JP2007022709A - Information processing device and information processing method, and program and memory medium for carrying out the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the man-hour for setting a soft medium inside a paper conveying passage, and also to reduce percentage of a setting mistake. <P>SOLUTION: A processing method of an information processing device for simulating action of the soft medium inside the conveying passage of a conveying device has: a definition step for defining the length of a soft medium model; a formation step for forming the soft medium model in response to operation by a user; and a delete step for deleting an end of the soft medium so that the length of the soft medium model matches the length of the soft medium model defined in the definition step when the length of the soft medium model formed in the formation step is longer than the length of the soft medium model defined in the definition step. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a simulation method for an apparatus that conveys a flexible medium including a sheet-like member including paper, film, and the like such as a copying machine and a printer.

For example, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is a technique for simulating the behavior of paper in a conveyance path in order to reduce the man-hours required for manufacturing and testing a prototype when designing the conveyance path.
JP 2004-171426 A JP 2004-189436 A

  In the design support system as described above, it is important to accurately define the flexible medium length in order to accurately represent the behavior of the flexible medium.

  Conventionally, the following means have been taken when defining the initial position of a flexible medium in a bent conveyance path.

  First, a combination of several figures including straight lines, arcs, and spline curves are defined. At that time, unless the operator calculates the combinations of straight lines, arcs, and splines and the dimensions of each part in advance, the dimensions of the flexible medium as intended cannot be defined, which requires a lot of man-hours. As a result, the rate of setting errors has also increased.

  As another means, there is a method in which a combination of straight lines, arcs and splines and dimensions of each part are not calculated in advance but are defined while visually confirming on a graphical screen. At this time, even if the size of the flexible medium to be defined is known, it is difficult to predict the position of the leading and trailing edges of the medium in the transport path in advance. Has also increased.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the processing method of the information processing apparatus for simulating the behavior of the flexible medium in the transport path of the transport apparatus, a definition step for defining the length of the flexible medium model and a user operation If the length of the flexible medium model created in the creating step is longer than the length of the flexible medium model defined in the defining step, And a deletion step of deleting an end of the flexible medium model so as to match the length of the medium model with the length of the flexible medium model defined in the defining step. A processing method is provided.

  In the information processing apparatus that simulates the behavior of the flexible medium in the transport path of the transport apparatus, the flexible medium model is created in accordance with a definition unit that defines a length of the flexible medium model and a user operation. When the length of the flexible medium model created in the creating step is longer than the length of the flexible medium model defined by the creating means and the defining means, the length of the flexible medium model is defined by the defining means. And deleting means for deleting an end of the flexible medium model so as to match the length of the flexible medium model defined by the above.

  This has the effect of reducing the man-hours for setting the flexible medium in the paper transport path, and also reduces the rate at which setting errors occur.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The program 101A in this embodiment is stored in a hard disk 101 as a storage medium that can be read and written by a computer. The program 101A is loaded into a memory 102 such as a RAM when the information processing apparatus is activated, and a necessary calculation is processed by the CPU 104. The hard disk 101 also stores parameter information 101B such as physical property parameters, paper thickness, density, rigidity, and friction coefficient with a guide depending on the paper type (flexible medium) necessary for the calculation.

  An input device 103 constituted by a keyboard or a mouse is used for setting a paper transport path, setting a transport condition using rollers, and specifying a paper type. The arrangement of the defined transport path and flexible medium model (hereinafter referred to as a flexible medium for simplification) is displayed on the display device 105. In addition, the physical quantity obtained as a result of the calculation is stored in the hard disk 101 and displayed on the display screen of the display device 105, and the behavior, speed, acceleration, and position acting on the paper behavior animation and the paper and the guide are quantified by a graph. It is possible to grasp.

  FIG. 1 is an operation processing flowchart of an information processing apparatus that simulates the behavior of a flexible medium.

  First, in step S11, it is detected that the size or length of the flexible medium to be defined has been input by a user operation. In step S12, a flexible medium is created in an arbitrary shape including a straight line and an arc along a predefined transport path in accordance with a user operation. In addition, since the definition of a conveyance path | route is the same as that of patent document 2, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  When the length of the created flexible medium exceeds the length defined in step S11, processing for deleting the end of the flexible medium is performed to match the length of the defined flexible medium. First, it is selected whether the excess is deleted from the front end side or the rear end side of the flexible medium (step S13). When it is detected that the user has selected the leading end side, the leading end side of the flexible medium is deleted (step S14). When it is detected that the user has selected the rear end side, it is deleted from the rear end side of the flexible medium (step S15).

  Next, in step S16, a division process into rigid elements is performed. In step S17, motion calculation is started. Thereafter, the motion calculation is performed until the set real time is reached. Note that the element dividing process and the motion calculation method are executed as shown in Patent Document 2.

  FIG. 2 is an operation processing flowchart for defining the shape and arrangement of the flexible medium model of the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is an example of a display screen of the display device 105 for defining the position of the flexible medium in the paper transport path.

  First, the “media definition” button provided in the menu bar 1 of FIG. 4 is selected to shift to the flexible media model creation mode. When the mode is changed to the flexible medium model creation mode, a flexible medium length selection field 2I and a flexible medium length input field 2J drawing shape selection screen 2K are displayed in the sub-configuration menu 2.

  In step S21, it is detected that the length L to be defined as the total flexible medium length (the total length of the flexible medium in the transport direction) is input. Specifically, when it is detected that the medium length selection field 2I has been selected, a medium length selection screen 5 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed to prompt selection of a flexible medium size. The medium length selection screen 5 displays a typical flexible medium size registered in advance. Then, by detecting the selection of the size of the flexible medium to be simulated, the length (total length L) of the flexible medium corresponding to the selected size is displayed in the flexible medium length input field 2J. Here, if the size of the flexible medium to be simulated does not exist on the medium length selection screen 5, it can be defined by directly inputting a numerical value in the flexible medium length input field 2J.

  Next, a model of the flexible medium in the transport path is created and its position and shape are defined. As shown in FIG. 4, the creation of the bent flexible medium is executed interactively using the straight line button, arc button, or spline curve button on the shape creation screen 2K. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of creating a bent flexible medium using an arc or spline curve definition button. To create an arc, first, an arc button is selected, and a start point 44, an intermediate point 45, and an end point 46 through which the arc passes are selected. Selection is performed by directly instructing on the screen using a mouse or by inputting a numerical value in the command field 4. On the other hand, when creating a flexible medium by selecting a spline curve, it is achieved by sequentially selecting several points 47 through which the spline curve passes.

  On the other hand, when the flexible medium is defined in a linear shape, it is performed as shown in FIG. Specifically, when selection of the item “straight line” on the drawing figure selection screen 2K is detected, a message prompting input of coordinate values of both ends of the flexible medium from the command column 4 is displayed. The coordinate value can be input by inputting a numerical value in the command field 4 or by directly instructing the graphic screen 3 using a mouse or the like.

  At the time of this definition, it is detected that the start point coordinates for starting the definition of the flexible medium in an arbitrary shape are input (step S22). Further, the end point coordinates of the flexible medium created in an arbitrary shape are detected (step S23).

  When the coordinates of the end portion are defined, a flexible medium expression line (broken line) 43 connecting the front end portion 41 and the rear end portion 42 is displayed on the graphic screen 3, and how the flexible medium is installed in the conveyance path. You can check that

  In step S24, the accumulated length M of the created flexible medium is calculated. In step S25, the flexible medium total length L input in step S21 is compared with M calculated in step S24. If M <L, the process proceeds to step S26. In step S26, in order to continue to define the shape and position of the flexible medium, the end point coordinates input in step S23 are set as start point coordinates for creating the flexible medium, and the process proceeds to step S23 again.

  In this embodiment, until the definition of the flexible medium is finished, the end point of a part of the model of the flexible medium input immediately before becomes the start point of the new part. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, when a line is created starting from the end 48 of the flexible medium, each line is connected, and an arbitrary shape combining straight lines, arcs, and spline curves is created.

  In step S25, if the calculation is not M <L, the process proceeds to step S27, and the length N = ML of the extra flexible medium is calculated. In step S28, as shown in FIG. 9, a dialog box 6 for adjusting the end position is displayed on the display screen to the user. Then, it is detected that “front end side” or “rear end side” is input as the adjustment position of the end position.

  In step S29, if the input in step S28 is "tip side", the process proceeds to step S30, the flexible medium start point coordinates defined in step S22 are changed, and the length of the flexible medium is calculated by the length N calculated in step S27. To shorten.

  In step S29, if the input value in step S28 is not “tip side”, the process proceeds to step S31. In step S31, the end point coordinates of the flexible medium finally created in step S23 are changed to shorten the distance of the flexible medium by the length N calculated in step S27.

  In this embodiment, after the initial position of the flexible medium is defined, when a numerical value shorter than the already defined flexible medium is entered in the flexible medium length input field 2J, the dialog box 6 is displayed as described above, and the leading end of the flexible medium is displayed. The user is prompted to select whether to cut the side or the rear end.

  In the present embodiment, when cutting the flexible medium, either the front end side or the rear end side is selected. However, the cutting is performed equally or unevenly from both the front end side and the rear end side. You may have the function to do.

  As described above, when defining the flexible media initial position by combining one or more straight lines, arcs, and spline shapes, the operator wants without having to calculate the combinations and dimensions of straight lines, arcs, and splines in advance. It becomes possible to specify the flexible media length of the street. In addition, when cutting to a desired length, it is possible to easily select which side of the front end or rear end is to be cut. In addition, the operator does not specify a flexible medium having a length other than that desired.

The operation processing flowchart of the information processing apparatus which simulates the behavior of a flexible medium. The operation processing flowchart of the information processing apparatus for defining the shape and arrangement | positioning of a model of a flexible medium. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus in this Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the display screen of a display apparatus. The figure which shows an example of the display screen of a display apparatus. The figure for demonstrating creation of the model of a flexible medium. The figure which shows an example of the display screen of a display apparatus. The figure for demonstrating creation of the model of a flexible medium. The figure which shows an example of the display screen of a display apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

6 Dialog box 101 Hard disk 102 Memory 103 Input device 104 CPU
105 Display device

Claims (5)

In the processing method of the information processing apparatus that simulates the behavior of the flexible medium in the transport path of the transport apparatus,
A defining step for defining a length of the flexible media model;
A creation step of creating a model of the flexible medium in response to a user operation;
When the length of the flexible medium model created in the creating step is longer than the length of the flexible medium model defined in the defining step, the length of the flexible medium model defined in the defining step And a deletion step of deleting an end portion of the flexible medium model so as to match the length of the flexible medium model.   2. The deletion step according to claim 1, wherein a dialog box for selecting whether the end portion on the front end side or the end portion on the rear end side is displayed when deleting the end portion of the flexible medium. Processing method of the information processing apparatus.   A program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 1.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 3. In the information processing device that simulates the behavior of the flexible medium in the transport path of the transport device,
Defining means for defining a length of the flexible medium model;
Creating means for creating a model of the flexible medium in accordance with a user operation;
When the length of the flexible medium model created in the creating step is longer than the length of the flexible medium model defined by the defining means, the length of the flexible medium model is defined by the defining means. An information processing apparatus comprising: deletion means for deleting an end portion of the flexible medium model so as to match the length of the flexible medium model.

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