JP2002092266A - Method and device for developing invention - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an invention developing method and a device capable of removing 'omission' in the development of anew product and aiding timely inventing action without missing the target of a proposed subject. SOLUTION: A common sense attribute enumerating sheet 10 is provided with a 5W1H format and the column 1 of 'subject of invention' is formed on the uppermost stage of the sheet 10. The 5W1H format is used for enumerating a common sense item as 'common sense attribute' without omission. The column 2 of 'common sense attribute' is divided into 5W1H sections consisting of WHEN, WHO, WHAT, WHERE, and HOW MUCH. Attributes conventionally recognized as common sense about a proposed subject are enumerated on the 5W1H format as common sense items and then why attributes enumerated as the common sense attributes are common sense items is cleared.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for discovering an invention for supporting the development of a tangible new product such as a new material, a new mechanical product, a new electronic industrial product, and the like. The invention relates to an invention excavating apparatus for sharing a problem and excavating means for jointly solving the problem.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, new materials, new mechanical products, new electronic products, new daily necessities, new clothing, etc. are created by new ideas of people working in the research and development department of the companies that manufacture them. . Traditionally, such ideas have generally been thought of as a product of an idea and have been attributed to the talents and efforts of individuals (developers) involved in research and development.

[0003] In other words, the invention is the result of a so-called idea man trying to create something new and trying hard based on a certain idea, or a talented person who has a particular theme. It is created as a result of thinking and gathering underneath. In such a case, one idea is realized as an invention through discussions for predicting the market of the product and anticipating the tastes of the user by looking at future technological trends. Therefore, in many companies, it is important not only to select and organize talented ideamen to improve the efficiency of R & D, but also to gather information by spreading antennas in all directions. Various ingenuity was also made for that.

[0004] As described above, the novel invention makes a great contribution to producing technically superior, highly competitive and high quality products. For companies, lowering product prices further is the driving force behind creating high-value products.

[0005]

However, a new product developed with all kinds of wisdom does not always satisfy all requirements as an invention. Even if a developer thinks it is a new invention, it may not always hit the target or may not be timely.
Even if you have excellent ideamen and researchers and have a good development system, or if you intend to gather a lot of information, it is inevitable that people do "miss" Because.

That is, in the conventional research and development system of a company, an idea is often left to an individual's idea, or much depends on the talent and effort of a development staff such as a researcher. However, no matter how many researchers are gathered, it is not easy to eliminate the aforementioned "missing". Human beings have convictions, especially because multiple developers are experts among each other, so their convictions have become stronger, and it has been difficult for in-house specialists alone to resolve them.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a method for discovering an invention which supports a timely invention action without eliminating "missing" in the development of a new product and without losing the target of the proposed problem.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for excavating the invention.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided an excavation method according to the present invention for finding a means for solving the above-mentioned problem. The excavation method of the present invention is a step of enumerating, as common sense items, attributes that have been conventionally regarded as common sense with respect to the problem, and for each of the common sense items, a process of presenting a reason why it is considered common sense, Analyzing the presented reason and finding a means sufficient to overturn the reason.

According to the present invention, when excavating a new invention, it is easy to reverse the existing common sense matters, and it is possible to excavate the invention efficiently.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, "the subject of the invention" is clearly described using the "common sense attribute enumeration sheet" shown in FIG. 1, and common sense items on the subject are listed without exception as "common sense attributes".

[0011] The "object of the invention" is an object that a developer in the future intends to produce as an invention, that is, a new material product, a new mechanical product, a new electronics product, a new daily product, a new clothing item, etc. Described as a tangible product. The reason why the “object of the invention” is clearly described in this way is to clarify what is to be newly invented as a target of the invention.

The common-sense attribute enumeration sheet 10 has a 5W1H format, and a column 1 of "Problems of the Invention" is provided at the top of the sheet. As a result, the current state of the problem and the points to be solved can be shared by both the user-side developer and the vendor-side development supporter. In addition, there is an advantage that the developer and the development supporter can accurately grasp the common sense of the conventional one.

The 5W1H format is for listing common sense items as "common sense attributes" without omission, and the column 2 of "common sense attributes" is WHEN, WHO, WHOM,
It is divided into 5W1H of WHAT, WHERE, and HOW MUCH, and is configured so that the person in charge of development can easily enter it. If it is unclear which of the specified common sense items is to be classified into any of 5W1H, it is described in either one. The important thing here is not how to classify common sense items, but "common sense attributes"
This is because it is enumerated without omission.

Regarding the issues raised in the common sense attribute enumeration sheet 10, attributes that have been conventionally considered common sense are listed on the 5W1H format as common sense items, and then those listed as common sense attributes are as follows: Clarify why it is common sense. Here, the common sense is the standard knowledge that ordinary people and those skilled in the art should have, and it is assumed that each person has a common knowledge when a developer and a development supporter jointly discover inventions. Have been.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a "why why sheet" used for presenting a reason. In this sheet, common sense attributes listed on the common sense attribute enumeration sheet 10 in FIG. 1 are entered in the second column from the left. In the leftmost column, the number of “common sense attribute” is described in advance. This numbering is merely for convenience, and is for consideration so as not to overlook all the "common sense attributes". Therefore, there is no problem even if the numbering is not performed.

The third and subsequent columns of the "why why sheet" form columns 31, 32, 33,... For each common sense matter to indicate the reason why it is considered common sense. Here, the first reason, the second reason, and the third reason are set in the right direction.

By the way, looking back on actual novel inventions, most of them are established as reversing current common sense. In other words, a new invention has been created by overturning the current common sense.

For example, for a transistor radio,
Before that, it was common sense that radios were left in the house for listening, and it was common sense that transistors were used in military calculators. It is. Also, with regard to headphone stereo, it is common sense to listen to music in the house, and there is a common sense that tape recorders can only be played, but can not be sold as a machine without a recording function,
It can be said that headphone stereo was established as an invention when these common senses were overturned.

Therefore, in the present invention, when considering means for solving the problems raised, items that are considered common sense are listed first, and why these common sense items become common sense. It clarifies the reason. And it seeks to discover new inventions while overturning the reasons revealed.

In the "Why Why Sheet" of FIG. 2, the fields for indicating why the "common sense attribute" is established as common sense, and why, are set as the first reason, the second reason, the third reason ... Have been. If there are a plurality of reasons, the first reason column is divided into a plurality of lines and entered. This is the branching of the reason. For all branches, fill in all three or four, so that all reasons are presented.

When filling in the second reason column, consider the reason why such a reason is common sense with respect to the reason presented in the first reason column. In the presentation of the second reason, as in the case of the first reason, if there are a plurality of reasons, the column of the second reason is divided into a plurality of lines to be entered and branched.

Hereinafter, the third reason and the fourth reason are presented in the same manner, and are continued until the reason cannot be presented for all common sense attributes. If the reason reverts to the original common sense attribute,
Or, when there is a cyclical reason, it ends. In the sheet of FIG. 2, up to the sixth reason column is provided, and if this sheet is used, the work of presenting the reason six times can be executed. In addition, by drawing a line connecting the columns of this sheet, the common sense attribute of which number derives which first reason,
It is possible to clearly indicate which second reason the reason is leading to.

Using such a "why why sheet", for all of the listed common sense attributes, the reason why it is established as common sense is performed, and then the work of finding a means for overriding those reasons is performed. I do. In this process, the developer and the development supporter narrow each other's wisdom and change the common sense. In this case, any of the presented reasons may be overturned. That is, it is not always necessary to reverse all the reasons presented, and only a part of the listed common sense attributes may be reversed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a table for entering a reason for each common sense attribute. In this table, only one common sense attribute of the proposed problem is extracted and entered in the column 40, and a plurality of reasons for the attribute are arranged and presented in the columns 41 to 44.

The table shown in this figure is useful in considering a method for overriding common sense, which is a common sense attribute, when performing an operation of overturning the common sense listed as a common sense attribute. Further, when there are common sense attributes having many reasons and other common sense attributes, it is preferable to preferentially reverse the latter reason. It is considered that an invention having a greater impact is born by overturning the common sense attribute having a relatively small number of reasons, and there is a high possibility that an invention having novelty can be found efficiently. (Specific Example) A specific example of the method of the present invention will be described. Here, a case where the subject of the invention is applied to the development of a material called “new iron” will be described.

First, "new iron" is written in the column of the subject of the invention using the "common sense attribute enumeration sheet". Next, common sense items regarding the material of iron are listed and written in the common sense attribute column.

When considering common sense matters about iron,
For example, common sense attributes such as "metal", "heavy", and "hard" can be given. Iron is an inexpensive material as a metal, but it is necessary to consider making it more inexpensive, so the common sense attribute of "high price" is given here.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a “common sense attribute enumeration sheet” in which four common sense items are described in the column 2 of “common sense attribute”. The reason why I write "Metal" in the WHO column 22 is
This is because "iron" was regarded as the subject. However, "iron"
It may be entered in the column 23 of the WHOM considering the object itself.

The reason why "heavy" and "hard" are entered in the WHEN column 21 is that a person feels heavy when lifting iron as a material and feels hard when struck. However, they may be entered in the WHAT 24 column, considering that they are the properties of "iron" as an object.

The entry of "high price" in the HOW column 26 means how expensive iron is.
However, if it is considered high when purchasing iron as a material, this common sense item may be entered in the WHEN column 21. Further, it is necessary to fill in other common sense items. However, in order to simplify the following description, it is assumed that only four “common sense attributes” are listed here.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a "why why sheet" in which four common sense attributes and their reasons are presented. In the first column of the common-sense attribute column 30, a common-sense item “Metal” is written. This is because it seems more difficult to overturn than the other three common sense matters. Here, "Why metal?" Is considered, and the reason "high melting point" is written in the first reason column 31. Furthermore, thinking "why is the melting point high?"
Although the second reason can be given, here, it is convinced only by the first reason.

In the second column of the common sense attribute column 30, "hard"
The common sense is written. This common sense seems to be difficult to overturn. Here, "Why is it hard?"
Has a reason that it is "metal". The first reason is a common sense item described first in the common sense attribute column 30. Therefore, the second reason column 32 includes “1”.
To ".

The third in the common sense attribute column 30 is "heavy"
The common sense is written. This common sense seems to be difficult to overturn. Here, "Why is heavier?"
Describes the reason that “specific gravity is large”. Then, thinking "Why is the specific gravity so large?"
No. 2 describes the reason that it is "metal". The second reason is a common sense item described first in the common sense attribute column 30. Therefore, the third reason column 33 includes “1”.
To ".

As described above, the common sense items that are likely to be difficult to overwrite are written in the “common sense attribute” column 30 in order. This corresponds to the “common sense attribute” such as “to 1” described in the second reason column of the second common sense attribute or the third reason column of the third common sense attribute.
Because it is useful to end with the reasoning of other "common sense attributes".

In the fourth column of the common sense attribute column 30, the last common sense item "high price" is written. I've written this common sense at the end because it seems likely to be a little cheaper. Here, too, "why the price is high" is considered, and two reasons, "high iron ore" and "high processing cost" are written in a branched manner as the first reason. Next, he thought, "Why is iron ore expensive?" And writes the second reason that it is "imported". Next, "Why imports are expensive?"
The third reason is that various costs such as "transportation costs" are required. The fourth reason is that, as the reason for the higher cost, three reasons of “high rent”, “high labor cost”, and “high insurance premium” are written in a branched manner.

The reasons for the common-sense matters branched in this manner are listed, and those written in the corresponding reason column are completed as "why-why sheets" for iron. As is clear from FIG. 5, the "high price" described in the fourth column of the common sense attribute column 30 has an extremely large number of reasons. Therefore, by overriding any of these justifications, the common sense of "high prices" is overturned,
It is a common sense matter that can be easily overturned compared to other common sense matters. In other words, there are various ways to change the common sense of high prices, such as obtaining iron ore cheaply, lowering transportation costs, reducing labor costs, and increasing insurance premiums. However, the price achieved as a result of implementing the measures listed here is not low enough to surprise other companies. Thus, although the impact of these means is small, it means that it will break the common sense.

FIG. 6 shows only the third common sense attribute extracted.
It is a figure showing an example of the display method which shows the reason side by side. Contrary to the fourth common sense attribute, the iron common sense of "heavy" described as the third common sense attribute is:
Only the reason columns 41 and 42 are presented. This is because the attribute of heavy common sense is strong as a common sense matter. Therefore, in the process of overturning, for example, the second and third reasons following the first reason, "the specific gravity is large", are listed as "high density", "no hollow portion". It can be covered by means of forming a hollow inside to make it lighter. This enables a new invention of porous iron (lotus iron) with a hole like a lotus root.

FIG. 7 is a network configuration diagram showing the invention excavating apparatus using the Internet. LA on the user side
N50 is connected to a plurality of terminal devices 51, 52, and 53, and is configured to be connectable to a vendor LAN 70 through a server 61, the Internet 62, and a server 63. Common sense database 7 in LAN 70 on the vendor side
1. The reason database 72, the CPU 73, and a plurality of terminal devices 74, 75, 76 are connected.

The developer on the user side operates one of the terminal devices 51, 52, 53 to write on the above-mentioned common-sense attribute enumeration sheet (FIG. 1) and why (FIG. 2). After that, it requests the vendor for development support on the Internet 62 via the server 61.

The development supporter on the vendor side includes a common sense database 71 and a reason database 7 connected to the LAN 70.
While utilizing 2, the "common sense attribute" sent from the user using the terminal devices 74, 75, 76 and the reason thereof are analyzed. After several conversations with the user's developer, the development supporter points out, via the Internet 62, the "common sense attribute" of the subject of the invention and the lack of the reason.

Thereafter, the developer can analyze the reason presented for each common-sense attribute and find a paradox that is sufficient to reverse the reason, thereby finding a means for solving the problem of the invention as a new invention. . Internet 62 mentioned above
By using the invention excavation device using the invention, the development supporter on the vendor side can support the entire invention excavation process.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure for supporting the invention excavation. Vendor CPU 7
3 indicates whether sufficient extraction has been performed for each of the process of extracting "common sense attributes", the process of presenting reasons using "why why sheets", and the process of discovering inventions by "overturning common sense" (step 1), and sufficient reasons. Is determined (step 2) and whether sufficient excavation has been performed (step 3). If it is determined that none of the steps is sufficient, the extraction, presentation, and excavation on the user side are repeated. As a result, it becomes possible to find the best invention in accordance with the “problem of the invention”. In addition, data of a high degree of perfection is stored in the databases 71 and 72 on the vendor side for each task, and know-how of development support can be stored.

As described above, for the target “problem of the invention”, “common sense attributes” are listed on the user side,
On the vendor side, these common sense attributes are enumerated with sufficient common sense matters, examined to see if there is any deficiency, and if there is any deficiency, the user is answered. Subsequently, the user presents the reason why the sheet was used for the "common sense attribute", and the vendor examines the result again, and if there is a shortage, answers the user. Then, the user performs an operation to change the common sense, shows the result to the vendor side, examines whether the common sense is sufficiently changed, and returns the result to the user side.

[0044] Such a series of work steps is herein referred to as "new invention cycle". The developer can execute the “invention cycle” once or as many times as necessary to find a timely invention or a more advanced invention without omission.

In the “cycle of the new invention”,
The work of listing common sense attributes and presenting the reason may be performed only by the developer in charge on the user side, or may be performed in part or in whole by the vendor who is the development supporter. Good.

[0046]

As described above, according to the excavating method or the excavating apparatus of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. 1. It is possible to eliminate one-sided thinking of the development staff or "missing" in the development of new products. Since the table of the 2.5W1H format is used, the development target can be accurately recognized, and a timely idea can be proposed. 3. By clarifying why the listed common sense items are common sense, efficient development can be performed. 4. Because we use two-way communication with development supporters,
Efficient development can be performed. 5. Even if the number of developers in the company is reduced, new inventions can be created efficiently. 6. On the vendor side, a new invention support business can be created.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a table for entering common sense attributes for an object of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a “why why sheet”.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a table for entering a reason for each common sense attribute.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a table for entering common sense attributes for “iron”.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of entry in a “why and why” sheet of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a table for entering a reason for each common sense attribute.

FIG. 7 is a network configuration diagram showing the invention excavating device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an invention excavation procedure.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Common sense attribute enumeration sheet, 1: "Subject of the invention" column,
2, 30, 40 ... "common sense attribute" column, 31 ... first reason column, 32 ... second reason column, 33 ... third reason column, 41,
42 ... Reason column, 50, 70 ... LAN, 51, 52, 5
3: Multiple terminal devices, 61, 63 Server, 62: Internet, 71: Common sense database, 72: Reason database, 73: CPU, 74, 75, 76: Multiple terminal devices

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An excavation method of the invention for finding a means for solving a proposed problem, comprising: a step of enumerating, as common sense items, attributes which are conventionally common sense regarding the problem; A method of presenting a reason why it is common sense, and a step of analyzing the presented reason and finding a means sufficient to overturn the reason. . 2. In the process of listing common sense items, 5W1H (WHEN, WHO, WHO)
The excavation method according to claim 1, wherein the method is classified and enumerated for each HOM, WHAT, WHERE, HOW MUCH). 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in the process of finding the means, common sense items with a small number of reasons are preferentially found among the reasons presented for each common sense item. Excavation method of the invention. 4. An invention excavating apparatus in which a developer cooperates with a development supporter to find a means for solving the problem raised by the developer, wherein the developer includes With respect to the problem, input means for a client for inputting matters that have been conventionally regarded as common sense and the reasons thereof, while managing and storing information input from the input means, controlling the excavation process of the invention, Control means for a server for notifying the degree of progress from the development supporter to the person in charge of development, and communication means for bidirectionally transmitting information between the input means and the control means. Invention excavating device. 5. The input means for the client includes a display means for displaying an invention finding table that presents a list of the common-sense matters and their reasons, and the developer in charge of the common knowledge while looking at the invention finding table. The invention excavating device according to claim 4, wherein a technical matter and reasons thereof are input. 6. The control means for the server is connected to input means for a plurality of clients, manages and stores all information input from at least one of the input means, and performs one cycle of the invention excavation work. The invention excavating device according to claim 4, wherein the unit is controlled as a unit.