JP2001273337A - Device and method for supporting designing and computer readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device and a method which can support designing in consideration of the state of an object to be actually carried and also to provide a recording medium which can attain the designing support method. SOLUTION: A designing support device 20 supports designing of a carrier path in accordance with the result obtained by simulating the motions of a subject that is carried along the carrier path consisting of plural carrier guides which are arrayed at each prescribed distance. The device 20 is provided with a closest distance calculation part 27 which calculates the distance between the tip of the object reaching the distance set between the carrier guides and the end part of the carrier guide where the tip of the object passes next, a numerical comparison/decision part 28 which decides whether the distance calculated by the means 27 is longer than its prescribed threshold and a display processing part 25 which shows the result of decision of the part 28.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a design support apparatus and a design support method for performing an optimum design, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the design support method. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the improvement of computer performance in recent years, computer simulation has been widely performed as one method for machine design, and its importance has been increasing year by year.

[0003] Examining the functions of a design under various conditions before the design stage, that is, before actually creating a product, can reduce the development cost and the development period by reducing the number of prototypes in the product development stage. In addition to being useful for corporate activities, it also enables consideration of the global environment such as saving resources.

[0004] On the other hand, there are many computer simulation programs currently on the market.
When dedicated to analyzing a specific phenomenon, the method of use may be difficult for a user (designer), necessary functions may not be included, or the analysis capability may not be sufficient. Therefore, in the case where there is a clear use purpose, a computer simulation having practicality that can be easily used by many designers cannot be realized unless a dedicated analysis system is used.

[0005] When computer simulation is performed on the behavior of a sheet-like object such as paper conveyed in a copying machine, a printer, a document feeder, a printing machine, or the like,
Commercial computer simulation programs are not practical. Also, in a commercially available computer simulation program, the pre-processing and post-processing of the simulation are performed by a dedicated pre-post tool, but since the versatility is pursued, the pre-processing and the simulation of the sheet conveyance behavior simulation are performed. It is not convenient for post-processing (pre-post). Furthermore, CAD (Computer-Aided Desig)
n) CAE (Computer-Aided En)
Gineering system does not provide sufficient functions to support the design of the sheet conveyance path.

[0006] On the other hand, the operability of the current computer system has been dramatically improved by a multi-window system such as X Windows or Microsoft Windows and a graphical user interface. That is, for example, a plurality of processing screens can be provided as windows, and an event occurs when a button arranged on the window is clicked or an arbitrary position is double-clicked. Can be performed.

A design support apparatus and a design support method for processing the results of computer simulation of the behavior of a sheet such as paper being conveyed on a multi-window system using these functions have already been developed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-120220 discloses a data processing device serving as a basis of the design support device, and the device considers the contact force between a sheet and a conveyance guide. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-116133 discloses an apparatus in which a contact angle between a leading end of a sheet material and a conveyance guide which comes into contact is taken into consideration. Are disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-282825 discloses an apparatus in which the moving speed of the leading end of a sheet is considered.

However, in view of the assembly of products, the removal of paper when a paper jam occurs, and the merging or branching of the transport path, the actual transport paths are arranged at predetermined intervals at the joints. It is formed by a plurality of transport guides. For this reason, there is a problem that a paper jam caused at the seam due to the curl (bending habit) of the conveyed paper cannot be predicted by the above-described design support apparatus or design support method.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a design support apparatus and a design support method in consideration of the state of an object to be actually conveyed, and the design support method. It is an object to provide a computer readable recording medium for implementing the method.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for transporting an object along a transport path formed by a plurality of transport guides arranged at predetermined intervals in accordance with a simulation result. A design support apparatus for supporting a route design, wherein at an arbitrary time in a simulation, an end for calculating a distance between a front end of an object approaching the interval and an end of a transport guide through which the front end passes next. Part distance calculating means, and determining whether the distance calculated by the end distance calculating means is equal to or less than a preset threshold, and determining means for displaying the result of the determination. This is achieved by providing a design support device that performs According to such a means, it is possible to obtain an accurate design evaluation with respect to clogging of the object that may occur at the joint of the transport guide in the transport process.

Further, when a new time is designated by the user, the end distance calculating means is configured to execute the simulation based on the result of the simulation from the time designated in the previous operation by the user to the new time. May be calculated.
According to such means, the transport state in the entire transport process can be obtained at the design stage. Here, the determining means may further determine whether or not the distance in the period is equal to or less than the threshold and display the result.
The user can be fully aware of the existence of data to be considered in the design of the transport route during the entire transport process.

When the determining means determines that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold value at least at one time in the period, the simulation at the time selected among the times when the distance becomes equal to or less than the threshold value is performed. Image display means for displaying an image of the result on a monitor. According to such a means, it is possible to selectively obtain an image display corresponding to data that needs to be particularly noted in the design of the transport guide.

Further, if the determining means determines that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold value at any time during the period, the sound output means for generating a sound is further provided. The user can easily recognize the existence of data to be considered in design.

When the determining means determines that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold at any time during the period, the result of the simulation up to the time when the distance is equal to or less than the threshold is displayed on a monitor. An image display means for displaying an image and stopping the operation may be further provided. According to such a means, the user can easily recognize the transport location to be considered in the design of the transport route together with the progress of transport to the transport location.

Here, if the image display means displays an image on a monitor according to a preset attribute when performing the above-mentioned stop, the image display means can display a state to be considered in the design of the transport path. Image display that can be easily recognized.

Another object of the present invention is to design a transport path in accordance with the result of simulating the movement of an object along a transport path formed by a plurality of transport guides arranged at predetermined intervals. A distance calculation step of calculating a distance between a tip of the object approaching the interval and an end of the transport guide through which the tip next passes at an arbitrary time in the simulation. A determination step of determining whether the distance calculated in the distance calculation step is equal to or smaller than a preset threshold value and displaying a result of the determination. This is achieved by: According to such means, it is possible to accurately evaluate the possibility of the object being clogged at the joint of the transport guide in the transport process in terms of design.

In the distance calculation step, when a new time is designated by the user, the distance is calculated based on the simulation result in the period from the time designated in the previous operation by the user to the new time. The distance can be calculated.
According to such means, the transport state in the entire transport process can be grasped at the design stage. Then, in the determining step, it may be further determined whether or not the distance in the period is equal to or less than a threshold, and the result may be displayed.
According to such means, it is possible to make the user fully aware of the existence of data to be considered in designing the transport route in the entire transport process.

In the determining step, when it is determined that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold value at least at one time in the period, the distance at the time selected among the times when the distance is equal to or less than the threshold value is determined. The method may further include an image display step of displaying an image of the simulation result on a monitor. According to such a means, it is possible to selectively display only data that needs to be particularly noted in the design of the transport guide.

On the other hand, in the determining step, when it is determined that the distance becomes equal to or smaller than the threshold value at any time during the period, an acoustic output step for generating a sound may be further provided. According to such a means, the user can easily recognize the existence of data to be considered in designing the transport route.

In the determining step, when it is determined that the distance becomes equal to or less than the threshold value at any time during the period, the result of the simulation up to the time when the distance becomes equal to or less than the threshold value is displayed on a monitor. And further comprising an image display step of stopping the operation. According to such a means, the user can easily recognize the transport location to be considered in the design of the transport route together with the progress of transport to the transport location.
Here, in the image display step, when performing the above-mentioned stop, if an image is displayed on the monitor according to a preset attribute, the state of the image displayed at the time of stop is considered in the design of the transport path. That should be taken into account,
The user can easily recognize it.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a computer-readable transfer path which is simulated based on a result of simulating the movement of an object along a transfer path formed by a plurality of transfer guides arranged at predetermined intervals. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for supporting the design of the object, wherein the program is provided to the computer so that the tip of the object approaching the interval and the transport guide through which the tip passes next. Let the distance to the end be calculated at any time in the simulation,
It is attained by providing a computer-readable recording medium characterized in that it is determined whether or not the calculated distance is equal to or less than a preset threshold, and the result of the determination is displayed. According to such means, it is possible to easily realize an accurate evaluation in design with respect to the possibility that the target object is clogged at the joint of the transport guide in the transport process.

Further, when a new time is designated by a user, the program causes the computer to:
The distance in the period can be calculated based on the result of the simulation in the period from the time designated by the user in the previous operation to the new time. According to such means, it is possible to easily realize the transfer state in the entire transfer process at the design stage.

Further, the program may further cause the computer to determine whether or not the distance in the period is equal to or less than a threshold, and display the result. According to such means, it is possible to easily realize that the user can fully recognize the existence of data to be considered in designing the transport route in the entire transport process.

[0024] Further, when the computer determines that the distance becomes equal to or less than the threshold value at least at one time in the period, the program notifies the computer that the distance becomes equal to or less than the threshold value. The result of the simulation at the time selected in (1) can be displayed as an image on a monitor. According to such a means, it is possible to easily realize selective image display only for data that needs special attention in the design of the transport guide.

[0025] Further, when the computer determines that the distance becomes equal to or less than the threshold value at any time during the period, the program causes the computer to update the time until the time when the distance becomes equal to or less than the threshold value. The result of the simulation may be displayed on a monitor as an image, and the operation may be stopped. According to such a means, it is possible to easily realize a user to recognize a transfer point to be considered in designing the transfer path along with the progress of the transfer to the transfer point.

The program may cause the computer to display an image on a monitor according to a preset attribute when the computer is caused to stop. According to such means, it is possible to easily realize that the user recognizes that the state displayed as an image when the vehicle is stopped should be considered in the design of the transport route.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. Further, the design support apparatus according to the present embodiment is applicable to the design of a transport route for a sheet as a whole. In the following, a case of transporting paper will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an application window in the design support apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. Here, the application window 1 is displayed on the display of the design support apparatus according to the present embodiment when the apparatus is activated.

As shown in FIG. 1, this application window 1 includes a pre-processing unit 2 for simulation.
And a drawing processing operation / display area 5, a coordinate display section 9, a drawing area 10, a menu area 15, and an end proximity value / determination display area 16. The simulation pre-processing unit 2 includes a paper data input display unit 3, an initial curl input display unit 4, and the like. The drawing processing operation / display area 5 includes a drawing operation unit 6, a time data display unit 7, an N value Setting unit 61
Including.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1, in the paper data input / display section 3, the type of paper to be conveyed (paper type), the size, length and width of the paper, and the paper are divided on a simulation. The number to be executed can be input on the screen before the simulation is executed, and they are displayed when the simulation is executed. Note that a button for selecting whether or not to perform the division with high accuracy is also included.

The initial curl input / display unit 4 determines whether or not the paper in the simulation should be curled before the simulation is executed,
The type and degree of curl can be selected or set.
An analysis result is displayed in the drawing process operation / display area 5. For example, the total elapsed time (ms) from the initial state in the paper conveying process in which the drawing is currently being performed, and the index (step) Number) n, the total transport amount (mm), etc., and an N value setting unit 61 for setting or changing an N value to be described later, a time data display unit 7 including the drawing operation unit 6, and the like are displayed. . Note that FIG. 1 shows a case where 1 is set in the N value setting unit 61.

As shown in order from the left in FIG. 1, the drawing operation section 6 designates each of the following drawing modes: continuous reverse, N step reverse, stop, N step order, continuous order, and initial state. It consists of six buttons on the screen.

In the drawing area 10, the transport guides 1 constituting the transport paths 12 and 13 in the simulation are provided.
2a, 12b, 13a, 13b, rollers and rollers constituting the transport drive unit 11 are drawn (image display) as a two-dimensional layout diagram, and based on the results of a motion simulation on the transported paper. The shape of the conveyed paper 14 is simultaneously drawn. Also, the coordinate display section 9
The drawing area 10 indicated by the mouse pointer 8
The x and y coordinates within are shown.

Further, the end proximity value / judgment display area 16 has an end 13 of the conveyance guide of interest as described later.
c, 13d, and each end 13c,
The proximity distance (mm) to 13d, a threshold set in advance, and a determination result based on the magnitude of the proximity distance are displayed. When the calculated proximity distance is equal to or less than the threshold, "NG" is displayed, and when the proximity distance exceeds the threshold, "OK" is displayed.

Further, when a user (designer of the transport route, hereinafter simply referred to as “designer”) clicks, for example, a portion displayed as “file” in the menu area 15, a simulation result file name described later is input. A separate window is displayed, and when the user inputs and designates a simulation result file name in the window, an operation shown in FIG. 5 described later is executed.

FIG. 2 shows the transport guide 12 shown in FIG.
It is a figure which expands and shows the joint area 17 of a, 12b, 13a, 13b. As shown in FIG. 2, the leading end 14 a of the paper 14 to be transported passes through the transport path 12, is re-transported by the transport drive unit 11, and enters the transport path 13. At this time, the paper 14 being conveyed is present in the initial state, or is displayed according to the result of a simulation in which curl (curling) generated in the conveyance process is taken into consideration. Then, in the case shown in FIG.
Is very close to the end 13c of the transport guide 13a.

In practice, the characteristics of the paper 14 may change due to environmental fluctuations and curl may occur. Depending on the user, the paper whose back side is already printed, that is, the curled paper may be reused. In some cases, the paper transport behavior under such conditions can also be predicted before trial production of a product by drawing such a simulation result.

However, in the conventional simulation, no matter how close the leading end 14a of the paper 14 is to the end 13c of the transport guide 13a, the calculation in the simulation is continued.
When the deviation from the transport path 13 occurs, the calculation may not be performed during the simulation, and the operation may end. Therefore, in the design support apparatus according to the present embodiment, as described later, the leading end 14a of the paper 14
When is closer to the end 13c of the transport guide 13a than a predetermined threshold, a function that is recognized by the user is included.

Although the curl shape used as a condition for the simulation is set based on the state of a certain test sample, it is difficult to accurately reflect the actual state of each sheet. Therefore, in the design support apparatus according to the present embodiment, a criterion for the result of the simulation is provided in consideration of the state of the paper actually conveyed. That is, for example, a threshold is set in advance, and it is determined whether or not the distance between the end 13c of the transport guide 13a and the leading end 14a of the paper 14 is equal to or smaller than the threshold. It is assumed that the probability of occurrence of a paper jam increases and the designer is urged to correct it. As described above, the simulation corresponding to the curl conditions and the determination criteria and the design support provide an effect equivalent to a product test in a conventional product development process.

Here, an example of the simulation and design support results shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be specifically described. Although the leading end 14a of the paper 14 is close to the end 13c of the transport guide 13a, a transport process in which the paper 14 enters the transport path 13 without deviating from the transport path 13 is obtained. As shown in the partial proximity value / judgment display area 16, the proximity distance was calculated to be 0.06 mm. At this time, a paper jam occurred in an actual trial test. This may be because the initial curl condition setting in the simulation is different from the actual curl state of the paper, or the simulation is limited to a two-dimensional model.

In such a case, in order to provide effective design support based on the result obtained by the simulation, the threshold value for the distance at the time of closest approach is set to 0.0.
It can be seen that it needs to be larger than 6 millimeters. Then, for example, it is conceivable to set the threshold value S to 2 mm or the like.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the design support apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.
The design support device 20 according to the present embodiment includes a CAD device 5
3 and a network 52 to which a server 52 is connected. Then, the design support device 20 includes the main control unit 21
A program processing unit 22, a drawing processing unit 23, an event processing control unit 24, a display processing unit 25, a program memory 26, a closest distance calculation unit 27, a numerical comparison determination unit 28, an external storage interface 29 and display unit 30
, Operation input unit 31, sound output unit 32, network interface 33, bus 34, data memory 4
The data memory 40 includes a simulation condition storage unit 41, a simulation result storage unit 42, a calculation / determination result storage unit 43, and a determination threshold storage unit 44.
And a display attribute data storage unit 45.

Here, the main control unit 21, the program processing unit 22, the drawing processing unit 23, and the event processing control unit 24
, A display processing unit 25, a program memory 26, a closest distance calculation unit 27, a numerical comparison determination unit 28, an external storage interface 29, a display unit 30, and an operation input unit 31.
, Sound output unit 32, and network interface 3
3 and the data memory 40 are connected to the bus 34. The external storage interface 29 has an external storage device 50.
Is connected, and the network 51 is connected to the network interface 33.

The design support device 2 having the above configuration
At 0, the main controller 21 controls the operation of the entire design support device 20. The program memory 26 stores a simulation program and a program executed by the main control unit 21 to implement a predetermined design support method. Here, the simulation program guides the paper into a copying machine, a printer, a document feeder, a printing machine, or the like, and performs a predetermined processing step, so that the paper is transported along a transport path formed by a transport guide. It is a program that dynamically numerically analyzes the process of going. Note that the program memory 26 may store a CAD program or the like for designing a transport route.

The program processing section 22 executes a program stored in the program memory 26. Further, the closest distance calculation unit 27 calculates the distance D (t) between the end of the transport guide and the leading end of the paper as a function of the simulation time t, as described later. Then, the numerical value comparison and determination unit 28 determines the magnitude relationship between the distance D (t) and a threshold value which is set in advance and stored in the determination threshold value storage unit 44. The determination result is displayed in the end proximity value / determination display area 16 shown in FIG. 1 as described above, and the calculation / determination result storage unit 43 included in the data memory 40 can be referred to as necessary. Alternatively, it may be stored in the external storage device 50.

The display unit 30 is composed of a display or the like, and displays the application window 1 shown in FIG. 1 including the results of simulation and design support. The operation input unit 31 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, which are operated to input simulation conditions or specify a method of displaying the obtained result. Further, the sound output unit 32 generates a warning sound or the like for calling a designer's attention.

The simulation condition storage section 41 included in the data memory 40 stores various conditions set when the simulation is performed, that is, for example, the operation input section 31.
And the design data of the paper path and the transport route input through the PC. These conditions are stored in the simulation condition storage unit 4 when the simulation program is executed.
1 and a simulation is performed.

The simulation result storage unit 42 stores data obtained as a result of the simulation. The display attribute data storage unit 45 stores data for determining the attribute of the data to be displayed. The data stored in the data memory 40 is fetched from the external storage device 50 via the external storage interface 29 or transferred from the CAD device 53 or the server 52 connected to the network 51 via the network interface 33. Things and the like. The other components shown in FIG. 3 will be described later.

In the above simulation, the equation of motion describing the motion of the paper is solved after being approximated by algebraic expressions each having a finite amount of space and time. For the space, there are the difference method and the finite element method as typical methods, and for the time, the direct time integration such as the Runge-Kutta method, the linear acceleration method (including the Newmark beta method), the Wilson theta method, and the Houbolt method. Although there are methods, the design support method and the design support apparatus according to the present embodiment can be applied without depending on these methods. That is, the design support method and the design support apparatus according to the present embodiment obtain the displacement of the representative point of the sheet at an arbitrary time and the force acting when the sheet and the conveyance guide contact each other as a solution. Any simulation method can be applied to all of them.

Next, the operation of the design support apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 3 according to the simulation program will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. After starting the execution of the program in step S1, step S2
First, simulation conditions such as conveyance guide data consisting of the shape and coordinate values of the conveyance guide, various data such as rigidity and density determined by the Young's modulus of the paper and the thickness and width of the paper, and parameters necessary for calculation are simulated. The data is read from the storage unit 41, and the paper and the conveyance guide are modeled in step S3.

In step S4, the paper transport process is sequentially and sequentially calculated from the initial state to an arbitrary time later. Here, the calculation at the (n + 1) th step in the simulation is performed based on the calculation result at the nth step. That is, for example, when the paper transport state up to time T is calculated by simulation, in the next step in the simulation, the simulation is performed at the time (T + Δt) obtained by adding Δt to T.
Note that Δt is not always constant and may be adjusted during the simulation so as to obtain a convergent solution.

Then, in step S5, such calculation is repeated a predetermined number of times. In step S6, it is determined whether or not the conveyance guide and the paper are in contact with each other based on the calculation result in the above simulation. Then, in step S7, when it is determined that the paper is in contact, a simultaneous motion equation for the paper is created in consideration of the force received from the conveyance guide.

In step S8, the simultaneous equations are solved. However, depending on the value of Δt, a normal solution may not be obtained. Therefore, in step S9, a normal solution was obtained and the simulation was terminated normally. It is determined whether or not. At this time, if it is determined that the processing has not been completed normally, the process proceeds to step S21, where the simulation time is returned to (T−Δt), and in step S22, Δt is reset to a smaller value, and the process returns to step S4. Return.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S9 that the process has been completed normally, the process proceeds to step S10, and a convergence determination is made as to whether or not the obtained solution has converged. The reason why the convergence determination is performed is that when solving the above simultaneous equations, a nonlinear analysis is performed in consideration of the fact that the paper can be greatly deformed, and an iterative solution method such as the Newton-Raphson method is applied.

If it is determined in step S10 that the convergence has not occurred, the process proceeds to step S20.
If the number of repetition calculations has not reached the predetermined maximum number (maximum number of loops), the process proceeds to step S5, and the above-described repetition calculation is executed. Here, "the number of iterations" means
This is the number of repetitive calculations performed until the time T is updated at a certain time T in the simulation.
Is reset when the value is updated, and is counted again from 1. If it is determined in step S20 that the number of iterations has reached the maximum number of loops, the process proceeds to step S21 because the probability of convergence is low if the number of iterations exceeds the maximum number of loops.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S10 that the convergence has been achieved, the process proceeds to step S11, in which the contact force between the paper and the conveyance guide at time T and the solution for the position of the paper are simultaneously obtained. It will be. Further, a design support process is performed by the design support device according to the present embodiment. Specifically, for example, the obtained result is stored as a separate data file in the simulation result storage unit 42 or the external storage device 50 as needed, or the drawing processing unit 23 draws a geometric shape indicating the deformation state of the paper ( image)
If the paper is in contact with the conveyance guide for a part of the calculation result by the simulation, the magnitude of the contact force or the like is displayed on the display unit 30 by the display processing unit 25.

In step S12, it is determined whether or not the time T has reached the final time at which the simulation is to be performed. If it is determined that the time T has been reached, the operation is terminated. If so, the process proceeds to step S22.

In the above, after all the simulations have been completed, the calculation results obtained by the simulation by executing the design support program are read out from the simulation result storage unit 42, and the design support processing in the step S11 is executed. It is good to do.

Hereinafter, an example of the design support processing operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. With the start of the processing in step S1, the user inputs the simulation result file name to the operation input unit 31 in step S2. Then, in step S3, the display processing unit 25 displays the simulation conditions included in the file specified by the input file name on the display unit 30.

Next, in step S4, the drawing processing unit 23 performs drawing processing of the transport guide, and in step S5, the drawing processing unit 23 similarly performs processing for drawing the initial state of the paper. In step S6, an event wait state is set. For example, if an event of a drawing process occurs, the process proceeds to step S7 to perform a drawing process described later, and performs a display process of a numerical value or the like as needed in step S8. Return to

On the other hand, if another event occurs in step S6, the process proceeds to step S10, in which processing such as enlargement, reduction, and movement of the drawing is performed, and the design support processing operation ends, or the process returns to step S6. If an event instructing to end the design support processing operation occurs in step S6, the operation by executing the design support program ends.

Next, the above-described drawing operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Step S1
In step S2, the simulation result data at the selected time is read from the simulation result storage unit 42 in step S2. Note that the transport guide design data is read from the simulation condition storage unit 41 for drawing the transport guide.

Here, since the simulation result data is a considerable amount as a whole, data as needed is selectively read from the simulation result storage unit 42, and the operation and the circuit configuration are made more efficient.

In step S3, the transformed coordinates of the paper and the coordinates of the conveyance guide in the coordinate system on the design drawing are converted into coordinates in the coordinate system on the display unit 30. Next, in step S4, a drawing attribute corresponding to a drawing target such as a preset line type, line width, or color is read from the display attribute data storage unit 45, and obtained in step S5 in steps S3 and S4. Drawing based on data (image display)
Is executed. Then, the drawing processing operation is completed by such an operation.

Next, the event processing control processing operation shown in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. This event processing control processing operation is the same as that shown in FIG.
Is controlled by the event processing control unit 24 shown in FIG.
When the event processing control is started in step S1, it is determined in step S2 whether or not an instruction to perform the event processing has been given to the drawing operation unit 6.

When an event related to drawing occurs, a drawing mode is set according to the type of the event, and a drawing process in the drawing mode is executed. Here, the drawing mode includes an initial state mode in step S3a, a continuous reverse mode in step S3b, an N-step reverse mode in step S3c, and a step S3d.
, The N-step forward mode in step S3e, the stop mode in step S3g, and the step S3f.
There are other modes shown in FIG. In the above description, “forward” means the forward direction in the time series of the simulation, and “reverse” means the same reverse direction.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, in the initial state mode, the index n of the time series data is set to 0 in step S4a. Similarly, in the continuous reverse mode and the N-step reverse mode, the index n is set to (n−N) in step S4b, and in the continuous forward mode and the N-step forward mode, the index n is set to (n + N) in step S4c. . Here, in step S5, the index n is corrected to 0 when it is a negative value, and is corrected to the maximum value when it exceeds the maximum value, and the event processing control ends. The index n is referred to when designating a time on the simulation, and the simulation result data read from the simulation result storage unit 42 in step S2 shown in FIG. 6 is selected according to the index n.

In step S2, if an event for designating another drawing mode, such as enlargement or reduction of drawing, is input to the drawing operation unit 6, step S2 is executed.
At 3f, the index n is maintained, and the event processing control ends. When an event designating the stop mode is input to the drawing operation unit 6 in step S2, the index n is maintained in step S3g, and the process returns to step S2.

On the other hand, in step S2, the drawing operation unit 6
If no event is input to step S1
The process proceeds to 0 to determine whether the current drawing mode is the continuous drawing mode. If the current drawing mode is the continuous drawing mode, the process proceeds to step S3b or step S3d according to the mode. If the current drawing mode is not the continuous drawing mode, the process returns to step S2. From the above, for example, when the user presses the button for designating the continuous order mode of the operation unit 6 shown in FIG. 1, the paper transport process is displayed in the drawing area 10 as a continuous animation in the order shown in FIGS. Is done.

In view of the above, according to the design support apparatus of the present embodiment, the paper transport process can be visually evaluated, so that the optimal transport path can be easily designed. it can.

Next, a design support method realized by the design support apparatus according to this embodiment will be further described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. In addition,
The following design support method is realized by executing a predetermined program described in either the design support program or the simulation program by a computer. Further, in the following processing, the end 13c of the transport guide to be focused on at the time of calculation and the time T on the simulation in the transport process are specified in advance.

First, when the design support operation is started in step S1, in step S2, the closest distance calculating unit 27 calculates the distance D (between the leading end 14a of the paper 14 and the end 13c of the transport guide specified in advance. T) is calculated. More specifically, step S2 includes steps S2a and S2b. In step S2a, first, the coordinate values (x coordinate and y coordinate) in the drawing area 10 of the end 13c of the transport guide are set to variables gx and gy, respectively. The drawing area 1 of the leading end 14a of the paper at the time T is stored.
The coordinate values at 0 (x coordinate and y coordinate) are stored in variables px and py, respectively. Then, by calculating at step S2b to ^{((gx-px) 2 +} (gy + py) 2) 1/2, the above distance D (T) is calculated.

Next, in step S3, the calculated distance D (T) is displayed as the proximity distance (mm) of the end proximity value / determination display area 16 shown in FIG. -Stored in the determination result storage unit 43. Then, in step S4, the threshold value S set in advance and the magnitude of the distance D (T) are compared by the numerical value comparison determination unit 28,
If the distance D (T) is equal to or smaller than the threshold S, it is determined to be “NG”, and if the distance D (T) is larger than the threshold S, “OK”.
Is determined. Further, in step S5, the determination result is displayed and stored as in step S3.

When the processing shown in FIG. 8 is executed in a simulation program, for example, it is performed when sequentially referencing the ends of the transport guide in the design support processing in step S11 shown in FIG. You can make it. On the other hand, when the process is executed in the design support program, the process can be performed when referring to the time T and the end of the transport guide when drawing in the design support.

In the above description, the geometric shapes of the transport guides 12a, 12b, 13a, and 13b are all shown by lines. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the transport guide 13a is actually an end portion. Transport guide curved portion 13e
And has a thickness. In FIG. 9, the transport guide back surface 13f is indicated by a broken line.

However, in order to efficiently perform the above simulation, it is sufficient if there is only data on the surface of the transport guide 13a that may come into contact with the paper 14. For example, the end 13c of the transport guide 13a is sufficient. Figure 9
As shown in (1), it is defined as the end of the surface inside the transport path 13 excluding the transport guide curved portion 13e. By defining the end portion 13c in this way, the safety probability of preventing a paper jam can be maximized.

Although the paper 14 to be conveyed actually has a thickness, in the above description, the line segment connecting the point on the front surface and the point on the back surface of the paper is described. A geometric shape indicating a surface formed by a set of midpoints is displayed as the paper 14 on the simulation, and the tip of the geometric shape is set as the tip 14 a of the paper 14. In this case, the leading end 14a of the paper 14 may be determined in consideration of the thickness of the paper 14, but by adjusting the threshold value S and the initial curl amount as an initial condition of the simulation,
The same effect as in the case where the thickness is considered can be obtained.

In the following, a design support method for more effectively transmitting the risk of occurrence of a paper jam in the seam area 17 of the conveyance guide to the designer of the conveyance path and a configuration for realizing the method will be described. This will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 10 and 11 to 13.

The operation shown in FIG. 11 includes steps S1 to S6 and steps S8 and S20.
Are the same as steps S1 to S6 and steps S7 and S10 shown in FIG. 5, respectively.
Is newly added, and the operation of step S9 is changed. In the operation shown in FIG. 11, the distance D (T) shown in FIG. 8 is calculated for all the ends of the transport guide at all times on the simulation, and the magnitude of the distance D is determined with respect to the threshold value S. , It is assumed that these results have been saved.

First, the evaluation processing in step S7 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. In the description of FIG. 12, it is assumed that the drawing currently displayed in the drawing area 10 is based on the data of the index n, and the drawing previously displayed in the drawing area 10 has the index (( n-N).

When the evaluation process is started in step S1, in step S2, the index indicating the time series is (n)
−N + 1) distance D obtained for data from n
(T) and the determination result are read from the calculation / determination result storage unit 43. Then, in step S3, the determination result is N
The presence or absence of the data set to G is determined by the main control unit 21. If there is data determined to be NG, the process proceeds to step S4.

Here, in step S4, the drawing mode is changed to the stop mode, and the evaluation processing operation ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that there is no data determined to be NG, the evaluation processing operation is immediately terminated.

Therefore, by the evaluation processing operation shown in FIG. 12, the data existing between the data to be drawn in the drawing area 10 in time series, that is, the index is (n-
Regarding the data from (N + 1) to (n-1), the designer should be aware of all the data to be considered in designing the transport route.

Next, in the display processing in step S9 shown in FIG. 11, the distance D (T) at time T obtained for each end of the transport guide and the determination result are as follows.
As shown in FIG. 1, it is displayed in the edge proximity value / determination display area 16 together with the edge index.

Next, the warning process in step S10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the warning process is started in step S1, if it is determined in step S2 that there is data determined to be NG in the evaluation process in step S7 shown in FIG. 11, the process proceeds to step S3 to perform main control. Part 21
Causes the sound output unit 32 to generate a buzzer. If it is determined that there is no data determined to be NG in the evaluation processing, the warning processing operation is immediately terminated from step S2. As described above, by executing the warning processing operation shown in FIG. 13, when there is data to be considered in the design of the transport route, the designer can be notified by a warning sound.

Further, in addition to the above, as shown in FIG. 10, the display attribute data storage unit 45 shown in FIG.
Is determined to be the drawing attribute data storage unit 45a when the determination is OK
Time drawing attribute data storage unit 45b. Then, different drawing attribute data is set in these storage units in advance, and the drawing based on the data in which the determination result is NG is performed in the determination NG-time drawing attribute data storage unit 45b.
The drawing is performed based on the drawing attribute data stored in the storage unit 45a, and the drawing based on the data for which the determination result is OK is performed based on the drawing attribute data stored in the drawing attribute data storage unit 45a when the determination is OK. According to such a method, the drawing displayed based on the data whose determination result is NG is different from the drawing displayed based on the data whose determination result is OK, such as the type, thickness, and color of the line. Since the attribute can be changed, it is possible to easily draw the attention of the designer, and it is possible to avoid so-called overlooking of the data whose determination result is NG by the designer.

In the above-described embodiment, the display unit 30 displays only the transport process at a location where a paper jam may actually occur in the seam area 17 of the transport path. The required data can be provided quickly. That is, the user can operate the drawing operation unit 6 shown in FIG. 1 so that a data display area 70 described later shown in FIG. 14 is displayed in the application window 1, or By selecting a predetermined menu in the menu area 15 shown in FIG.
A window including “0” may be displayed on the display unit 30.

In the data display area 70, as shown in FIG. 14, the set threshold value S (FIG.
, "2 mm"), a data number display section 72, a data selection button 73, and a data display section 74 are displayed. Here, the number-of-data display section 72 shows a fraction using the total number of data as a denominator and the ordinal index of the data displayed on the data display section 74 as a numerator (“5/1 in FIG. 14”).
5 ") is displayed. Also, two buttons for increasing or decreasing the ordinal index given to the data and displaying data corresponding to the selected ordinal index,
This is displayed as a data selection button 73.

The data display section 74 displays the threshold value S
The distance D (T) (“0.12 mm” in FIG. 14) calculated to the following size and the index of the end of the transport guide targeted for calculation of the distance (“ 13c ") and the time on the simulation when the distance was calculated (" 155m "in FIG. 14).
s ") is displayed.

The operation of displaying the data display area 70 will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As described above, when the user operates the drawing operation unit 6 shown in FIG. 1 or the like, the display operation is started in step S1. In step S2, only the data for which the calculated distance from the end of the conveyance guide to the leading end of the paper is equal to or smaller than the threshold value S and is determined to be NG are calculated.
It is selectively read from the determination result storage unit 43 and substituted into predetermined variable arrays a (0), a (1), a (2),..., A (m). At this time, the total number m of data and the ordinal index for each data are determined.

Next, in step S3, a screen of the data display area 70 shown in FIG. The order of step S3 and step S2 can be interchanged.

Then, in step S4, the variable array a
One of the data stored in (0), a (1), a (2),..., A (m) is displayed in the data display area 70 as initial data. Next, in step S5, the paper transport state at the simulation time when the data displayed in step S4 is calculated is drawn in the drawing area 10 according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. Further, when the process proceeds to step S6, the process waits until the data selection button 73 shown in FIG. 14 or the operation end button displayed in the display unit 30 is pressed.

At this time, if the operation end button is pressed, the display operation is ended, and if any data is selected by pressing the data selection button 73, at step S7, the selection is made at step S7. The data at the specified time is displayed in the data display area 70. Next, in step S8, the paper transport state at the simulation time when the data displayed in step S7 is calculated is drawn in the drawing area 10 according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, and the process returns to step S6.

The simulation program or the design support program according to the present embodiment is a CD.
-The above operation is realized by being recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM, and the recording medium being read and executed by a computer. Furthermore, any of the operations described above with reference to the flowcharts can be expressed by a program, and are realized by causing a computer to read and execute a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

As described above, according to the design support method according to the present embodiment and the design support apparatus for realizing the method, the joint area 17 of the transport guides 12a, 12b, 13a, and 13b is provided.
Can accurately predict a paper jam that can actually occur on the basis of the simulation result of the transport process, so that it is possible to effectively support the design of the transport path formed by the transport guide.

[0096]

As described above, at an arbitrary time in the simulation, the distance between the tip of the object approaching the interval of the transport guide and the end of the transport guide through which the tip passes next is calculated. If the determined distance is determined to be equal to or less than a preset threshold value and the result is displayed, an accurate design evaluation can be performed with respect to clogging of an object that may occur at a seam of a conveyance guide in a conveyance process. Since it can be shown to the user, it is possible to effectively support the design of the transport route.

When a new time is specified by the user, the distance in the above-mentioned period is calculated based on the result of the simulation in the period from the time specified in the previous operation by the user to the new time. Since the user can grasp the transfer state in the entire transfer process at the design stage, the design of the transfer path can be reliably supported. Here, it is determined whether or not the distance in the period is equal to or less than the threshold, and if the result is displayed, the existence of data to be considered in the design of the transport route may be omitted in the entire transport process. Since the user can be made to recognize the design, reliable design support can be performed.

When it is determined that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold at least at one time in the period, the result of the simulation at the time selected among the times when the distance is equal to or less than the threshold is determined. If an image is displayed on the monitor, data that needs special attention in the design of the transport guide can be selectively displayed as an image, so that the design of the transport guide can be efficiently supported.

Further, by generating a sound when it is determined that the distance becomes equal to or less than the threshold value at any time during the period, the user can easily determine the existence of data to be considered in designing the transport route. Therefore, design support can be performed more reliably.

If it is determined that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold at any time during the period, the result of the simulation up to the time when the distance is equal to or less than the threshold is displayed on a monitor as an image. If the operation is stopped, the user can easily recognize the transport location to be considered in the design of the transport route along with the progress of the transport to the transport location, so that more effective design support can be performed.

Here, if an image is displayed on a monitor according to a preset attribute when performing the stop, the user can easily recognize a state to be considered in the design of the transport path. Since image display can be obtained, design support can be performed more reliably.

Further, the above effects can be easily obtained by executing the above-mentioned program by the above-mentioned computer using a computer-readable recording medium which stores the above-mentioned program for describing the design support.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an application window in a design support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a joint area of the transport guide shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a design support device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a simulation operation by the design support device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a first flowchart showing a design support processing operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the drawing processing operation shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an event processing control processing operation shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a second flowchart showing a design support processing operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a design support processing operation in consideration of the thickness of the transport guide shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display attribute data storage unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the design support processing operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an evaluation processing operation shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a warning processing operation shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing specific data display in the design support processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

15 is a flowchart showing an operation for obtaining the display shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 application window 2 simulation pre-processing unit 3 paper data input display unit 4 initial curl input display unit 5 drawing processing operation / display area 6 drawing operation unit 7 time data display unit 8 mouse pointer 9 coordinate display unit 10 drawing area 11 transport drive Unit 12, 13 Transport path 12a, 12b, 13a, 13b Transport guide 13c, 13d Guide end 13e Transport guide curved part 13f Transport guide back surface 14 Paper 14a Tip 15 Menu area 16 Edge proximity value / judgment display area 17 Joint area Reference Signs List 20 design support device 21 main control unit 22 program processing unit 23 drawing processing unit 24 event processing control unit 25 display processing unit 26 program memory 27 closest distance calculation unit 28 numerical comparison determination unit 29 external storage interface 30 display unit 31 operation input unit 32 sound Output unit 33 Network interface 34 Bus 40 Data memory 41 Simulation condition storage unit 42 Simulation result storage unit 43 Calculation / judgment result storage unit 44 Judgment threshold value storage unit 45 Display attribute data storage unit 45a Drawing attribute data storage unit for OK judgment 45b NG attribute drawing attribute data storage unit 50 external storage device 51 network 52 server 53 CAD device 61 N value setting unit 70 data display area 72 data number display unit 73 data selection button 74 data display unit

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A design support system for supporting the design of a transport path according to a result of simulating the motion of an object along a transport path formed by a plurality of transport guides arranged in a row with a predetermined interval. An apparatus, wherein at any time in the simulation, an end distance calculating unit that calculates a distance between a front end of the object approaching the interval and an end of the transport guide through which the front end passes. A determination unit configured to determine whether the distance calculated by the end distance calculation unit is equal to or less than a preset threshold value and to display a result of the determination. Support equipment. 2. The end distance calculating means, when a new time is designated by a user, a result of the simulation in a period from the time designated in a previous operation by the user to the new time. The design support device according to claim 1, wherein the distance in the period is calculated based on the distance. 3. The determination unit further determines whether the distance in the period is equal to or less than the threshold,
The design support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a result of the determination is displayed. 4. A time selected from among the times at which the distance becomes equal to or less than the threshold when the determining means determines that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold at at least one time in the period. The design support apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an image display unit that displays an image of a result of the simulation on a monitor. 5. The design according to claim 2, further comprising an audio output unit that generates a sound when the determination unit determines that the distance is equal to or smaller than the threshold value at any time during the period. Support equipment. 6. When the determination means determines that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold value at any time during the period, the result of the simulation up to the time when the distance is equal to or less than the threshold value is determined. 3. The design support apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising image display means for displaying an image on a monitor and stopping operation. 7. The design support apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image display means displays an image on the monitor according to a preset attribute when performing the stop. 8. Design support for supporting the design of the transport path according to a result of simulating the motion of an object along a transport path formed by a plurality of transport guides arranged at predetermined intervals. A distance calculating step of calculating, at an arbitrary time in the simulation, a distance between a tip of the object approaching the interval and an end of the transport guide through which the tip passes next; The distance calculated in the distance calculation step,
A determining step of determining whether the difference is equal to or less than a preset threshold value and displaying a result of the determination. 9. In the distance calculating step, when a new time is specified by a user, a result of the simulation in a period from the time specified in a previous operation by the user to the new time is calculated. The design support method according to claim 8, wherein the distance in the period is calculated based on the distance. 10. The design support method according to claim 9, wherein in the determining step, it is further determined whether or not the distance during the period is equal to or less than the threshold, and a result of the determination is displayed. 11. In the determining step, when it is determined that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold at at least one time in the period, a time selected among the times when the distance is equal to or less than the threshold. The design support method according to claim 9, further comprising an image display step of displaying an image of the simulation result on a monitor. 12. The sound output step according to claim 9, further comprising the step of generating a sound when the distance is determined to be equal to or less than the threshold at any time during the period. Design support method. 13. In the determining step, when it is determined that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold at any time during the period, the result of the simulation up to the time when the distance is equal to or less than the threshold is determined. The design support method according to claim 9, further comprising an image display step of displaying an image on a monitor and stopping the operation. 14. The design support method according to claim 13, wherein in the image display step, when performing the stop, an image is displayed on the monitor according to a preset attribute. 15. A computer assists in designing the transfer path according to a result of simulating the movement of an object along a transfer path formed by a plurality of transfer guides arranged in a row with a predetermined interval. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for storing the program, wherein the computer has a tip of the object approaching the interval and an end of the transport guide through which the tip passes next. The computer calculates the distance at any time in the simulation, determines whether the calculated distance is equal to or less than a preset threshold, and displays the result of the determination. Possible recording medium. 16. The program, when a new time is designated by a user, causes the computer to provide a result of the simulation in a period from the time designated in a previous operation by the user to the new time. 16. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the distance in the period is calculated based on the distance. 17. The computer-readable program according to claim 16, wherein the program further causes the computer to determine whether the distance in the period is equal to or less than the threshold and to display a result of the determination. recoding media. 18. The program further comprises: at least one time in the period,
When the computer determines that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold, the computer causes the computer to display an image of a result of the simulation at a time selected among the times at which the distance is equal to or less than the threshold on a monitor. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 16. 19. The computer program further comprising: when the computer determines that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold at any time during the period, the computer is configured to determine that the distance is equal to or less than the threshold. 17. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 16, wherein an image of a result of the simulation up to a time is displayed on a monitor, and the operation is stopped. 20. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the program causes the computer to display an image on the monitor according to a preset attribute when the computer causes the computer to perform the stop. .