Design device, design method, and computer program

Abstract

To provide a design device capable of performing structural design in a short period of time at low cost. The reinforced concrete structure has a frame F, which is composed of a reference frame SF consisting of four columns P, four frontage beams FB (more precisely, two frontage beams FB and two foundation frontage beams FFB), and four depth beams DB (more precisely, two depth beams DB and two foundation depth beams FDB), arranged in any number in the length, width, and height directions. The columns P, frontage beams FB, foundation frontage beams FFB, depth beams DB, and foundation depth beams FDB are standardized from the beginning so that the frame F, which is composed of the arrangement of the reference frames SF, can withstand the load of the reinforced concrete structure. When the user specifies the frontage, depth, floor height, and number of floors of the reinforced concrete structure, the design device automatically designs the reinforced concrete structure.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates primarily to a design device for designing reinforced concrete skeletons for residential buildings. [Background technology]

[0002] In Japan, houses are mainly made of wood or reinforced concrete. In recent years, houses with reinforced concrete structures, which are highly stylish and sturdy, have become increasingly popular.

[0003] However, houses with reinforced concrete frameworks have not yet become more popular than those with wooden frameworks, mainly because, as is well known, the cost of building a house with a reinforced concrete framework is generally much higher than the cost of building a house with a wooden framework. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] One reason why the cost of building a house with a reinforced concrete structure is so high is that the materials needed to build a house with a reinforced concrete structure tend to be more expensive than the materials needed to build a house with a wooden structure. Another reason is that building a house with a reinforced concrete frame requires design, including structural design, which is generally expensive. Structural design is expensive because it is generally complex. Structural design generally means designing the foundation and framework of the building economically while meeting safety performance requirements so that it can withstand various loads. For example, in the case of a rigid-frame building, the load is supported by multiple columns and beams. In many cases, in order to keep the cost of construction materials as low as possible, the structure of the columns and beams (for example, the thickness of the columns and beams, and the position and number of reinforcing bars arranged inside them) is almost always different for each column or beam, and it is more common to adopt a complex structure in which the structure of the columns and beams is different for each column or beam, in order to both satisfy the safety performance required of the building after construction and keep the cost of construction materials as low as possible. Nowadays, structural designs have become too complicated, and in most cases, they are carried out using dedicated software installed on a computer, and this dedicated software is created using the approach described above.

[0005] As mentioned above, structural design is extremely complicated. This causes other problems. As is clear from the above explanation, the work done by structural designers is extremely complicated, and therefore the time required for structural design itself is long and the cost required for structural design is often relatively high. For example, the structural design of a detached house with a reinforced concrete frame generally takes about two months and costs between 500,000 and 1 million yen. Furthermore, until the structural design is complete, the construction materials required to construct the building cannot be determined, and neither can the number of construction steps (which are related to the labor costs required during construction) be determined, so it is not possible to estimate the costs required to construct the building. Even if an estimate of the costs required to construct the building is available after the structural design is completed, if the cost is excessive, the client will not be able to make the decision to begin construction of a house with a concrete frame. Because such risks exist even after the structural design is completed, many clients are hesitant to even begin structural design, which requires a large amount of expense. Furthermore, the complexity of such structural designs increases the labor costs when actually constructing a reinforced concrete structure. For example, if the structure of each column and each beam is different, the work of placing rebar inside the concrete formwork will be different for each column and each beam, which increases the difficulty of the work, leading to reduced work efficiency and the occurrence of errors. These circumstances also hinder the spread of concrete-structured homes.

[0006] If structural design could be simplified, for example by reducing costs, it could potentially resolve some of the issues preventing the widespread use of concrete-framed homes. However, in the current situation where structural design has the objective of "generally designing the foundations and framework of a building economically while satisfying safety performance so that it can withstand various loads," and where it is believed that the correct approach to achieve this objective is to "achieve both the satisfaction of the safety performance required of the building after construction and the reduction of construction material costs as much as possible by adopting a complex structure in which the structures of columns and beams are different for each column or beam," the idea of ​​simplifying structural design does not even exist. Therefore, at least at present, no realistic means have been proposed to make structural design cheaper.

[0007] The objective of this project is to propose a technology that can simplify structural design, thereby enabling it to be completed in a short time and at low cost, and in some cases even reducing the cost required to build a house. This technology is exclusively related to a design device that uses a computer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The invention proposed by the applicant to solve the above problems will first be outlined. As already mentioned, conventional structural design is complicated. The reason why structural design becomes complicated is, for example, to ensure the strength of the building or house provided by the columns and beams by giving only the minimum necessary strength to the components of the rigid frame structure, such as columns and beams, while minimizing the cost of construction materials. In order to give only the minimum necessary strength to the columns and beams, it is necessary to give different structures to the columns and beams at different positions in the reinforced concrete structure, which results in a complicated structural design. In a building, it is common for the thickness of each column and the number of reinforcing bars contained therein to differ, and it is also common for the thickness and number of reinforcing bars to differ at different height positions of the same column. On the other hand, the simplest shape for a rigid frame structure in which the load of a building or house is supported by columns and beams is a rectangular parallelepiped frame. A rectangular parallelepiped frame includes four beams each extending in the horizontal and mutually perpendicular x- and y-directions, and four columns extending in the vertical z-direction. Among such rectangular parallelepiped frames, we define a frame with a specific shape as a reference frame, and then construct a new rectangular parallelepiped frame by connecting (or arranging) these reference frames in the x, y, and z directions. Among adjacent reference frames, overlapping columns and beams are combined into one. This makes it possible to construct a rectangular parallelepiped frame with a certain degree of freedom. Next, consider the case where walls and slabs are added to a rectangular frame made by connecting reference frames to obtain a reinforced concrete structure. However, we will not consider a frame that is somewhat unconventional, such as building a new frame by stacking the above-mentioned reference frames 20 times in the z direction only. We will consider a case where the reference frames are arranged within the range planned by the designer of the design device, for example, X number of reference frames in the x direction, Y number in the y direction, and Z number in the z direction, and walls and slabs are further added to the new frame. Columns, beams, walls, and slabs are components of a reinforced concrete structure made of reinforced concrete. It is possible to standardize the structure of columns and beams in a standard frame so that a new frame created by stacking standard frames within a planned range can always support the weight of a house with a reinforced concrete structure that includes that frame. However, among the beams, the beam that comes into contact with the ground at the bottom is given a different standard from the other beams so that it also serves as the foundation. In this way, a reinforced concrete structure including a new frame obtained by arranging X reference frames in the x direction, Y frames in the y direction, and Z frames in the z direction (however, the allowable combinations of X, Y, and Z are determined in advance by the designer of the design device, etc.) will be able to support the load of a house that has this reinforced concrete structure without the need for new structural design or structural calculations. However, in this case, the configuration of columns and beams included in the reference frame will often have performance that exceeds that required for the new frame created by arranging the reference frames to support the load of the house. In addition, if it is guaranteed that a reinforced concrete structure including a new frame obtained by arranging X pieces of reference frames including the above-mentioned standardized columns and beams in the x direction, Y pieces in the y direction, and Z pieces in the z direction (however, as described above, the allowable combinations of X, Y, and Z are determined in advance by the designer of the design device, etc.), can always support the load of a house including it, then a reinforced concrete structure including a new frame obtained by arranging X pieces of frames (quasi-reference frames) in the x direction, Y pieces in the y direction, and Z pieces in the z direction, which conform to a reference frame that is smaller in at least one of the x direction, y direction, and z direction than a reference frame having columns and beams similar to the standardized columns and beams, will also be able to always support the load of a house having that reinforced concrete structure, without the need for a new structural design or structural calculation. In this case, it will become more common for the configuration of columns and beams included in the quasi-reference frame to have a performance that exceeds the performance required for the new frame created by arranging the quasi-reference frames to support the load of the house. However, if it is permitted to give the columns and beams the excessive performance explained above, and the shape of the dwelling is restricted to a rectangular parallelepiped (not limited to a perfect rectangular parallelepiped, as will be described later), the structural design becomes extremely simple, and the time and cost required for the structural design can be reduced. Structural design of a reinforced concrete frame, which is carried out based on a simplified reference frame made by standardizing columns, beams, etc., is compatible with computers, and there are few difficulties in carrying it out using design equipment including computers. In addition, estimates for constructing a concrete structure, which could only be made after rigorous structural design in the conventional design method, can now be made after the structural design is completed, which can be done in a short period of time. Furthermore, in the process of simplifying the structural design, reinforced concrete structures with standardized columns and beams can improve the efficiency of construction work by reducing the difficulty of the work required to actually build the reinforced concrete structure, which may result in a reduction in labor costs. In addition, it may be possible to reduce material procurement costs by purchasing construction materials (e.g. rebar) in bulk, which are common to each standardized column or beam. Taking these factors into account, the cost of building a reinforced concrete structure designed with a simple structural design (the total cost from structural design to building the reinforced concrete structure) is often lower than before, even when the increased cost of giving excess performance to the columns and beams is taken into account. The present invention was made based on this idea.

[0009] The present invention is realized as a design device (sometimes simply referred to as a "design device" in this application) for a reinforced concrete structure for a house (sometimes simply referred to as a "reinforced concrete structure" in this application) as follows. The design device for a reinforced concrete structure of the present invention is a design device comprising an input unit that accepts input made by a user using an input device, a rule data recording unit that records rule data which is data on design rules for reinforced concrete structures for residential buildings, and a design unit that designs the reinforced concrete structure using the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit based on the input received by the input unit, and generates design data which is data on the designed reinforced concrete structure. The rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit includes a rule for determining whether the reinforced concrete skeleton is a rectangular structure in plan view, the rule being determined by a frontage line, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending in the frontage direction, and a depth line, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending from one end of the frontage line in a direction perpendicular to the frontage line, and at least both ends of two sides parallel to the depth line of the rectangular structure, and a rule for determining whether the two sides parallel to the depth line are equal to or shorter than a first length, which is a predetermined length. a depth division position that is a position on the two sides dividing the frontage line segment into a first length and a second length, and an auxiliary line segment that is a virtual line segment of the same length as the depth line segment and extends from a frontage division position that is a position on the frontage line segment dividing the frontage line segment into a first length and a second length or less when the frontage line segment is longer than a second length, the auxiliary line segment being erected at both ends of the auxiliary line segment and at a position corresponding to the depth division position on the auxiliary line segment; A plurality of frontage beams, which are long members that horizontally connect both upper and lower ends of all two columns that are parallel to the frontage line and adjacent to the frontage line, in a direction parallel to the frontage line, and a plurality of foundation frontage beams among the frontage beams that are in contact with the ground; a plurality of depth beams, which are long members that horizontally connect both upper and lower ends of all two columns that are parallel to the depth line and adjacent to the columns, in a direction parallel to the depth line, and a plurality of foundation depth beams among the depth beams that are in contact with the ground; and a plurality of foundation depth beams that are located on two sides of the rectangular area that are parallel to the frontage line. It is recorded that the rectangular space surrounding the building is provided with a plurality of plate-shaped walls that close the gap between adjacent columns parallel to the frontage line, or a plurality of plate-shaped walls that close the gap between adjacent columns located on two sides parallel to the depth line of the rectangular area or on the auxiliary line, and a plurality of plate-shaped slabs that horizontally close a rectangular space surrounded by two of the frontage beams and two of the depth beams, or two of the foundation frontage beams and two of the foundation depth beams, at height positions above and below the columns. In addition to the rule data, the rule data recording unit records the following data, which are pre-standardized as data usable for the reinforced concrete structure so that the structural design strength of the frame composed only of the columns, the frontage beams, the foundation frontage beams, the depth beams, and the foundation depth beams is sufficient: column data specifying the standardized thickness of the columns and the configuration of the longitudinal reinforcing bars; frontage beam data specifying the standardized thickness of the frontage beams and the configuration of the longitudinal reinforcing bars; foundation frontage beam data specifying the standardized thickness of the foundation frontage beams and the configuration of the longitudinal reinforcing bars; depth beam data specifying the standardized thickness of the depth beams and the configuration of the longitudinal reinforcing bars; foundation depth beam data specifying the standardized thickness of the foundation depth beams and the configuration of the longitudinal reinforcing bars; wall data specifying the configuration of the walls per unit area; and slab data specifying the configuration of the slabs per unit area. The input from the input unit includes designation data including information designating the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment. The design unit is configured to generate design data, which is data that specifies the reinforced concrete structure by combining the columns specified by the column data recorded in the rule data recording unit, the frontage beams specified by the frontage beam data, the foundation frontage beams specified by the foundation frontage beam data, the depth beams specified by the depth beam data, the foundation depth beams specified by the foundation depth beam data, the walls specified by the wall data, and the slabs specified by the slab data, based on the rectangular range specified by the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment received from the input unit.

[0010] The design device for reinforced concrete structures according to the present invention is a design device comprising an input unit which accepts input made by a user using an input device, a rule data recording unit which records rule data which is data on design rules for reinforced concrete structures for residential buildings, and a design unit which designs a reinforced concrete structure using the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit based on the input accepted by the input unit, and generates design data which is data on the designed reinforced concrete structure. The input section, which can be configured by an input terminal, an interface, etc., the rule data recording section, which can be configured by a recording device such as a ROM (read only memory), a RAM (random access memory), a HDD (hard disk drive), or an SSD (solid state drive), and the design section, which can be configured by a CPU (central processing unit), a GPU (graphics processing unit), or a GPGPU (general purpose computing on GPU), etc., are all normally provided in a computer, and the design device is configured by a computer. The design device may be a dedicated machine intended only for designing reinforced concrete structures, but may also be configured by installing a computer program on a general-purpose computer to cause the computer to function as a design device for reinforced concrete structures. The rule data recorded in the rule data recording section includes the following rules to be followed when designing a reinforced concrete structure: The reinforced concrete structure contains multiple columns. The rules for columns are as follows: The pillars are erected in pairs at least at both ends on two sides parallel to the depth line of a rectangular range, which is a rectangular range in plan view defined by a frontage line, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending in the frontage direction, and a depth line, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending from one end of the frontage line in a direction perpendicular to the frontage line, and at depth division positions, which are positions on two sides that evenly divide the two sides parallel to the depth line into lengths equal to or less than the first length when the length is longer than the first length, which is a predetermined length, and at both ends of an auxiliary line, which is a virtual line segment of the same length as the depth line extending from the frontage division position, which is a position on the frontage line that evenly divides the frontage line into lengths equal to or less than the second length when the length is longer than the second length, which is a predetermined length, and at positions corresponding to the depth division positions on the auxiliary line. The pillars are vertical long members with a length equal to or less than the third length, which is a predetermined length. Each reinforced concrete structure includes multiple frontage beams and foundation frontage beams. The rules for frontage beams and foundation frontage beams are as follows: The frontage beam and foundation frontage beam are long members that horizontally connect the upper and lower ends of all two columns that are parallel to the frontage line and adjacent to each other. The frontage beam that comes into contact with the ground is the foundation frontage beam. Each reinforced concrete structure includes multiple depth beams and foundation depth beams. The rules for the depth beams and foundation depth beams are as follows: The depth beam and foundation depth beam are long members that horizontally connect the upper and lower ends of all two columns that are parallel to the depth line and adjacent to each other. The foundation depth beam is the one that comes into contact with the ground among the multiple depth beams. A reinforced concrete structure contains multiple walls. The rules for walls are as follows: The walls are constructed by sealing the gap between adjacent columns located on the two sides parallel to the frontage line of the rectangular area with plates parallel to the frontage line, or by sealing the gap between adjacent columns located on the two sides or auxiliary lines parallel to the depth line of the rectangular area with plates parallel to the depth line. A reinforced concrete structure contains multiple slabs. The rules for slabs are as follows: The slab is in the form of a plate and horizontally fills a rectangular space surrounded by two frontage beams and two depth beams, or two foundation frontage beams and two foundation frontage beams, at the height above and below the columns. As can be seen from the above rules, particularly the rules regarding columns, the reinforced concrete structure of the present invention is designed based on a rectangular area, which is the area of ​​a rectangle in a plan view defined by a frontage line, which is an imaginary line segment of a predetermined length extending in the frontage direction, and a depth line, which is an imaginary line segment of a predetermined length extending from one end of the frontage line in a direction perpendicular to the frontage line. The rectangular range is a rectangular range when viewed from above. The planar shape of the rectangular range is defined by two lines that are perpendicular to each other when viewed from above. One of the two lines is the frontage line, and the other is the depth line. Note that the part that corresponds to the frontage line of the final house constructed does not necessarily correspond to the frontage of the house, and the same applies to the depth line. The reinforced concrete structure has a frame constructed by arranging at least one rectangular parallelepiped frame each in the length, width and height directions, which correspond to the reference frame described above. The frame is constructed by columns regulated by the rules for columns, frontage beams and foundation frontage beams regulated by the rules for frontage beams, and depth beams and foundation depth beams regulated by the rules for depth beams. There are multiple of each, at least four of each. The frontage beams that come into contact with the ground are foundation frontage beams, and the depth beams that come into contact with the ground are foundation depth beams. The foundation frontage beams and foundation depth beams also serve as foundations. The pillars are erected at least at both ends of the two sides parallel to the depth line segment of the rectangular area. In other words, the pillars are always erected at the four corners of the rectangular area. In addition, when the depth line segment is longer than a first length, which is a predetermined length, the pillars are also erected at depth division positions, which are positions on the two sides that divide the two sides parallel to the depth line segment into lengths equal to or less than the first length. In addition, when the frontage line segment is longer than a second length, which is a predetermined length, the pillars are also erected at both ends of the auxiliary line segment, which is a virtual line segment of the same length as the depth line segment that extends parallel to the depth line segment from the frontage division position, which is a position on the frontage line segment that divides the frontage line segment into lengths equal to or less than the second length, and at positions corresponding to the depth division positions when the depth division positions exist on the depth line segment. The pillars are vertical, and their length is equal to or less than a third length, which is a predetermined length. The frontage beams and foundation frontage beams are as follows. Frontage beams horizontally connect the upper and lower ends of all two columns that are parallel to the frontage line and adjacent to each other, in a direction parallel to the frontage line. Frontage beams are long materials. The frontage beams that come into contact with the ground are foundation frontage beams. As mentioned above, the distance between two adjacent columns located on a straight line parallel to the frontage line across which the frontage beams are stretched is less than the second length, so the length of the frontage beams (and foundation frontage beams) is always less than the second length. The depth beam and foundation depth beam are defined as follows. A depth beam is a long material that horizontally connects both the upper and lower ends of all two columns that are parallel to the depth line and adjacent to each other in a direction parallel to the depth line. Among the depth beams, the one that comes into contact with the ground is the foundation depth beam. As mentioned above, the distance between two adjacent columns located on a straight line parallel to the depth line across which the depth beam is stretched is less than the first length, so the length of the depth beam (and foundation depth beam) is always less than the first length. There are multiple walls, and among the columns located on the two sides parallel to the frontage line of the rectangular area, the spaces between adjacent columns are sealed with plates parallel to the frontage line, or among the columns located on the two sides parallel to the depth line of the rectangular area or on the auxiliary line, the spaces between adjacent columns are sealed with plates parallel to the depth line. There are multiple slabs, and they horizontally fill a rectangular space surrounded by two front beams and two depth beams, or two foundation front beams and two foundation depth beams, at the height above and below the columns. The slab forms the roof or floor. In addition to the rule data, the rule data recording unit records data on building materials that have been standardized in advance as usable for reinforced concrete structures, specifically data on columns, frontage beams, foundation frontage beams, depth beams, foundation depth beams, walls, and slabs, so that the structural design strength of a frame consisting of only columns, frontage beams, foundation frontage beams, depth beams, and foundation depth beams is sufficient. These data are also used in the design of reinforced concrete structures. Specifically, the data on building materials is column data specifying the standardized thickness of columns and the configuration of longitudinal reinforcing bars, frontage beam data specifying the standardized thickness of frontage beams and the configuration of longitudinal reinforcing bars, foundation frontage beam data specifying the standardized thickness of foundation frontage beams and the configuration of longitudinal reinforcing bars, depth beam data specifying the standardized thickness of depth beams and the configuration of longitudinal reinforcing bars, foundation depth beam data specifying the standardized thickness of foundation depth beams and the configuration of longitudinal reinforcing bars, wall data specifying the configuration of walls per unit area, and slab data specifying the configuration of slabs per unit area.

[0011] The reinforced concrete structure designed by the design system of the present application employs a structure that withstands loads using a frame. In other words, the walls and slabs do not need to have the function of bearing loads. In other words, the reinforced concrete structure of the present application employs a so-called rigid frame structure. The frame is a reference frame described in the above overview of the present invention, which is composed of four columns, four front beams (or two front beams and two foundation front beams), and four depth beams (or two depth beams and two foundation depth beams), and is arranged in the x direction (e.g., the front line direction) and the y direction (e.g., the depth line direction). As already described, the length of the columns is equal to or less than the third length, the length of the front beams (and foundation front beams) is equal to or less than the second length, and the length of the depth beams (and foundation depth beams) is equal to or less than the first length. Here, the thickness and longitudinal composition of the reinforcing bars of the columns, front beams (and foundation front beams), and depth beams (and foundation depth beams) are standardized. This standardization is designed so that the structural strength of the frame composed only of the columns, front beams, foundation front beams, depth beams, and foundation depth beams is sufficient. The conditions that such standardized columns, frontage beams (and foundation frontage beams), and depth beams (and foundation depth beams) must satisfy can be easily determined as conditions for a reinforced concrete structure including a frame obtained by arranging X, Y, and Z pieces of the reference frame in the x, y, and z directions (however, the allowable combinations of X, Y, and Z are determined in advance by the designer of the design device, etc.) in the x, y, and z directions, respectively, so that the frame can support the load of the entire reinforced concrete structure. The frames included in the reinforced concrete structure of the present application are reference frames as described above arranged in the x and y directions or in the x, y and z directions, or reference frames, which should be called quasi-reference frames, shorter in length in at least one of the x, y and z directions than the reference frames as described above, are arranged in the x and y directions or in the x, y and z directions. In either case, a reinforced concrete structure including such frames can withstand the load of the entire reinforced concrete structure by the frames included therein alone, without the need for a new structural design. The design device is adapted to receive input from a user at an input unit. The input from the input unit includes designation data including information for designating the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment. The designation data determines the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment, and thus the shape and size of the rectangular range. Once the shape and size of the rectangular range are determined, the configuration of the reinforced concrete structure to be erected in the rectangular range, that is, the arrangement of the columns, frontage beams, foundation frontage beams, depth beams, foundation depth beams, walls, and slabs that constitute the reinforced concrete structure, is determined by rules specified by rule data that defines a design method for the reinforced concrete structure recorded in the rule data recording unit. The design unit included in the design device designs the reinforced concrete structure thus determined using the designation data received from the input unit and the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit. Of course, the columns, frontage beams, foundation frontage beams, depth beams, foundation depth beams, walls, and slabs used in the designed reinforced concrete structure will be in accordance with the column data, frontage beam data, foundation frontage beam data, depth beam data, foundation depth beam data, wall data, and slab data recorded in the rule data recording section. As a result, the frame included in the designed reinforced concrete structure is obtained by arranging X, Y, and Z reference frames, which are smaller than the reference frame and should be called reference frames or quasi-reference frames, in the x, y, and z directions, respectively (however, the allowable combinations of X, Y, and Z are determined in advance by the designer of the design device, etc.), as described above, and therefore it is guaranteed that the frame can withstand the weight of the reinforced concrete structure. In this way, the design system of the present application makes it possible to easily design a reinforced concrete structure that can withstand loads using an internal frame based on standardized building material data and rule data, and also makes it possible to reduce the time and cost required for structural design. In addition, the design system of the present application makes it possible to make an estimate promptly after structural design, which can be completed in a short time. In addition, the design device of the present application also produces the following secondary effects. First, by standardizing the columns, frontage beams, foundation frontage beams, depth beams and depth beams of the foundation to have the same structure except for their length, and also standardizing the structure of the walls and slabs, it becomes possible to standardize the work of constructing the formwork for pouring concrete and the work of placing reinforcing bars in the formwork, which are necessary when building a reinforced concrete structure. This makes it easier to build a house with the above-mentioned reinforced concrete structure, and leads to a reduction in the cost of building a reinforced concrete structure. Furthermore, by standardizing the columns, frontage beams, foundation frontage beams, depth beams and foundation depth beams to have the same structure except for their length, and also standardizing the structures of the walls and slabs, not for one reinforced concrete structure but for many reinforced concrete structures, it is possible to minimize, for example, the types of rebar that need to be inserted in columns, etc. when constructing a reinforced concrete structure. This makes it possible to purchase a small variety of building materials in large quantities, and therefore makes it possible to reduce the purchasing costs of building materials required to construct the reinforced concrete structure of the present application.

[0012] The frontage segment may be equal to or less than a second length. In this case, there will be no auxiliary line segments within the rectangular area described above, and the columns will only be on the sides that enclose the rectangular area. Such a reinforced concrete structure is suitable for a detached house. On the other hand, the frontage line segment may be equal to or shorter than the second length. In this case, the two adjacent spaces separated by the auxiliary line segment may constitute another residence. In this case, at least one auxiliary line segment will exist within the rectangular area described above, and columns will exist not only on the sides that enclose the rectangular area, but also on both ends of the auxiliary line segment, and in some cases, in the middle of the auxiliary line segment. In this case, the rectangular area will be divided by walls built on the auxiliary line segment. Such a reinforced concrete structure is suitable for apartments, condominiums, and other collective housing. As described above, in the reinforced concrete skeleton of the present invention, the structures of the columns, front beams and foundation front beams, depth beams and foundation depth beams, as well as the structures of the walls and slabs are standardized. Sets of standardized columns, front beams and foundation front beams, depth beams and foundation depth beams, walls, and slabs can be prepared in advance as different sets, one set for a reinforced concrete skeleton intended for a detached house and another set for a reinforced concrete skeleton intended for an apartment building. It should be noted that different sets of the first length, second length, and third length may be prepared for detached houses and for apartment buildings.

[0013] The designation data input from the input unit may include information designating the number of floors of the reinforced concrete skeleton, which is two or more floors. In this case, the design unit may be configured to design extension columns, which are new columns having the third length or less and the same thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration as the columns, to be connected to all of the columns by extending them vertically in the same number as the number specified by the information designating the number of floors, one less than the number specified by the information designating the number of floors, and to design a new set of the front beam, the depth beam, the wall, and the slab, each having the same configuration as the front beam, the depth beam, the wall, and the slab, for each extended column. In this way, reinforced concrete structures can be used for multi-storey residential buildings, whether single-family homes or apartment buildings. In this case, the extension column is standardized in the same way as the column. Also, the length of the extension column is set to be equal to or less than the third length, in the same way as the column. Therefore, even if a reinforced concrete structure corresponding to a multi-story structure is designed using a design device, for the reasons described in the overview of the present invention, a reinforced concrete structure designed with a simpler structural design than conventional structures is guaranteed to be able to withstand the load of the entire reinforced concrete structure by the frame included therein. The length of the extension column can be the same as the length of the column on the first floor. In that case, the extension column and the column will have the same structure, including length, and the floor height of each floor in a reinforced concrete structure that supports multiple floors will be the same. This contributes to simplifying the structural design of the reinforced concrete structure and also contributes to standardizing the installation of formwork and reinforcement work.

[0014] The columns in a reinforced concrete structure designed by the design system of the present invention are standardized with the same thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration. The columns are assumed to have the same thickness and cross-sectional shape over their entire length. The pillar can be, for example, a rectangle in plan view with a length in the depth direction longer than the length in the width direction. In other words, the pillar data can be set so that the pillar specified thereby has such a shape. By doing so, it becomes possible to make the pillar carry part of the wall, and it becomes easier to give the pillar the ability to withstand the load of the reinforced concrete skeleton. In the case where the shape of the column is a rectangle in plan view as described above, the width of the frontage beam, which is the length in the depth direction, may be set equal to the length of the column in the depth direction. The same can be done for the foundation frontage beam. In other words, the frontage beam data and the foundation frontage beam data can be set so that the beam specified thereby has such a shape. By doing so, the width of the frontage beam (and the foundation frontage beam) can be maximized within the range that can be connected to the column, thereby maximizing the effect of the frontage beam (and the foundation frontage beam) in supporting the load of the reinforced concrete structure, and also making it possible to neaten the aesthetic appearance of the connection part between the column and the frontage beam (and the foundation frontage beam). In addition, in order to strengthen the connection between the frontage beams (and foundation frontage beams) and the columns, it is desirable to have the reinforcing bars running along the length of the interior of the frontage beams (and foundation frontage beams) extend to the inside of the columns. However, if the width of the frontage beams (and foundation frontage beams) is made to match the depth direction of the columns, and the width direction of the frontage beams (and foundation frontage beams) corresponds to the depth direction of the columns, it will be possible to insert the reinforcing bars inside the frontage beams (and foundation frontage beams) into the interior of the columns, regardless of where they are located in the cross section. In addition, when the shape of the column is a rectangle in plan view as described above, the width of the depth beam, which is the length in the frontage direction, may be equal to the length of the column in the frontage direction. The same can be done for the foundation depth beam. In other words, the depth beam data and the foundation depth beam data can be set so that the column specified thereby has such a shape. By doing so, the width of the depth beam (and the foundation depth beam) can be maximized within the range that can be connected to the column, so that the effect of the depth beam (and the foundation depth beam) in supporting the load of the reinforced concrete structure can be maximized, and the aesthetic appearance of the connection part between the column and at least one of the depth beam (and the foundation depth beam) can be neatened. In addition, in order to strengthen the connection between the depth beam (and foundation depth beam) and the column, it is desirable to have the rebar running inside the depth beam (and foundation depth beam) in their length direction reach the inside of the column, but if the width of the depth beam (and foundation depth beam) is made to match the length of the column in the frontage direction and the width direction of the depth beam (and foundation depth beam) corresponds to the frontage direction of the column, it will be possible to insert the rebar inside the depth beam (and foundation depth beam) into the column regardless of where it is located in the cross section.

[0015] The input section of the designing apparatus of the present invention is adapted to receive the designated data input by the user as described above. The design device may be a so-called on-premise device. In other words, the design device may be configured to receive, at its input section, designated data input from an input device operated by a user connected to the design device, without going through a network. In this case, the user who inputs the designated data will usually be someone who has been requested by a client to design a reinforced concrete structure. In the case of an on-premise design device, the design data generated by the design department of the design device is used in such a manner that it is recorded in a recording device provided in the design device or that is detachable from the design device, that it is transmitted from the design device to an external device, or that a diagram of a reinforced concrete structure based on the design data is displayed on a display provided in the design device. On the other hand, the input unit in the design device may be configured to receive the designated data from a user terminal operated by the user via a predetermined network. In this case, the design device may include an output unit that transmits the design data to the user terminal via the network. In this case, the design device is a so-called cloud-type device. The network is mainly the Internet, and may include at least the Internet and other networks such as an intranet. In the case of a cloud-type design device, the user who inputs the specified data will mainly be the client himself. The client sends the specified data to the design device via the network, for example, using a user terminal (personal computer, smartphone, etc.) that is a device that the client owns and that can communicate via the network as an input device. In this way, the client can conveniently carry out the structural design of the reinforced concrete frame of the house that he or she wishes to build without human intervention or with minimal human intervention. In the case of a cloud-based design device, the design data generated by the design unit is used by being transmitted from the output unit to a user terminal via a network, although other uses are not excluded. For example, a diagram of a reinforced concrete structure based on the design data may be displayed on the display of the user terminal.

[0016] As described above, the basic function of the design system of the present invention is to design reinforced concrete structures. Here, the design device according to the present invention may include a cost data recording unit that records cost data, which is data necessary for calculating the cost required to construct the reinforced concrete structure specified by the design data, based on the design data, and an estimation unit that estimates the cost required to construct the reinforced concrete structure specified by the design data, based on the design data, using the cost data recorded in the cost data recording unit, and generates estimation data, which is data on the estimated cost. As described above, the configurations of the columns, front beams, foundation front beams, depth beams, foundation depth beams, walls, and slabs that constitute the reinforced concrete skeleton designed by the design device of the present invention are standardized as described above. Therefore, when the design of the reinforced concrete skeleton composed of these components is determined, it is easy to calculate the construction materials required to build the reinforced concrete skeleton and the labor hours required to build the reinforced concrete skeleton. If the data required for such calculations is recorded in the cost data recording unit as cost data, the estimating unit can estimate the cost required to build the reinforced concrete skeleton specified by the design data based on the design data and the cost data, and generate estimate data that is data on the estimated cost. The generated quotation data differs depending on whether the design tool is an on-premise type or a cloud type, as mentioned above, but it can be used in the same manner as the design data. For example, when the design device is a cloud-based device, the quotation data can be transmitted from the design device to a user terminal via a network and used at the user terminal. In this case, the quotation data is sent from the output unit to the user terminal via the network.

[0017] The present inventors also propose a method for designing a reinforced concrete structure as one aspect of the present invention. The effects of this design method are equal to the effects of the design device described above. An example of a method for designing a reinforced concrete structure for a house is a design device including an input unit that receives input made by a user using an input device, a rule data recording unit that records rule data that is data on design rules for reinforced concrete structures for houses, and a design unit that designs the reinforced concrete structure using the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit based on the input received by the input unit, and generates design data that is data on the designed reinforced concrete structure, and The rule data includes data on the reinforced concrete skeleton, the data being set up in pairs with at least both ends on two sides parallel to the depth line of a rectangular range defined in a plan view by a frontage line, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending in a frontage direction, and a depth line, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending from one end of the frontage line in a direction perpendicular to the frontage line, and depth division positions which are positions on the two sides that equally divide the two sides parallel to the depth line into lengths equal to or less than the first length when the length is longer than a first length, which is a predetermined length, and a plurality of pillars, which are vertical elongated members having a length equal to or less than a third length, erected at both ends of an auxiliary line segment, which is a virtual line segment having the same length as the depth line segment and extending from a frontage division position, which is a position on the frontage line segment that divides the frontage line segment into equal segments equal to or less than the second length when the frontage line segment is longer than the second length, and at a position corresponding to the depth division position on the auxiliary line segment; a plurality of frontage beams, which are elongated members horizontally connecting both upper and lower ends of all two of the pillars that are parallel to the frontage line segment and adjacent to each other in a direction parallel to the frontage line segment; a plurality of foundation frontage beams, a plurality of depth beams which are long members horizontally connecting both upper and lower ends of two of the columns which are parallel to the depth line and adjacent to each other in a direction parallel to the depth line, a plurality of foundation frontage beams which are in contact with the ground among the depth beams, and a plurality of plate-shaped walls which close the gap between adjacent columns which are located on two sides of the rectangular area which are parallel to the frontage line in a plate-like manner parallel to the frontage line, or a plurality of plate-shaped walls which close the gap between adjacent columns which are located on two sides of the rectangular area which are parallel to the depth line or on the auxiliary line in a plate-like manner parallel to the depth line;and a plurality of plate-shaped slabs that horizontally close a rectangular space surrounded by two of the front beams and two of the depth beams, or two of the foundation front beams and two of the foundation depth beams, at height positions above and below the column. In addition to the rule data, the rule data recording unit records a standardized column thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration that are pre-standardized as usable for the reinforced concrete structure, so that the structural design strength of a frame composed only of the column, the front beam, the foundation front beam, the depth beam, and the foundation depth beam is sufficient. a column data specifying the width of the front beam and the configuration of the reinforcing bars in the longitudinal direction, a front beam data specifying the width of the foundation front beam and the configuration of the reinforcing bars in the longitudinal direction, a depth beam data specifying the width of the depth beam and the configuration of the reinforcing bars in the longitudinal direction, a foundation depth beam data specifying the width of the foundation depth beam and the configuration of the reinforcing bars in the longitudinal direction, a wall data specifying the configuration of the wall per unit area, and a slab data specifying the configuration of the slab per unit area. This design method includes a process of receiving, as input from the input unit, designation data including information specifying the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment, and a process of generating design data that is data that specifies the reinforced concrete structure by combining the columns identified by the column data recorded in the rule data recording unit, the frontage beams identified by the frontage beam data, the foundation frontage beams identified by the foundation frontage beam data, the depth beams identified by the depth beam data, the foundation depth beams identified by the foundation depth beam data, the walls identified by the wall data, and the slabs identified by the slab data, based on the rectangular range specified by the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment received from the input unit.

[0018] The inventors of the present application also propose, as one aspect of the present invention, a computer program for causing a general-purpose computer to function as the design device of the present application. The effects of such a computer program are equal to the effects of the design device described above. In addition, the effect of the computer program invention is that a general-purpose computer can be made to function as the design device of the present application. One example computer program is a computer program for causing a given computer to function as a design device that includes an input unit that accepts input made by a user using an input device, a rule data recording unit that records rule data that is data on design rules for reinforced concrete structures for residential buildings, and a design unit that designs the reinforced concrete structure using the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit based on the input received by the input unit, and generates design data that is data on the designed reinforced concrete structure. The rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit of the design device includes a rule data recording unit for recording the reinforced concrete skeleton, the rule data recording unit for recording ... a depth division position that is a position on the two sides that divides the frontage line segment equally into the second length or less, and an auxiliary line segment that is a virtual line segment of the same length as the depth line segment and extends from the frontage division position that is a position on the frontage line segment that divides the frontage line segment evenly into the second length or less when the frontage line segment is longer than the second length, and at both ends of the auxiliary line segment, the auxiliary line segment being a virtual line segment of the same length as the depth line segment, and at a position corresponding to the depth division position on the auxiliary line segment; A plurality of frontage beams, which are long members that horizontally connect both upper and lower ends of all two of the columns that are parallel to the frontage line and adjacent to the frontage line, in a direction parallel to the frontage line, and a plurality of foundation frontage beams among the frontage beams that contact the ground; a plurality of depth beams, which are long members that horizontally connect both upper and lower ends of all two of the columns that are parallel to the depth line and adjacent to the frontage line, in a direction parallel to the depth line, and a plurality of foundation depth beams among the depth beams that contact the ground; and It is recorded that the rectangular area includes a plurality of plate-shaped walls that close the gap between adjacent columns parallel to the frontage line, or a plurality of plate-shaped walls that close the gap between adjacent columns located on two sides parallel to the depth line of the rectangular area or on the auxiliary line, and a plurality of plate-shaped slabs that horizontally close a rectangular space surrounded by two of the frontage beams and two of the depth beams, or two of the foundation frontage beams and two of the foundation depth beams, at height positions above and below the columns. In addition to the rule data, the rule data recording unit records the following data, which are pre-standardized as data usable for the reinforced concrete structure so that the structural design strength of the frame composed only of the columns, the frontage beams, the foundation frontage beams, the depth beams, and the foundation depth beams is sufficient: column data specifying the standardized thickness of the columns and the configuration of the longitudinal reinforcing bars; frontage beam data specifying the standardized thickness of the frontage beams and the configuration of the longitudinal reinforcing bars; foundation frontage beam data specifying the standardized thickness of the foundation frontage beams and the configuration of the longitudinal reinforcing bars; depth beam data specifying the standardized thickness of the depth beams and the configuration of the longitudinal reinforcing bars; foundation depth beam data specifying the standardized thickness of the foundation depth beams and the configuration of the longitudinal reinforcing bars; wall data specifying the configuration of the walls per unit area; and slab data specifying the configuration of the slabs per unit area. The input from the input unit includes designation data including information designating the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment. The design unit then functions to generate design data, which is data that specifies the reinforced concrete structure by combining the columns specified by the column data recorded in the rule data recording unit, the frontage beams specified by the frontage beam data, the foundation frontage beams specified by the foundation frontage beam data, the depth beams specified by the depth beam data, the foundation depth beams specified by the foundation depth beam data, the walls specified by the wall data, and the slabs specified by the slab data, based on the rectangular range specified by the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment received from the input unit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a design system including a design device and multiple terminals according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of a terminal included in the system shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a terminal included in the system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 2 is a block diagram showing functional blocks generated within a terminal included in the system shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functional blocks generated within a design device included in the system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a login screen displayed on a display of the terminal. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of the terminal when the user has already logged in. [Figure 8] 2 is a plan view conceptually showing a rectangular range used in a design method executed in a design section of the design device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 9] 2 is a plan view conceptually showing a method for determining the position at which a pillar is to be erected in the design method executed by the design unit of the design device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 10] 2 is a plan view showing a state in which a column has been drawn in a rectangular area in a design method executed by a design unit of the design device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 11] 2A to 2C are diagrams showing a column list, a beam list, a wall list, and a slab list for explaining the concept of component data used in the design method executed in the design unit of the design device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 12] 2 is a plan view conceptually showing a method for determining the positions of a frontage beam and a foundation frontage beam in a design method executed by a design section of the design device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 13] 2 is a plan view conceptually showing a method for determining the placement positions of a depth beam and a foundation depth beam in a design method executed by a design unit of the design device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 14] 2 is a plan view conceptually showing a method for determining the placement positions of walls in a design method executed by a design unit of the design device shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 15] 1. FIG. 4 is a plan view conceptually showing another method for determining the placement positions of walls in the design method executed by the design unit of the design apparatus shown in FIG. [Figure 16]2 is a plan view conceptually showing a method for determining the placement position of a slab in the design method executed by the design unit of the design device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 17] A diagram showing the reinforced concrete structure designed as shown in Figure 16, viewed from the side in Figure 16. [Figure 18] 2 is a perspective view of an example of a frame of a reinforced concrete structure designed by a design method executed in a design unit of the design device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 19] 10 is a perspective view of another example of a frame of a reinforced concrete structure designed by the design method executed in the design section of the design device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing functional blocks generated within a design apparatus according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] A preferred embodiment of the design device for a reinforced concrete skeleton for a house according to the present invention and its modified examples will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the description of the modified examples, the same reference numerals as in the embodiment will be used to refer to the same objects as in the embodiment. In addition, in the description of the modified examples, the same objects as in the embodiment will be omitted in some cases.

[0021] FIG. 1 shows an outline of the overall configuration of a design system including a design device 200 according to the present invention. The system according to the embodiment includes a plurality of terminals 100-1 to 100-N (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as “terminals 100”) and a design device 200. All of these are connectable to a network 400. In this embodiment, the network 400 is, but is not limited to, the Internet, although portions of the network 400 may include other networks, such as a LAN, an intranet, or the like. The terminal 100 in this embodiment corresponds to a user terminal in the present application. The design device 200 and the terminals 100-1 to 100-N are capable of communicating with each other via a network 400.

[0022] Next, the configuration of the terminal 100 will be described. The configuration of each of the terminals 100-1 to 100-N is the same in terms of its relationship with the design device of the present invention. The terminal 100 includes a computer. More specifically, the terminal 100 in this embodiment is configured by a general-purpose computer. The terminal 100 may be a smartphone, tablet, notebook computer, desktop computer, wearable terminal, etc. All of them are required to be capable of communicating via the network 400, and to be capable of generating functional blocks described later by installing a computer program described later, and to be capable of executing processes described later, and other specifications are not particularly important as long as they are capable of doing so. The terminal 100 may be a publicly known or well-known device, and a commercially available device is sufficient. For example, if the terminal 100 is a smartphone or a tablet, the terminal 100 as a smartphone may be, for example, an iPhone (trademark) manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC, and the terminal 100 as a tablet may be, for example, an iPad (trademark) manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC. If the terminal 100 is configured as a notebook computer, desktop computer, wearable device, or the like, any of these may be commercially available. In the following, the discussion will proceed assuming that the terminal 100 is a smartphone, although this is not limited to this.

[0023] An example of the external appearance of the terminal 100 is shown in FIG. The terminal 100 includes a display 101. The display 101 is for displaying still images or moving images, and may be a publicly known or well-known display. The display 101 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display. If the terminal 100 is a desktop personal computer, the display 101 may be external, but in the present application, the terminal 100 is still considered to be equipped with the display 101. The terminal 100 also includes an input device 102. The input device 102 is for a user to input desired information into the terminal 100. The input device 102 may be a publicly known or well-known display. The input device 102 of the terminal 100 in this embodiment is a button type, but is not limited thereto, and may be a numeric keypad, a keyboard, a trackball, a mouse, a voice-to-text input device, a tap key, or the like. In particular, when the terminal 100 is a notebook computer, a desktop computer, or a wearable terminal, the input device 102 will be an external device such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a tapping switch, but in this application, the terminal 100 is still considered to have the input device 102. In addition, when the display 101 is a touch panel, the display 101 also functions as the input device 102, and although not limited to this, this is the case in this embodiment.

[0024] The hardware configuration of the terminal 100 is shown in FIG. The hardware includes a central processing unit (CPU) 111, a read only memory (ROM) 112, a random access memory (RAM) 113, and an interface 114, which are interconnected by a bus 116. The CPU 111 is a computing device that performs calculations. The CPU 111 executes a computer program recorded in, for example, the ROM 112 or the RAM 113 to execute the process described below. Although not shown in the figure, the hardware may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or other large-capacity storage device, and the computer program may be recorded in the large-capacity storage device. The CPU 111 may also be another type of computing device, for example, a graphics processing unit (GPU) or general purpose computing on GPU (GPGPU). The computer program here includes at least a computer program for causing the terminal 100 to execute processes described below (for example, processes for causing the design device 200 to design a reinforced concrete structure using the terminal 100 as an input device, and for receiving output data described below from the design device 200 and causing the display 101 to display as described below). This computer program may be pre-installed in the terminal 100, or may be post-installed in the terminal 100. This computer program may be installed in the terminal 100 via a predetermined recording medium such as a memory card, or via a network such as a LAN or the Internet. The computer program may include data used when the CPU 111 executes information processing according to instructions based on the computer program. ROM 112 records computer programs and data necessary for CPU 111 to execute the processes described below. The computer programs recorded in ROM 112 are not limited to the above, and if terminal 100 is a smartphone, computer programs and data necessary for terminal 100 to function as a smartphone, for example, computer programs and data for implementing functions such as calling and e-mail, are recorded. Terminal 100 is also capable of browsing homepages based on data received via network 400, and is equipped with a known web browser to enable this. The RAM 113 provides a work area necessary for the CPU 111 to perform processing. In some cases, the RAM 113 may store (part of) the above-mentioned computer programs and data. The interface 114 exchanges data between the CPU 111, the RAM 113, etc., which are connected by the bus 116, and the outside. The above-mentioned display 101 and the input device 102 are connected to the interface 114. The operation contents input from the input device 102 are input from the interface 114 to the bus 116. As is well known, image data for displaying an image on the display 101 is sent from the bus 116 to the interface 114, and is output from the interface 114 to the display 101. The interface 114 is also connected to a transmission / reception mechanism (not shown), which is a well-known means for communicating with the outside via a network 400, which is the Internet, and thereby the terminal 100 is able to transmit data via the network 400 and receive data via the network 400. Such data transmission / reception via the network 400 may be performed by wire or wirelessly. For example, when the terminal 100 is a smartphone, such communication would normally be performed wirelessly. As long as this is possible, the configuration of the transmission / reception mechanism may be publicly known or well-known. Data received by the transmitting / receiving mechanism from the network 400 is received by the interface 114, and data passed from the interface 114 to the transmitting / receiving mechanism is sent by the transmitting / receiving mechanism to the outside, for example, the design device 200, via the network 400.

[0025] 4 are generated within the terminal 100 as a result of the CPU 111 executing the computer program. Note that the following functional blocks may be generated by the functions of the above-mentioned computer program alone for causing the terminal 100 to function as the user terminal of the present invention, or may be generated by cooperation between the above-mentioned computer program and an OS or other computer programs installed in the terminal 100. In the terminal 100, an input unit 121, a control unit 122, an image generating unit 123, an output unit 124, and a data recording unit 125 are generated in relation to the functions of the present invention. Of these, the control unit 122 and the image generating unit 123 correspond to the arithmetic unit (CPU 111) in terms of hardware, or are realized by the function of the arithmetic unit that executes information processing according to the instructions of the above-mentioned computer program. When viewed as hardware, the input unit 121 and the output unit 124 correspond to the interface 114, or are realized by the function of the interface 114. More specifically, the input unit 121 and the output unit 124 conceptually correspond to the connection portion between the interface 114 and the bus 116. The data recording unit 125 is realized in terms of hardware by a recording device, that is, the RAM 113 or a large-capacity recording device. All of the information processing performed by these functional blocks is realized by the CPU 111 .

[0026] The input unit 121 receives an input from the interface 114 . The input to the input unit 121 from the interface 114 includes an input from the input device 102. The input from the input device 102 includes, for example, data on a user ID, which is identification information unique to each user for identifying the user, and login data, both of which will be described in detail later. The input from the input device 102 also includes designation data, the details of which will be explained later. The designation data is data including information specifying the length and width of the reinforced concrete structure that the user is going to have the design device 200 design. As will be explained later, the designation data may include information specifying the number of floors and floor height of the reinforced concrete structure that the user is going to have the design device 200 design. The data input from the interface 114 to the input unit 121 includes data input from the transmitting / receiving mechanism to the interface 114. The transmitting / receiving mechanism may receive data sent from the design device 200 via the network 400. The data input from the transmitting / receiving mechanism to the input unit 121 includes image control data, design data, estimate data, etc., all of which will be described later. In any case, the input unit 121 sends the data received from the interface 114 to the control unit 122 .

[0027] The control unit 122 controls all of the functional blocks created within the terminal 100 . The control unit 122 has, for example, the following functions. User ID data and login data may be input to the control unit 122. When the control unit 122 receives these, it links the user ID data with the login data, and further sends them to the output unit 124 with data specifying the design device 200 as the destination. Designation data may also be input to the control unit 122. Upon receiving this, the control unit 122 transmits the designation data to the output unit 124. The control unit 122 may also receive image control data, design data, and estimate data. Upon receiving these, the control unit 122 transmits the image control data, design data, and estimate data to the image generation unit 123. The control unit 122 may also record the design data and estimate data in the data recording unit 125.

[0028] The image generating unit 123 may receive image control data. When the image generating unit 123 receives the image control data, it generates image data for an image based on the image control data. Similarly, when the image generating unit 123 receives design data and estimate data, it has a function of generating image data for displaying an image based on the design data and estimate data on the display 101. In either case, the image generating unit 123 sends the generated image data to the output unit 124. The data recording unit 125 records the design data and the estimate data as described above by the control unit 122. In short, the data recording unit 125 is a recording device that records data. The design data and the estimate data recorded in the data recording unit 125 can be read by the control unit 122, for example.

[0029] The output unit 124 outputs data generated by the functional blocks in the terminal 100 to the interface 114 . As described above, the output unit 124 may receive from the control unit 122 data of the user ID and login data linked to each other, with data specifying the design device 200 as the destination. The output unit 124 that receives this data transmits the data to the transmitting / receiving mechanism via the interface 114. The transmitting / receiving mechanism transmits the user ID data and login data to the design device 200 via the network 400. As described above, there are cases where designated data is sent to the output unit 124 from the control unit 122. The output unit 124 that has accepted the designated data sends the designated data to the transmitting / receiving mechanism via the interface 114. The transmitting / receiving mechanism sends the designated data to the design device 200 via the network 400. Furthermore, image data may be sent from the image generating unit 123 to the output unit 124. Upon receiving the image data, the output unit 124 sends the image data to the interface 114. The image data is sent from the interface 114 to the display 101, and an image based on the image data is displayed on the display 101.

[0030] Next, the configuration of the design device 200 will be described. When viewed as hardware, the design device 200 may be a computer, more specifically, an existing publicly known or well-known server. The hardware configuration may also be general, and roughly speaking, it can follow the hardware configuration of the terminal 100, in which a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, and an interface 114 are connected by a bus 116. However, the design device 200 generally has a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD, an SSD, or the like. The configurations and functions of the CPU, ROM, RAM, interface, bus, and mass storage device of the design device 200 are the same as those of the terminal 100. A transmitting / receiving mechanism for communicating with devices outside the design device 200 via a network 400, similar to that of the terminal 100, is connected to the interface of the design device 200. Information (data) sent from the bus to the interface is sent to the transmitting / receiving mechanism, and is then sent from the transmitting / receiving mechanism to, for example, the terminal 100 via the network 400. Data sent from the terminal 100 via the network 400 and received by the transmitting / receiving mechanism is sent from the transmitting / receiving mechanism to the interface, and from the interface to the bus. The interface of the design device 200 may be connected to a display and input device similar to those of the terminal 100, but as they are not particularly relevant to the present application, their description will be omitted.

[0031] By executing a computer program recorded in a ROM, a large capacity storage device, or the like in the design device 200 for making a computer function as the design device of the present invention, functional blocks as described below are generated in the design device 200. The functional blocks may be generated by a single function of a computer program for making a computer function as the design device of the present invention, or may be generated by cooperation between the computer program and an OS or other computer programs installed in the design device 200. The computer program may be pre-installed in the design device 200, or may be post-installed in the design device 200. In this case, the computer program may be installed in the design device 200 via a predetermined recording medium such as a memory card, or via a network such as a LAN or the Internet. These circumstances are the same as those in the case of the terminal 100. In the design device 200, an input unit 221, a control unit 222, a design unit 224, a rule data recording unit 225, an estimate unit 226, a cost data recording unit 227, and an output unit 228 are generated in relation to the functions of the present invention (FIG. 5). Of these, the control unit 222, the design unit 224, and the estimation unit 226 correspond to a calculation device (although not limited to this, in the description of the embodiment, a CPU) in terms of hardware, or are realized by the function of a calculation device that executes information processing according to the instructions of the above-mentioned computer program. When viewed as hardware, the input unit 221 and the output unit 228 correspond to an interface or are realized by the function of an interface. More specifically, the input unit 221 and the output unit 228 conceptually correspond to a connection portion between an interface and a bus. The rule data recording unit 225 and the cost data recording unit 227 are realized as hardware by a recording device, that is, a ROM, a RAM, or a large-capacity recording device.

[0032] The input unit 221 receives an input from an interface. The data input to the input unit 221 from the interface is data sent from the terminal 100 via the network 400 and received by the transmitting / receiving mechanism of the design device 200 . The data that the transmission / reception mechanism accepts from the terminal 100 will be described in detail later, but includes, for example, user ID data, login data, and designated data, which are all linked together. When these data are accepted from the interface, the input unit 221 sends each of these data to the control unit 222.

[0033] The control unit 222 controls all of the functional blocks generated in the design device 200 . The control unit 222 also has an authentication function for determining whether or not a user is permitted to log in to the design device 200. The control unit 222 may receive a pair of user ID data and login data from the input unit 221. When the control unit 222 receives data of a user ID and login data that are linked to each other, the control unit 222 has a function for authenticating the user having the user ID, and when the authentication is recognized, for allowing the user to log in to a service provided by the design device 200. In order to authenticate users, the control unit 222 records user IDs assigned to users of all terminals 100. The user IDs are recorded in a part of the recording device, for example, in a large-capacity recording device. The user ID is an identifier unique to each user, and is, for example, a string of at least one of letters, numbers, and symbols. The user ID for each user may be issued to each user by the design device 200, or may be determined by each user and notified to the design device 200 in advance. In any case, it is easy to prepare a large number of user IDs, all of which are unique in relation to others, and to make them retainable by, for example, the control unit 222 of the design device 200 or an appropriate recording device, by referring to publicly known or well-known technologies. Of course, not only the user ID but also a combination of the user ID and a password can be used for user authentication. Also, it is possible to perform user authentication using the physical or behavioral characteristics of the user, such as a fingerprint or iris, without using a user ID. In any case, appropriate publicly known or well-known technology can be applied for user authentication. Details of the authentication process in this embodiment will be described later. The control unit 222 also has a function of generating image control data. For example, when the control unit 222 recognizes the login of a user, the control unit 222 generates image control data, which is data for prompting the user to input designated data, more precisely, image control data for displaying an image for prompting the user to input designated data on the display 101 of the terminal 100. As will be described later, the control unit 222 also generates image control data for displaying a predetermined image on the display 101 of the terminal 100 at other times. In any case, when the image control data is generated, the control unit 222 transmits the image control data to the output unit 228. The control unit 222 may also receive designation data. When the control unit 222 receives the designation data, the control unit 222 transmits the designation data to the design unit 224.

[0034] The design unit 224 has a function for designing a reinforced concrete skeleton that a user desires the design device 200 to design. As described above, the design unit 224 may receive designated data from the control unit 222. Upon receiving the designated data, the design unit 224 designs the reinforced concrete structure. How the design unit 224 designs the reinforced concrete structure will be described later. The design unit 224 uses the designated data to design the reinforced concrete structure, and also uses the data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225. The data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225 are rule data on rules regarding how to arrange the components of a reinforced concrete skeleton, which are columns, frontage beams, foundation frontage beams, depth beams, foundation depth beams, walls, and slabs, all of which will be described later, and component data, which is data specifying the configurations of the components of a reinforced concrete skeleton, which are columns, frontage beams, foundation frontage beams, depth beams, foundation depth beams, walls, and slabs (the configurations will be described in detail later). Recording such data is the role or function of the rule data recording unit 225. The design unit 224 designs a reinforced concrete structure using the specified data and the data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225, and generates design data that specifies the designed reinforced concrete structure. The design unit 224 sends the generated design data to the estimation unit 226.

[0035] The estimation unit 226 has a function of estimating the cost required to construct a reinforced concrete skeleton specified by the design data. As described above, the estimation unit 226 may receive design data from the design unit 224. Upon receiving the design data, the estimation unit 226 estimates the cost required for constructing a reinforced concrete skeleton. How the estimation unit 226 estimates the construction cost of a reinforced concrete structure will be described later. The estimation unit 226 uses design data to design a reinforced concrete structure, and also uses cost data recorded in the cost data recording unit 227. The cost data is a set of data that serves as a basis for estimating the cost required to build a certain reinforced concrete structure (in this embodiment, a reinforced concrete structure specified by design data). The estimation unit 226 is adapted to generate estimate data that specifies the amount of money required to build a reinforced concrete structure after estimating the amount. The estimation unit 226 is adapted to send the generated estimate data to the output unit 228 together with the previously received design data. The function of estimating the construction costs of a reinforced concrete skeleton, which is realized by the estimation unit 226, is an additional function in the design device 200, that is, the design device according to the present invention. In other words, the estimation function is not essential for the design device 200. If the estimation function is not necessary, the estimation unit 226 and the cost data recording unit 227 can be omitted from the design device 200.

[0036] The output unit 228 may receive image control data sent from the control unit 222 and design data and estimate data sent from the estimate unit 226 . When the output unit 228 receives the data, it sends the data via the interface and the network 400 to the terminal 100 of the user who has requested the design device 200 to design a reinforced concrete structure.

[0037] Next, a method of using and operation of the design system including the design device 200 and the terminal 100 described above will be described.

[0038] The user in this embodiment is a person who wishes to have the design device 200 design a reinforced concrete skeleton included in a house that the user wishes to build, and who wishes to have an estimate for constructing the designed reinforced concrete skeleton. Although the user is not limited to this, a typical example of a user in this embodiment is a client who wishes to build a house (or, more accurately, a person who will become the client later).

[0039] A user logs into the design device 200 using his / her own terminal 100 . The login process is as follows: However, before the login process is executed, each user notifies the design device 200 of his / her own user ID via his / her own terminal 100, and registers the user ID in advance in the design device 200. Although not limited to this, in this embodiment, the user ID of each user is recorded by the control unit 222 in a predetermined recording device in the design device 200, for example. It should be noted that the login process described below is merely an example, and it is of course possible to apply any of the many login processes available in the world. The terminal 100 may be capable of accessing the design device 200 using a dedicated viewer provided by a computer program installed on the terminal 100, but is not limited to this. In this embodiment, the terminal 100 is capable of accessing the design device 200 via the network 400 using a web browser.

[0040] First, a user accesses the design device 200 by inputting the URL of the design device 200 into, for example, the address bar of a web browser. The URL is input using the input device 102. The URL data is transmitted from the input device 102 to the control unit 122 via the interface 114 and the input unit 121. The control unit 122 attaches the URL data to the access request data and sends it to the transmission / reception mechanism via the output unit 124 and the interface 114. The transmission / reception mechanism of the terminal 100 transmits the access request data via the network 400 to the design device 200 specified by the URL. The design device 200 receives the access request data through its transmission / reception mechanism. The access request data is sent from the transmission / reception mechanism to the control unit 222 via the interface and the input unit 221. The control unit 222 generates image control data for displaying an image corresponding to a login screen on the display 101 of the terminal 100, and sends the image control data to the output unit 228 together with data specifying the destination, that is, the addressee, of the image control data. The output 228 sends the data to a transceiver. The transmitting and receiving mechanism transmits the image control data via the network 400 to the terminal 100 specified by the data specifying the destination, that is, the terminal 100 that has sent the access request to the design device 200 .

[0041] The terminal 100 receives the video control data at its transmission / reception mechanism. The image control data is sent to the control unit 122 via the interface 114 and the input unit 121, and is further sent from the control unit 122 to the image generation unit 123. The image generation unit 123 generates image data for displaying an image on the display 101 based on the image control data. The image generating unit 123 sends the generated image data to the output unit 124. The image data is sent from the output unit 124 to the display 101 via the interface 114. An image based on the image data is displayed on the display 101. 6A shows an example of an image displayed on the display 101. This is a so-called login screen. As shown in the figure, the image displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 includes the characters "User ID" 501, an input box 502 directly below it, and a button 503 labeled "Send."

[0042] Box 502 directly below the character string 501, "User ID," is a space for the user to input the user ID required for login processing. Button 503, "Submit," is a so-called "Decision" button, and when the user presses (clicks; the same applies below) this button 503, the user ID displayed in box 502 at that time is decided as the user ID to be input. When logging in, the user inputs a unique user ID that each user has into box 502 below character 501 labeled USER ID, as shown in FIG. 6(B). Of course, each user normally knows their own user ID and can input the user ID. The user ID is input using input device 102. The user ID is, for example, English letters, numbers, or a combination of these, and the user can input the user ID from input device 102 using a publicly known or well-known method. The user inputs a user ID into box 502 and presses button 503 labeled "Send." When the user presses button 503 labeled "Send," login data is input from input device 102 along with the user ID data corresponding to the user ID written in box 502. The login data and user ID data are sent from input device 102 to control unit 122 via interface 114 and input unit 121. The control unit 122 links the login data and the user ID data together, attaches data specifying the design device 200 as the destination, and sends the data to the output unit 124. The login data and the user ID data linked together are sent to the transmission / reception mechanism via the output unit 124 and the interface 114, and further sent to the design device 200 via the network 400. As a result, the design device 200 performs a process of authenticating the user based on the user ID.

[0043] The design device 200 receives the login data and the user ID data, which are linked to each other, through its transmission / reception mechanism. The login data and the user ID data are sent from the interface to the control unit 222 via the input unit 221. The control unit 222 that receives the data performs a process of authenticating the user. The control unit 222 judges whether or not the user ID sent from the terminal 100 is recorded in the recording device in which the user IDs of all users are recorded. If the user ID data sent from the terminal 100 matches one of the user ID data recorded in the control unit 222, the control unit 222 authenticates the user who is using the terminal 100 that sent the user ID as a legitimate user having the user ID, and allows the user to use the service provided by the design device 200. On the other hand, if the user ID sent from the terminal 100 is not recorded in the control unit 222, the above authentication is not performed, and the user is not allowed to use the service. As already mentioned, a password or other information may be used for authentication, or a password need not be used at all.

[0044] If authentication is successful, the control unit 222 generates the following image control data. This image control data is sent to the terminal 100 in the same manner as the image control data for displaying a login screen on the display 101 of the terminal 100. In terminal 100, image generation unit 123 generates image data based on the image control data, in the same manner as when a login screen is displayed on display 101 of terminal 100, and the generated image data is sent from image generation unit 123 to display 101. As a result, an image such as that shown in FIG. 7(A) is displayed on the display of terminal 100. When this image is displayed on the screen of display 101, the login process is completed. Note that the display 101 in FIG. 7 is drawn vertically longer than that in FIG. 6. This indicates that when the image displayed on the display 101 is scrolled vertically, it results in the display 101 or image shown in FIG. 7.

[0045] 7(A), the text 511 "Welcome 111aaaa" is displayed on the screen of the display 101. The "111aaaa" in this text is, of course, just an example, the user ID of the user who has logged in. Also displayed on the screen of display 101 are the characters 512 "Please enter information about the reinforced concrete structure", a box 513 arranged to the right of the characters "Frontage" 513X, a box 514 arranged to the right of the characters "Depth" 514X, a box 515 arranged to the right of the characters "Floor height" 515X, a box 516 arranged to the right of the characters "Number of floors" 516X, and a button 517 labeled "Submit". The text 512 "Please enter information about the reinforced concrete structure" enables the user to recognize that the design device 200 is prompting the user to enter information about the reinforced concrete structure that he or she wants the design device 200 to design. The user can also recognize that from the characters "frontage" 513X, "depth" 514X, "floor height" 515X, and "number of floors" 516X, he or she is being prompted to enter four pieces of information: the length of the frontage of the reinforced concrete structure, the length of the depth, the floor height, and the number of floors. The frontage refers to the length of the frontage line, which will be described later. However, the frontage does not necessarily relate to the surface on which the entrance is located. The depth means the length of a depth line segment, which will be described later. The floor height means the height of one floor of the reinforced concrete structure. If the reinforced concrete structure has a multi-story or multi-layer structure, the floor height can be input as a different value for each floor. However, although not limited to this, in this embodiment, the number of values ​​that can be input as the floor height is one, and even if the reinforced concrete structure adopts a multi-layer structure, the floor height of each floor can only be specified to be equal. The floor height can be input only at a length equal to or less than the third length described later, and this is the case in this application. If the value for specifying the floor height input by the user is longer than the third length, for example, an error can be displayed and the input cannot be accepted. It is obvious that such a thing can be easily realized by publicly known or well-known technology. The number of floors is used to specify how many floors the reinforced concrete structure has.

[0046] Using the input device 102, the user inputs a number corresponding to the frontage of the reinforced concrete structure that the user wants the design device 200 to design into the box 513 arranged to the right of the character "Frontage" 513X, a number corresponding to the depth into the box 514 arranged to the right of the character "Depth" 514X, a number corresponding to the floor height into the box 515 arranged to the right of the character "Floor Height" 515X, and a number corresponding to the floor number into the box 516 arranged to the right of the character "Floor Number" 516X (FIG. 7(B)). The frontage and depth can be appropriately determined by the user in accordance with the shape and size of the reinforced concrete structure to be built later, based on the shape and size of the site on which the reinforced concrete structure is to be built. There may be cases where either the frontage or the depth is longer. In the example shown in FIG. 7(B), the reinforced concrete structure that the user wants the design device 200 to design has a width of 8000 mm, a depth of 10000 mm, a floor height of 3500 mm, and two floors. After the user confirms that the correct numbers have been entered in the boxes 513 to 516, he or she presses the button 517 labeled "Send." Like the button 503, the button 517 functions as a so-called decision button. When the user inputs numbers into boxes 513-516 and presses button 517, the frontage, depth, floor height, and number of floors of the reinforced concrete structure that the user wants design device 200 to design are determined, and designated data that specifies these four pieces of information is generated. The designated data is sent from input device 102 through interface 114 and input unit 121 to control unit 122. The control unit 122 adds data specifying the design device 200 as the destination to the specified data, and sends the data to the output unit 124. The data linked to each other are sent to the transmission / reception mechanism via the output unit 124 and the interface 114. The specified data is sent from the transmission / reception mechanism to the design device 200 via the network 400.

[0047] The design device 200 receives the specified data transmitted by its transmitting / receiving mechanism via the network 400. The specified data is transmitted from the transmitting / receiving mechanism to the control unit 222 via the interface and the input unit 221. The control unit 222 sends the designation data to the design unit 224 . The design unit 224, which has received the specified data, starts designing the reinforced concrete structure based on the specified data. When designing, the design unit 224 reads the rule data from the rule data recording unit 225, and designs the reinforced concrete structure according to the rules specified by the rule data.

[0048] The process for designing a reinforced concrete structure implemented by the rule data is as follows. The reinforced concrete skeleton designed by the design unit 224 is designed based on a rectangular range α of a rectangle in plan view as shown in FIG. The rectangular range α is a rectangular range in plan view defined by the frontage line segment A1 and the depth line segment B1, which are perpendicular to each other. The rectangular range α is a rectangle whose four sides are the frontage line segment A1, the depth line segment B1, the line segment A2, and the line segment B2. The frontage line segment A1 and the line segment A2 are opposite sides that are parallel to each other, and the depth line segment B1 and the line segment B2 are opposite sides that are parallel to each other. Conceptually, the frontage line segment A1, the line segment A2, the depth line segment B1, and the line segment B2 are all lines drawn on the ground on which the reinforced concrete structure will be built. The designation data received by the design unit 224 includes information that specifies the frontage and depth of the reinforced concrete skeleton. The length of the frontage line segment A1 is determined by the information that specifies the frontage length, and the length of the depth line segment B1 is determined by the information that specifies the depth length. In this embodiment, the length of the frontage line segment A1 is determined to be 8000 mm, and the length of the depth line segment B1 is determined to be 10000 mm. The frontage line segment A1 corresponds to one side of a reinforced concrete skeleton to be built later, which will be described later and will have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, in a plan view, and the depth line segment B1 corresponds to the other side perpendicular to the frontage line segment A1 of the reinforced concrete skeleton. The frontage line segment A1 does not necessarily correspond to the frontage of the reinforced concrete skeleton to be built later, and the depth line segment B1 does not necessarily correspond to the depth of the reinforced concrete skeleton to be built later, but in this embodiment, the frontage line segment A1 corresponds to the frontage of the reinforced concrete skeleton to be built later, and the depth line segment B1 corresponds to the depth of the reinforced concrete skeleton to be built later. The frontage line segment A1 and the depth line segment B1 are appropriately determined according to the shape and size of the reinforced concrete skeleton to be built later, based on the shape and size of the site on which the reinforced concrete skeleton will be built, etc. As already mentioned, the frontage length and the depth length specified by the user may be either longer, so either the frontage line segment A1 or the depth line segment B1 may be longer.

[0049] The reinforced concrete skeleton constructed based on the above-mentioned rectangular range α includes a frame having columns, front beams, front foundation beams, depth beams, and foundation depth beams. All of these are long members, with the columns extending vertically, the front beams and front foundation beams extending horizontally in the front line direction, and the depth beams and foundation depth beams extending horizontally in the depth line direction.

[0050] First, a method for the design unit 224 to determine the position at which the pillar is to be erected relative to the rectangular area α will be described. The position where the pillar is to be erected is determined by the following three rules, Rule 1 to Rule 3. Data corresponding to Rules 1 to 3 are included in the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225, and when determining the position where the pillar is to be erected, the design unit 224 reads out the rule data in advance from the rule data recording unit 225. Rules 1 to 3 will be explained with reference to Figs. 9 and 10. Rule 1) Pillars P are erected at least on both ends of the two sides of the rectangular area α that are parallel to the depth line segment B1. In other words, pillars are always erected at the four corners of the rectangular area α. Rule 2) If the depth line segment B1 is longer than a predetermined first length, the pillar P is erected at depth division position b, which is a position on two sides that evenly divide the two sides parallel to the depth line segment B1 into lengths less than the first length. Rule 3) When the frontage line segment A1 is longer than the second length, which is a predetermined length, pillars P are erected at both ends of auxiliary line B3, which is a virtual line segment of the same length as depth line B1 that extends parallel to depth line B1 from frontage division position a, which is a position on frontage line A1 that divides the frontage line segment A1 evenly into lengths equal to or less than the second length, and at positions corresponding to depth division position b in the case that depth division position b exists on depth line B1. Please refer to Figure 9. First, rule 1 determines that pillars P will be erected at four locations marked p1. Next, regarding rule 2, the first length L1 appears in rule 2 (see FIG. 8). The first length L1 is determined in advance when determining a reference frame, which will be described later. The first length L1 is also determined by rule data. The first length L1 is determined in advance within a range of, for example, 4500 mm to 5700 mm. Although not limited to this, in this embodiment, the first length L1 is set to 5100 mm. To determine the position of the pillar P to be erected according to rule 2, first, it is verified whether the length l1 of the depth line segment B1 is longer than the first length L1. If the length l1 of the depth line segment B1 is equal to or less than the first length L1, the pillar P cannot be erected on the depth line segment B1 at any position other than p1 on both ends thereof, and the pillar P cannot be erected on the line segment B2 at any position other than p1 on both ends thereof. On the other hand, when the length l1 of the depth line segment B1 is longer than the first length L1, a pillar P is erected on the depth line segment B1 at the depth division position b in addition to the pillars p1 at both ends of the depth line segment B1. The depth division position b is the position at which the depth line segment B1 is divided when the depth line segment B1 is divided evenly by the smallest possible natural number. For example, when the length of the depth line segment B1 when divided into two is equal to or less than the first length L1, the center of the depth line segment B1 becomes the depth division position b. When the length of the depth line segment B1 when divided into two is longer than the first length L1 and the length of the depth line segment B1 when divided into three is equal to or less than the first length L1, the two positions that divide the depth line segment B1 into three become the depth division positions b. To generalize more, if the length of depth line segment B1 when divided into n equal parts is longer than the first length L1, and the length of depth line segment B1 when divided into n+1 equal parts is less than or equal to the first length L1, then the n positions on depth line segment B1 that divides depth line segment B1 into n+1 equal parts become depth division positions b. 9 shows an example where the depth division position b is one location at the center of the depth line segment B1. In this case, according to rule 2, the pillar P is erected at two locations: the center p2 of the depth line segment B1 and the center p2 of the line segment B2 parallel to the depth line segment B1. Next, regarding rule 3. In rule 3, the second length L2 appears (see FIG. 8). The second length L2 is determined in advance when determining the reference frame described later. The second length L2 can be determined in advance, for example, in the range of 3700 mm to 5100 mm. Although not limited to this, in this embodiment, the second length L2 is determined to be 4100 mm. The second length L2 can be different in length depending on whether the reinforced concrete structure to be designed is for a detached house or for an apartment building. For example, when the reinforced concrete structure is for a detached house, the second length L2 can be determined to be an appropriate length in the range of 4700 mm to 5100 mm (for example, 4900 mm), and when it is for an apartment building, the second length L2 can be determined to be an appropriate length in the range of 3700 mm to 4100 mm (for example, 3900 mm). In this way, if the second length L, which differs depending on whether the reinforced concrete skeleton is for a detached house or an apartment house, is used as a standard for design based on rule 3, the user can be allowed to select whether the reinforced concrete skeleton that the user desires the design device 200 to design is for a detached house or an apartment house. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such a selection can be made by adding such an item to the screen shown in Fig. 7, and that the design unit 224 can be made to function to change the second length L2 to be used based on the selection made by the user. To determine the position of the pillar P to be erected according to rule 3, the design unit 224 first verifies whether the length l2 of the frontage line segment A1 is longer than the second length L2. If the length l2 of the frontage line segment A1 is equal to or shorter than the second length L2, the pillar P to be erected according to rule 3 does not exist. On the other hand, when the frontage line segment A1 is longer than the second length L2, which is a predetermined length, the frontage division position a, which is the position on the frontage line segment A1 that divides the frontage line segment A1 into equal parts of length equal to or less than the second length L2, is first obtained. Generalizing the same as the case of equally dividing the depth line segment B1 to obtain the depth division position b, if the length of the frontage line segment A1 when divided into n equal parts is longer than the second length L2, and the length of the frontage line segment A1 when divided into n+1 equal parts is equal to or less than the second length L2, the n positions on the frontage line segment A1 that divide the frontage line segment A1 into n+1 equal parts are the frontage division positions a. In rule 3, after the frontage division position a is obtained, an auxiliary line segment B3 is obtained from there, which has a length equal to the depth line segment B1 and extends parallel to the depth line segment B1. In short, the auxiliary line segment B3 is a line segment that connects the frontage line segment A1 and the line segment A2 so as to be perpendicular to both of them. When the number of frontage division positions a is n, the number of auxiliary line segments B3 is n. Then, the pillars P are erected at both ends p3 of the auxiliary line segment B3 and at a position p3 on the auxiliary line segment B3 that corresponds to the depth division position b. In the example of Fig. 9, there is one frontage division position a and one auxiliary line segment B3, and the pillars P are erected at both ends p3 of the auxiliary line segment B3 and at the center p3 of the auxiliary line segment B3.

[0051] FIG. 10 shows a case where the design unit 224 has determined that pillars P are to be erected at positions p1, p2, and p3 in the rectangular area α. Although not limited thereto, the pillar P is rectangular in plan view, with the length in the depth direction (along the depth line segment B1) being longer than the length in the frontage direction (along the frontage line segment A1). Of course, although not limited thereto, the pillar P in this embodiment has a rectangular cross section with a length in the frontage direction of 400 mm and a length in the depth direction of 1200 mm. The numbers mentioned above for the first length L1 and the second length L2 are examples in which the cross-sectional shape of the pillar P is 400 mm x 1200 mm. Each column P has the same thickness and the same configuration of reinforcing bars in the longitudinal direction. The thickness or cross-sectional shape of each column P is the same in all parts in the longitudinal direction that are equal to or less than the third length, and the reinforcing bars arranged in the column P run inside the column P in the longitudinal direction of the column P. The third length can be determined as an upper limit assumed as the floor height per floor, for example. The third length can be set to 4000 mm, for example. The length of the column P in this embodiment is set to a length equivalent to the floor height included in the designated data input by the user using the terminal 100. Therefore, in this embodiment, the length of the column P is set to 3500 mm. It is determined by the dimensions of the column excluding the length, the configuration of the reinforcing bars, and the column data described below included in the component data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225. Therefore, when designing the column P, the design unit 224 reads out the column data from the rule data recording unit 225 in advance. Although there is a restriction that the length of all the columns P in the reinforced concrete structure must be equal to or less than the third length, the length does not need to be uniquely determined in advance. On the other hand, the configuration excluding the length of the column P, in other words, the configuration per unit length, is standardized in a uniform manner. Since the length of the column P determines the floor height of the floor to which the column P belongs in the reinforced concrete structure, when the reinforced concrete structure adopts a multi-layer structure as described later, the lengths of all the columns P belonging to the same floor are made equal. However, it is also possible to standardize the lengths of all the columns P belonging to other floors by making their lengths uniform, and this is not limited to this, but is done in this embodiment. In other words, in this embodiment, the floor height inputted by the terminal 100 operated by the user is one type, so the floor height of each floor of the reinforced concrete structure, which is a multi-layer structure, is the same, and the length of the columns P arranged on each floor is also the same. However, it is also possible to have the user input the floor height of each floor individually and make the length of the columns P different for each floor, so that the floor height of each floor coincides with the floor height input by the user. Examples of a column list showing the configuration of a column P used in a reinforced concrete skeleton are shown in Fig. 11 (A-1) and (B-1). Fig. 11 (A-1) shows a column list when the reinforced concrete skeleton is for a single-family home, and Fig. 11 (B-1) shows a column list when the reinforced concrete skeleton is for an apartment building. Both columns in the column list are cross-sectional views of the column P. In the figure, 191 is a long reinforcing bar that runs in the length direction of the column P or in a direction perpendicular to the paper, and 192 is a loop-shaped reinforcing bar that surrounds the long reinforcing bar 191 to prevent their position from shifting. In the column list, the dimensions of the column P excluding the length, and the configuration of the reinforcing bar (the arrangement position of the long reinforcing bar 191 including the number, the interval in the length direction of the reinforcing bar 191 where the loop-shaped reinforcing bar 192 is arranged, the types of the reinforcing bars 191, 192, etc.) are generally recorded. The data of the column P corresponding to such a column list is the column data. The column data includes at least the standardized thickness (cross-sectional dimensions) of the column P and the configuration of the reinforcing bars in the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, by standardizing the column lists for detached houses and apartment buildings, it is possible to have only one type of column data. Although a large number of column lists are created for columns used in a general concrete structure, the number of column lists in this embodiment is small, which reduces the amount of column data required.

[0052] Next, a method for the design unit 224 to determine the positions at which the frontage beams and foundation frontage beams are to be arranged will be described. The positions at which the frontage beams and foundation frontage beams are arranged are determined by the following two rules, Rule 4 to Rule 5. Data corresponding to Rules 4 to 5 are included in the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225, and when determining the positions at which the frontage beams and foundation frontage beams are arranged, the design unit 224 reads out the rule data in advance from the rule data recording unit 225. Rules 4 to 5 will be explained using FIG. 12. Rule 4) The frontage beam FB is positioned so as to horizontally connect the upper and lower ends of all two columns P that are parallel to and adjacent to the frontage line segment A1, in a direction parallel to the frontage line segment A1. Rule 5) The foundation frontage beam FFB is positioned so as to horizontally connect the lower ends of all two columns P that are parallel to and adjacent to the frontage line segment A1, and that are in contact with the ground, in a direction parallel to the frontage line segment A1. Please refer to Figure 12. First, according to rules 4 and 5, a frontage beam FB or a foundation frontage beam FFB is stretched between two columns P arranged side by side in Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a plan view, and the frontage beam FB and the foundation frontage beam FFB overlap each other. Both the frontage beam FB and the foundation frontage beam FFB are long. However, their lengths are equal to or less than the second length L2, and are automatically determined by the positional relationship of the two columns P that are connected by them. Although not limited to this, both the frontage beam FB and the foundation frontage beam FFB, which is a type of frontage beam FB, have a rectangular cross section, and their width, which is their length in the depth direction, is set equal to the length in the depth direction of the column P. Both the frontage beam FB and the foundation frontage beam FFB are connected to the column P so that both ends in the width direction are aligned with both ends in the depth direction of the column P. Each frontage beam FB has the same thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration, as does the foundation frontage beam FFB. The thickness or cross-sectional shape of both the frontage beam FB and the foundation frontage beam FFB is the same throughout their length, and the rebars arranged within the frontage beam FB or the foundation frontage beam FFB run within them in their length direction. In other words, although there is a restriction that the length of all the frontage beams FB or foundation frontage beams FFB in the reinforced concrete skeleton must be equal to or less than the second length L2, the length does not need to be uniquely determined in advance. On the other hand, the configuration excluding the length of the frontage beams FB or foundation frontage beams FFB, in other words, the configuration per unit length, is standardized in a uniform manner. The dimensions of the frontage beams FB and foundation frontage beams FFB excluding the length and the configuration of the reinforcing bars are determined by the frontage beam data or foundation frontage beam data included in the component data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225, which will be described later. Therefore, when designing the frontage beams FB and foundation frontage beams FFB, the design unit 224 reads the frontage beam data and foundation frontage beam data from the rule data recording unit 225 in advance. In addition, the length of the frontage beams FB that exist in one reinforced concrete structure is the same. The length of the foundation frontage beams FFB that exist in multiple locations is also the same. Furthermore, the length of the frontage beams FB and the foundation frontage beams FFB are also the same. Examples of beam lists showing the configuration of frontage beams FB used in reinforced concrete structures are shown in Fig. 11 (A-2), (A-3), (B-2), and (B-3). Fig. 11 (A-2) shows a beam list of frontage beams FB when the reinforced concrete structure is for a detached house, and Fig. 11 (B-2) shows a beam list of frontage beams FB when the reinforced concrete structure is for an apartment building. Fig. 11 (A-3) shows a beam list of foundation frontage beams FFB when the reinforced concrete structure is for a detached house, and Fig. 11 (B-3) shows a beam list of foundation frontage beams FFB when the reinforced concrete structure is for an apartment building. The beam list above shows the cross-section of the frontage beam FB or foundation frontage beam FFB. In the figure, 191 is a reinforcing bar running in the length direction of the frontage beam FB or foundation frontage beam FFB or in a direction perpendicular to the paper, and 192 is a loop-shaped reinforcing bar that surrounds the long reinforcing bar 191 to prevent their position from shifting. In the beam list, the dimensions of the frontage beam FB or foundation frontage beam FFB excluding the length, and the configuration of the reinforcing bar (the arrangement position of the long reinforcing bar 191 including the number, the interval in the length direction of the reinforcing bar 191 where the loop-shaped reinforcing bar 192 is arranged, the type of the reinforcing bar 191, 192, etc.) are generally recorded. The data corresponding to the frontage beam FB and foundation frontage beam FFB corresponding to such a beam list are frontage beam data and foundation frontage beam data, respectively. The frontage beam data includes at least the standardized thickness (dimension of the cross section) of the frontage beam FB and the configuration of the reinforcing bar in the length direction, and the same is true for the foundation frontage beam data. In addition, it is possible to standardize the beam lists for detached houses and apartment buildings regarding the frontage beams FB and foundation frontage beams FFB, and have one type of frontage beam data and one type of foundation frontage beam data each. Since the foundation frontage beam FFB is generally required to be stronger than the frontage beam FB, the thickness (or height) of the latter is made greater than the thickness of the former, regardless of whether it is for a detached house or an apartment building. A beam list of the frontage beam FB or foundation frontage beam FFB used in a general concrete structure is created in many cases, but the number of beam lists of the frontage beam FB or foundation frontage beam FFB in this embodiment is small. This reduces the number of frontage beam data and foundation frontage beam data.

[0053] Next, how to determine the positions at which the depth beams and foundation depth beams are disposed will be described. The positions where the depth beams and foundation depth beams are arranged are determined by the following two rules, Rule 6 to Rule 7. Data corresponding to Rules 6 to 7 are included in the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225, and when determining the positions where the depth beams and foundation depth beams are arranged, the design unit 224 reads out the rule data in advance from the rule data recording unit 225. Rules 6 to 7 will be explained with reference to FIG. 13. Rule 6) The depth beam DB is arranged so as to horizontally connect the upper and lower ends of all two columns P that are parallel to and adjacent to the depth line B1, in a direction parallel to the depth line B1. Rule 7) The foundation depth beam FDB is positioned so as to horizontally connect the lower ends of all two columns P that are parallel to and adjacent to the depth line B1, and that are in contact with the ground, in a direction parallel to the depth line B1. Please refer to Figure 13. First, according to rules 6 and 7, a depth beam DB or a foundation depth beam FDB is stretched between two columns P located above and below in Fig. 13. Fig. 13 is a plan view, and the depth beam DB and the foundation depth beam FDB overlap each other. Both the depth beam DB and the foundation depth beam FDB are long. However, their lengths are equal to or shorter than the first length L1, and are automatically determined by the positional relationship of the two columns P that are connected by them. Although not limited to this, the depth beam DB and the foundation depth beam FDB, which is a type of depth beam DB, both have a rectangular cross section, and their width, which is the length in the frontage direction, is set equal to the length in the frontage direction of the column P. Both the depth beam DB and the foundation depth beam FDB are connected to the column P so that both ends in the width direction are aligned with both ends in the frontage direction of the column P. Each depth beam DB has the same thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration, as does the foundation depth beam FDB. The thickness or cross-sectional shape of both the depth beam DB and the foundation depth beam FDB is the same throughout their length, and the rebars arranged within the depth beam DB or the foundation depth beam FDB run along their length. In other words, although there is a restriction that the length of all the depth beams DB or foundation depth beams FDB in the reinforced concrete skeleton must be equal to or less than the first length L1, the length does not need to be uniquely determined in advance. On the other hand, the configuration excluding the length of the depth beam DB or foundation depth beam FDB, in other words, the configuration per unit length, is standardized in a uniform manner. The dimensions of the depth beam DB and foundation depth beam FDB excluding the length and the configuration of the reinforcing bars are determined by the depth beam data or foundation depth beam data included in the component data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225, which will be described later. Therefore, when designing the depth beam DB and foundation depth beam FDB, the design unit 224 reads out the depth beam data and foundation depth beam data from the rule data recording unit 225 in advance. In addition, the length of the multiple depth beams DB that exist in one reinforced concrete structure is the same. The length of the multiple foundation depth beams FDB that exist in one reinforced concrete structure is also the same. Furthermore, the length of the depth beams DB and the foundation depth beams FDB are also the same. Examples of beam lists showing the configuration of the depth beam DB used for reinforced concrete structures are shown in Fig. 11 (A-4), (A-5), (B-4), and (B-5). Fig. 11 (A-4) shows the beam list of the depth beam DB when the reinforced concrete structure is for a detached house, and Fig. 11 (B-4) shows the beam list of the depth beam DB when the reinforced concrete structure is for an apartment building. Fig. 11 (A-5) shows the beam list of the foundation depth beam FDB when the reinforced concrete structure is for a detached house, and Fig. 11 (B-5) shows the beam list of the foundation depth beam FDB when the reinforced concrete structure is for an apartment building. The above beam list shows the cross-section of the depth beam DB or the foundation depth beam FDB. In the figure, 191 is a reinforcing bar running in the length direction of the depth beam DB or the foundation depth beam FDB or in the direction perpendicular to the paper, and 192 is a loop-shaped reinforcing bar that surrounds the long reinforcing bar 191 to prevent their position from shifting. In the beam list, the dimensions of the depth beam DB or the foundation depth beam FDB excluding the length, and the configuration of the reinforcing bar (the arrangement position of the long reinforcing bar 191 including the number, the interval in the length direction of the reinforcing bar 191 where the loop-shaped reinforcing bar 192 is arranged, the type of the reinforcing bar 191, 192, etc.) are generally recorded. The data corresponding to the frontage beam FB and the foundation frontage beam FFB corresponding to such a beam list are the depth beam data and the foundation depth beam data, respectively. The depth beam data includes at least the thickness (cross-sectional dimension) of the standardized depth beam DB and the configuration of the reinforcing bar in the length direction, and the same is true for the foundation depth beam data. It is also possible to standardize the beam lists for the depth beam DB and foundation depth beam FDB for detached houses and apartment buildings. Since the foundation depth beam FDB is generally required to be stronger than the depth beam DB, the thickness (or height) of the latter is made larger than that of the former, regardless of whether it is for a detached house or an apartment building. In addition, although not limited to this, in this embodiment, the thickness of the frontage beam FB and the thickness of the depth beam DB are made the same, and the thickness of the foundation frontage beam FFB and the foundation depth beam FDB are made the same. Although the beam lists of the depth beam DB or foundation depth beam FDB used in a general concrete structure are created in large numbers, the number of beam lists of the depth beam DB or foundation depth beam FDB in this embodiment is small. As a result, the number of depth beam data and foundation depth beam data can be reduced.

[0054] What has been explained above is a method for designing the frame of a reinforced concrete structure for a one-story house, or the reinforced concrete structure of the first floor of a multi-story house. Adding walls and slabs to such a frame completes the design of the reinforced concrete structure of a one-storey house, or the first floor of a multi-storey house. Next, the locations of the walls and slabs will be described. First, let me explain about the walls. The position where the wall is placed is determined by the following two rules, rule 8 to rule 9. Data corresponding to rules 8 to 9 are included in the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225, and when determining the position where the wall is placed, the design unit 224 reads out the rule data in advance from the rule data recording unit 225. Rules 8 to 9 will be explained with reference to Figs. 14 and 15. Rule 8) Wall W fills the gap between adjacent columns P located on the two sides of the rectangular area α parallel to the frontage line segment A1. Rule 9) Wall W fills the gap between adjacent columns P located on two sides parallel to depth line B1 of the rectangular area α or on auxiliary line B3. Please refer to Figures 14 and 15. First, according to rule 8, four walls W are arranged in the horizontal direction in Fig. 14 and Fig. 15. The walls W are rectangular. The walls W arranged according to rule 8 have four vertical sides connected to the columns P and two horizontal sides connected to the frontage beam FB or the foundation frontage beam FFB. As shown in Fig. 14, the walls W are basically constructed on the frontage line segment A1 in the rectangular range α and the line segment A2 opposite the frontage line segment A1 (that is, on the contour of the rectangular range α). However, as long as the wall W satisfies the condition that it is arranged parallel to the frontage line segment A1, it may be arranged at a position that is inward from the frontage line segment A1 into the rectangular range α, as in the lower wall W in Fig. 15. In other words, the walls W may be designed to be arranged at a position away from the contour of the rectangular range α. In other words, there is a certain degree of freedom in the design regarding the arrangement position of the walls W. The design unit 224 may be configured to design the position of the wall W to, for example, the position shown in either of Figs. 14 and 15 by default. The design unit 224 may be configured to select the position of the wall W depending on whether the user inputs the position through the terminal 100. The user may select the position of the wall W through the terminal 100 at the time of inputting the designated data or at a different time. For example, the user may be configured to select the position of the wall W after the design data is transmitted to the terminal 100 as described later. Regardless of the position of the wall W, there is no change in the area of ​​the wall W between the case shown in Fig. 14 and the case shown in Fig. 15, so there is no significant difference in the estimate described later whether the design shown in Fig. 14 or the design shown in Fig. 15 is adopted. Next, according to rule 9, six walls are arranged with their length direction being the vertical direction in Fig. 14 and Fig. 15. Wall W is rectangular. Wall W arranged according to rule 9 has four sides, two vertical sides of which are connected to columns P, and two horizontal sides of which are connected to depth beams DB or foundation depth beams FDB. Even in this case, it is permissible to position wall W that is not on auxiliary line segment B3 at a position outside the contour of rectangular area α (that is, a certain degree of freedom is given to the position of wall W). However, in Fig. 14 and Fig. 15, wall W is arranged on the contour of rectangular area α, that is, on depth line segment B1 and line segment B2 that is the opposite side of depth line segment B1. Whether the wall W is arranged according to rule 8 or 9, as is well known, it is always in the form of a plate. The wall W is also standardized like the columns P, etc., so that the configuration per unit area is the same. Since the wall W does not bear the role of supporting the weight of the reinforced concrete skeleton, it only needs to be minimally sturdy. The dimensions of the wall W and the configuration of the reinforcing bars are determined by the wall data, which will be described later, included in the component data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225. Therefore, when designing the wall W, the design unit 224 reads out the wall data from the rule data recording unit 225 in advance. Examples of wall lists showing the configuration of walls W used in a reinforced concrete structure are shown in Figures 11(A-6) and 11(B-6). Figure 11(A-6) shows a wall list of walls W when the reinforced concrete structure is for a single-family home, and Figure 11(B-6) shows a wall list of walls W when the reinforced concrete structure is for an apartment building. All of the above wall lists are cross-sectional views of a wall W. In the figure, 191 denotes reinforcing bars running in the wall W in the width direction or in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface. In the figure, 191X denotes reinforcing bars running in the wall W parallel to the paper surface in the up-down direction relative to the paper surface. In the wall list, the dimensions of the wall (wall thickness) and the composition of the reinforcing bars (the interval between the reinforcing bars 191, 191X running in the width direction and height direction of the wall W, the type of reinforcing bars, etc.) are generally recorded. Data corresponding to each wall P corresponding to such a wall list is wall data. The wall data includes at least the standardized wall thickness, the interval between the reinforcing bars 191, 191X running in the width direction and height direction of the wall W, and the composition of the reinforcing bars. It is also possible to standardize the wall list for walls W for detached houses and apartment buildings.

[0055] The position where the slab is placed is determined by the following rule 10. Data corresponding to rule 10 is included in the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225, and when determining the position where the slab is placed, the design unit 224 reads out the rule data for rule 10 in advance from the rule data recording unit 225. Rule 10 will be explained with reference to Figs. 16 and 17. Rule 10) Slab S horizontally fills a rectangular space surrounded by two frontage beams FB and two depth beams DB, or two foundation frontage beams FFB and two foundation depth beams FDB, at the height above and below column P. Please refer to Figures 16 and 17. Figure 17 is a diagram showing the reinforced concrete skeleton designed as shown in Figure 16, as viewed from the side in Figure 16. However, in Figure 17, the wall W is omitted. According to rule 10, four slabs S are arranged in a 2x2 grid in Fig. 16. The slabs S are rectangular. The slabs S arranged according to rule 10 are horizontal and are arranged above and below the columns P. The four sides of the slab S are connected to two front beams FB and two depth beams DB, or two foundation front beams FFB and two foundation depth beams FDB. As is well known, the slabs S are all plate-shaped. Like the columns P, the slabs S are standardized so that they have the same configuration per unit area. Since the slabs S do not support the weight of the reinforced concrete structure, they only need to have a minimum level of robustness. The dimensions of the slabs S and the configuration of the reinforcing bars are determined by the slab data (to be described later) contained in the component data recorded in the rule data recording unit 225. Therefore, when designing the slab S, the design unit 224 reads out the slab data from the rule data recording unit 225 in advance. Examples of slab lists showing the configuration of slabs S used in reinforced concrete structures are shown in Figures 11 (A-7) and (B-7). Figure 11 (A-7) shows the slab list for slabs S when the reinforced concrete structure is for a single-family home, and Figure 11 (B-7) shows the slab list for slabs S when the reinforced concrete structure is for an apartment building. All of the above slab lists are cross-sectional views of slabs S. In the figure, 191 denotes rebars running in the slab S in a direction perpendicular to the paper. In the figure, 191X denotes rebars running in the slab S in a left-right direction parallel to the paper. Slab lists generally record the dimensions of the slab (slab thickness) and the composition of the rebars (the spacing of rebars 191, 191X running perpendicular to each other in slab S, the type of rebars, etc.). Data corresponding to each slab S corresponding to such slab lists is slab data. Slab data includes at least the standardized slab thickness, the spacing of rebars 191, 191X running vertically and horizontally of slab S, and the composition of the rebars. It is also possible to standardize the slab list for slab S for detached houses and apartment buildings.

[0056] What has been described above is the method for designing the reinforced concrete skeleton of a one-story house, or the reinforced concrete skeleton of the first floor of a multi-story house, which is executed by the design unit 224. Of course, a house with a reinforced concrete structure may have a multi-story structure. In this embodiment, since the user selects "2" as the number of floors in the specified data, the reinforced concrete structure designed by the design unit 224 will be two stories high. When designing a multi-layered reinforced concrete structure, at least one new column P, which is the third length or less and has the same thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration as the column P, is connected to every column P by extending the same number of columns P vertically. In this embodiment, the columns P used on the second and higher floors have the same configuration, including length, as the columns P used on the first floor. If one column P is extended and connected to the original column P, the reinforced concrete structure will be two stories high; if two columns P are extended and connected, the reinforced concrete structure will be three stories high, and so on. Then, just as when designing the first floor of the reinforced concrete structure, the top of the newly added column P is connected with the front beam FB and the depth beam DB, and the wall W and slab S are placed. However, since a certain degree of freedom is allowed for the placement of the wall W as mentioned above, the placement of the wall W on each floor does not have to be exactly the same.

[0057] In this manner, the design of the reinforced concrete skeleton for a house is completed. In addition, when designing a reinforced concrete structure, the design unit 224 does not necessarily have to design each of the columns P, frontage beams FB, foundation frontage beams FFB, depth beams DB, foundation depth beams FDB, walls W, and slabs S in the order described above. Furthermore, in the case of a multi-story reinforced concrete structure, it is not necessary to design the first floor and then the second floor. For example, the entire frame of a multi-story reinforced concrete structure may be designed first, and then the walls W and slabs S that will be attached to the frame may be designed. In the above example, the design of the holes for mounting the window frames and the holes for mounting the doors to be provided in the wall W is omitted, and the design of the holes to be provided in the slab S required for providing an internal staircase is omitted, but these may be designed by the design unit 224 following the conventional technology. Alternatively, although it has been explained that the selection of the position of the wall W may be left to the user, the design or selection of the holes for mounting the windows and doors may also be left to the user. If the design or selection is left to the user, it would be convenient for the design device 200, which is a design device, to present a plurality of options to the user so that the user can select a preferred option from among them. In this reinforced concrete structure, for example, any of the walls W can be completely made of glass. Even if this is done, the walls W and slabs S do not bear the role of supporting the load of the reinforced concrete structure, so sufficient strength of the reinforced concrete structure is guaranteed. Therefore, even if the design and selection of holes for installing windows and doors are left to the user, it does not affect the function of the frame to support the load of the reinforced concrete structure.

[0058] The reason why the reinforced concrete structure designed by the design department 224 can support the load of the reinforced concrete structure only by the frame, without relying on walls W and slabs S, is as follows. An explanation will be given with reference to the perspective views of an example of the frame F shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 18 and 19 are perspective views of the frame F in the reinforced concrete skeleton designed by the design department 224. FIG. In FIG. 18, of the two sides on the front side of the rectangular area α at the bottom edge of the frame F, the left side is a frontage line segment A1 and the right side is a depth line segment B1. In the example of FIG. 18, the frontage line segment A1 is equal to or shorter than the second length L2, and the depth line segment B1 is more than twice the first length L1 and less than three times the first length L1. As a result, the frame F designed according to the above-mentioned rules 1 to 7 is as shown in Fig. 18. Here, the shaded area in the figure, which is a rectangular parallelepiped defined by four columns P, four frontage beams FB (more precisely, two frontage beams FB and two foundation frontage beams FFB), and four depth beams DB (more precisely, two depth beams DB and two foundation depth beams FDB), corresponds to the reference frame SF explained in the overview of the present invention. The frame F shown in Fig. 18 is formed by lining up one reference frame SF in the direction of the frontage line segment A1, three in the direction of the depth line segment B, and three in the vertical direction. In FIG. 19, of the two sides on the front side of the rectangular area α at the bottom edge of the frame, the right side is a frontage line segment A1 and the left side is a depth line segment B1. In the example of FIG. 19, the frontage line segment A1 is longer than twice the second length L2 and shorter than three times the second length L2, and the depth line segment B1 is equal to or shorter than the first length L1. As a result, the frame F designed according to the above-mentioned rules 1 to 7 will be as shown in Figure 19. The frame shown in Figure 19 is formed by lining up three reference frames SF explained in Figure 18 in the direction of the frontage line segment A1, one in the direction of the depth line segment B, and three in the vertical direction. Here, the columns P, frontage beams FB, foundation frontage beams FFB, depth beams DB, foundation depth beams FDB, walls W, and slabs S are connected together in X, Y, and Z numbers of reference frames SF in the frontage line direction, depth line direction, and vertical direction, respectively, to form frame F, which has an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole (however, restrictions can be placed on the combinations of X, Y, and Z). Furthermore, even if walls W and slabs S are added to frame F in accordance with rules 8 to 10 described above, frame F is standardized so that it is sufficient to support the load of the entire reinforced concrete structure. Therefore, if the combination of the numbers specified by X, Y, and Z described above falls within the range of combinations planned by the designer of the design device, the reinforced concrete structure having the frame F created by arranging the reference frame SF in the length, width, and height directions is guaranteed to have sufficient strength to support the load of the reinforced concrete structure. In other words, if the above-mentioned column data specifying the configuration of the column P, the above-mentioned frontage beam data, foundation frontage beam data, depth beam data, and foundation depth beam data specifying the configurations of the front beam FB, foundation frontage beam FFB, depth beam DB, and foundation depth beam FDB, the above-mentioned wall data specifying the configuration of the wall W, and the above-mentioned slab data specifying the configuration of the slab S are prepared in advance as a set in a state that satisfies the condition that the frame F is sufficient to support the load of the reinforced concrete structure when the reference frame SF is arranged in the length, width, and height directions, the frame F in the reinforced concrete structure created according to the above-mentioned rules 1 to 10 will automatically have sufficient strength to support the load of the reinforced concrete structure. This is because the frame F in the reinforced concrete structure designed in this manner will have an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape in which reference frames SF are stacked in the length, width, and height directions, or in which frames (quasi-reference frames described in the overview of the present invention) that are shorter than the reference frame SF in at least one of the length, width, and height directions are stacked in the length, width, and height directions.

[0059] When designing the frame F shown in Figure 18, the auxiliary line segment B3 does not appear. Therefore, on the first to third floors, there are no walls W that separate the spaces on each floor by being arranged on the auxiliary line segment B3. Therefore, the reinforced concrete structure having frame F shown in Figure 18 is suitable for a detached house equipped with an internal staircase connecting the first and second floors and an internal staircase connecting the second and third floors. When designing the frame shown in Figure 19, two auxiliary line segments B3 are used. As a result, walls W are placed on each of the first to third floors so as to divide each floor into three. Therefore, by providing an internal staircase connecting the first and second floors and another internal staircase connecting the second and third floors, the reinforced concrete structure having the frame F shown in Fig. 19 is suitable for a three-story apartment building with three maisonette-type rooms lined up side by side, with the shaded area in Fig. 19 being one unit. Alternatively, by adding an exterior staircase and external corridor as appropriate and eliminating the internal staircase mentioned above, the reinforced concrete structure having the frame shown in Fig. 19 can be suitable for an apartment building with a total of nine rooms, with three independent rooms on each floor.

[0060] In any case, the user only needs to specify the frontage length, depth length, floor height, and number of floors of the reinforced concrete structure, and the design unit 224 of the design device 200 can design a reinforced concrete structure equipped with columns, frontage beams, foundation frontage beams, depth beams, foundation depth beams, walls, and slabs. Of these, if the floor height (i.e., the length of the column P) is fixed, the user does not need to specify the floor height, and if the number of floors of the reinforced concrete skeleton is limited to one floor, the user does not need to specify the number of floors. Therefore, if the user specifies only the width and depth at the very least, the design unit of the design device 200 can design the reinforced concrete skeleton. The design unit 224 generates design data that specifies the designed reinforced concrete structure. The design data can be, for example, three-dimensional image data or CAD (Computer Aided Design) data, but the data format is not important. However, if a user is to be able to view an image of the reinforced concrete structure based on the design data on the display 101 of his / her own terminal 100, it is better for the data format of the design data to be as general-purpose as possible. The design unit 224 sends the generated design data to the estimation unit 226 .

[0061] Since the design of a reinforced concrete skeleton using such a design device 200 can be performed without relying on human labor, it can be performed in an extremely short time, at least compared to the time required for conventional structural design. The time required for designing a reinforced concrete skeleton varies depending on the size of the reinforced concrete skeleton and the performance of the computer or server used to construct the design device 200, but can be, for example, about 10 seconds to several minutes, and the applicant's prototype design device 200 was able to design a reinforced concrete skeleton in about that time. Even if the design device 200 requires several tens of minutes to design a reinforced concrete skeleton, the use of the design device 200 makes it possible to design a reinforced concrete skeleton in an extremely short time compared to conventional structural design, which often required about two months. As described above, in order to guarantee that the frame included in the reinforced concrete structure designed by the design unit 224 will support the load of the reinforced concrete structure, it is necessary that the set of numbers X, Y, and Z obtained by lining up X, Y, and Z of the reference frames included in the frame in the width line direction, depth line direction, and vertical direction, respectively, is within the range planned by the designer of the design device 200. Therefore, if the reference frame included in the frame included in the reinforced concrete structure designed by the design unit 224 based on the designated data input by the user and sent from the terminal 100 to the design device 200 exceeds the range planned by the designer of the design device 200, the design unit 224 may stop the design of the reinforced concrete structure or may not design it from the beginning. The decision as to whether or not to complete the design of the reinforced concrete structure may be made by the control unit 222, not by the design unit 224. For example, if the relationship between the numerical value specifying the height of the reinforced concrete structure obtained by multiplying the numerical value specifying the frontage length of the reinforced concrete structure included in the designated data, the numerical value specifying the depth length, and the numerical values ​​specifying the floor height and the number of floors, respectively, exceeds a predetermined relationship, the design unit 224 may make the decision, but the control unit 222 may make the decision not to complete the design of the reinforced concrete structure. In any case, when the user cannot complete the design of the reinforced concrete structure based on the specified data sent from the terminal 100 to the design device 200, for example, an error code generated by the control unit 222 may be sent from the design device 200 to the terminal 100. Of course, the error code may include a reason why the design device 200 cannot design the reinforced concrete structure with the specified data entered by the user. In addition, after the error code is sent, the image shown in FIG. 7(A) may be displayed again on the display 101 of the terminal 100 to prompt the user to send the specified data again to the design device 200. The generation of the error code and the subsequent processing are both publicly known or well-known techniques in the design of abnormal systems in computer systems.

[0062] The design unit 224 sends the generated design data to the estimation unit 226 . Upon receiving the design data, the estimation unit 226 estimates the cost required to construct the reinforced concrete structure specified by the design data. The estimation unit 226 reads out the cost data from the cost data recording unit 227, and uses the cost data to estimate the cost required to construct a reinforced concrete skeleton specified by the design data. As described above, the cost data is a set of data that serves as a reference for estimating the cost required to build a certain reinforced concrete structure (in this embodiment, a reinforced concrete structure specified by design data). The cost data may include, for example, the unit price of each building material, such as reinforcing bars, cement, sand, gravel, additives, etc. required for manufacturing concrete, formwork required for pouring concrete, and its accessories, data for calculating the number of construction steps required to build a certain reinforced concrete structure, and daily wages of workers required to carry out the construction of the number of steps. Note that, for example, for data that changes daily among the data that serves as a reference for estimating the cost required to build a reinforced concrete structure, the estimating unit 226 may be equipped with a function to collect the data from outside the design device 200 (for example, an appropriate device in the Internet space). Doing so makes it possible to improve the accuracy of the estimate. Such a data collection technique is publicly known or well-known as a technique for collecting data from the Internet space by crawling, and it is sufficient to apply this technique. The data collected by crawling may be recorded in the cost data recording unit 227, so that the cost data recorded in the cost data recording unit 227 is constantly updated. The estimation unit 226 estimates the cost required to build a reinforced concrete structure using the cost data described above. The estimate can be made by adding up, for example, the cost of materials, labor costs, and the cost of disposing of waste generated by the construction. Software for estimating the cost required to construct a building is publicly known or well-known, and is already in practical use. For example, there are "ASCAL (trademark)", which is software for performing integrated structural calculation and cost estimation for RC buildings manufactured and sold by Otsuka Shokai Co., Ltd., "BUILD. Integrated VI (trademark)", which is software for performing integrated structural calculation and cost estimation for RC buildings manufactured and sold by Structural Software Co., Ltd., and "WALL-1 (trademark)", which is software for performing integrated structural calculation and cost estimation for wall-type RC buildings manufactured and sold by Structural Systems Co., Ltd. Data required for estimation used in such software is recorded as cost data in the cost data recording unit 227, and the calculation used in such software is executed in the estimation unit 226, and by utilizing publicly known or well-known technology, it is possible to implement a function for estimating the cost required to construct a reinforced concrete structure specified by design data in the estimation unit 226. After determining the amount required to construct the reinforced concrete skeleton designed by the design unit 224, the estimation unit 226 generates estimate data that specifies the amount. The estimation unit 226 sends the generated estimate data to the output unit 228 together with the design data previously received. The design data and the estimate data are sent from the output unit 228 to a transmission / reception mechanism.

[0063] The time required to estimate the cost of constructing a reinforced concrete structure varies depending on the size of the reinforced concrete structure and the performance of the computer or server used to construct the design device 200, but can be, for example, about 10 seconds to several minutes, and the applicant's prototype design device 200 was able to design a reinforced concrete structure in about that time. Even if it takes several tens of minutes for the design device 200 to estimate the cost of constructing a reinforced concrete structure, using the design device 200 makes it possible to estimate the cost of constructing a reinforced concrete structure in an extremely short time, considering that a similar estimate would have required one to two weeks of manual work in the past.

[0064] Incidentally, a reinforced concrete structure specified by design data can be constructed by conventional construction methods if it is constructed after conforming to the design data. For example, in the case of a reinforced concrete structure for a one-story house, first the formwork is assembled and rebar is appropriately placed inside the formwork, and then concrete is poured into the assembled formwork and allowed to harden while curing, thereby constructing the foundation front beam (FFB), foundation depth beam (FDB), and slab (S), which corresponds to the first floor floor. Next, the formwork assembled to construct the foundation front beam FFB and the foundation depth beam FDB is removed, and then the formwork is assembled again with appropriate rebar placed inside the formwork. Concrete is then poured into the assembled formwork and allowed to harden while curing, thereby constructing the columns P, front beam FB, depth beam DB, walls W, and slab S, which corresponds to the first floor ceiling. This will result in a reinforced concrete structure for a one-story residential building. In the case of a reinforced concrete structure for a multi-story, for example a two-story house, after completing the concrete structure of the first floor as described above, the formwork assembled to construct the columns P, front beams FB, depth beams DB, walls W, and slab S corresponding to the first floor ceiling of the first floor is removed, and then the formwork is assembled again and rebar is placed inside the formwork as appropriate. Concrete is then poured into the assembled formwork and allowed to harden while curing, thereby constructing the columns P, front beams FB, depth beams DB, walls W, and slab S corresponding to the second floor ceiling. Floors above the third floor can be constructed by repeating the same process. In a reinforced concrete structure, there are parts (parts where anchoring takes place) where a column P, a front beam FB, and a depth beam DB, or where a column P, a foundation front beam FFB, and a foundation depth beam FDB intersect, as shown by dashed lines in Figure 19. At the intersections in these portions, the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of column P, the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of frontage beam FB, and the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of depth beam DB, or the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of column P, the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of foundation frontage beam FFB, and the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of foundation depth beam FDB, are made to intersect with each other. By making the reinforcing bars in the frontage line direction, depth line direction, and vertical direction intersect with each other at these portions, the connections between column P and frontage beam FB, column P and depth beam DB, column P and foundation frontage beam FFB, and column P and foundation depth beam FDB can be strengthened, which helps to increase the resistance to load of the reinforced concrete structure. For example, the long reinforcing bar 191 in the column P usually extends from the top to the bottom of the reinforced concrete skeleton. The ends of the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of the frontage beam FB, the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of the depth beam DB, the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of the foundation frontage beam FFB, and the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of the foundation depth beam FDB can all be made to extend into the interior of the column P by an appropriate length, for example, about 400 mm. Also, the portions of the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of the frontage beam FB, the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of the depth beam DB, the reinforcing bars extending in the length direction of the foundation frontage beam FFB, and the foundation depth beam FDB that extend into the interior of the column P may be bent at right angles or folded back in a U-shape. This process of intersecting the reinforcing bars contained inside the columns and beams three-dimensionally at the joints between the columns and beams is called "anchoring," and it is preferable to standardize such an anchoring method in the column data, frontage beam data, foundation frontage beam data, depth beam data, and foundation depth beam data in the design device 200. This enables the estimating unit 226 to more accurately determine the required length of reinforcing bars and the labor hours required to place the reinforcing bars, resulting in more accurate estimation of the costs required to build a reinforced concrete skeleton.

[0065] In the same way as when image control data is sent from the design device 200 to the terminal 100, the design data and the estimate data are sent from the transmission / reception mechanism via the network 400 to the terminal 100 of the user who has requested the design of a reinforced concrete structure. If the design data and the estimate data are sent from the server 200 to the terminal 100 promptly after the estimate data is generated (the design device 200 is usually designed in this way, and although not limited to this, this is also the case in this embodiment), the user who sent the designated data from the terminal 100 to the server 200 can obtain the design data and the estimate data in a short time. The terminal 100 receives the design data and the estimate data at its transmission / reception mechanism. The design data and the estimate data are sent from the transmission / reception mechanism to the input unit 121 via the interface 114, and further sent from the input unit 121 to the control unit 122. The control unit 122 sends the design data and the estimate data to the image generation unit 123 . The image generating unit 123 generates image data for an image of a reinforced concrete structure specified by the design data, and sends the image data to the output unit 124. The image data is sent from the output unit 124 to the display 101 via the interface 114. An image based on the image data, that is, an image including an image of the reinforced concrete structure specified by the design data, is displayed on the display 101. The amount of money required to build the reinforced concrete structure based on the estimate data may be displayed simultaneously with the image of the reinforced concrete structure. If such a display is to be performed on display 101, image generating unit 123 may generate an image for displaying such a display on display 101 based on the design data and the estimate data. Of course, the estimated price does not have to be displayed on the display 101 at the same time as the image of the reinforced concrete structure. For example, when the user operates the input device 102 to input an image to switch between images, under the control of the control unit 122, the image displayed on the display 101 may be switched between an image of the reinforced concrete structure and an image of the estimated price. Furthermore, by allowing the user to select whether or not estimate data is required, it is of course possible to implement a scheme in which, if the user does not require estimate data, the costs required to construct a reinforced concrete structure will not be displayed on display 101.

[0066] The control unit 122 also records the received design data and estimate data in the data recording unit 125. In this way, the user can have an image of the reinforced concrete structure based on the design data and an image of the estimated amount based on the estimate data displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 even after the access of the terminal 100 to the design device 200 is cut off.

[0067] <Modification> A design device of the modified example will be described. The design apparatus of the modified example is substantially the same as the design apparatus 200 of the above-described embodiment. The design apparatus 200 according to the above-described embodiment is a so-called cloud-type apparatus, whereas the design apparatus according to the modified example is an on-premise type apparatus, in that the two are different from each other. Simply put, in the above embodiment, the designated data is input to the terminal 100 located differently from the design device 200, but in the design device of the modified example, the designated data is input to an input device provided in the design device. Also, in the above embodiment, the image based on the design data and the estimate data is displayed on the display 101 provided in the terminal 100 located differently from the design device 200, but in the design device of the modified example, the image is displayed on a display provided in the design device. That is, although illustrations are omitted since these are publicly known and well-known techniques, the design device in the modified example includes an input device and a display. The input device may be a known or well-known device, such as a numeric keypad, keyboard, trackball, mouse, speech-to-text input device, tap key, or a display in the case where the display is a touch panel. The display may be built into the design device or may be an external display, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display.

[0068] The design apparatus in the modified example is the same as the design apparatus 200 in the above embodiment in terms of hardware. The design device according to the modified example is configured with a computer. However, the design device does not need to be configured with a server, and may be configured with a general-purpose personal computer, for example, a notebook computer or a desktop computer, or may be configured with a tablet. The design device according to the modified example, like the design device 200 described in the embodiment, has the same hardware as the terminal 100 described in the embodiment, that is, the CPU 111, ROM 112, RAM 113, interface 114, and bus 116, and also has a large-capacity storage device similar to that described in the embodiment. The configurations and functions of the CPU 111, ROM 112, RAM 113, interface 114, bus 116, and large-capacity storage device are the same between the embodiment and the modified example. However, while in the above embodiment, a transmitting / receiving mechanism is connected to the interface of the design device 200, an input device and a display are connected to the interface of the design device of the modified example.

[0069] In the modified example, a computer program for making a computer function as the design device of the present invention is recorded in a ROM, a large capacity storage device, etc., inside the design device. By executing the computer program, functional blocks as described below are generated inside the design device 200. The functional blocks below may be generated by a function of a single computer program for making a computer function as the design device of the present invention, or may be generated by cooperation between the computer program and an OS or other computer programs installed in the design device. The computer program may be pre-installed in the design device, or may be post-installed in the design device. In that case, the computer program may be installed in the design device via a predetermined recording medium such as a memory card, or via a network such as a LAN or the Internet. These circumstances are the same as those in the design device 200 of the above embodiment. As in the above-mentioned embodiment, an input unit 221, a control unit 222, a design unit 224, a rule data recording unit 225, an estimation unit 226, a cost data recording unit 227, and an output unit 228 are generated within the design device, and further, a recording unit 223, which was not present in the above-mentioned embodiment, is generated (FIG. 20). Of these, the control unit 222, the design unit 224, and the estimation unit 226 correspond to a calculation device (although not limited to this, in the description of the embodiment, a CPU) in terms of hardware, or are realized by the function of a calculation device that executes information processing according to the instructions of the above-mentioned computer program. When viewed as hardware, the input unit 221 and the output unit 228 correspond to an interface or are realized by the function of an interface. More specifically, the input unit 221 and the output unit 228 conceptually correspond to a connection portion between an interface and a bus. The rule data recording unit 225, the cost data recording unit 227, and the recording unit 223 are realized as hardware by a recording device, that is, a ROM, a RAM, or a large-capacity recording device.

[0070] The functions of the input unit 221, control unit 222, design unit 224, rule data recording unit 225, estimation unit 226, cost data recording unit 227, and output unit 228 in the design device of the modified example are basically the same as those in the above-mentioned embodiment. However, in the above embodiment, the data input to the input unit 221 is sent from the terminal 100 operated by the user via the network 400 and received by the transmitting / receiving mechanism. On the other hand, in this modified example, the data is input from an input device. In the modified example, the data input from the input device is input to the input unit 221 via an interface. In the above embodiment, the data output from the output unit 228 is sent to the transmitting / receiving mechanism, and is then sent from the transmitting / receiving mechanism to the terminal 100 via the network 400. On the other hand, in this modified example, the data is output to a display. In addition, in the above embodiment, the control unit 222 executes the login process, but in the modified example, the control unit 222 does not have a function of executing the login process, because the login process itself is not necessary in an on-premise design device. Furthermore, the control unit 222 in the design device of the modified example does not have the function of generating image control data that the control unit 222 in the design device of the above embodiment has. Instead, the control unit 222 in the modified example has the function of generating images to be displayed on the display. This point will be described later.

[0071] Next, a method of using and an operation of the design apparatus in the modified example will be described. A user who operates the design device according to the modified example is, but is not limited to, a person who has been requested by a client to design a reinforced concrete structure, for example, a person who works at a design office.

[0072] A user launches the above-mentioned computer program to cause the computer to function as a design tool. Then, the control unit 222 generates image data. This image data is image data for displaying an image such as that shown in Fig. 7 on a display provided in the design device. The image data is sent from the control unit 222 to the output unit 228, and then sent to the display via the interface. As a result, an image such as that shown in Fig. 7 is displayed on the display based on the image data. The image shown in FIG. 7 is data that prompts the user to input specified data.

[0073] As described in the above embodiment, the user inputs the designated data not through the input device of the terminal 100 but through an input device connected to the design device. In this case too, the user inputs a number corresponding to the width of the reinforced concrete structure that he / she wants the design device to design in box 513 located to the right of character "Width" 513X, a number corresponding to the depth in box 514 located to the right of character "Depth" 514X, a number corresponding to the floor height in box 515 located to the right of character "Floor Height" 515X, and a number corresponding to the floor number in box 516 located to the right of character "Number of Floors" 516X (FIG. 7(B)). After the user confirms that the correct numbers have been entered in the boxes 513 to 516, he or she presses the button 517 labeled "Send." The button 517 functions as a so-called "Decision" button. In the case of a modified example, the text that should be written on the button 517 would be, for example, "Decision" rather than "Send." When the user inputs numbers into boxes 513-516 and presses button 517, the frontage, depth, floor height, and number of floors of the reinforced concrete structure that the user wants the design device to design are determined, and designation data that specifies these four pieces of information is generated. The designation data is sent from the input device to the input unit 221 via the interface. The designation data is further sent from the input unit 221 to the control unit 222.

[0074] The control unit 222 sends the designation data to the design unit 224 . The design unit 224, which has received the specified data, starts designing the reinforced concrete structure based on the specified data. When designing, the design unit 224 reads the rule data from the rule data recording unit 225, and designs the reinforced concrete structure according to the rules specified by the rule data. The process executed by the design unit 224 to design a reinforced concrete skeleton is as described in the above embodiment. As a result, the design unit 224 generates design data. The design data is sent from the design unit 224 to the estimation unit 226 .

[0075] Upon receiving the design data, the estimation unit 226 estimates the cost required to construct the reinforced concrete structure specified by the design data. The estimation unit 226 reads out the cost data from the cost data recording unit 227, and uses the cost data to estimate the cost required to construct a reinforced concrete skeleton specified by the design data. The process executed by the estimation unit 226 to estimate the cost required to build a reinforced concrete skeleton is as described in the above embodiment. As a result, the estimation unit 226 generates the estimation data. The estimation unit 226 sends the generated estimation data to the control unit 222 together with the previously received design data.

[0076] Upon receiving the design data and the estimate data, the control unit 222 generates image data. The image data is for displaying an image based on the design data, that is, an image of the designed reinforced concrete structure, on a display connected to the design device. As in the above embodiment, the image data may include an image of the estimated amount based on the estimate data, and the user may be allowed to select either the image of the reinforced concrete structure or the image of the estimated amount. The control unit 222 sends the generated image data to the display. As a result, in the above-described embodiment, the display will show an image similar to the image displayed on the display of terminal 100, i.e., an image including at least one of an image of the reinforced concrete structure and an image of the estimated amount.

[0077] The control unit 222 also records the received design data and estimate data in the recording unit 223 . This allows the user operating the design device to use the design data and estimate data recorded in the recording unit 223 to check images of the designed reinforced concrete structure and images of the estimated amount on the display, if necessary, even after some time has passed. The design data and quotation data can be transmitted to an external device outside the design device, for example, by email, or can be recorded on a portable recording medium that is detachable from the design device and used by the external device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 100 devices 200 Design equipment 221 Input section 222 Control section 223 Recording Department 224 Design Department 225 Rule Data Recording Unit 226 Estimation Department 227 Cost Data Recording Section 228 Output section α Rectangular range A1 Frontage line segment B1 Depth line B3 auxiliary line a Frontage division position b Depth division position P pillar FB Frontage Beam DB Depth Beam FFB Foundation Beam FDB Foundation Depth Beam W Wall S slab

Claims

1. A design device comprising: an input unit that receives input made by a user using an input device; a rule data recording unit that records rule data which is data on design rules for a reinforced concrete structure for a house; and a design unit that designs the reinforced concrete structure using the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit based on the input received by the input unit, and generates design data which is data on the designed reinforced concrete structure, The rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit includes: The reinforced concrete structure, a frontage line segment, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending in a frontage direction, and a depth line segment, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending from one end of the frontage line segment in a direction perpendicular to the frontage line segment, in a rectangular range in a plan view, the range being defined by the frontage line segment, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending from one end of the frontage line segment in a direction perpendicular to the frontage line segment; at least both ends of two sides parallel to the depth line segment of a rectangular range, which is a rectangular range in a plan view, and a depth division position, which is a position on the two sides that evenly divides the two sides parallel to the depth line segment into lengths equal to or less than the first length when the frontage line segment is longer than a first length, which is a predetermined length, and a plurality of pillars that are vertical elongated materials with a length equal to or less than a third length, which is a predetermined length, erected in pairs at both ends of an auxiliary line segment, which is a virtual line segment of the same length as the depth line segment that extends parallel to the depth line segment from the frontage division position, which is a position on the frontage line segment that evenly divides the frontage line segment into lengths equal to or less than the second length when the frontage line segment is longer than a second length, which is a predetermined length, and at a position corresponding to the depth division position on the auxiliary line segment; A plurality of frontage beams, which are long members that horizontally connect both upper and lower ends of all two of the columns that are parallel to and adjacent to the frontage line segment in a direction parallel to the frontage line segment, and a plurality of foundation frontage beams that contact the ground among the frontage beams; Among the columns, a plurality of depth beams are long members that horizontally connect both upper and lower ends of two columns that are parallel to and adjacent to the depth line in a direction parallel to the depth line, and a plurality of foundation depth beams that contact the ground among the depth beams; Among the columns located on two sides parallel to the frontage line segment of the rectangular area, a plate-like wall that closes the gap between adjacent columns parallel to the frontage line segment, or among the columns located on two sides parallel to the depth line segment of the rectangular area or on the auxiliary line segment, a plate-like wall that closes the gap between adjacent columns parallel to the depth line segment; A plurality of plate-shaped slabs that horizontally fill a rectangular space surrounded by the two front beams and the two depth beams, or the two foundation front beams and the two foundation depth beams, at height positions above and below the columns; It is recorded that the In addition to the rule data, the rule data recording unit stores the rule data that is pre-standardized as a rule that can be used for the reinforced concrete structure so that the structural design strength of the frame composed only of the pillars, the front beams, the foundation front beams, the depth beams, and the foundation depth beams is sufficient. column data identifying the normalized thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration of said columns; frontage beam data identifying the standardized frontage beam thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration; Foundation entrance beam data specifying the thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration of the standardized foundation entrance beam; Depth beam data specifying the thickness of the standardized depth beam and the configuration of the longitudinal rebar; Foundation depth beam data specifying the thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration of the standardized foundation depth beam; Wall data specifying the configuration of said walls per unit area; slab data identifying the composition of said slab per unit area; It has been recorded, The input from the input unit includes designation data including information for designating a length of the frontage line segment and a length of the depth line segment, The design unit includes: Using the rectangular range specified by the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment received from the input unit as a reference, design data is generated which is data specifying the reinforced concrete structure formed by combining the columns specified by the column data recorded in the rule data recording unit, the frontage beams specified by the frontage beam data, the foundation frontage beams specified by the foundation frontage beam data, the depth beams specified by the depth beam data, the foundation depth beams specified by the foundation depth beam data, the walls specified by the wall data, and the slabs specified by the slab data, all of which are recorded in the rule data recording unit. Design equipment.

2. The frontage line segment is equal to or shorter than the second length. The design device according to claim 1.

3. The frontage line segment is equal to or longer than the second length, The two adjacent spaces separated by the auxiliary line are configured to constitute another residence. The design device according to claim 1.

4. The designation data input from the input unit includes information designating the number of floors of the reinforced concrete structure, which is two or more floors, The design unit includes: On top of all of the columns, extension columns, which are new columns having the third length or less and the same thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration as the columns, are designed to be connected to each of the columns by extending them vertically in the same number as the number specified by the information specifying the floor number, which is one less than the number specified by the information specifying the floor number; A new set of the front beam, the depth beam, the wall, and the slab, each having the same configuration as the front beam, the depth beam, the wall, and the slab, is designed to be added for each extended column. The design device according to claim 1.

5. The design unit includes: The length of the extension pole is adapted to be equal to the length of the pole. The design apparatus according to claim 4.

6. The pillar specified by the pillar data is a rectangle in a plan view in which the length in the depth direction is longer than the length in the frontage direction. The design device according to claim 1.

7. The width, which is the length in the depth direction of the frontage beam specified by the frontage beam data, is set equal to the length in the depth direction of the column. The design apparatus according to claim 6.

8. The width, which is the length in the frontage direction of the depth beam specified by the depth beam data, is set equal to the length in the frontage direction of the column. The design apparatus according to claim 6.

9. The input unit is configured to receive the designated data from a user terminal operated by the user via a predetermined network, an output unit that transmits the design data to the user terminal via the network; The design device according to claim 1 or 4.

10. a cost data recording unit for recording cost data, which is data necessary for calculating the cost required to construct the reinforced concrete structure specified by the design data, based on the design data; an estimation unit that estimates the cost required to construct the reinforced concrete structure specified by the design data based on the design data, using the cost data recorded in the cost data recording unit, and generates estimation data that is data on the estimated cost; The design device according to claim 1 or 4.

11. a cost data recording unit for recording cost data, which is data necessary for calculating the cost required to construct the reinforced concrete structure specified by the design data, based on the design data; an estimating unit that estimates the cost required to construct the reinforced concrete structure specified by the design data based on the design data, using the cost data recorded in the cost data recording unit, and generates estimate data that is data on the estimated cost; The quotation data is sent from the output unit to the user terminal via the network. The design apparatus according to claim 9.

12. The system includes an input unit that receives input made by a user using an input device, a rule data recording unit that records rule data that is data on design rules for a reinforced concrete structure for a house, and a design unit that designs the reinforced concrete structure using the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit based on the input received by the input unit, and generates design data that is data on the designed reinforced concrete structure; The rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit includes: The reinforced concrete structure, a frontage line segment, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending in a frontage direction, and a depth line segment, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending from one end of the frontage line segment in a direction perpendicular to the frontage line segment, in a rectangular range in a plan view, the range being defined by the frontage line segment, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending from one end of the frontage line segment in a direction perpendicular to the frontage line segment; at least both ends of two sides parallel to the depth line segment of a rectangular range, which is a rectangular range in a plan view, and a depth division position, which is a position on the two sides that evenly divides the two sides parallel to the depth line segment into lengths equal to or less than the first length when the frontage line segment is longer than a first length, which is a predetermined length, and a plurality of pillars that are vertical elongated materials with a length equal to or less than a third length, which is a predetermined length, erected in pairs at both ends of an auxiliary line segment, which is a virtual line segment of the same length as the depth line segment that extends parallel to the depth line segment from the frontage division position, which is a position on the frontage line segment that evenly divides the frontage line segment into lengths equal to or less than the second length when the frontage line segment is longer than a second length, which is a predetermined length, and at a position corresponding to the depth division position on the auxiliary line segment; A plurality of frontage beams, which are long members that horizontally connect both upper and lower ends of all two of the columns that are parallel to and adjacent to the frontage line segment in a direction parallel to the frontage line segment, and a plurality of foundation frontage beams that contact the ground among the frontage beams; Among the columns, a plurality of depth beams are long members that horizontally connect both upper and lower ends of two columns that are parallel to and adjacent to the depth line in a direction parallel to the depth line, and a plurality of foundation depth beams that contact the ground among the depth beams; Among the columns located on two sides parallel to the frontage line segment of the rectangular area, a plate-like wall that closes the gap between adjacent columns parallel to the frontage line segment, or among the columns located on two sides parallel to the depth line segment of the rectangular area or on the auxiliary line segment, a plate-like wall that closes the gap between adjacent columns parallel to the depth line segment; A plurality of plate-shaped slabs that horizontally fill a rectangular space surrounded by the two front beams and the two depth beams, or the two foundation front beams and the two foundation depth beams, at height positions above and below the columns; It is recorded that the In addition to the rule data, the rule data recording unit stores the rule data that is pre-standardized as a rule that can be used for the reinforced concrete structure so that the structural design strength of the frame composed only of the pillars, the front beams, the foundation front beams, the depth beams, and the foundation depth beams is sufficient. column data identifying the normalized thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration of said columns; frontage beam data identifying the standardized frontage beam thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration; Foundation entrance beam data specifying the thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration of the standardized foundation entrance beam; Depth beam data specifying the thickness of the standardized depth beam and the configuration of the longitudinal rebar; Foundation depth beam data specifying the thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration of the standardized foundation depth beam; Wall data specifying the configuration of said walls per unit area; slab data identifying the composition of said slab per unit area; A method for designing a reinforced concrete structure, the method being executed by a design unit of a design device in which receiving, as an input from the input unit, designation data including information designating the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment; a process of generating design data which is data specifying the reinforced concrete structure formed by combining the columns specified by the column data recorded in the rule data recording unit, the frontage beams specified by the frontage beam data, the foundation frontage beams specified by the foundation frontage beam data, the depth beams specified by the depth beam data, the foundation depth beams specified by the foundation depth beam data, the walls specified by the wall data, and the slabs specified by the slab data, based on the rectangular range specified by the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment received from the input unit; Includes Design method.

13. A computer program for causing a given computer to function as a design device including an input unit that receives input made by a user using an input device, a rule data recording unit that records rule data that is data on design rules for a reinforced concrete structure for a house, and a design unit that designs the reinforced concrete structure using the rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit based on the input received by the input unit, and generates design data that is data on the designed reinforced concrete structure, The rule data recorded in the rule data recording unit includes: The reinforced concrete structure, a frontage line segment, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending in a frontage direction, and a depth line segment, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending from one end of the frontage line segment in a direction perpendicular to the frontage line segment, in a rectangular range in a plan view, the range being defined by the frontage line segment, which is a virtual line segment of a predetermined length extending from one end of the frontage line segment in a direction perpendicular to the frontage line segment; at least both ends of two sides parallel to the depth line segment of a rectangular range, which is a rectangular range in a plan view, and a depth division position, which is a position on the two sides that evenly divides the two sides parallel to the depth line segment into lengths equal to or less than the first length when the frontage line segment is longer than a first length, which is a predetermined length, and a plurality of pillars that are vertical elongated materials with a length equal to or less than a third length, which is a predetermined length, erected in pairs at both ends of an auxiliary line segment, which is a virtual line segment of the same length as the depth line segment that extends parallel to the depth line segment from the frontage division position, which is a position on the frontage line segment that evenly divides the frontage line segment into lengths equal to or less than the second length when the frontage line segment is longer than a second length, which is a predetermined length, and at a position corresponding to the depth division position on the auxiliary line segment; A plurality of frontage beams, which are long members that horizontally connect both upper and lower ends of all two of the columns that are parallel to and adjacent to the frontage line segment in a direction parallel to the frontage line segment, and a plurality of foundation frontage beams that contact the ground among the frontage beams; Among the columns, a plurality of depth beams are long members that horizontally connect both upper and lower ends of two columns that are parallel to and adjacent to the depth line in a direction parallel to the depth line, and a plurality of foundation depth beams that contact the ground among the depth beams; Among the columns located on two sides parallel to the frontage line segment of the rectangular area, a plate-like wall that closes the gap between adjacent columns parallel to the frontage line segment, or among the columns located on two sides parallel to the depth line segment of the rectangular area or on the auxiliary line segment, a plate-like wall that closes the gap between adjacent columns parallel to the depth line segment; A plurality of plate-shaped slabs that horizontally fill a rectangular space surrounded by the two front beams and the two depth beams, or the two foundation front beams and the two foundation depth beams, at height positions above and below the columns; It is recorded that the In addition to the rule data, the rule data recording unit stores the rule data that is pre-standardized as a rule that can be used for the reinforced concrete structure so that the structural design strength of the frame composed only of the pillars, the front beams, the foundation front beams, the depth beams, and the foundation depth beams is sufficient. column data identifying the normalized thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration of said columns; frontage beam data identifying the standardized frontage beam thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration; Foundation entrance beam data specifying the thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration of the standardized foundation entrance beam; Depth beam data specifying the thickness of the standardized depth beam and the configuration of the longitudinal rebar; Foundation depth beam data specifying the thickness and longitudinal rebar configuration of the standardized foundation depth beam; Wall data specifying the configuration of said walls per unit area; slab data identifying the composition of said slab per unit area; It has been recorded, The input from the input unit includes designation data including information for designating a length of the frontage line segment and a length of the depth line segment, The design unit includes: Using the rectangular range specified by the length of the frontage line segment and the length of the depth line segment received from the input unit as a reference, design data is generated which is data specifying the reinforced concrete structure formed by combining the columns specified by the column data recorded in the rule data recording unit, the frontage beams specified by the frontage beam data, the foundation frontage beams specified by the foundation frontage beam data, the depth beams specified by the depth beam data, the foundation depth beams specified by the foundation depth beam data, the walls specified by the wall data, and the slabs specified by the slab data, all of which are recorded in the rule data recording unit. Computer program.