Support device

Abstract

To provide a support device that can reduce the time required to verify the spread of rules. [Solution] The support device of the embodiment includes an item database containing multiple items, each having multiple options; a rule database containing a first rule that shows possible combinations of the first option of the first item and the second option of the second item among the multiple items; an editing unit that edits a second rule that shows a combination of the third option of the third item as a filtering condition and the fourth option of the fourth item to be selected in correspondence with the filtering condition among the multiple items; a determination unit that determines whether the second rule is appropriate based on the first rule; and a display information generation unit that generates display information showing the second rule and the determination result of the determination unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a support device.

Background Art

[0002] Component parts of a product are modularized, and the product is constructed by combining them. For this purpose, it is necessary to construct and manage design rules related to the combination of modules. A rule management system (support device) for efficiently managing such design rules is known. The rule management system is equipped with, for example, a rule search function that can search for all related rules using a certain item as a search key as a means for searching for necessary rules.

[0003] When editing a rule, the content of the edit may affect other specification items according to another rule. For example, design rules for a large-scale system such as a power distribution system have a huge number of specification items, and prohibition rules and allocation rules can be set between these specification items. Conventionally, in such complex rules, it has been necessary to search each rule to check for rule propagation, which has taken a lot of time for the work.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Thus, with conventional support devices, checking the spread of rules required searching for each rule individually, which was time-consuming. The support device of this embodiment was created to solve this problem, and aims to provide a support device that can reduce the time required to check the spread of rules. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The support device of the embodiment includes an item database containing multiple items, each having multiple options; a rule database containing a first rule that shows possible combinations of the first option of the first item and the second option of the second item among the multiple items; an editing unit that edits a second rule that shows a combination of the third option of the third item as a filtering condition and the fourth option of the fourth item to be selected in accordance with the filtering condition among the multiple items; a determination unit that determines whether the second rule is appropriate based on the first rule; and a display information generation unit that generates display information showing the second rule and the determination result of the determination unit. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of rules relating to the support device of the embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of error types in the rules related to the support device of the embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the support device of the embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of display information in the support device of the embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the rule editing section in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows the range of influence on each item in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure shows the range of influence of the specification value unit in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. [Figure 8] This is a flowchart showing the operation of the support device according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] This figure shows the transitions in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of transitions in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. [Figure 11] This figure shows an example of transitions in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of transitions in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] In design rule management, it is necessary to create consistent rules by considering the connections between rules. The support device of this embodiment visualizes the connections between rules at the item / option level according to the content of the rule management work, and further displays the detected errors, thereby strongly promoting design rule management work.

[0009] (Design rules) Generally, products are composed of multiple modules and possess various characteristics. A module is a combination of multiple parts and is the constituent unit of a product. The specific specifications of a product are interrelated. Specifications include the functions, performance, shape, component configuration, and standards that a product possesses. Applying one module to a product may restrict the use of other modules due to constraints arising from its specifications or functions. When designing a product, it is necessary to consider these correlations between specifications.

[0010] This correlation is called a "rule". Usually, rules are summarized in a database and appropriately referred to during product design. Alternatively, rules are used in design tools such as configurators. A configurator calculates and selects appropriate specifications based on customer requirements according to rules registered in advance as masters, and outputs quotation results, product drawings, etc. For example, a configurator can accept selections of options for each item such as component parts, functions, options, etc. The configurator selects appropriate specifications based on the accepted options and rules.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a rule related to the support device of an embodiment. The rule 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a main item 101 and a subordinate item 102.

[0012] The main item 101 has a narrowing condition 101a. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the main item 101 has four selection conditions, namely "A method", "B method", "C method", and "D method", as the narrowing condition 101a.

[0013] The subordinate item 102 is an item to be combined with the main item 101. The subordinate item 102 has options 102a. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the subordinate item 102 has two options, namely "Option 1" and "Option 2", as the options 102a.

[0014] When one selection condition is selected from the narrowing conditions 101a for the main item 101 in the rule 100, the options 102a that can be selected in the subordinate item 102 are defined as selectable ("〇") or non-selectable ("×") for that selection. That is, the rule 100 when combining the selection condition of the main item 101 and the options of the subordinate item 102 is in a relationship where the options 102a of the subordinate item 102 are affected by the selection of the narrowing condition 101a.

[0015] (Error types of design rules) If the selection conditions of the main item and the options of the subordinate item do not conform to the rules, an error will occur. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the error type of the rules related to the support device of the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the errors of the rules in the embodiment can be considered in four types depending on whether it is a problem on the upstream side or the downstream side of the item, whether it is a uniquely associated relationship or a problem of the associated destination.

[0016] In the error type illustrated in FIG. 2, when there is no associated destination on the downstream side of the item (type I), it cannot be assigned and an error occurs. Also, when there are multiple associated destinations on the downstream side of the item and they cannot be uniquely associated (type II), it cannot be narrowed down and an error occurs. Furthermore, when one item on the downstream side can satisfy multiple upstream requirements on the upstream side of the item, no problem occurs and no error occurs (type III). Also, when there is an item on the downstream side even though there are no requirements on the upstream side of the item, the item on the downstream side is not used and an error occurs (type IV). Among these types, type I is a serious error in the sense that the upstream item cannot be satisfied. On the other hand, type II and type IV can be said to be less serious errors than type I in the sense that the downstream device specifications are redundant.

[0017] Regarding the rule 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, when the "B method" of the narrowing condition 101a is selected in the main item 101, neither of the options of the subordinate item 102 can be selected, so it becomes an error of type I in FIG. 2. When the "D method" is selected for the narrowing condition 101a in the main item 101, both of the options of the subordinate item 102 can be selected, so it becomes an error of type II in FIG. 2.

[0018] On the other hand, when the "A method" or "C method" of the narrowing condition 101a is selected in the main item 101, only one of the options of the subordinate item 102 can be selected. Therefore, when a selectable option (for example, "option 1" if it is the "A method") is selected, it is type III in FIG. 2 and no error occurs. However, when a non-selectable option (for example, "option 2" if it is the "A method") is selected, it becomes an error of type I.

[0019] The support device of this embodiment is configured to provide the user with the error types shown in Figure 2 when selecting rules for selecting items. That is, the user can adjust the items and options as appropriate so that they fall under error type III. In this case, the support device of this embodiment may also provide measures to correct the error (for example, changing the selection conditions for the main item) in addition to the error types.

[0020] (Configuration of the embodiment) The configuration of the support device according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the support device according to the embodiment. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of display information in the support device according to the embodiment.

[0021] As shown in Figure 3, the support device 1 of the embodiment includes a calculation unit 10, an input unit 20, an output unit 30, and a storage unit 40. The calculation unit 10 is a functional element that performs calculations to realize the functions of the support device 1. The input unit 20 is a functional element that receives information from external sources such as a user, and can be implemented by, for example, a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel. The output unit 30 is a functional element that presents information to external sources such as a user, and examples include a display, speaker, and storage medium as an information medium. The storage unit 40 is a storage medium capable of storing information.

[0022] The calculation unit 10 includes a rule editing unit 12, an influence scope search unit 14, and a display information generation unit 16. The rule editing unit 12 is a functional element that can change the content of a rule as illustrated in Figure 1. The rule editing unit also has the function of determining whether the rule to be edited conforms to other rules. The influence scope search unit 14 is a functional element that searches for the influence (spread) to other rules and items that arise from editing a rule, based on the interrelationships of the items included in the rule. The display information generation unit 16 is a functional element that generates display information that can be displayed on a display display, such as the output unit 30, based on the information output by the rule editing unit 12 and the influence scope search unit 14.

[0023] The storage unit 40 has an item database (DB) 42 and a rule database (DB) 44. The item DB 42 is a database that stores items indicating specifications and modules that make up the product. The rule DB 44 is a database that stores rules that define the correlations between items. The rule editing unit 12 accesses the item DB 42 and the rule DB 44 to extract and edit rules.

[0024] The support device 1 shown in Figure 3 can be implemented using a computer equipped with a CPU, memory as main memory, and storage devices as auxiliary storage. The auxiliary storage devices constituting the storage unit 40 may be located remotely from the support device 1.

[0025] (Example of displayed information) Here, we will describe the display information generated by the display information generation unit 16. As shown in Figure 4, the display information 200 includes a rule editing display unit 210 and an influence range display unit 220. The display information 200 constitutes a display screen that the user can refer to while editing a rule.

[0026] The rule editing display unit 210 is an area that displays rule 100, which defines the correlation between main items and sub-items. The rule editing display unit 210 has the function of displaying the content of rule 100 and indicating the editable area. The influence range display unit 220 is an area that displays changes in the state of upstream and downstream specifications or modules that occur as a result of editing the rule in the rule editing display unit 210. Examples of changes in the state of a module include changes in the specifications or modules (items) applicable to the rule being edited, or changes in errors that occur in the module. The influence range display unit 220 includes an influence range 230 per item and an influence range 240 per specification value.

[0027] Figure 5 shows an example of the rule editing display unit in the display information 200 of the support device of the embodiment. The rule editing display unit 210 illustrated in Figure 5 has a main item 101 which is the power receiving voltage 211, the power receiving method classification 212, and the specification range setting 213, and a subordinate item 102 which is the insulation method 214, and constitutes an area where a rule can be displayed. The rule editing display unit 210 has a save button 215 to save the edited rule.

[0028] The receiving voltage 211 has filtering conditions 101a: "22kV", "33kV", "66kV", and "77kV". The receiving method classification 212 has filtering conditions 101a: "Main backup" and "SNW". The specification range setting 213 has filtering conditions 101a: "Phase 1", "Phase 2", and "Phase 3". The isolation method 214 has options: "C-GIS_GFK", "C-GIS_GF", "SIS_KA", "AIS_VDZ", "RMS_VSBM", and "NONE".

[0029] In the rule editing display unit 210 illustrated in Figure 5, the filtering conditions 101a for the main item 101 (receiving voltage 211), the receiving method classification 212, and the specification range setting 213, and the options 102a for the subordinate item 102 (insulation method 214) are arranged in a matrix, making it possible to visually grasp the relationship between the filtering conditions 101a and the options 102a. The area for the options 102a for the subordinate item 102 (insulation method 214) is configured to be selectable by an input unit 20 such as a mouse, allowing the user to set combinations of filtering conditions 101a for the main item 101 and options 102a for the subordinate item 102.

[0030] Figure 6 shows the item-level influence range in the display information 200 of the support device of the embodiment. The item-level influence range 230 is an area configured to display items and rules corresponding to the upstream and downstream of the editing target of the rule editing display unit 210. In other words, the upstream and downstream correlation of a given item is displayed. When an option 102a of the subordinate item 102 of the rule editing display unit 210 is selected, the display of the item-level influence range 230 changes accordingly.

[0031] Furthermore, the item-level influence range 230 is configured to highlight or display an error if an error occurs in relation to the upstream or downstream in connection with rule editing in the rule editing display unit 210. The error display may include information on the type of error shown in Figure 2 and methods for avoiding the error.

[0032] The influence scope 230 for each item is configured to be clickable on an item-by-item basis using a mouse or other input device as the input unit 20. For example, if an item with an error message is clicked using the mouse as the input unit 20, the rule corresponding to the influence scope 240 for each specification value, which will be described later, will be displayed.

[0033] Figure 7 shows the influence range of the specification value unit in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. The influence range 240 of the specification value unit is an area in which rules corresponding to selected items can be displayed for items displayed in the influence range 230 of the item unit. In other words, the influence range 240 of the specification value unit can display rules related to items that were displayed as errors in the influence range 230 of the item unit.

[0034] In the example shown in Figure 7, the influence range 240 for the specification value unit is set to a rule that has insulation method 241 and power receiving method classification 242 as the main item 101 selected in the influence range 230 for the item unit, and VCB operation method 243 as the subordinate item 102.

[0035] (Operation of the embodiment) Next, the operation of the support device of the embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 8. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the support device 1 of the embodiment.

[0036] The rule editing unit 12 accepts the selection of the rule to be edited, which is entered via the input unit 20 (S100). The rule editing unit 12 reads the rule to be edited from the rule DB 44. The rule selection may also be newly generated by selecting the main item and the sub-item.

[0037] The impact scope search unit 14 analyzes the rule to be edited, retrieves related rules from the rule DB 44, and reads items related to rules that may be affected by editing the rule to be edited from the item DB 42 (S110).

[0038] The display information generation unit 16 generates display information 200 that displays the rule to be edited on the rule editing display unit 210 and displays the items read from the item DB 42 in the item-level influence range 230 (S120).

[0039] Figure 9 shows the transitions in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. As shown in Figure 9, when a rule to be edited is selected, the rule to be edited is displayed on the rule editing display unit 210. In addition, based on the items read by the influence range search unit 14 from the rule item DB 42, items related to the rule to be edited are displayed in a tree diagram in the influence range 230 for each item. The group of items displayed in the influence range 230 for each item are items that have a correlation relationship on the upstream and downstream sides of the rule to be edited.

[0040] The display unit 30, which functions as an output unit, displays the generated display information 200 (S130).

[0041] The rule editing unit 12 accepts rule edits via the input unit 20, such as a keyboard or mouse (S140).

[0042] The display information generation unit 16 highlights the parts corresponding to the edits received by the rule editing unit 12. For example, if the content of a subordinate item in the rule editing display unit 210 is changed, the display information generation unit 16 highlights the corresponding item in the item-level influence range 230 and the corresponding item in the specification value-level influence range 240 (S150).

[0043] The rule editing unit 12 analyzes the edited content to determine if there are any errors and displays the errors where they occur (S160). The rule editing unit 12 determines whether the rule to be edited conforms to the group of rules stored in the rule DB 44, and if it does not conform, it makes an error determination. Error determination can be achieved, for example, by determining whether it falls under type I, type II, or type IV as illustrated in Figure 2.

[0044] If there is no input for the item-level influence range 230 (No. in S170), the display information generation unit 16 generates display information that reflects the highlighting and error display (S120), and displays the display information on the display display which serves as the output unit 30 (S130).

[0045] If there is an item selection for the item-level influence range 230 (Yes in S170), the influence range search unit 14 retrieves the rules related to the selected item from the rule DB 44 (S180), the display information generation unit 16 generates display information to display the retrieved rules in the specification value-level influence range 240 (S120), and displays the display information on the display display which serves as the output unit 30 (S130).

[0046] Figure 10 shows an example of transitions in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. As shown in Figure 10, when an item shown in the item-level influence range 230 (for example, an item with an error display) is selected, the influence range search unit 14 retrieves the rules related to the selected item from the rule DB 44 and displays them in the specification value-level influence range 240.

[0047] (Example of display information transitions) Next, with reference to Figures 11 and 12, examples of transitions in the display information of the support device of the embodiment will be described. Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of transitions in the display information of the support device of the embodiment. Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of transitions in the display information of the support device of the embodiment.

[0048] In the display information 201 shown in Figure 11, when the user selects the option "RMS_VSEM" for the isolation method 214, which is subordinate item 102 (Figure (1)), an error message appears in the item-level influence range 230 (Figure (2)). When the user clicks to select the specification or module on which the error message appears using the mouse, which is the input unit 20 (Figure (3)), the rule corresponding to that module is displayed in the specification value-level influence range 240 (Figure (4)).

[0049] At this time, two "unselectable" ("×") items are displayed in the subordinate items of the rule shown in the influence range 240 of the specification value unit (Figure (5)). This corresponds to Type I shown in Figure 2, and it is a state in which it cannot be matched. As a result of the error judgment for this rule by the rule editing unit 12, the display information generation unit 16 displays an error message in the display information 201 (Figure (6)). In the example shown in Figure 11, "Error: Cannot be matched" is displayed, and a message suggesting correction is displayed, "Add 〇 or add NONE". In other words, it is necessary to make a selection in the rule editing display unit 210 so that the options of the subordinate items become selectable.

[0050] Furthermore, in the display information 202 shown in Figure 12, when the user deselects the option "C-GIS_GFK" for the isolation method 214, which is subordinate item 102 (Figure (1)), an error message appears in the item-level influence range 230 (Figure (2)). When the user clicks and selects the module on which the error message appears using the mouse, which is the input unit 20 (Figure (3)), the corresponding rule is displayed in the specification value-level influence range 240 (Figure (4)).

[0051] At this time, one selectable ("○") is displayed in the subordinate items of the rule shown in the influence range 240 of the specification value unit (Figure (5)). On the other hand, the filtering conditions "C-GIS_GFK" and "Main Reserve" are never selected in the main items of the display rule in the influence range 240 of the specification value unit (Figure (6)). This corresponds to type IV shown in Figure 2, where the upstream requirements are not used. As a result of the error judgment for this rule by the rule editing unit 12, the display information generation unit 16 displays an error message in the display information 202 (Figure (7)). In the example shown in Figure 12, "Warning: Not used" is displayed, and a message suggesting correction is displayed, "Delete ○ or add an allocation." In other words, in terms of the correlation between upstream and downstream, only the upstream side is not used, so a warning is displayed instead of an error, encouraging a selection that would allow for the selection of the more ideal type III.

[0052] As described above, the support device of this embodiment makes it possible to display the propagation of the scope of influence of rule changes both upstream and downstream, on an item-by-item or specification value-by-spec-value basis, so that errors in the affected areas can be checked each time a rule is changed. Furthermore, the support device of this embodiment is configured to determine the scope of influence and inconsistencies in real time in response to rule editing, and to display errors and suggest corrections, so that the scope of influence of rules can be easily checked even in product development with a large number of rules, thereby reducing the development burden.

[0053] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0054] 1...Support device, 10...Calculation unit, 12...Rule editing unit, 14...Influence range search unit, 16...Display information generation unit, 20...Input unit, 30...Output unit, 40...Storage unit, 42...Item database, 44...Rule database, 100...Rule, 101...Main item, 101a...Filtering conditions, 102...Subordinate item, 102a...Options, 200~202...Display information, 210...Rule editing display unit, 211...Power receiving voltage, 212...Power receiving method classification, 213...Specification range setting, 214...Isolation method, 215...Save button, 220...Influence range display unit, 230...Influence range per item, 240...Influence range per specification value, 241...Isolation method, 242...Power receiving method classification, 243...VCB operation method

Claims

1. An item database containing multiple items with multiple options, A rule database including a first rule that shows possible combinations of the first option for the first item and the second option for the second item among the aforementioned multiple items, An editorial department edits a second rule that shows the combination of the third option of the third item as a narrowing condition and the fourth option of the fourth item to be selected in accordance with the narrowing condition, A determination unit that determines whether the second rule is appropriate based on the first rule, A display information generation unit that generates display information indicating the second rule and the determination result of the determination unit. A support device equipped with this device.

2. The support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the display information includes a third rule relating to the third item and the fourth item of the first rule.

3. The support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the display information includes information showing the correlation between the third item and the fourth item.

4. The support device according to claim 3, characterized in that the displayed information includes the correlation between the third item and the fourth item as a tree diagram.

5. The support device according to claim 2, characterized in that the display information includes highlighted portions of the third rule that are related to the edited portions of the second rule.

6. The support device according to claim 3, characterized in that information showing the correlation between the third item and the fourth item can be highlighted.

7. The support device according to claim 3, characterized in that the display information is configured to highlight the correlation between the third item and the fourth item according to the determination result of the determination unit.

8. The support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the determination unit determines that the second rule is an error when it is not possible to match the third item with the fourth item.

9. The support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the determination unit determines that the second rule is an error when a plurality of the fourth items are assigned to a single third item.

10. The support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the determination unit determines that the second rule is an error if there is no third item corresponding to the fourth item.

11. The support device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the display information includes the type of error and a correction instruction when the second rule is determined to be an error.

12. A support method using a support device comprising: an item database containing multiple items having multiple options; and a rule database containing a first rule indicating possible combinations of a first option for a first item and a second option for a second item among the multiple items, The aforementioned support device The rule to be edited from the first rule is retrieved from the rule database as the second rule. The third option for the third item and the fourth option for the fourth item relating to the second rule, which may be affected by the editing of the second rule, are obtained from the item database. The system accepts editing of combinations of the third option of the third item that constitutes the second rule and the fourth option of the fourth item that is selected in correspondence with it. Determine whether the edit relating to the second rule conforms to the first rule included in the rule database. To generate display information showing the result of the above determination. A support method characterized by the following.

13. The support method according to claim 12, characterized in that the support device determines that editing related to the second rule is an error if it is unable to match the fourth item with the third item.

14. The support method according to claim 12, characterized in that the support device determines that editing related to the second rule is an error when multiple fourth items are assigned to a single third item.

15. The support method according to claim 12, characterized in that the support device determines that editing related to the second rule is an error if there is no third item corresponding to the fourth item.

16. The support method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that the support device generates the display information including the type of error and a correction instruction when it determines that the second rule is an error.

Images