Product specification selection support system

Abstract

To provide a product specification selection support system capable of presenting an appropriate product specification to a user who selects a product specification according to a condition under which the product is used, and to provide a terminal device, a product specification selection support method, a terminal program, a server device, and a server program.SOLUTION: A product specification selection support system 1 includes: a terminal device 10 in which condition information representing a condition under which a product is used is entered; and a server device 20 which refers to a database 30 associating a previously selected product specification and the condition information, extracts a product specification associated with the condition information entered into the terminal device 10, performs statistical processing on the extracted product specifications and presents the terminal device 10 to obtain a recommended product specification.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a product specification selection support system. M Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] In most cases, products that are produced after a customer order is received (made-to-order products) are produced by the customer selecting the product specifications (hereinafter referred to as product specifications), requesting a quote from the manufacturer, and placing an order only after the customer approves the contents of the quote prepared by the manufacturer. The product specification options available vary from product to product, with some offering an extremely large number of options and others offering only a few options.

[0003] For example, a wide variety of field devices are used in plants, etc., and therefore a wide variety of product specification options are available. When requesting a quote, a user of a field device must select a specification that meets his or her own usage conditions from such a wide variety of specification options.

[0004] The following Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that provides clues for customers when selecting product specifications, enabling them to select product specifications accurately and easily even if they do not have sufficient product knowledge. This technology ranks selection candidates based on information on past order performance, such as increases or decreases in orders for each product, and presents them to the user. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4303164 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the appropriate product specifications for products such as field devices vary depending on the conditions under which the product is used (such as the environment in which the product is used, the type of industry in which the product is used, and the object to be measured). For example, for field devices that measure the flow rate, pressure, differential pressure, etc. of a fluid, the optimum material for the liquid-contacting part (the part that comes into contact with the fluid) varies depending on the type of fluid. The technology disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the conditions under which such products are used, and therefore has a problem in that it is not possible to present appropriate product specifications according to the conditions under which the product is used.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a product specification selection support system that can present appropriate product specifications according to the conditions under which the product will be used to a user who selects product specifications. M The purpose is to provide. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, a product specification selection support system (1) according to one aspect of the present invention includes a terminal device (10) into which condition information indicating the conditions under which a product will be used is input, and a server device (20) that refers to a database (30) in which the condition information is associated with previously selected product specifications, extracts the product specifications to which the condition information input to the terminal device is associated, performs statistical processing on the extracted product specifications, and determines recommended specifications, which are product specifications to recommend, and presents the recommended specifications to the terminal device.

[0009] In addition, in a product specification selection support system according to one aspect of the present invention, the server device performs statistical processing to determine the frequency with which the extracted product specifications have been selected in the past, and presents to the terminal device a recommendation rate for the product specifications based on the determined frequency.

[0010] In addition, in the product specification selection support system according to one aspect of the present invention, the condition information is information indicating the type of business in which the product is used.

[0011] Alternatively, in the product specification selection support system according to one aspect of the present invention, the product is a field device, and the condition information is information indicating a measurement target of the field device.

[0012] In addition, in the product specification selection support system according to one aspect of the present invention, the terminal device includes an input unit (11) into which the condition information is input, a communication unit (14) that communicates with the server device, transmits the condition information input to the input unit to the server device, and receives the recommended specifications transmitted from the server device, and Recommended specifications and a display unit (12) that displays the above.

[0013] A terminal device (10) according to one aspect of the present invention includes an input unit (11) into which condition information indicating conditions under which a product is to be used is input, a communication unit (14) that transmits the condition information input into the input unit to a server device (20) that references a database (30) in which the condition information is associated with previously selected product specifications, and receives recommended specifications, which are recommended product specifications, transmitted from the server device, and a display unit (12) that displays the recommended specifications received by the communication unit.

[0014] A method for supporting product specification selection according to one aspect of the present invention includes a step (S13) in which an input unit (11) inputs condition information indicating conditions under which a product will be used; a step (S15) in which a communication unit (14) transmits the condition information input to the input unit to a server device (20) that references a database (30) in which the condition information is associated with previously selected product specifications; a step (S16) in which the communication unit receives recommended specifications, which are recommended product specifications, transmitted from the server device; and a step (S17) in which a display unit (12) displays the recommended specifications received by the communication unit.

[0015] A terminal program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as an input means (11) for inputting condition information indicating the conditions under which a product is to be used, a communication means (14) for transmitting the condition information inputted to the input means to a server device (20) that references a database (30) in which the condition information is associated with previously selected product specifications, and for receiving recommended specifications, which are the recommended product specifications, transmitted from the server device, and a display means (12) for displaying the recommended specifications received by the communication means.

[0016] A server device (20) according to one aspect of the present invention refers to a database (30) in which condition information indicating the conditions under which a product is used is associated with previously selected product specifications, extracts the product specifications associated with the condition information input to a terminal device, performs statistical processing on the extracted product specifications, and determines recommended specifications, which are product specifications to recommend, and presents them to the terminal device.

[0017] A server program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as a server device that refers to a database (30) in which condition information indicating the conditions under which a product is used is associated with previously selected product specifications, extracts the product specifications to which the condition information input to a terminal device (10) is associated, performs statistical processing on the extracted product specifications, and determines recommended specifications, which are product specifications to recommend, and presents the recommended specifications to the terminal device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the present invention, it is possible to present appropriate product specifications according to the conditions under which the product will be used to a user who selects product specifications. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a product specification selection support system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a database used in the product specification selection support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a product specification selection support method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a product specification selection screen displayed on a terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which recommended specifications and the like are displayed on a product specification selection screen of a terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an estimate created in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first modified example of a product specification selection screen displayed on a terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second modified example of a product specification selection screen displayed on a terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Hereinafter, a product specification selection support system, a terminal device, a product specification selection support method, a terminal program, a server device, and a server program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, an overview of the embodiment of the present invention will be described, and then the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0021] 〔overview〕 The embodiment of the present invention makes it possible to present to a user who selects product specifications appropriate product specifications according to the conditions under which the product will be used, for example, appropriate product specifications according to the type of industry in which the product will be used.

[0022] When a user requests a product manufacturer to prepare a quotation, the user must select from a wide range of product specification options those that meet the user's usage conditions. During this process, the user may not be able to decide which of the options provided should be selected. In such a case, the user can select an option by either fully understanding each of the available product specifications and then selecting the one that meets the user's usage conditions, or by simply selecting one of the available specifications.

[0023] The former method can improve the accuracy of the estimate because the product specifications are selected to match the customer's own conditions of use, but it has the problem of taking time to request the creation of the estimate.The latter method can quickly request the creation of the estimate, but it has the problem of reducing the accuracy of the estimate because the product specifications are not selected to match the customer's own conditions of use.

[0024] The selected product specifications are often biased depending on the conditions under which the product is used. For example, if the industry in which the product is used is a chemical industry or an industry that produces petroleum products, the material properties of the product are often biased toward specific specifications. This embodiment utilizes such properties to present appropriate product specifications according to the conditions under which the product is used.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present invention, first, condition information indicating the conditions under which the product will be used is input. Next, the input condition information is sent to a server device that references a database in which condition information is associated with previously selected product specifications, and recommended product specifications, which are recommended product specifications, sent from the server device are received. The recommended specifications received by the communication unit are then displayed. This allows the user selecting product specifications to be presented with appropriate product specifications that correspond to the conditions under which the product will be used.

[0026] [Embodiment] Product specification selection support system 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a product specification selection support system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the product specification selection support system 1 of this embodiment includes a terminal device 10, a server device 20, and a database 30, and supports a user who operates the terminal device 10 to select product specifications.

[0027] The terminal device 10 and the server device 20 are connected to each other via a network N so as to be able to communicate with each other. The server device 20 is capable of at least referring to a database 30. The server device 20 and the database 30 may be configured as separate entities, or may be configured as an integrated entity. Note that the server device 40 in FIG. 1 is a server device prepared for creating product quotations, and is connected to the terminal device 10 via the network N so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0028] In this embodiment, for ease of understanding, it is assumed that the product for which an estimate is to be created is a field device installed at a plant site. Here, the field device is, for example, a sensor device such as a flow meter, a temperature sensor, or a pressure gauge. The field device may be a valve device such as a flow control valve or an on-off valve, an actuator device such as a fan or a motor, an imaging device such as a camera or video camera that captures images of conditions or objects within the plant, an audio device such as a microphone or a speaker that collects abnormal sounds or emits alarms within the plant, a position detection device that outputs position information of each device, or other devices.

[0029] Plants where field devices are installed include chemical and other industrial plants, plants that manage and control wellheads and surrounding areas of gas and oil fields, plants that manage and control hydroelectric, thermal, and nuclear power generation, plants that manage and control environmental power generation such as solar and wind power, and plants that manage and control water supply and sewage systems and dams.

[0030] The network N is, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), etc. The network N may be a wired network, a wireless network, or a mixed wired and wireless network. The terminal device 10 is assumed to be connected to the network N by wire. In the following, the terminal device 10 will be first described, followed by a description of the database 30 and the server device 20.

[0031] Terminal Device The terminal device 10 includes an operation unit 11 (input unit, input means), a display unit 12 (display means), a storage unit 13, a communication unit 14 (communication means), and a processing unit 15. Such a terminal device 10 is realized, for example, by a desktop, notebook, or tablet computer.

[0032] The functions of the terminal device 10 are realized in software, for example, by installing and executing a program (terminal program) that realizes those functions. In other words, the functions of the terminal device 10 are realized by cooperation between software and hardware resources. Here, examples of the functions of the terminal device 10 realized in software include a function that supports a user in operating the terminal device 10 to select specifications (product specifications) of a field device or to request the creation of an estimate. Of course, the functions of the terminal device 10 may also be realized using hardware such as an FPGA, an LSI, or an ASIC.

[0033] The operation unit 11 includes input devices such as a keyboard and a pointing device, and outputs instructions (instructions for the terminal device 10) according to operations by a user of the terminal device 10 to the processing unit 15. The display unit 12 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display device, and displays various information output from the processing unit 15. The operation unit 11 and the display unit 12 may be physically separated, or may be physically integrated, such as a touch panel liquid crystal display device that combines display and operation functions.

[0034] The storage unit 13 includes an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD (hard disk drive) or an SSD (solid state drive), and stores various information. The storage unit 13 stores, for example, information indicating product specification items that need to be determined when making an estimate for a field device, information required to request the server device 40 to create an estimate, information on the estimate obtained from the server device 40, and other information. The storage unit 13 may also store a program that realizes the functions of the terminal device 10.

[0035] The communication unit 14 is connected to the network N by wire and performs communication via the network N under the control of the processing unit 15. For example, the communication unit 14 transmits information (condition information) indicating the type of business in which the field device is used to a server device 20 connected to the network N, and receives recommended specifications (recommended product specifications) of the field device transmitted from the server device 20. The communication unit 14 also requests a server device 40 connected to the network N to prepare an estimate for the field device, and receives the estimate transmitted from the server device 40.

[0036] The processing unit 15 controls the overall operation of the terminal device 10 based on operation instructions input from the operation unit 11. The processing unit 15 includes a display control unit 15a, a target industry acquisition unit 15b, a product specification selection unit 15c, and a loading request unit 15d, and performs processing to support the user in selecting specifications for a field device and processing required to create an estimate.

[0037] The display control unit 15a controls the display of the display unit 12. For example, the display control unit 15a uses the information stored in the storage unit 13 to cause the display unit 12 to display product specification items that need to be determined when making an estimate for a field device. Furthermore, when recommended specifications for a field device are obtained from the server device 20, the display control unit 15a causes the display unit 12 to display the recommended specifications. Furthermore, in response to an instruction from the operation unit 11, the display control unit 15a causes the display unit 12 to display the estimate obtained from the server device 40.

[0038] The target industry acquisition unit 15b acquires industry information (condition information) that indicates the industry in which the field device as a product is used. This industry information is input, for example, by the user operating the operation unit 11. Therefore, the target industry acquisition unit 15b acquires the industry information input by operating the operation unit 11. When the target industry acquisition unit 15b acquires the industry information, it controls the communication unit 14 to transmit the industry information to the server device 20.

[0039] Here, the above-mentioned industry information is divided into major categories (main) that roughly classify industries and minor categories (sub) that further classify the roughly classified industries. Major categories are, for example, "chemical industry," "petroleum products," "iron and steel," and "transportation machinery." If the major category is "chemical industry," minor categories are, for example, "inorganic chemistry," "organic chemistry," and "pharmaceuticals." Note that the information indicating the industry in which the field device is used may be only the major category (main), or may be divided into categories even more finely than the minor categories (sub).

[0040] The product specification selection unit 15c selects the product specifications displayed on the display unit 12 in accordance with the operation content of the operation unit 11. Here, as described above, the display unit 12 displays the product specification items that need to be determined when making an estimate for the field device. Therefore, the product specification selection unit 15c selects the product specifications for all the items in accordance with the operation content of the operation unit 11.

[0041] The estimate requesting unit 15d controls the communication unit 14 to request the server device 40 to create an estimate. Specifically, the estimate requesting unit 15d acquires the product specifications selected by the product specification selecting unit 15c, and controls the communication unit 14 to transmit to the server device 40 a request to create an estimate that includes information such as the acquired product specifications, the requester, and the desired delivery date.

[0042] Database The database 30 is a database that stores information about users of field devices. For example, the database 30 stores, for each user of a field device, information indicating order records, information indicating maintenance records, and information indicating service records. The information indicating order records includes information indicating the specifications of field devices that have been ordered in the past and the type of industry in which they are used. The information indicating maintenance records includes information indicating the specifications of field devices that have been maintained in the past and the type of industry in which they are used. The information indicating service records includes information indicating the specifications of field devices that have been serviced in the past and the type of industry in which they are used.

[0043] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of a database used in a product specification selection support system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The database 30 shown in Figure 2 associates information about products with industry information. The product information includes "product name," "basic specifications," and "selected specifications." The industry information includes "industry main" and "industry sub."

[0044] "Product name" is the product name of the field device as a product. "Basic specifications" are the basic specifications of the field device. For these basic specifications, multiple product specification options are available. For example, for the basic specification "liquid contact part material," options such as "Hastelloy," "Tantalum," and "Monel" are available. "Selected specifications" are product specifications previously selected by the user. "Industry main" is the major classification (main) of the industry information mentioned above, and "Industry sub" is the minor classification (sub) of the industry information mentioned above.

[0045] Here, the "selected specifications" included in the product-related information are product specifications that were previously selected. Also, the industry information is one of the condition information that indicates the conditions under which the product will be used. Therefore, it can be said that the database 30 associates previously selected product specifications with condition information that indicates the conditions under which the product will be used.

[0046] <Server device> When the server device 20 receives business type information from the terminal device 10, it obtains recommended specifications, which are product specifications recommended for the business type indicated by the business type information, and returns the obtained recommended specifications to the terminal device 10. The server device 20 refers to the database 30, extracts product specifications associated with the business type information transmitted from the terminal device 10, and performs statistical processing on the extracted product specifications to obtain the recommended specifications.

[0047] If the business type information transmitted from the terminal device 10 indicates only a major category (main), the server device 20 refers to the database 30 and extracts the product information associated with that major category (main). If the business type information transmitted from the terminal device 10 indicates a major category (main) and a minor category (sub), the server device 20 refers to the database 30 and extracts the product information associated with that major category (main) and also associated with that minor category (sub).

[0048] As the statistical processing, the server device 20 performs a process of determining the frequency with which the product specifications extracted from the database 30 have been selected in the past, and sets the product specification with the highest frequency as the recommended specification. The server device 20 also calculates a recommendation rate for the product specification according to the determined frequency, and transmits the calculated recommendation rate together with the recommended specification to the terminal device 10. A specific example of the statistical processing performed by the server device 20 will be described later.

[0049] The functions of the server device 20 are realized in software, for example, by installing and executing a program (server program) that realizes those functions. In other words, the functions of the server device 20 are realized by the cooperation of software and hardware resources. Of course, the functions of the server device 20 may also be realized using hardware such as FPGA, LSI, ASIC, etc. The server device 20 may also be realized by a cloud computing system.

[0050] <Product specification selection support method> Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a product specification selection support method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The process shown in Fig. 3 is started, for example, when a user of the terminal device 10 operates the operation unit 11 of the terminal device 10 to input an instruction to start creating a quotation for a field device. When the process of the flowchart shown in Fig. 3 is started, first, the display control unit 15a provided in the processing unit 15 of the terminal device 10 uses the information stored in the storage unit 13 to display a product specification selection screen G1 (see Fig. 4) (step S11).

[0051] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a product specification selection screen displayed on a terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the product specification selection screen G1 has an industry selection area R1 and a specification selection area R2. The product specification selection screen G1 also has an automatic specification selection button B1 and an estimate button B2.

[0052] The industry selection area R1 is an area for selecting the industry in which the field device for which the estimate is to be made will be used. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the major and minor categories of industries are displayed in a list format with check boxes CB. For example, the major categories displayed are "chemical industry," "petroleum products," "iron and steel," and "transportation machinery." The minor categories of "chemical industry" are "inorganic chemistry," "organic chemistry," and "pharmaceuticals," and the minor categories of "petroleum products" are "petroleum refining" and "other petroleum products." The minor categories of "iron and steel" are "pig iron, crude steel, and steel materials" and "other steel products," and the minor categories of "transportation machinery" are "automobiles," "automobile parts," and "other transportation equipment."

[0053] The specification selection area R2 is an area for selecting the specifications of the field device for which an estimate is to be made. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the "basic specifications" of the field device, "specifications" which are options for the "basic specifications," and "selection" which means the selection box SB are associated and displayed in a list. Here, the specification selection area R2 of the product specification selection screen G1 displays all of the product specification items that need to be determined when making an estimate for the field device. If all of the product specification items cannot be displayed at once in the specification selection area R2, a scroll bar (not shown) is provided for the specification selection area R2. The user can operate the scroll bar to display any item in the specification selection area R2.

[0054] The automatic specification selection button B1 is a button for automatically selecting appropriate product specifications according to the industry selected in the industry selection area R1. When the automatic specification selection button B1 is pressed, industry information indicating the industry selected in the industry selection area R1 is acquired by the target industry acquisition unit 15b shown in FIG. 1 and transmitted to the server device 20. The estimate button B2 is a button for requesting the creation of an estimate. When the estimate button B2 is pressed, the estimate request unit 15d shown in FIG. 1 requests the server device 40 to create an estimate.

[0055] 4 is displayed, the product specification selection unit 15c provided in the processing unit 15 of the terminal device 10 selects a product specification in accordance with the content of the user's operation on the operation unit 11 (step S12). For example, when the user operates the operation unit 11 to instruct to select one of the selection boxes SB displayed in the specification selection area R2, the product specification selection unit 15c selects the product specification associated with the selection box SB selected by the user's operation.

[0056] The target industry acquisition unit 15b provided in the processing unit 15 of the terminal device 10 determines whether industry information has been input by a user operation (step S13). Specifically, it determines whether the automatic specification selection button B1 has been pressed while the check box CB associated with the industry displayed in the industry selection area R1 of the product specification selection screen G1 shown in Fig. 4 has been selected. Note that the check boxes CB may be selected only for the major industry classifications, or may be selected for both the major industry classifications and minor industry classifications.

[0057] If the target industry acquisition unit 15b determines that industry information has not been input (if the determination result in step S13 is "NO"), the product specification selection unit 15c determines whether the selection of product specifications has been completed (step S14). For example, it determines whether an instruction to cancel the selection of product specifications has been given or whether the estimate button B2 has been pressed. If the product specification selection unit 15c determines that the selection of product specifications has not been completed (if the determination result in step S14 is "NO"), the process returns to step S12, and the product specifications are selected in accordance with the user's instructions.

[0058] On the other hand, if the target industry acquisition unit 15b determines that industry information has been input (if the determination result in step S13 is "YES"), the target industry acquisition unit 15b acquires information indicating the industry selected in the industry selection area R1. Then, the target industry acquisition unit 15b controls the communication unit 14 to transmit the acquired industry information to the server device 20. Here, it is assumed that industry information indicating an industry whose major category is "chemical industry" and whose minor category is "organic chemistry" has been acquired and transmitted to the server device 20.

[0059] Upon receiving the industry information transmitted from the terminal device 10, the server device 20 refers to the database 30, extracts the product specifications associated with the received industry information, and performs statistical processing on the extracted product specifications to determine recommended specifications. As part of the statistical processing, the server device 20 performs processing to determine the frequency with which the product specifications extracted from the database 30 have been selected in the past, and sets the product specification with the highest frequency as the recommended specification. The server device 20 also calculates a recommendation rate for the product specification according to the determined frequency, and transmits the calculated recommendation rate to the terminal device 10 together with the recommended specification.

[0060] For example, when the database 30 is as shown in FIG. 2, the server device 20 extracts the following product specifications associated with industry information indicating an industry in which the major category is "chemical industry" and the minor category is "organic chemistry." Specifically, as shown below, for "liquid-contacting part material," "Hastelloy" and "Tantalum" are extracted, and for "filled liquid," "general use (silicone oil)" and "high-temperature use (silicone oil)" are extracted. Furthermore, the server device 20 performs the process of determining the above-mentioned frequency, thereby obtaining the following counts:

[0061] ·Wetted parts material Hastelloy: 3 times Tantalum: 1 time Filled liquid General use (silicone oil): 1 time For high temperatures (silicone oil): 3 times

[0062] Based on the results of the above statistical processing, the server device 20 recommends "Hastelloy," which has the highest frequency, as the "liquid-contacting part material," and "high-temperature use (silicone oil)," which has the highest frequency, as the "sealed liquid." Furthermore, the server device 20 calculates a recommendation rate of 75% for "Hastelloy," the recommended specification for "liquid-contacting part material," because it was selected three out of four times in the industry whose major category is "chemical industry" and whose minor category is "organic chemistry." Similarly, the server device 20 calculates a recommendation rate of 75% for "high-temperature use (silicone oil)," the recommended specification for "sealed liquid," because it was selected three out of four times in the industry whose major category is "chemical industry" and whose minor category is "organic chemistry." After the above processing is completed, the recommended specifications and recommendation rates determined by the server device 20 are transmitted to the terminal device 10.

[0063] After the industry information is transmitted to the server device 20, the processing unit 15 of the terminal device 10 determines whether the recommended specifications, etc. transmitted from the server device 20 have been received by the communication unit 14 (step S16). If the processing unit 15 determines that the recommended specifications, etc. have not been received by the communication unit 14 (if the determination result in step S16 is "NO"), the processing unit 15 repeats the process of step S16. On the other hand, if the processing unit 15 determines that the recommended specifications, etc. have been received by the communication unit 14 (if the determination result in step S16 is "YES"), the processing unit 15 controls the display control unit 15a to display the recommended specifications, etc. received by the communication unit 14 on the display unit 12 (step S17).

[0064] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which recommended specifications and the like are displayed on a product specification selection screen of a terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, check marks are added to the selection boxes SB corresponding to "Hastelloy" for "liquid-contacting part material" and "High-temperature use (silicone oil)" for "filled liquid," which are recommended specifications in the server device 20, as a mark indicating that the specifications are recommended. In addition, a speech bubble BL indicating the recommendation rate is added to the selection box SB with a check mark. By referring to the check marks added to the selection boxes SB, the user of the terminal device 10 can intuitively know what the recommended specifications are for the selected industry, and by referring to the speech bubble BL, the user can easily understand the recommendation rate of the recommended specifications.

[0065] When the recommended specifications and the like are displayed, the product specification selection unit 15c determines whether or not the selection of product specifications is complete (step S14). If the product specification selection unit 15c determines that the selection of product specifications is not complete (if the determination result in step S14 is "NO"), the process returns to step S12, and the product specifications are selected in accordance with the user's instructions. On the other hand, if the product specification selection unit 15c determines that the selection of product specifications is complete (if the determination result in step S14 is "YES"), the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 ends.

[0066] In step S14, if the product specification selection unit 15c determines that the selection of product specifications has been completed by pressing the estimate button B2 with a check mark in the selection box SB, the estimate request unit 15d requests the creation of an estimate after the series of processes shown in Fig. 3 is completed. Specifically, the estimate request unit 15d acquires the product specifications selected by the product specification selection unit 15c (the product specifications with a check mark in the selection box SB) and controls the communication unit 14 to send a request for creation of an estimate to the server device 40, including information such as the acquired product specifications, the requester, and the desired delivery date. The estimate created by the server device 40 is sent to the terminal device 10 and stored in the storage unit 13 of the terminal device 10.

[0067] Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of a quotation created in one embodiment of the present invention. The quotation Q shown in Figure 6 includes a description field F1 in which the "product name" of the product selected by the user and the "specifications" of the product selected by the user are entered, and a description field F2 in which the estimated price is entered. Note that the quotation Q shown in Figure 6 was created when the automatic specification selection button B1 shown in Figure 5 was pressed to automatically select appropriate product specifications, i.e., recommended specifications.

[0068] As described above, in this embodiment, when industry information indicating the industry in which a product (e.g., a field device) is used is input, the terminal device 10 transmits the input industry information to the server device 20. Upon receiving the industry information transmitted from the terminal device 10, the server device 20 refers to the database 30, extracts product information associated with the industry information, and performs statistical processing on the extracted product specifications to determine recommended specifications, which are product specifications to be recommended. The server device 20 then transmits the determined recommended specifications to the terminal device 10 that transmitted the industry information.

[0069] As a result, the user of the terminal device 10 can know the appropriate product specifications according to the type of industry in which the product will be used, simply by inputting industry information indicating the type of industry in which the product will be used. In this way, this embodiment can support the user in selecting product specifications by operating the terminal device 10. Furthermore, this embodiment can quickly know the appropriate product specifications according to the type of industry in which the product will be used, so that a request for creation of a quotation can be made in a short time, and high quotation accuracy can be achieved.

[0070] The product specification selection support system, terminal device, product specification selection support method, terminal program, server device, and server program according to the embodiments of the present invention have been described above. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be freely modified within the scope of the present invention.

[0071] For example, the above-described embodiment presents appropriate product specifications according to the industry indicated by the industry information input to the terminal device 10. However, the present invention is not limited to presenting appropriate product specifications according to the industry, but can be applied to presenting appropriate product specifications according to the conditions under which the product is used. Examples of the conditions under which the product is used include the country, region, or company in which the product is used, the laws and regulations of the place where the product is used (Radio Law, Explosion-Proof Standards, Waste Management Law, etc.), the object to be measured (substance, measurement range, etc.), etc.

[0072] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a first modified example of a product specification selection screen displayed on a terminal device in an embodiment of the present invention. The product specification selection screen G2 shown in Fig. 7 is obtained by replacing the industry selection area R1 of the product specification selection screen G1 shown in Fig. 4 with a measurement target selection area R3. The measurement target selection area R3 is an area for selecting the measurement target of the field device for which an estimate is to be made.

[0073] In the example shown in Figure 7, the major and minor categories of the measurement targets of field devices are displayed in a list format with check boxes CB. For example, "Fluid Material" and "Fluid Temperature" are displayed as major categories. "Liquid," "Gas," and "Steam" are displayed as minor categories of "Fluid Material," and "-40°C to 120°C" and "-70°C to 315°C" are displayed as minor categories of "Fluid Temperature."

[0074] In addition, when presenting appropriate product specifications according to the conditions under which the product will be used (for example, the object to be measured), it is necessary to change the contents of the database 30 according to those conditions. For example, the database 30 illustrated in Fig. 2 associates information about the product with information about the industry, but it needs to be changed to associate information about the product with condition information indicating the conditions under which the product will be used (for example, the object to be measured).

[0075] When the user of the terminal device 10 selects the check box CB associated with the measurement object displayed in the measurement object selection area R3 and presses the automatic specification selection button B1, information indicating the measurement object selected in the measurement object selection area R3 is acquired by the target industry acquisition unit 15b shown in Figure 1 and transmitted to the server device 20.

[0076] The server device 20 refers to the database 30, extracts product specifications associated with the received information indicating the measurement target, and performs statistical processing on the extracted product specifications to determine recommended specifications. As the statistical processing, the server device 20 performs processing to determine the frequency with which the product specifications extracted from the database 30 have been selected in the past, and sets the product specification with the highest frequency as the recommended specification. The server device 20 also calculates a recommendation rate for the product specification according to the determined frequency, and transmits the calculated recommendation rate to the terminal device 10 together with the recommended specification.

[0077] As a result, the specification selection area R2 on the product specification selection screen G2 of the terminal device 10 displays the same information as the specification selection area R2 on the product specification selection screen G1 shown in Fig. 5. That is, a check mark is added to the selection box SB corresponding to the "specification" that has been set as the recommended specification, indicating that it is a recommended specification, and a speech bubble BL showing the recommendation rate is added.

[0078] In the above-described embodiment, the check boxes CB are used to select the major and minor categories of industries listed in the industry selection area R1 on the product specification selection screen G1 shown in Fig. 4. However, the industry may be input in free word format.

[0079] Figure 8 is a diagram showing a second modified example of a product specification selection screen displayed on a terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention. The product specification selection screen G3 shown in Figure 8 is obtained by replacing the industry selection area R1 of the product specification selection screen G1 shown in Figure 4 with an industry input area R4. The user can input any word into the industry input area R4 by operating the operation unit 11.

[0080] When such a product specification selection screen G3 is displayed, the target industry acquisition unit 15b identifies the industry based on the words entered in the industry input field R4. For example, the target industry acquisition unit 15b identifies the industry by performing natural language processing on the words entered in the industry input field R4. Alternatively, the target industry acquisition unit 15b may identify the industry by utilizing AI (artificial intelligence) such as machine learning.

[0081] In the above-described embodiment, the database 30 stores, for example, information indicating order records, maintenance records, and service records for each user of a field device. However, the database 30 may store information indicating estimate records, specification selection records, and other records.

[0082] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the display control unit 15a of the terminal device 10 displays the product specification selection screen G1 (see FIG. 4) using the information stored in the storage unit 13. However, when the terminal device 10 accesses the server device 20, the server device 20 may display the product specification selection screen G1 on the terminal device 10.

[0083] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the terminal device 10 requests the server device 40 to create a quotation. However, the terminal device 10 may not only request the server device 40 to create a quotation, but also place an order for a product with the server device 40.

[0084] In the above-described embodiment, a field device is used as an example of a product for which an estimate is to be made. However, the product for which an estimate is to be made is not limited to a field device, and an estimate can be made for any product. For example, the product for which an estimate is to be made may be an automobile. If the product for which an estimate is to be made is an automobile, recommended optional specifications may be presented to the user based on the intended use, family composition, budget, etc. when selecting optional specifications for the automobile. [Explanation of symbols]

[0085] 1 Product specification selection support system 10 Terminal Equipment 11 Control section 12 Display section 14 Communications Department 20 Server device 30 databases

Claims

1. a terminal device to which condition information indicating conditions under which the field device as a product is used is input; a server device that refers to a database in which condition information is associated with previously selected product specifications from among a plurality of product specifications prepared for the basic specifications of the field device, extracts the product specifications associated with the condition information input to the terminal device, performs statistical processing on the extracted product specifications, and determines recommended specifications, which are product specifications to be recommended, and presents these to the terminal device; Equipped with the server device performs statistical processing to determine the frequency with which the extracted product specifications have been selected in the past, and presents to the terminal device a recommendation rate for the product specifications according to the determined frequency together with the recommended specifications; The terminal device includes an input unit to which the condition information is input; a communication unit that communicates with the server device, transmits the condition information inputted to the input unit to the server device, and receives the recommended specifications and the recommendation rate transmitted from the server device; a display unit that displays the recommended specifications and the recommendation rate received by the communication unit; Equipped with the display unit displays the basic specifications and the plurality of prepared product specifications, and affixes a mark indicating that the product specifications that have been set as the recommended specifications in the server device are the recommended specifications. Product specification selection support system.

2. 2. The product specification selection support system according to claim 1, wherein the condition information is information indicating the type of business in which the product is used.

3. A product specification selection support system as described in claim 1, wherein the condition information is information indicating the measurement target of the field device.

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