JP7390114B2 - Drawing system and drawing support method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drawing system including a drawing device that draws an object, a drawing support device that outputs a drawing instruction specifying a drawing position of the object , and a drawing support method .

A typical drawing application searches for an identifier of an object such as a node that satisfies a search condition, determines the position of a symbol of each object, and draws the object symbol at the determined position. Further, the position of the symbol of the object determined by the drawing application can be changed according to the user's preference by the user's operation. Further, the position of the symbol of the object changed in this way can also be saved in association with the search condition.

A method has been proposed for depicting the connection status between nodes in an easy-to-understand manner (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 defines an evaluation function based on the correlation between a set target value of the distance between nodes in a plurality of nodes and the actual distance between the nodes, and arranges the nodes so that the evaluation function becomes small. At this time, Patent Document 1 arranges graph figures for nodes specified in advance without changing the arrangement of the nodes.

JP2008-262485A

However, the objects searched for based on the search conditions vary depending on the situation. Therefore, when displaying a searched object in a situation where the search results change each time a search is performed, the user changes the drawing position of the searched object each time the user searches to match the user's preference. The need arises.

In this way, it may be difficult for the user to draw objects in a manner that matches the user's preferences.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a drawing system and a drawing support method that draw objects in a manner that matches the user's preferences even if the objects to be drawn are changed.

In order to solve the above problems, a first feature of the present invention relates to a drawing system that includes a drawing device that draws an object and a drawing support device that outputs a drawing instruction specifying a drawing position of the object. In a first feature of the present invention, the drawing device includes a drawing unit that draws an object, and a storage request unit that inputs a request to save the drawing position of the object as a save drawing position to the drawing support device along with an object identifier and a save key. and a drawing request unit that inputs a drawing request specifying an object to be drawn to the drawing support device together with a save key. The drawing support device includes a storage drawing position acquisition unit that associates a storage key input from the drawing device, an object identifier, and a storage drawing position and stores them in object position data, and an object The storage drawing position instructing section is provided for inputting into the drawing device a drawing instruction for drawing a symbol of an object associated with a storage key in the position data at a storage drawing position associated in the object position data. The drawing unit of the drawing device draws the symbol of the object according to the saved drawing position input from the drawing support device.

The save drawing position instruction unit of the drawing support device issues a drawing instruction to draw symbols of objects other than the object associated with the save key in the object position data at a default display position among the objects specified by the drawing device. , may be input to a drawing device.

The drawing support device includes a storage device that stores object data that specifies objects, and the drawing request that the drawing device inputs to the drawing support device may be a search condition for searching for an object to be drawn from the object data. good.

A second feature of the present invention relates to a drawing support device that outputs a drawing instruction specifying a drawing position of an object. A drawing support device according to a second feature of the present invention includes a storage device that stores object position data in which an identifier of an object and a storage drawing position of the object are associated with a storage key; The storage drawing position instructing unit outputs a drawing instruction to draw a symbol of an object associated with a storage key in the data at a storage drawing position associated with the object position data.

The storage drawing position instruction unit may output a drawing instruction to draw a symbol of an object other than the object associated with the storage key in the object position data at a default display position among objects to be drawn.

A third feature of the present invention relates to a drawing method used in a drawing system that includes a drawing device that draws an object and a drawing support device that outputs a drawing instruction specifying a drawing position of the object. A drawing method according to a third feature of the present invention includes a saving request step in which a drawing device inputs a request to save a drawing position of an object as a saved drawing position to a drawing support device together with an identifier of the object and a save key; A storage drawing position acquisition step in which the support device associates the storage key input from the drawing device, an object identifier, and a storage drawing position and stores it in object position data; and a drawing step in which the drawing device specifies the object to be drawn. A drawing request step of inputting the request together with a save key to the drawing support device; A storage drawing position instruction step in which a drawing instruction to draw at a storage drawing position associated with the data is input to the drawing device, and the drawing device draws a symbol of the object according to the storage drawing position input from the drawing support device. A drawing step is provided.

A fourth feature of the present invention relates to a drawing support program for causing a computer to function as the drawing support device according to the second feature of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a drawing system and a drawing support method that draw objects in a manner that matches the user's preferences even if the object to be drawn is changed.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the system configuration of a drawing system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overview of processing of the drawing system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration and functional blocks of the drawing support device. It is a figure explaining a data structure of object data, and an example of data. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure and data of object connection data. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure and data of symbol definition data, and an example of symbols (switches). FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure and data of accompanying symbol definition data, and an example of an accompanying symbol (status lamp). FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure and data of object position data. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure and data of drawing instruction data. This is an example of an object drawn based on drawing instruction data. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration and functional blocks of a drawing device. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure and data of symbol definition data, and an example of a symbol (blade server). FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure and data of accompanying symbol definition data, and an example of an accompanying symbol (computer). FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overview of processing of the drawing system regarding a drawing position storage function. FIG. 3 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the drawing device and object position data in the drawing position storage function. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the drawing device in the drawing position saving function (part 2); FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the drawing device in the drawing position saving function (part 3); FIG. 3 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating drawing of an object in a drawing position determination method that takes into account attributes of the object in the drawing position determination function; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating drawing of an object in a drawing position determination method that takes into account attributes of the object in the drawing position determination function (part 2); FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating object connection data and drawn objects in a drawing position determination method that takes into account the circulation path of the drawing position determination function. FIG. 3 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating drawing of an object in a drawing position determining method that takes into account the circulation path of the drawing position determining function; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating drawing of an object in a drawing position determination method that takes into account the circulation path of the drawing position determination function (part 2); FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating drawing of an object in a drawing position determination method that takes into account the circulation path of the drawing position determination function (part 3); FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating drawing of an object in a drawing position determining method that takes into account the circulation path of the drawing position determining function (Part 4);

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings below, the same or similar parts are designated by the same or similar symbols.

(drawing system)
A drawing support device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is used in a drawing system 3 as shown in FIG. The drawing system 3 embodies objects into symbols and allows the user to visually recognize the objects or the connections between the objects.

When drawing a network configuration using the drawing system 3, objects include a network base, a casing provided at the network base, a network device provided in the casing, and the like. The drawing system 3 may also draw relationships between arbitrary objects, such as organizational structure and functional structure of applications.

The drawing system 3 has a general drawing function as well as an accompanying symbol drawing instruction function, a drawing position storage function, and a drawing position determining function. Each of these functions will be explained in detail later.

The drawing system 3 includes a drawing support device 1 and a drawing device 2. The drawing support device 1 and the drawing device 2 are each computers. The drawing support device 1 and the drawing device 2 are each mounted in separate housings, and as shown in FIG. 1, are communicably connected to each other via a communication network 4 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). . Alternatively, as another embodiment, each function of each device may be implemented in one housing.

The drawing support device 1 supports the drawing device 2 in drawing objects. The drawing support device 1 determines the drawing position of the object to be drawn by the drawing device 2, and inputs to the drawing device 2 a drawing instruction specifying the drawing position of the object. The drawing device 2 draws an object based on the object identifier and the drawing position output by the drawing support device 1. At this time, the image data of the symbol of the object may be held in advance by the drawing device 2, or may be input to the drawing device 2 by the drawing support device 1.

An example of processing in the drawing system 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

First, in step S1, the drawing device 2 inputs search conditions for specifying a drawing target to the drawing support device 1. Search conditions include, for example, "network configuration in the metropolitan area" and "operating switches nationwide."

In step S2, the drawing support device 1 searches for objects that satisfy the search conditions input in step S1. In step S3, the drawing support device 1 searches for a connection relationship between the searched objects if there are a plurality of objects searched in step S2. In step S4, the drawing support device 1 determines the drawing position of the object based on the search results in steps S2 and S3.

In step S5, the drawing support device 1 inputs the identifier of the object to be drawn and the drawing position of each object to the drawing device 2. The drawing device 2 draws objects based on data input from the drawing support device 1.

The division of functions between the drawing support device 1 and the drawing device 2 shown in the embodiment of the present invention and the processing shown in FIG. 2 are merely examples, and the invention is not limited thereto. In the embodiment of the present invention, a case will be described in which the drawing support device 1 itself searches for objects to be drawn and specifies connection relationships between the objects, but the present invention is not limited to this. The object to be drawn and the connection relationship may be searched for by an external system (not shown), and the drawing support device 1 may receive the search results.

(Drawing support device)
With reference to FIG. 3, a drawing support device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The drawing support device 1 is a general computer including a storage device 110, a processing device 120, and an input/output interface 130. By executing the drawing support program, a general computer realizes the functions shown in FIG. 3 and executes the drawing support method.

The storage device 110 is a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk, etc., and stores various data such as input data, output data, and intermediate data for the processing device 120 to execute processing. . The processing device 120 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes processing in the drawing support device 1 by reading and writing data stored in the storage device 110 and inputting and outputting data with the input/output interface 130. do. The input/output interface 130 is an interface through which the drawing support device 1 is communicatively connected to the drawing device 2 or to an input device or an output device.

The storage device 110 stores a drawing support program, and also stores object data 111, object connection data 112, symbol definition data 113, accompanying symbol definition data 114, object position data 115, and drawing instruction data 116.

Object data 111 specifies an object to be drawn. The object data 111 associates an object identifier with an object attribute. The object to be drawn is specified by the object identifier or attribute. In the object data 111, attribute values are associated with each object identifier and object attribute type.

As shown in FIG. 4, the object data 111 associates the identifier of an object with the attribute value of the attribute that the object has. If the object is a switch used in a network, the model, type, alarm state, etc. of the switch are associated as attributes. More specifically, each piece of object data 111 is updated as needed by an external system (not shown).

Object connection data 112 identifies pairs of objects that are connected. As shown in FIG. 5, object connection data 112 identifies two objects that are connected. FIG. 5 shows that object A and object B are connected. In the embodiment of the present invention, the object connection data 112 can be connected in any direction. As another example, in the object connection data 112, an object identifier may be associated with each of the start point and end point of a connection.

The symbol definition data 113 is data that defines a symbol corresponding to an object. The symbol definition data 113 associates the identifier of the symbol of the object with the position where the accompanying symbol is added to the symbol of the object. If a plurality of accompanying symbols are allowed to be added to one symbol, the symbol definition data 113 may further associate the identifier of the symbol of the object with the identifier of the accompanying type of the accompanying symbol. The position at which the accompanying symbol associated with the symbol definition data 113 is added is the relative position of the object with respect to the symbol.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a symbol is image data (such as an icon) corresponding to an object, and is used when drawing by the drawing device 2. When the object is a switch, the symbol is image data of the external appearance of the switch. On the other hand, an accompanying symbol is part of an object, and is image data of a part that changes depending on the situation. In the embodiment of the present invention, a case will be described in which symbols and associated symbols are defined separately for ease of explanation, but it is not necessary to distinguish them.

The symbol does not necessarily have to be a realistic representation of the object's appearance; it is preferable that the symbol represents the object's appearance to the user. Furthermore, the positions of parts of the object's appearance that change depending on the object's situation (portions where accompanying symbols are drawn), such as device status lamps and blade server slots, are specified in the symbol definition data 113. It is preferable that a symbol be provided for each appearance determined by the type and model number of the object, but the same symbol may be used even if the type and model number are different.

As shown in FIG. 6, the symbol definition data 113 is associated with symbol names, image data storage locations, sizes, and the like. The symbol definition data 113 shown in FIG. 6 defines the symbol of the switch on the right side of FIG. Although FIG. 6 shows only a definition for one symbol, the symbol definition data 113 includes a definition for each symbol.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the type of object that the symbol embodies is set in the symbol name (identifier), and the symbol and the object are associated with each other by the symbol name. As another example, an arbitrary code may be assigned to the name of the symbol, and the identifier of the object and the symbol may be associated with each other via setting data such as the object data 111.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, an accompanying symbol position 113a is defined that displays a status lamp in the symbol. The accompanying symbol position 113a associates the accompanying type of the accompanying symbol with position information that specifies the position at which the accompanying symbol is drawn. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the accompanying type of the accompanying symbol is "STATUS", the X coordinate is "5", and the Y coordinate is "5". When displaying the accompanying symbol of the accompanying type "STATUS" on the switch symbol, a status lamp is displayed at the position of the "x" mark in the image shown on the right side of FIG.

The accompanying symbol definition data 114 is data that defines an accompanying symbol to be added to a symbol of an object. The accompanying symbol is drawn superimposed on the symbol, and the accompanying symbol can be confirmed on the symbol. The accompanying symbol is image data corresponding to a portion of the object's appearance that changes depending on the object's situation, such as a device status lamp or a blade server slot, and is used when drawing by the drawing device 2. An accompanying symbol is provided for each accompanying type and information added by the accompanying type. As with symbols, it is preferable that the accompanying symbol is the external appearance of the object, rather than a realistic representation of the external appearance.

When the accompanying symbol is a status lamp, the accompanying symbol definition data 114 is associated with the identifier, size, etc. of the accompanying symbol, as shown in FIG. The accompanying symbol definition data 114 shown in FIG. 7 defines the symbol of the switch on the right side of FIG. Although FIG. 7 shows only the definition of one accompanying symbol, the accompanying symbol definition data 114 may include definitions of a plurality of accompanying symbols. In the embodiment of the present invention, information indicated by the accompanying symbol is set in the identifier of the accompanying symbol.

The accompanying symbol of the status lamp shown on the right side of FIG. 7 is, for example, an image in which a red lamp is lit when the status is "alarm occurrence". Note that the accompanying symbol when the status is "normal" is an image of a green lamp lit. The symbol associated with a slot provided in a blade server device is an image of the device installed in that slot. The accompanying symbol for a slot with no equipment installed is a gray image that corresponds to the size of the slot in the blade server symbol.

One accompanying symbol may be applied to a plurality of accompanying types and a combination of information indicated by the accompanying types. For example, the accompanying symbol of the status lamp may indicate normal or abnormal operating status of the device, or may indicate the presence or absence of an employee.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a case will be described in which an accompanying symbol is drawn on a part of a symbol depending on the state of the symbol, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, other symbols may be drawn for some of the accompanying symbols depending on the situation of the accompanying symbols. For example, if the symbol is a blade server and the associated symbol is a device mounted on the blade server, a status lamp indicating the status of the device mounted on the blade server may be drawn on the symbol of the device.

The object position data 115 is data used in the drawing position storage function. The object position data 115 associates an object identifier and an object's save drawing position with a save key. In the object position data 115, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of pairs of an object identifier and a saved drawing position may be associated with one save key.

The drawing instruction data 116 is data that specifies the drawing content obtained by the drawing instruction section 123 of the drawing support device 1. The drawing instruction data 116 includes not only an object identifier and a position at which the object is drawn, but also information about a connector object that connects each object. The drawing instruction data 116 is read out by the drawing device 2, drawn, and displayed on the display device of the drawing device 2. For example, the image shown in FIG. 10 is drawn using the drawing instruction data 116 shown in FIG.

The processing device 120 includes a request acquisition section 121 , a search section 122 , a drawing instruction section 123 , and a saved drawing position acquisition section 127 .

The request acquisition unit 121 acquires a drawing request specifying an object to be drawn from the drawing device 2 . The drawing request may include an identifier of the object to be drawn, or may include a search condition for specifying the object to be drawn. The obtained drawing request is processed by the search unit 122 and the drawing instruction unit 123.

When a drawing request including an object search condition is input, the search unit 122 searches the object data 111 for an identifier of an object that satisfies the search condition. The search unit 122 further refers to the object connection data 112 and searches for a pair of connected objects among the searched objects.

The drawing instruction unit 123 outputs a drawing instruction to draw the symbol of the object to be drawn specified by the drawing request. The drawing instruction unit 123 also outputs a drawing instruction for drawing a connector object that connects a plurality of objects.

The drawing instruction unit 123 calculates the drawing position of each object based on the connection relationship of objects to be drawn, and generates drawing instruction data 116 that specifies the drawing position of each object. The generated drawing instruction data 116 is input from the drawing support device 1 to the drawing device 2 as a drawing instruction.

The drawing instruction section 123 includes an accompanying symbol drawing instruction section 124, a storage drawing position instruction section 125, and a drawing position determination section 126. Each of these units performs specific processing in an accompanying symbol drawing instruction function, a drawing position storage function, and a drawing position determining function.

In the drawing position saving function, the saved drawing position acquisition unit 127 associates the save key input from the drawing device 2 with the object identifier and the saved drawing position and stores them in the object position data 115. A plurality of pairs of object identifiers and save drawing positions may be associated with the save key. The save key is a key for specifying an object identifier and a save drawing position, and may be set arbitrarily by the user, or may be set by the system according to a predetermined rule. Further, the storage key may be a fixed-length hash value calculated from a predetermined calculation formula. The saved drawing position is the drawing position of each object at the timing specified by the user.

(Drawing device)
Referring to FIG. 11, a drawing device 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The drawing device 2 is a general computer that includes a storage device 210, a processing device 220, and an input/output interface 230. The storage device 210, the processing device 220, and the input/output interface 230 are similar to the storage device 110, the processing device 120, and the input/output interface 130 of the drawing support device described with reference to FIG. The functions shown in FIG. 11 are realized by a general computer executing a drawing program.

The storage device 210 stores a drawing program and also stores symbol data 211.

Symbol data 211 is image data of a symbol to be drawn. The symbol data 211 holds image data of a symbol in association with an identifier of the symbol. The symbol data 211 also holds the image data of the accompanying symbol in association with the identifier of the accompanying symbol.

The processing device 220 includes a drawing request section 221, a drawing section 222, and a storage request section 224.

The drawing request unit 221 inputs into the drawing support device 1 a drawing request specifying an object to be drawn. The drawing request that specifies the object to be drawn may be, for example, an identifier of the object to be drawn, or may be a search condition for searching the object to be drawn from the object data 111.

The drawing unit 222 draws objects according to the drawing instructions output by the drawing support device 1. The drawing section 222 includes a drawing position updating section 223.

The drawing position updating unit 223 updates the position of the symbol of each drawn object according to a user's operation. The drawing position update unit 223 holds the updated symbol position of each object.

In the drawing position saving function, the save request unit 224 inputs a request to save the drawing position of the object as a saved drawing position to the drawing support device 1 along with the object identifier and the save key.

Next, the accompanying symbol drawing instruction function, the drawing position saving function, and the drawing position determining function realized by the drawing system 3 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be explained.

(Accompanying symbol drawing instruction function)
The accompanying symbol drawing instruction function adds and draws an accompanying symbol according to the accompanying type of the object to the symbol of the object. The accompanying type is the type of information accompanying the symbol of the object to be drawn, and includes an object status lamp, a label explaining the object, and the like. The accompanying symbol drawing instruction function is mainly implemented by the accompanying symbol drawing instruction unit 124 of the drawing support device 1.

When the identifier of the object to which the accompanying symbol is added and a drawing request specifying the accompanying symbol are input, the accompanying symbol drawing instruction unit 124 converts the accompanying symbol specified in the drawing request to the identifier of the object specified in the drawing request. Outputs a drawing instruction to be added to the position corresponding to . The position where the accompanying symbol is added is specified from the symbol definition data 113.

When the symbol is allowed to be attached with multiple types of accompanying symbols, the drawing request further specifies the type of the accompanying symbol to be added in order to specify the position where the accompanying symbol is to be added. In this case, the accompanying symbol drawing instruction unit 124 outputs a drawing instruction to add the accompanying symbol of the accompanying type specified in the drawing request to the position corresponding to the symbol identifier and the accompanying type of the object specified in the drawing request. do.

For example, assume that the object identifier "Makuhari ERP-SW No. 1", the associated type "STATUS", and the associated symbol identifier "alarm occurrence" are specified in the drawing request. When the request acquisition unit 121 acquires such a drawing request, the associated symbol drawing instruction unit 124 acquires the symbol identifier corresponding to the object identifier from the object data 111. The accompanying symbol drawing instruction unit 124 obtains the position at which the accompanying symbol of the accompanying type "STATUS" is to be drawn in the symbol identifier obtained from the symbol definition data 113.

The accompanying symbol drawing instruction section 124 outputs drawing instruction data 116 shown in FIG. The drawing instruction data 116 specifies "Makuhari ERP-SW No. 1" in the object identifier 116a, "ERP-SW" in the object symbol identifier 116b, "STATUS" in the accompanying type 116c, and "Alarm generation" is specified in the symbol identifier 116d.

The symbols shown in FIG. 10 are drawn on the drawing device 2 according to the drawing instruction data shown in FIG. The symbol with the accompanying symbol identifier "alarm occurrence" is drawn at the position defined in the switch-related data of the symbol definition data 113. Note that the position where the symbol of the object “Makuhari ERP-SW No. 1” is written may be specified by the drawing instruction data 116. Alternatively, the drawing device 2 may be controlled to display at a default position such as the center of the screen.

In the above drawing request, a case has been described in which the identifiers of the object, the accompanying type, and the accompanying symbol are specified, but it is sufficient that the object, the accompanying type, and the identifier of the accompanying symbol can be specified in the drawing request. The drawing request may include, for example, a search condition for specifying an object to which an accompanying symbol is added and an accompanying symbol.

In this case, the search unit 122 searches the object data 111 for the identifier and associated symbol of the object that satisfies the search condition. The accompanying symbol drawing instruction unit 124 outputs a drawing instruction to add the accompanying symbol searched by the searching unit 122 to a position corresponding to the identifier of the symbol of the object specified by the searching unit 122.

For example, when a search condition for searching the operating status of switches nationwide is specified, the search unit 122 retrieves the identifier of the switch object, the identifier of the symbol of the object, and the operating status of the object from the object data 111. get. The accompanying symbol drawing instruction unit 124 obtains the position where the accompanying symbol of the operating status is drawn for each switch symbol based on the information acquired by the searching unit 122, and acquires the accompanying symbol indicating the operating status of each object. Outputs drawing instructions to draw at the specified position.

When the symbol of a switch embodies the external appearance of the switch, it is preferable that the drawing position of the operating status lamp be determined according to the design of the symbol. Conventionally, it has been necessary for the user to individually specify the position of a status lamp indicating the operating status for each object. On the other hand, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the position at which an accompanying symbol is drawn in a symbol is held as the definition of the symbol. As a result, if the user provides information that allows identification of the object and the accompanying symbol without specifying the position where the accompanying symbol is drawn, the drawing support device 1 specifies the position where the accompanying symbol is drawn, and the drawing device 2 Desired image data can be drawn.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, a case will be described in which a state in which computers are mounted on a blade server for a layer 2 switch capable of mounting a plurality of computers will be described.

The symbol definition data 113 in FIG. 12(a) relates to the blade server shown on the left side, and the symbol identifier is "Layer 2 switch made by XXX company". This symbol has six slots into which a computer can be mounted, and the symbol definition data 113 defines the position, size, etc. of each slot. On the other hand, the accompanying symbol definition data 114 in FIG. 12(b) defines the identifier of the layer 2 switch shown on the left side.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the accompanying type is the blade server slot identifier "SLOT3", and the accompanying symbol identifier is the computer installed in the slot, such as "Layer 2SW-GE-PKG". be.

Object data 111 shown in FIG. 13A indicates that "layer 2SW-GE-PKG" is installed in slot number "3" of object identifier "Makuhari L2SW No. 1". Furthermore, the object identifier "Makuhari L2SW No. 1" indicates that the model is "layer 2 switch made by XXX company."

Therefore, from the object data 111 in FIG. 13(a), the symbol of the object identifier "Makuhari L2SW No. 1" is the image on the left side of FIG. 12(a), and the symbol of the installed computer is the image on the left side of FIG. 12(b). It can be seen that the image is The accompanying symbol drawing instruction unit 124 acquires the position information of slot 3 from the symbol definition data 113, and outputs a drawing instruction to draw the accompanying symbol shown in FIG. 12(b) at the acquired position.

The blade server shown in FIG. 12 has computers mounted side by side in the vertical direction, but there are also blade servers in which computers are mounted side by side in the left and right direction. In the embodiment of this invention, the symbol definition data 113 defines the position where a blade server can mount a computer. Therefore, in the drawing request, by specifying the accompanying type that specifies the slot and the identifier of the accompanying symbol that specifies the computer installed in the slot, without considering the mounting position of the computer in the blade server, the drawing device 2 can: Images can be drawn according to the configuration of the blade server.

In this way, the accompanying symbol drawing instruction function can reduce the burden of specifying the drawing position.

(Drawing position saving function)
The drawing position storage function is a function that, when the user changes the drawing position of each object determined by the drawing support apparatus 1 to a desired drawing position, saves the changed drawing position in the drawing support apparatus 1. The drawing position saving function is implemented by the saving drawing position instructing section 125 and the saving drawing position obtaining section 127 of the drawing support device 1 and the saving requesting section 224 of the drawing device 2.

The drawing position save function saves the drawing position of an object (saved drawing position) in a state where the user has specified a save key in the object position data 115, and then when the save key is specified and the object is drawn, the saved drawing position is saved. Draw objects based on drawing position. At this time, the object whose drawing position is saved may not match the object to be drawn specified according to the user's drawing request. For example, the drawing position of a part of the object to be drawn may not be saved.

Then, when a drawing request specifying an object to be drawn is input as a save key, the save drawing position instruction unit 125 of the drawing support device 1 selects a save key in the object position data 115 of the object specified by the drawing request. A drawing instruction to draw the symbol of the object associated with the symbol at the saved drawing position associated with the object position data 115 is input to the drawing device. Here, the storage drawing position instruction unit 125 performs a drawing process that draws symbols of objects other than the object associated with the storage key in the object position data 115 at a default display position among the objects specified by the drawing device 2. Input instructions to the drawing device. The drawing unit 222 of the drawing device 2 draws the symbol of the object according to the saved drawing position input from the drawing support device 1.

In the drawing instruction, the saved drawing position designation unit 125 specifies the saved drawing position as the drawing position of the symbol of the object whose saved drawing position is saved in the object position data 115 among the objects to be drawn. The storage drawing position designation unit 125 also specifies a default display position as the drawing position of a symbol of an object that does not have a storage drawing position. The default drawing position is predetermined, for example, at the center of the screen or at the upper left of the screen. Further, the save drawing position designation unit 125 may specify a symbol drawing position for an object for which there is no save drawing position. Thereby, even if there is a change in the object to be saved at the saved drawing position, the drawing device 2 can draw the symbol of the object following the previously saved saved drawing position.

The storage drawing position instruction unit 125 may specify an object to be connected in the drawing instruction. After the search unit 122 searches for objects to be drawn, the connection relationship between the objects to be drawn is searched, and the save drawing position instruction unit 125 connects the objects to be drawn based on the searched connection relationship. You may also instruct in the drawing instruction to draw with An object that does not have a saved drawing position and is drawn at a default position may be drawn connected to the symbol of the connected object if the saved drawing position is registered for the connected object in the object position data 115. .

With reference to FIG. 14, the processing of the drawing system 3 regarding the drawing position storage function will be described.

In step S11, the drawing device 2 draws the symbol of the object according to the drawing instruction input from the drawing support device 1, and displays it on the display device via the input/output interface 230. When the user operates an input device such as a mouse to input an instruction to change the drawing position of the displayed object to the drawing device 2, the drawing device 2 updates the drawing position of each symbol each time in step S12. .

The user inputs an instruction to the drawing device 2 at the timing at which the user wants to save the drawing position of the object. For example, a button labeled "Save" and a text box for inputting a save key are provided on the drawing screen. If the user feels that the current object drawing position may be recalled later and wishes to save the object drawing position, the user inputs an arbitrary save key and selects the "Save" button.

When the save button is selected, in step S13, the save request unit 224 of the drawing device 2 sends the identifier of the object displayed on the screen at the time the save button was selected, the drawing position of the object (save drawing position), and the save request unit 224 of the drawing device 2 in step S13. The key is sent to the drawing support device 1.

In step S14, the saved drawing position acquisition unit 127 of the drawing support device 1 associates the object identifier, saved drawing position, and save key received from the drawing device 2, and stores them in the object position data 115.

When an object search condition and a save key are input from the drawing device 2 in step S15, the search unit 122 of the drawing support device 1 searches the object data 111 for an identifier of an object that satisfies the search condition in step S16. Further, in step S17, the storage drawing position instruction unit 125 obtains the storage drawing position corresponding to the storage key from the object position data 115, and determines the drawing position. In step S18, the saved drawing position instruction unit 125 determines a default drawing position for an object that does not have a saved drawing position.

In step S19, the save drawing position instruction unit 125 inputs the drawing position of each object determined in the processing of steps S17 and S18 to the drawing device 2 in association with the object identifier.

The drawing device 2 draws the symbol of the object in step S20 based on the drawing position obtained in step S19.

With reference to FIGS. 15 to 17, the process of calling a saved drawing position associated with a save key and drawing a symbol in the drawing position saving function will be described in detail.

For example, a search screen V11 shown in FIG. 15(a) is displayed on the drawing device 2. On this search screen, the system "line management system", operator "Taro Makuhari", area "metropolitan area", and manufacturer name "all manufacturers" are specified as search conditions for the search items. In FIG. 15(a), each condition of the system "line management system" and the operator "Taro Makuhari" is specified by the drawing device 2 based on the authority given to the operator when the operator logs into the drawing device 2, and The conditions of "metropolitan area" and manufacturer name "all manufacturers" are specified by the operator. At this time, a save key is also specified on the search screen V11. In the example shown in FIG. 15(a), one of the search items is a save key, and the save key is "line management system."

When the "Execute search drawing" button is selected on such a search screen V11, a result display screen V12 shown in FIG. 15(b) is displayed. On the result display screen V12, symbols of objects are drawn with symbols A through M attached. The symbol of each object drawn on the result display screen V12 is drawn based on the save drawing position associated with the save key "line management system" in the object position data 115a, as shown in FIG. 15(c). Ru.

The search screen V21 shown in FIG. 16(a) has the same search conditions as the search screen V11 shown in FIG. 15(a), but has a different save key. The save key on the search screen V11 is "line management system," whereas the save key on the search screen V21 is "Makuhari Taro + Metropolitan Area." In this case, in the result display screen V22 shown in FIG. 16(b), the symbol of the object is drawn with the symbols A to M, which is the same as in FIG. 15(b), but the drawing position is different. Specifically, in FIG. 15(b), "Kanagawa", "Chiba", and "Saitama" are arranged in this order from the left, whereas in FIG. 16(b), "Chiba", "Kanagawa", " Saitama". This depends on the fact that in the object position data 115, the saved drawing position registered with the save key "Taro Makuhari+Metropolitan area" and the saved drawing position registered with the save key "line management system" are different.

The search screen V31 shown in FIG. 17(a) has different search conditions from the search screen V21 shown in FIG. 16(a), but the save key is common. The search condition on the search screen V21 is "all manufacturers," whereas the search condition on the search screen V31 is "products of company X." In this case, the number of object symbols displayed on the result display screen V32 shown in FIG. 17(b) is smaller than on the result display screen V22 shown in FIG. 16(b). However, the positions of the symbols of each object displayed on the result display screen V32 are the same as those on the result display screen V32 shown in FIG. 16(b).

In this way, in the drawing position saving function, even if the object to be drawn is changed, the drawing position of the previously saved object does not change, which matches the user's preference.

(Drawing position determination function)
The drawing position determination function is a function that determines the drawing position of an object so as to improve the visibility of the symbol of the object and the connection state of the connector that connects the symbol. The drawing position determination function is implemented by the drawing position determination unit 126 of the drawing support device 1. In the drawing position determination function, a drawing position determination method that takes into account the attributes of an object and a drawing position determination method that takes circulation routes into consideration will be explained.

First, a drawing position determination method that takes into consideration the attributes of an object will be explained.

The drawing position determination unit 126 divides objects to be drawn into a plurality of groups based on attributes. The drawing position determination unit 126 refers to the object connection data 112 and determines the drawing position within the group for connecting objects for each group, and then determines the drawing position so as to connect the objects connected to other groups. decide.

As shown in FIG. 18A, a case will be described in which objects A to I are grouped based on predetermined attributes of object data 111 and divided into groups 1 to 3. For example, in the object data 111, if the identifier of each object is associated with the location where the object is installed and the purpose of the object, the drawing position determination unit 126 selects one of the "location" and "purpose". Can be grouped by attributes. For example, the drawing position determining unit 126 may group by a combination of attributes such as "prefecture and purpose".

When objects are connected in each of these groups 1 to 3 by referring to the object connection data 112, the result is as shown in FIG. 18(b). In FIG. 18(b), in group 2, objects B and C are connected, and other objects are not connected.

Thereafter, the object connection data 112 is referenced to identify objects that can be connected between groups. As a result, as shown in FIG. 18(c), objects A and B are connected, and objects A and G are connected. Further, the C object connects with D, E, and F objects, respectively, and the G object connects with H and I objects, respectively.

As a result, the drawing position of the object can be determined as shown in FIG. 18(d). For example, if objects are drawn taking into consideration that the G object is connected to the H and I objects without grouping, the position of the C object and the H and I objects are displayed in the same hierarchy. Put it away. The C object and the H and I objects are drawn side by side even though they have different attributes. As a result, there is a possibility that the C object and the H and I objects are considered to be in the same group.

On the other hand, in the drawing shown in FIG. 18(d), it is easy to see that objects H and I have the same attributes as objects D, E, and F. FIG. 18(d) makes it possible to convey more information and improves visibility.

Here, it is preferable that the distance between connectors that vertically connect objects between groups is set shorter than the distance between connectors that connect objects within a group. For example, in FIG. 18(d), the connectors connecting object C to objects D, E, and F are longer than the connectors connecting objects B and C. This makes it easier to see that there is a group boundary between the C object and the D, E, and F objects.

Furthermore, the drawing position determination unit 126 may connect objects belonging to a group using a topology set for each group.

For example, as shown in FIG. 19(a), the group to be drawn is divided into groups 1 to 4, and the topology of groups 1 and 4 is divided into a tree, the topology of group 2 is a mesh, and the topology of group 3 is a ring. Specify topology for the group. The drawing position determination unit 126 may specify the topology from the connection relationship of objects in the object connection data 112, or the user may specify the topology.

As shown in FIG. 19(b), after the groups are connected using the topology specified for each group, the groups are connected as shown in FIG. 19(c).

Thereby, the object can be drawn as shown in FIG. 19(d). By grouping objects to be drawn and connecting them within the group in a topology according to the connection relationships within the group, it is possible to draw the objects in a way that makes it easy to understand the relationships between the objects.

By determining the drawing position in consideration of object attributes in this way, objects with similar attributes are gathered in each layer connecting objects, improving visibility. Furthermore, by determining a topology suitable for object relationships within a group, visibility of object relationships can be improved.

Next, a drawing position determination method that takes circulation routes into consideration will be explained.

The drawing position determination unit 126 determines one of the objects to be drawn as a starting point object. When the drawing position determination unit 126 refers to the object connection data 112 and searches for the connection destination of one target child object among the plurality of child objects when the connection destination of the origin object is a plurality of child objects, In the object connection data 112, a target grandchild object to which the target child object is connected is searched for by excluding pairs that connect to child objects other than one target child object among the plurality of child objects.

When the connection destination of the target child object is a plurality of grandchild objects, the drawing position determination unit 126 searches for the connection destination in the same way as for the target child object. Specifically, when searching for a connection destination of one target grandchild object among the plurality of grandchild objects, the drawing position determination unit 126 searches for a connection destination of one target grandchild object among the plurality of grandchild objects in the object connection data 112. Search for objects to which the target grandchild object is connected, excluding pairs that connect to the grandchild object. Repeat this process until there are no more objects to connect to.

If there is no connection destination for the target grandchild object, the drawing position determination unit 126 determines the drawing position so that the origin object, the target child object, and the target grandchild object are connected in series. Furthermore, in the object connection data, if there is no connection destination for the target grandchild object, the drawing position determining unit 126 searches for a connection destination object for a new target child object other than the target child object among the plurality of child objects. .

A method of determining a drawing position taking into account the circulation route will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 to 24. The objects to be drawn are A to I. The connection relationship of these objects to be drawn is shown in object connection data 112a in FIG. 20(a). The drawing position determination unit 126 determines the drawing position of each object, as shown in FIG. 20(b). Note that the object connection data 112a is data obtained by extracting connection pairs related to objects to be drawn from the object connection data 112, sorting them by an arbitrary sort key (here, in order of object identifiers), and eliminating duplicates.

When the origin node is A, as shown in FIG. 21(a), the connection destination of the object of A is each object (child object) of B, E, and G. As a result, as shown in FIG. 21(b), objects B, E, and G are arranged under A.

Among the child objects B, E, and G, when the object B is the target child object, as shown in FIGS. 22(a) and (b), it is connected to each child object of E and G other than B. Exclude pairs of objects. Here, the pairs FE, EA, AG and GH are excluded.

As shown in FIG. 23(a), the connection destination of object B, which is the target child object, is searched for by referring to the connection pairs that were not excluded and remained. Here, as shown in FIG. 23(b), connections can be made in the order of BCDF.

Next, since the search for the B object as a child object has been completed, the E object is searched as a target child object among the unsearched child objects of E or G. As shown in FIG. 24(a), the connection pair AG connected to the child object of G is excluded. Here, as shown in FIG. 24(a), connection pairs that have already been processed when searching for objects under the B object, which is a child object, are also excluded. Connected pairs AB, BC, CD, and DF are excluded.

As shown in FIG. 24(a), the connection destination of the E object, which is the target child object, is searched for by referring to the connection pairs that were not excluded and remained. Here, as shown in FIG. 24(b), the connection between objects A and E has already been drawn, while the connection between objects FE has not been drawn, so a connector connecting EF is drawn. Furthermore, in FIG. 24A, among the connection pairs that are not excluded, there is no connection destination that connects to F, so the processing regarding the E object, which is a child object, ends.

Next, similar processing is performed using the G object as a target child object. As a result, GHI is connected in series as shown in FIG. 20(b).

In this drawing position determination method that takes circulation routes into consideration, even without specifying the topology of circulation routes (rings), as shown in FIG. 20(b), ABCD-FE-A The circulation path of can be expressed. Furthermore, since connectors facing the same direction do not overlap, each connector can be visually recognized, and the connection relationships between objects can be clearly drawn.

In this way, in the drawing position determination function, the visibility of the connector that connects the symbol of the object is improved.

Note that when drawing on the drawing device 2, the length, direction, etc. of the connector are determined by a general method based on the width and depth of the connected object, the size of the drawing screen, etc.

(Other embodiments)
As described above, the present invention has been described by way of embodiments, but the statements and drawings that form part of this disclosure should not be understood as limiting the present invention. Various alternative embodiments, implementations, and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

For example, the drawing support device and the drawing device described in the embodiments of the present invention may each be configured on one piece of hardware as shown in FIGS. It may be configured on multiple pieces of hardware. Further, the drawing support device and the drawing device may be realized on an existing information processing device that realizes other functions.

It goes without saying that the present invention includes various embodiments not described here. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is determined only by the matters specifying the invention in the claims that are reasonable from the above description.

1 Drawing support device 2 Drawing device 3 Drawing system 4 Communication network 110, 210 Storage device 111 Object data 112 Object connection data 113 Symbol definition data 114 Associated symbol definition data 115 Object position data 116 Drawing instruction data 120, 220 Processing device 121 Request acquisition Units 122 Search unit 123 Drawing instruction unit 124 Associated symbol drawing instruction unit 125 Save drawing position instruction unit 126 Drawing position determination unit 127 Save drawing position acquisition unit 130, 230 Input/output interface 211 Symbol data 221 Drawing request unit 222 Drawing unit 223 Drawing position Update section 224 Save request section

Claims (4)

A drawing system comprising a drawing device that draws an object, and a drawing support device that outputs a drawing instruction specifying a drawing position of the object, the drawing system comprising:
The drawing device includes:
a drawing unit that draws the object;
a save request unit that inputs a request to save the drawing position of the object as a saved drawing position to the drawing support device, together with an identifier of the object and a save key;
comprising a drawing request unit that inputs a drawing request specifying an object to be drawn to the drawing support device together with the storage key;
The drawing support device includes:
a storage drawing position acquisition unit that associates the storage key input from the drawing device, the object identifier, and the storage drawing position and stores them in object position data;
Out of the objects specified by the drawing request, a drawing instruction to draw a symbol of the object that is associated with the save key in the object position data at the save drawing position that is associated with the object position data; comprising a storage drawing position instruction section for inputting into the drawing device,
A drawing system, wherein the drawing unit of the drawing device draws the symbol of the object according to the saved drawing position input from a drawing support device. The storage drawing position instruction unit of the drawing support device is
inputting into the drawing device a drawing instruction to draw a symbol of an object other than the object associated with the save key in the object position data at a default display position among the objects specified by the drawing device; The drawing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drawing support device includes:
Equipped with a storage device that stores object data that specifies the object,
3. The drawing system according to claim 1, wherein the drawing request that the drawing device inputs to the drawing support device is a search condition for searching for a drawing target object from the object data. A drawing method used in a drawing system including a drawing device that draws an object, and a drawing support device that outputs a drawing instruction specifying a drawing position of the object, the drawing method comprising:
a storage request step in which the drawing device inputs a request to save the drawing position of the object as a saved drawing position to the drawing support device along with an identifier of the object and a save key;
a storage drawing position acquisition step in which the drawing support device associates the storage key input from the drawing device, the object identifier, and the storage drawing position and stores them in object position data;
a drawing request step in which the drawing device inputs a drawing request specifying an object to be drawn to the drawing support device together with the save key;
The drawing support device transfers a symbol of the object, which is associated with the save key in the object position data, from among the objects specified by the drawing request, to the save drawing position that is associated with the save key in the object position data. a storage drawing position instruction step of inputting a drawing instruction to be drawn into the drawing device;
A drawing support method, comprising: a drawing step in which the drawing device draws a symbol of the object according to the saved drawing position input from a drawing support device.

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