Chemical substance information management device and chemical substance information management method

Abstract

To provide a technique that, when comparing two pieces of data, can automatically and efficiently perform operations to extract a portion indicating a change between the two pieces of data.SOLUTION: A chemical substance information management device 1 comprises a control unit 11 that compares first data and second data including information on chemical substances to detect a change between both data. Both pieces of data have a plurality of pieces of information related to a configuration of components, and the plurality of pieces of information are divided into a plurality of layers. The control unit 11 is configured to detect the change between both the data, for each data, on the basis of specific information (for example, key information string) that includes individual information (for example, key information) selected from the plurality of layers of information and can specify a component to be compared.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technology for managing information on chemical substances such as environmentally hazardous substances used in vehicles (i.e., chemical substances contained in products), for example. [Background technology]

[0002] Due to growing social interest in environmental issues and strengthening of directives and laws such as RoHS, product distributors (e.g., vehicle manufacturers) are managing information about chemical substances contained in the products and parts they sell to comply with directives and laws. RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances.

[0003] For example, when a part (such as a parent part) is delivered to a customer such as a vehicle manufacturer, if the customer does not have all the information on chemical substances, they may request information on the amount of chemical substances contained in the product from an intermediary such as a parts supplier. Also, if an intermediary purchases a child part to make a parent part, they may request information from the supplier of the child part (i.e., the supplier). Note that product chemical substance management systems (such as iPCA) are sometimes used to manage information on chemical substances contained in products. iPCA stands for iPoint Compliance.

[0004] For example, if a part is replaced with a new part, it is necessary to compare the "data related to the original part" with the "data related to the new part" to check the changes in both data and confirm that the data for the part that should be changed has been replaced without any omissions.

[0005] Specifically, the two sheets with the respective data output are compared to check for any changes, and information about those changes is reported to the appropriate party. For example, an intermediary supplier reports to a supplier.

[0006] However, currently, these comparison tasks are performed manually, which takes a great deal of time. In order to reduce this manual work, in recent years, a technology has been disclosed that can identify the necessary information by detecting changes (e.g., deletion / addition / update) in a bill of materials (i.e., a list showing the configuration of product parts, etc.) when a delivery destination requests information from an intermediary (see Patent Document 1 below). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-211443 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, as a result of detailed investigation by the inventors, the following problems were found in the conventional techniques. In the above-mentioned conventional technology, the parts indicating the changes (i.e., the change points) are recorded in advance in a parts list, and it is not possible to automatically extract (i.e., confirm) the change points by comparing the two sets of data before and after editing. Therefore, it is not easy to perform the extraction work efficiently and effectively.

[0009] In other words, with conventional technology, it is not possible to automatically and efficiently extract the changes between the "data related to the original part" and the "data related to the new part," so there is a need for further improvements in the efficiency of comparison work.

[0010] An object of one aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that, when comparing two pieces of data, can automatically and efficiently extract portions that indicate changes between the two pieces of data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] a) One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a chemical substance information management device that manages information on chemical substances contained in parts that constitute a product. The chemical substance information management device includes a change detection unit that compares first data and second data containing the information on the chemical substances and detects changes between the two sets of data. The two sets of data also include multiple pieces of information related to the configuration of the parts, and the multiple pieces of information are classified into multiple hierarchies.

[0012] Furthermore, the change detection unit is configured to create specific information for each of the data that includes individual information selected from the multiple layers of information and is capable of identifying the part to be compared, and to detect changes between the two data based on the specific information.

[0013] With this configuration, the chemical substance information management device of the present disclosure can automatically and efficiently extract (i.e., confirm) changes (i.e., differences) that indicate the differences between, for example, first data, such as data before editing related to an original part, and second data, such as data after editing related to a new part. This has the effect of greatly improving the efficiency of management work when managing chemical substances contained in products.

[0014] That is, specific information (e.g., a key information string consisting of multiple key information) that can identify (i.e., uniquely determine) the object of comparison (e.g., a part) is created using individual information (e.g., key information) selected from multiple hierarchies (i.e., multiple hierarchies configured so that higher hierarchies are further limited by lower hierarchies).The specific information is then used to compare the configurations of the parts, etc. that are the object of comparison, thereby making it possible to easily detect change points between different data.

[0015] b) Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a chemical substance information management method for managing information on chemical substances contained in parts that constitute a product. In this chemical substance information management method, when comparing first data and second data containing information on the chemical substances, both data have a plurality of pieces of information related to the configuration of the parts, and the plurality of pieces of information are divided into a plurality of hierarchical levels, specific information is created for each piece of data that includes individual pieces of information selected from the plurality of hierarchical levels and is capable of identifying the parts to be compared, and changes between the two pieces of data are detected based on the specific information.

[0016] Another aspect of the present disclosure, similar to the above aspect, can automatically and efficiently extract change points that indicate differences between first data and second data, thereby achieving the effect of significantly improving the efficiency of management of chemical substances contained in products. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a chemical substance information management device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the main parts of a Check Result Sheet used in an embodiment, such as a title line. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of a Check Result Sheet used in the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between a product configuration tree and a product configuration table. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a key information string. [Figure 6] FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram showing key information among the items in the title row, and FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the product structure tree and the key information column. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a main process of the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of blank space filling processing. [Figure 9]10 is a flowchart showing a process for creating a key information string. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for creating a key information string from a Check Result Sheet. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing changes in the product structure tree when data is added. [Figure 12] FIG. 12A is an explanatory diagram showing the Check Result Sheet before data is added (that is, Before), and FIG. 12B is an explanatory diagram showing the Check Result Sheet after data is added (that is, After). [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a change in the product structure tree when data is deleted. [Figure 14] FIG. 14A is an explanatory diagram showing the Check Result Sheet before data is deleted (that is, Before), and FIG. 14B is an explanatory diagram showing the Check Result Sheet after data is deleted (that is, After). [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing changes in the product structure tree when data is changed. [Figure 16] FIG. 16A is an explanatory diagram showing the Check Result Sheet before the data is changed (that is, Before), and FIG. 16B is an explanatory diagram showing the Check Result Sheet after the data is changed (that is, After). [Figure 17] Figure 17A is an explanatory diagram showing the display portion of the result sheet display screen when data is added, Figure 17B is an explanatory diagram showing the display portion of the result sheet display screen when data is deleted, and Figure 17C is an explanatory diagram showing the display portion of the result sheet display screen when data is changed. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the entire display screen of the result sheet. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a product structure tree in the case where there is duplication of keys. [Figure 20]FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a display screen when there is a duplicate key (that is, a screen showing a [Before] Key Duplicate list). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. [1. Embodiment] In this embodiment, a chemical substance information management device that can compare environmental load substance data before and after editing will be described.

[0019] [1-1. Overall structure] 1, the chemical substance information management device 1 of this embodiment includes a processing device 3 such as a well-known personal computer, an input device 5 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display device 7 which is a display unit such as a display. The processing device 3 is capable of communicating with other computers via a LAN or the like, for example, and is also capable of communicating with external computers and the like via a wide area communication network such as the Internet.

[0020] [1-2. Composition of each part] Each component will be described below. 1, the arithmetic processing device 3 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 13, and a communication unit 15. The arithmetic processing device 3 can be connected to an external storage device such as a well-known USB.

[0021] The control unit 11 is a well-known device that performs various calculation processes related to the operation of a computer, and is mainly configured with a microcomputer (that is, a microcomputer) having a CPU 11a, a RAM 11b, a ROM 11c, and the like.

[0022] The various functions of the control unit 11 are realized by the CPU 11a executing a program stored in a non-transient physical recording medium. In this example, for example, the ROM 11c corresponds to the non-transient physical recording medium storing the program. Furthermore, by executing this program, a method corresponding to the program is executed. The control unit 11 also has the function of a change detection unit.

[0023] Examples of the storage unit 13 include various nonvolatile memories such as rewritable flash memory and EEPROM, and hard disks. The communication unit 15 is a communication device capable of communicating with other computers etc. via a communication path.

[0024] [1-3.Data] First, the configuration of the data used in this embodiment (that is, the two data to be compared) will be described.

[0025] In this embodiment, for example, data created using the well-known iPCA, i.e., first data before editing (pre-edit data) and second data after editing (post-edit data), are compared, and the differences, which are the changed contents (i.e., change points), are extracted.

[0026] For example, iPCA outputs JAMA format CSV files (i.e., a file of pre-edited data and a file of post-edited data) to a check tool, and the CSV files output from the check tool are used to perform the process of detecting change points, which will be described later. Note that the software for performing iPCA processing and the software for detecting change points may be stored in the same processing device 3.

[0027] <Data structure> First, the configuration of the pre-edit data and post-edit data will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Note that the configuration of a sheet displaying data such as that shown in Figures 2 and 3 (i.e., a list showing the product configuration) is publicly known.

[0028] 2 and 3, the sheet showing each piece of data, more specifically the "Check Result Sheet" which is a sheet of the data that can be displayed on the display device 7, lists information about the parts that make up each product. This sheet is sometimes referred to as a product configuration table.

[0029] As shown in Figure 4, a product (e.g., a delivered product) is composed of the parts (components) that make up the product, the materials that make up the parts, and the substances (e.g., compounds) that make up the materials. Therefore, a product can be represented by a product structure tree, like a family tree, as shown in the left diagram of Figure 4. This product structure tree can be displayed by a product structure table, as shown in the right diagram of Figure 4.

[0030] In other words, a product structure tree like the one on the left in Fig. 4 can be expressed by a product structure table like the one on the right in Fig. 4, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4. Conversely, a product structure tree like the one on the left in Fig. 4 can be obtained from a product structure table like the one on the right in Fig. 4. Note that in Fig. 4, arrows indicate the correspondence between each branch of the product structure tree and each row in the product structure table.

[0031] Next, the structure of pre-edit data and post-edit data (i.e., data before and after editing) will be explained in detail using specific examples. However, since the structure of pre-edit data and post-edit data is basically the same, the following will mainly explain in detail using post-edit data as an example.

[0032] For example, Fig. 2 shows an example of a portion of the edited data (i.e., about five lines of data from the top of a sheet), and Fig. 3 shows an example of another portion of the edited data (i.e., about eight lines of data from the top of a portion on the left side of a sheet). Note that Fig. 2 may be considered to show only a portion of the pre-edited data.

[0033] For example, the top row of the sheet (that is, the title row) lists the types (items) of information about the components of the part. As is well known, there are 40 types of items, for example. The items are divided into five levels in order from the top (i.e., from the left side of the sheet) according to the content of the item. In addition to the 40 types of items, the level of the product configuration tree (Tree Level), which will be described later, is also listed.

[0034] Here, a hierarchy is configured so that the content of a higher hierarchy is defined (that is, limited) by the content of a lower hierarchy. Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, the hierarchy ranking decreases as you move to the right side of the sheet, and from the top down, it is divided into "Information of Representative" which indicates the product (1st hierarchical level), "Information of parts" which indicates the parts (parent parts) (2nd hierarchical level), "Information of semi-components" which indicates the semi-components (child parts) (3rd hierarchical level), "Information of materials" which indicates the materials (4th hierarchical level), and "Information of substances" which indicates the substances (e.g., compounds) (5th hierarchical level).

[0035] In more detail, "Information of parts," which indicates the hierarchy of parts (parent parts), is divided into the following items: "Part Name," "Part Number," "Module ID / Version," "Quantity," "Mass," and "Parts Marking."

[0036] "Information of semi-components," which indicates the hierarchy of semi-components (child parts), is divided into the following items: "Part Name," "Classification," "Module ID / Version," "Mass," "Portion," "Lower Limit," and "Upper Limit."

[0037] "Information of materials," which indicates the material hierarchy, is divided into the following categories: "Name," "Surface Treatment," "Standard Material No.", "Symbol," "Module ID / Version," "Mass," "Portion," "Lower Limit," "Upper Limit," "Classification," "Supplier's Product Name," "Material Standard," "Supplier's Material Number," "Node ID (material)," and "Material No. (International Material No.)."

[0038] "Information of substances," which indicates the hierarchy of substances (e.g., compounds), is divided into the following categories: "Substance Name," "CAS No.", "Node ID (substance)," "Portion," "Lower Limit," "Upper Limit," "Rest," "GADSL," "SVHC," "Application Name," "Application ID," and "Reason of Process Chemicals."

[0039] The first level also includes the following items: "Product Name," "Product Number," "Module ID / Version," "Mass," and "Revision Number." However, since these do not contain the key information described below, they are omitted here.

[0040] <Key information> Next, the key information will be described. In this embodiment, 11 items from among the items in each of the above-mentioned layers (i.e., the four layers from the second layer to the fifth layer) are used as key information (i.e., individual information), and each piece of key information is connected in series to create a key information string (i.e., specific information) that is used when comparing data before and after editing. Note that, in this embodiment, each layer contains multiple pieces of key information, but it is also possible to set one piece of key information in a certain layer.

[0041] The key information is information that serves as the basis for comparing data before and after editing (i.e., individual pieces of information that constitute a key information string). In other words, key information refers to individual pieces of information that constitute a key information string, set in each of the second to fifth layers (i.e., layers of parts, semi-components, materials, and substances (e.g., compounds)). Therefore, by combining key information, it is possible to form a key information string that uniquely (i.e., unambiguously) identifies the object of comparison (e.g., part).

[0042] In other words, the key information can be defined as individual pieces of information that can be combined to uniquely identify a comparison target. Note that the key information string may also include, for example, the name of a part or the like.

[0043] Here, the comparison target is a component for which a difference, which will be described later, is to be found. Note that the key information of this component is not limited to only the key information of components in the second layer, but also includes key information of a lower layer if there is key information of a lower layer that corresponds to the component in the second layer (i.e., that further defines the component). Note that in the third layer and below, there may be no actual data (i.e., data value) for an item that corresponds to the key information. Note that if there is no data value, a supplementary process will be performed as described later.

[0044] Specifically, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a total of 11 pieces of key information (i.e., Key) are used, for example, (1) “Part Name,” (2) “Part Number,” and (3) “Module ID / Version” in the part hierarchy; (4) “Part Name” and (5) “Module ID / Version” in the semi-component hierarchy; (6) “Material Name,” (7) “Module ID / Version,” and (8) “Node ID (material)” in the material hierarchy; and (9) “Substance Name,” (10) “CAS No.” and (11) “Node ID (substance)” in the substance (compound) hierarchy.

[0045] The format of the key information string, which connects 11 pieces of key information in series, can be expressed as "Part Name@Part Number@Module ID / Version(part)|Part Name(semi)@Module ID / Version(semi)|Material Name@Module ID / Version(material)@Node ID(material)|Substance Name@CASNo.@Node ID(substance)".

[0046] Also, in Figure 5, PASS (Parents Part Name) and PASS (Parents Part Number) are listed, but as will be described later, PASS (Parents Part Name) is a string of only the product name portion of the Key connected in a row from the TOP of the highest hierarchy (more specifically, the highest level of the product configuration tree), and PASS (Parents Part Number) is a string of only the product number portion of the Key connected in a row from the TOP of the highest hierarchy.

[0047] Here, (3) "Module ID / Version (part)" is an ID (i.e., "IMDS ID") assigned by IMDS to identify each piece of data for a part, and is composed of a Module ID and a Version. ID is a well-known abbreviation for "identification," and IMDS is an abbreviation for International Material Data System, a materials database for the automotive industry. (5) "Module ID / Version (semi)" is the ID assigned by IMDS to a semi-component. (7) "Node ID (material)" is an ID assigned by IMDS to a material, and is a serial number. (8) "Module ID / Version (material)" is the ID assigned by IMDS to a material. (10) "CAS No." is a unique identification number assigned to a chemical substance by the US chemical society's chemical substance registry system, CAS. CAS stands for Chemical Abstracts Service.

[0048] Therefore, for example, when the data for each key information is set as shown in Figure 6A, a key information string such as "AA@111@11 / 1|BB@22 / 1|CC@33 / 1@33|DD@44@44" is generated. Here, "|" indicates the division of each layer, and "@" indicates the division of an item within the layer. Note that in Figure 6A, 11 pieces of information are shown within a bold frame.

[0049] <Relationship between product structure tree and key information column> Next, the relationship between the product structure tree (i.e., family tree) and the key information string is shown. As shown in the left diagram of Figure 6B, a product such as an assembly has semi-components as components below parts, materials as components below semi-components, and substances (compounds) as components below materials. Therefore, the lower the hierarchy, the more components there are.

[0050] The connection between these higher-level and lower-level configurations can be shown in a product configuration tree, like a family tree, shown in the left diagram of Figure 6B. Note that the "Tree Level" in the left diagram of Figure 6B indicates the hierarchical relationship in the product configuration tree (i.e., the relationship between higher and lower levels), with smaller numbers indicating higher levels. The right diagram of Figure 6B also shows the key information strings for the configurations (e.g., parts, semi-components, etc.) corresponding to each "Tree Level."

[0051] [1-4. Control processing] Next, the processing performed by the control unit 11 of the arithmetic processing device 3 of this embodiment will be described.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, first, in step (hereinafter, S) 100, it is determined whether two files to be compared (i.e., two data files to be subjected to differential extraction) have been specified from the data files stored in the memory unit 13.

[0053] That is, it is determined whether or not the file of pre-edit data and the file of post-edit data to be compared have been selected. If the determination here is affirmative, the process proceeds to S110, whereas if the determination here is negative, the process is temporarily terminated.

[0054] In S110, a file copy process is performed. Specifically, the two specified files are copied to a spreadsheet software for output, and a sheet corresponding to the contents (i.e., data) of each file is created. The spreadsheet software is, for example, Excel, and Excel is a registered trademark.

[0055] In the next step S120, a blank space filling process, which will be described later, is performed. That is, in the sheets corresponding to the two files, blank spaces in the data display area (i.e., blank cells) are filled in (i.e., supplemented) to create a comparison sheet. Specifically, for example, if the "Part Number" and "Node ID (material)" columns are not filled in, a filling process is performed to fill in the blanks, and a product configuration table (i.e., a "Check Result Sheet") is created as a comparison sheet.

[0056] In the next step S130, data of two comparison sheets corresponding to the pre-editing and post-editing sheets is read in order to perform the difference extraction process described later. In the next step S140, a difference extraction process is performed, as will be described in detail later. Specifically, the two read data are used to extract the differences between them, namely, "additions," "deletions," and "changes."

[0057] In the next step S150, the process outputs the difference extraction results, as will be described in detail later. Specifically, the extracted differences are output so as to be displayed in a list format on a "Difference List Sheet," which is a result list.

[0058] In the next step S160, the difference extraction results are highlighted, as will be described in detail later. Specifically, the difference extraction results are highlighted on the two "Check Result Sheet" and "Difference List Sheet."

[0059] In the next step S170, as will be described in detail later, the process extracts duplicate data, and then ends. Specifically, the duplicate data is output using the key information that is the extraction condition. The duplicate data is also output as a log to each "Key Duplicate List," which is a list of duplicates before and after editing.

[0060] [1-5. Contents of each process] Next, the contents of each process shown in FIG. 7 will be described. [1-5-1. Space Complement Processing] First, the "blank space filling process" will be described.

[0061] <Complete the "Part Number" field> In FIG. 8 used for explanation, some items are omitted for ease of understanding. As shown on the left side of the upper diagram in Figure 8, if the "Part Number" column is blank (i.e., it is an empty field), identify the part number one level above (parent part number) from the "Tree Level" and enter the same part number as that parent part number to complete it. Note that, as shown on the left side of the lower diagram in Figure 8, the completed cell (the area surrounded by a bold frame: the area displayed in gray) is actually displayed in green.

[0062] <Complete the "Node ID (material)" field> As shown on the right side of the top image in Figure 8, if the "Tree Level" and "Name" are the same as the row above, but the "Mass" and "Node ID (material)" fields are blank, identify the value of the "Node ID (material)" from the row above and enter that value into the blank "Node ID (material)" field to complete it. Note that, as shown on the right side of the bottom image in Figure 8, the completed cell (the area surrounded by a bold frame: the area displayed in gray) is actually displayed in blue.

[0063] [1-5-2. Loading the comparison target] Next, the "processing for reading the comparison target" will be described. In this process, for example, the data entry portion of the "Check Result Sheet" is read line by line, and the read information is stored in a variable in the form of key information and a value that can be associated with the key information.

[0064] Specifically, divide the data into four major groups: parts, semi-components, materials, and substances (e.g., compounds), prepare a separate dictionary for each group, and then prepare a container (overall dictionary) to store each dictionary.Then, load the data by storing the target line of the loaded "Check Result Sheet" in the container that stores the dictionaries for parts, semi-components, materials, and substances.

[0065] When performing the difference extraction process described below, the data stored in the Dictionary is read out in this manner to extract the differences, but the method for reading the data to be compared is not limited to this method.

[0066] [1-5-3. Difference extraction process] Next, the "difference extraction process" will be described. When comparing data before and after editing (i.e., two "Check Result Sheets"), the following may occur: "addition" of key information data, "deletion" of key information data, and "changes" other than "addition" or "deletion", which will be explained separately below.

[0067] <Creating a key information column> First, a method for creating a key information string used when comparing data before and after editing will be specifically described. The processing shown in FIG.

[0068] As shown in Figure 9, in S200, the hierarchical level of the target row (target row) is checked from the "Check Result Sheet" (more specifically, the level of the parts configuration tree: Tree Level), and the process goes back to the top level where the part name is not blank, and then connects (1) "Part Name", (2) "Part Number", and "Module ID / Version" in order from the top level.

[0069] 10A, if the row to be processed is the fourth row, the process traces back from tree level 4 to tree level 2 to identify the parent part, and then serially connects the key information, which is part information, to create a key information string. In this case, the key information string becomes "ASSY@2222222222@|SUB@3333333333@|PART@4444444444@|".

[0070] If the row to be processed is the third row, the process similarly goes back to tree level 2 and creates a key information string by serially concatenating the key information. In this case, the key information string will be "ASSY@2222222222@|SUB@3333333333@|". If the row to be processed is the second row, the key information string will be "ASSY@2222222222@|".

[0071] In the next step S210, a PASS Name and PASS Number are generated. For example, in the example shown in Fig. 10A, the PASS Name is "ASSY, SUB, PART," and the PASS Number is "2222222222, 3333333333, 4444444444."

[0072] In the next step S220, the following key information is extracted from the "Check Result Sheet": (4) "Part Name (Subpart)", (5) "Module ID / Version (semi)", (6) "Material Name", (7) "Module ID / Version", (8) "Node ID (material)", (9) "Substance Name", (10) "CAS No.", and (11) "Node ID (substance)". This is then linked to the key information (1) to (3) shown in Figure 9, etc., to form a key information string.

[0073] For example, in the example shown in FIG. 10B, the key information string would be "ASSY@2222222222@|SUB@3333333333@|PART@4444444444@|@|PAA@@140121623|Vinyl acetate@108-05-4@3361" so as to include the content of FIG. 10A.

[0074] The above-mentioned process is performed for all rows to be processed in each sheet of data before and after editing, and a key information string is created for each row to be processed. More specifically, a key information string corresponding to each branch of the product structure tree is created. In this case, not only are key information strings corresponding to the branches from the highest key information to the lowest key information created, but also key information strings from the highest key information to each level below (i.e., tree level) are created, as shown in FIG. 6B above.

[0075] Then, by comparing all the key information strings on the sheet of pre-edit data with all the key information strings on the sheet of post-edit data one by one, a difference extraction process, etc., as will be described later, is carried out. <Addition> Next, a method for extracting differences (ie, change points) when key information is added will be described.

[0076] Here, as shown in Fig. 11, an example will be given in which an ingredient is added to the key information. Note that, hereinafter, "Before" indicates data before editing, and "After" indicates data after editing. Also, in the following Figs. 11 to 16, for ease of understanding, some of the 11 pieces of information will be used as examples for explanation.

[0077] In the product configuration tree of Fig. 11, when a material in the dashed frame of After is added to Before, the display of Before in Fig. 12A changes to the display of After in Fig. 12B. Note that in Fig. 12, key information is shown surrounded by a bold frame.

[0078] In detail, the content shown in gray on the fourth and fifth lines of After in Figure 12B is added, so that the content on the fourth and fifth lines of After in Figure 12B is added between the third and fourth lines of Before in Figure 12A.

[0079] Therefore, in this case, the added comparison target row is displayed in a predetermined color (e.g., blue) to indicate "addition" in the result sheet (i.e., "Difference list sheet") as shown in Figures 17A and 18. Also, "addition" is displayed in the difference type column at the right end of the displayed comparison target row.

[0080] The results sheet will be described in detail later, but Figures 17A to 17C show the main parts corresponding to the "add," "delete," and "change" processes, respectively, and Figure 18 shows the entire results sheet. Also, different components are used as examples in Figures 17 and 18, so the displays and values ​​in the cells are different. Note that in the row indicating the type of display item at the top of Figure 17 (i.e., the title row), the part surrounded by a bold frame indicates key information.

[0081] <Delete> Next, a method for extracting the difference when key information is deleted will be described. In the product configuration tree of Fig. 13, when a material in the dashed frame in Before is deleted, the display of Before in Fig. 14A changes to the display of After in Fig. 14B. Note that in Fig. 14, key information is shown surrounded by a bold frame.

[0082] More specifically, the contents shown in gray on the fourth and fifth lines in the "Before" section of FIG. 14A are deleted, and the "After" section of FIG. 14A shows the state after the deletion. Therefore, in this case, the deleted comparison target row is displayed in a predetermined color (e.g., red) to indicate "deletion" in the result sheet, as shown in Figures 17B and 18. Also, "deletion" is displayed in the difference type column at the right end of the displayed comparison target row.

[0083] <Changes> Next, a method for extracting differences when items other than key information have been changed will be described. Here, as shown in FIG. 15, a case will be taken as an example where Mass (parts mass), which is an item of the mass of a part other than the key information, is changed.

[0084] For example, suppose that the mass of the part in the second row shown in gray in the "Before" section of Fig. 16A was 2.076 g, but the mass of the part in the second row shown in gray in the "After" section of Fig. 16B was changed to 0.038 g. In this case, as shown in Figs. 17C and 18, the changed comparison row is displayed in a predetermined color (e.g., yellow) to indicate "change" in the results sheet. Furthermore, "Change" is displayed in the difference type column at the right end of the displayed comparison row, and the changed item (i.e., Mass) is displayed in the target item column for difference type [Change] further to the right.

[0085] [1-5-4. Output processing and highlighting of difference extraction results] Next, the "processing for outputting the difference extraction result" and the "processing for emphasizing the difference extraction result" will be described.

[0086] The difference extraction results are displayed on a result sheet such as those shown in FIGS. In the title row of the results sheet, from left to right, the following are displayed, separated by bold frames, for example: "Key," "PASS (Parents Part Name)," "PASS (Parents Part Number)," "section displaying 11 key information," "Difference type," "Target items when difference type [change]," and "Target difference row."

[0087] The cell below "Key" displays a key information string, the cell below "PASS (Parents Part Name)" displays the "PASS Name," and the cell below "PASS (Parents Part Number)" displays the "PASS Number."

[0088] In this embodiment, the rows corresponding to "add," "delete," and "change" on the result sheet are highlighted in different colors so that they can be easily distinguished at a glance. Specifically, as described above, "add" is displayed in blue, "delete" in red, and "change" in yellow.

[0089] In addition, in the "Difference Type" column, the difference type "Addition", "Deletion" or "Change" is displayed for each line. In the "Target item when difference type [change]" column, the changed item (for example, Mass) is displayed for each line.

[0090] The "Different Lines" column displays the line numbers of the corresponding lines in the before and after where "addition," "deletion," or "change" was made for each line. By clicking on the displayed line number, you can display the corresponding line number in the before and after on a separate screen.

[0091] At the bottom of the result sheet, display bars for "[Before] Check Result Sheet," "[After] Check Result Sheet," "[Difference List Sheet]," "[Before] Key Duplicate Sheet," and "[After] Key Duplicate Sheet" are displayed, and clicking on each display bar will display the screen corresponding to that display bar. Figure 18 shows the screen displayed when the display bar for "Difference List Sheet" is clicked.

[0092] [1-5-5. Duplicate data extraction process] Next, the "duplicate data extraction process" will be described. For example, as shown in Figure 19, if there is duplication in the Before data (i.e., key information) (for example, if there are two of the same material), the fact that there is duplication in the data will be displayed as shown in Figure 20. The same applies to the After data.

[0093] The right edge of the display screen in FIG. 20 shows overlapping rows in each sheet. [1-6.Effects] According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0094] (1) The chemical substance information management device 1 of this embodiment compares pre-edited data and post-edited data containing information on chemical substances, and both data have multiple pieces of information related to the configuration of parts, and the multiple pieces of information are divided into multiple hierarchical levels.The device is configured to create, for each piece of data, a key information string that includes key information, which is individual information selected from the multiple hierarchical levels of information, and is specific information that can identify the part being compared, and to detect changes between the two pieces of data based on the key information string.

[0095] With this configuration, the chemical substance information management device 1 can automatically and efficiently extract change points (i.e., differences) that indicate the differences between, for example, pre-edit data for an original part and post-edit data for a new part, which has the effect of greatly improving the efficiency of management work when managing chemical substances contained in products.

[0096] In other words, by using multiple pieces of key information selected from multiple hierarchies (i.e., hierarchies connecting the top hierarchies to the bottom hierarchies), a key information string is created that can identify (i.e., uniquely determine) the parts to be compared, and by using this key information string to compare the configurations, etc. of the parts to be compared, it is possible to easily detect points of change between different data.

[0097] (2) In this embodiment, the key information string may be a series of key information selected at each layer, serially linked from the lower layer to the higher layer.

[0098] (3) In this embodiment, the key information may be configured to be distinguishable from other information by a number or symbol. (4) In this embodiment, at least one of "addition," "deletion," and "change" can be detected between pre-edit data and post-edit data.

[0099] (5) In this embodiment, a "change" can be detected by a change in the content of information other than the key information. (6) In this embodiment, when at least one of the detection results "add," "delete," and "change" is displayed on the display device 7, the display format can be changed depending on the content to be displayed, for example, by changing the color depending on the detection result. Therefore, the operator operating the chemical substance information management device 1 can grasp the content of the change at a glance based on the display status.

[0100] (7) In this embodiment, at least one of mass and mass ratio information can be used as information other than the key information. (8) In this embodiment, when there is no data value in the display portion (i.e., cell) of the data value indicating the content of the key information in the product configuration table (i.e., when the corresponding cell is blank), the cell with no data value can be supplemented with a predetermined data value. For example, the blank portion of the cell can be filled in using the data value of another cell in the product configuration table where there is no data value.

[0101] 2. Other Embodiments Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can take on various forms.

[0102] (2a) The first data and the second data include various types of data to be compared, in addition to the pre-edit data and post-edit data described above. For example, when a part is replaced with a new part, "data related to the original part" and "data related to the new part" are included. In other words, data to be compared includes, for example, data acquired at different times.

[0103] (2b) The operation of the chemical substance information management device described in this disclosure may be realized by a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied in a computer program.

[0104] Alternatively, the operations of the chemical substance information management apparatus described in the present disclosure may be realized by a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more special-purpose hardware logic circuits.

[0105] Alternatively, the operation of the chemical substance information management device described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more dedicated computers configured by combining a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions with a processor configured by one or more hardware logic circuits.

[0106] The computer program may be stored as instructions to be executed by a computer on a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium. The method for realizing the functions of the chemical substance information management device does not necessarily need to include software, and all of the functions may be realized using one or more pieces of hardware.

[0107] (2c) In addition to the chemical substance information management device described above, the present disclosure can also be realized in various forms, such as a configuration that includes the chemical substance information management device as a component, a program for causing the computer of the chemical substance information management device to function, a non-transitory tangible recording medium such as a semiconductor memory on which this program is recorded, and a chemical substance information management method.

[0108] (2d) Multiple functions possessed by one component in each of the above embodiments may be realized by multiple components, or one function possessed by one component may be realized by multiple components. Also, multiple functions possessed by multiple components may be realized by one component, or one function realized by multiple components may be realized by one component. Also, part of the configuration of each of the above embodiments may be omitted. Also, at least part of the configuration of each of the above embodiments may be added to or substituted for the configuration of another embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0109] 1... Chemical substance information management device, 3... Arithmetic processing device, 5... Input device, 7... Display device, 11... Control unit, 13... Storage unit, 15... Communication unit

Claims

1. In a chemical substance information management device for managing information on chemical substances contained in parts that constitute a product, a change detection unit that compares first data and second data containing information on the chemical substance and detects a change between the first data and second data, the two sets of data have a plurality of pieces of information related to the configuration of the part, and the plurality of pieces of information are divided into a plurality of layers; the change detection unit is configured to create specific information for each of the data sets, the specific information including individual information selected from the information of the plurality of layers and capable of identifying the part to be compared, and to detect a change between the two data sets based on the specific information. Chemical substance information management device.

2. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 1, The specific information is a series of information obtained by connecting the individual pieces of information selected at each layer from a lower layer to a higher layer. Chemical substance information management device.

3. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 1, The individual information in each layer is configured to be distinguishable from other information by a number or a symbol. Chemical substance information management device.

4. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 1, The change is at least one of addition of the data, deletion of the data, and a change in the content of the data other than the addition and deletion between the first data and the second data. Chemical substance information management device.

5. 5. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 4, The addition and deletion are detected by comparing the specific information, and the change is detected by information other than the specific information. Chemical substance information management device.

6. 5. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 4, a display unit configured to display a result of the detection when at least one of the addition, the deletion, and the change is detected, and to change the display format according to the content to be displayed on the display unit; Chemical substance information management device.

7. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 1, At least one of the first data and the second data is configured to include information on at least one of mass and mass ratio as information other than the specific information. Chemical substance information management device.

8. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 1, the second data is post-edit data obtained by editing the pre-edit data, which is the first data; Chemical substance information management device.

9. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 1, In at least one of the first data and the second data, when a data value is absent in a portion of the individual information, the portion where the information is absent is complemented with a predetermined data value. Chemical substance information management device.

10. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 9, The part where the data value is absent is complemented with another data value included in at least one of the first data and the second data having the part where the data value is absent. Chemical substance information management device.

11. A chemical substance information management method for managing information on chemical substances contained in parts that constitute a product, When comparing the first data and the second data, each containing information on the chemical substance, the first data and the second data each containing information on the chemical substance are compared using data that includes a plurality of pieces of information on the configuration of the part and that is divided into a plurality of hierarchical layers, creating specific information for each of the data sets that includes individual information selected from the information of the plurality of layers and that can identify the part to be compared, and detecting changes between the two data sets based on the specific information; Chemical substance information management method.

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