JPH07182390A - Exclusively using method for general-purpose cad system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make one general-purpose CAD system satisfy all requests for exclusive use of plural application fields at the same time. CONSTITUTION:Exclusively used graphic data are previously defined as to plural kinds of application fields and registered in the data base 1 of the general-purpose CAD system and at the time of the registration, the contents of the exclusively used graphic data consisting of the kind of the exclusively used graphic data, instruction codes common to various general graphic data, and information attached to the instruction codes in addition to the kinds, contents, and attributes of the general graphic data using the exclusively used data are set and, a figure identifier which specifies the combination of the set contents of the general graphic data, respective attributes, and the contents of the exclusively used data is outputted to the CAD system, which reads the contents of necessary exclusively used graphic data out of the data base 1 by using the figure identifier when using the exclusively used graphic data required for a necessary application field.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention specializes (customizes) a general-purpose CAD system for a plurality of types of application fields.
The present invention relates to a dedicated method suitable for use in the case of

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a general-purpose CAD system, as shown in FIG. 5, includes a database 1 for holding graphic data, character data, drawing style data, and the like, and a basic technology holding unit 2 for performing data processing related to machine design and the like. , A general-purpose functional unit 4 having a basic function performing unit 3 for performing processing such as creation, addition, deletion, and editing of figures and characters.
As shown in Fig. 6, it assists the user's design work by performing processing such as graphics such as straight lines, circles, free-form curves, and free-form surfaces, and characters such as dimensions that are displayed on the screen and drafted. However, since the efficiency of design work cannot be sufficiently improved, when using a general-purpose CAD system, the user needs to use, for example, each department of the production equipment preparation department of the automobile industry (forging / mold design department, body equipment design department, body pressure mold design). Department)
As shown in FIG. 5, the general-purpose CAD system is usually dedicated by constructing the dedicated function unit 5 for the application field (section) of the user.

For this reason, conventional CAD systems have been
The man-machine interface is specialized by changing the menu layout and the icon for command input, and the commands are specialized by the macro function and various languages (FORTRAN, BASIC, C language) to display some data. By changing it and making the display method special,
The dedicated function unit 5 for the application field of the user was constructed.

[0004]

By the way, the above-mentioned production equipment preparation department of the automobile industry has various demands for specialization which are different among the respective departments. That is, for example, the mold N
In the C tape production department, as shown in part A of FIG. 7 (a), the type of tool used and the method of use are added as attributes to the free-form curve indicating the cutting range and the information content is displayed on the screen or There is a request to make a drawing or add a direction in which a tool is tilted to a free curve representing a ridge line along the ridge line as an attribute and display that direction with an arrow, as shown in part B in the figure. Further, in the body equipment design department, as shown in part C in FIG. 7B, a character indicating a number is added as an attribute to each constituent point of the point sequence indicating the information indicating the movement of the robot, and the There is a demand to display a character, or to add a coordinate system indicating the posture of the robot to each constituent point as an attribute and display the coordinate system, as shown in part D in the figure.

However, in the conventional dedicated method described above, a new type of data (dedicated graphic data) cannot be defined by using the database and the display / relation of the data, so that it can be used in each application field. It is extremely difficult to meet the demands for the high degree of specialization as described above, and in order to meet such demands, it is necessary to develop a new dedicated CAD system or remodel the existing general-purpose CAD system from the database drastically. there were. Moreover, it has been virtually impossible for a single general-purpose CAD system shared among the production facility preparation departments to simultaneously satisfy all of the above-mentioned various specialization requirements.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a specialization method that advantageously solves the problems of the conventional general-purpose CAD system described above. In the method, when the general-purpose CAD system is dedicated to a plurality of types of application fields, dedicated graphic data is previously defined for the plurality of types of application fields and registered in the database of the general-purpose CAD system, and at the time of registration, In addition to setting the type, contents and various attributes of the general purpose graphic data using the special purpose graphic data, a common command regardless of the type of the special purpose graphic data indicating the application field of the special purpose graphic data and the general purpose graphic data The contents of the dedicated graphic data consisting of the code and the information attached to the instruction code are set, and are set in the CAD system. When outputting a graphic identifier capable of specifying a combination of the contents of the defined general-purpose graphic data, various attributes and the contents of the special-purpose graphic data, and using the special-purpose graphic data required for the required application field in the general-purpose CAD system, By inputting the type of general-purpose graphic data that uses the required dedicated graphic data, the type of dedicated graphic data, and the graphic identifier, the general-purpose graphic data of the input type and the general-purpose specified by the input graphic identifier The procedure of extracting the attribute of the graphic data from the database and extracting the content of the required exclusive graphic data specified by the type of the input exclusive graphic data and the graphic identifier from the database. It is a thing.

[0007]

In this dedicated method, individual graphic elements or a block in which some of these graphic elements are collected,
Furthermore, in association with general-purpose graphic data indicating a layer in which some of these blocks are collected, special-purpose graphic data is defined for a plurality of types of application fields and registered in the database of the general-purpose CAD system. At the time of registration, In addition to setting the type (circle, straight line, etc.), content (center point coordinates, radius, start point, end point, etc.) and various attributes (line type, line width, color, etc.) of general purpose graphic data using the dedicated graphic data, A type of dedicated graphic data (for vehicle body equipment design field, body pressure type design field, etc.) indicating an application field of the dedicated graphic data, and a common instruction code (1001, 1002, etc.) regardless of the type of the general purpose graphic data The contents of dedicated graphic data consisting of information attached to the command code (type of tool used, tilting direction of the tool, etc.) are set, and the set general-purpose graphic is set in the CAD system. A graphic identifier that can specify a combination of data content, various attributes, and content of dedicated graphic data is output.

When using the required dedicated graphic data for the required application field in the general-purpose CAD system, the type of general-purpose graphic data that uses the required dedicated graphic data, the type of dedicated graphic data, and the graphic By inputting an identifier, the general-purpose graphic data of the input type and the attribute of the general-purpose graphic data specified by the input graphic identifier are retrieved from the database, and the type of the input dedicated graphic data (body equipment The contents of the required dedicated graphic data (type of tool used, tool tilt direction, etc.) specified by the design field, body pressure design field, etc.) and the graphic identifiers (a, b, etc.) are retrieved from the database.

Therefore, according to the specialization method of the present invention, the general-purpose CAD system can meet the high-level specialization requirements for each application field, and a new special-purpose CAD system can be newly developed or an existing general-purpose CAD system can be used. The need for major modifications from the database can be eliminated, and a single general-purpose CAD system can simultaneously satisfy all the highly specialized demands of multiple types of application fields.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a general-purpose CAD system for a production equipment preparation department in the automobile industry, to which an embodiment of the method for specializing the general-purpose CAD system of the present invention is applied. The general-purpose CAD system of FIG. 5 is a general-purpose CAD system to which the conventional specialization method including the general-purpose function unit 4 and the special-purpose function unit 5 shown in FIG. 5 is applied for each application field.
Different from the system, a database 1 that holds graphic data, character data, drawing style data, and the like, a basic technology holding unit 2 that performs data processing related to machine design, etc.
A dedicated function unit 5 for each application field is provided on a general-purpose function unit 4 that is common to a plurality of application fields and that has a basic function execution unit 3 that performs processes such as creation, addition, deletion, and editing of figures and characters. It has a configuration including. Specifically, an arithmetic processing unit and an internal (RO
M, RAM, etc.) and external (hard disk, floppy disk, etc.) storage devices, CRT displays, plotters, keyboards, mice, etc. perform the functions of the general-purpose function unit 4 and the dedicated function unit 5.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing when defining the dedicated graphic data using the general-purpose CAD system of the above-mentioned embodiment. This embodiment is so designed that the definition processing shown in this flow chart can be carried out. In the dedicated method, the processing program of the arithmetic processing device as the dedicated function unit 5 and the storage area of the storage device as the database 1 of the general purpose function unit 4 are modified by a known method.

First Step 11 in the Flowchart
Then, the type of general-purpose graphic data is set. As the types of this general-purpose graphic data, for example, straight lines, circles,
In addition to graphic elements such as free-form curves and free-form surfaces that have been registered in the database 1 in advance, the data of graphic elements newly created and registered in the database 1 can be set. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. , It is possible to set the data of a block in which some graphic elements are combined and the data of a layer in which some blocks are combined. At the time of setting, for example, 1, 2, etc. attached to the general-purpose graphic data are set. Set with the code.

In the next step 12, the contents of general purpose graphic data are set. As the contents of this general-purpose graphic data, for example, when the general-purpose graphic data type is a straight line, its starting point coordinates (X ₁ , Y ₁ , Z ₁ ) and end point coordinates (X ₂ , Y ₂ , Z ₂ )
If the general-purpose graphic data type is a circle, the center point coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the circle and the vector (i,
j, k) and radius (R) can be set, and at the time of setting, for example, specific numerical values or parameters are set. In addition,
This parameter may be specified by the information in the contents of the dedicated graphic data described later, and by doing so, it is possible to use parametric general-purpose graphic data having different dimensions and arrangements for each application field.

In the next step 13, the type (type, ie, application field) of the dedicated graphic data is set. As shown in FIG. 1, as the type of the dedicated graphic data, for example, for die / mold design field, body equipment design field, body pressure mold design field, resin mold design field, chassis mold design field and other applications. Fields can be set, and at the time of setting, use the codes such as A1, A2, etc. attached to those types.

In the next step 14, the contents of the dedicated graphic data (instruction code and information attached to the instruction code) are set. As the contents of the dedicated graphic data, for example, as shown in Table 1, in addition to the coordinate system and the line type in the applicable field set in the above step 13, the kind of the tool used and the usage method described above, Such as the direction of tilting the tool, letters indicating the number of component points, the coordinate system indicating the posture of the robot at the component points, etc.
You can set the information you want to use in that application field,
At the time of setting, instruction codes such as 1001 and 1002 corresponding to the respective information are attached and set, and the instruction code can add desired information to any general-purpose graphic data. , Which is common regardless of the type of the general-purpose graphic data. It should be noted that a plurality of pairs of this instruction code and information may be set for one kind of application field of one kind of general-purpose graphic, and in this way, in a certain application field,
When displaying a general-purpose graphic, it is possible to simultaneously display a plurality of types of information together with the general-purpose graphic.

[Table 1]

In the next step 15, various general-purpose attributes (line type, line width, color, etc.) for the general-purpose graphic data of the set type are set, and in the following step 16, the data set in the above-mentioned steps are set. It is registered in the database 1 and the CAD system is caused to output a graphic identifier (a, b, etc.) capable of specifying the combination of the contents of the set general-purpose graphic data, various attributes and the contents of the dedicated graphic data.

By combining the general-purpose graphic data type, the dedicated graphic data type, and the graphic identifier, desired general-purpose graphic data (including blocks and layers as shown in FIG. 3) having desired information of a desired application field is obtained. The keyword to be shown is uniquely determined. That is, for example, the keyword [1; A1; a] means a straight line for the body pressure die design field that also has information on the direction in which the tool is tilted.

After this definition, if necessary, the above step 16
Then, in step 17, the graphic library in the database 1 is used to display or draw a general-purpose graphic (circle, straight line, block, layer, etc.) on the screen according to the type and content of the general-purpose graphic data set above. In the next step 18, also by using the graphic library in the database 1, a dedicated graphic (a direction in which the tool is tilted, etc.) may be displayed on the screen or drawn by the set instruction code.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the data structure of the database 1 in which the types and contents of the dedicated graphic data are registered as described above. The database 1 is for each general-purpose graphic data type, the general-purpose graphic data. Data management unit 1a that holds the above-mentioned various attributes set for the type and dedicated graphic type, and system management information indicating the maximum and minimum range of data, a pointer 1b to a general-purpose graphic data buffer, and a dedicated graphic data buffer Pointer 1c
And a general-purpose graphic data buffer 1d specified by the pointer 1b and a dedicated graphic data buffer 1e specified by the pointer 1c. The general-purpose graphic data buffer 1d holds the contents of general-purpose graphic data such as various coordinate values set as described above, and the special-purpose graphic data buffer 1e includes various command codes set as described above and It holds various information corresponding to it.

After the definition processing as described above is repeated and dedicated graphic data (instruction code and information) relating to a plurality of types of application fields are registered for a plurality of types of general-purpose graphic data, in the method of this embodiment, the general-purpose CAD is performed. When displaying the required information together with the required general purpose graphic data in the required application field in the system, the code indicating the types of the general purpose graphic data and the dedicated graphic data, and the graphic identifier related to the instruction code corresponding to the required information By inputting the above keyword in combination with the above, the type of general-purpose graphic data designated by the code in the keyword and the attribute of the general-purpose graphic data designated by the graphic identifier in the keyword are retrieved from the database 1, and Type of dedicated graphic data specified by the code in the keyword and its keyword Draw out the contents of the required dedicated graphic data that was indicated by the figure identifier in the database 1.

Thus, here, by using each of the above-mentioned data extracted from the database 1, it is possible to display on the screen or draw the necessary information together with the required general-purpose graphic data for the required application field. According to the specialization method of the example, a general-purpose CAD system can meet the high-level specialization requirements for each application field, and a new special-purpose CAD system can be newly developed or an existing general-purpose CAD system can be remodeled from a database. It is possible to eliminate the need to do it, and a single general-purpose C
With an AD system, it is possible to simultaneously satisfy all the highly specialized needs of each of several types of application fields.

The above description is based on the illustrated example, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described example and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the claims. For example, the present invention can be applied to design work in industries other than the automobile industry to which the above example is applied, and can achieve the same effect as the above example.

[0023]

As described above, according to the method for specializing the general-purpose CAD system of the present invention, the general-purpose CAD system can meet the high-level specialization requirements for each application field, and a new special-purpose CAD system can be developed. It is possible to eliminate the need to drastically modify an existing general-purpose CAD system from a database, and yet, with one general-purpose CAD system, it is possible to simultaneously satisfy all the high-level specialization requirements of multiple types of application fields. You can

Therefore, according to the method of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of man-hours for specializing the general-purpose CAD system in each department (application field) of the production equipment preparation department, and to perform general-purpose CAD between those departments. The system can be integrated to reduce the development man-hours of each production facility, and further, the data distribution between these departments can be smoothed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a general-purpose CAD system for a production facility preparation department of an automobile industry, to which an embodiment of a method for specializing a general-purpose CAD system of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when defining dedicated graphic data using the general-purpose CAD system of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a hierarchical structure of general-purpose graphic data held by the general-purpose CAD system of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a data structure of a database 1 in which the types and contents of dedicated graphic data are registered in the general-purpose CAD system of the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a general-purpose CAD system for a conventional production facility preparation department in the automobile industry.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing data handled by a conventional general-purpose CAD system.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a request for specialization in each application field of a general-purpose CAD system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 database 2 basic technology holding unit 3 basic function performing unit 4 general-purpose function unit 5 dedicated function unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When a general-purpose CAD system is dedicated to a plurality of types of application fields, dedicated graphic data is defined in advance for the plurality of types of application fields and registered in the database of the general-purpose CAD system, and at the time of registration. In addition to setting the type, content and various attributes of the general purpose graphic data using the special purpose graphic data, it is common regardless of the kind of the special purpose graphic data indicating the application field of the special purpose graphic data and the kind of the general purpose graphic data. The CA is set by setting the contents of the dedicated graphic data including the instruction code of the above and the information attached to the instruction code.
The contents of the general-purpose graphic data set in the D system,
A graphic identifier that can specify a combination of various attributes and the contents of the dedicated graphic data is output, and when the dedicated graphic data required for the required application field is used in the general-purpose CAD system, the required dedicated graphic data is used. By inputting the type of general-purpose graphic data, the type of dedicated graphic data, and the graphic identifier, the general-purpose graphic data of the input type and the attribute of the general-purpose graphic data specified by the input graphic identifier are stored in the database. A method for specializing a general-purpose CAD system, which is characterized by performing the procedure of extracting from the database the content of the required dedicated graphic data specified by the type and graphic identifier of the input special graphic data. .