JP3289645B2 - Data input device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is, companies, in the business section or the like, design, manufacture, construction and maintenance services, such as database that integrates a wide variety of data generated from, the time of the operation, various generated in each field The present invention relates to a data input device capable of easily inputting information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In product development, design, manufacturing, maintenance service and the like, various kinds of information are generated in daily work and the like. By constructing and operating a database integrating such daily generated information and making it easy for anyone in each department to search and use that information, the efficiency of development, design, maintenance, etc., will be dramatically improved. It is expected that With the recent development of computer equipment, its software, and communication equipment, it is becoming feasible to operate a personal computer as a terminal for such a huge database. However, in order to operate such a database, it is necessary to input information generated every day in a detailed manner without omission, and further simplification of data input is required. In a conventional general data input method, inputting information on the spot every time information is generated is complicated and time-consuming, and it is considered impossible to actually operate the huge database as described above.

[0003] A specific example of this data input problem will be described by taking a machine tool manufacturer as an example. For integrating and registering all information generated in connection with products,
How to set a search key is an important requirement in building a database. In contrast, the present inventor
We considered using a parts list as an information key. When developing and manufacturing machine tool products, the part numbers of the machine, the part numbers of the unit parts constituting the machine, and the part numbers of the parts constituting these unit parts are shown for each customer and each machine. A parts list is created. This parts list is accumulated with the development of the product. Therefore, as long as it can be associated with the bill of materials, there is no need to set up a special classification system.
It is possible to integrate all information such as design, failure, maintenance history, etc. that occur in connection with the product, and the parts list is considered to be a data input guide that can be easily understood by anyone in each department. In this case, with a general input method, when registering information such as a failure related to the product, the model number of the machine,
Codes such as the part number of each unit part and the part number of the part are input from a keyboard or the like.

[0004] However, inputting all such codes is troublesome and burdensome for the operator. For this reason, it is difficult to make a habit of registering the generated information without fail and registering it finely, and it is considered that registration omissions increase. In addition, the registration work requires not only a large amount of labor and time but also a large amount of input, so that a code input error is likely to occur and proper management cannot be performed. Moreover, code entry is a difficult task for beginners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and enables an association operation for integrating input information to be performed easily and quickly without error. It is an object of the present invention to provide a data input device capable of minimizing the burden on the user and aiming at an environment where information is naturally collected. Another object of the present invention is to enable appropriate classification of input information and simplification of the classification input operation. Still another object of the present invention is to use a bill of materials that naturally gathers with the development of a product, so that everyone in each department can commonly and easily input, and special maintenance is required as the number of products increases. The object is to provide a data input device without any.

[0006]

The structure of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 corresponding to an embodiment. The data input device is a data input device of a computer device (4), and displays items (i) of a predetermined resource having a hierarchical relationship with each other on a screen of a display device (5) according to the hierarchical relationship. A display means (17), an item designating means (18) for designating a display section of an arbitrary item (i) on the screen in accordance with an operation of the input device (30a), and information registered for the designated item (i) An input processing means (19) for inputting (D) into a predetermined storage area; and an item (i) designated by the item designating means (18) with respect to the inputted information (D).
And link setting means (2) for adding information for linking the item (i) having a higher hierarchical relationship including the item (i).
0). The predetermined resource is a tangible one such as an industrial product. The items forming a hierarchical relationship correspond to a product system combining a plurality of machines, individual machines, units constituting the machines, parts constituting the units, and the like. As the input device, a pointing device such as a mouse is used. Further, the data input device of the present invention uses the parts table (6) registered in the parts table database (12) of the parts table server (2) as a search key to input information on products into an integrated database (3) of the database server (3). 31)
You. This integrated database (31) is used for companies, business units, etc.
In many cases, the
It is a database that integrates various types of data. According to the data input device of this configuration, each item (i) to screen previously displayed according to the hierarchical relationship, by instructing an arbitrary item (i) item instructing means (18), the input processing means (1
8) As information (D) for searching for the information (D), in addition to the designated item (i), the information (D) input from (8) is linked up to the item (i) having a higher hierarchical relationship. Will be As described above, by simply specifying the item (i) hierarchically displayed on the screen, the information (D) to be registered includes:
Link information (DL) of item (i) of each hierarchy required for search
Is given, data can be input by a simple operation.

[0007] In the above configuration, the display section of the item (i) displayed on the screen of the display device (5) is designated by the item designating means (18) to input the designated item (i). Obstacles and competitive catalogs as types of information (D)
By selecting a menu display means (21) for displaying on the screen a menu (5a) displaying a plurality of types for each use such as logs, technical know-how, design standards, and the like, and selecting an information type displayed on the menu (5a). , The selected information type (D
s) is associated with the original information (D) input from the input processing means (19).
2) may be provided. Thus, the original information (D)
By giving the information (Ds) of the information type to the user, the various types of registration information (D) can be accurately classified, and the information type (Ds) can be searched as a search key, which facilitates the search. In order to input this information type (Ds), it is only necessary to display the menu on the screen and make a selection, so that a simple input operation is required.

[0008] The data input device having such a configuration can be applied to a computer device (4) different from the computer device (2) for storing information (D) in the computer network (1). When the predetermined resource is a product produced in a factory, the items (i) forming the hierarchical relationship are items indicating the parts of the product hierarchically classified in the parts table (6). . The parts table (6) is a predetermined computer device (2) of the computer network (1).
Register in. In this case, the screen display means (17)
Displays the parts table (6) transmitted from the computer device (2) that has registered the parts table (6) in a predetermined display format. The parts table (6) referred to here is not limited to one physically referred to table, but is physically divided into a plurality of storage media and registered. The table may be a single table, or a part of those tables that are physically and conceptually combined into one table, or may be conceptually combined into a single table by combining parts. The parts list (6) naturally gathers with the development of the product and is easy to understand for everyone in each department to understand in common. Therefore, by accumulating the information (D) using the parts table (6) as a search key, a database that can be easily searched by anyone in each section is provided. By simply displaying such a parts table (6) on the screen and designating the corresponding item (i), the link information (DL) of the item (i) and the upper item (i) is converted to the original information (D). , The input operation becomes very simple. Since the input operation is simplified in this way, it is expected that the information generated every day will be accurately and accurately input by the operator at the information generation site without omission, and the expansion and operation of a substantial database Can be expected to be realized. In addition, since the parts table (6) is always created with the development of the product, it is not necessary to increase the item (i) and the like for maintenance of the database even if the product type increases.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In brief, a database system to which this data input device is applied is a computer system , in which a machine number, a component number, and a component number in a customer-specific and machine-specific parts table 6 registered in a parts table server 2 in a computer network 1. The unit part No., part No., etc. are used as search keys for integrating all information D generated in connection with the product. The parts table 6 is displayed on the screen of the display device 5 of the terminal 4 which is a client machine. All input information D generated from design, manufacturing, maintenance service, etc., including order specifications, indicates the target item i (machine, component device, unit part, part) of the parts table 6 displayed on the screen with a mouse. Thereby, it is associated with the target item i. Therefore, when inputting the product-related information D,
Code input for machine stand No., component device No., unit part No., part No. becomes unnecessary. The information D to be input may be any information such as a CAD drawing, an image-converted document, and a photograph by a digital camera, in addition to text information. The associated input information D is registered in the database server 3 together with the link information DL which is the association information. In order to display the target parts table 6 on the display device 5 of the terminal 4, an ambiguous search is performed from the parts table server 2 by operating the terminal 4, and the corresponding parts table 6 is called and displayed.

Next, an entire database system using the data input device will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the computer network 1 is an Ethernet (E)
A local area network 1A having a bus structure using a Ethernet cable is connected to the Internet 9 via a firewall 8, and constitutes a so-called "intranet". The local area network 1A connects a web server 7, which is composed of workstations and the like, the parts list server 2, the database server 3, and the temporary storage data server 3A to a bus 10
Terminal 4 composed of a personal computer via
It is a client / server type connected to an output device 11 such as a printer or a plotter.

In the database server 3, all information (for example, document information imaged by a scanner, handwritten drawing information, and digital images) relating to the product registered with the parts table 6 as a search key is registered in the integrated database 31. The approved CAD drawing information and reduced image information including its raster data are also registered in association with the parts table 6. In the temporary storage data server 3A, information on CAD drawings that are being created and that have not been approved are registered in a state unrelated to the parts table 6. Each terminal 4 has a database search / registration function including a communication function, and some terminals 4 have a CAD (computer-aided drawing) function in addition to the database search / registration function. It is said. The communication function of the terminal device 4 includes a function of communicating with the web server 7 or an external web server using a TCP / IP protocol or the like, and a serial transmission directly with the database server 3 or the parts list server 2 or the like via the bus 10. Communication function.

As shown in FIG. 1, a parts table server 2 includes a parts table database 12 as an item storage means and a database management system (DBMS) 1 thereof.
In the parts table database 12, there are registered a plurality of parts tables 6 for each customer, in which the parts tables 6 for each machine are grouped for each customer. The parts table 6 referred to here is not limited to one physically referred table, but is physically divided into a plurality of storage media and registered. Or a table in which some of these tables, which are physically and conceptually combined into one, are extracted or combined one by one and conceptually combined into one table. In this example, a large number of single-part bills and a bill of materials in a drawing table are registered, and they constitute one large bill of material.
A parts list (a so-called view) in which a part of the large parts list is selected under desired conditions can be created.

The parts table 6 for each machine includes items such as a machine, which is a product, constituent devices of the machine, each unit part constituting the constituent devices, and each part constituting the unit parts or the constituent devices. 6 is a table showing i hierarchically. Here, the machine stand, the constituent devices, the unit parts, and the parts are distinguished as follows. Taking the case where the product is a punch press system as an example, "machine stand" refers to the entire punch press system including special specifications for each customer, and "components" refer to the punch press machine and loader that constitute the punch press system. , And an unloader, etc., a “unit part” means a device such as a conveyor that constitutes the punch press or the loader, and the “part” means an individual part constituting a constituent device or a unit part. The parts table 6 shown in FIG. 4 shows an example of a parts table for each unit part included in the machine parts table, in which a part number, a drawing number, a quantity, a product name, a shape, and a manufacturer name are described.

As shown in FIG. 1, each terminal 4 includes a communication means 15, a search means 16, a screen display means 17, an item designating means 18, an input processing means 19, a link setting means 20, a menu display means 21, Type setting means 22, information registering means 23, item numbering means 24 (FIG. 3B), unified part numbering requesting means 25, customer drawing table creating means 26, and parts table creating means 27 I have. Some terminals 4
In addition to the above-mentioned units 15 to 26, a CAD (computer-assisted drawing) unit is provided, and the CAD machine also functions as a database operation terminal. As shown in FIG. 1, each terminal 4 includes, as an input device 30, a portable storage device such as a scanner 30c, a floppy disk device, or a magneto-optical disk device in addition to a pointing device 30a such as a mouse and a keyboard 30b. Storage means 3 using a medium
0d, an external input terminal for a digital camera, and the like are provided as necessary.

The communication means 15 includes servers 2, 3, 3A,
7, which controls communication when communicating with each computer device on the network 1. The search means 16 includes a parts table search unit 16a (FIG. 3B) and an information search unit 16b. The parts table search unit 16a retrieves a desired parts table 6 from the parts table database 12 in cooperation with the search unit 13a of the database management system 13 of the parts table server 2.
Is a means for retrieving and has an ambiguous search function. The information search unit 16b is a unit that searches for information D registered in the integrated database 31 of the database server 3 using each item i of the parts table 6 as an information search key. The search means 16 provided in the terminal device 4 only needs to input the search conditions and output the search results on the screen. The search processing for the parts table database 12 or the integrated database 31 is performed by the parts table server 2 or the database server 3. Will be

The screen display means 17 is a means for displaying the parts table 6 searched by the search means 16 on a screen of the display device 5 in a predetermined display format. In the illustrated example, each item i of the machine stand, constituent devices, unit parts, and parts is displayed according to a hierarchical relationship. The display of each item i on the screen is
The display may be a character or symbol indicating the name or model number, an icon, or a table combining these. Further, the parts table displayed on the screen may be in a table format or a display based on a system diagram. Further, the screen display means 17 displays the specified item i as the highest level and the lower order items i in detail by giving an instruction to the arbitrary item i displayed on the screen by the next item designating means 18. It has a function to switch the screen so that The item designating means 18 operates the input device 30 including a pointing device 30a such as a mouse to operate the parts table 6 on the screen.
Is a means for pointing the display section of an arbitrary item i with the cursor K.

The input processing means 19 is a means for processing the input of information D to be registered in the database in relation to the product. In addition to the information D to be registered, a link to the parts table item i of the information D is provided. It has a function of creating a data input preparation file 33 having a storage area for the information DL and the type information Ds of the information D and storing the file in a predetermined storage area. The link setting means 20 designates the display section of an arbitrary item i in the parts table 6 on the screen by the item designating means 18, and instructs the information D inputted by the input processing means 19 to the instruction of the parts table 6. This is a means for attaching information DL linking the specified item i and the item i having a higher hierarchical relation including the item i. The link setting means 20 specifically stores the data input preparation file 33 created by the input processing means 19,
A process of describing the code of the designated item i and each item i of the higher hierarchy is performed.

The menu display means 21 opens a window on the screen of the display device 5 by switching the item display section of the parts table 6 displayed on the screen by the item designating means 18 or switches to another screen to display the menu screen 5a. Is displayed. On the menu screen 5a, types of information D according to usages, such as faults, competitive catalogs, technical know-how, design standards, and the like are displayed. By selecting the information type displayed on the menu screen 5a, the information type setting means 22 changes the information Ds of the selected information type, for example, information Ds such as information on a failure or a competitive catalog. ,
This is a means for associating with the original information D to be registered input from the input processing means 18. This association is performed by adding a predetermined code or character string information to the information D in the data input preparation file 33 or the like. The information registration means 23 stores the information D to be registered in this way.
The link information DL and the information type information Ds are associated with each other (the created information input preparation file 33), which is sent to the database server 3 and registered in the integrated database 31.

The item numbering means 24 in FIG. 3B is a means for assigning the part number of the item i such as a machine, a constituent device, a unit part, a part, etc. to be newly registered in the parts table server 2. These item numbers are desirably assigned in accordance with the setting criteria, but may be assigned freely if there is no overlap in one identifiable parts table 6. Even if it is attached freely, by specifying the parts table 6, the parts table server 2
Can be specified for all items i registered in. The unified part numbering requesting means 25 is means for sending predetermined information to the parts table server 2 for an unregistered article such as a commercially available article, and requesting that the unified article number be assigned. The parts list server 2 assigns a unified number to the numbering request with reference to its own numbering file 34, and
Register to 4. The customer drawing table creating means 26 is a means for creating a parts table described in the customer drawing. The created customer drawing table is registered in the drawing table server 2. The one-shot parts table creation means 27 is a means for creating a one-shot parts list, which is a parts table created separately from the drawing. The created one-shot BOM is
Register it in the drawing table server 2.

The parts table server 2 is a parts table database 2
This is a means for registering all the parts tables 6 in a, and exchanging information between the terminal device 4 and the database server 3.
The parts list database 2 includes, in addition to the parts table 6 such as a drawing table and a single-shot parts list, a numbering file 3 for assigning a uniform part number.
4, a ledger 35 of constituent devices, a ledger 36 of each part number of each machine, constituent devices, unit parts, parts, and the like, and information on commercially available products are provided.

Next, a data input method and the like by the data input device will be described. When inputting the information D related to the product in the terminal device 4, the corresponding parts table 6 for each customer or machine is vaguely searched and displayed on the screen of the display device 5 (steps S1 and S2 in FIG. 5). ). By instructing the target item i of the parts table 6 displayed on the screen by clicking the mouse or the like (S3), the information D to be registered is obtained.
Is associated with the instruction item i (S4). In this case, the information D is associated with the instruction item i and each item i of a higher hierarchy including the instruction item i. When a component of the lowest hierarchy is specified, it is also associated with the item i of the unit component, the component device, and the machine base. The input of the information D to be registered may be performed after the designation of the instruction item i. Alternatively, a data file is created by inputting in advance, and the data file is designated to designate the instruction item i of the parts table.
May be associated. The information D to be registered is all information generated from design, manufacturing, maintenance services, etc., including order specifications. For example, information in various data formats, such as a CAD diagram on an individual computer connected via the network 1, a document image converted by scan input, or a photograph by a digital camera, can be the information D to be registered. Ideal data of a product such as a punch press can be used as the registration information D.

After or before the association, when an item i displayed on the screen is designated by a predetermined operation using a mouse or the like, a menu screen showing information types such as obstacles, competitive catalogs, technical know-how, design standards, and others is displayed. 5a is displayed (S5). When the display of the desired information type is selected on this menu screen (S6), the information of the selected information type is added to the input information D to be registered. After the association of the input information D with the parts table item i and the addition of the information type Ds are completed, by inputting a predetermined registration confirmation or the like, the input information D becomes the link information DL as the association information. It is registered in the integrated database 31 of the database server 3 together with the type information Ds (S7).

As described above, the input information D can be associated with the item i of the parts table 6 simply by specifying the corresponding item i of the parts table 6 displayed on the screen.
There is no need to input codes such as No., unit No., and part No.
Therefore, the work of data entry becomes very simple. In addition, since the parts table 6 can be easily understood and understood by everyone in each department, the data input is further facilitated by guiding the data input. Also, there is no need to particularly construct or maintain a database classification system. As described above, since the burden of data input, which has been a bottleneck of conventional computerization, is minimized, information of each department is naturally collected, and the database is self-proliferated. For this reason, for example, the designer has access to similar drawings of the same parts and related claim information from the same terminal 4 by various fuzzy searches while drawing on the personal computer CAD, and has been involved in the design and standardization. Data can be shared according to the purpose.

The information D to be registered can handle information in various data formats such as scan input and image information from a digital camera or the like. Is done. For example, a handwritten retouched site correction drawing, a handwritten claim report, and a photograph of an obstruction can be input without any trouble by directly inputting the data as image data.

The information D to be registered is stored in a predetermined storage area for temporary storage or the like, and the stored information D can be later associated with each item i of the parts table 6. For this reason, the work of inputting the information D and the work of registering the information D in the database 12 can be separated, thereby also improving the work efficiency. For example, unapproved CAD diagrams, handwritten drawings, images read by a scanner, etc.
In addition, the information D may be stored in an individual work area or the like provided in the temporary storage database 32 by an arbitrary file management method, and the information D may be registered in the integrated database 31 in association with the parts table 6 later. it can. As described above, the temporary storage database 32 can be used as a temporary storage unit for the information D to be registered. Since the information D registered in association with the parts table 6 is added with information Ds of an information type such as a failure on the menu screen 5a or a competitive catalog, it is easy to search for the target information D when using the registered information D. Therefore, further promotion of use of the integrated database 31 can be expected.

[0026]

[0027]

According to the data input device of the present invention, each item is displayed on the screen of the display device in accordance with the hierarchical relationship, and by specifying an arbitrary item, the input information from the specified item to the item of the upper hierarchy is input information. Since it is set as link information for, data input can be performed with a simple operation, and therefore the database can be expected to be enhanced. When a menu of information types is displayed by designating items on the screen, appropriate classification of input information and simplification of the classification input operation can be achieved. When a parts list is used as a list of items to be displayed on a screen, the parts list naturally gathers with the development of the product, and an easy-to-understand parts list that can be commonly understood by anyone in each department is used as an input guide. Therefore, the input operation is further simplified. For this reason, it is expected that information that is generated every day will be accurately and accurately input at the information generation site without omission, and it is expected that substantial database multiplication and operation will be realized. In addition, since the parts list is always created with the development of the product, even if the types of products increase, it is not necessary to increase the number of items or the like as the maintenance work of the database.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing a conceptual configuration of a database system to which a data input device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram of the information structure.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a computer network constituting the database system.

FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram of a conceptual configuration of a parts table database, and FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram showing details of a conceptual configuration of a terminal.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a parts table and each database.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of information registration operation and processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Computer network 19 ... Input processing means 2 ... Parts list server 20 ... Link setting means 3 ... Database server 21 ... Menu display means 3A ... Temporary storage data server 22 ... Information type setting means 4 ... Terminal 23 ... Information registration means 5 ... Display device 30 ... Input device 6 ... Parts table 31 ... Integrated database 12 ... Parts table database 32 ... Temporary database 15 ... Communication means D ... Information 16 ... Search means DL ... Link information 17 ... Screen display means Ds ... Information type 18 … Item designation means

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A data input device for a computer device in a computer network, wherein information on a product is registered in an integrated database of a database server using a parts table registered in a parts table database of a parts table server as a search key. Yes , the above integrated database
Is a design, manufacturing, and maintenance service
Data that integrates a wide variety of data generated from services, etc.
A base, and the screen display means for displaying in accordance with the hierarchical relationship on the screen of the display device entries indicating each part that is distinct components in products hierarchically in shown in Table, points such as a mouse
An item indicating means according to the procedure of the input apparatus comprising a computing devices to instruct the display portion of any item of the screen,
Input processing means for inputting information to be registered for the designated item into a predetermined storage area; and, for the input information, an item designated by the item designating means and a higher hierarchical relationship including the item. Link setting means for attaching information for linking items, and items displayed on the screen of the display device
By pointing the eye display section with the item indicating means,
For the instruction item of, the type of information to be entered is obstacle,
Use-specific species such as competing catalogs, technical know-how, and design standards
Menu display that displays a menu on which items are displayed on the screen
Means and selecting the type of information displayed in the menu
Thus, the selected information type is stored in the input processing unit.
Information type to be associated with the original information input from
The setting means and the instruction item input by the input processing means
Information to be registered for the
Link the information to be linked with the information type setting means
And the information of the information type sent to the database server.
Data input device and an information registering means for registering I.