JP4342891B2 - Product evaluation system and product evaluation method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for collecting information necessary for a tool for evaluating a design.

  Increasing the efficiency of product development is an important issue for manufacturers, and in particular, shortening the product development period is a critical issue. This is because the development in a short period of time can accelerate the time to market the product and secure sales and first-mover profits.

  One of the means for speeding up product development is evaluation of design contents at an early stage of product development. By evaluating the design contents from various perspectives in the early stages of development, it is possible to avoid backtracking due to problems in the latter half of development, and to reduce the overall process.

  When developing a product, the developer designs a structure of the product that satisfies the target functions and performances, and selects parts necessary to realize the structure. The evaluation of the design content performed in the early stage of development is to confirm whether the target function or performance is achieved based on the component configuration of the product thus completed.

  Currently, such evaluation is performed by trial production, simulation, and the like, and various evaluation tools for simulation are provided (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In addition, recently, there is an evaluation tool for evaluating a product in consideration of not only the function and performance of the finished product but also the recyclability of the entire product and the environmental impact on the material (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

  When evaluating products that take into account the environmental impact, it is necessary to input product material information at the raw material procurement stage, but there is a technology that uses an input-output table to make this operation quick and easy. (For example, refer to Patent Document 4).

JP 2000-331036 A JP 9-73485 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-5855 JP 2002-109157 A

  As described above, various tools for evaluation at the product development stage have been proposed, but these product evaluation tools have the following problems.

  In order to evaluate the procurability, manufacturability, environmental impact, cost of combining the products, etc. when evaluating a product, the chemical composition, price at the time of purchase, delivery date, etc. of each component of the product Various information such as attribute information such as specifications and characteristics of the product, and processing / assembly attribute information such as the assembly and processing method of the product are required.

  However, the conventional product evaluation method is premised on the existence of various information necessary for the evaluation, and no consideration is given to the collection method.

  Moreover, such attribute information is held by the component supply side and is not present at the manufacturer side that performs the evaluation. For this reason, manufacturers need to obtain information from manufacturers that manufacture and sell parts and external companies that serve as distributors. At this time, in order to obtain information, exchanges are made between persons in charge for each part and each supplier company, which takes time and labor.

  When the part is a unit composed of a plurality of parts, the part manufacturer needs to collect attribute information of the parts constituting the part and provide it to the evaluator side. However, it takes a lot of man-hours to collect such attribute information, and it is often impossible to receive information from a component manufacturer unless it is a major company. For this reason, the component manufacturer may not be able to provide attribute information.

  As described above, it is quite difficult to collect the component part attribute information, which is indispensable for product evaluation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has a mechanism for efficiently collecting component attribute information and the like necessary for evaluation in order to accurately and accurately evaluate design results in product development. The purpose is to provide a product evaluation system.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a product evaluation system for evaluating the design of a product according to the component configuration of the product under development, which is lacking attribute information necessary for evaluation. It has the function of extracting and requesting information sources. Also, it has a function of directly accessing and registering a database storing attribute information from an information source. Furthermore, it has a function of periodically monitoring a database storing attribute information and confirming the progress of collection.

Specifically, product evaluation system of the present invention, for example, according to the attribute information of the components of the product under development, a product evaluation system for evaluating the design of the product, component configured to store the component configuration of the product Information storage means, part attribute information storage means for holding collected attribute information in an area for storing attribute information of parts necessary for the evaluation for each part, and information for acquiring the attribute information for each part According to the component configuration stored in the component configuration information storage unit and the information source storage unit that holds access data to the source, the necessary attribute information is extracted from the component attribute information storage unit, and the extracted attribute information the design evaluation means to evaluate the design of the product with, prior to extraction of the attribute information in the design evaluation unit, the attribute information is the component necessary for the evaluation Stored in the sex information storing means to determine dolphin not, the result of the determination, if there is attribute information that is not stored, as missing information attribute information that is not the stored, for each such information is needed parts A shortage information extraction unit that extracts and creates a shortage information list, and obtains an information source corresponding to a part included in the shortage information list created by the shortage information extraction unit from the information source storage unit, A shortage information request message generating means for generating an information request message for requesting the shortage information, a message sending means for sending the generated shortage information request message to the information source, and the transmission sent from the information source A response to the message, the requested attribute information, part configuration information indicating a part constituting the requested part, and At least one of attribute information of a part constituting the requested part, part configuration information indicating the part constituting the requested part, and access data to an information source of the part constituting the requested part And receiving each of the attribute information, the component configuration information, and the access data included in the received response in each of the component attribute information storage unit, the component configuration information storage unit, and the information source storage unit. The component attribute information storage unit and the component configuration information storage unit at a predetermined timing, and the shortage information in the shortage information list is newly registered in the component attribute information storage unit, or If a component part of the part included in the lack information list is newly registered in the part configuration information storage means and is stored, A registration monitoring unit for deleting the stored shortage information from the information list and notifying the design evaluation unit that the information collection is completed when all the shortage information in the shortage information list is deleted. has the design evaluation unit receives the notification, and feature that the evaluation of the extraction and the design.

  Since the present invention accurately and accurately evaluates the design result in product development, it can efficiently collect component attribute information and the like necessary for the evaluation.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  Initially, the whole structure of this embodiment is demonstrated using FIG. In the present embodiment, a part evaluation system 110 of a product set maker 701, a part information providing system 120 of a part maker A company 702, a collected part information providing system 130 of a company B 703 which is a parts information providing company, and manufacturing / processing The processing / assembly attribute information providing system 150 of the company C company 704 and the unit component information providing system 160 of the unit manufacturer D company 705 are configured.

  Here, the parts manufacturer A company 702, the parts information provider company B company 703, the manufacturing / processing company C company 704, and the unit manufacturer D company 705 having each system may be any number, and the number is limited. Absent. Moreover, the same company may be sufficient.

  Each system of each company is connected to each other via a dedicated line or a network 706 such as the Internet or an intranet, and transmits and receives information.

  The product set maker 701 designs a product to be evaluated. The component evaluation system 110 uses BOM (Bill of Material) data and an evaluation tool, which will be described later, to evaluate a product under development. Product BOM data is created by the design department of the product set manufacturer 701 or the like.

  The part manufacturer A company 702 represents a company that supplies component parts of products designed by the product set manufacturer 701. The component information providing system 120 provides the component evaluation system 110 with attribute information of the components that it owns in response to a request from the component evaluation system 110 of the product set manufacturer 701.

  A parts information provider company B 703 specially manages various detailed attribute information related to parts, and provides managed attribute information in response to requests from the product set manufacturer 701 that handles the parts. Is representative.

  The collected parts information providing system 130 manages the attribute information collected by the parts information providing company B company 703 from a plurality of parts manufacturer A company 702 and the like, and in response to a request from the parts evaluation system 110, the necessary part attributes Information is provided to the requesting component evaluation system 110.

  The manufacturing / processing company C company 704 is a company that processes or assembles a part of the product of the product set maker 701. Processing information such as changes in characteristics caused by processing or assembling the parts, assembly information, and the like. Represents a company that owns The processing / assembly attribute information providing system 150 provides processing / assembly attribute information necessary for evaluating a product under development to the component evaluation system 110 as required.

  The unit manufacturer D company 705 is a company that supplies the product parts of the product set manufacturer 701 and is in the same position as the part manufacturer A company 702. However, this unit manufacturer D company 705 represents a unit product that is configured by a combination of components purchased from another company and cannot provide attribute information of the component itself.

  In the present embodiment, in response to a request from the component evaluation system 110, the unit component information providing system 160 replaces the attribute information of the unit product requested to provide information with the attribute data of the components constituting the unit product. Alternatively, data of individual component information sources is provided to the component evaluation system 110.

  Next, the functional configuration of the present embodiment will be described based on the overall configuration described above. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the present embodiment.

  As shown in this figure, the product evaluation system 110 of this embodiment includes a BOM evaluation unit 103 that evaluates a BOM, a collection status check unit 181 that checks the collection status of component attribute information and the like necessary for the evaluation, A deficiency information extraction unit 112 that extracts parts for which information is deficient, and an information request unit 113 that requests deficient information from the outside are provided.

  Further, the database includes a BOM database 101, a part attribute database 102, a machining / assembly attribute database 141, a part information source database 111, and an information deficient parts list 115.

  The BOM database 101 manages BOM data that is the configuration information of the parts that make up the product to be evaluated. The BOM data is created by a designer who designs and develops products, and is registered in the BOM database 101.

  An example of the data structure of the BOM database 101 is shown in FIG. The BOM data stored in the BOM database 101 includes a PN (Parts Number) 221 that is an item master and a PS (Parts Structure) 224 that is a parts table. The PN 221 includes an item code 222 for identifying a part and an item name 223 representing the name of the part. The PS 224 includes a parent item code 225 that is an item code of a part, a child item code 226 that is a part code of a part that is a child part of the part, and a number 227 that is the number of the child items.

  In the BOM database 101, parts are managed in a hierarchical structure. An example of the hierarchical structure of the product 999 is shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, the first-tier product 999 (1a) is composed of the second-tier unit 123 (2a) and the unit 456 (2b). The unit 123 includes the third-tier component 11111 and the component, respectively. 22222, the component 33333 (3a), and the unit 456 includes a third level component 44444, a component 55555, and a component 66666 (3c).

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the data structure of the PN 221 of the product 999 composed of the parts having the hierarchical structure shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 shows an example of the data structure of the PS 224 of the product 999. In FIG. 5, an item code 222 and an item name 223 correspond to the item code 222 and the item name 223 in FIG. 3, respectively. Further, the parent item code 225, the child item code 226, and the number 227 in FIG. 6 correspond to the parent item code 225, the child item code 226, and the number 227 in FIG. 3, respectively.

  The part attribute database 102 stores part information constituting the product. The component attribute information includes information representing the specification of the component, chemical composition, price when the component is purchased, and delivery date. FIG. 13 shows an example of the component attribute database 102.

  As shown in the figure, the part attribute database 102 includes a part number storage field 102a for storing a part number, a classification field 102b for storing the type of the part, a specification field 102c for storing the specification of the part, a price, And an attribute information storage field 102d for storing attribute information such as delivery date and chemical composition.

  The processing / assembly attribute database 141 stores processing / assembly attribute information that is generated when a part is assembled or processed, and that affects the evaluation of the product. The processing / assembly attribute information is data of an attachment method and a processing method for each part, for example, data such as “screw when installing” or “bend part when manufacturing”. Based on the data stored in the processing / assembly attribute database 141, the BOM evaluation unit 103 evaluates the assemblability and workability of the product.

  The BOM evaluation unit 103 processes the BOM data registered in the BOM database 101, the component attribute data registered in the component attribute database 102 necessary for the evaluation of the BOM data, and the machining assembly attribute database 141. This is a part for evaluating the product using the assembly attribute information. As an evaluation algorithm, a conventionally used algorithm is used. Prior to the evaluation, a list of attribute data and machining / assembly attribute data necessary for the evaluation is stored in advance for each evaluation target.

  The evaluation object in the BOM evaluation unit 103 is to check whether or not a predetermined characteristic value of the product can be calculated by combining the BOM data, the part attribute data, and the machining / assembly attribute information, and the condition satisfies a predetermined condition. Is a possible item. For example, the procurement lead time, procurement cost, assembling property, chemical substances contained, etc. of parts constituting the product.

  Also, evaluation of CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) such as a simulation of a physical phenomenon such as bending against stress using the shape data using the shape data of the parts by CAD (Computer Aided Design) and the shape data is also evaluated. It is also possible to consider this as a target.

  The parts information source database 111 stores information sources from which attribute information and machining / assembly attribute information of parts constituting the product are obtained. For each part or processing / assembly attribute information, for example, an access destination for obtaining such information, such as a part maker that is a manufacturer of the part, is stored as an information source. In this embodiment, a company name as an information source and an e-mail address as an access destination are stored.

  In this embodiment, an e-mail address is stored as an access destination, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be an IP address or URL for direct access to a system or database in which a component manufacturer holds information, or application software. Further, when the information source is a company or a person, a telephone number, a FAX number, or the like may be stored.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the data structure of the component information source database 111.

  As shown in this figure, the parts information source database 111 includes an item code storage unit 231 for storing item codes, an information source storage unit 232 for storing information sources for each item code, and access to the information sources. And an access destination storage unit 233 for storing the destination.

  The deficient information extraction unit 112 is necessary data to be evaluated by the BOM evaluation unit 103 using the BOM data registered in the BOM database 101, and is registered in the part attribute database 102 and the machining assembly attribute database 141. Those that have not been extracted are extracted, and the information deficient parts list 115 is created. Specifically, the BOM evaluation unit 103 collates a list of data necessary for evaluation previously held for each evaluation target item with the BOM data, and extracts necessary attribute information for each part in the BOM data. Then, with reference to the part attribute database 102 and the machining / assembly attribute database 141, the presence / absence thereof is confirmed. Since this process requires different data for each BOM data to be evaluated, the BOM evaluation unit 103 receives the designation of the evaluation target and then performs the evaluation prior to the evaluation.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of the information lacking component list 115. As shown in this figure, the information-deficient component list 115 includes a component number storage column 115a for storing a component number and the type of information that is necessary for evaluation but is not currently stored in the component attribute database 102 or the like. Is stored in the shortage information type storage column 115b.

  The information request unit 113 extracts an information source such as a corresponding component from the component information source database 111 based on the information deficient component list 115 output by the deficient information extraction unit 112, and requests the extracted information source to provide information. An information request message 114, which is a message, is output.

  In the present embodiment, the information request message 114 is sent by electronic mail. Therefore, this information request message 114 is created for each e-mail address. The information request message 114 may be, for example, a URL for sending only the type of information to be requested. The information request message 114 may include a type of requested information, a destination of information, The requested contents such as necessary attributes and registration methods may be described in detail. Further, the sending means is not limited to electronic mail.

  The component evaluation system 110 holds data necessary for an information request created by the information request unit 113 for each e-mail address of the information source in a web content database (not shown). In this database, for example, request information data such as the number of the part requesting information, the number of the counterpart part, the contents of the requested attribute information, the destination, and the registration method are stored for each e-mail address of the information source. Is done. The web content database also stores web page screen data. When a web server function (not shown) receives a content transmission request from a client, the web content database generates a web page using the request information data, Send to client.

  Based on the information request message 114 sent from the information request unit 113, the collection status check unit 181 obtains information that is insufficient when creating the BOM database, and the component attribute database 102, the machining assembly attribute database 141, and The registration status of information in the BOM database 101 is checked. Specifically, at a predetermined timing, data newly registered in each database 102, 141, 101 is extracted, and if there is data registered in the information-deficient component list 115, the information-deficient component list From 115, the matched data is deleted. For example, for one piece of data in the information deficient parts list 115, the part attribute database 102 is searched using the part number stored in the part number storage column 115a of the data as a key, and attribute information of the data having the part number is stored. It is confirmed whether or not the attribute information of the type stored in the shortage information type storage column 115b is input in the column 102d. If stored, the data in the information-deficient parts list 115 is deleted.

  Next, the functional configuration on the side that receives the information request message 114 from the information request unit 113 and provides information will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the component information providing system 120 of the component manufacturer A company 702 includes, in accordance with the received information request message 114, a component attribute information creation unit 121 that creates attribute information of a component for which information is requested, A component attribute registration unit 122 that registers, in the component attribute database 102, component attribute information created by the information creation unit. The component attribute registration unit 122 registers the component attribute database 102 in the component attribute database 102 by the method instructed by the information request message 114.

  Also, the collected component information providing system 130 of the component information providing company B company 703 searches the component attribute external database 131 that manages attribute information related to the components collected by itself and the component requested by the information request message 114 from the component attribute external database 131. The component attribute search unit 132 that extracts the component data and the component attribute registration unit 133 that registers the attribute data of the extracted component in the component attribute database 102 according to the information request message 114.

  The data managed in the part attribute external database 131 is basically the same as the part attribute database 102, and is attribute information such as specification information, chemical composition, part purchase price, and delivery date.

  Further, the processing / assembly attribute information providing system 150 of the manufacturing / processing company C company 704 newly creates information that affects parts when processing or assembling a desired part in accordance with the request by the information request message 114. Or processing / assembly attribute creation unit 151 that searches and extracts from a database owned by itself and processing / assembly attribute creation unit 151 in accordance with instructions in information request message 114 And a machining / assembly attribute registration unit 152 registered in the assembly attribute database 141.

  Finally, the unit part information providing system 160 of the unit manufacturer D company 705 will be described. The unit parts information providing system 160 creates BOM data of parts requested by the information request message 114, and provides attribute information of each part in the BOM data or information of an information source such as a contact address. . The unit component information providing system 160 includes a unit BOM data creation unit 161 and a unit BOM registration unit 162.

  The unit BOM data creation unit 161 creates BOM data that is information on the component parts of the parts for which provision of attribute information is requested, and creates each attribute information. Here, when the attribute information is stored in the database managed by itself, it may be extracted therefrom. Here, when the attribute information of the individual parts constituting the created BOM data cannot be created, the unit BOM data creation unit 161 is the manufacturer from which the attribute information of the individual parts constituting the created BOM data is obtained. And business partner data as information sources.

  The unit BOM registration unit 162 converts the BOM data generated by the unit BOM data creation unit 161 and the attribute information of each component or information of the information source according to the information request message 114, respectively, The component attribute information database 102 or the component information source database 111 is registered.

  The functions of each company's system have been described above.

  The component evaluation system 110, the component information providing system 120, the collected component information providing system 130, the processing / assembly attribute information providing system 150, and the unit component information providing system 160 include, for example, a CPU, a memory, an input / output device, and a network. It can be realized by an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer or a server computer having a connection function. Information can be transmitted and received between the component evaluation system 110 and another system via, for example, a Web page. At this time, the component evaluation system 110 has a Web server function, and other systems have a Web browser function.

  Next, a procedure for collecting necessary information for performing design evaluation during product development using these functions will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the flow of parts collection at the time of product evaluation in the present embodiment.

  In this processing, when the product evaluation system 110 of the product set maker 701 performs design evaluation using the BOM data of the product, information that is lacking is extracted, and the information is provided on the information provider side system (this implementation). In the form, the parts information providing system 120, the collected parts information providing system 130, the processing / assembly attribute information providing system 150, and the unit parts information providing system 160) are requested. The product evaluation system 110 monitors the situation where information is registered in the database from each of the systems 120, 130, 150, and 160 on the information provider side, and performs design evaluation again when all requested information is obtained. Details will be described below.

  First, when receiving the specification of the evaluation target product and the evaluation target item, the BOM evaluation unit 103 takes out BOM data of the product to be evaluated from the BOM database 101 (step 801).

  The BOM evaluation unit 103 uses the BOM data extracted in step 801 and a list of data necessary for evaluating the evaluation target item for which the designation is accepted, and lists all types of data necessary for the evaluation of the designated product. Up (step 802). Next, the BOM evaluation unit 103 extracts data from the part attribute database 102 and the machining / assembly attribute database 141 according to the list created in step 802 (step 803). Here, when all the data necessary for the evaluation are prepared (step 804), the evaluation is performed as it is (step 811), and the processing is completed. The evaluation results are referred to by the designer and reflected in the design.

  On the other hand, if there is no data necessary for evaluation in the part attribute database 102 in step 804, the BOM evaluation unit 103 causes the shortage information extraction unit 112 to check the shortage information list based on the shortage information for each part. 115 is created (step 805).

  Upon receiving the information-deficient component list 115, the information request unit 113 refers to the component information source database 111 and creates an information request message 114 for each information request destination (in this embodiment, an e-mail address) (step 806). ). Then, the information request unit 113 sends the created information request message 114 to the information request destination by electronic mail.

  The component attribute creation unit 121, the component attribute search unit 132, the processing / assembly attribute creation unit 151, and the unit BOM data creation unit 161 of the system on the information provider side that has received the information request message 114 store the requested component attribute data and the like. The component attribute registration unit 122, the component attribute registration unit 133, the machining / assembly attribute registration unit 152, and the unit BOM registration unit 162 generate the generated component attribute data and the like in the component attribute database 102 and the machining / assembly attribute, respectively. It is registered in the database 141, the BOM database 101, etc. (step 808).

  The collection status check unit 181 confirms the registration status in the part attribute database 102, the machining assembly attribute information database 141, and the BOM database 101 with reference to the information-deficient part list 115 created in step 805 at a predetermined timing ( Step 809). Specifically, the collection status check unit 181 registers whether the shortage information included in the shortage information list 115 created for each evaluation is registered in the part attribute database 102 or the machining / assembly attribute database 141. Alternatively, if the BOM database 101 has registered a component part included in the information-deficient part list 115, the information is deleted from the list. When all the evaluation deficiency information is deleted, the collection status check unit 181 determines that the collection is completed.

  The collection status check unit 181 transmits an information collection completion notification to the BOM evaluation unit 103 when the collection of all the information listed in the information insufficient component list 115 is completed (step 810). If the information collection is not completed even after the specified period, an information collection incomplete notification is transmitted to the BOM evaluation unit 103.

  When the completion notification is received, the BOM evaluation unit 103 returns to step 801 and starts the evaluation again (step 802). In step 803, the above is repeated until there is no data shortage.

  Note that, in the collection status check in step 809, the data is insufficient again even though the collection is completed, and the process proceeds to step 804 in the following case.

  When the unit parts information providing system 160 transmits BOM data consisting of parts constituting the part to the BOM database 101 instead of attribute information for the requested part, the unit part data in the original BOM data is registered. Goes down one level. For example, the information request unit 113 of the component evaluation system 110 transmits a message requesting the attribute information of the unit 456 (2b) in the example of FIG. 4, and the unit BOM registration unit 162 receives the message and receives the message. This is the case where information 44, 44555, 55666, and 66666 (3b) are transmitted and registered as BOM data to the BOM database 101, and information about each information source is transmitted and registered in the component information source database 111. .

  At this time, if an instruction to start evaluation again is received, the component evaluation system 110 may not have the attribute information of the component 44444, the component 55555, and the component 666666 newly registered in the BOM database 101 at that time. is there. In such a case, the shortage information extraction unit 112 lists these part names and necessary attribute information as the shortage information part list 115. Then, the information request unit 113 requests the component manufacturer E, the trading company F, and the component system G of FIG. 6, which are the component information sources registered together with the new BOM data, to provide component attribute information. A message 114 is transmitted.

  In this embodiment, in this way, even if the information providing side does not have or cannot provide the component attribute information itself that is the requested information, the BOM data constituting the component is used. If the information sources can be provided, the parts evaluation system of the product set manufacturer 701 takes over the subsequent information collection. This increases the possibility of collecting component attribute information necessary for evaluation.

  Next, a process of generating necessary component attribute data by each information providing system on the side of receiving the request message 114 transmitted from the information request unit 113 will be described. Here, a case where the unit component information providing system 160 of the unit manufacturer D company 705 receives the information request message 114 will be described as an example.

  Upon receiving the information request message 114 by e-mail, the unit BOM data creation unit 161 of the unit component information providing system 160 displays the information request message 114 on its own display device in accordance with a user instruction. When an instruction to access a URL indicating the address of the web server of the component evaluation system 110 specified in the e-mail is received from the user, by accessing the web server of the component evaluation system 110 via the web browser, Data of a screen for inputting component attribute information is obtained and displayed on the display device of its own system.

  Upon receipt of the information request message 114, the unit BOM data creation unit 161 interprets the content according to a predetermined program, automatically extracts the URL included in the message, accesses it via a Web browser, and inputs it. You may comprise so that a screen may be displayed.

  The parts information providing system 120, the processing / assembly attribute information providing system 150, and the collected parts information providing system 130 also basically perform registration processing in the same manner as described above.

  In the case where a database of component attribute information to be provided is held in its own system, for example, the collected component information providing system 130 will be described as an example, and the received information request message 114 is received by the component attribute search unit 132. The component attribute external database 131 may be searched according to the interpretation result, and the search result may be registered in the component attribute database 102 by the component attribute registration unit 133.

  Specifically, the component attribute search unit 132 interprets the received request message 114, and from there, the address of the component attribute database 102 that is a transmission destination address, the component number that is information for identifying the component, and the request Extracted attribute information. The component attribute search unit 132 searches the component attribute external database 131 using the extracted component number as a search key, extracts the requested attribute information from the obtained component data, and stores it in the component attribute registration unit 133 together with the transmission destination address. Deliver. The component attribute registration unit 133 registers in the component attribute database 102 by transmitting the received attribute information toward the received transmission destination address.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of a component attribute information input screen for inputting component attribute information.

  As shown in the figure, the displayed component attribute information input screen includes an address bar 1000 indicating the URL of the component information providing system 120, a request destination display unit 1005 indicating the request destination, and a list of requested components. A requested component list display unit 1006, a registration button 1010 that receives a registration instruction, a cancel button 1020 that receives a cancellation instruction, and a component configuration information registration button 1030 that receives an instruction to register component configuration information.

  The requested part list display unit 1006 includes our part number field 1001 for displaying the part number of the requested part in the product set maker 701, your company part number field 1002 for inputting the part number of the part maker A company 702, An average delivery date column 1003 for storing an average delivery date, a component information column 1004 for inputting requested component information, and a request attribute information instruction column 1005 indicating the type of requested component information are provided. Among these, information other than our part number column 1001 and request attribute information instruction column 1005 is provided from the unit component information providing system 160 side. Here, in the required attribute information instruction field 1005, for each part, for example, the type of requested attribute information such as chemical substance composition, weight, price, and the like is displayed in advance. In the case of processing / assembly information, information necessary for processing information, assembly information, and the like is specifically described in this column.

  The registration button 1010 accepts the user's intention to register. The component attribute registration unit 122 receives information input via the Web browser in response to pressing of the registration 1010 button, and transmits the information to the component evaluation system 110. The received component evaluation system 110 registers in the component attribute database 102.

  The cancel button 1020 accepts an intention not to transmit what the user inputs to the component evaluation system 110.

  The cancel button 1020 accepts an intention not to transmit what the user inputs to the component evaluation system 110.

  The part configuration information registration button 1030 accepts the intention of the user to shift to the screen for accepting the input of the configuration information of the part, that is, the BOM data, not the attribute information of the part. This is used, for example, when the component for which information is requested is a unit product and attribute information of the unit product itself cannot be provided.

  When the Web server accepts the input of the part configuration information registration button 1030, the BOM data input screen accepts the input of the parts constituting the unit parts, that is, the BOM data of the unit parts, instead of inputting the attribute information of the parts. Is displayed and waits for input.

  An example of the BOM data input screen is shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, the BOM data input screen includes an address bar 1100 for displaying a URL, a PN data input field 1101, a PS data input field 1102, a registration button 1110, and a cancel button 1120. The PN data input field 1101 includes an item code input field 1101a, an item name input field 1101b, an information source input field 1101c, and an access destination input field 1101d. The PS data input field 1102 includes a parent item code input field 1102a, a child item code input field 1102b, and a number input field 1102c.

  The functions of the registration button 1110 and the cancel button 1120 are basically the same as those of the component attribute information input screen.

  That is, when the unit BOM registration unit 162 accepts pressing of the registration button 1110, the unit BOM registration unit 162 accepts data input via the Web browser in the PN data input field 1101 and the PS data input field 1102, and the BOM database 101 and the component information Transmit to source database 111. The data transmitted to the component information source database 111 is data input to the information source input column 1101c and the access destination input column 1101d of the PN data input column 1101.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the attribute information generated by the component manufacturer or the like is directly registered in each database of the component evaluation system 110. However, it is not limited to this. For example, the parts evaluation system 110 includes a registration reception unit, and the registration reception unit receives all information transmitted from a component manufacturer and the like, and then stores each information in a predetermined database in the registration reception unit. You may comprise. In this case, the collection status checking unit 181 can compare the information received by the registration receiving unit with the information registered in the information-deficient component list 115 and determine whether the collection is completed.

  As described above, the component evaluation system according to the present embodiment has a mechanism for extracting attribute information of essential components that are not currently held and sending them to an information source in order to perform evaluation at the product development stage. ing. It also has a mechanism to register directly in the database of the evaluation system from the information source side. In addition, there is also a mechanism for confirming registration from the information source side. As described above, the component evaluation system according to the present embodiment includes a mechanism that increases the possibility of collecting component attribute information and the like that are essential for the evaluation, so that the possibility that the evaluation can be performed at a necessary time increases.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described.

  In order to evaluate a product at the development stage, attribute information such as component parts of the product is essential. For this reason, in the first embodiment, a mechanism has been described in which a unit component providing manufacturer or the like has a configuration capable of collecting information even when the attribute information of the unit component cannot be provided by itself.

  However, regardless of the mechanism, an information provider such as a component manufacturer is not necessarily obligated to provide attribute information about the component. If anything, component manufacturers tend to provide confidential business information such as manufacturing equipment, and thus information provision tends to be passive. For this reason, if there is a mechanism that motivates parts manufacturers to actively provide information, the accuracy of information collection is further increased.

  In this embodiment, the product evaluation system of the first embodiment having a mechanism for collecting attribute information of components and the like is further provided with a mechanism for urgently providing information.

  FIG. 9 shows a functional configuration diagram of the entire system of this embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, the present embodiment includes a component search unit 171 and a BOM editing unit 172 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  The component search unit 171 supports extraction of components from the component attribute database 102 according to specifications and various conditions given in advance when a designer or the like creates BOM data during product design and development. The part search unit 171 receives input of necessary specifications and conditions from a designer or the like, and extracts parts that match the input from the part attribute database 102. The extracted result is displayed on a display device to assist the designer in selecting a part. Here, the component search unit 171 also presents attribute information registered in the component attribute database 102 at the same time.

  FIG. 12 shows an output result display screen that is an example of the output of the component search unit 171. As shown in this figure, the output result display screen includes a part specification display field 1300 for displaying a part name to be searched and its specification, a search result display field 1310 for displaying a search result, a registration button 1320, and a cancel button. Button 1330. The search result display column 1310 includes a part number column 1310a, a manufacturer name column 1310b, a manufacturer code column 1310c, an average delivery date column 1310d, an attribute information display column 1310e, and a selection input column 1310f.

  The selection input field 1310f is a field for accepting selection of a part by the designer, the registration button 1320 accepts the confirmation of the selection, and the cancel button 1330 accepts the intention to cancel the selection.

  The BOM editing unit 172 creates BOM data using the component received via the registration button 1320 on the output result display screen of FIG. 12 and registers the created BOM data in the BOM database 101.

  In the present embodiment, the BOM evaluation unit 103 performs evaluation using the BOM data created in this way. The process after the input of the evaluation target product and items and the instruction to start the evaluation are basically the same as the processing flow shown in FIG. 8 of the first embodiment.

  Thus, in this embodiment, it can be known at the time of component selection whether or not attribute information is provided. For designers and developers, attribute information is indispensable for evaluation. Therefore, when selecting one of multiple parts with the same specifications, it is better to select the part of the manufacturer for which attribute information is provided. It is efficient and is likely to be selected. That is, for a component manufacturer or the like, if information is provided, the probability that the component is adopted in a product increases. This is a great motive for providing information to component manufacturers and the like, and leads to promotion of information collection of the evaluation system of the present embodiment.

  In addition, when the component search unit 171 outputs a search result, if there are a plurality of components that match the specifications and conditions, and there are components that have not been provided with attribute information, You may comprise so that the components which information is not provided are not displayed. With such a configuration, the degree of selection of a manufacturer part for which attribute information is provided is further increased, which increases the willingness of the manufacturer to provide attribute information.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, for each provider of attribute information, such as a component manufacturer, a provision rate calculation unit 173 that calculates information indicating the degree of provision of past attribute information, and information calculated by the provision rate calculation unit You may provide with the information provision rate database 174 holding a provision rate.

  The provision rate calculation unit 173 refers to the component attribute database 102, the machining / assembly attribute database 141, the information-deficient component list 115, and the like at a predetermined timing, and calculates an information provision rate for each information providing source. Here, the information provision rate is a probability that information is provided when information is requested from the component evaluation system 110 in the past.

  In addition, if it is requested, it is a situation that information is always provided. If all the provision rates are 100%, the period from the request to provision of information is used instead of the information provision rate. You may make it ask. In order to perform this processing, the date and time when the lack of each attribute information occurs, the date and time when the lacked attribute information was registered, and the like are recorded in each attribute database of the part attribute database 102 and the machining / assembly attribute database 141. It may be configured.

  By holding the information provision rate, the component search unit 171 provides, in accordance with the information provision rate stored in the information provision rate database 174, when parts having the same specifications are provided from a plurality of manufacturers during the search. The components are displayed in order from the manufacturer with the highest rate, and output as a configuration that accepts the selection of the manufacturer with the highest provision rate as the default. By adopting this configuration, it is possible to further increase the selection rate of parts of a manufacturer with a high information provision rate.

  Note that the information provision rate for determining the display order can be determined in more detail according to the content of the information provided, not just whether or not the information is provided. Hereinafter, an example in which the provision rate calculation unit 173 calculates the information provision rate for determining the display order will be described.

  Here, a value obtained by quantifying the degree of satisfaction with the provided information calculated by the following procedure is used as an information providing rate, and each component is displayed in order from the highest value.

  FIG. 15 shows a procedure in which the provision rate calculation unit 173 calculates an information provision rate indicating the degree of information satisfaction of components for determining the display order. Here, the information provision rate indicating the degree of satisfaction is calculated based on the detail of the component information, the guarantee level, and the freshness.

The details of the parts information are determined by the degree of details of the registered parts information. For example, in the case of the content information of harmful chemical substances in the parts, the following information is provided according to the details of the provided information. Set the number of points. In the following, it is assumed that the higher the score is, the higher the satisfaction level is, and a case where 0 to 4 points are given according to each level will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. In order to display it as an information provision rate, you may give similarly between 0-100 points or 0.01-1 points, for example. The same applies to other assurance levels and freshness.
Score 0 “ignore level”: Information is not provided.
Score 1 “presence / absence level”: only information that hazardous substances are included / not included is provided.
Score 2 “Summary level”: The content in the classification unit of the contained substance is provided.
Score 3 “level of detail”: The content of each specific molecular structure of the contained substance is provided.
Score 4 “sufficient level”: Information other than hazardous substances requested is also provided. Here, the information other than the toxic substance being sought is, for example, supplemental information such as a substance containing part and volatilization conditions, a chemical substance composition other than the toxic substance, and the “sufficient level” with a score of 4 is This refers to the case where this information is also provided.

And the assurance level of parts information is the same as the content information of hazardous chemical substances in parts, and indicates the level of assurance that the parts maker itself guarantees for the substance information provided by the parts maker. The following points are set according to the guarantee level.
Score 0 “ignore level”: There is no mention of guarantee.
Score 1 “reference level”: It is assumed that the information provided is a reference level, and the part manufacturer is not responsible for any damage caused by this information.
Score 2 “Partial Guarantee Level”: Compensates for the amount of damage incurred in a limited range based on the information provided.
Score 3 “Full Guarantee Level”: Compensate for all damages caused by the information provided.

The freshness of the component information represents the update frequency of the provided information, and the following points are set according to the update time.
Score 0 “ignore level”: No information is provided.
Score 1 “No renewal”: It has not been renewed for over a year since it was first registered.
Score 2 “Infrequent update”: More than one year has passed since the last update Score 3 “Intermediate frequency update”: Last update is less than one year, more than half a year Score 4 “Frequent update”: Last Renewal is within half a year.

  The provision rate calculation unit 173 calculates the score of these evaluation items from each information registered in the part attribute database 102 or the machining / assembly attribute database 104. That is, in step 1202, a score related to the information details is calculated, in step 1203 a score related to the information guarantee level is calculated, and in step 1204 a score related to the freshness of the information is calculated.

  However, the level of detail and the guarantee level are calculated based on the acquired information presented on the display screen, the input of data used for calculating the score or the score from the user.

  Next, based on the calculation result of the score of each evaluation item, the score is totaled and calculated as a component information provision rate (step 1205).

  Next, the score of each component totaled in step 1205 is totaled for each component manufacturer, and is calculated as an information provision rate for each component manufacturer (step 1206).

  The component search unit 171 sorts the component list searched by the designer in accordance with the component information provision rate calculated in step 1205, and presents the components from the component with the large numerical value indicated as the information provision rate. In this case, it may be configured not to display components whose numerical value shown as the information provision rate is equal to or smaller than a predetermined numerical value.

  Further, the component search unit 171 not only rearranges the display components using the information provision rates of the individual components, but also determines the display order of components according to the information provision rates for each manufacturer calculated in step 1206, for example. It is also possible to do. Further, in determining the display order, both the component information provision rate and the information provision rate for each manufacturer may be used in combination.

  As described above, in this embodiment, parts with a high provision rate of attribute information necessary for evaluation, that is, parts of a company with a high information provision ratio are displayed preferentially, and such companies The possibility that the part is selected as the BOM data is increased. Accordingly, the more information the component manufacturer provides, the higher the probability that the component will be employed in the product, and the greater willingness to provide information. This leads to the promotion of information collection.

  The parts evaluation system according to the present embodiment has a mechanism for collecting attribute information of essential parts in order to perform evaluation at the product development stage, and a mechanism for providing motivation to be actively provided to the supplier side Therefore, the collection of information such as parts necessary for the evaluation is promoted, and the possibility that the evaluation can be surely performed at a necessary time is further increased.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a product evaluation system in the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the entire product evaluation system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the BOM database. FIG. 4 is an example of a component managed in a hierarchical structure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of PN data. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of PS data. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the component information source database. FIG. 8 is a processing flow showing the flow of attribute information collection in the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a functional configuration diagram of the product evaluation system in the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of the component attribute data input screen. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of the BOM data registration screen. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search result output screen according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a component attribute database. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining an example of the information-deficient component list. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a procedure for calculating the information satisfaction level of the component in the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

701 ... Product set manufacturer, 702 ... Part manufacturer A company, 703 ... Part information provider company B, 704 ... Manufacturing / processing company C company, 705 ... Unit manufacturer D company, 110. ..Part evaluation system 101... BOM database 102 .Part attribute database 103... BOM evaluation unit 111 .Part information source database 112. Information request part 114 ... Information request message 115 ... Information deficient part list 120 ... Part information providing system 121 ... Part attribute creation part 122 ... Part attribute registration part 130 ... Collected parts information providing system, 131 ... Parts attribute external database, 132 ... Parts attribute search unit, 133 ... Parts attribute registration unit, 141 ... Assembly attribute database, 150 ... Machining / assembly attribute information providing system, 151 ... Machining / assembling attribute creation unit, 152 ... Machining / assembling attribute registration unit, 160 ... Unit component information providing system, 161 ... Unit BOM data creation unit, 162... Unit BOM registration unit, 171 ..part search unit, 172... BOM editing unit, 181.

Claims (5)

A product evaluation system for evaluating the design of a product according to attribute information of component parts of the product under development,
A component configuration information storage means for storing a product component configuration;
Component attribute information storage means for holding collected attribute information in an area for storing component attribute information necessary for the evaluation for each component;
Information source storage means for holding access data to an information source for acquiring the attribute information for each component;
A design evaluation unit that extracts the necessary attribute information from the component attribute information storage unit according to the component configuration stored in the part configuration information storage unit, and evaluates the design of the product using the extracted attribute information When,
Prior to extraction of the attribute information in the design evaluation means, it is determined whether or not the attribute information necessary for the evaluation is stored in the component attribute information storage means, and as a result of the determination, attributes that are not stored If there is information, the shortage information extraction means for creating the shortage information list by extracting the non-stored attribute information as the shortage information and extracting the information for each required component;
A shortage information request for acquiring an information source corresponding to a part included in the shortage information list created by the shortage information extracting means from the information source storage means and generating an information request message for requesting the shortage information for each part Message generation means;
Message sending means for sending the generated shortage information request message to the information source;
A response to the transmitted message transmitted from the information source, the requested attribute information, part configuration information indicating a part constituting the requested part, and an attribute of the part constituting the requested part Received a reply containing at least one of information, part configuration information indicating a part constituting the requested part, and access data to an information source of the part constituting the requested part Receiving means for storing each of the attribute information, part configuration information, and access data included in each of the part attribute information storage means, the part configuration information storage means, and the information source storage means;
The component attribute information storage unit and the component configuration information storage unit are accessed at a predetermined timing, and the shortage information in the shortage information list is newly registered in the part attribute information storage unit, or in the shortage information list It is searched whether the component part of the contained part is newly registered in the part configuration information storage means, and if it is stored, the stored shortage information is deleted from the shortage information list and the shortage information Registration monitoring means for notifying the design evaluation means that information collection is complete when all the missing information in the list is deleted,
The design evaluation means receives the notification and performs the extraction and the design evaluation.
Product evaluation system to feature a. A claim 1 Symbol placement of product evaluation system,
It further comprises processing assembly information storage means for storing processing assembly attribute information related to assembly and processing of parts required for evaluation for each part,
The information source storage means further holds access data to an information source for acquiring the machining assembly attribute information for each part,
The design evaluation means extracts the required machining / assembly attribute information from the machining / assembly attribute information storage means according to the part configuration stored in the part configuration information storage means, and the extracted processing is performed in the evaluation of the design. Also use assembly attribute information,
The deficient information extraction means determines whether the machining assembly attribute information necessary for the evaluation is stored in the machining assembly attribute information storage means prior to the machining assembly information extraction in the design evaluation means , If it is not stored as a result of the determination, the information that is not stored is extracted for each corresponding part as insufficient machining assembly attribute information,
The deficient information request message generating means acquires an information source of deficient machining assembly attribute information extracted for each part in the deficient information extracting means from the information source storage means, and obtains the deficient machining assembly attribute information for each of the parts. Generate the requested assembly information request message,
The message transmission means transmits the generated machining / assembly information request message to the information source. The product evaluation system according to claim 2 ,
The deficient information extracting means lists the extracted deficient machining assembly information as a deficient machining assembly information list for each part,
The registration monitoring means accesses the machining assembly attribute information storage means at a predetermined timing, searches whether the missing machining assembly information in the missing machining assembly information list is stored, and if it is stored, the missing machining assembly The design evaluation means that information collection is completed when the stored insufficient machining assembly information is deleted from the assembly information list and all the insufficient machining assembly information in the insufficient machining assembly information list is deleted. To notify
Product evaluation system characterized by The product evaluation system according to claim 1 or 3 ,
The registration monitoring unit further accesses the component configuration information storage unit at a predetermined timing, and searches whether or not the configuration information of the component extracted as having the shortage information in the shortage information list has been updated. And, if updated, the missing information of the updated part is deleted from the missing information list.   The product evaluation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
  When a new component is stored in the component configuration information storage unit and the attribute information of the new component is not stored in the component attribute information storage unit,
  The shortage information extracting unit creates attribute information of the new component part as shortage information, creates a new shortage information list by extracting the information for each necessary part,
  The deficiency information request message generation means acquires an information source corresponding to a part included in the new deficiency information list from the information source storage means, and generates an information request message for requesting the deficiency information for each part.
  Product evaluation system characterized by

Images