JP4440149B2 - Simulation device, simulation method, and design support program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a simulation apparatus, a simulation method, and a design support program that can be used for designing a conveyance path for conveying a sheet-like flexible medium such as paper or film.

  When designing transport routes that are installed in devices such as copiers and laser beam printers and transport flexible media in the form of sheets such as paper, the transport route is designed to shorten the development period and reduce costs. The behavior of a flexible medium that moves is analyzed by computer simulation and drawn on a screen.

  As a simulation technique, the flexible medium is expressed by a finite element by the finite element method, contact with the conveyance guide or roller in the conveyance path is determined, and the equation of motion is numerically solved. A design support program for evaluating the conveyance resistance and contact angle with the guide has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  There is also known a technique for improving the calculation speed by expressing the flexible medium more simply by a mass and a spring.

  When analyzing the motion of a flexible medium, as described above, a motion equation of the flexible medium expressed discretely by a finite element or mass-spring system is established, and the analysis target time is divided into time steps having a finite width. New time β method, Wilson θ method, Euler method, Kutta-merson method, etc. are analyzed by sequentially obtaining unknown acceleration, velocity, and displacement for each time step from time 0 (numerical time integration). Widely known.

Here, the flexible medium is divided into rigid elements, and a flexible medium model is created by connecting the divided rigid elements with springs. Using this model, a force proportional to the displacement from the original shape is generated. Let That is, the original shape is a shape drawn as an initial shape, and when it is deformed by an external force, a restoring force to return to this shape is applied.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-195052 JP-A-11-116133

  However, for example, paper among the flexible media, the end portion is lifted depending on the amount of moisture in the interior and the storage state, and curling with a curvature occurs. It is known from experiments that the rigidity of the curled portion is about 1.5 to 2 times higher than that of the straight portion. Such curling causes unexpected problems on the conveyance path. Therefore, in the simulation technology in the conveyance path as described above, in addition to the behavior of the straight flexible medium, the curled flexible medium in the conveyance path. It was required to accurately simulate the behavior of

  When simulating the behavior of a curled flexible medium, draw the curled part on the screen in an arc shape, start the behavior calculation, and if the flexible medium is deformed, restore it to return to the shape at the start with the curl. A method of generating force can be considered. However, when setting the curled flexible medium in the conveyance path, if the curled part is drawn on the screen in an arc shape, the flexible medium overlaps the conveyance guide in the conveyance path narrower than the curl height. There was a problem that it was not possible to draw.

  Furthermore, when a flexible medium is defined in a bent conveyance path, the flexible medium must be defined by a curve when creating a model. When a flexible medium is defined by a curve, if the curvature is a curled portion, a simulation is performed to pass the conveyance path while maintaining the curvature, but if the straight flexible medium is bent instead of the curled portion, the curvature is It is necessary to perform a simulation that returns to a straight line. It is required to accurately simulate these distinctions.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to start a simulation of the behavior of a flexible medium having a curled portion even from a portion narrower than the height of the curled portion in the middle of a conveyance path .

In order to achieve the above object, a simulation apparatus according to the present invention displays on a display screen the components in a predefined conveyance path in a simulation apparatus that simulates the behavior of a sheet-like flexible medium moving in the conveyance path. Component position display means, and initial position setting means for setting an initial position and shape of a flexible medium whose operation is simulated in the transport path on a display screen on which the component parts are displayed by the component part display means; the has a car Le setting means for setting the shape of the curl portion with respect to the flexible medium, and a simulation means for performing a simulation of a flexible medium curl portion by the car Le setting means is set, the simulation The means determines the initial level of the set flexible medium according to the start of the simulation. Based on the shape, a restoring force is generated for the set curled portion of the flexible medium based on the shape of the set curled portion, and a straight line is applied to a portion of the flexible medium where the curled portion is not set. A restoring force is generated based on the shape .
The program of the present invention is a computer-readable program provided with a program code for realizing the function of the simulation apparatus by a computer.
The simulation method of the present invention is a simulation method of a simulation apparatus for simulating the behavior of a sheet-like flexible medium that moves in a conveyance path, and displays the components in the predefined conveyance path on a display screen. A component display step, and an initial position setting step for setting an initial position and a shape of a flexible medium whose operation is simulated in the transport path on a display screen on which the component is displayed by the component display step. A curl setting step for setting a shape of the curled portion with respect to the flexible medium, and a simulation step for executing a simulation of the flexible medium in which the curl portion is set by the curl setting step. The first of the set flexible media in response to the start of Based on the position and shape, a restoring force is generated with respect to the set curl portion in the flexible medium based on the shape of the set curl portion, and a portion of the flexible medium where the curl portion is not set A restoring force is generated based on a straight line shape.

According to the present invention, the simulation of the behavior of the flexible medium having the curled portion can be started even from a portion narrower than the height of the curled portion in the middle of the conveyance path , and the restoring force corresponding to the curled shape is taken into consideration. A highly accurate simulation can be realized.

  Embodiments of a simulation apparatus, a simulation method, and a design support program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Device configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a simulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The simulation apparatus is configured by a computer, and includes a video RAM (VRAM) 201, a keyboard 204, a pointing device (PD) 205, a CPU 206, a ROM 208, a RAM 209, a hard disk drive (HDD) 210, and a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive. Each device such as (FDD) 211 is connected via an I / O bus (consisting of an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus) 207.

  The CPU 206 controls each unit of the present apparatus based on a control program (design support program related to the present invention for supporting the design of the conveyance path) stored in the ROM 208. The RAM 209 is used as a work area when the CPU 206 executes a design support program or the like and a temporary save area during error processing. The hard disk drive 210 and the floppy (registered trademark) disk drive 211 are used for storing a database for supporting a transfer route design, an application program, and the like.

  The video RAM 201 is a memory that develops and stores characters and images displayed on the screen of the display device 202, the keyboard 204 includes various keys related to input, and a pointing device 205 is a mouse for pointing icons and the like on the screen. Etc.

  When the simulation apparatus having the above configuration is turned on, the CPU 206 initializes the apparatus in accordance with the boot program stored in the ROM 208, loads the OS (operating system) from the HDD 210, and then performs processing according to the present embodiment described in detail below. In order to realize the above, a design support program or the like is operated.

  The design support program related to the present invention is stored in the ROM 208, but of course, it may be stored in the hard disk 210 or the like, and the present invention is not limited by the storage medium.

[Process of this embodiment]
Hereinafter, a series of processing according to the present embodiment will be described with respect to behavioral simulation in the conveyance path of a flexible medium in which a curled portion having a curvature at an end portion due to humidity or physical force is formed. This series of processing is realized by the CPU 206 executing the design support program according to the present embodiment in the ROM 208 of the simulation apparatus shown in FIG.

  That is, the design support program according to the present embodiment simulates the behavior of a sheet-like flexible medium including paper and film being transported in a transport path configured by a transport guide and a transport roller. This program supports design. The simulation apparatus executed by the design support program includes a process for defining a mechanical part of a conveyance path including a conveyance guide and a conveyance roller, a process for defining a flexible medium in an arbitrary shape, and a curl section on the flexible medium. And a process of generating a restoring force of tension and rotation by dividing the flexible medium arranged in the conveyance path into a plurality of rigid elements having mass and connecting the rigid elements with springs, and The conveyance roller driving method, which is a conveyance condition, and a process of setting a friction coefficient between the conveyance roller and the conveyance guide and the flexible medium are executed, and then the behavior of the flexible medium having the curled portion is based on all these processes. Is obtained in a time series by numerical simulation, and the behavior of the flexible medium obtained thereby is displayed on the display device 202. Hereinafter, the process of the simulation apparatus of this embodiment will be described in detail.

<Definition of transport mechanism>
FIG. 2 is a screen display diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed in the process of defining the transport mechanism.

  As shown in the figure, this screen includes a menu bar 1 for switching main processes, a sub-configuration menu 2 for each process, a graphical screen 3 on which defined transport paths and processing results are displayed, and a program message. And a command field 4 for inputting numerical values as necessary.

  First, a transport route is defined. When the “transport route” button 1a in the menu bar 1 is pressed to define the transport route, the sub-configuration menu 2 of the transport route definition process has a desired range area on the left side of the screen as shown in FIG. Displayed. The sub-configuration menu 2 includes a roller pair definition button 2A for defining a pair of transport rollers with two rollers, a roller definition button 2B for defining one roller independently, and a straight guide definition button for defining a straight transport guide. 2C, an arc guide definition button 2D for defining an arc conveyance guide, a spline guide definition button 2E for defining a conveyance guide with a spline curve, and a flapper (point) for branching a path along which the flexible medium is conveyed A flapper definition button 2F, a sensor definition button 2G for defining a sensor for detecting whether or not the flexible medium is at a predetermined position in the transport path, and the like can be displayed.

  Each of these buttons 2A to 2G is a part that constitutes a conveyance path of an actual copying machine or printer. Therefore, it is desirable that all the parts necessary for configuring the conveyance path of the flexible medium such as paper are prepared. When the definition of each component is performed using the sub-configuration menu, the position shape is reflected on the graphic screen 3.

<Definition of flexible media>
Next, a flexible medium is defined. By selecting a “medium definition” button 1b provided in the menu bar 1 of FIG. 2, it is possible to shift to a model definition of a flexible medium having a curl portion.

  FIG. 3 is a screen display diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed in the process of defining the flexible medium. On this screen, the components in the conveyance path defined in advance as described above are displayed.

  By detecting that the “medium definition” button 1b on the menu bar 1 is selected, the sub-configuration menu 2 includes a drawing shape selection screen 2I, a medium type selection screen 2J, and a division method as shown in FIG. A selection screen 2K is displayed. Here, when selection of “straight line” in the drawing figure selection screen 2I is detected in order to determine the position and shape where the flexible medium is arranged as the initial position in the transport path, both end portions of the flexible medium are detected. A message prompting the user to input the coordinate value is displayed in the command field 4.

  The coordinate value can be input to the command field 4 by inputting a numerical value from the keyboard 204 or by directly instructing the graphic screen 3 by the pointing device 205. When the coordinates of both ends of the flexible medium are designated, a straight line (broken line) 22 connecting the both ends 21 is drawn on the graphic screen 3 to check how the flexible medium is installed in the transport path. be able to.

  In addition, it is also possible to create the drawing pattern of the flexible medium in the shape of “arc” or “spline” in the same manner as the conveyance guide.

<Definition of curled part>
FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed in the process of defining the curl portion on the flexible medium, and FIG. 5 is a screen display diagram illustrating a curl definition screen used for defining the curl portion. is there. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining processing for setting the shape (curl amount) of the curled portion.

  After the flexible medium is defined by the above procedure and the model is created, when the curl definition button 2L is pressed, a display screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed and prompted to select the end of the flexible medium. In the flexible medium that has already been created, the end 31 where the curl portion is to be defined is clicked with the pointing device 205.

  When selection of the end portion 31 is detected, a box 32 for inputting a horizontal distance from the end portion 31 and a box 33 for inputting the height of the curled portion are arranged as shown in FIG. The curl definition screen is displayed as a window. On the screen of FIG. 5, the curl shape is determined by inputting numerical values in the box 32 and the box 33. In the example of FIG. 5, 10 mm is input as the horizontal distance from the end 31 and 5 mm is input as the height.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the curled portion is assumed to be an arc in contact with the linear portion of the flexible medium, and the horizontal distance from the end portion 31 (the curl length) and the curl height are numerically input. Since the radius 34, angle 35 and length 36 of the arc can be obtained by graphic calculation, the curl shape can be set.

  FIG. 7 is a screen display diagram showing another curl definition screen used for defining the curl portion.

  According to this curl definition method, on the same screen, the tip 37 of the linear portion of the flexible medium, the passing point 38, and the tip 39 of the curled portion are picked in this order. Thereby, a curled portion of an arc passing through three points is set.

  FIG. 8 is a screen display diagram showing an example of a screen displayed after curl definition.

  As shown in the figure, the end portion where the curled portion 40 is set is drawn separately from the portion where the curled portion is not set. Further, since the curl unit 40 may be defined in a conveyance path narrower than its height as in the example of FIG. 8, a motion calculation process (calculation of the movement of the flexible medium in the conveyance path) to be described later is performed. Before the start of the process, the image is drawn with a temporary line and does not interfere with the conveyance guide or the roller.

  As described above, before the start of the motion calculation process, the shape of the curled portion is determined by numerical input or the like and is drawn with a temporary line, for example. Then, as will be described later, a restoring force is generated so that the shape of the curl portion appears after the start of the motion calculation process.

  In addition, in order to distinguish the edge part which defined the curl part, and the edge part which does not define the curl part, the method of marking an edge part or color-coding without drawing with a temporary line may be used. .

<Definition of a flexible medium having a curled portion as an elastic body>
FIG. 9 is a screen display diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed in the process of dividing the flexible medium into a plurality of rigid elements.

  When the flexible medium is defined as described above, a message prompting the input of the number of divisions or the division size when the flexible medium is discretized into a plurality of spring-mass systems is displayed in the command column 4. In the example of FIG. 9, an example is shown in which a flexible medium is defined by a straight line, the number of divisions is 10, and “equal division” is selected on the division method selection screen 2K.

  In the figure, a rotary spring 52 connecting the mass points 51 expresses bending rigidity when the flexible medium is regarded as an elastic body, and a translation spring 53 expresses tensile rigidity. The constants of both springs 52 and 53 can be derived from elasticity theory. The rotation spring constant kr and the translation spring constant ks are given by the following equations using the Young's modulus E, the width w, the paper thickness t, and the distance ΔL between the mass points.

  The mass m of the mass point is calculated by the following equation, assuming that the length L, the width w, the paper thickness t, the density ρ, and the division number n of the flexible medium.

[Equation 2]
m = Lwtρ / (n−1)
With the above operation, the flexible medium is model-defined as an elastic body that reacts to bending and pulling forces on the program.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the curl portion dividing process.

  As shown in the figure, when the curled portion is divided (in the example of FIG. 10, the curled portion is divided into four equal parts), the shape and the number of divisions of the curled portion determined by the horizontal distance and height from the end portion. Accordingly, an angle 54 formed by the rigid elements is calculated. On the other hand, the portion other than the portion defining the curled portion is a straight portion, and the angle of the rigid element is uniformly 0 °.

  The angles formed by all these rigid elements are stored as a reference angle for restoring force calculation, that is, the restoring force is zero. When a motion calculation process described later is started, the flexible medium defined in an arbitrary shape generates a restoring force such that each rigid element returns to the reference angle.

  Next, selection of the medium type of the flexible medium will be described. In the medium type selection screen 2J of the present embodiment, representative flexible medium type names are registered in advance, and the type of flexible medium to be calculated is selected by clicking with the pointing device 205. Parameters required for the motion calculation process described later are information on the Young's modulus, density, and thickness of the flexible medium, and the parameters are assigned as a database to the paper type displayed in the medium type selection screen 2J. Yes.

  In the present embodiment, recycled paper A is selected as the medium type. As a result, the Young's modulus of recycled paper A is 5409 Mpa, the density is 6.8 × 10 −7 kg / mm 3, and the paper thickness is 0.0951 mm. Will be selected from the database.

  The curled portion is set to have a spring stiffness higher than that of the straight portion by automatically multiplying the stiffness of the rotary spring by a coefficient based on physical data indicating that the stiffness is higher than that of the straight portion. In the example of recycled paper A, the spring stiffness of the curled portion is 1.6 times that of the straight portion.

<Setting transport conditions and friction coefficient>
After the discretization into the spring-mass element is performed by the model definition of the flexible medium as described above, the transport condition is set. In this transport condition setting process, the drive conditions of the transport roller, the control of the flapper that branches the transport path, and the friction coefficient when the transport guide or transport roller contacts the flexible medium are defined.

  11 and 12 are screen display diagrams illustrating an example of a screen displayed in the conveyance condition setting process according to the present embodiment.

  When the “conveyance condition” button 1 c in the menu bar 1 is pressed, a screen for defining the drive condition, the friction coefficient, and the conveyance roller is displayed in the sub-configuration menu 2. FIG. 11 shows an input example of the drive control of the transport roller. At the stage when the driving condition “roller” in the sub-configuration menu 2 is selected (the “roller” portion in FIG. 11 is highlighted). is there.

  With “roller” in the sub-configuration menu 2 selected, a transport roller that defines a drive condition is selected from the transport rollers displayed on the graphic screen 3. When the selection of the necessary transport rollers is completed, if the time and the number of rotations of the roller are input to the command field 4 as feature points, the number of rotations of the roller with respect to time is displayed on the graphic screen 3 as shown in FIG. A graph is displayed.

  For example, a graph can be created and displayed on the graphic screen 3 by inputting a feature point consisting of a set of time and rotation number from the command column 4 as needed. In this embodiment, the rotation speed of the conveyance roller is linearly increased from 0 to 120 rpm by 0 to 1 second, maintained at 120 rpm until 1 to 3 seconds, and decelerated to 120 rpm to 0 during 3 to 4 seconds. The feature points were input as follows. As a result, a graph with time on the horizontal axis and the number of roller rotations on the vertical axis is displayed on the graphic screen 3 as shown in FIG.

  Even when the friction coefficient is defined, the conveyance roller or the conveyance guide displayed on the graphic screen 3 is individually selected with “friction coefficient” selected in the drive condition of the sub-configuration menu 2 and selected. The friction coefficient μ with the flexible medium is input from the command column 4 for each transport roller or transport guide. Assuming that the normal force obtained by the contact calculation between the mass point of the flexible medium and the conveyance roller or the conveyance guide is N, the frictional force in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction of the flexible medium as shown in FIG. It is set so that μN works.

<Motion calculation processing>
Next, a motion calculation process for calculating the motion of the flexible medium in the transport path will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the motion calculation process according to the present embodiment.

  First, in step S61, an actual time T of motion calculation and a time step Δt of numerical time integration used when numerically finding the solution of the motion equation are set. Thereafter, steps S62 to S67 are a loop of numerical time integration, and the motion of the flexible medium is calculated every Δt from the initial time, and the result is stored in the RAM 209.

  In step S62, an initial acceleration, an initial speed, and an initial displacement necessary for calculation after Δt seconds are set. As for these values, the calculation result (that is, the calculation value of the previous cycle is set as the initial value) is input every time one cycle ends.

  In subsequent step S63, forces acting on the respective mass points forming the flexible medium are defined. This force includes rotational moment, restoring force expressed by pulling force, contact force, friction force, gravity, air resistance force, and Coulomb force. After calculating the force acting on each mass point, the resultant force is It is defined as the force finally applied to the flexible medium.

  In the next step S64, the resultant force of each mass point obtained in step S63 is divided by the mass of the mass point, and the acceleration after Δt seconds is calculated by adding the initial acceleration, and in step S65, the speed is calculated. In step S66, the displacement is calculated. That is, in step S65, the acceleration is multiplied by Δt, and the initial velocity is added to calculate the velocity after Δt seconds. In step S66, the velocity is multiplied by Δt, and the initial displacement is added to obtain Δt. Calculate the displacement in seconds.

  In this embodiment, Euler's time integration method is used for the physical quantity calculation after a series of Δt seconds in steps S63 to S66. However, the Kutta-merson, Newmark-β method, Willson-θ method, etc. The time integration method may be adopted.

  In step S67, it is determined whether or not the calculation time has reached the real time T set in step S61. If the calculation time has reached, the motion calculation process is terminated. If not, the process returns to step S62 again, and the time integration is repeated.

<Summary of behavior simulation of flexible media with curled part>
When the motion calculation is performed after the curl portion is defined as described above, as described with reference to FIG. 10, the curl portion is set so that the restoring force becomes 0 in the set curl shape. A restoring force is generated based on the shape of the curl, and the shape of the curl portion defined in the flexible medium appears. Further, a portion where the curl is not defined is regarded as a straight portion, and a restoring force is generated so that the restoring force becomes zero in a linear shape, and the behavior returns to a straight line.

  This point will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an outline of the behavior simulation of the flexible medium defining the curled portion, which is executed by the CPU 206 based on the program read from the ROM 206 to the RAM 209, and the processing according to the embodiment described above in detail. Represents the characteristic part.

  First, as described above, the CPU 206 sets the definition of the flexible medium in accordance with the user's operation, and then sets the shape definition of the curled portion (step S111). Next, the flexible medium is divided into rigid elements (step S112). Here, the flexible medium is a straight portion except for the end portion defining the curled portion. In the straight line portion, the angle formed by each rigid body element is 0 °, and this angle 0 ° is stored as a reference angle (step S113). On the other hand, since the curl shape is determined at the end portion defining the curl portion, an angle other than 0 ° corresponding to the curl shape is stored in the RAM 209 as the reference angle as the angle formed between the rigid elements ( Step S114).

  As described above, the CPU 206 returns to the angle when the difference between the angles stored in the steps S113 and S114 occurs in response to the start of the motion calculation (simulation) (step S115). A restoring force is generated at each mass point (step S116).

  As a result, even when the initial shape of the flexible medium is defined as an arbitrary curved shape, the straight line portion tries to return to the straight line from the first step of the motion calculation, and the curl portion behaves to return to the defined curl shape. .

  FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a behavior simulation of a flexible medium in which a curled portion is defined. In the figure, a flexible medium 22 indicated by a dotted line has a shape before starting the motion calculation process. When the motion calculation process is started, the angle formed by the rigid elements of the flexible medium 22 tries to return to the reference angle, and the flexible medium 22A after the start of the motion calculation is in contact with the transport guide 100. Thereafter, the motion calculation process is performed as described above until the set real time T is reached.

  In this manner, the shape of the curled portion is determined by numerical input or the like before the start of the motion calculation process, and a restoring force is generated so that the shape of the curled portion appears after the start of the motion calculation processing. As a result, even in a portion of the conveyance path that is narrower than the height of the curled portion, the curled portion can be set on the flexible medium and drawn without any trouble.

<Result display process>
FIG. 17 is a screen display diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed in the result display process according to the present embodiment.

  As a result display, when a “result display” button 1d in the menu bar 1 is pressed, a moving image menu and a plot menu are displayed in the sub-configuration menu 2 as shown in FIG. In the sub-configuration menu 2, the contents of moving images and plots can be selected. The moving picture menu includes a play button 71, a stop button 72, a pause button 73, a fast forward button 74, and a rewind button 75. With these buttons, the behavior of the flexible medium can be visualized on the graphic screen 3.

  After the result display process, a graph display process is performed. FIG. 18 is a screen display diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed in the graph display processing according to the present embodiment.

  In this graph display processing, when any of the calculation results of acceleration, velocity, displacement, and resistance of the mass point to be graphed is selected from the plot menu of the sub-configuration menu 2, the time is displayed on the graphic screen 3 as shown in FIG. A series graph is displayed.

<Advantages of the embodiment>
(1) For example, the curl portion on the flexible medium is defined by numerically inputting the height of the curl portion and the horizontal distance from the end of the curl portion, so that the inside of the conveyance path narrower than the height of the curl portion However, the curled portion can be set without drawing with an arc, and the flexible medium can be set at an arbitrary point in the conveyance path.

  (2) Since the curled portion can be set on the flexible medium even in the middle of the conveying path, which is narrower than the height of the curled portion, the behavior simulation of the flexible medium having the curled portion can be performed at the height of the curled portion in the conveying path. It is possible to start from a narrower portion, and the load of model creation before the start of motion calculation can be reduced. This simulation makes it possible to easily predict problems such as clogging of the flexible medium caused by curling. Therefore, even a designer who does not have detailed knowledge on the simulation can evaluate the function of the transport path under an adverse condition of curling before actually manufacturing the actual product.

  (3) Before starting the motion calculation, the angle formed by the rigid elements in the curled part is calculated, and the part formed without defining the curled part is regarded as a straight line part, and the angle formed by the rigid elements is 0 °. After the calculation and the motion calculation is started, it is assumed that these calculated angles are in the state of the restoring force 0, and the restoring force of the rotary spring is calculated. Therefore, the linear portion and the curl portion of the flexible medium in the motion calculation are calculated. Even if the initial shape of the flexible medium is created in an arbitrary shape, the behavior of the curled flexible medium can be obtained with high accuracy.

  (4) Since the end of the flexible medium in which the curled portion is defined is marked to distinguish it from the case where the curled portion is not set, the portion that defines the curled portion is clearly distinguished from the portion that does not. This makes it possible to prevent mistakes during model creation.

  (5) Based on the physical experiment data that the curled part has higher rigidity than the straight part, the rigidity of the rotary spring is automatically multiplied by a coefficient, and the spring rigidity higher than the straight part is set. A simulation closer to the actual phenomenon is possible, a failure that may occur in an actual use environment can be predicted with high accuracy, and an optimum transport route design can be performed.

  Note that an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the embodiments to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus as a storage medium. This is accomplished by reading and executing stored program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, and a DVD. -RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code, etc. Includes a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. This includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the simulation apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a screen display figure which shows an example of the screen displayed in the case of the process which defines a conveyance mechanism. It is a screen display figure which shows an example of the screen displayed in the case of the process which defines a flexible medium. It is a screen display figure which shows an example of the screen displayed in the case of the process which defines a curl part in a flexible medium. It is a screen display figure which shows the curl definition screen used for the definition of a curl part. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the process which determines the shape of a curl part. It is a screen display figure which shows the other curl definition screen used for the definition of a curl part. It is a screen display figure which shows the example of a screen displayed after curl definition. It is a screen display figure showing an example of a screen displayed in the case of processing which divides a flexible medium into a plurality of rigid elements. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the division | segmentation process of a curl part. It is a screen display figure which shows an example of the screen displayed in the case of the conveyance condition setting process which concerns on embodiment. It is a screen display figure which shows an example of another screen displayed in the case of the conveyance condition setting process which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the friction coefficient at the time of a conveyance condition setting process. It is a flowchart which shows the exercise | movement calculation process which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the behavior simulation of the flexible medium which defined the curl part. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the behavioral simulation of the flexible medium which defined the curl part. It is a screen display figure which shows an example of the screen displayed in the case of the result display process which concerns on embodiment. It is a screen display figure which shows an example of the screen displayed in the case of the graph display process which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Menu bar 2 Sub structure menu 3 Graphic screen 4 Command field 22 Flexible medium 40 Temporary line 51 which shows a curl part Mass point 52 Rotating spring 53 Translation spring 54 The angle 100 which the rigid body element of a curl part comprises Conveyance path 204 Keyboard 205 Pointing device (PD )
206 CPU
208 ROM
209 RAM
210 Hard disk drive (HDD)

Claims (7)

In a simulation apparatus for simulating the behavior of a sheet-like flexible medium moving in a conveyance path,
Component display means for displaying on the display screen the components in the predefined transport path;
An initial position setting means for setting an initial position and a shape of a flexible medium whose operation is simulated in the transport path on a display screen on which the component parts are displayed by the component part display means;
A car Le setting means for setting the shape of the curl portion with respect to said flexible medium,
And a simulation means for performing a simulation of the flexible medium that curled portion is set by the car Le setting means,
The simulation means restores the set curled portion of the flexible medium based on the set shape of the curled portion based on the set initial position and shape of the flexible medium at the start of simulation. to generate a force, the simulation for the portion where the curled portion is not set in the flexible medium, characterized in that to generate the restoring force relative to the linear shape device. The curl setting means has a curl length and height as a shape of the curl portion of the flexible medium on a window screen displayed according to the designation of the end of the flexible medium set by the initial position setting means. The simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: Before starting the simulation by the simulation means, on the display screen on which the component parts are displayed by the component display means, the end of the flexible medium in which the curl part is set by the curl setting means is set to the initial position. The simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the simulation apparatus displays the distinction from the initial position and shape of the flexible medium set by the means. The flexible medium is defined as an elastic body that is divided into a plurality of rigid elements having mass and is expressed by mass points and springs, and reacts to bending and pulling forces, and the curled portion is set by the curl setting means. 2. The simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rigid elements other than the end portion of the medium are linear portions having an angle of 0 [deg.], And the angle of 0 [deg.] Is set as reference data. The simulation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the curl portion sets higher spring rigidity than the linear portion. A computer-readable program comprising a program code for realizing the function of the simulation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 by a computer.   A simulation method of a simulation apparatus for simulating the behavior of a sheet-like flexible medium moving in a conveyance path,
  A component display step for displaying the components in the predefined transport path on the display screen;
  An initial position setting step for setting an initial position and a shape of a flexible medium whose operation is simulated in the transport path on a display screen on which the component is displayed by the component display step;
  A curl setting step for setting a shape of a curled portion with respect to the flexible medium;
  A simulation process for executing a simulation of a flexible medium in which a curled portion is set by the curl setting process,
  The simulation step restores the set curled portion of the flexible medium based on the set shape of the curled portion based on the set initial position and shape of the flexible medium at the start of simulation. A simulation method characterized in that a force is generated and a restoring force is generated with reference to a linear shape for a portion of the flexible medium where the curled portion is not set.

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