Design support device and design support method

Abstract

This invention provides a design support device and design support method that can efficiently extract past design changes, the intentions behind those changes, and their chronological order from accumulated design data. [Solution] The design support device comprises an input unit, a search unit, a change summary unit, a sorting unit, an output unit, and a design database. The design support device inputs changes to the design object and product characteristics using the input unit, searches for relevant documents from the design database using the search unit, and extracts and summarizes design changes and their design change intentions using AI technology, etc., using the change summary unit to create summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions. The design support device organizes the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions based on chronological order using the sorting unit. The design support device visualizes the organized summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions using the output unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a design support apparatus and a design support method. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a design support apparatus and a design support method that support examination of product design plans.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the shortage of human resources has become serious in the manufacturing industry. To improve design efficiency and quality, the introduction of CAD (Computer Aided Design), PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) systems, and CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) has progressed, and enormous amounts of design data are accumulated every day.

[0003] Under such circumstances, in design sites for mid-volume production products that require short-term product development, "reuse design", which reuses past designs, has become mainstream. Against this background, when design changes are made in product development, it is important to accurately grasp past design change points and their intentions to prevent defects in advance.

[0004] However, if a designer performs reuse design without properly understanding past design change points and their intentions, unintended design changes may occur. In particular, as veteran design engineers decrease, there is a shortage of human resources who can understand the background of past design changes, which may affect design efficiency improvement and quality enhancement.

[0005] The design support system disclosed in Patent Document 1 can easily analyze the factors leading to design change. Specifically, the design support system of Patent Document 1 automatically extracts a plurality of questions necessary for analyzing the factors leading to a design change, causes the questions to be presented to a designer, and causes the designer to answer the presented plurality of questions, thereby analyzing the factors leading to the design change based on all answer results obtained by interactively performing the presentation of questions and the answers.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-059226 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] The design support system described in Patent Document 1 allows for easy analysis of the factors leading to design changes through interactive question-and-answer exchanges. However, the quality and quantity of answers vary depending on the designer's skill level, so identifying the factors leading to design changes from all the obtained answers may depend on the respondent's skills and experience. In addition, the design support system described in Patent Document 1 does not easily visualize the overall picture of the design history or the context of the design changes unless the question and answer set includes date and time information indicating when the events related to the design changes occurred.

[0008] Therefore, the design support system described in Patent Document 1 was unable to efficiently extract past design changes, the intentions behind those changes, and their chronological order from the accumulated design data.

[0009] This disclosure was made to solve the above-mentioned problems. Specifically, one of the purposes of this disclosure is to provide a design support device and a design support method that can efficiently extract past design changes, the intentions behind those changes, and their chronological order from accumulated design data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] To solve the above problems, the design support apparatus of this disclosure includes an information processing apparatus having a storage device capable of storing information, wherein the storage device stores a design database containing information about design deliverables, and the information processing apparatus is input with design change information and product feature information. The information processing device is configured to search the design database for design deliverables related to the design change portion and the product feature information based on the design change portion and the product feature information, summarize the design changes and design change intentions of the searched design deliverables to create summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions, obtain sorting reference time information corresponding to the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions, and store the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions in the storage device as analysis results, associating them with the sorting reference time information.

[0011] The design support method of the present disclosure is a design support method using an information processing device having a storage device capable of storing information, wherein the storage device stores a design database containing information about design deliverables, the information processing device is input with design change parts and product feature information, the information processing device searches the design database for the design deliverables related to the design change parts and product feature information based on the design change parts and product feature information, creates summarized design change points and summarized design change intentions by summarizing the design change points and design change intentions of the searched design deliverables, obtains sorting reference time information corresponding to the summarized design change points and summarized design change intentions, and stores the summarized design change points and summarized design change intentions and the sorting reference time information in association with each other as analysis results in the storage device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] This disclosure enables the efficient extraction of past design changes, the intent behind those changes, and their chronological order from accumulated design data. The effects described herein are not necessarily limited and may be any of those described in this disclosure. Furthermore, other issues, configurations, and effects will be clarified in the following description of embodiments for carrying out the invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1]Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a design support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the design support apparatus. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of a support method according to an embodiment using the present apparatus. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of the process of S203. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of time-series visualization of design changes and intentions using the present apparatus. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of a design database. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of search results from a search unit using the present apparatus. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of analysis results obtained using the present apparatus. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of time-series visualization of design changes and intentions using an apparatus according to a modified example. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen including discussions. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a diagram for explaining processing according to a modified example. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of analysis results according to a modified example. [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of time-series visualization of design changes and intentions using an apparatus according to a modified example. [Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in all the drawings of the embodiments, identical or corresponding parts may be denoted by identical reference signs.

[0015] The embodiments (examples) are illustrations for describing the present disclosure, and are appropriately omitted and simplified for clarity of description. The present disclosure can also be implemented in various other forms. Unless otherwise specifically limited, each constituent element may be singular or plural.

[0016] The positions, sizes, shapes, ranges, and the like of the respective constituent elements shown in the drawings may not represent the actual positions, sizes, shapes, ranges, and the like, in order to facilitate understanding of the invention. Therefore, the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to the positions, sizes, shapes, ranges, and the like disclosed in the drawings.

[0017] In the embodiments (examples), processing performed by executing a program may be described. Here, a computer (information processing apparatus) executes the program by a processor (for example, a CPU, a GPU), and performs processing defined by the program while using storage resources (for example, a memory), interface devices (for example, a communication port), and the like. Therefore, the subject of the processing performed by executing the program may be the processor. Similarly, the subject of the processing performed by executing the program may be a controller, an apparatus, a computer (information processing apparatus), or the like having the processor. The subject of the processing performed by executing the program may be any arithmetic unit, and may include a dedicated circuit that performs specific processing. Here, the dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), or the like.

[0018] The program may be installed on the computer from the program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a storage medium readable by the computer. If the program source is a program distribution server, the program distribution server includes a processor and storage resources for storing the program to be distributed, and the processor of the program distribution server may distribute the program to other computers. In addition, in the embodiment, two or more programs may be implemented as one program, or one program may be implemented as two or more programs.

[0019] In the following explanation, various types of information may be described using terms such as "table," "record," "row," "column," and "section," but these types of information may also be represented using other data structures. When describing identification information, terms such as "ID," "number," and "name" will be used, but these are interchangeable and can also be replaced with other expressions of identification information.

[0020] One of the purposes of the design support device described below is to efficiently extract past design changes, the intentions behind those changes, and their chronological order from accumulated design data, and to enable efficient design proposal review and prevention of recurrence of defects by providing a mechanism that allows designers to easily refer to this extracted information.

[0021] The design support device disclosed herein extracts past design changes and the intentions behind those changes from accumulated design data, and visualizes the design changes and their intentions as a chronological design history, thereby enabling efficient consideration of design proposals and prevention of recurrence of defects. The following describes an example of the design support device of this disclosure using drawings.

[0022] <<Examples>> (Equipment configuration) Figure 1 is a configuration diagram showing a design support device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The design support device 1000 includes an input unit 100, a design database 101, a search unit 102, a change summary unit 103, a sorting unit 104, and an output unit 105.

[0023] In the design support device 1000, information such as design changes (parts, materials, functions, etc.) and the model number and name of the product corresponding to the design changes (information indicating the characteristics of the product corresponding to the design changes (referred to as "product characteristic information")) is input via the input unit 100.

[0024] Based on the input design change portion and product feature information, the design support device 1000 uses the search unit 102 to search the design database 101, which stores documents and data related to past product designs, for design deliverables (design documents, sometimes referred to as "related documents") related to the design change portion and product feature information.

[0025] Furthermore, the design support device 1000 uses the change summary unit 103 to analyze the contents of the related documents in the search results, for example, using artificial intelligence (AI) technology or natural language processing technology, to extract design changes (the design changes of the parts that have been changed) and the intention behind those design changes, and obtains summaries of the extracted design changes (sometimes referred to as "summary design changes") and summaries of the intention behind the design changes (sometimes referred to as "summary design change intentions").

[0026] The design support device 1000 uses a sorting unit 104 to organize and sort the summary design changes and the intentions behind those summary design changes based on certain physical quantities or quantitative indicators.

[0027] The design support device 1000 visualizes the design history (sorted information (summary design changes and their intended purpose)) via the output unit 105 and presents it to the designer.

[0028] The following describes the details of the design support device 1000 according to the embodiment of this disclosure. The designer inputs the model number (product feature information) and the parts to be modified (design change portion) of the product for which design changes are being considered into the input unit 100. This information input into the input unit 100 serves as a criterion for searching related documents in the design database 101.

[0029] The design database 101 stores documents and data related to past designs. For example, the design database 101 includes design specifications, defect reports, design change records, and test results. Each data item in the design database 101 is associated with metadata such as timestamps and model information, which are used for searching and sorting. A timestamp is time information attached to (associated with) electronic data. Time information indicates a specific time, such as a date and time. Time information may also indicate only the date.

[0030] The search unit 102 searches the design database 101 for design documents and data related to the design changes and product features information, based on the information such as model number and part name (design change information and product feature information) received from the input unit 100.

[0031] The change summary unit 103 analyzes the relevant documents retrieved by the search unit 102 using, for example, AI technology (such as natural language processing), extracts the design changes and the intentions (including objectives) of those design changes, and summarizes them to create summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions.

[0032] The sorting unit 104 associates the summary design changes and summary design change intentions created by the change summary unit 103 with sorting reference information (in this example, sorting reference time information), and sorts the summary design changes and summary design change intentions based on the sorting reference time information.

[0033] The sorting reference time information includes, for example, timestamps attached to related documents (design documents) that formed the basis of the summary design changes and summary design change intentions, and the time history of the related documents (design documents). The time history of the related documents (design documents) refers to the time information indicating when events (e.g., file creation) contained within the related documents (design documents) occurred. For example, the sorting unit 104 sorts the summary design changes and summary design change intentions in chronological order (forward chronological order in this example) based on the sorting reference time information. The sorting unit 104 may also sort the summary design changes and summary design change intentions in reverse chronological order.

[0034] The output unit 105 presents the designer with an image showing the design history in chronological order, representing the summarized design changes and the intentions behind those changes, which have been rearranged in the chronological order obtained by the rearrangement unit 104.

[0035] For example, when investigating the change history of a "partition plate" related to a specific model of industrial equipment, the design support device 1000 first uses the search unit 102 to search the design database 101 for design documents and data sets related to the specific model of industrial equipment and the "partition plate," and the search results 400 are stored in the storage device 1010. Details of the example of the search results 400 will be described later.

[0036] The 400 related documents in the search results are analyzed by the change summary unit 103, and specific design changes (design change details) such as "increased the thickness of the partition plate" and the intentions (purposes) of the design changes, such as "to strengthen the structure," are extracted from the design documents. The change summary unit 103 summarizes the extracted design changes (design change details) and intentions of the design changes, and creates summarized design changes (design change details (summary design changes)) and intentions of the design changes (summary design change intentions).

[0037] The sorting unit 104 associates the summaries of design changes (design change details) and the summaries of the intentions behind the design changes (summary design change intentions) obtained by the change summary unit 103 with sorting reference time information and stores them in the storage device 1010 as analysis results 500. The sorting reference time information is, for example, the timestamp or time history of the design documents that formed the basis of the summary design changes and summary design change intentions. Details of the analysis results 500 will be described later.

[0038] The output unit 105 presents the designer with an image showing the rearranged information (summary design changes and summary design change intentions). The output is provided, for example, via a graphical user interface (GUI), allowing the designer to visually grasp the history of design changes at a glance, thus making it easier to understand the flow and intentions of the changes.

[0039] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the design support device 1000. As shown in Figure 2, the design support device 1000 includes a non-volatile storage device 1010 that can read and write data, a memory 1020 (e.g., RAM), a CPU 1030, an input / output interface 1040, a network interface 1050, and a bus 1060. The storage device 1010, memory 1020, CPU 1030, input / output interface 1040, and network interface 1050 are connected via the bus 1060. A device including the storage device 1010, memory 1020, CPU 1030, input / output interface 1040, network interface 1050, and bus 1060 may be referred to as a "computer" or "information processing device."

[0040] The design support device 1000 may be composed of multiple computers. These computers may be virtual computers on the cloud.

[0041] The storage device 1010 holds (stores) the program 1011, the design database 101, the search results 400, and the analysis results 500. The program 1011 includes a search unit 102, a change summary unit 103, and a sorting unit 104. Details of the design database 101, the search results 400, and the analysis results 500 will be described later.

[0042] The CPU 1030 loads the program 1011 stored in the storage device 1010 into the memory 1020. The CPU 1030 then executes the program 1011 loaded into the memory 1020 to realize the various functions of the search unit 102, the change summary unit 103, and the sorting unit 104.

[0043] As mentioned above, the program 1011 executed by the CPU 1030 is loaded into memory 1020, and data used by the CPU 1030 when executing program 1011 is temporarily stored there.

[0044] The input / output interface 1040 is an interface for connecting an operating device 1041 such as a keyboard and mouse, and a display device 1042 (display) capable of displaying images. The operating device 1041 and the display device 1042 may be devices that have both the functions of an operating device 1041, such as a touch panel, and the functions of a display device 1042. Network interface 150 is an interface for connecting the computer to network NW1.

[0045] The input unit 100 corresponds to a GUI (Graphical User Interface) consisting of a GUI provision program (not shown) included in program 1011, an operating device 1041, and a display device 1042. The operating device 1041 and display device 1042 that constitute the GUI (Graphical User Interface) may be an operating device and display device (not shown) of a terminal (not shown) connected to network NW1.

[0046] The output unit 105 corresponds to the display device 1042 or the display device (not shown) of a terminal (not shown) connected to the network NW1.

[0047] The design support device 1000 is connected to the generation AI server 2000 via network NW1 so that it can communicate with it.

[0048] The Generative AI Server 2000 includes the Language Generative AI 2100. The Language Generative AI 2100 includes Large Language Models (LLMs). The Language Generative AI 2100 is sometimes referred to simply as "Generative AI 2100". Large Language Models (LLMs) are language models constructed using large amounts of data and deep learning techniques. The Generative AI 2100 takes input information (such as prompts) as input to the Large Language Model, generates an appropriate response (answer) based on the input information, and outputs the generated response (answer) (returns it as a response).

[0049] Furthermore, the same hardware configuration as shown in Figure 2 can be applied to the generation AI server 2000. The generation AI server 2000 may consist of multiple computers, or it may be a virtual computer on the cloud.

[0050] The design support device 1000 may include a generated AI 2100 internally.

[0051] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for extracting and presenting design history using the design support device 1000 of this disclosure.

[0052] First, the search unit 102 reads the input information received from the input unit 100 (S200). The input information includes design change details (for example, parts to which the designer has made design changes) and product feature information (such as model number). In this example, we will explain assuming that the part name "partition plate" is entered as the design change details and the model number "X001" is entered as the product feature information.

[0053] The search unit 102 uses the input information to first search the design database 101 for relevant documents (S201).

[0054] At this time, the search unit 102 may use keyword search methods such as full-text search or vector search using AI (natural language processing, etc.), or it may perform a search that includes variations in spelling using a thesaurus, etc. This search is performed on all data stored in the design database 101 (S202). In order to comprehensively search all data, the search unit 102 instructs to retrieve other arbitrary data again or update the search target and retrieve again until all data has been retrieved (S210).

[0055] The next step (S203) involves processing by the change summary unit 103. The change summary unit 103 analyzes the relevant documents retrieved by the search unit 102 using AI (natural language processing, etc.), extracts design changes and the intentions behind those design changes from the content of the relevant documents, and summarizes their outlines (S203). Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing in S203. As shown in Figure 4, the change summary unit 103 sends the relevant documents and prompts to the generation AI server 2000. The prompt is an input sentence (input text) that instructs the language generation AI (large-scale language model) to extract design changes and the intentions behind those design changes from the relevant documents, and then summarize and output each of the extracted design changes and intentions. An example of a prompt is, "Extract the design changes and the intentions behind those design changes from the content of the relevant documents, and summarize the outlines of the design changes and intentions behind those design changes."

[0056] The generating AI 2100 of the generating AI server 2000 inputs the relevant documents and prompts into a large-scale language model, which extracts the design changes and intentions for the design changes requested by the prompts from the relevant documents, and transmits these summaries (summary design changes and summary design change intentions) to the design support device 1000. The change summarization unit 103 of the design support device 1000 acquires the summary design changes and summary design change intentions received from the generating AI server 2000.

[0057] Furthermore, if the design support device 1000 is equipped with a generation AI 2100 internally, the change summary unit 103 may obtain the summary design changes and summary design change intentions by creating the summary design changes and summary design change intentions using the internal generation AI 2100.

[0058] At this time, the change summary unit 103 stores the summary design changes and summary design change intentions in the storage device 1010, associating them with each related document (for example, the file name of each related document). Note that the summary design changes and summary design change intentions may not necessarily have a one-to-one correspondence; therefore, multiple summary design change intentions may be associated with a common summary design change and stored in the storage device 1010.

[0059] Referring again to Figure 3, the next step (S204) involves processing by the sorting unit 104. The sorting unit 104 acquires physical quantities (sorting criterion information (sorting criterion time information in this example)) such as timestamps and time history information from the related documents searched by the search unit 102 (S205). The acquired physical quantities (sorting criterion information (sorting criterion time information in this example)) are managed in association with the summarized design changes extracted and summarized by the change summary unit 103 and the intention behind those summarized design changes. That is, the sorting unit 104 stores the sorting criterion information in the storage device 1010 in association with the summarized design changes.

[0060] The sorting unit 104 instructs the system to reacquire data from other related documents or update and reacquire the target data until it has acquired data for all related documents (S204). Once the sorting unit 104 has finished acquiring physical quantities (sorting criteria information) for all related documents, it proceeds to the next step (S206).

[0061] The next step (S206) involves processing by the output unit 105. The output unit 105 sorts the summary design changes and summary design intentions obtained by the sorting unit 104, as well as physical quantities such as timestamps and time history information (in this example, sorting reference time information), into ascending or descending order and outputs them (S206). For example, if the summary design changes and summary design intentions are sorted in chronological order based on the time history, which is the sorting reference time information, they will be output as a design history sorted in chronological order.

[0062] The summary design changes and summary design intentions may also be sorted based on other sorting criteria information besides the sorting criterion time information (for example, the absolute value of the design change amount). In this case, the design changes and design intentions will be visualized so that their evolution can be traced based on the other sorting criteria information.

[0063] Figure 5 shows an example of visualizing the design change history based on sorted reference time information. In this example, the design change part "partition plate" (300) and model number "X001" (301) are entered with the period "2008 to 2021" (302), and a search is performed (303). As shown in the example in the figure, the design change history (summary design changes and summary design change intentions) is visualized in chronological order.

[0064] In 2008, the thickness of the partition plates was increased (304), with the intention of strengthening them (305), and the purpose was to address defects. Similarly, in 2018, the thickness was increased (306), with the intention of adding reinforcement (307), and the purpose was to address defects. On the other hand, in 2015, the thickness was reduced (308), with the intention of reducing costs (309). For similar reasons, in 2021, the thickness was reduced (310), with the intention of reducing costs (311), and the purpose was VEC (Value Engineering for Customers).

[0065] The design support device 1000 presents the design history in graph format, allowing designers to visually understand the flow (chronological order) of past design changes. Furthermore, background information such as the intent and purpose of each design change is provided, making it easy for designers to grasp the reasons for the changes. This helps prevent the recurrence of similar design changes and facilitates the understanding of the design history, enabling more efficient design review.

[0066] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a design database 101. As shown in Figure 6, the design database 101 includes the following columns for storing information (values): #4000, file name (data) 4010, model number 4020, part name 4030, and timestamp 4040. In the design database 101, the information corresponding to each column of the design document is associated with each other and stored as row-level information (records).

[0067] #4000 stores an identification number used to identify the record. File name (data) 4010 stores the file name of the design document and the data corresponding to the file name. Model number 4020 stores the model number of the product. Part name 4030 stores the name of the part designed in the design document. Timestamp 4040 stores the date (date and time) when the data was registered in the design database 101.

[0068] Figure 7 shows an example of search results 400 obtained by the search unit 102. The search unit 102 reads the information received from the input unit 100 as input information and performs a search. The search unit 102 performs a search on a design database 101 with a table structure consisting of, for example, number 4000, file name (data) 4010, model number 4020, part name 4030, and timestamp 4040, as shown in Figure 6. An example of the search results 400 obtained from the search execution is shown in Figure 7.

[0069] In the search result 400 in Figure 7, the file name 401 stores the file name of the data, and the number 400, model 402, part name 403, and timestamp 404 store the same information (values) as #4000, model 4020, part name 4030, and timestamp 4040 in Figure 6, respectively.

[0070] Specifically, number 400 is the identification information for each line of information (record). Each data (record) is managed with a unique ID or number and can be treated as an individual identification number. File name 401 is the file name of the data; for documents, this would include file names such as design specifications, defect reports, design change records, and test results. Model number 402 is the model number of the product. Part name 403 is the name of the part that is the subject of the design of the data corresponding to the file name.

[0071] The timestamp 404 represents the date and time when the data corresponding to the file name was registered in the design database 101. Information such as the last update date and time of the corresponding design document can also be useful as the timestamp 404. Furthermore, for the purpose of accurately visualizing the design history, information such as the creation date and approval date from the body of the corresponding design document may be obtained and used as the timestamp 404.

[0072] In this embodiment, the part name "partition plate" and model number "X001" are received as input information, and as a result of the search, the following files, whose filenames match the model number or part name in the figure, are found to be related documents: filename #2 "Defect Case 002.pdf", filename #4 "Design VEC Specification 001.xls", filename #8 "Defect Case 004.pdf_", and filename #9 "Design VEC Specification 002.xls_".

[0073] Figure 8 shows an example of analysis results 500 obtained by analyzing the data using the change summary unit 103 and associating the sorting reference time with the summarized design changes and the summarized design change intentions using the sorting unit 104. The change summary unit 103 receives the relevant documents, which are the search results from the search unit 102, analyzes them using AI (natural language processing, etc.), extracts the design changes and the intentions behind those design changes from the content of the relevant documents, and creates the summarized design changes and summarized design intentions by summarizing their outlines. The sorting unit 104 associates the sorting reference time information with the summarized design changes and summarized design intentions.

[0074] The analysis result 500 is output in a table structure consisting of, for example, a number 500, a file name 501, a model number 502, a part name 503, a summary of design changes 504, a summary of the design change intention 505, and a sorting reference time 506, as shown in the figure. Of these, the result output by the change summary unit 103 is the summary of design changes 504 and their summary of the design change intention 505 described in the related document. The sorting reference time 506 stores the time information of the timestamp 404 of the corresponding related document or the time history extracted from the related document by the sorting unit 104.

[0075] Each output result is displayed in a format linked to (associated with) the relevant document. In this embodiment, as a result of performing a search using the part name "partition plate" and model number "X001" as input information, the files "Defect Case 002.pdf" (filename #2 in the figure), "Design VEC Specification 001.xls" (filename #4), "Defect Case 004.pdf" (filename #8), and "Design VEC Specification 002.xls" (filename #9) are obtained as relevant documents, and an analysis of design changes and their intentions is performed on the data corresponding to each filename.

[0076] In figures #2 and #8, the summary design change 504 is "increased plate thickness," and the summary design change intention 505 is "strengthened" or "added reinforcement." On the other hand, in figures #4 and #9, the summary design change 504 is "thinned plate thickness," and the summary design change intention 505 is output as "cost reduction."

[0077] Based on the above, it becomes possible to search for relevant documents from accumulated design deliverables and other data, analyze design changes and their intentions within those documents, and visualize the history of past design changes using physical quantities such as timestamps. This helps prevent the recurrence of defects in similar design changes, makes it easier to understand the design history, and allows for more efficient consideration of design proposals.

[0078] According to the design support device 1000 of the embodiment of this disclosure, past design changes, the intentions behind those changes, and their chronological order can be efficiently extracted from a vast amount of accumulated design data. This allows the design support device 1000 to prevent the recurrence of similar design changes and to facilitate users in understanding the design history. Therefore, users of the design support device 1000 can efficiently review design proposals. Furthermore, the design support device 1000 can also achieve the secondary effect of promoting overall efficiency and digitalization of the design process by expanding the scope of use of design data.

[0079] <<Variation>> The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be adopted within the scope of the present invention.

[0080] The design support device 1000 may include an analysis creation unit 9000, as shown in Figure 9. The analysis creation unit 9000 creates an analysis (analysis result) regarding the design changes and the history of the design changes based on the design changes and the intentions of the design changes sorted by the sorting unit 104, and the sorting criteria information associated therewith (e.g., sorting time information). The analysis creation unit 9000 may create the analysis using, for example, a generation AI 2100. In this case, the analysis creation unit 9000 may input the design changes and the intentions of the design changes, and the sorting criteria information associated therewith, to the generation AI 2100 along with prompts, and the generation AI 2100 may create the analysis.

[0081] Figure 10 shows an example of a screen including the considerations 320. As shown in Figure 10, the screen includes the summary of design changes, the intent behind the summary of design changes, and the considerations 320 based on their chronological order. By reviewing the considerations 320, the designer can easily grasp the considerations 320 (analysis results) regarding the history of design changes.

[0082] As shown in Figure 11, the design support device 1000 may use the generating AI 2100 to extract design changes and the intent of the design changes, as well as example times to which they correspond, from the relevant documents, and use the extracted time history as a sorting reference time 506 to which the summary design changes and summary design changes correspond.

[0083] The design support device 1000 may create a summary of design changes and a summary of design change intentions by querying an internally or externally equipped generating AI 2100 in a multi-stage (step-by-step) manner. For example, the generating AI 2100 may be prompted to obtain basic information, and after obtaining that information, it may be prompted to obtain more detailed information to create a more accurate summary of design changes and a summary of design change intentions.

[0084] The design support device 1000 may associate the type of design change with the summary design changes and store them in the storage device 1010. The type of design change may be a type of design change extracted from related documents by a generation AI, or a type of design change entered based on the operator's input. As shown in Figure 12, the design support device 1000 may associate the type of design change 507 with the summary design changes and the intention of the summary design changes and store it in the storage device 1010 as the analysis result 500. The type of design change 507 here indicates the purpose of the design change, with #2 and #8 in the figure outputting "defect countermeasures," and #4 and #9 in the figure being "VEC." The type of design change 507 corresponding to each design change (each summary design change) may be displayed in the image shown in Figure 5.

[0085] Figure 13 shows an example of visualizing the design change history based on a time history by specifying the change type. As shown in Figure 13, the design support device 1000 may selectively display only the summary design changes and summary design change intentions associated with the selected design change type (for example, defect countermeasures (1301)).

[0086] The design database 101 may store design deliverables including not only design documents, but also CAD data, drawings, development policies, and shape data of welding locations and surrounding areas.

[0087] The design support device 1000 may analyze the design changes and design change intentions of the retrieved design deliverables from the perspectives of environmental friendliness, reliability, cost, and delivery time, and display an image on a display device showing the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions organized based on the analysis results. The analysis may be performed by the generation AI 2100.

[0088] The present invention can also adopt the following configuration.

[0089] [1] A design support device including an information processing device having a storage device capable of storing information, The storage device stores a design database containing information about design deliverables. The aforementioned information processing device receives input regarding the design changes and product feature information. The information processing device searches the design database for design deliverables related to the design change portion and the product feature information based on the design change portion and the product feature information, summarizes the design changes and design change intentions of the retrieved design deliverables to create summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions, obtains sorting reference time information corresponding to the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions, and stores the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions in the storage device as analysis results, associating them with the sorting reference time information. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

[0090] [2] A design support method using an information processing device having a storage device capable of storing information, The storage device stores a design database containing information about design deliverables. The aforementioned information processing device receives input regarding the design changes and product feature information. The information processing device searches the design database for design deliverables related to the design change portion and the product feature information based on the design change portion and the product feature information, summarizes the design changes and design change intentions of the retrieved design deliverables to create summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions, obtains sorting reference time information corresponding to the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions, and stores the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions in the storage device as analysis results, associating them with the sorting reference time information. Design support method. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 100...Input section, 101...Design database, 102...Search section, 103...Change summary section, 104...Sorting section, 105...Output section

Claims

1. A design support device including an information processing device having a memory device, The storage device stores a design database containing information about design deliverables. The aforementioned information processing device receives input regarding the design changes and product feature information. The information processing device searches the design database for design deliverables related to the design change portion and the product feature information based on the design change portion and the product feature information, summarizes the design changes and design change intentions of the retrieved design deliverables to create summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions, obtains sorting reference time information corresponding to the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions, and stores the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions in the storage device as analysis results, associating them with the sorting reference time information. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

2. In the design support device according to claim 1, The aforementioned information processing device is The summary design changes and the intentions behind the summary design changes are sorted based on the sorting reference time information. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

3. In the design support device according to claim 2, The aforementioned information processing device is A display device capable of displaying images is configured to display images, The information processing device displays the rearranged summary design changes and the change history image showing the intent of the summary design changes on the display device. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

4. In the design support device according to claim 3, The aforementioned information processing device is Based on the aforementioned sorting reference time information, the summary design changes and the intentions behind the summary design changes are sorted in chronological order or in reverse chronological order. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

5. In the design support device according to claim 1, The aforementioned information processing device is By using artificial intelligence technology to summarize the design changes and the intentions behind the design changes described in the searched design deliverables, the summarized design changes and the summarized intentions behind the design changes are created. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

6. In the design support device according to claim 5, The artificial intelligence technology is a generative AI provided inside or outside the information processing device. Design support equipment.

7. In the design support device according to claim 1, The design database stores the design deliverables in association with product feature information and information indicating the design target. Design support equipment.

8. In the design support device according to claim 1, The aforementioned information processing device is A display device capable of displaying images is configured to display images, The aforementioned information processing device is Obtain other sorting criteria information, including other physical quantities besides time information, The summary design changes and the intentions behind the summary design changes are stored in the storage device in association with the other sorting criteria information. The summary design changes and the intent to change the summary design changes are sorted based on the other sorting criteria information, and the sorted summary design changes and the intent to change the summary design changes are displayed on the display device. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

9. In the design support device according to claim 1, The design database stores the file names and corresponding data of the design documents as design deliverables, the product model, the part names, and timestamps, all of which are associated with each other. Design support equipment.

10. In the design support device according to claim 6, The aforementioned information processing device is Based on the results obtained by stepwise querying the aforementioned generation AI, the summary design changes and the intentions for the summary design changes are created. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

11. In the design support device according to claim 1, The aforementioned information processing device is Using an internally or externally provided generation AI, the system extracts a time history from the design deliverable, including the creation date, approval date, and other time information contained within the design deliverable, and uses the extracted time history as the sorting reference time information. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

12. In the design support device according to claim 1, The aforementioned information processing device is The type of design change is associated with the summarized design change points, the intended design change, and the sorting reference time information, and the analysis results are stored in the storage device. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

13. In the design support device according to claim 1, The aforementioned information processing device is Based on the aforementioned changes to the summary design and the intent behind those changes, as well as the sorting reference time information, an analysis of the aforementioned changes to the summary design and the intent behind those changes will be prepared. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

14. In the design support device according to claim 1, The aforementioned information processing device is A display device capable of displaying images is configured to display images, The aforementioned information processing device is The searched design changes and the intent behind the design changes are analyzed from the perspectives of environmental friendliness, reliability, cost, and delivery time, and an image showing the summarized design changes and the intent behind the design changes, organized based on the analysis results, is displayed on the display device. It is configured in such a way. Design support equipment.

15. A design support method using an information processing device having a memory device, The storage device stores a design database containing information about design deliverables. The aforementioned information processing device receives input regarding the design changes and product feature information. The information processing device searches the design database for design deliverables related to the design change portion and the product feature information based on the design change portion and the product feature information, summarizes the design changes and design change intentions of the retrieved design deliverables to create summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions, obtains sorting reference time information corresponding to the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions, and stores the summarized design changes and summarized design change intentions in the storage device as analysis results, associating them with the sorting reference time information. Design support method.

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