

[0128] [1] A wire harness design device 1, which designs a wire harness 10 obtained by bundling multiple wires according to the wiring layout of the wires, comprises: a performance database 112, which includes construction data of existing wire harnesses 10, and is configured to at least determine the total manufacturing time or total wiring time of each existing wire harness 10 and the construction of each sub-wire harness 10b when the wire harness 10 is divided into sub-wire harnesses 10b; an input unit 2, which is input with specification data including construction data of the wire harness 10 as the design target according to the wiring layout; an extraction unit 3, which extracts existing wire harnesses 10 having a construction similar to the wire harness 10 as the design target according to the construction data input by the input unit 2 and with reference to the performance database 112; and a prompting unit 4, which is configured to prompt the existing wire harnesses 10 extracted by the extraction unit 3 in the order of total manufacturing time or total wiring time, and is configured to prompt the construction of the sub-wire harnesses 10b.

[0129] [2] According to the wire harness design device 1 described in [1], the performance database 112 includes the weight of each sub-wire harness 10b, and the prompting unit 4 is configured to be able to prompt at least the weight of the heaviest sub-wire harness 10b.

[0130] [3] According to the wire harness design device 1 described in [1] or [2], the performance database 112 includes the weight of each sub-wire harness 10b, and the extraction unit 3 is configured to set an upper limit value of the weight of the sub-wire harness 10b as an extraction condition.

[0131] [4] The wire harness design device 1 according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the performance database 112 includes the total manufacturing time, and the prompting unit 4 is configured to prompt the existing wire harness 10 extracted by the extraction unit 3 in the order of the total manufacturing time and the total wiring time.

[0132] [5] The wire harness design apparatus 1 according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the performance database 112 includes the total manufacturing time and the total wiring time, and the extraction unit 3 is configured to set an upper limit value of the total manufacturing time of the wire harness 10 as an extraction condition.

[0133] [6] The wiring harness design device 1 according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the wiring layout is 3D data, and the input unit 2 is configured to extract the construction data of the wiring harness 10 as the design object from the input 3D data.

[0134] [7] The wire harness design device 1 according to any one of [1] to [6] further comprises: a 2D drawing production unit 5, which produces a 2D drawing 113 of the sub-wire harness 10b of the wire harness 10 as the design object based on the construction data of the wire harness 10 as the design object input by the input unit 2 and the construction of the existing wire harness 10b of the wire harness 10 as prompted and selected by the prompting unit 4.

[0135] [8] In the wire harness design apparatus 1 according to any one of [1] to [7], the performance database 112 is configured to determine the 2D diagram 113 of the sub-wire harness 10b of the existing wire harness, and the prompting unit 4 is configured to prompt the 2D diagram 113 of the sub-wire harness 10b of the existing wire harness.

[0136] [9] A method for designing a wire harness, wherein a wire harness 10 is designed by bundling multiple wires according to the wiring layout of the wires. In this method, a performance database 112 is prepared in advance. The performance database 112 includes the construction data of existing wire harnesses 10 and is configured to at least determine the total manufacturing time or total wiring time of each existing wire harness 10 and the construction of each sub-wire harness 10b when the wire harness 10 is divided into sub-wire harnesses 10b. According to the wiring layout, specification data including the construction data of the wire harness 10 as the design object is input to an input unit 2. According to the construction data input by the input unit 2, and referring to the performance database 112, existing wire harnesses 10 having a construction close to the wire harness 10 as the design object are extracted. The extracted existing wire harnesses 10 are displayed in order of total manufacturing time or total wiring time, and the construction of the sub-wire harnesses 10b is displayed.

[0137] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the embodiments described above do not limit the scope of the invention to which patent protection is claimed. Furthermore, it should be noted that not all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are necessarily necessary means to solve the problems of the invention. In addition, the present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications without departing from its spirit.

Claims

1. A wire harness design device, which designs a wire harness by bundling multiple wires according to the wiring layout of the wires, characterized in that, have: The performance database includes construction data of existing wire harnesses and is configured to at least determine the total manufacturing time or total wiring time of each existing wire harness and the construction of each sub-wire harness when the wire harness is divided into sub-wire harnesses; The input section receives specification data, including construction data of the wire harness as the design object, based on the wiring layout. The extraction unit extracts existing wire harnesses with a structure similar to that of the wire harness being designed, based on the construction data input by the input unit and referring to the performance database. as well as The prompting unit is configured to prompt the existing wire harness extracted by the extraction unit in the order of total manufacturing time or total wiring time, and is configured to prompt the structure of the sub-wire harness.

2. The wire harness design device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The performance database includes the weight of each sub-harness. The prompting unit is configured to indicate at least the weight of the heaviest sub-wire harness.

3. The wire harness design device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The performance database includes the weight of each sub-harness. The extraction unit is configured to set an upper limit value for the weight of the sub-wire harness as an extraction condition.

4. The wire harness design device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The performance database includes the total manufacturing time. The extraction unit is configured to set an upper limit for the total manufacturing time of the wire harness as an extraction condition.

5. The wire harness design device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The performance database includes the total manufacturing time and total wiring time. The prompting unit is configured to prompt the existing wire harness extracted by the extraction unit in chronological order of total manufacturing time and total wiring time.

6. The wire harness design device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The wiring layout is 3D data. The input unit is configured to extract the construction data of the wire harness as the design object from the input 3D data.

7. The wire harness design device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The wiring harness design device also includes: The 2D drawing production unit creates a 2D drawing of the sub-wire harness of the wire harness that is the design target, based on the construction data of the wire harness that is input by the input unit and the construction of the sub-wire harness of the existing wire harness that is prompted and selected by the prompting unit.

8. The wire harness design device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The performance database is configured as a 2D graph capable of identifying the sub-wire harnesses of an existing wire harness. The prompting section is configured as a 2D diagram of the sub-wire harness that can prompt the existing wire harness.

9. A method for designing a wire harness, which designs a wire harness by bundling multiple wires according to the wiring layout of the wires, characterized in that, A performance database is prepared in advance, which includes the construction data of existing wire harnesses and is configured to at least determine the total manufacturing time or total wiring time of each existing wire harness and the construction of each sub-wire harness when the wire harness is divided into sub-wire harnesses. Based on the wiring layout, specification data, including the structural data of the wire harness as the design target, is input into the input unit. Based on the construction data input by the input unit, and referring to the performance database, existing wire harnesses with a construction similar to the wire harness being designed are extracted. The system can display the extracted existing wire harnesses in either the total manufacturing time sequence or the total wiring time sequence, and can also display the structure of the sub-wire harnesses.

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