JP2021015381A - Maintenance support program, maintenance support method and maintenance support device - Google Patents

Abstract

To support the work of master maintenance.SOLUTION: A maintenance support program causes a computer to perform the processes of: controlling, in a displayable manner, options that are narrowed down by rule narrowing conditions for each of rules corresponding to the options of selected items, among rules in which the options for accepting a selection for each item defining product specifications are associated with the narrowing conditions for narrowing down the options for accepting a selection among the options corresponding to remaining items excluding the items to which the options belong; and displaying the options that are omitted from a set of the options that are narrowed down by the narrowing conditions in association with the narrowing conditions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a maintenance support program, a maintenance support method, and a maintenance support device.

In recent years, customer needs have diversified in the manufacturing industry, and manufacturers are required to respond to mass customization. In particular, for manufacturers that take individual build-to-order manufacturing forms such as machine tools, medical equipment, precision machinery, and special vehicles, product specifications and constraints become complicated, and improving the efficiency of sales operations and personalizing individual specifications are major issues. .. Therefore, we provide a tool called a configurator that determines product specifications based on customer requests.

For example, the configurator accepts the selection of options for each item related to product specifications, such as components, functions, and options. The options that accept selection in each item may be constrained by the options selected in other items. For example, when a component is selected, the size of the component and the output limit constrain the other components. In addition, when a certain function is selected, other functions and components that adversely affect the function or are adversely affected by the function are restricted. From the aspect of realizing such a product specification check, the configurator uses a master in which the constraints of the options given by the selection of the options in one item are ruled.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-29628 JP-A-2009-123033

However, with the above technique, it is difficult to support the work of master maintenance.

That is, the rules defined in the above master are directly linked to the estimation accuracy of the product. Therefore, from the aspect of maintaining and managing the correct rule settings, trial and error of master maintenance is repeated.

In one aspect, it is an object of the present invention to provide a maintenance support program, a maintenance support method, and a maintenance support device capable of providing work support for master maintenance.

In one aspect, the maintenance support program has a narrowing condition that narrows down the options that accept selection for each item that defines the product specifications and the options that correspond to the remaining items excluding the item to which the option belongs. Of the rules associated with, control is possible to display the options narrowed down by the narrowing conditions of the rules for each rule corresponding to the choices of the selected item, and a set of options narrowed down by the narrowing conditions. The computer is made to execute a process of displaying the options leaked from the above in association with the narrowing condition.

Can provide work support for master maintenance.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a quotation business support system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a specification input screen. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of control for narrowing down options. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of master data. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the specification input screen. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the maintenance support process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a computer hardware configuration.

The maintenance support program, maintenance support method, and maintenance support device according to the present application will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the disclosed technology. Then, each embodiment can be appropriately combined as long as the processing contents do not contradict each other.

[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a quotation business support system according to the first embodiment. The quotation business support system 1 shown in FIG. 1 provides a quotation business service in which various functions for supporting product quotation business are packaged from the aspect of enhancing the performance of the sales department 3 in the manufacturing industry or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the estimation business support system 1 may include a server device 10, client terminals 30A to 30B, and client terminals 50A to 50B. Hereinafter, the client terminals 30A to 30B may be described as "client terminal 30", and the client terminals 50A to 50B may be described as "client terminal 50".

The server device 10, the client terminal 30, and the client terminal 50 are communicably connected via the network NW. The network NW may be any kind of communication network such as the Internet or LAN (Local Area Network) regardless of whether it is wired or wireless.

It should be noted that FIG. 1 merely schematically shows a configuration example of the estimation work support system 1, and the individual and specific implementation is not limited to the illustrated example. For example, the number of client terminals 30 and client terminals 50 connected to the server device 10 is not limited to the illustrated example, and may be any number of one or three or more. Further, the estimation business support system 1 may include a firewall, a load balancer, a file server, a database server, and the like.

The server device 10 is a computer that provides the above-mentioned estimation business support service. The server device 10 corresponds to an example of a maintenance support device.

As one embodiment, the server device 10 can be implemented as package software or online software by installing an estimation business support program that realizes a function corresponding to the above estimation business support service on an arbitrary computer. For example, the server device 10 can be implemented as a server that provides the above-mentioned function related to the estimation business support service on-premises. The server device 10 is not limited to this, and the server device 10 may be implemented as a SaaS (Software as a Service) type business application to provide the above estimation business support service as a cloud service.

As a mere example of such a quotation business support service, the following explanation will be given by giving an example in which all the functions for improving the quotation accuracy and shortening the quotation lead time in the sales department 3 are provided in a package. For example, as an example of the function packaged as the above-mentioned quotation business support service, there are functions such as "business negotiation inquiry management", "configuration", and "quotation management". In addition, the above-mentioned estimation work support service includes a master creation tool and a support function as an example of a function for realizing work support for master maintenance in the technical department 5. The configuration screen can be easily generated by describing the screen item information and constraint conditions in the tool and importing them into the master. Therefore, the master maintainer carries out master maintenance using the master creation tool without directly changing the program or master. Also, by using the support function, it is possible to dynamically check the movement of the screen and rules.

The client terminal 30 and the client terminal 50 both correspond to an example of a computer that receives the above-mentioned quotation business support service. A desktop type or laptop type personal computer or the like corresponds to the client terminal 30 and the client terminal 50. These are merely examples, and the client terminal 30 and the client terminal 50 may be any computer such as a mobile terminal device or a wearable terminal.

As described above, the type and configuration of the hardware may not differ between the client terminal 30 and the client terminal 50. On the other hand, the authority given to the account of the above-mentioned quotation business support service differs between the client terminal 30 and the client terminal 50 depending on the department to which the user belongs.

For example, the client terminal 30 is used by a user who belongs to the sales department 3. When the client terminal 30 used by the user belonging to the sales department 3 logs in to the above-mentioned quotation business support service in this way, the client terminal 30 is, for example, inquired about a business negotiation among the above-mentioned quotation business support services. Functions such as management, configuration, and quotation management are released. While these functions are released, the maintenance support function may not be released to the client terminal 30.

On the other hand, the client terminal 50 is used by a user who belongs to the technical department 5 such as design and manufacturing. When the client terminal 50 used by the user belonging to the technical department 5 logs in to the estimation business support service in this way, the maintenance support function is opened to the client terminal 50 as an example. One reason for this is that maintenance work that deletes, adds, or changes rules defined in the master is a skill for the technical department 5 that has the knowledge to check product specifications. For example, in maintenance work, the specifications of existing products are organized as rules, the rules of all the organized patterns are registered in the master, and whether or not the rules are functioning normally while operating the configurator according to the master is checked. Skills such as confirmation are required. It is also possible that the client terminal 50 is also provided with functions such as negotiation inquiry management, configuration, and quotation management.

[Master definition]
Hereinafter, as an example, a rule including a "condition" to which the rule is applied and a "control" to be executed when the rule is satisfied is defined in the master.

[Master improvement]
In this embodiment, the schema of the rules defined in the master is improved.

Conventionally, the master has a schema that defines a rule including a condition corresponding to a combination of choices in i items out of n items and a control for narrowing down the choices that accept selection in the remaining n-i items. Will be adopted. Here, "n" refers to an arbitrary natural number corresponding to the total number of items, and for example, each label of n items may be described as item 1, item 2, ..., Item n. Further, "i" refers to a loop counter, and here, for example, it is incremented from 1 to n-1.

For this reason, in the conventional master definition, the rule must be defined assuming a situation in which the options are further narrowed down for each n−i item for each pattern in which i is incremented from 1 to n-1. The definition work of is complicated.

For example, the total number of rules defined in the master of the product in which the number of items related to the specifications is n can be obtained by the calculation described below.

For example, in a pattern in which one item (i = 1) out of n items is selected, rules are defined in the following three cases. That is, assuming that item 1 has been selected, the number of rules defined in the master is the number of remaining items (n-1) × the total number of options for item 1. Further, assuming that item 2 has been selected, the number of rules defined in the master is the number of remaining items (n-1) × the total number of options of item 2. Similarly, assuming that item 1 has been selected, the number of rules defined in the master is the total number of options remaining (n-1) × item n. By subtotaling the number of rules in these three cases, the number of rules defined in the master can be obtained when one (i = 1) item out of n items is selected.

Next, in the pattern in which 2 items (i = 2) out of n items are selected, the rule is set in the case corresponding to the combination of _n C ₂ in which ₂ items are selected from _n items. Defined. That is, assuming that item 1 and item 2 are selected out of n items, the number of rules defined in the master can be selected by the remaining number of items (n-2) × item 1 and item 2. It is a combination of various options. The "selectable combination" here refers to a combination narrowed down from the restrictions of the specifications between the options of item 1 and the options of item 2, and all combinations of the options of item 1 and the options of item 2 are used. Combinations that do not meet the specification restrictions can be excluded from the list. Similarly, assuming that item 1 and item 3 have been selected, the number of rules defined in the master is the number of remaining items (n-2) × the options that can be selected in item 1 and item 3. It will be a combination. By repeatedly subtotaling the number of cases corresponding to the combination of _n C ₂ in this way, it is defined in the master when 2 items (i = 2) out of n items are already selected. The number of rules can be obtained.

Further, in the same manner as the patterns of i = 1 and i = 2, the subtotal of the number of rules can be obtained for each pattern of i = 3 to i = n-1. Then, by summing the subtotal of the number of rules obtained in each pattern of i = 1 to i = n-1, it is defined in the master in all patterns of i = 1 to i = n-1. The total number of rules can be obtained.

As can be seen from the above calculation, in the conventional master definition, the number of rules defined in the master increases as the number of items and options increases. Furthermore, in the manufacturing industry where individual build-to-order manufacturing is performed, the number of rules to be defined by the master is also required in order to input customer-specific specifications and create a template of information used in detailed design and production processes as well as quotation information. To increase. Therefore, in the conventional master definition, the man-hours for the master definition work in the technical department 5 become enormous.

For this reason, in this embodiment, from the aspect of simplifying the schema for defining the conditions, a schema for defining the conditions for applying the rule in units of choices in one of the n items is adopted. That is, in this embodiment, the master is a rule including a condition corresponding to one option and a control for narrowing down the options that accept selection in each of the remaining n-1 items excluding the item to which the option specified in the condition belongs. The schema to be defined is adopted.

Along with such improvement of the master definition, in this embodiment, when controlling the choices of the item to be operated, a rule in which the condition to which the selection of the choice corresponds is defined is searched from the master for each selected choice. Incorporate the behavior into the configurator. Further, in this embodiment, the operation of extracting the options satisfying the AND condition among the set of the options of the operation target items narrowed down by the control defined in the rule for each rule that hits the search is incorporated in the configurator.

By improving the master definition and the configurator, in this embodiment, the master condition can be defined by the option of one item out of n items alone, so that the definition of the condition can be simplified. For example, in this embodiment, a rule is defined for a pattern of conditions in which the number of selected items i is 2 or more, that is, a pattern of conditions in which i is 2 to n-1, as compared with the conventional master definition. Since it is not necessary, the man-hours for the master definition work in the technical department 5 can be reduced.

[One aspect of the task]
As described above, according to the master definition according to the present embodiment, while there is one aspect that the definition work of the master in the technical department 5 can be reduced, there is also one aspect that can contribute to the increase in the workload of the master maintenance in the technical department 5. is there.

That is, when the master definition according to this embodiment is performed, the configurator ANDs among a set of options narrowed down for each rule corresponding to the selected option among the options that accept selection for each item that defines the product specifications. Extract options that meet the conditions. In this case, there may be a case where even an option that satisfies the restrictions on the product specifications is hidden due to a setting error of the rule defined in the master.

However, since the display omission option is hidden in the first place, it is difficult to recognize the occurrence of the display omission. In order to recognize the occurrence of such display omission, it is necessary to find a rule with a setting error through the work of individually checking the rules defined in the master. However, as the number of items related to product specifications and their choices increases, the number of rules also increases, which increases the workload of master maintenance.

[One aspect of the problem-solving approach]
Therefore, in this embodiment, a maintenance support function that displays the options that are not included in the AND condition between the set of options that are narrowed down for each rule corresponding to the selected option among the options that accept selection for each item that defines the product specifications. I will provide a. Such a maintenance support function supports the discovery of omission of display of options that may be caused by a rule setting error, and thus supports the work of master maintenance.

As an example, the above maintenance support function includes a function to further display the display for the user of the technical department 5, which is not included in the display for the user of the sales department 3 output to the window such as the specification input screen by the configurator. It may be done. For example, as an example of the display for the user of the technical department 5, there is a log in which the contents in which the configurator operates are extracted. Such a log may be displayed in a display area set as a part of the specification input screen, or may be displayed in a window different from the window such as the specification selection screen or the estimation screen.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a specification input screen. FIG. 2 shows a specification input screen 200 displayed on the client terminal 50 logged in with the account of the user belonging to the technical department 5 as an example. As shown in FIG. 2, the specification input screen 200 includes pull-down menus 211 to 213 for each of the three items of item 1 "model", item 2 "diameter" and item 3 "engine output" related to the specifications of a certain product. It can be. When an operation is performed on any of the pull-down menus 211 to 213, the control for narrowing down the options to be displayed in the pull-down menu item on which the operation is performed is executed according to the rule defined in the master. .. Then, when three options are selected from the three items of items 1 to 3 via the pull-down menus 211 to 213, the product specifications are determined by the combination of the three options. In this case, the display of the client terminal 50 can be changed from the specification input screen 200 shown in FIG. 2 to a quotation screen (not shown) for displaying the quotation of the product. When the operation for the back button 221 is performed, the display of the client terminal 50 returns to the product selection screen for selecting the product to be estimated from the specification input screen 200 shown in FIG. When the reset button 222 is operated, the selected state of each option of the pull-down menus 211 to 213 is reset from the selected state to the unselected state.

Here, when the configurator operates, the specification input screen 200 may include a tag 230 that calls the display of the log screen 240 for the user of the technical department 5. For example, when the operation corresponding to the tag 230 is performed, as shown in FIG. 2, the position of the left end of the window of the log screen 240 is slid to the left from the coordinate B0 to the coordinate B1 to display the log screen 240. Is exposed. On this log screen 240, every time a selection event in which an option is selected from any of the pull-down menus 211 to 213 is detected, a log is displayed in which the processing content in which the configurator operates in units of the selection event is extracted. It is added in chronological order downward from the start position H0.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the log screen 240 describes the log L1 and the log L2 relating to the two selection events. In these logs L1 and L2, a selection event, a rule number that identifies a rule applied in the selection event, and a narrowing control of options executed by applying the rule are described.

For example, the log L1 is described when the option "model A" is selected in the item 1 "model" from the state in which the options are not selected in all the items 1 to 3 via the pull-down menu 211. An example is shown.

More specifically, according to the log L1, it is described that the selection event of the option "model A" of the item 1 "model" is detected as the selection event. Further, the content of the initialization executed by the rule of the rule number "1" applied on the condition that the selection event is detected is described. That is, it is described that the value of the option loaded from the pull-down menus 211 to 213 corresponding to the items 1 to 3 into the storage area of the memory referenced by the configurator is initialized by applying the rule number "1". There is. Along with such initialization, the value of the option "model A" is loaded from the pull-down menu 211, and the NULL value is loaded from the pull-down menus 212 and 213. As a result, the content of the option narrowing control in the rule number "9" applied on the condition that the option "model A" is selected is described. That is, by applying the rule number "9", the choices of item 2 "diameter" can be changed from the set of "500 mm", "650 mm", "800 mm", "1000 mm" and "1500 mm" to "500 mm" and "650 mm". , "800 mm" and "1000 mm" are described as being controlled to narrow down to a set. In addition, by applying the rule number "9", the choices of item 3 "engine output" are "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw", "2.2kw", "3.7kw", " It is described that the narrowing control was performed to narrow down the set of "5.5kw", "11kw" and "15kw" to the set of "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw" and "2.2kw". ..

Further, in the log L2, in the state where the option "model A" is selected in the item 1 "model" among the three items of items 1 to 3, the option "500 mm" of the item 2 "diameter" is further pulled down from the pull-down menu 212. An example described when selected via is shown.

More specifically, according to the log L2, it is described that the selection event of the option “500 mm” of the item 2 “diameter” is detected as the selection event. Further, the content of the initialization executed by the rule of the rule number "2" applied on the condition that the selection event is detected is described. That is, it is described that by applying the rule number "2", the values of the options loaded from the pull-down menus 211 to 213 corresponding to the items 1 to 3 into the storage area of the memory referenced by the configurator are initialized. There is. Along with such initialization, the value of the option "model A" is loaded from the pull-down menu 211, the value of the option "500 mm" is loaded from the pull-down menu 212, and the NULL value is loaded from the pull-down menu 213. .. As a result, the content of the option narrowing control in the rule number "9" applied on the condition that the option "model A" is selected (similar to the above log L1) is described.

The description regarding the rule number "1" and the rule number "9" is common between the log L1 and the log L2. On the other hand, the difference from the log L1 is that the log L2 further describes the content of the option narrowing control in the rule number "11" applied on the condition that the option "500 mm" is selected. appear.

In this case, regarding item 3 "engine output", not only the rule number "9" but also the narrowing down of the options of the rule number "11" is narrowed down from the aspect that the narrowing down control is additionally performed. The inclusion control and the narrowing control of the options of the rule number "9" are applied under the AND condition. As for item 1 "model", since the selection control of the rule number "9" is not performed, the selection control of the options of the rule number "11" is applied independently. That is, by applying the rule number "11", the options of item 1 "model" can be changed to "model A", "model B", "model a", "model b", "model c", and "model d". It is described that the narrowing control is performed to narrow down the set of "model e" to the set of "model A", "model B" and "model a".

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of control for narrowing down options. FIG. 3 schematically shows the narrowing-down control of the options of the item 3 “engine output” in the rule number “9” and the rule number “11”. As shown in FIG. 3, for rule number "9", the choices of item 3 "engine output" are "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw", "2.2kw", "3.7kw", "5.5". It is a rule to narrow down the whole set U including "kw", "11kw" and "15kw" to the set R9 of "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw" and "2.2kw". In addition, the rule number "11" selects the items 3 "engine output" as "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw", "2.2kw", "3.7kw", "5.5kw", "11kw". It is a rule to narrow down the whole set U including "15kw" to the set R11 of "0.75kw", "1.5kw", "2.2kw" and "3.7kw".

As shown in FIG. 3, the choices of item 3 “engine output” are the set R9 of “0.4kw”, “0.75kw”, “1.5kw” and “2.2kw” narrowed down by the rule of rule number “9”. Is further narrowed down to "0.75kw", "1.5kw", and "2.2kw", which are the unions of the set R9 and the set R11.

According to the log L2 in which these two-step narrowing control is described, as for the options for accepting selection in item 3 "engine output", the set R9 of the choices narrowed down by rule number "9" has rule number "11". The process and results that are further narrowed down by the rules can be presented.

That is, according to the description of the log L2, when the option "model A" of the item 1 "model" is selected and then the option "500 mm" of the item 2 "diameter" is selected, the option of the item 3 "engine output" is selected. Can specify the process and result constrained to the unions "0.75kw", "1.5kw" and "2.2kw" of the set R9 and the set R11. The result of the restriction by the two selections of the option "model A" of the item 1 "model" and the option "500 mm" of the item 2 "diameter" can also be confirmed from the list of options displayed in the pull-down menu 213.

On the other hand, if only the process and result of narrowing down the options satisfying the AND condition of the set R9 and the set R11 in the item 3 "engine output" are displayed, the options are selected by the selection event of the option "500 mm" of the item 2 "diameter". It is difficult to call attention to whether or not the display omission has occurred. That is, due to the fact that the selection event of the option "500 mm" of the item 2 "diameter" is performed, the set R9 narrowed down by the rule of the rule number "9" becomes the set R9 and the set R9 by the rule of the rule number "11". The limit is to present that it is further narrowed down to the union of the set R11, "0.75kw", "1.5kw" and "2.2kw".

From this, as shown in the log L2, the AND condition after identifying the options that are omitted from the AND condition by further applying the rule of the rule number "11" to the set R9 of the options narrowed down by the rule number "9". The options that leak from are described. For example, among the set R11 narrowed down by the rule corresponding to the selection event, the option "3.7kw" that leaks from the union satisfying the AND condition between the set R9 and the set R11 is described in the log L2.

As a result, if there is a setting error in the rule number "9" corresponding to the selection event of the item 2 "diameter" option "500 mm", the display omission of the option "3.7kw" due to the setting error of the rule number "9" is found. Can support.

Therefore, according to the maintenance support function according to this embodiment, it is possible to call attention to whether or not the display omission of the option is caused by the selection event of the option "500 mm" of the item 2 "diameter", so that the work support of the master maintenance is performed. Will be possible.

[Configuration of server device 10]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server device 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the server device 10 includes a communication interface 11, a storage unit 13, and a control unit 15. In FIG. 4, a solid line showing the relationship between data transfer is shown, but for convenience of explanation, only the minimum part is shown. That is, the input / output of data relating to each processing unit is not limited to the illustrated example, and the input / output of data other than those shown in the drawing, for example, between the processing unit and the processing unit, between the processing unit and the data, and between the processing unit and the outside Data may be input and output between the devices.

The communication interface 11 is an interface that controls communication with another device, for example, a client terminal 30 or a client terminal 50.

As an example, a network interface card such as a LAN card can be adopted as the communication interface 11. For example, the communication interface 11 receives various operation information for various windows displayed on the client terminal 30 or a browser operating on the client terminal 50, for example, a specification input screen. Further, the communication interface 11 transmits the update result of the window for the operation information from the client terminal 30 and the client terminal 50 to the client terminal 50.

The storage unit 13 is a functional unit that stores data used in various programs, including an OS (Operating System) executed by the control unit 15. For example, the above program may be supported by the above estimation work support program, a configurator in which the above configuration function is modularized, a maintenance support program in which the above maintenance support is modularized, and the like.

As an example, the storage unit 13 corresponds to the auxiliary storage device in the server device 10. For example, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), optical disk, SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. correspond to the auxiliary storage device. In addition, flash memory such as EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) also supports auxiliary storage devices.

The storage unit 13 stores the master data 13A as an example of the data used in the program executed by the control unit 15. In addition to the master data 13A, data that is referred to or generated by the above-mentioned estimation work support program, configurator, or maintenance support program may be stored in the storage unit 13. For example, the storage unit 13 includes a list of options defined for each item related to product specifications, including the account and authority of the above-mentioned quotation business support service, and design data corresponding to the list, for example, two-dimensional or three. Stores template information and configuration information for 2D model output. The explanation of the master data 13A will be given together with the explanation of the control unit 15 in which the master data 13A is referred to or updated.

The control unit 15 is a functional unit that controls the entire server device 10.

As one embodiment, the control unit 15 can be implemented by a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). Here, a CPU and an MPU are exemplified as an example of a processor, but it can be implemented by any processor regardless of a general-purpose type or a specialized type. In addition, the control unit 15 may be realized by hard-wired logic such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

By executing the above estimation business support program, the control unit 15 virtually places the processing unit shown in FIG. 4 on the work area of a RAM such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) mounted as a main storage device (not shown). To be realized. Here, an example in which packaged software in which the above estimation business support service is packaged is executed will be given, but the program running on the server device 10 is not limited to this. For example, by extracting an arbitrary function from the various functions packaged as the above-mentioned quotation business support service, the above-mentioned configurator or the above-mentioned maintenance support program can be executed as a program module or referred to as a library. It doesn't matter if you do it.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 15 includes a reception unit 15A, a search unit 15B, a narrowing unit 15C, an identification unit 15D, and a display control unit 15E.

The reception unit 15A is a processing unit that receives operations from the client terminal 30 and the client terminal 50.

As one embodiment, the reception unit 15A receives various operation information for various windows displayed on the client terminal 30 or a browser operating on the client terminal 50, for example, the specification input screen 200 illustrated in FIG.

The search unit 15B is a processing unit that searches for rules corresponding to the selected state of each item.

As one embodiment, when a selection event for selecting an option of any item among the items defining the product specifications occurs, the search unit 15B starts the process on the condition that the unselected item remains. be able to. For example, the search unit 15B identifies the selected option for each selected item among the items that determine the product specifications. Then, the search unit 15B searches for a rule in which the selection of the selected option corresponds to the application condition of the rule among the rules of the master data 13A stored in the storage unit 13.

Here, in the master data 13A, as an example, the selection event of the option corresponding to an example of the condition to which the rule is applied and the option of accepting selection in each of the remaining items except the item to which the option corresponding to the selection event belongs. Rules are defined that include controls to narrow down.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of master data 13A. FIG. 5 illustrates a master relating to a product whose specifications are determined by the three items 1 to 3 of the specification input screen 200 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, as the master data 13A, data associated with No, a condition, control 1 and control 2 and the like can be adopted.

Here, the above-mentioned "No" refers to a number used for identifying a rule, that is, a rule number. Further, the above-mentioned "condition" refers to a condition to which the rule is applied. Further, the above-mentioned "control 1" and the above-mentioned "control 2" refer to the control executed when the condition for applying the rule is satisfied.

For example, taking the rule number "1" as an example, when the input value of the item 1 "model" is changed, the computer is made to identify that the condition to which the rule of the rule number "1" is applied is satisfied. Can be done. In this case, by executing the control 1 of the rule number "1", the values of the options loaded into the memory storage area referenced by the configurator from the pull-down menus 212 and 213 corresponding to the items 2 and 3 are reset. To. Further, when the control 2 of the rule number “1” is executed, the rules applied in each of the item 2 “diameter” and the item 3 “engine output” are referred to. Further, taking the rule number "2" as an example, when the input value of the item 2 "diameter" is changed, the computer is made to identify that the condition to which the rule of the rule number "2" is applied is satisfied. Can be done. In this case, by executing the control 1 of the rule number "2", the values of the options loaded into the memory storage area referenced by the configurator from the pull-down menus 211 and 213 corresponding to the items 1 and 3 are reset. To. Further, by executing the control 2 of the rule number "2", the rules applied in each of the item 1 "model" and the item 3 "engine output" are referred to. Note that the "change of input value" referred to here may correspond to selection or reselection of options when the GUI component that accepts selection in the item is a pull-down menu.

Further, the rule numbers "4" to "10" include "model A", "model B", "model a", "model b", "model c", which are set in item 1 "model". A rule is defined in which a condition relating to a selection event for selecting one of the "model d" and "model e" options and a control corresponding to the selection event are associated with each other. For example, taking the rule number "9" as an example, when the input value input to the item 1 "model" is "model A", for example, select the option "model A" from the pull-down menu 211 corresponding to the item 1. When the selection event to be performed occurs, the computer can be made to identify that the condition to which the rule of the rule number "9" is applied is satisfied. In this case, by executing the control 1 of the rule number "9", "500 mm", "650 mm", "800 mm", "1000 mm" and "1500 mm" are used as the narrowing control of the options of the item 2 "diameter". Control is performed to narrow down the set of "500 mm", "650 mm", "800 mm" and "1000 mm". In addition, by executing control 2 of rule number "9", "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw", and "2.2kw" can be used to narrow down the options of item 3 "engine output". , "3.7kw", "5.5kw", "11kw" and "15kw" are narrowed down to "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw" and "2.2kw". ..

In addition, for rule number "11" to rule number "15", any one of "500m", "650mm", "800mm", "1000mm" and "1500mm" set in item 2 "diameter" is selected. A rule is defined in which the condition related to the selection event for selecting is associated with the control corresponding to the selection event. For example, taking the rule number "11" as an example, when the input value input to the item 2 "diameter" is "500 mm", for example, the selection to select the option "500 mm" in the pull-down menu 212 corresponding to the item 2. When the event occurs, the computer can be made to identify that the condition to which the rule of the rule number "11" is applied is satisfied. In this case, by executing control 1 of rule number "11", "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw", and "2.2kw" are used to narrow down the options of item 3 "engine output". , "3.7kw", "5.5kw", "11kw" and "15kw" to the set of "0.75kw", "1.5kw", "2.2kw" and "3.7kw". Will be. Further, by executing the control 2 of the rule number "11", "model A", "model B", "model a", "model b", as control for narrowing down the options of item 1 "model", Narrowing control is performed to narrow down the set of "model c", "model d" and "model e" to the set of "model A", "model B" and "model a".

The rule numbers "16" to "24" include "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw", "2.2kw", and "3.7kw" set in item 3 "engine output". , "5.5kw", "11kw", and "15kw" are defined, and a rule is defined in which a condition related to a selection event for selecting one of the options and a control corresponding to the selection event are associated with each other.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the option "model A" is selected in the item 1 "model" out of the three items of items 1 to 3, the option "500 mm" of the item 2 "diameter" is further pulled down. When a selection event for selection via menu 212 is performed, the following search is performed. In this case, the search unit 15B searches the master data 13A for a rule corresponding to the condition of changing the input value of the item 2 “diameter”. As a result, the rule with rule number "2" is hit. As a result of applying the rule of the rule number "2", the control of resetting the value of the option loaded into the storage area of the memory referenced by the configurator from the pull-down menus 211 and 213 corresponding to the items 1 and 3 is executed. To. After resetting, the value of option "Model A" is loaded from the pull-down menu 211 of item 1, the value of option "500 mm" is loaded from the pull-down menu 212 of item 2, and the NULL value is loaded from the pull-down menu 213 of item 3. Loaded.

As the value of the option "model A" is loaded from the pull-down menu 211 of the item 1 in this way, the search unit 15B sets the condition that the input value to the item 1 "model" is "model A". The corresponding rule is searched from the master data 13A. As a result, the rule with the rule number "9" in the master data 13A is hit. Further, as the value of the option "500 mm" is loaded from the pull-down menu 212 of the item 2, the search unit 15B has a rule corresponding to the condition that the input value to the item 2 "diameter" is "500 mm". Is searched from the master data 13A. As a result, the rule with the rule number "11" in the master data 13A is hit.

The narrowing down unit 15C is a processing unit that executes narrowing down control of options.

In one embodiment, the narrowing unit 15C selects one unselected item that has not been selected among the items related to the product specifications. Subsequently, the narrowing unit 15C executes narrowing control of options for each rule that is hit by the search by the search unit 15B. Then, the narrowing unit 15C extracts the options that satisfy the AND condition among the set of options narrowed down for each rule. In this way, the extraction of options satisfying the AND condition is repeated until all unselected items are selected.

For example, in the example of the specification input screen 200 shown in FIG. 2, with respect to the option of item 3 “engine output” which is an unselected item, the narrowing control of the option of rule number “9” and the rule number “ The narrowing down control of the options of "11" is performed. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, by applying the rule of rule number "9", the options of item 3 "engine output" are "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw", and ". From the whole set U including "2.2kw", "3.7kw", "5.5kw", "11kw" and "15kw" to the set R9 of "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw" and "2.2kw" It is narrowed down. In addition, by applying the rule of rule number "11", the choices of item 3 "engine output" are "0.4kw", "0.75kw", "1.5kw", "2.2kw", "3.7kw". , "5.5kw", "11kw" and "15kw" are narrowed down from the whole set U to the set R11 of "0.75kw", "1.5kw", "2.2kw" and "3.7kw". After that, the options "0.75kw" and "1.5kw" that satisfy the AND condition between the set of choices R9 narrowed down by the rule of rule number "9" and the set of choices R11 narrowed down by the rule of rule number "11" "And" 2.2kw "are extracted.

The identification unit 15D is a processing unit that identifies options that are not included in the AND condition between the set of options narrowed down for each rule corresponding to the selected options.

As one embodiment, the identification unit 15D controls the narrowing down of rules corresponding to the selection event when the display of the log screen 240 is ON, for example, when the log screen 240 is pulled out on the specification input screen 200. Identify options that are missing from the AND condition. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the identification unit 15D ANDs by further applying the rule of the rule number "11" corresponding to the selection event to the set R9 of the choices narrowed down by the rule number "9". Identify options that do not meet the criteria. For example, among the set R11 narrowed down by the rule corresponding to the selection event, the option "3.7kw" that is omitted from the union satisfying the AND condition between the set R9 and the set R11 is identified.

The display control unit 15E is a processing unit that controls the display of various windows displayed on the client terminal 30 or a browser operating on the client terminal 50.

As one aspect, the display control unit 15E sets options that satisfy the AND condition extracted by the narrowing unit 15C for each pull-down menu corresponding to the unselected items on the specification input screen 200 shown in FIG. For example, in the example of item 3 “engine output”, the pull-down menu 213 holds the options “0.75kw”, “1.5kw”, and “2.2kw” in a selectable state.

As another aspect, the display control unit 15E controls the selection event, the selection control executed by applying the rule number and the rule applied in the selection event, and the identification unit 15D narrows down the rules corresponding to the selection event. A log including options identified as leaking from the AND condition by the built-in control is displayed on the log screen 240. For example, in the example of the log screen 240 shown in FIG. 2, the log L2 corresponding to the selection event of the option “500 mm” of the item 2 “diameter” is additionally displayed after the end position of the log L1. At this time, the display control unit 15E can also display the head of the log in accordance with the start position of the log screen 240. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the specification input screen. As shown in FIG. 6, in the log screen 340 of the specification input screen 300, the display position of the log L2 is different from that of the log screen 240 of the specification input screen 200 shown in FIG. That is, on the log screen 340, the head of the log L2 is displayed according to the start position B0 of the log screen 340. In this way, each time a selection event occurs, the head of the log corresponding to the selection event is displayed according to the start position B0 of the log screen 340, so that the log corresponding to the latest selection event from a plurality of logs is displayed. The work of discovering can be eliminated.

[Processing flow]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the maintenance support process according to the first embodiment. This process can be executed when a selection event occurs, as an example. As shown in FIG. 7, when unselected items remain when the selection event occurs (step S101Yes and step S102Yes), the search unit 15B selects each selected item from the items that determine the product specifications. Identify the completed options (step S103).

Subsequently, the search unit 15B searches the master data 13A for a rule for which the selection of the option corresponds to the application condition of the rule for each selected option specified in step S103 (step S104).

Then, the narrowing-down unit 15C selects one unselected item that has not been selected from the items related to the product specifications (step S105). Subsequently, the narrowing unit 15C executes narrowing control of options for each rule that hits in the search in step S104 (step S106). Then, the narrowing unit 15C extracts the options satisfying the AND condition among the set of options narrowed down for each rule in step S106 (step S107). Then, the display control unit 15E sets the options that satisfy the AND condition extracted in step S107 for each pull-down menu corresponding to the unselected item on the specification input screen (step S108).

After that, the process from step S105 to step S108 is repeated until all unselected items are selected (step S109 No). Then, when all the unselected items are selected (step S109Yes), the identification unit 15D determines whether or not the display of the log screen is in the ON state (step S110).

Here, when the display of the log screen is in the ON state (step S110Yes), the identification unit 15D identifies the options omitted from the AND condition by the narrowing control of the rules corresponding to the selection event (step S111). Then, the display control unit 15E ANDs the selection event, the narrowing control of the choices executed by applying the rule number and the rule applied in the selection event, and the narrowing control of the rules corresponding to the selection event in step S111. The start position of the log including the options identified when the condition is not satisfied is displayed according to the start position of the log screen (step S112), and the process ends.

[One aspect of the effect]
As described above, the server device 10 according to the present embodiment is an AND condition between a set of options narrowed down for each rule corresponding to the selected option among the options for accepting selection for each item that defines the product specifications. It provides a maintenance support function that displays the options that are leaked from. With such a maintenance support function, it is possible to support the discovery of omission of display of options that may be caused by a rule setting error. Therefore, according to the server device 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to support the work of master maintenance.

Although examples of the disclosed device have been described above, the present invention may be implemented in various different forms other than the above-described examples. Therefore, other examples included in the present invention will be described below.

[Options that do not meet the AND condition]
In the above-described first embodiment, as an example of the options leaked from the AND condition, an example in which the options leaked from the AND condition are displayed on the log screen by the narrowing control of the rules corresponding to the selection event is given, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is possible to display the options omitted from the AND condition on the log screen by narrowing down the rules other than the rule corresponding to the selection event. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the option "0.4kw" leaking from the union satisfying the AND condition between the set R9 and the set R11 can be further displayed on the log screen, and the option "0.4kw" can be displayed. It is also possible to display only on the log screen.

Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the example in which the head of the log is set as the selection event is given, but other than the selection event can be displayed at the head of the log. For example, it is possible to display the options that are not included in the AND condition by the narrowing control of the rules corresponding to the selection event as the head of the log according to the start position of the log screen.

Further, in the above-described first embodiment, an example in which the head of the log is displayed according to the start position of the log screen is given, but the position of the item corresponding to the selection of the selection event, for example, the coordinates in the height direction and the log It can also be displayed together with the beginning position.

Further, each component of each of the illustrated devices does not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown in the figure. That is, the specific form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to the one shown in the figure, and all or part of the device is functionally or physically distributed / physically in any unit according to various loads and usage conditions. It can be integrated and configured. For example, the reception unit 15A, the search unit 15B, the narrowing unit 15C, the identification unit 15D, or the display control unit 15E may be connected as an external device of the server device 10 via a network. Further, another device has a reception unit 15A, a search unit 15B, a narrowing unit 15C, an identification unit 15D, or a display control unit 15E, respectively, and by being connected to a network and cooperating, the functions of the above server device 10 can be obtained. It may be realized. Further, even if another device has all or a part of the master data 13A stored in the storage unit 13 and is connected to the network and cooperates with each other, the function of the server device 10 may be realized. It doesn't matter.

[Maintenance support program]
Further, the various processes described in the above-described embodiment can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. Therefore, in the following, an example of a computer that executes a maintenance support program having the same function as that of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a computer hardware configuration. As shown in FIG. 8, the computer 100 includes an operation unit 110a, a speaker 110b, a camera 110c, a display 120, and a communication unit 130. Further, the computer 100 has a CPU 150, a ROM 160, an HDD 170, and a RAM 180. Each part of these 110 to 180 is connected via a bus 140.

As shown in FIG. 8, the HDD 170 is a maintenance support program that exhibits the same functions as the reception unit 15A, the search unit 15B, the narrowing unit 15C, the identification unit 15D, and the display control unit 15E shown in the first embodiment. 170a is stored. The maintenance support program 170a may be integrated or separated like the components of the reception unit 15A, the search unit 15B, the narrowing unit 15C, the identification unit 15D, and the display control unit 15E shown in FIG. .. That is, not all the data shown in the first embodiment may be stored in the HDD 170, and the data used for processing may be stored in the HDD 170.

Under such an environment, the CPU 150 reads the maintenance support program 170a from the HDD 170 and deploys it to the RAM 180. As a result, the maintenance support program 170a functions as the maintenance support process 180a, as shown in FIG. The maintenance support process 180a expands various data read from the HDD 170 in the area allocated to the maintenance support process 180a in the storage area of the RAM 180, and executes various processes using the expanded data. For example, as an example of the process executed by the maintenance support process 180a, the process shown in FIG. 7 is included. In the CPU 150, not all the processing units shown in the first embodiment need to operate, and the processing units corresponding to the processes to be executed may be virtually realized.

The maintenance support program 170a may not necessarily be stored in the HDD 170 or the ROM 160 from the beginning. For example, the maintenance support program 170a is stored in a "portable physical medium" such as a flexible disk inserted into the computer 100, that is, a so-called FD, CD-ROM, DVD disk, magneto-optical disk, or IC card. Then, the computer 100 may acquire the maintenance support program 170a from these portable physical media and execute it. Further, the maintenance support program 170a is stored in another computer or server device connected to the computer 100 via a public line, the Internet, LAN, WAN, etc., and the computer 100 acquires the maintenance support program 170a from these. It may be executed.

The following additional notes will be further disclosed with respect to the embodiments including the above embodiments.

(Appendix 1) The options that accept selection for each item that defines the product specifications and the narrowing conditions that narrow down the options that accept selection from the options corresponding to the remaining items excluding the item to which the option belongs are associated. Among the rules, for each rule corresponding to the selection of the selected item, the options narrowed down by the narrowing condition of the rule can be controlled so as to be displayed, and the choices that are omitted from the set of the choices narrowed down by the narrowing condition can be displayed. Display in association with the narrowing conditions,
A maintenance support program that lets a computer execute processing.

(Appendix 2) In the processing to be displayed, the selections that are omitted from the set of choices narrowed down by the rule narrowing conditions corresponding to the choices that received the last selection among the choices of the selected items are narrowed down. The maintenance support program described in Appendix 1, which is characterized in that it is displayed in association with a condition.

(Appendix 3) The processing to be displayed is different from the items related to the product specifications determined based on the combination of the options for which the selection is accepted for each of a plurality of items defining the product specifications and the window for displaying the options of the items. The maintenance support program according to Appendix 1, wherein options that are omitted from the set of options narrowed down by the narrowing conditions are displayed in association with the narrowing conditions.

(Appendix 4) The processing to be displayed is characterized in that it displays a log including a narrowing condition corresponding to the options of the selected item and options missing from the set of options narrowed down by the narrowing condition. The maintenance support program described in 3.

(Appendix 5) The maintenance support program according to Appendix 4, wherein the display process displays the head of the log in accordance with the start position of the other window.

(Appendix 6) The maintenance support program according to Appendix 4, wherein the display process displays the head of the log according to the position of the item corresponding to the option for which the last selection was accepted in the window.

(Appendix 7) The options that accept selection for each item that defines the product specifications and the narrowing conditions that narrow down the options that accept selection from the options corresponding to the remaining items excluding the item to which the option belongs are associated. Among the rules, for each rule corresponding to the selection of the selected item, the options narrowed down by the narrowing condition of the rule can be controlled so as to be displayed, and the choices that are omitted from the set of the choices narrowed down by the narrowing condition Display in association with the narrowing conditions,
A maintenance support method in which a computer executes processing.

(Appendix 8) In the processing to be displayed, the selections that are omitted from the set of choices narrowed down by the rule narrowing conditions corresponding to the choices that received the last selection among the choices of the selected items are narrowed down. The maintenance support method according to Appendix 7, wherein the display is performed in association with a condition.

(Appendix 9) The process to be displayed is different from the items related to the product specifications determined based on the combination of the options for which the selection is accepted for each of a plurality of items defining the product specifications and the window for displaying the options of the items. The maintenance support method according to Appendix 7, wherein options that are omitted from the set of options narrowed down by the narrowing conditions are displayed in association with the narrowing conditions.

(Appendix 10) The processing to be displayed is characterized in that it displays a log including a narrowing condition corresponding to the options of the selected item and an option that is omitted from the set of options narrowed down by the narrowing condition. The maintenance support method according to 9.

(Supplementary Note 11) The maintenance support method according to Supplementary Note 10, wherein the display process displays the head of the log in accordance with the start position of the other window.

(Supplementary Note 12) The maintenance support method according to Supplementary note 10, wherein the display process displays the head of the log according to the position of an item corresponding to the option for which the last selection was accepted in the window.

(Appendix 13) The options for accepting selection for each item that defines the product specifications are associated with the narrowing conditions for narrowing down the options for accepting selection from the options corresponding to the remaining items excluding the item to which the option belongs. Among the rules, for each rule corresponding to the selection of the selected item, the options narrowed down by the narrowing condition of the rule can be controlled so as to be displayed, and the choices that are omitted from the set of the choices narrowed down by the narrowing condition Display control unit that displays in association with the narrowing conditions,
A maintenance support device characterized by having.

(Appendix 14) The display control unit narrows down the options that are omitted from the set of options narrowed down by the rule narrowing conditions corresponding to the options that received the last selection among the options of the selected items. The maintenance support device according to Appendix 13, which is displayed in association with a condition.

(Appendix 15) The display control unit is different from the window for displaying the items related to the product specifications and the options of the items determined based on the combination of the options for which the selection is accepted for each of a plurality of items defining the product specifications. 13. The maintenance support device according to Appendix 13, wherein options that are omitted from the set of options narrowed down by the narrowing-down conditions are displayed in association with the narrowing-down conditions.

(Supplementary note 16) The display control unit is characterized in that it displays a log including narrowing conditions corresponding to the options of the selected items and options missing from the set of options narrowed down by the narrowing conditions. The maintenance support device according to 15.

(Supplementary Note 17) The maintenance support device according to Supplementary Note 16, wherein the display control unit displays the head of the log in accordance with the start position of the other window.

(Supplementary Note 18) The maintenance support device according to Supplementary note 16, wherein the display control unit displays the head of the log according to the position of an item corresponding to the option for which the last selection was accepted in the window.

1 Quotation business support system 10 Server device 11 Communication interface 13 Storage unit 13A Master data 15 Control unit 15A Reception unit 15B Search unit 15C Narrowing unit 15D Identification unit 15E Display control unit 30, 50 Client terminal

Claims (8)

Of the rules associated with the options that accept selection for each item that defines the product specifications and the narrowing conditions that narrow down the options that accept selection from the options that correspond to the remaining items excluding the item to which the option belongs. For each rule corresponding to the selection of the selected item, the options narrowed down by the narrowing condition of the rule are controlled so as to be displayed, and the choices that are omitted from the set of the choices narrowed down by the narrowing condition are selected as the narrowing condition. Display in association with
A maintenance support program that lets a computer execute processing. In the process to be displayed, the options omitted from the set of options narrowed down by the rule narrowing condition corresponding to the option that received the last selection among the options of the selected item are associated with the narrowing condition. The maintenance support program according to claim 1, wherein the display is performed. The display process is performed on an item related to the product specifications determined based on a combination of options for which selection is accepted for each of a plurality of items defining the product specifications, and in another window different from the window displaying the options of the item. The maintenance support program according to claim 1 or 2, wherein options that are omitted from the set of options narrowed down by the narrowing conditions are displayed in association with the narrowing conditions. The process according to claim 3 is characterized in that the process to be displayed includes a narrowing condition corresponding to the options of the selected item and a log including options missing from the set of options narrowed down by the narrowing condition. Maintenance support program. The maintenance support program according to claim 4, wherein the display process displays the head of the log in accordance with the start position of the other window. The maintenance support program according to claim 4, wherein the display process displays the head of the log according to the position of an item corresponding to the option for which the last selection was accepted in the window. Of the rules associated with the options that accept selection for each item that defines the product specifications and the narrowing conditions that narrow down the options that accept selection from the options that correspond to the remaining items excluding the item to which the option belongs. For each rule corresponding to the selection of the selected item, the options narrowed down by the narrowing condition of the rule are controlled so as to be displayed, and the choices that are omitted from the set of the choices narrowed down by the narrowing condition are selected as the narrowing condition. Display in association with
A maintenance support method in which a computer executes processing. Of the rules associated with the options that accept selection for each item that defines the product specifications and the narrowing conditions that narrow down the options that accept selection from the options that correspond to the remaining items excluding the item to which the option belongs. For each rule corresponding to the selection of the selected item, the options narrowed down by the narrowing condition of the rule are controlled so as to be displayed, and the choices that are omitted from the set of the choices narrowed down by the narrowing condition are selected as the narrowing condition. Display control unit that displays in association with
A maintenance support device characterized by having.

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