Wiring design system and wiring design method

Abstract

To provide a wiring design having an automatic positioning function of a relay terminal block for suppressing wiring length.SOLUTION: A design information DB 40 stores information including information representing a plurality of candidate positions in which a plurality of relay terminal blocks equipped with a plurality of relay terminals may be disposed in a housing, and information specifying terminals to become a plurality of connecting destinations, the interconnect targets, for every electric connection. A wiring length calculation section 335 acquires, corresponding to electric connections for introducing a relay terminal block, predicted wiring length values of a plurality of electric wires for interconnecting a plurality of connection terminals under a state where an arrangement position of the relay terminal block is defined as one of the plurality of candidate positions. When the relay terminal block is arranged at each of the plurality of candidate positions, a relay terminal block installation position determination section 336 determines the arrangement positions of the relay terminal blocks from the plurality of candidate positions based on comparison of the predicted wiring length values calculated by the wiring length calculation section 335.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wiring design system and a wiring design method. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing environment of panel systems such as control panels, wiring work is required to ensure electrical connections between on-board devices. Typically, wiring between terminals using electric wires (cables) is required to connect power wiring and to send and receive signals between devices.

[0003] Generally, such cable wiring is done according to an electrical circuit diagram that is separate from the drawing (assembly drawing) showing the panel structure and the installation position of the equipment. In recent years, due to factors such as the miniaturization of mounted equipment and a shortage of skilled workers, there is an increasing need to create such electrical circuit diagrams so that workers can easily understand the contents of the wiring work.

[0004] As part of such technology, International Publication No. 2017 / 149652 (Patent Document 1) describes a program for wiring a wire harness that is provided to perform wiring work of a wire harness in a short period of time without requiring skill.

[0005] According to the wiring work program of Patent Document 1, in a virtual route space showing all the wiring routes of the wire harness, wiring process selection buttons are displayed corresponding to the order of the wiring processes, so that the worker is visually informed of the correspondence of the current process to the entire process. Furthermore, in response to the operation of the wiring process selection button, the wiring position of the corresponding wire harness is displayed superimposed on the virtual route space. In this way, by visually informing the worker of information related to the wiring work of the wire harness, it is possible to shorten the wiring work of the wire harness without requiring skill. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2017 / 149652 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] On the other hand, in the above-mentioned wiring work, there are cases where the overall electrical connections required between all of the on-board devices cannot be ensured by direct cable connections due to restrictions such as the number of electric wires that can be connected to each terminal of the on-board devices and the diameter of the electric wires, etc. In such cases, it is necessary to ensure the overall electrical connections by using a relay terminal block having multiple relay terminals that are electrically interconnected.

[0008] Furthermore, in recent years, as the functions of control panels have become more diverse, there has been an increasing demand for smaller, lighter, and cheaper control panels. As a result, the volume ratio of devices inside the control panel housing has increased, and there is a demand for a reduction in the wiring paths of the electric wires (harnesses) and even shorter electric wires. In response to this, when the above-mentioned relay terminal block is introduced, the wiring length changes depending on the placement position. For this reason, it is necessary to position the relay terminal block in order to suppress the wiring length, but there is a concern that if the positioning is designed manually, the design load will increase significantly.

[0009] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a wiring design system and a wiring design method having an automatic positioning function for relay terminal blocks to reduce wiring length. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In one aspect of the present invention, a system for designing wiring between a plurality of devices stored in a housing includes an information storage unit and a design information processing unit. The information storage unit stores design information indicating the contents of a plurality of electrical connections designed in advance between the plurality of devices. The design information processing unit uses the design information to design a connection mode between a plurality of terminals of the plurality of devices. The design information includes terminal block candidate position information, connection information, and structure information for determining an available space for arranging electric wires in the housing. The terminal block candidate position information indicates a plurality of candidate positions in the housing where a plurality of relay terminal blocks equipped with a plurality of relay terminals can be arranged. The connection information includes, for each electrical connection, position information of a plurality of terminals to be connected to each other, information on the necessity of introducing a relay terminal block in the electrical connection, and information on the connection correspondence relationship between a plurality of connection destinations and a plurality of relay terminals when the relay terminal block is introduced. The design information processing unit includes a wiring length calculation unit and a relay terminal block position determination unit. The wiring length calculation unit uses the connection information, the structure information, and the terminal block candidate position information to perform a prediction calculation of the wiring lengths of a plurality of electric wires for interconnecting a plurality of connection destinations when the placement position of the relay terminal block is determined to be one of the plurality of candidate positions, corresponding to the electrical connection into which the relay terminal block is introduced. The relay terminal block position determination unit determines the placement position of the relay terminal block from the plurality of candidate positions based on a comparison of the predicted wiring lengths obtained by the wiring length calculation unit when the relay terminal block is placed at each of the plurality of candidate positions.

[0011] In another aspect of the present invention, a method for designing wiring between a plurality of devices stored in a housing includes the steps of: extracting design information indicating the contents of a plurality of electrical connections designed in advance between the plurality of devices from a database; and using the design information to design a connection mode between a plurality of terminals of the plurality of devices. The design information includes terminal block candidate position information, connection information, and structure information for determining an available space for arranging electric wires in the housing. The terminal block candidate position information indicates a plurality of candidate positions in the housing where a plurality of relay terminal blocks equipped with a plurality of relay terminals can be arranged. The connection information includes, for each electrical connection, position information of a plurality of terminals to be connected to each other, information on the necessity of introducing a relay terminal block in the electrical connection, and information on the connection correspondence relationship between the plurality of connection destinations and the plurality of relay terminals when the relay terminal block is introduced. The designing step includes a step of using connection information, structural information, and terminal block candidate position information to perform a predictive calculation of the wiring lengths of multiple electric wires for interconnecting multiple connection destinations when the placement position of the relay terminal block is determined to be one of multiple candidate positions, corresponding to the electrical connection into which the relay terminal block will be introduced, and a step of determining the placement position of the relay terminal block from the multiple candidate positions based on a comparison of predicted wiring length values ​​obtained by the predictive calculation when the relay terminal block is placed at each of the multiple candidate positions. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present disclosure, by performing a wiring length prediction calculation when each of a plurality of candidate positions for the relay terminal block is set, a wiring design having an automatic positioning function for the relay terminal block to suppress the wiring length can be realized. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a wiring design system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the structure of a control panel to which the wiring design system is applied; [Diagram 3]2 is a table illustrating an example of a data structure of design information read out from the design information DB of FIG. 1; [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of connection information between devices. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a control process by the wiring design system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 6 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a relay terminal block position determination process and a wiring route confirmation process shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of selecting a wiring route for electrical connection without using a relay terminal block. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wiring design system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] 9 is a table for explaining an example of a data structure of design information read out from the design information DB of FIG. 8. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the layers of electrical connections in the second embodiment. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a relay terminal block position determination process and a wiring route confirmation process in the wiring design system according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference characters, and their description will not be repeated in principle.

[0015] Embodiment 1 1, the wiring design system 1a according to the first embodiment includes an input device 10, an output device 20, a processing device 30, and a design information database (DB) 40. The wiring design system 1a can be used to design board systems such as control boards and power boards. As will be described later, the wiring design system 1a has an automatic positioning function for relay terminal blocks.

[0016] The input device 10 is provided for a development worker to input operations for storing information in the memory unit 32 of the processing device 30 and operations for commanding the execution of processing of each function described below. For example, the input device 10 can be configured with a keyboard (KB), a mouse, a microphone, etc. It is also possible to configure the input device 10 so that at least a part of the information stored in the memory unit 32 is input from an auxiliary storage device such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory or a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), or from another device via a receiving interface such as a parallel bus or serial bus, or a network.

[0017] The output device 20 is provided so that a development worker can check the information input from the input device 10 and the information stored in the memory unit 32 of the processing device 30. For example, the output device 20 is configured to include a liquid crystal display, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like. Alternatively, the output device 20 may include a printer or plotter that prints information in the form of characters, images, or the like.

[0018] The processing device 30 typically includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), and further includes a storage unit 32.

[0019] The storage unit 32 has a function of temporarily storing information input to the input device 10, information output from the output device 20, and information required by the design information processing unit 33. Furthermore, the storage unit 32 stores various information required for the wiring design system 1a to operate. For example, the storage unit 32 can be configured by a hard disk device, a replaceable magnetic storage device, or a semiconductor storage device.

[0020] The processing device 30 has an arithmetic processing unit 31 and a design information processing unit 33, which are realized by the execution of a program by the CPU. The arithmetic processing unit 31 has a general function of software processing, such as receiving information from the storage unit 32 according to a command input to the input device 10, and passing the information to the design information processing unit 33 and the output device 20.

[0021] Before describing the design information processing unit 33 that realizes the main functions of the present disclosure, the configuration of a control panel to which the automatic wiring design according to the present disclosure is applied will be described with reference to FIG. 2 which shows an example of the structure of a general control panel, etc.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the control panel 100 includes a housing 110, a plurality of devices 120 stored in the internal space of the housing 110, electric wires (cables) 130 for connecting between the devices 120, and a structure 140 such as a partition plate and a relay terminal block 150 arranged inside the housing 110.

[0023] The devices 120 include power supplies, relays, switches, meters, inverters, etc. Each device 120 may be a single device, or may be a device in which multiple devices are integrated into one unit, as described below. Each device 120 is attached to the housing 110 or the structure 140, and has a terminal (not shown) for ensuring electrical connection between the devices 120 and the other devices 120 via the electric wires 130.

[0024] Incidentally, all of the electrical connections required between the multiple devices 120 in the control panel 100 are defined in advance by an electrical circuit diagram or the like. Also, the internal structure of the control panel 100, i.e., the positional information of the housing 110, the structure 140, and the multiple devices 120, as well as the positional information of each terminal of the multiple devices 120, are defined in advance by general three-dimensional CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. That is, the wiring design system according to this embodiment is premised on the ability to acquire design information for wiring, such as information related to these electrical connections and positional information.

[0025] The terminals of the device 120 are directly connected by an electric wire 130 or are electrically connected via a relay terminal block 150 .

[0026] 2, the relay terminal block 150 has a plurality of relay terminals 152 (152a to 152d in FIG. 2) and at least one current-carrying conductor 154 (154a, 154b in FIG. 2). The current-carrying conductor 154 can be formed of, for example, an electric wire or a metal plate.

[0027] 2, the relay terminals 152a to 152c are interconnected by the current-carrying conductor 154a, and the relay terminals 152d and 152e are interconnected by the current-carrying conductor 154b. This allows electrical interconnection between the terminal Tx connected to the relay terminal 152a, the terminal Ty connected to the relay terminal 152b, and the terminal Tz connected to the relay terminal 152c via the relay terminal block 150.

[0028] Similarly, the terminal Tw connected to the relay terminal 152d and the terminal Tv connected to the relay terminal 152e can be electrically connected via the relay terminal block 150, independently of the terminals Tx to Tz.

[0029] Next, the design information processing unit 33 will be further described with reference to FIG.

[0030] The design information processing unit 33 includes a device information storage unit 330 , a connection information storage unit 331 , a relay terminal block information storage unit 332 , a structure information storage unit 333 , a relay terminal block setting unit 334 , a wiring length calculation unit 335 , and a relay terminal block installation position determination unit 336 .

[0031] As described above, the typical components of a control panel are the housing 110 and structure 140 as fixing members, the equipment 120 stored in the internal space of the housing, the electric wires 130 connecting the equipment together, and the relay terminal block 150. However, in this embodiment, information relating to other design elements not directly mentioned can also be used as necessary.

[0032] The device information storage unit 330 has a function of storing information on the shape of each device 120 mounted in the control panel 100 and the number of terminals provided on each device 120 to which the electric wires 130 are connected, as well as device-specific information required for connecting the electric wires, such as the number of connectable electric wires assigned to each terminal and the diameter of the connectable electric wires.

[0033] 2, the relay terminal block information storage unit 332 has a function of storing information for each of the multiple relay terminal blocks 150 that can be used in wiring design, specifically, information specific to the relay terminal block 150 required for wire connection, such as the number of relay terminals 152 possessed by each relay terminal block 150, the number of short-circuitable terminals that are mutually connected by current-carrying conductors 154 to have the same potential, the diameter of connectable electric wires, and the number of electric wires that can be connected per relay terminal 152. Furthermore, the relay terminal block information storage unit 332 stores information related to multiple predetermined candidate positions for installing the relay terminal block 150.

[0034] The connection information storage unit 331 has a function of storing electrical connection information between a plurality of terminals of the devices 120 for each of a plurality of electrical connections (all) required between a plurality of devices 120 in the control panel 100 that have been designed in advance. As will be described later, the connection information includes information on the relay terminal blocks 150 used for each electrical connection.

[0035] The structural information storage unit 333 has a function of storing structural information for obtaining a wiring space. As described later, the structural information includes information indicating the presence area of ​​the housing 110 and the structure 140. For example, in a three-dimensional space, a spatial area obtained by excluding the presence areas of the device 120 and the structure 140 from the internal space of the housing 110 can be set as the wiring space, i.e., the area where the electric wire 130 can be arranged.

[0036] The relay terminal block setting unit 334 has a function of setting, for each relay terminal block 150 to be introduced, a connection correspondence relationship between each connection destination terminal and each relay terminal 152, based on the connection information and the relay terminal block information. As a result, each combination of terminals and relay terminals 152 to be subjected to prediction calculation in the wiring length calculation unit 335 is developed.

[0037] The wiring length calculation unit 335 performs a prediction calculation of the wiring distance between the terminal (connection destination) and the relay terminal 125, taking into account the positional relationship with the wiring space obtained from the structural information, for each connection correspondence relationship set by the relay terminal block setting unit 334.

[0038] The relay terminal block installation position determination unit 336 has a function of determining the placement position of each relay terminal block 150 from multiple possible installation candidates, using the wiring distance prediction value calculated by the wiring length calculation unit 335, so that the total wiring length is suppressed.

[0039] The design information DB 40 corresponds to a collection of data that includes design information held by a known design device such as the control panel 100, a CAD system for designing a so-called structural design, and information required for manufacturing the control panel 100, as well as information required by the wiring setting system according to the present embodiment. The design information DB 40 corresponds to one example of the "information storage unit."

[0040] FIG. 3 shows an example of the data structure of the design information read out from the design information DB 40 to the processing device 30. In FIG.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 3, the design information stored in the design information DB 40 includes equipment information, relay terminal block information, terminal block candidate position information, connection information, and, as an example of structural information, panel casing outline information and pillar / structural body information.

[0042] As device information relating to the multiple devices 120, a device ID is assigned to each of the multiple devices 120, and for each device ID, dimensional information (width, height, depth) of the device 120 and the number of terminals for electrical connection (number of connection terminals) are stored.

[0043] Furthermore, a terminal ID is assigned to each terminal of each device 120. For each terminal ID, three-dimensional position information of the device terminal, and information on the number of connectable electric wires and the diameter of the electric wires are stored.

[0044] For each terminal, the minimum required wire diameter is specified according to the current value to be passed and the voltage value to be applied. Meanwhile, the maximum diameter of the connectable wire is also specified due to the structural constraints of the device 120. Based on these, the connectable wire diameter is preset for each device terminal (each terminal ID).

[0045] As the relay terminal block information, a terminal block ID is assigned to each relay terminal block 150 that is a candidate for use. The number of block terminals is stored for each terminal block ID. For example, in the relay terminal block 150 illustrated in Fig. 2, the group of relay terminals 152a to 152c and the group of relay terminals 152d and 152e can each be electrically connected to each other, so the number of block terminals is "2". Furthermore, for each block terminal, the number of short-circuitable terminals, the diameter (range) of connectable electric wires, and the number of connectable electric wires are stored.

[0046] For example, for a "base terminal" consisting of relay terminals 152a-152c in Fig. 2, the number of short-circuitable terminals is "3", and the logical sum of the conditions related to the total number of connectable terminals to relay terminals 152a-152c and the range of connectable electric wire diameters is stored. Also, for a "base terminal" consisting of relay terminals 152d and 152e in Fig. 2, the number of short-circuitable terminals is "2", and similarly, the logical sum of the total number of connectable terminals to relay terminals 152d and 152e and the range of connectable electric wire diameters is stored.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal block installation candidate information is such that a candidate position ID is assigned to each of a plurality of terminal block installation candidates, and for each ID, reference position coordinates (x, y, z) and length and width information for identifying the area of ​​the candidate position are stored.

[0048] Furthermore, a connection ID is assigned to each electrical connection as connection information defining the electrical connection between devices 120. For each connection ID, N pieces of connection destination information (N: an integer of 2 or more) specifying multiple connection destinations to be interconnected and signal constraint information are stored. Each piece of connection destination information is associated with the connection ID, making it possible to obtain attribute information required for connecting electric wires to terminals of the connection destinations (e.g., terminal position coordinates, and the number and diameter of electric wires that can be connected).

[0049] The signal constraint information is information indicating whether or not the transmission of a reset signal, a collective stop signal, or the like corresponds to an electrical connection in which serial connection of wires between devices 120 (daisy chain) is prohibited due to specifications. Due to product reliability restrictions, predetermined signals such as the above-mentioned reset signal and collective stop signal are required to be distributed in parallel from the signal-emitting terminal to the terminals of each device, that is, to be distributed by connecting the terminals in parallel. Therefore, when there is a signal constraint, the electrical connection is realized using the relay terminal block 150. The signal constraint information indicates whether or not each connection ID corresponds to an electrical connection for transmitting the above-mentioned predetermined signal.

[0050] Furthermore, each connection ID stores information on whether or not a relay terminal block 150 is required in the interconnection of N connection destinations, and if one or more relay terminal blocks 150 are introduced, the ID of each relay terminal block 150 and the terminal ID of the connection destination for each relay terminal 152 of that relay terminal block ID are stored.

[0051] FIG. 4 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of connection information between devices.

[0052] 4, the device 120a has terminals Ta1 and Ta2, the device 120b has terminals Tb1 to Tb3, the device 120c has terminals Tc1 and Tc2, and the device 120d has terminals Td1, Td2 to Td3. The relay terminal block 150a has relay terminals 152a to 152c.

[0053] It is assumed that three electrical connections are defined in advance among the devices 120a to 120d, and an individual connection ID is assigned to each of the electrical connections.

[0054] For example, the electrical connection of terminals Ta1, Tb3, and Tc2 is assigned a connection ID of "IDx1". For IDx1, terminals Ta1, Tb3, and Tc2 are stored as connection destinations 1 to 3. Furthermore, for IDx1, it is set that relay terminal block 150a is introduced, and that relay terminal 152a is connected to terminal Ta1, relay terminal 152b is connected to terminal Tc2, and relay terminal 152c is connected to terminal Tb3, and these connection correspondences are stored as part of the connection information. Note that the combinations of these relay terminals 152a to 152c and terminals Ta1, Tc2, and Tb3 are determined based on the above-mentioned information on each device terminal and relay terminal block information, specifically, the number of connectable electric wires and the information on the diameter of the electric wires.

[0055] Similarly, the electrical connection of terminals Ta2, Tb1, and Tc1 is assigned a connection ID of "IDx2." For IDx2, terminals Ta2, Tb1, and Tc1 are stored as connection destinations 1 to 3. Furthermore, for IDx2, it is determined that the relay terminal block 150 is not introduced, that is, the terminals Ta1, Tb1, and Tc1 are connected by the electric wire 130, and this is stored as part of the connection information.

[0056] In addition, in electrical connections between three or more terminals without using the relay terminal block 150, there is a degree of freedom in the arrangement of the electric wires 130. That is, in the example of Fig. 4, terminals Ta1 and Tb1 are connected by an electric wire 130a, and terminals Tb1 and Tc1 are connected by an electric wire 130b, but as long as there is no problem in the number of electric wires that can be connected to each terminal and the diameter of the electric wires, it is also possible to use an arrangement different from the above in which two terminals are connected by two electric wires.

[0057] Moreover, the electrical connection between the terminals Tb2 and Td1 is assigned the connection ID "IDx3". For IDx3, the terminals Tb2 and Td1 are stored as the connection destination 1 and the connection destination 2, and it is determined that the relay terminal block 150 is not introduced. This information is also stored as part of the connection information.

[0058] Returning to Fig. 3, structural information for determining the wiring space is read from the design information DB 40 to the processing device 30. In the example of Fig. 3, the structural information includes panel case outer shape information and structure information. In addition, the position information indicating the existence area of ​​the device 120 described above is also included as part of the structural information for determining the wiring space.

[0059] The panel housing outer shape information stores reference position coordinates (x, y, z) and thickness, height, and depth information for identifying the presence area of ​​each wall surface of the housing 110 in a three-dimensional space. The structural information stores an ID for each of the structures 140 such as the pillars, partitions, and shelves shown in Fig. 2, and stores reference position coordinates (x, y, z) and orientation, length, width, and thickness information for identifying the presence area of ​​the structure 140 for each ID. As described above, the structural information can be used to determine the wiring space, i.e., the arrangement area of ​​the electric wires 130.

[0060] Next, an operation example of the wiring design system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. The control process shown in the flowcharts of Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 can be realized by software processing in which the processing device 30 (Fig. 1) executes a program stored in advance.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 5, in step (hereinafter simply referred to as “S”) 110, the processing device 30 extracts design information for the control panel 100 that is the subject of wiring design, which is specified by user input to the input device 10, from the design information DB 40.

[0062] Furthermore, at S120, the processing device 30 stores the device information of the design information extracted at S110 in the device information storage unit 330, and stores the connection information in the connection information storage unit 331. At S130, the processing device 30 stores, in the structure information storage unit 333, the structure information for obtaining the wiring space from the design information extracted at S110.

[0063] Furthermore, in S140, the processing device 30 stores the relay terminal block information and the terminal block candidate position information from the design information extracted in S110 in the relay terminal block information storage unit 332. Following S120 to S140, the processing device 30 executes a setting process for the relay terminal block 150 in S150. In S150, the relay terminal block setting unit 334 determines the connection correspondence relationship between each connection destination terminal and each relay terminal 152 for each relay terminal block 150 to be introduced based on the connection information and the relay terminal block information.

[0064] The processor 30 executes the relay terminal block position determination process in S200 and the connection mode confirmation process in S300 in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 6, S200 for the relay terminal block position determination process in FIG. 5 includes S210 to S290, and S300 for the connection mode determination process includes S310 to S330.

[0066] In S210, the processing device 30 uses the structural information stored in S130 to determine a wiring space within the three-dimensional space inside the housing 100. The predicted calculation of the wiring length in S250, which will be described later, is performed after restricting the route of the electric wire 130 within the wiring space.

[0067] In S215, the processing device 30 sorts the multiple connection IDs included in the connection information stored in S120 in descending order of the number of connection destinations (N). Furthermore, connection IDs with the same connection destination (N) are sorted in descending order of the number of devices 120 including the connection destinations. In this way, the multiple connection IDs are sorted in descending order of the number of terminals and devices of the connection destinations.

[0068] In S220, the processing device 30 sets one connection ID out of the multiple connection IDs in order according to the sorting order in S215. In S230, the processing device 30 determines whether or not the electrical connection for realizing the connection ID set in S220 requires the introduction of the relay terminal block 150. The determination in S220 is made based on information indicating the necessity of the relay terminal block 150, which is included in the connection information.

[0069] For a connection ID in which the relay terminal block 150 is introduced (YES in S230), the processing device 30 performs the processes of S240 to S280 to determine the placement position of the relay terminal block 150. On the other hand, for a connection ID in which the relay terminal block 150 is not introduced (NO in S230), the processing device 30 selects a wiring route in S310 and S320, which will be described later.

[0070] In S240, the processing device 30 sequentially sets one of a plurality of candidate position IDs indicating a plurality of terminal block installation possible candidates. In S250, a prediction calculation is performed for the wiring length of the electric wire 130 connecting the relay terminal block 150 and the N connection destinations (terminals) according to the connection correspondence relationship between at least one relay terminal 152 and the N connection destinations when the relay terminal block 150 is placed at the position corresponding to the candidate position ID set in S240. The sum of the wiring length prediction value by S250 is temporarily stored in association with the candidate position ID by S260.

[0071] When the processing device 30 executes the processes of S250 and S260 for the candidate position IDs set in S240, it determines in S270 whether the processes of S250 and S260 have been completed for all candidate position IDs and whether predicted wiring lengths have been obtained.

[0072] If there remains any candidate location ID for which a wire length prediction value has not been obtained, a NO determination is made in S270, and the process returns to S240 to switch the setting of the candidate location ID. As a result, the processes of S240 to S260 are repeated until the wire length prediction calculation is applied to all candidate location IDs.

[0073] When the wire length prediction values ​​are obtained for all the candidate position IDs, a YES determination is made in S270, and the process proceeds to S280. At this point, the wire length prediction values ​​corresponding to the candidate position IDs set in sequence in S240 are stored.

[0074] In S280, the processing device 30 extracts one candidate position ID based on a comparison of the multiple wiring length prediction values ​​stored in S260. For example, the candidate position ID corresponding to the minimum value of the multiple wiring length prediction values ​​is extracted. Then, the terminal block candidate position corresponding to the extracted candidate position ID is selected as the position of the relay terminal block 150 used for that connection ID. Note that the candidate position ID once selected in S280 is excluded from the design target in the subsequent processing in S240, i.e., from the terminal block installation candidates of other relay terminal blocks 150.

[0075] Furthermore, if the connection ID set in S210 is for introducing multiple relay terminal blocks 150, the placement positions of each relay terminal block 150 can be selected by executing the processes of S240 to S280 in the order of the relay terminal block 150 with the most connections.

[0076] On the other hand, for a connection ID in which the relay terminal block 150 is not installed (NO in S230), the processor 30 determines in S310 combinations of two connection destinations that can be connected by the electric wire 130 from among the multiple connection destinations (connection destination 1 to connection destination N) included in the connection ID, based on the number of electric wires that can be connected to each terminal and the wire diameter. Furthermore, for each combination, a predicted calculation of the wiring length between the two connection destinations is performed in the same manner as in S250. A plurality of wiring routes are indicated by these combinations.

[0077] Furthermore, in S320, the processing device 30 selects a wiring route with the minimum wiring length based on the comparison of the predicted wiring length values of each of the plurality of wiring routes obtained in S310. As a result, even for a connection ID (electrical connection) where the relay terminal block 150 is not introduced, a wiring route that suppresses the wiring length can be selected.

[0078] FIG. 7 shows a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of wiring route selection in S320.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 7, for an electrical connection (connection ID) including terminals T1 to T3 at the connection destination, the predicted wiring length value D12 between terminals T1 and T2, the predicted wiring length value D13 between terminals T1 and T3, and the predicted wiring length value D23 between terminals T2 and T3 are calculated in S310 according to the combination of two terminals at a time. Here, it is assumed that the wire diameters of terminals T1 to T3 are the same.

[0080] In order to electrically connect terminals T1 to T3 without using the relay terminal block 150, it is necessary to connect two of the terminals T1 to T3 with two wires 130a and 130b. In the example of FIG. 7, it is assumed that D12 < D13 < D23. In FIG. 7, for ease of explanation, the straight-line distance between the terminals is denoted as the equivalent of the wiring length, but actually, it should be noted that the wiring length does not simply represent the straight-line distance due to restrictions imposed by the shapes of the device 120 and the structure 140, etc., and the positional relationship with the available wiring space defined by the duct arrangement, etc.

[0081] FIG. 7(a) shows a wiring route connecting between terminals T1 and T3 and between terminals T2 and T3 with wires 130a and 130b, and FIG. 7(b) shows a wiring route connecting between terminals T1 and T3 and between terminals T1 and T2 with wires 130a and 130c.

[0082] In the example of FIG. 7, since D12 + D13 is the minimum among D12 + D13, D13 + D23, and D12 + D23, in S320, the wiring route in FIG. 7(b) will be selected.

[0083] Returning to FIG. 6, when the process of S280 for a connection ID into which a relay terminal block is to be installed or the process of S320 for a connection ID into which a relay terminal block is not to be installed is completed, the process proceeds to S290.

[0084] In S290, the processor 30 judges whether or not the setting of all the connection IDs has been completed in S220. Until all the connection IDs have been set in S220 (NO in S290), the process returns to S210. In S210, the next connection ID is set according to the sorting order in S215.

[0085] As a result, at the stage where the setting of all connection IDs is completed in S220 (YES judgement in S290), the arrangement positions of each relay terminal block 150 can be determined so that, for all connection IDs to which the relay terminal block 150 is introduced, relay terminal blocks 150 with a large number of connection destinations are given priority and terminal block installation candidates with the smallest predicted wiring length are selected in sequence. As a result, the arrangement positions of all relay terminal blocks 150 and the predicted wiring length between each relay terminal 152 and each connection destination are determined.

[0086] Furthermore, when the judgment of S290 is YES, for all connection IDs in which the relay terminal block 150 is not introduced, a wiring route for reducing the wiring length has been selected, and the wiring length of the electric wire 130 connecting the terminals has been determined.

[0087] When the determination in S290 is YES, the processing device 30 can determine the connection mode between the N connection destinations for each connection ID in which the total wiring length is suppressed by S330. Furthermore, for each of the determined electrical connections, it is possible to create a list of predicted wiring lengths of each electric wire 130. The determination result obtained in S300 can be output by the output device 20.

[0088] In this way, according to the wiring design system of embodiment 1, in a wiring design for ensuring electrical connection between the terminals of a plurality of predefined devices 120, the position of the relay terminal block 150 can be automatically set so as to minimize the predicted wiring length, so that the wiring length can be suppressed without increasing the design burden on the development workers.

[0089] At this time, by executing the processes of S220 to S280 in order from the connection ID with the most connection destinations, the arrangement position of the relay terminal block 150 to be introduced into the electrical connection with the most connection destinations can be determined preferentially based on the wiring length prediction value. This makes it possible to suppress the overall wiring length related to the relay terminal block 150 introduced into multiple connection IDs.

[0090] Furthermore, even for electrical connections in which the relay terminal block 150 is not introduced, by selecting a wiring route that minimizes the predicted wiring length, the wiring length can be suppressed while further reducing the design burden on the development workers.

[0091] Embodiment 2 In recent years, in control panels, multiple devices are integrated into one unit to improve ease of installation and replacement. Hereinafter, the unitized unit housed in the same case is referred to as a "subunit." For example, in the structural example of FIG. 2, at least some of the devices 120 are configured as subunits including multiple devices housed inside a case.

[0092] As shown in Fig. 8, the wiring design system 1b according to the second embodiment differs from the wiring design system 1a according to the first embodiment in that the design information processing unit 33 of the processing device 30 further includes a subunit information storage unit 337 in addition to the device information storage unit 330, connection information storage unit 331, relay terminal block information storage unit 332, structure information storage unit 333, relay terminal block setting unit 334, wiring length calculation unit 335, and relay terminal block installation position determination unit 336 shown in Fig. 1. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, information read from the design information DB 40 to the processing device 30 is added.

[0093] FIG. 11 shows an example of a data structure of the design information read out by the processing device 30 from the design information DB 40 of FIG.

[0094] As shown in FIG. 11, in embodiment 2, in addition to the equipment information, relay terminal block information, terminal block candidate position information, connection information, and structural information (panel casing outline information and structure information) similar to embodiment 1 (FIG. 4), subunit information is read out from the design information DB 40 to the processing device 30.

[0095] The subunit information stores information (e.g., device ID) that identifies device 1 to device M (M: integer equal to or greater than 2) included in the subunit in correspondence with an ID given to each subunit, and the reference coordinates (x, y, z), width, depth, and height of a case in which the subunit is stored. In the second embodiment, the position information of the case is also used as part of structural information for determining the space in which wiring is possible.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 10, in the second embodiment, the electrical connections between terminals are classified into connections within the subunit, connections with the outside of the subunit, and connections between subunits.

[0097] In the example of Fig. 10, devices 120w, 120x, 120y, and 120z housed in a case 125 are grouped into one unit to constitute a subunit 121. Fig. 10 illustrates five electrical connections with connection IDs IDy1, IDy2, and IDz1 to IDz3. Of these electrical connections, the electrical connections indicated by IDy1 and IDy2 connect the devices 120w to 120y and the devices 120x and 120y within the same subunit 121.

[0098] On the other hand, the electrical connection with a connection ID of IDz1 connects the terminal Tz1 of the device 120z to an external connection destination of the subunit 121. Similarly, the electrical connections with connection IDs of IDz2 and IDz3 connect the terminals Tw1 and Tw2 of the device 120w to external connection destinations of the subunit 121.

[0099] In the wiring design system according to the second embodiment, the processing device 30 also executes the processes of S110 to S150, S200, and S300 shown in Fig. 5. In the second embodiment, the control process of S200 is changed to the contents shown in Fig. 11.

[0100] As shown in FIG. 11, in the second embodiment, in addition to the control processes shown in FIG. 6, the process of S225 is executed between S220 and S230.

[0101] In S225, the processor 30 judges whether the electrical connection by the connection ID set in S220 is completed within the subunit, that is, whether it is a connection within the subunit. As a result, in the example of Fig. 10, when the connection ID is IDy1 or IDy2, the judgment in S225 is YES. On the other hand, when the connection ID is any of IDz1 to IDz3, the judgment in S225 is NO.

[0102] For example, in S225, it can be determined whether or not the devices to which the N connection destination terminals included in the set connection ID belong are included in the same subunit by referring to the subunit information.

[0103] When the electrical connection based on the connection ID set in S220 is not a connection within the subunit (NO in S225), the processor 30 executes the processes of S230 to S280 similar to those in the first embodiment for that connection ID.

[0104] On the other hand, when the electrical connection based on the connection ID set in S220 is a connection within the subunit (YES in S225), the processing device 30 skips the processes of S230 to S280 and proceeds to S290. As a result, the connection between terminals within the subunit is excluded from the selection of the position of the relay terminal block 150 and the selection of the wiring route for reducing the wiring length, as described in the first embodiment.

[0105] As a result, the wiring design system according to the second embodiment can automatically set the position of the relay terminal block 150 or select a wiring route so as to minimize the predicted wiring length in wiring design for ensuring electrical connection between the subunits 121, or between the subunits 121 and other devices 120, with the subunits 121 being a single unit of multiple devices. This makes it possible to suppress the wiring length without increasing the design load on the development worker.

[0106] 4 and 9 in the first and second embodiments may include dummy connections that connect terminals that do not need to be connected in the current design stage. For example, by adding a connection ID of a dummy connection that includes a specific device and terminal that are likely to have an increased number of device connections due to a later design change, etc., it is possible to provide a spare relay terminal block 150 that can be used in response to the design change.

[0107] Further, in the first and second embodiments, examples of wiring design in the control panel 100 have been described, but the wiring design pattern and wiring design method according to the present disclosure can be applied not only to the control panel 100 but also to the wiring design of any device having multiple electrically connected devices.

[0108] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The technical scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0109] 1a, 1b Wiring design system, 10 Input device, 20 Output device, 30 Processing device, 31 Calculation processing unit, 32 Storage unit, 33 Design information processing unit, 40 Design information DB, 100 Control panel, 110 Housing, 120, 120a to 120d, 120w to 120z Equipment, 121 Subunit, 125 Case, 130, 130a, 130b Electric wire, 140 Structure, 152, 152a to 152e Relay terminal, 154, 154a, 154b Current-carrying conductor, 330 Equipment information storage unit, 331 Connection information storage unit, 332 Relay terminal block information storage unit, 333 Structure information storage unit, 334 Relay terminal block setting unit, 335 Wiring length calculation unit, 336 Relay terminal block installation position determination unit, 337 Subunit information storage section, T1~T3, Ta1, Ta2, Tb1~Tb3, Tc1, Tc2, Td1, Td2, Tw1~Tw3, Tz1 terminals.

Claims

1. A wiring design system for a plurality of devices housed in a housing, comprising: an information storage unit in which design information indicating the contents of a plurality of electrical connections designed in advance between the plurality of devices is stored; a design information processing unit that uses the design information to design a connection mode between a plurality of terminals of the plurality of devices, The design information is Terminal block candidate position information indicating a plurality of candidate positions where a plurality of relay terminal blocks each having a plurality of relay terminals mounted thereon can be arranged within the housing; connection information including, for each of the electrical connections, position information of terminals to be connected as a plurality of connection destinations, information on whether the relay terminal block is required to be introduced in the electrical connection, and information on a connection correspondence relationship between the plurality of connection destinations and the plurality of relay terminals when the relay terminal block is introduced; structural information for determining an available space for arranging electric wires in the housing; The design information processing unit includes: a wiring length calculation unit that uses the connection information, the structure information, and the terminal block candidate position information to perform a prediction calculation of wiring lengths of a plurality of electric wires for interconnecting the plurality of connection destinations when the arrangement position of the intermediate terminal block is determined to be one of the plurality of candidate positions, in accordance with the electrical connection into which the intermediate terminal block is introduced; and a relay terminal block position determination unit that determines a placement position of the relay terminal block from the plurality of candidate positions based on a comparison of predicted wiring length values ​​obtained by the wiring length calculation unit when the relay terminal block is placed at each of the plurality of candidate positions.

2. 2. The wiring design system according to claim 1, wherein the relay terminal block position determination unit further determines, when there are multiple electrical connections into which the relay terminal block is to be introduced, preferentially determining a placement position of the relay terminal block to be introduced into the electrical connection having a greater number of connection destinations.

3. the wiring length calculation unit, in response to an electrical connection in which the relay terminal block is not introduced, uses the connection information and the structure information to perform a prediction calculation of a wiring length for each of a plurality of wiring routes for interconnecting the terminals that are the plurality of connection destinations of the electrical connection; The design information processing unit includes:

3. The wiring design system according to claim 1, further comprising: a wiring route for the electrical connection in which the relay terminal block is not introduced, the wiring route for the electrical connection having the shortest wiring length from among the plurality of wiring routes based on a comparison of predicted wiring length values ​​calculated by the wiring length calculation unit corresponding to each of the plurality of wiring routes.

4. At least a portion of the plurality of devices constitutes at least one subunit in which a plurality of the devices are housed in the same case; The design information is Further including subunit information for each of the subunits that identifies the plurality of devices included in the subunit; The wiring design system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the design information processing unit, based on the subunit information, excludes from the processing by the wiring length calculation unit and the relay terminal block position determination unit, electrical connections among the plurality of electrical connections whose destinations are included in equipment within the same subunit.

5. The wiring design system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plurality of electrical connections included in the connection information include dummy connections for electrically connecting terminals that do not require connection in the current design content.

6. A method for designing wiring between a plurality of devices housed in a housing, comprising the steps of: A step of extracting design information indicating contents of a plurality of pre-designed electrical connections between the plurality of devices from a database by a processor; and a step of designing a connection mode between a plurality of terminals of the plurality of devices by using the design information, The design information is Terminal block candidate position information indicating a plurality of candidate positions where a plurality of relay terminal blocks each having a plurality of relay terminals mounted thereon can be arranged within the housing; connection information including, for each of the electrical connections, position information of terminals to be connected as a plurality of connection destinations, information on whether the relay terminal block is required to be introduced in the electrical connection, and information on a connection correspondence relationship between the plurality of connection destinations and the plurality of relay terminals when the relay terminal block is introduced; structural information for determining an available space for arranging electric wires in the housing; The designing step includes: a step of executing, by the processor, a prediction calculation of wiring lengths of a plurality of electric wires for interconnecting the plurality of connection destinations when a placement position of the intermediate terminal block is determined to be one of the plurality of candidate positions, using the connection information, the structure information, and the terminal block candidate position information in correspondence with an electrical connection into which the intermediate terminal block is introduced; and determining a placement position of the relay terminal block from among the plurality of candidate positions based on a comparison of wiring length prediction values ​​obtained by the prediction calculation when the relay terminal block is placed at each of the plurality of candidate positions.

7. The designing step includes:

7. The wiring design method according to claim 6, further comprising a step in which, when there are a plurality of electrical connections into which the relay terminal block is to be introduced, the processor preferentially determines a placement position of the relay terminal block to be introduced into an electrical connection having a greater number of connection destinations.

8. The designing step includes: a step of executing, by the processor, a prediction calculation of a wiring length for each of a plurality of wiring routes for interconnecting the terminals that are the plurality of connection destinations of the electrical connection in which the relay terminal block is not introduced, using the connection information and the structure information; 8. The wiring design method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of: determining, by the processor, a wiring route for the electrical connection in which the relay terminal block is not introduced, which has the shortest wiring length from among the plurality of wiring routes, based on a comparison of wiring length prediction values ​​obtained by the prediction calculation corresponding to each of the plurality of wiring routes.

9. At least a portion of the plurality of devices constitutes at least one subunit in which a plurality of the devices are housed in the same case; The design information is Further including subunit information for each of the subunits that identifies the plurality of devices included in the subunit; The designing step includes: The wiring design method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising a step in which the processor excludes, based on the subunit information, electrical connections among the plurality of electrical connections whose connection destinations are included in equipment in the same subunit from targets for the predicted calculation of the wiring length and the determination of the placement position of the relay terminal block.

10. The wiring design method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the plurality of electrical connections included in the connection information include a dummy connection for electrically connecting between terminals that do not need to be connected in a current design.

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