JPH0452870A - Electric unit design system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily design electric units by automatically designing parts arrangement. CONSTITUTION:After completing data input, a processing part 3 reads out a rule specified by an environment data input from a knowledge base 2 and automatically executes layout in accordance with the rule. Whether the automatically laid-out parts arrangement of an electric unit satisfies a prescribed condition or not is decided by the processing part 3, and when the condition is satisfied, its layout graphic is printed out. When the layout is invalidated, a program is returned to parts input processing and the sorts of parts and the numbers of parts are changed. After completing the automatic layout, the processing part 3 executes the assembly efficiency inspecting processing of the laid-out parts arrangement, and when the assembly efficiency is low, the program goes to improvement plan forming processing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an electrical component unit design system that automatically designs the component arrangement of an electrical component unit used in electrical equipment or the like.

[Conventional technology]

Traditionally, the design of electrical units used in electrical equipment, etc. is based on the detailed electrical specifications of the electrical unit.
Parts such as electrical appliances, wires, connecting parts, and fastening parts were determined, and the designers manually arranged these parts in a limited space while considering various design conditions. .

At this time, there are many conditions that the designer should consider, such as the function of the electrical component unit, the characteristics of the parts used, electrical interference between the electrical parts used, and the environmental conditions in which the electrical component is used. Since these conditions are interrelated, comprehensive judgment is required, making the task extremely complicated and difficult even for experienced designers.

In actual work, one of several design conditions is given priority when designing, and one of the design conditions that is often used at this time is product assemblability (ease of assembly).
There is. This assemblability is an important condition when deciding the arrangement of electrical parts and other parts, and the cost of the product is greatly influenced by this assemblability.

Therefore, by testing this assemblability, it is possible to estimate the assembly cost of the product. One method for testing this assemblability is to disassemble the product into parts, analyze the assembly operations, and calculate the number of assembly steps.

However, this method can only be applied to products that have already been completed, or cannot be used for products that will be designed in the future.

Therefore, conventionally, the ease of assembly was considered after the design was completed.
If something didn't work out, they would change the design, reconsider it, and keep making design changes until the conditions were met. This not only increases the design cost but also prevents major design changes.

Additionally, there is a method to evaluate assemblability at the design stage, but this method has poor evaluation accuracy unless the placement positions of various parts have been determined, and the focus is on structural improvement rather than estimating assembly costs. It was not suitable for calculating costs.

[Invention or problem to be solved]

As mentioned above, the conventional design of electrical component units is an extremely complicated and difficult task even for experienced designers, and it is difficult to assemble electrical component units designed in this way. It was also difficult to test the gender, and it was extremely difficult to accurately estimate the cost of assembling the product.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to design an electrical unit extremely easily, greatly reducing the burden on the designer, and further improving the assemblability of the designed electrical unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical component unit design system that can extremely easily verify the assembly cost and accurately estimate the assembly cost.

[Structure of the Invention] [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention automatically arranges parts when mounting a plurality of electrical parts and other parts on one or more boards. In an automatic design system for electrical component units to be designed, there is a data storage section that stores data regarding the board shape and components, and a rule storage section that stores rules that should be considered when mounting multiple components in a predetermined area. and parts determination, which selects the types of boards and parts to be used from the data storage part, and determines the number of the two selected board parts, according to the functions required of the electrical component unit to be designed. means, a layout means for arranging the components selected by the means on the board selected by the component determining means based on the rules, and determining a component arrangement of the electrical component unit; and a layout means determined by the layout means. In addition, in the automatic design system described above, the evaluation item is whether there are any factors that impede the ease of assembly when attaching components to the board. The ease of assembling of each part is shown using an evaluation table that has been determined and has an index set for each evaluation item according to the magnitude of assembly obstruction, and for each part whose placement position is determined by automatic design. The method includes means for calculating an assemblability index based on the evaluation table, and a means for testing the assemblability of each part in the current arrangement state based on each assemblability index calculated by the means. A design system was constructed.

[Effect]

According to the electrical component unit design system according to the present invention, the types of boards and components to be used are selected from the data storage section according to the functions required of the electrical component unit to be designed, and the number of each component is selected. is determined. Then, each of these determined components is arranged on the board based on the rules stored in the rule storage section, and the arrangement of the components is automatically designed.

In addition, for each part whose placement position has been determined by automatic design, an assemblability index indicating the ease of assembling each part is calculated based on an evaluation table, and based on each calculated assemblability index, the current placement The assemblability of each part in the current state is verified by a verification means.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an outline of the design in the electrical component unit design system according to this embodiment. When this design system inputs component data given by detailed design, the automatic component placement function, which is the first feature of this design system, determines the layout related to component attachment. The details of the automatic parts placement function will be described later, but once the first placement is completed using this function, this design system will check whether the layout drawing has a structure that is easy to manufacture when assembling the product. The second feature, the assemblability verification function, checks the assemblability index. As a result of checking with Uni, if the assemblability index does not show a satisfactory value, the third feature of this design system, an improvement function, outputs an improvement plan to increase the assemblability index. The designer decides whether to accept or reject the proposed improvement plan,
When the changes to the part data when the improvement plan is adopted are input, this design system lays out the parts again and checks the assemblability index. If the results are finally satisfied, a structural diagram (layout diagram) is output.

The hardware configuration of this design system is shown in Figure 2.

This design system consists of a keyboard 1 for inputting data, a knowledge base 2 which is a file that stores rules for automatic layout and assemblability testing from the input data, and deriving improvement plans. A processing unit 3 that performs data processing to derive automatic layout, assemblability test, and improved layout using rules, a display unit 4 that displays data related to processing at each step in this processing unit 3, and a layout. It is comprised of a printer 5 that prints out the resulting component placement section.

The automatic component placement function of this embodiment will be described in detail below.

Generally, when designing an electrical unit, as shown in FIG. 3, first, the basic functions of the product are determined from the product specifications, and the electric circuits and other parts to be used are determined according to these basic functions. Next, we begin production design to determine the structure and manufacturing method of the unit, consider the characteristics and interrelationships of each part, decide on the mounting position, decide on electrical wiring and connection methods, and decide on the overall structure of the unit. Create a structure diagram. At this time, the external shape of the casing in which these items are stored may be decided later depending on the contents, but - for boat fishing, electrical interference, noise, temperature rise, etc. It is necessary to lay out electrical circuits and components in the most efficient manner to avoid problems and facilitate assembly.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the component placement function of this embodiment, and the component placement of the electrical component unit is automatically designed based on this flowchart.

The production design of an electrical unit starts from the stage where the designer has decided on detailed specifications such as circuit configuration, functional configuration, product dimensions, component specification configuration, etc. based on the product specifications. First, when the system is started, an instruction such as "How do you select the layout mode?" is displayed on the display unit 4 (step Sl). There are two types of parts arrangement: planar arrangement and three-dimensional arrangement, and the designer is A:
Select either planar arrangement or B: three-dimensional arrangement. With this, the form of component arrangement is input. Hereinafter, the case of planar arrangement will be explained as an example.

If the component arrangement form is input, then an instruction for "panel data manually" is displayed on the display section 4, and panel data is input (step S2). Here, the panel refers to a base plate to which parts are attached, and the parts are placed on this panel.

FIG. 5 shows an example of panel data. The panel data is
Consists of figure code, panel shape, and panel size. Such panel data is stored in the panel data storage unit 1], and from among the displayed panel data, the panel determined at the time of determining the specifications above is selected, and the "panel shape" and "panel shape" of that panel are selected. Size: X (horizontal), Y (vertical).

A (horizontal notch) B (vertical notch)", and enter the "code number". For example, using the example shown in Figure 5, a message such as "What is the shape of the panel?" is output, data inputted by the designer such as [shape code - 1] is stored, and then the message "Panel What is the size?” was entered in response to the message [X-500, Y-300, A
-0°B-0], the panel shape and panel size are registered. Note that the vertical and horizontal relationship of the panel is not determined by the size of the panel, but the unit attachment is determined by the attachment relationship to the main product. In Fig. 5, the figure code S is used when a three-dimensional arrangement is made in step S1, and the illustrated example is a case where the panel is made of two layers, but a multilayer arrangement of three or more layers is also possible as a system. .

Moreover, when a panel is not used, it is arranged on a virtual plane assuming a panel.

When the panel data input process is completed as described above, data regarding the type and number of parts is then input (step S3). As shown in FIG. 6, the component data storage unit 12 stores component data consisting of items such as component type, rating, component direction, figure, terminal direction, component size, etc., in correspondence with a component code for each component. The data contents of each part are displayed on the display section 4. and,"
What kind of parts? ”, “How many parts?”, etc., and based on this, the type of parts that should be used 1
Memorize the number of parts. Note that the contents of the component data can be changed one after another by selecting on the screen.

Next, component dimensional margin ratios are set for the various components selected in step S3 (step S4).

The component dimensional margin ratio is the margin ratio relative to the component net dimension, which is determined in consideration of the electrical insulation distance, the insertion space for tools when installing the component, etc. when installing the component. In this example, as shown in FIG. 7, the margin ratio is 10%, 209o,
The parts dimensions 14 to 16 were prepared based on the expected 309o.
A message such as 0% 3:3096J is output. Then, for the various parts input in step S3,
When a predetermined margin is set in correspondence with the code number, the part size with the margin given for that part size is automatically calculated and stored. This component dimensional margin ratio is set for each factor depending on electrical characteristics, mechanical interference, etc., and is determined by the most severe condition among the margin ratios for each factor.

Next, the process moves to input of environmental data (step S5). Here, the environmental data is used when a plurality of components are combined into one functional module, or when there are constraints between components or functional modules, and constraints on component placement. In the second step S5, "Does environmental data exist?"
If a message such as this is displayed and there is an input indicating that no environmental data has been input, the process advances to step S6.

On the other hand, if there is an input of environmental data or an input indicating that it exists, a message such as "Circuit function specification?" is output, and the circuit function of a predetermined component is specified based on the input from the designer. Note that if the circuit function is not specified, the process proceeds to the next step regarding the environmental data by pressing the return key manually.

When specifying a circuit function, the types and numbers of parts stored in step S3 are displayed in a list, and the functional circuit name specified for each part is stored. For example, display the table shown in Figure 8, and write the "part code quantity" as [1:2 5・1,
10: Input like this. Note that the circuit name may or may not be entered, or it may be convenient to enter it as data after design. Next, noise countermeasure data is input.

This outputs a message such as ``Do you have noise countermeasures?'', and if there is human effort such as ``Noise countermeasures are provided'', it outputs a message indicating which circuits should be separated from each other. In response to this message, the designer inputs the code number registered in the circuit function specification.
Specify the circuit to be separated. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, if [1:2] is entered, data such as arranging the power supply circuit and control circuit separately to prevent noise will be input. Next, priority circuit data is input. A message such as "Which circuit is the priority?" is output, and in response, the designer inputs [Y] or [N]. This priority circuit is a designation to preferentially arrange a specific circuit on the base.

[Y] If there is human power, display the arrangement position designation area as shown in FIG. 10 on the display section 4, and accept the code number and area registered in the circuit function designation process. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 10, [1:A] is input manually.

In this way, when the manual input of the environmental data is completed, the electric wire data is input next (step S6). So, what about U electric wire data input? Outputs a message such as J. The wire data is calculated by multiplying coefficients for the component direction, terminal direction, and layout selected in step S3 to calculate the route, length, etc. Here, the registered part data and numbers that have already been manually input by part type are displayed as shown in Figure 11, and input in the order of "part code number: number of wires" such as [1:l:5]. Store the data that will be displayed.

When the above data input is completed, the rule specified by the environmental data input is read from the rule data storage unit 13, and the panel data, part type and number of parts are input.

Automatically lay out component margin ratio and wire data according to the above rules. This automatic layout is performed using, for example, a nesting circuit.

It is determined whether the parts arrangement of the electrical component unit automatically laid out in this way satisfies predetermined conditions (step S8), and if the conditions are satisfied, the layout diagram is printed out ( Step S9), and furthermore, the wire route is printed out (step S9).
).

Further, in step S8, if the layout is not possible, an area occupancy rate check is performed (step S5).
11). This is data indicating how much the component placement area is compared to the panel area. As a result of the area occupancy rate check, if the area occupancy rate is less than 11090, the process returns to step S4 and the parts margin rate is reset; if the area occupancy rate is between 110% and 150%, the process returns to step S3. Go back and change the part type and number. Furthermore, if the area occupancy rate is 150% or more, the arrangement form is reset. It should be noted that it is up to the designer to decide whether to change the spare parts rate, the type of parts, or the panel layout for a certain area occupancy rate, and the above is one example. .

In the above manner, component placement for one panel is completed.

Further, when it is desired to increase the packaging density of units, etc., three-dimensional arrangement B is selected in step S1. When 3D configuration B is selected, a message such as ``What is the volume of the casing?'' is output, and in response, the external dimensions of the entire unit input manually by the designer in the order of x, y, and z are stored as the casing volume ( S ] 2).

Next, set the component type and number of parts for each stage (Step 813), and when all stages are completed, step 4
Move to. Then, the parts are arranged or laid out in the same manner as above for each stage, the layout diagram and wire route are printed out for each stage, and the step distance for each stage is also displayed.

Next, the assemblability verification function and improvement plan creation function of this design system will be explained.

When the automatic layout as described above is completed, an assemblability verification process for the laid out parts arrangement is executed, and if the assemblability is low, the process moves to an improvement plan creation process.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing assemblability verification processing and improvement plan creation processing executed after the automatic layout processing shown in FIG. 4.

The assemblability verification performed in step S20 is to check whether the structure is easy to assemble from the viewpoint of the manufacturer when assembling various parts at the layout positions. Therefore, the verification is performed while interacting with the system based on the layout diagram created by the automatic parts placement function.

FIG. 13 shows an example of evaluation items used in the assemblability test of this embodiment. In addition to the general assembly evaluation items, the evaluation items also include items related to the handling of electric wires that are specific to electrical equipment. The evaluation items are extracted factors that impede ease of assembly, and an index is determined for each evaluation item depending on the degree of obstruction to ease of assembly. The magnitude of this inhibition of assembly is set on the scale of work time. Therefore, the index or larger is the working time or longer.
Conversely, if the index is smaller, the working time will be shorter.

Each laid out part is judged according to each evaluation item and an assemblability index is calculated. For example, among the evaluation items, "positioning" means that when assembling parts, if positioning is required between parts and the panel to which they are attached, or between adjacent parts, the assemblability index will deteriorate. . Similarly, regarding ease of assembly (wiring) regarding electric wires, for example, ``double-sided wiring'' means that the wires also go from the front to the back of the panel, which is also a factor in deducting points.

In this design system, questions for evaluation items are displayed one after another in an interactive manner on the display unit 4, and if applicable, when rYEsJ is input, a coefficient corresponding to the degree of assemblability inhibition for that evaluation item is input from the knowledge base 2. Ru. If not applicable, r
As NOJ, proceed to the next evaluation item. Once the questions regarding all evaluation items are completed, the assemblability index of each part and those parts or the entire attached panel is automatically calculated. Furthermore, in this design system, if necessary, an estimated value of the actual assembly man-hours is calculated by linking the assemblability index and the standard assembly man-hours, and these data can be obtained.

When the assemblability index is calculated from the layout diagram of the electrical component unit, it is determined whether the assemblability index satisfies a certain reference value (step 521). Since the judgment criteria at this time differ depending on the type of product, this is done with reference to the model-specific judgment data 15. If the assemblability index is satisfied, then the Iaud plan is adopted and the process ends. In addition, if it is not satisfied, the process moves to an improvement plan creation process.

In the improvement plan creation process, what went wrong in the evaluation items is analyzed and the revised plan is tested. That is, a list of the worst parts with low assemblability indexes is displayed on the display unit 4 (step 522), and the contents of the evaluation items for each listed part are analyzed (step 823). In other words, evaluation items are evaluated in order to find out what causes the assemblability to deteriorate. In this diagnosis, the diagnostic item data stored in the diagnostic item data database 16 is read out and used, and this includes data on factors that deteriorate assembly performance for each evaluation item, and is classified and stored according to phenomena. Therefore, by making a diagnosis, the cause can be inferred.

Next, the process advances to improvement plan consideration step S24. In the improvement plan consideration step, based on the diagnosis result of the cause of the evaluation item and the improvement data base 18, an improvement plan to eliminate the factors that deteriorate assembly performance is considered based on the improvement rules in the knowledge base 17.
cormorant.

Next, evaluation item [] diagnosis and consideration of improvement plans will be explained with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the inference process during creating an improvement plan from the evaluation items in the assemblability test. Diagnosis items and improvement rules are prepared for each of the evaluation items shown in FIG. 13. Diagnostic items are the causes of each evaluation item classified by phenomenon. Improvement rules as shown in FIG. 15 are set for each of the classified phenomena. Improvement rules are rules for guiding improvement plans in response to each diagnosis item, and the improvement method for a phenomenon can be selected based on conditions, and the optimal improvement can be made by answering questions in an interactive manner. It is designed to come up with ideas. for example,
If the evaluation item is rated as "positioning", the diagnosis item will be to determine whether it is the phenomenon that is causing the positioning, the positioning to determine the relative position between two parts, the positioning of a detent, or something else not shown. Diagnose positioning for the phenomenon of Regarding the phenomena selected as a result of the diagnosis, questions are sequentially asked in accordance with the improvement rules as shown in FIG. 15, and if a double line is established, an improvement plan for pressing and forming is obtained. If this does not hold true, the optimal improvement plan can be obtained by replacing the phenomena and rules one after another.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the automatic parts placement function sequentially determines the rules for parts placement such as parts margin ratio and environmental data, and based on these rules, various parts can be automatically laid out. Since diagrams can be easily changed, the burden on designers can be significantly reduced and work efficiency can be greatly improved.

In addition, we created evaluation items that extracted factors that impede assembly ease, set an assemblyability index on the scale of work time for each evaluation item, and calculated the assemblyability index for each part laid out by the automatic parts placement function. Since the assemblability index is calculated and evaluated, the assemblability of the electrical unit can be verified at the design stage, the design cost can be reduced, and the assembly cost I can be calculated with high reliability at the design stage.

Furthermore, for parts with poor assembly performance, the evaluation items are diagnosed, and from this diagnosis result and the improvement data base, improvement plans are derived to improve the factors that deteriorate assembly performance based on the improvement rules in the knowledge base. Therefore, even if you are not a skilled designer, you can very easily obtain an optimal improvement plan.

Note that since an electrical unit is composed of an extremely large number of parts, if the assemblability of one entire electrical unit is verified using one design system, the time required for the assemblability verification process may become longer.

Therefore, it is conceivable to divide the electrical component unit into a plurality of regions, and to configure the electrical component unit to be divided and processed in parallel by a plurality of unit design systems.

This will be explained below with reference to FIG. For example, the electrical component unit is divided into two regions R, R2. The component data of R, . . . R2 of each area is input into a unit design system 5182 having the same functions as in the above embodiment. In each system, evaluation of each example of parts arranged in each area and evaluation 1iIIIi (number of product types, number of fastening types, number of electric wire types, etc.) for each area as a whole are performed. And each system Sl
, S2 are divided into a component evaluation portion and an overall evaluation portion and combined, thereby obtaining evaluation data for the entire electrical component unit.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the assemblability test is performed using the layout diagram of the electrical component unit obtained by the automatic component placement function, but the present invention can be used for various other tests. For example, if the evaluation item is related to the length of an electric wire, a high index is set for an item that tends to lengthen the electric wire.

By creating such evaluation items and performing evaluation tests on each component, it is possible to provide a test function that minimizes the number of wires connecting electrical components.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform component layout of an electrical unit extremely easily, which was an extremely complicated task in the past, and the burden on the designer can be significantly reduced. , it can be used to improve work efficiency.

In addition, since the function of automatically checking the quality of the layout based on assemblability is biased, it is possible to easily design a layout that is easy to create and has low manufacturing costs, even if you are not an experienced designer.

Furthermore, it is possible to very easily derive an optimal improvement plan for component arrangements that are difficult to assemble.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a flowchart showing an overview of the embodiment, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the embodiment, Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the design procedure of the electrical component unit, and Fig. 4 is the embodiment. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing details of the automatic parts placement function, Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of panel data, Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of parts data, Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram of component size margin ratio, Figure 8 Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram of an example of circuit function input, Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram of an example of noise circuit input, Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram of an example of priority circuit input, Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram of an example of wire data input,
Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the assemblability test process and improvement plan creation process, Figure 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of assemblability test evaluation items, Figures 14 and 15 are explanatory diagrams of evaluation items and improvement rules, FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the system configuration for parallel processing of parts assemblability verification. Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 10 Figure 11 Phenomenon improvement rules Figure 15 Figure 13 Electrical unit Figure 16

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In an electrical component unit design system that automatically designs component placement when multiple electrical components and other components are mounted on one or more boards, data storage that stores data regarding board shapes and components A rule storage section that stores rules that should be considered when mounting multiple components in a predetermined area, and a rule storage section that stores the rules that should be considered when mounting multiple components in a predetermined area. a component determining means for selecting a type of component from the data storage section and determining the selected board and the number of components; It is characterized by comprising: a layout means for arranging parts based on rules and determining the component arrangement of the electrical equipment unit; and a means for outputting a parts arrangement diagram of the electrical equipment unit determined by the layout means. Electrical unit design system. (2) In an electrical component unit design system that automatically designs component placement when multiple electrical components and other components are mounted on one or more circuit boards, the ease of assembly when mounting components on the circuit board is hindered. There is an evaluation table in which the factors are determined as evaluation items, and an index is set for each evaluation item according to the degree of assembly obstruction. Means for calculating an assemblability index indicating ease of assembling based on the evaluation table, and testing means for testing the assemblability of each part in the current arrangement state based on each assemblability index calculated by this means. An electrical component unit design system comprising: (3) The electrical component unit design system according to claim 2 further includes: an improvement rule storage section storing improvement rules for each of the evaluation items; and a sufficient assemblability with the verification means. An electrical component unit design system comprising: means for deriving an improvement rule for a component for which it is determined that there is no improvement rule from the improvement rule storage section. (4) Factors that impede the ease of assembly when attaching various parts to the circuit board of an electrical unit are determined as evaluation items, and an index is set for each evaluation item according to the degree of obstruction to assembly. means for calculating an assemblability index indicating ease of assembly of each part for each part arranged in a predetermined state on the board based on the evaluation table; A plurality of unit design systems are provided, each of which includes a verification means for verifying the assemblability of the electrical component unit in the component placement state based on the assemblability index, and divides the designed electrical component unit into a plurality of areas. do,
The assemblability test for each area is performed using different unit design systems, and the assemblability test data for each area obtained by each unit design system is combined to create assemblability test data for the entire electrical component unit. Electrical unit design system.