Chemical Substance Information Management Device and Chemical Substance Information Management Method

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of automatically and efficiently performing an extraction operation of a portion indicating a change between two pieces of data when comparing the two pieces of data. 【Solution means】The chemical substance information management device 1 includes a control unit 11 that compares a first piece of data and a second piece of data, both of which contain information on chemical substances, to detect a change between the two pieces of data. Both pieces of data have a plurality of pieces of information regarding the component configuration, and the plurality of pieces of information are classified into a plurality of hierarchies. The control unit 11 is configured to detect a change between the two pieces of data based on specific information (for example, a key information string) that can identify a component to be compared and that includes individual information (for example, key information) selected from the information of a plurality of hierarchies in each piece of data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technique for managing information on chemical substances (i.e., product-containing chemical substances) such as environmentally loaded substances used in vehicles, for example.

Background Art

[0002] Due to the increasing social concern about environmental issues and the strengthening of directives and regulations such as RoHS, product vendors (e.g., vehicle manufacturers) manage information on chemical substances contained in the products / parts they sell and comply with the directives / regulations. Note that RoHS is an abbreviation for Restriction of Hazardous Substances.

[0003] For example, when supplying parts (e.g., parent parts) to a consignee such as a vehicle manufacturer, if there is no information on all chemical substances at the consignee, an intermediate party such as a parts supplier may be requested to provide information on the chemical substance content. Also, when an intermediate party purchases child parts to make a parent part, the supplier of the child parts may be requested to provide information. Note that, for the information management of chemical substances contained in products, etc., a product-containing chemical substance management system (e.g., iPCA) may be used. Note that iPCA is an abbreviation for iPoint Compliance.

[0004] Here, for example, when a certain part is replaced with a new part, it is necessary to compare "data on the original part" and "data on the new part", confirm the changes between the two data, and check whether the data of the part to be changed has been replaced without omission.

[0005] Specifically, by comparing two sheets on which each data is output, while confirming the change points, information on the change points is reported to the reporting destination. For example, it is reported from an intermediate party to a consignee.

[0006] However, at present, these comparison operations are carried out manually, which requires a great deal of time. For the purpose of reducing this manual work, in recent years, when seeking information provision from the consignee to the middleman, a technique has been disclosed that can identify necessary information by detecting changes (for example, deletion / addition / update) in a parts list (that is, a list showing the composition of parts of a product, etc.) (see Patent Document 1 below).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] However, as a result of the inventor's detailed examination, the following problems were found with the conventional technology. In the above-described conventional technology, the part indicating the change (that is, the change point) is what is described in the parts list in advance, and it is not possible to automatically extract (that is, confirm) the change point by comparing the two pieces of data before and after editing. Therefore, it is not easy to perform the extraction work efficiently and effectively.

[0009] That is, in the conventional technology, it is not possible to automatically and efficiently extract the change points between "data related to the original parts" and "data related to the new parts", so further improvement in work efficiency in the comparison operation has been desired.

[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure aims to provide a technique that can automatically and efficiently perform the extraction work of the part indicating the change between two pieces of data when comparing the two pieces of data.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0011] a) One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a chemical substance information management apparatus that manages information on chemical substances included in components constituting a product. This chemical substance information management apparatus includes a change detection unit that compares first data and second data, which include information on the chemical substances, and detects changes between the two data. Further, the two data have a plurality of information regarding the configuration of the component, and the plurality of information is classified into a plurality of hierarchies.

[0012] Furthermore, the change detection unit creates specific information that includes individual information selected from the information of the plurality of hierarchies for each of the data and can identify the component to be compared, and is configured to detect changes between the two data based on the specific information.

[0013] With such a configuration, the chemical substance information management apparatus of the present disclosure can automatically and efficiently extract (i.e., confirm) a change point (i.e., difference) indicating the difference between first data such as data before editing regarding the original component and second data such as data after editing regarding the new component. Therefore, when managing chemical substances contained in a product, there is an effect that the work efficiency of the management is greatly improved.

[0014] That is, specific information (for example, a key information sequence composed of a plurality of key information) that can identify (i.e., uniquely determine) the comparison target (for example, a component) is created using individual information (for example, key information) selected from a plurality of hierarchies (i.e., a plurality of hierarchies configured to limit the upper hierarchy by the lower hierarchy). Then, by comparing the configurations of components to be compared and the like using the specific information, it is possible to easily detect change points between different data.

[0015] b) Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a chemical substance information management method for managing information on chemical substances included in components constituting a product. In this chemical substance information management method, when comparing first data and second data that include information on the chemical substances, both data have a plurality of information on the configuration of the component, and the plurality of information uses data divided into a plurality of hierarchies. For each of the data, individual information selected from the information of the plurality of hierarchies is included, and specific information capable of identifying the component to be compared is created, and based on the specific information, a change between the two data is detected.

[0016] Another aspect of the present disclosure can automatically and efficiently extract change points indicating differences between first data and second data, similar to the above aspect. Therefore, when managing chemical substances contained in a product, the work efficiency of the management is greatly improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

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

[0019] [1-1. Overall Configuration] As shown in FIG. 1, the chemical substance information management device 1 of the present embodiment includes an arithmetic processing device 3 such as a well-known personal computer, an input device 5 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display device 7 which is a display unit such as a display. This arithmetic processing device 3 can communicate with other computers via, for example, a LAN or the like, and can also communicate with external computers or the like via a wide area communication network such as the Internet.

[0020] [1-2. Configuration of Each Part] Hereinafter, each configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the arithmetic processing device 3 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 13, and a communication unit 15. Note that an external storage device such as a well-known USB can be connected to the arithmetic processing device 3.

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

[0022] The various functions of the control unit 11 are realized by the CPU 11a executing a program stored in a non-transitory tangible recording medium. In this example, for instance, the ROM 11c corresponds to the non-transitory tangible recording medium storing the program. Also, when this program is executed, a method corresponding to the program is executed. Note that the control unit 11 has the function of a change detection unit.

[0023] Examples of the storage unit 13 include various non-volatile memories such as flash memories and EEPROMs capable of rewriting data, and hard disks. The communication unit 15 is a communication device capable of communicating with other computers and the like via a communication path.

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

[0025] In this embodiment, for example, data created by known iPCA, that is, the first data (pre-editing data) before editing and the second data (post-editing data) after editing are compared, and the difference, which is the changed content (i.e., the change point), is extracted.

[0026] For example, a CSV file in JAMA format (i.e., the file of the pre-editing data and the file of the post-editing data) is output from iPCA to a check tool, and a process of detecting a change point described later is performed using the CSV file output from the check tool. Note that the software for performing the iPCA process and the software for detecting the change point may be stored in the same arithmetic processing unit 3.

[0027] [Configuration of Each Data] First, the configurations of the pre-editing data and the post-editing data will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Note that the configuration of a sheet (i.e., a list showing the configuration of a product) for displaying data as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is well known.

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, on the sheet showing each data, specifically, on the "Check Result Sheet" which is the sheet of the data that can be displayed on the display device 7, information regarding components and the like constituting the product is described for each product. Note that this sheet may also be referred to as a product composition table.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 4, a product (for example, a delivered product) is composed of components (constituent components) constituting the product, materials constituting the components, and substances (for example, compounds) constituting the materials. Therefore, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 4, the product can be shown by a product composition tree like a family tree. This product composition tree can be displayed by a product composition table like the right diagram of FIG. 4.

[0030] That is, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 4, the product composition tree like the left diagram of FIG. 4 can be represented by a product composition table like the right diagram of FIG. 4. Conversely, a product composition tree like the left diagram of FIG. 4 can be obtained from a product composition table like the right diagram of FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, the correspondence between each branch of the product composition tree and each row of the product composition table is indicated by arrows.

[0031] Next, regarding the configuration of the pre-editing data and the post-editing data (that is, the data before and after editing), specific examples will be given for detailed explanation. Basically, since the configurations of the pre-editing data and the post-editing data are the same, hereinafter, mainly the post-editing data will be taken as an example for detailed explanation.

[0032] FIG. 2 shows, for example, an example of a part of the post-editing data (that is, data for about 5 lines from the top of a certain sheet), and FIG. 3 shows an example of another part of the post-editing data (that is, data for about 8 lines from the top among a part on the left end side of a certain sheet). Note that FIG. 2 may be considered to show a part of the pre-editing data.

[0033] For example, at the uppermost row (that is, the title row) of the sheet, the types (items) of information regarding the constituent elements of the components are described. Examples of items are, as is well known, about 40 types. The items are classified into 5 hierarchies in order from the top (therefore, in order from the left side of the sheet) according to the content of the items. In addition to the 40 types of items, the level (Tree Revel) of the product composition tree described later is also described.

[0034] Here, the hierarchy is configured such that the content of the upper hierarchy defines (i.e., limits) the content of the lower hierarchy. Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, the order of the hierarchies decreases towards the right side of the sheet. In order from the top, it is divided into "Information of Representative" indicating the product (product) of the first hierarchy, "Information of parts" indicating the parts (parent parts) of the second hierarchy, "Information of semi-components" indicating the semi-components (child parts) of the third hierarchy, "Information of materials" indicating the materials of the fourth hierarchy, and "Information of substances" indicating the substances (e.g., compounds) of the fifth hierarchy.

[0035] Specifically, "Information of parts" indicating the hierarchy of parts (parent parts) is divided into items such as "Part Name", "Part Number", "Module ID / Version", "Quantity", "Mass", and "Parts Marking".

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

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

[0038] "Information of substances" indicating the hierarchy of substances (such as compounds) is divided into items such as "Substance Name", "CAS No.", "Node ID(substance)", "Portion", "Lower Limit", "Upper Limit", "Rest", "GADSL", "SVHC", "Application Name", "Application ID", "Reason of Process Chemicals".

[0039] Note that for the first layer, there are further items such as "Product Name", "Product Number", "Module ID / Version", "Mass", "Revision Number", but since the key information to be described later is not included, it is omitted here.

[0040] <Key information> Next, the key information will be described. In this embodiment, among the items of each of the above-described hierarchies (i.e., the four hierarchies of the second to fifth hierarchies), 11 types of items are used as key information (i.e., individual information), and each key information is connected in series to create a key information string (i.e., specific information) used when comparing data before and after editing. Note that in this embodiment, although each hierarchy contains a plurality of key information, one key information may be set for a certain hierarchy.

[0041] The key information is information that serves as a basis for comparison when comparing data before and after editing (i.e., the individual information that constitutes the key information string). That is, the key information indicates the individual information that constitutes the key information string, which is respectively set in the second to fifth hierarchies (i.e., the hierarchies of parts, semicomponents, materials, substances (e.g., compounds)). Therefore, by combining the key information, a key information string that uniquely (i.e., unambiguously) identifies the comparison target (e.g., parts) can be formed.

[0042] In other words, the key information can be said to be individual information that can uniquely identify the comparison target by combining the key information. Note that the name of, for example, a part may be included in the key information string.

[0043] Here, examples of the comparison target include parts for which differences will be obtained later. Note that the key information of this part is not limited to only the key information of the part in the second hierarchy. When there is key information in a lower hierarchy corresponding to (i.e., further defining) the part in the second hierarchy, the key information of the lower hierarchy is also included. Note that in the third hierarchy and below, there may be cases where there is no actual data (i.e., data value) for the item corresponding to the key information. When there is no such data value, a complement processing as described later is performed.

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

[0045] Note that the format of the key information string obtained by connecting the 11 key information items in series can be expressed as "Part Name@Part Number@Module ID / Version(part)|Part Name(semi)@Module ID / Version(semi)|Material Name@Module ID / Version(material)@Node ID(material)|Substance Name@CASNo.@Node ID(substance)".

[0046] Also, in FIG. 5, PASS (Parents Part Name) and PASS (Parents Part Number) are described. As will be described later, PASS (Parents Part Name) is a concatenation of only the product name part of the Key in a row from the TOP of the highest level (specifically, the highest level of the product structure tree), and PASS (Parents Part Number) is a concatenation of only the part number part of the Key in a row from the TOP of the highest level.

[0047] Here, (3) "Module ID / Version (part)" refers to the ID (i.e., "IMDS ID") assigned to parts for identifying data for each piece of data by IMDS, and it is composed of Module ID and Version. Note that ID is an abbreviation of the well-known identification (identifier), and IMDS is, as is well known, an abbreviation of the International Material Data System, a material database for the automotive industry. (5) "Module ID / Version (semi)" refers to the above-mentioned ID assigned to semiconductors by IMDS. (7) "Node ID (material)" refers to the ID assigned to materials by IMDS, which is a concept of a sequential number. (8) "Module ID / Version (material)" refers to the above-mentioned ID assigned to materials by IMDS. (10) "CAS No." refers to the unique identification number assigned to a chemical substance in the chemical substance registration system of CAS in the U.S. chemical community. Note that CAS is an abbreviation of Chemical Abstracts Service.

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

[0049] <Relationship between Product Structure Tree and Key Information String> Next, the relationship between the product structure tree (i.e., family tree) and the key information string is shown. As shown in the left figure of FIG. 6B, products such as assemblies have semiconductors as the lower-level structure of parts, materials as the lower-level structure of semiconductors, and substances (compounds) as the lower-level structure of materials. Therefore, the structure becomes more complex as it goes down to the lower levels.

[0050] The connection between this upper-level configuration and the lower-level configuration can be shown by a product configuration tree such as the family tree in the left diagram of Fig. 6B. Note that the "Tree Level" in the left diagram of Fig. 6B indicates the vertical relationship (i.e., the upper and lower relationship) in the product configuration tree, and the smaller the number, the higher the level. Also, the right diagram of Fig. 6B shows the key information columns in the configurations (such as parts, semiconductors, etc.) corresponding to each "Tree Level".

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

[0052] As shown in Fig. 7, in the present embodiment, first, in step (hereinafter, S) 100, it is determined whether two files to be compared (i.e., two data files for which difference extraction is to be performed) are specified from the files of the data stored in the storage unit 13.

[0053] That is, it is determined whether the file of the pre-editing data and the file of the post-editing data, which are the objects to be compared, are selected. If an affirmative determination is made here, the process proceeds to S110, while if a negative determination is made, this process is terminated once.

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

[0055] In the subsequent S120, blank filling processing described later is performed. That is, in the sheets corresponding to the two files, the blank parts (i.e., the empty cells) of the data display part are filled (i.e., supplemented) to create a comparison sheet. Specifically, for example, when the columns of "Part Number" and "Node ID (material)" are not filled, a filling process is performed to fill the empty cells, and product structure tables (i.e., "Check Result Sheet") that are comparison sheets are created respectively.

[0056] In the subsequent S130, in order to perform the difference extraction processing described later, a process of reading the data of the two comparison sheets corresponding to before and after editing is performed. In the subsequent S140, as will be described in detail later, difference extraction processing is performed. Specifically, using the two read data, the differences of "addition", "deletion", and "modification" are extracted.

[0057] In the subsequent S150, as will be described in detail later, output processing of the difference extraction result is performed. Specifically, the extracted difference parts are output to be displayed in a list format in the "Difference List Sheet" which is a result list.

[0058] In the subsequent S160, as will be described in detail later, highlighting processing of the difference extraction result is performed. Specifically, the extraction results of the differences are highlighted in the two "Check Result Sheet" and "Difference List Sheet".

[0059] In the subsequent S170, as will be described in detail later, duplicate data extraction processing is performed and this process is terminated once. Specifically, duplicate data is output using the key information which is the extraction condition. Also, it is output to each "Key Duplicate List" which is each duplicate list before and after editing as a log.

[0060] [1-5. Content of Each Process] Next, the content of each process shown in FIG. 7 above will be described. [1-5-1. Blank Filling Processing] First, the "blank filling process" will be described.

[0061] <Completing the "Part Number" column> Note that in Figure 8 used for the description, some items are omitted for easier understanding. As shown on the left side of the upper diagram in Figure 8, when the "Part Number" column is blank (i.e., an empty cell), identify the part number (parent part number) one level above from "Tree Level", and enter the same part number as the parent part number for completion. Note that as shown on the left side of the lower diagram in Figure 8, the completed cell (the part surrounded by a thick frame: the area shown in gray) is actually displayed in green.

[0062] <Completing the "Node ID(material)" column> As shown on the right side of the upper diagram in Figure 8, when "Tree Level" and "Name" are the same as those in the row one level above, and the "Mass" and "Node ID(material)" columns are blank, identify the value of "Node ID(material)" in the row one level above, and enter that value into the empty cell of "Node ID(material)" for completion. Note that as shown on the right side of the lower diagram in Figure 8, the completed cell (the part surrounded by a thick frame: the area shown in gray) is actually displayed in blue.

[0063] [1-5-2. Loading Process for Comparison Targets] Next, the "loading process for comparison targets" will be described. In this process, for example, the description part of the data in the "Check Result Sheet" is read line by line, and the read information is stored in a variable in the form of key information and a Value associated with the key information.

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

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

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

[0067] <Creating key information columns> First, a method for creating a key information string used when comparing data before and after editing will be specifically described. Note that the process shown in FIG.

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

[0069] For example, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 10A, if the row to be processed is the 4th row, trace back from Tree Level 4 to Tree Level 2, identify the parent component, and serially connect the key information that is component information to create a key information sequence. In this case, the key information sequence is "ASSY@2222222222@|SUB@3333333333@|PART@4444444444@|".

[0070] Note that even when the row to be processed is the 3rd row, similarly trace back to Tree Level 2 and serially connect the key information to create a key information sequence. In this case, the key information sequence is "ASSY@2222222222@|SUB@3333333333@|". Also, when the row to be processed is the 2nd row, the key information sequence is "ASSY@2222222222@|".

[0071] In the subsequent S210, PASS Name and PASS Number are generated. For example, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 10A, PASS Name is "ASSY, SUB, PART". Also, PASS Number is "2222222222, 3333333333, 4444444444".

[0072] In the subsequent S220, extract the key information of (4) "Part Name (child component)", (5) "Module ID / Version (semi)", (6) "Material Name", (7) "Module ID / Version", (8) "Node ID (material)", (9) "Substance Name", (10) "CAS No.", (11) "Node ID (substance)" from the "Check Result Sheet", and connect it with the key information of (1) to (3) shown in FIG. 9 etc. to form a key information sequence.

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

[0074] Perform the above-described processing for all the processing target rows of each sheet of the data before and after editing, and create a key information column for each processing target row. Specifically, create a key information column corresponding to each branch of the product structure tree. In this case, not only the key information column corresponding to the branch from the topmost key information to the bottommost key information, but also, as shown in FIG. 6B, the key information column from the topmost key information to each lower level (i.e., Tree Level) is created.

[0075] Then, by comparing one by one all the key information columns of the sheet of the data before editing and all the key information columns of the sheet of the data after editing, perform difference extraction processing and the like as described later. <Addition> Next, an extraction method for the difference (i.e., the change point) when key information is added will be described.

[0076] Here, as shown in FIG. 11, an example where a material is added among the key information is given. In the following, Before indicates the data before editing, and After indicates the data after editing. Also, in FIGS. 11 to 16 below, for ease of understanding, a part of 11 pieces of information is given as an example for explanation.

[0077] In the product structure tree of FIG. 11, when the material within the broken-line frame of After is added with respect to Before, the display of Before in FIG. 12A changes to the display of After in FIG. 12B. In FIG. 12, the key information is shown surrounded by a thick frame.

[0078] Specifically, since the content indicated in gray in the 4th and 5th lines of "After" in FIG. 12B is added, it means that the content in the 4th and 5th lines of "After" in FIG. 12B is inserted between the 3rd and 4th lines of "Before" in FIG. 12A.

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

[0080] Regarding the result sheet, it will be described in detail later. FIGS. 17A to 17C respectively show the main parts corresponding to the processes of "addition", "deletion", and "modification", and FIG. 18 shows the whole result sheet. Also, in FIGS. 17 and 18, different members are used as examples, so the displays and numerical values in the cells are different. Note that in the row indicating the type of display items at the uppermost part of FIG. 17 (i.e., the title row), the part surrounded by a thick frame indicates key information.

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

[0082] Specifically, since the content indicated in gray in the 4th and 5th lines of "Before" in FIG. 14A is deleted, the state after deletion is displayed in "After" in FIG. 14A. Therefore, in this case, as shown in FIGS. 17B and 18, in the result sheet, the deleted comparison target rows are displayed in a predetermined color (e.g., red) to indicate "deletion". Also, in the column of the difference type at the right end of the displayed comparison target row, "deletion" is displayed.

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

[0084] For example, when the mass of the part in the second row shown in gray was 2.076 g in Before of FIG. 16A and was changed to 0.038 g for the part in the second row shown in gray in After of FIG. 16B. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 17C and 18, in the result sheet, the row of the comparison target that has been changed is displayed in a predetermined color (for example, yellow) so as to indicate "change". Also, in the column of the difference type at the right end of the displayed comparison target row, "change" is displayed, and in the column of the target item at the time of the difference type [change] further to the right, the changed item (that is, Mass) is displayed.

[0085] [1-5-4. Output Process and Emphasis Process of Difference Extraction Result] Next, the "output process of the difference extraction result" and the "emphasis process of the difference extraction result" will be described.

[0086] The difference extraction result is displayed in a result sheet as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. In the title row of the result sheet, in order from the left, "Key", "PASS (Parents Part Name)", "PASS (Parents Part Number)", "the part for displaying 11 key information items", "difference type", "target item at the time of difference type [change]", "difference target row" are displayed, for example, separated by a thick frame.

[0087] And in the cell below "Key", the key information column is displayed, in the cell below "PASS (Parents Part Name)", the "PASS Name" is displayed, and in the cell below "PASS (Parents Part Number)", the "PASS Number" is displayed.

[0088] In this embodiment, in the result sheet, each row corresponding to "Addition", "Deletion", and "Modification" is highlighted and displayed in a different color so that they can be easily distinguished at a glance. Specifically, as described above, "Addition" is displayed in blue, "Deletion" is displayed in red, and "Modification" is displayed in yellow.

[0089] Also, in the column of "Difference Type", the difference types of "Addition", "Deletion", and "Modification" are displayed for each row. In the column of "Target Item When [Modification] Difference Type", the modified item (for example, Mass) is displayed for each row.

[0090] In the column of "Difference Target Row", the row numbers of the corresponding rows in Before or After where "Addition", "Deletion", or "Modification" has been made are displayed for each row. Note that by clicking on the displayed row number, the row corresponding to the row number in Before or After can be displayed on another screen.

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

[0092] [1-5-5. Duplicate Data Extraction Process] Next, the "duplicate data extraction process" will be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, when there are duplicates in the Before data (i.e., key information) (for example, when there are two identical materials), as shown in FIG. 20, it is indicated that there are duplicates in the data. The same applies to the After case.

[0093] Note that the right end of the display screen in Fig. 20 indicates the rows that overlap in each sheet. [1-6. Effects] According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0094] (1) The chemical substance information management device 1 of the present embodiment compares pre-editing data and post-editing data that contain information on chemical substances. Both data have a plurality of information regarding the component configuration, and the plurality of information is classified into a plurality of hierarchies. For each data, a key information column that includes key information, which is individual information selected from the information of a plurality of hierarchies and is specific information capable of identifying the component to be compared, is created, and based on the key information column, it is configured to detect changes between the two data.

[0095] With such a configuration, the chemical substance information management device 1 can automatically and efficiently extract, for example, the change points (i.e., differences) indicating the differences between the pre-editing data regarding the original component and the post-editing data regarding the new component. Therefore, when managing the chemical substances contained in a product, the work efficiency of the management is greatly improved.

[0096] That is, by using a plurality of key information respectively selected from a plurality of hierarchies (i.e., hierarchies connecting from the highest hierarchy to the lowest hierarchy), a key information column that can identify (i.e., uniquely determine) the component to be compared is created, and by using the key information column to compare the configurations of the components to be compared, the change points between different data can be easily detected.

[0097] (2) In the present embodiment, as the key information column, it is possible to adopt a series of information obtained by connecting the key information selected in each hierarchy in series from the lower hierarchy to the upper hierarchy.

[0098] (3) In the present embodiment, as the key information, it is possible to adopt information configured to be distinguishable from other information by a number or a symbol. (4) In this embodiment, at least one of "addition", "deletion", and "modification" can be detected between the pre-editing data and the post-editing data.

[0099] (5) In this embodiment, "modification" can be detected by a change in the content of information other than the key information. (6) In this embodiment, when at least one detection result of "addition", "deletion", and "modification" is displayed on the display device 7, the form of display can be changed according to the content to be displayed, for example, by changing the color of the display according to the detection result. Therefore, an operator who operates the chemical substance information management device 1 can grasp the content of the change at a glance from the display state.

[0100] (7) In this embodiment, as information other than the key information, at least one of mass and mass ratio information can be adopted. (8) In this embodiment, in the product composition table, when there is no data value (i.e., when the corresponding cell is blank) in the display part (i.e., the cell) of the data value indicating the content of the key information, the cell without a data value can be supplemented with a predetermined data value. For example, in a product composition table without data values, the blank part of the cell can be filled using the data values of other cells.

[0101] [2. Other Embodiments] As described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described. Needless to say, the present disclosure can take various forms without being limited to the above embodiments.

[0102] (2a) As the first data and the second data, in addition to the pre-editing data and the post-editing data described above, various types of data to be compared can be mentioned. For example, when a certain part is replaced with a new part, "data related to the original part" and "data related to the new part" can be mentioned. That is, as the data to be compared, for example, data with different acquisition times can be mentioned.

[0103] (2b) The operation of the chemical substance information management device described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer configured by a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program.

[0104] Alternatively, the operation of the chemical substance information management device described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer configured by a processor constituted by one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits.

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

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

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

[0108] (2d) In each of the above embodiments, a plurality of functions of one component may be realized by a plurality of components, or one function of one component may be realized by a plurality of components. Also, a plurality of functions of a plurality of components may be realized by one component, or one function realized by a plurality of components may be realized by one component. Further, a part of the configuration of each of the above embodiments may be omitted. Also, at least a part of the configuration of each of the above embodiments may be added to or replaced with the configuration of another embodiment.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

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

Claims

1. A chemical substance information management device for managing information on chemical substances contained in parts constituting a product, a change detection unit that compares first data and second data, the first data and the second data including information on the chemical substance, to detect a change between the first data and the second data; the two data have a plurality of pieces of information related to the part, and the plurality of pieces of information are divided into a plurality of hierarchies including a substance hierarchical level including the information on the chemical substance and a hierarchical level higher than the substance hierarchical level, such that a higher hierarchical level is further limited by a lower hierarchical level; the change detection unit is configured to include, for each of the data, individual information selected from the information of the plurality of hierarchical levels, and to generate specific information capable of identifying the part to be compared by serially connecting the individual information, compare the individual information included in the specific information of the first data with the individual information included in the specific information of the second data, and detect a change between the two pieces of data by extracting a change in the individual information between the two pieces of specific information; Chemical substance information management device.

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

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

4. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 3, The addition and the deletion are configured to be detected by a comparison of the specific information, and the change is configured to be detected by information other than the specific information. Chemical substance information management device.

5. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 3, A display unit is provided that displays a result of the detection when at least one of the addition, the deletion, and the change is detected, and is configured to change a display form according to the content to be displayed on the display unit. Chemical substance information management device.

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

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

8. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 1, In at least one of the first data and the second data, when a data value is absent in a portion of the individual information, the portion without information is supplemented with a predetermined data value. Chemical substance information management device.

9. The chemical substance information management device according to claim 8, The part where the data value is absent is supplemented with another data value included in at least one of the first data and the second data having the part where the data value is absent. Chemical substance information management device.

10. A method for managing information on chemical substances contained in parts constituting a product, comprising: When comparing first data and second data containing information on the chemical substance to detect a change between the two data, the two data have a plurality of pieces of information on the part, and the plurality of pieces of information are information divided into a plurality of hierarchies including a substance hierarchies including the information on the chemical substance and hierarchies higher than the substance hierarchies, so that the upper hierarchies are limited by lower hierarchies; for each of the data, individual information selected from the information of the plurality of hierarchical levels is included, and the individual information is serially connected to create specific information capable of identifying the part to be compared; and the individual information included in the specific information of the first data and the individual information included in the specific information of the second data are compared to extract a change in the individual information between the two specific information, thereby detecting a change between the two data. Chemical substance information management method.

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