JP2002222217A - Data conversion device from 3d-cad data into viewer data - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data conversion device capable of simply performing the work for converting 3D-CAD data into viewer data without relying on a skilled person. SOLUTION: This data conversion device is provided with a personal computer 1 loaded with software 231 for data conversion request and a viewer data conversion server 2 converting 3D-CAD data into viewer data, and conversion instruction data 233 used when data is converted the last time is stored in a storage device 23 of the personal computer. Conversion instruction data input columns 41, 43, 61, 62, 63 are displayed on a screen, and conversion instruction data used when data is converted the last time is written in the conversion instruction data input columns when starting the software for data conversion request. The contents of the conversion instruction data input columns are rewritten as required to click a transmission (conversion request) button so as to request data conversion for the viewer data conversion server from the personal computer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a three-dimensional viewer data conversion device, and more particularly, to a C-D in the course of designing a 3D product model.
The present invention relates to a three-dimensional viewer data conversion device that converts AD (Computer Aided Design) data into data that can be referred to by display means using a viewer for the purpose of, for example, pre-verification of a process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A product model is represented by a three-dimensional CAD (hereinafter, 3D CAD).
-CAD). In the process of creating a product model by 3D-CAD, it is necessary to refer to a product model being designed, for example, in a department other than the design department in the company, for example, in a production engineering department.

[0003] In order to refer to a product model designed by 3D-CAD, Unigraphics (hereinafter referred to as U) is used.
G) and other software including a 3D-CAD modeling program, but expensive 3D-CA
Deploying D-software, for example, in all departments within a company is a large investment and is not realistic. Therefore, for a department that does not need to create a modeling program, it is conceivable to display the product model on a screen of a personal computer that only has a viewer and does not have 3D-CAD software. A viewer is a software that enables the display of complex 3D images, which could only be realized with expensive 3D-CAD software in the past, with a much smaller amount of data than existing 3D-CAD software in an existing personal computer environment. There are various things known.

[0004] However, a product model created by 3D-CAD such as UG cannot be handled by a viewer as it is because the data amount is large. Therefore, 3D-CAD such as UG
It is necessary to convert the data of the product model created in the above into a file format with a small data amount that can be handled by the viewer. As conventional data conversion devices for CAD data, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 12-029755 and 10-3
No. 12472, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-083297,
One disclosed in JP-A-06-149907 is known.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 12-029755 discloses a data conversion apparatus for performing data conversion when data is transferred between different CADs, in order to improve the work efficiency of the data conversion. It is disclosed that parameters for data conversion are stored in advance, and at the time of data conversion, parameters optimal for data conversion to CAD to be transferred are read, and data conversion is performed according to the read parameters. The data conversion can be executed without setting the parameter every time, and the data conversion instruction can be performed by button operation.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-31472 discloses that drawing procedure information can be converted together with drawing information, and even if data is transferred from a CAD of a different format,
A cross-model CAD data exchange apparatus and a method thereof that can easily modify the drawing contents of the CAD data are disclosed.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-083297 discloses a method of performing CAD by batch processing.
After converting the data and standard output format data to display format data, register it in the database, and perform batch conversion processing after the system determines whether the data specified at the time of database registration has been converted. Run,
A data conversion processing method in a drawing management system is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-149907 has developed a CAD system which supports generation of design production information.
Data such as product, plan, conceptual design, basic design, detailed design, process design, work design, ...
In order to increase the work efficiency of the entire design production by exchanging between D systems, the registration processing time of drawing images can be shortened and the registration work can be made more efficient. Convert between CAD data or standard output format data by processing, and set up a routine necessary to convert the format to a common format with graphic data routine, dimension data conversion routine, note data conversion routine, etc. A data exchange method is disclosed.

[0008]

The inventions described in any of the above publications merely disclose the conversion of CAD data into heterogeneous CAD data.
There is no disclosure or suggestion of converting D data into viewer data that can be referenced by a viewer. Also, 3D-CA
In the conventional method of converting D data into data that can be referred to by a viewer, it was necessary to search for 3D-CAD data by inputting a complicated command on the personal computer screen of the client. For this reason, the operation for converting the 3D-CAD data into viewer data that can be referred to by a viewer has been performed only by skilled workers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a data conversion apparatus which can easily convert 3D-CAD data into viewer data without relying on a skilled person.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems To solve the above-mentioned problems, the means described in claim 1 can be adopted. According to this means, the conversion instruction data used in the previous data conversion processing is written in the conversion instruction data input fields 41, 43, 61, 62, 63 on the screen of the personal computer 1. When converting intermediate CAD data into a file format that can be referenced by the viewer 232, there is no need to input conversion instruction data every time data conversion is performed, and even non-experts can easily convert to viewer data. . This eliminates the need for specialty in the data conversion work, and improves work efficiency.

By adopting the means of claim 2,
There is no need to enter the conversion command, connection data, model name, and storage location each time data is converted. Claim 3
According to the means, when the connection between the personal computer and the viewer data conversion server is completed, a character indicating the connection completion is displayed near the connection button on the screen. Work progress can be grasped.

Further, according to the means of claim 4, since the reply message and the data conversion request message are displayed in the message column 52 of the screen, the data conversion requester reads this message and the data conversion work proceeds steadily. You can confirm that. Further, according to the means of claim 5, after the completion of the data conversion process, the user can easily refer to the product model with the viewer by using the viewer data.

Further, according to the means of claim 6, the user can easily refer to the viewer data in the viewer file server. Furthermore, according to the means of claim 7, since the conversion instruction data stored in the last data conversion processing is read out and displayed on the screen, the data conversion requester does not need to input complicated conversion instruction data.

Further, according to the means of claim 8, when a child part exists in the file designated for conversion, all the constituent files constituting the child part are also searched, so that the product model includes a large number of child parts. Also, it is possible to refer to the product model in the viewer. Claim 9
According to the means, even if there are data conversion instructions from a plurality of clients, they can be queued in order and processed simultaneously.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment 3 of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing a data conversion device from D-CAD data to viewer data. As shown, the system includes a plurality of personal computers (hereinafter, referred to as personal computers) 1, a viewer data conversion server 2, a viewer file server 3, a CAD database server 4, and a network 5 for connecting these. I have. The requesters A, B, C,...
Is used to request conversion from 3D-CAD data to viewer data that can be referred to by the viewer.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the personal computer 1 in FIG. As shown in FIG.
A PU 21, an input device 22 such as a keyboard, a storage device 23 such as a hard disk, and a display device 24 such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display are provided. The storage device 23 stores data conversion request software 231, a viewer 232, conversion instruction data 233 used during the previous data conversion process, and a communication procedure 234 with the server. The conversion instruction data is a conversion command 2 for giving an instruction to convert 3D-CAD data into viewer data.
35 and connection data 236 indicating the connection destination from the personal computer.
And the model name 23 of the product model to be converted
7 and a storage location 238 for 3D-CAD data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of data conversion processing according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, in step (1), the client starts up the data conversion request software 231 in the personal computer 1, inputs the conversion instruction data using the input device 22 when necessary, and displays it on the display device 24. Displayed in a predetermined column on the screen. When the data conversion request software 231 is started for the second time or later, the conversion instruction data 2 used during the previous data conversion is used.
33 is read from the storage device 23 and displayed in a predetermined column on the screen, and if necessary, the displayed conversion instruction data is corrected using the input device 22. As described above, the conversion instruction data includes the conversion command, the connection data, the model name, and the storage location. Next, by clicking the connection button to the viewer data conversion server 2 and the data conversion request button displayed on the display device 24 with the mouse, the viewer data conversion server 2 is connected to the viewer data conversion server 2 via the network 5. Request data conversion.

In step (2), the viewer conversion server 2 searches the CAD database server 4 for a CAD file corresponding to the designated model name. In step (3), the CAD database server 4 transfers the search result CAD data to the viewer data conversion server 2 via the network 5. The viewer data conversion server 2 receives and stores the transferred CAD data.

In step (4), the viewer data conversion server 2 converts the stored CAD data file into viewer data that can be referred to by the viewer. In step (5), the viewer data conversion server 2 transfers the converted data to the viewer file server 3 via the network 5. In step 6, when the transfer of the viewer data is completed, a completion notification is transmitted from the viewer data conversion server 2 to the personal computer 1 of the data conversion requester by e-mail.

As described above, in step 7, the viewer's personal computer 1 can refer to the viewer data in the viewer file server 3. If the data conversion in step (4) fails, the error message is transmitted from the conversion server 3 to the client computer 1 using the viewer. The requester clarifies the cause of the conversion failure based on the error message and the communication record remaining in the personal computer 1, and executes the data conversion request again.

In this case, since the previously entered request content is called from the storage device 23 of the personal computer 1, it is sufficient to correct only the mistaken portion and make the request. FIGS. 4 to 9 are diagrams showing screens displayed on the display means 24 (see FIG. 2) of the personal computer 1 when the data conversion is performed in the above steps (1) to (7). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen before a conversion instruction in step (1) of FIG. 3 is issued. As shown in the figure, on this screen, an input unit 41 for connection data with the viewer data conversion server 2, a connection button 42, and a data conversion command input unit 43 are displayed. When the data conversion request software 231 is first started up, the requester inputs connection data and a data conversion command to the connection data input unit 41 and the data conversion command input unit 43 using the input device 22. When the data conversion request software 231 is started for the second time or later, the connection data and the data conversion command used in the previous data conversion processing are read from the storage means 23 (see FIG. 2) of the personal computer 1 and displayed. The connection instruction to the viewer data conversion server 2 is performed by the client clicking the connection button 42 on the screen with a mouse.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on the display device 24 when the connection between the personal computer 1 and the viewer data conversion server 2 is completed. As shown, when the connection is completed, “connection completed” is displayed near the connection button 42. This display is displayed in, for example, red letters to call attention. Thereby, the client can confirm that the connection between the personal computer 1 and the viewer data conversion server 2 has been completed.

A reply message from the viewer data conversion server 2 to the personal computer 1 is displayed in a message column 52. If the connection has failed, the requester reads the contents displayed in the message field 52 to determine the cause of the connection failure. FIG. 6 shows a display device 2 when a connection request is made after connection is completed.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on No. 4; As shown in the figure, a model name of CAD data to be converted is input to the model name column 61 using the input means 22, and a storage location of the CAD data is input to the work location column 62 or the database name column 63. Also in this case, when the data conversion software 231 is started for the first time, the client requests the input device 2
2 is used to input the model name and the storage location of the CAD data. When the data conversion software 231 is started for the second time or later, the model name and CAD data storage location used in the previous data conversion processing are read out from the storage means 23 (see FIG. 2) of the personal computer 1 and displayed. When the transmission button 64 is clicked with a mouse, the personal computer 1 requests the viewer data conversion server 2 to perform data conversion. The content of the request message from the personal computer 1 to the viewer data conversion server 2 is displayed in the message column 52.

FIG. 7 is a screen showing a data conversion completion notice. The mail notification in step (6) of FIG. 3 is displayed on the display means 24 of the personal computer 1 after the CAD data conversion is completed and the data is transferred to the viewer file server 3. The contents of the mail indicate the storage location of the converted data. FIG. 8 is a view showing a screen when referring to the viewer data in the viewer file server 3 in step (7) of FIG. As shown in the figure, since the conversion data is stored in the designated folder, it is possible to easily refer to the viewer data obtained after the conversion is completed from the personal computer 1 of the client.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a screen when the data input screen is closed. As shown in the figure, by clicking a button "CLOSE" with a mouse, the conversion instruction data is stored in the recording device 23 of the personal computer 1, and the data input screen is closed. Next, when the data input screen is started, the conversion instruction data (data conversion command, connection data, model name, and storage location) stored last is read out and displayed in the respective input fields.

FIG. 10 shows C in step (2) of FIG.
It is a flowchart explaining a process of AD data search and data conversion of step (4). In the figure, in step S1, a CAD file for which a conversion instruction has been received is automatically searched from the CAD database server 4, and the searched file is taken out by the viewer data conversion server 2. Next, in step S2, it is determined whether or not there is a child part in the extracted file. If there is, the configuration file of the child part is searched in step S3, and the configuration file is extracted in step S4. Next, data conversion is performed in step S5. Thus, if there is no child part, the file extracted in step S1 is data-converted, and if there is a child part, the configuration file extracted in step S4 is data-converted. In this way, even when one product model includes models of many child parts, the CAD data of the product models of many child parts are simultaneously obtained by the data search and data conversion processing for the one product model. Is converted.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a data conversion procedure in the viewer data conversion server 2 when data conversion is instructed from a plurality of clients through a plurality of personal computers. In the figure, when a data conversion instruction is received from a plurality of personal computers 1 in step (1), step (2)
Then, the data conversion instructions are queued in the order of reception. If there is a free license, a conversion instruction is taken out of the queue, and data conversion is performed in step (3). In the illustrated example, the queue can process a plurality of conversion instructions simultaneously according to the number of licenses.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the personal computer 1 for processing the data conversion request described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, the program of the data conversion request software 231 is started in step S121. This is performed by clicking the icon of the data conversion request software displayed on the screen of the display device 24 of the personal computer 1 with a mouse. Thereby, the screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed.

In step S122, the previously used setting data (conversion instruction data) stored in the storage device 23 is read, and the corresponding columns 41, 43, and 6 on the screen are read.
Write to 1, 62 and 63. If there is no previously used setting data, those fields are left blank. In step S123, data input processing is performed. That is, if there is a change in the setting data, the requester is overwritten and corrected. If there is no setting data used last time and it is blank, that is, the first time the program is started, the current data is input.

In step S124, the user logs in to the CAD database server 4 via the network 5.
This is performed according to a predetermined protocol by clicking the connection button 42 with a mouse. Step S1
At 25, a data output process is performed. This is because clicking the send button 64 (see FIG. 6) causes the CAD database server 4 to execute steps S122 and S12.
The data set in 3 is transmitted.

In step S126, in order to confirm that the conversion process has been performed correctly, the viewer conversion server is notified that the data conversion process has started. For this, C
3D-CAD received from AD database server 4
The data is displayed on the display device 24. In step S127, the user clicks the "close" button 65 (see FIG. 6) to log out of the CAD database server 4.

In step S128, the data set in steps S122 and S123 is stored in the storage device 23. In step S129, the program of the data conversion request software ends. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible.
For example, the viewer file server 3 is not an essential element. Further, a device for supplying other 3D-CAD data may be provided instead of the CAD database server 4. Furthermore, although the conversion instruction data used at the time of the previous data conversion processing includes the conversion command, the connection data, the model name, and the storage location of the 3D-CAD data,
Instead, a part of these data may be included.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an apparatus for converting data from 3D-CAD data to viewer data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a personal computer 1 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of data conversion processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen before a conversion instruction in step (1) in FIG. 3 is issued.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on the display device 24 in a state where the connection between the personal computer 1 and the viewer data conversion server 2 is completed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on the display device 24 when a connection request is made after connection is completed.

FIG. 7 is a screen showing a data conversion completion notification.

8 is a diagram showing a screen when referring to viewer data in the viewer file server 3 in step (7) of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a screen when the data input screen is closed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process of CAD data search in step (2) of FIG. 3 and data conversion in step (4).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a data conversion procedure in the viewer data conversion server 2 when data conversion instructions are issued from a plurality of clients through a plurality of personal computers.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the personal computer 1 that performs the data conversion request process described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Personal computer 2 ... Viewer data conversion server 3 ... Viewer file server 4 ... CAD database server 5 ... Network 22 ... Input device 23 ... Storage device 24 ... Display device 41 ... Connection data input part 42 ... Connection button 43 ... Conversion command input Unit 61: Model name input unit 62: Work location input unit 63: Database name input unit 64: Send button

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Mitsuhiko Kuraya 1-1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi F-term in Denso Co., Ltd. 5B046 BA01 CA06 GA01 HA05 KA01

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A data conversion device for converting 3D-CAD data into viewer data that can be referred to by a viewer, comprising data conversion request software for requesting data conversion from 3D-CAD data to viewer data. And a 3D-CA connected to the personal computer via a network.
A viewer data conversion server that converts D data into viewer data; the personal computer includes a storage device, an input device, and a display device; and the storage device includes a previous data conversion process. The conversion instruction data used at the time is stored, and a conversion instruction data input field is displayed on a screen displayed on the display device.When the data conversion request software is started, the conversion instruction data input field is displayed. To display the conversion instruction data used in the previous data conversion processing stored in the storage device, and, if necessary, rewrite the contents of the conversion instruction data input field using the input device, By clicking the send button displayed on the display device, a data conversion request is sent from the personal computer to the Characterized by being performed as to Yuwa conversion server, the data conversion apparatus from 3D-CAD data to viewer data. 2. The conversion instruction data includes a conversion command for instructing conversion of 3D-CAD data into viewer data, connection data indicating a connection destination from the personal computer, and a model name of a product model to be converted. , 3
The conversion instruction data entry field includes a conversion command entry field, a connection data entry field, a model name entry field, and a storage location name entry field. The data conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the data conversion device includes: 3. When the connection between the personal computer and the viewer data conversion server is completed, a character indicating that the connection is completed is displayed near the connection button on the screen. 3. The data conversion device according to 1 or 2. 4. A message field is displayed on the screen, and a reply message from the viewer data conversion server to the personal computer and a data conversion request message from the personal computer to the viewer data conversion server are displayed in the message field. 4. The data conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the data conversion is performed. 5. When the data conversion processing is completed in the viewer data conversion server, a data conversion processing completion notification specifying a storage location of the converted data is notified to the personal computer by e-mail. The data converter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: 6. A viewer file server for storing conversion data after data conversion by the viewer data conversion server in a designated folder, wherein contents of the viewer file server can be referred to from the personal computer via the network. The data conversion device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein 7. A screen end button is displayed on the screen,
By clicking the screen end button, the conversion instruction data is stored in the storage device, the screen is closed, and when the screen is next activated, the last stored conversion instruction data is read out and displayed on the screen. 2. The data conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the data is displayed on the data conversion device. 8. The viewer data conversion server further comprising a CAD database server for storing 3D-CAD data, wherein the viewer data conversion server automatically retrieves the CAD file for which conversion has been instructed from the CAD database server, and retrieves the CAD file to the viewer data conversion server. 8. In this case, if a child part is included in the searched CAD file, all files constituting the child part are also taken out to the viewer data conversion server. The data conversion device according to claim 1. 9. A plurality of personal computers, wherein the viewer data conversion server receives a data conversion instruction from the plurality of personal computers, places the data conversion instruction in a queue, and sequentially takes out the conversion instruction from the queue to perform a conversion process. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step is performed.
9. The data conversion device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.