JP7193319B2 - Design support method and design support device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a design support method and a design support apparatus for generating output drawing data for supporting design related to manufacturing processes of wire harnesses.

In a vehicle, for example, it is necessary to individually supply power from a power source such as a main battery and an alternator (generator) to each of the many electrical components placed in various locations on the vehicle. be. Also, multiple electronic control units (ECUs) need to be interconnected so that they can communicate with each other. In addition, it is necessary to transmit signals output by various switches and sensors to a predetermined electronic control unit. In addition, it is necessary to individually control the on/off of various loads according to the signals output from the electronic control unit.

Therefore, in a general vehicle, each part of a wire harness, which is an assembly of many electric wires, is arranged along a predetermined wiring route on the vehicle, and each part on the vehicle is connected via the wire harness. .

In practice, several hundred wires, terminals, connectors, clamps, and other components are assembled according to the details of the design drawings, and arranged along the wiring route specified in the design drawings. The formed wire harness product is manufactured by a parts manufacturer. Then, the vehicle manufacturer manufactures the vehicle by assembling the wire harness purchased from the parts manufacturer to the vehicle body.

When manufacturing such wire harnesses, various matters such as overall weight reduction, workability during manufacturing, manufacturing cost reduction, and manufacturing quality must be considered. Therefore, various techniques related to wire harnesses have been conventionally proposed.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for optimizing joint positions from the viewpoint of total weight and cost when manufacturing a vehicle circuit body such as a wire harness. Specifically, based on the basic design data representing the configuration of the vehicle circuit body, visual information representing the wiring route and configuration of the vehicle circuit body is displayed on the screen, and joint part designation and optimization instructions are displayed. , automatically calculates the length of each wire and the total wire length when joint parts are placed at each of the different positions, and reflects the comparison result of the total wire length for each calculated position. , to display the optimal position of the joint site. It also displays the difference in total line length due to different positions. In addition to the total line length, changes in total weight and costs are considered to automatically determine the optimum position. Selection of positions other than the determined optimum position is also accepted.

Further, the manufacturing support method of Patent Document 2 shows a technique of outputting a number that is useful for improving the efficiency of work such as manufacturing, inspection, design change examination, etc. of a wire harness. Specifically, unique address information is generated for each node that represents each measuring point on the wire harness, the address information is assigned to the node on the output design drawing data, and when determining the number of the address information , assign numbers sequentially along the route of the wiring harness. Number assignment is started with the element position selected by user input as a base point. A smaller number is preferentially assigned to a node closer to the terminal in the routing route. When processing a branch node representing a branch point in a routing route, a smaller number is preferentially assigned to an attribute representing the characteristics of the branch node. A number with a small number of digits can be used, making it easier to grasp the connection relationship.

JP 2018-67104 A JP 2018-67431 A

By the way, for example, when a wire harness to be mounted on a vehicle manufactured by a vehicle manufacturer (Company A) is manufactured by a parts manufacturer (Company B), normally design drawing data (Section 1 design drawing data) is provided from A company to B company. This design drawing data is data that can be used on a specific CAD (Computer Aided Design) system introduced by Company A, and is created as data in a format that is easy for Company A to use.

Company B manufactures wire harness products based on the design drawing data received from Company A. In addition, after confirming that the manufactured wire harness product satisfies the specifications required by Company A through an inspection including actual measurement of dimensions, Company B delivers the wire harness product that has passed the inspection to Company A. Company A mounts the wire harness delivered by Company B on a specific vehicle body and manufactures the vehicle.

On the other hand, the wire harness product to be manufactured by Company B is composed of several hundreds of electric wires, terminals, connectors, clamps, and many other components, and has a complicated shape and structure. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to assemble the parts of the entire wire harness having a complicated structure at once, and efficient manufacturing is not possible.

Therefore, when Company B actually manufactures a wire harness, the target wire harness is designed in advance in a form divided into a plurality of parts, and each part is divided into sub-harnesses that are intermediate parts (sub-assemblies). Manufactured as Then, a large number of sub-harnesses are assembled together to form a whole wire harness, that is, a product.

For example, when Company B actually manufactures each sub-harness of a wire harness, workers or automatic manufacturing equipment can produce wire rods of various lengths, connectors, A large number of parts such as terminals and exterior materials are selected in order, arranged so as to pass through a predetermined wiring route, and then assembled. Then, the assembling work is carried out in a state in which each of the many manufactured sub-harnesses is hung on a horizontal rod and arranged in the horizontal direction.

In the manufacturing process as described above, it is important how the entire wire harness is divided to construct each sub-harness, which affects work efficiency and manufacturing cost. For example, when connecting a plurality of sub-harnesses to one connector, only one of the plurality of sub-harnesses can be connected to the corresponding connector in the process of manufacturing each sub-harness. As for the electric wires of the sub-harness to which the connector can be connected, the terminal of each electric wire can be attached to each cavity of the connector in the sub-harness manufacturing process. That is, "pre-fitting work" is possible. On the other hand, for electric wires of subharnesses that cannot be connected to a connector, the terminals are left open in the subharness manufacturing process, and after a plurality of subharnesses are combined, the terminals of the respective electric wires are attached to the intended connectors. In other words, it is necessary to perform a "retrofitting operation".

Here, since each sub-harness has a relatively simple structure and shape, in the case of "pre-fitting", it can be manufactured automatically and efficiently. On the other hand, in the case of "post-fitting work", since the shape and structure of the wire harness and the like are complicated, it is difficult to automate the work process, leading to a decrease in manufacturing efficiency. Additionally, manual manufacturing may result in incorrect connection of the terminals to different locations on the connector. Therefore, by increasing the proportion of "pre-fitting" and decreasing the proportion of "post-fitting", it becomes easier to manufacture wire harnesses efficiently and with high quality. In other words, how the wire harness is divided to manufacture each sub-harness is important for increasing the ratio of "pre-fitting".

In addition to the above, for example, if the number of electric wires constituting one sub-harness is too large, workability during manufacturing of the sub-harness deteriorates. In addition, when a plurality of electric wires forming one sub-harness cross each other on the wiring route or when a loop occurs, the electric wires become entangled, leading to deterioration of product quality. In addition, electric wires running in the direction opposite to the wiring direction may reduce workability during assembly and may lead to deterioration in product quality.

There are also special circuits, for example airbag circuits, which have the highest quality requirements. Also, some circuits require special work, such as waterproof type connectors. Furthermore, there are circuits that require special care, for example, because the terminals are prone to deformation.

Therefore, in Company B, prior to the start of manufacturing the wire harness, the designer manually creates an assembly drawing that shows the actual wiring route and flow of each wire for each of the entire wire harness and each subassembly that constitutes it. Was.

In addition, the designer investigates the presence or absence of design problems based on the contents of the drawings created by handwriting, and if any problems are found, asks company A to change the design and asks company A to send the correction data. was becoming Also, the worker manufactures each subassembly of the wire harness while referring to both the handwritten assembly drawing and the first design drawing data. Furthermore, in order to confirm the wiring workability when actually manufacturing the wire harness, prototypes of the entire wire harness and each subassembly were created. Then, the designer reexamined the wiring route and the like while looking at the created prototype. In addition, as a result of examination, when a change was required, a new assembly drawing was created again by the designer's handwriting, and a prototype was also created. Therefore, a lot of manpower and man-hours were required for the preparation from when company B received the first design drawing data to when it started manufacturing the wire harness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a design support method and a design support that are useful for supporting design when dividing an entire wire harness to form appropriate sub-harnesses. It is to provide a device.

In order to achieve the above object, the design support method and design support apparatus according to the present invention are characterized by the following (1) to ( 4 ).
(1) Using a computer , based on design drawing data representing manufacturing specifications of a desired wiring harness including a plurality of electric wires and a plurality of connectors as components, outputting to support design related to the manufacturing process of the wiring harness. A design support method for generating drawing data,
to the computer;
In a situation where the design drawing data contains, for each electric wire, a system code representing the equipment system to which the circuit of the electric wire belongs,
Each component of the wire harness is divided into a plurality of groups according to the system code,
Execute a process of generating output drawing data that associates each component classified into the same group with one sub-harness that is an intermediate part of the wire harness;
A design support method characterized by:

(2) to the computer,
In the design drawing data, when a plurality of the system codes are commonly assigned to one wire, the group having the largest number of circuits of the wire among the assigned system codes , assign priority to the corresponding wire , execute the process,
The design support method according to (1) above, characterized by:

(3) to the computer,
After assigning wires to each group of subharnesses,
A specific sub-harness having the largest number of wires connected to the connector is extracted from wires whose connection destination is the same connector, and the pre-fit attribute for the corresponding connector is preferentially applied to the wires belonging to the specific sub-harness. assign to, execute processing,
The design support method according to the above (1) or (2), characterized by:

( 4 ) Generate output drawing data for supporting design related to the manufacturing process of the wire harness, based on the design drawing data representing the manufacturing specifications of the desired wiring harness including a plurality of electric wires and a plurality of connectors as constituent elements. A design support device,
an input means for inputting the design drawing data including, for each electric wire, a system code representing the equipment system to which the circuit of the electric wire belongs;
Classification means for classifying each component of the wire harness into a plurality of groups according to the system code;
generating means for generating output drawing data that associates each component divided into the same group by the dividing means with one sub-harness that is an intermediate part of the wire harness;
output means for outputting the output drawing data generated by the generating means;
A design support device characterized by comprising:

According to the design support method having the configuration of (1) above and the design support device having the configuration of ( 4 ) above, it is possible to automatically divide the entire wire harness and generate appropriate configurations of a plurality of sub-harnesses. It is possible. That is, the configuration of each sub-harness generated as output drawing data is formed by circuits such as electric wires included in one group corresponding to the same system code. Therefore, for example, an independent sub-harness is formed for each equipment system of the vehicle. In other words, it is highly likely that most of the wiring that connects two pieces of equipment placed on the vehicle will pass through substantially the same common wiring route, so the shape and structure of the multiple electric wires that make up the sub-harness are simplified. Therefore, the possibility of crossing or looping of electric wires in the same sub-harness can be suppressed. In addition, since a large number of devices are usually mounted on a vehicle, it is possible to increase the number of divisions and reduce the number of electric wires of each sub-harness by constructing a sub-harness for each system code. That is, by simplifying the structure of each sub-harness, the automation of sub-harness manufacturing becomes easier.

According to the design support method having the configuration (2) above, it is possible to allocate the electric wires of the common circuit commonly used by the devices of a plurality of system codes only to the sub-harness of the specific system code which is used the most. Therefore, there is no need to install electric wires of the corresponding common circuit other than the sub-harness of the specific system code, and the total number of electric wires in the entire wiring harness can be reduced. Also, by selecting the most frequently used specific system code, all circuits required for common circuits can be assigned to any one of the sub-harnesses.

According to the design support method having the configuration (3) above, it is possible to increase the number of terminals to be pre-fitted when manufacturing each sub-harness. That is, when a plurality of sub-harnesses are commonly connected to one connector, only the wires of a specific sub-harness with the largest number of wires to be connected to the connector are "pre-fitted", and the wires of the other sub-harnesses are pre-fitted. By using "later fitting", the ratio of "previous fitting" in the entire wire harness is increased. Therefore, it is possible to improve work efficiency and quality in manufacturing the wire harness.

According to the design support method and the design support device of the present invention, it becomes easy to automatically divide the entire wire harness and form appropriate sub-harnesses.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the following detailed description of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are actual wiring diagrams showing configuration examples of two types of sub-harnesses. FIGS. 2(a), 2(b) and 2(c) are actual wiring diagrams showing configuration examples of three types of sub-harnesses. FIG. 3 is an actual wiring diagram showing a configuration example of one sub-harness. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an overview of design work before manufacturing a wire harness. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of input drawing data. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of intermediate data. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure for system subdivision. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure for first-fitting/last-fitting determination. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure for subdivision-2.

Specific embodiments relating to the present invention will be described below with reference to each drawing.

<Description of wire harness and sub-harness>
In order to facilitate understanding of the design support method of the present invention, the wire harness and sub-harness will be described first.

Configuration examples of two types of sub-harnesses 10A and 10B are shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b). 2(a), 2(b) and 2(c) show configuration examples of three types of sub-harnesses 10C, 10D and 10E. FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the sub-harness 10F.

For example, a wire harness provided by a parts manufacturer to a vehicle manufacturer as a product consists of components such as several hundred wires, terminals, connectors, clamps, etc., and is assembled according to the contents of a design drawing showing the specifications specified by the vehicle manufacturer. , is formed in a shape that can be arranged along the wiring route determined in the design drawing.

When a parts manufacturer actually manufactures such a wire harness, the entire circuit of the wire harness is divided into a plurality of groups of small circuits, and intermediate parts, that is, subassemblies are produced for each group of the divided small circuits. manufacture at an early stage. This subassembly means a subharness. By combining and integrating a plurality of manufactured sub-harnesses, it is possible to efficiently manufacture the intended wire harness.

However, at the pre-manufacturing design stage, depending on how the overall circuit of the wire harness is divided and how each sub-harness is configured, there is a big difference in the efficiency and quality of wire harness production. may occur. In the general process, the number of divisions and the appropriate configuration of each sub-harness are determined by the designer's judgment and trial and error, using drawings such as actual wiring diagrams created by humans and prototypes. Therefore, such work is very time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Further, the scale of the sub-harness is classified into a plurality of types, such as the following (1) to (3), depending on the size of the circuit.
(1) Large subassembly: The number of circuits is about 50 to 100, and jigs are required for assembly.
(2) Medium sub-assembly: The number of circuits is about 20 to 50, and the size of the terminal may be determined.
(3) Small sub-assemblies: general sub-harnesses with 1 to 20 circuits. It is possible.

<Description of sub-harness 10A>
The sub-harness 10A shown in FIG. 1(a) comprises a plurality of electric wires 11, 12 and 13 and a plurality of connectors 14, 15, 16 and 17 as constituent elements. A wire 11 connects between the connectors 14 and 15 , a wire 12 connects between the connectors 14 and 16 , and a wire 13 connects between the connectors 15 and 17 . In practice, the respective terminals attached to both ends of each electric wire 11, 12, 13 are inserted and fixed into the corresponding cavities (openings) of each connector.

In the example of FIG. 1(a), the connector 14 is the parent, that is, the head, the connectors 15 and 16 are the children, and the connector 17 is the grandchild, and are hierarchically connected in order to align the routing directions. Here, by limiting the connection of the circuits in the sub-harness to three layers, that is, from the parent to the grandchild, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of entanglement between electric wires.

<Description of sub-harness 10B>
In the sub-harness 10B shown in FIG. 1B, it is assumed that a plurality of electric wires 25 to 30 and electric wires 31 to 36 are press-contacted and connected inside the connector 21. In FIG. In such a case, the connector 21 and the electric wires 25-30, 31-36 connected thereto are configured as one independent sub-harness. Also, as in the example shown in FIG. The terminal is pre-fitted. When the number of pins of the connector 22 connected to the right ends of the electric wires 29 and 30 is two and no other electric wires are connected to the connector 22, the terminals at the right ends of the electric wires 29 and 30 are pre-fitted.

It should be noted that, although not shown, in the wire harness, the ground joint itself is configured as one sub-harness because entanglement is likely to occur at the ground joint.

<Description of sub-harness 10C>
The sub-harness 10C shown in FIG. 2(a) is composed of a parent connector 41, child connectors 42 and 43, and electric wires 44 to 47 connecting between them. In the example of FIG. 2(a), the electric wire 45 and the electric wire 46 intersect at the intersection portion 48. As shown in FIG. If there is such an intersection, the electric wires are likely to become entangled when the wire harness is routed. Therefore, it is desirable to make some changes to avoid entanglement.

<Description of sub-harness 10D>
The sub-harness 10D shown in FIG. 2B is composed of a parent connector 51, child connectors 52 and 53, a grandchild connector 54, and electric wires 55 to 58 connecting between them. In the example of FIG. 2(b), loops are formed at the locations of the electric wires 56, 57, and 58. As shown in FIG. Even when such a loop exists, entanglement between electric wires is likely to occur during wiring of the wire harness. Therefore, it is desirable to make some changes to avoid entanglement.

<Description of sub-harness 10E>
The sub-harness 10E shown in FIG. 2(c) includes a parent connector 51, child connectors 52 and 53, a grandchild connector 54, and electric wires 55, 56, and 57 connecting between them. Here, the wires 55 and 56 are wired in the direction from the parent to the grandchild, but the wire 57 is wired in the opposite direction, that is, in the direction from the child to the parent. Such wires 57 directed in the opposite direction lead to a decrease in workability during assembly of the wire harness, and thus the configuration needs to be changed.

<Description of sub-harness 10F>
The sub-harness 10F shown in FIG. 3 includes a plurality of connectors 61-63, a plurality of electric wires 64-69, and the like. Each electric wire provided in the sub-harness 10F can preferentially use the connectors 61 to 63 in the manufacturing process. That is, since the connectors 61-63 are provided in the sub-harness 10F, the terminals of the electric wires can be pre-fitted to the connectors 61-63.

In the example of FIG. 3, the terminals of the electric wires in the sub-harness 10F are pre-fitted to the pre-fitting portions 61a, 61b, 61d, 61f, 61g, and 61h of the connector 61, respectively. Further, the terminals of other sub-harnesses are inserted into the respective cavities of the rear-fitting portions 61c, 61e, and 61i of the connector 61 as rear-fitting after the sub-harnesses other than the sub-harness 10F are integrated. . By reducing such post-fitting work, it becomes possible to efficiently assemble the wire harness using automation technology or the like, and the quality of the product is also improved.

Also, although not shown, for a circuit such as an airbag circuit that requires extremely high reliability, it is necessary to configure the sub-harness so that the terminals of the electric wires can be pre-fitted. In addition, since it takes time to pass the rubber plug on the conveyor, the waterproof type connector needs to be configured with a sub-harness so that it can be fitted in advance. Similarly, when using certain components such as connectors, it is desirable to configure the sub-harness so that it can be pre-fitted since the terminals tend to be deformed.

<Design work procedure>
Fig. 4 shows an outline of the design work procedure before manufacturing the wire harness. That is, after the parts maker that manufactures the wire harness receives the design drawing data representing the specifications of the wire harness from the vehicle maker, before the parts maker starts manufacturing, the design shown in FIG. carry out the work;

First, in step S01, based on the design drawing data of the entire wire harness received from the vehicle manufacturer, the number of divisions and the assignment of each electric wire to each sub-harness are determined in consideration of the configuration of the in-vehicle system. Further, in the next step S02, determination of pre-fitting/post-fitting of the terminal of each electric wire to each cavity of each connector is performed.

Although the details will be described later, steps S01 and S02 in FIG. 4 can be automatically performed. That is, on a general-purpose computer, start application software that can handle predetermined design drawing data, input design drawing data via an interface, and use a specially prepared dedicated tool. Thus, steps S01 and S02 can be automatically processed.

In step S03 of FIG. 4, the data representing the configuration of each sub-harness obtained as a result of steps S01 and S02 is displayed on the screen of the computer as a morphological diagram. A user such as a designer refers to the configuration diagram displayed on the screen and confirms whether or not a correct subharness is established. In addition, the designer or the like considers the priority of pre-fitting/post-fitting, and whether the workability during assembly is good or bad.

If a change such as pre-fitting/rear-fitting is required, the designer or the like inputs the change items into the computer and instructs the change in the next step S04. In that case, the configuration diagram showing the configuration of each sub-harness after the change is returned to step S03 and displayed again on the screen, and the designer confirms the contents.

The designer or the like confirms whether each sub-harness is configured correctly as a whole based on the screen display in step S05. In addition, it is confirmed by the screen display that there is no problem with each check item of the production requirements. If there is no problem, design drawing data representing the configuration of each sub-harness generated in steps S01 to S04 is output in step S06.

<Configuration example of input drawing data>
A configuration example of the input drawing data 70 is shown in FIG. The input drawing data 70 corresponds to, for example, data received by a parts manufacturer that manufactures wire harnesses as a part of design drawing data representing specifications of necessary wire harnesses from vehicle manufacturers, and corresponds to the contents of an actual wiring diagram.

Therefore, the input drawing data 70 in FIG. 5 includes wire data DA1 to DA8, DB to 1DB4, DC1 to DC5, DD1 to DD3, . contains. Each wire data includes connection source information 71 , connection destination information 72 and system code information 73 .

The connection source information 71 and the connection destination information 72 are unique IDs that can specify the locations of power sources and signals of various in-vehicle devices at which one end and the other end of the corresponding wire are connected. The system code information 73 represents a system code assigned to each system when various on-vehicle devices on one vehicle are classified by system system.

For example, a unique system code is assigned in advance to each system as shown below.
Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI)-Electronic Controlled Transmission (ECT) System Chassis-Antilock Brake (ABS) System Base-Starter-Ignition System Base-Starter-Push Button System Chassis-Diff Lock System Exterior Lighting-Brake Lamp System Base-Alternator System base - CAN communication system Oil - alarm system

For example, the electric wire of the electric wire data DA1 shown in FIG. It is indicated by “T-A1” in the connection destination information 72 and belongs to the system system corresponding to “SC-A1” in the system code information 73 .

That is, for example, the eight electric wires of the electric wire data DA1 to DA8 belong to the system system with the same system code "SC-A1". Also, for example, the three wires of the wire data DB1 to DB3 belong to the system system with the system code "SC-B1" and the system system with the system code "SC-B2", respectively. The electric wire data DA4 belongs to three system systems of system codes "SC-B1", "SC-B2", and "SC-B3".

Therefore, for example, the electric wire of the electric wire data DB1 in the system system with the system code "SC-B1" and the electric wire of the electric wire data DB1 in the system system with the system code "SC-B2" are common circuits. In addition, with regard to such a common circuit, it is also possible to configure circuits of a plurality of system systems with only a single wire.

When the wiring harness is divided from the design drawing data of the wiring harness to generate data of sub-harnesses, the processing of step S01 shown in FIG. 4 is performed based on data such as the input drawing data 70. Details of this processing will be described later.

<Configuration example of intermediate data>
A configuration example of the intermediate data 80 is shown in FIG. The intermediate data 80 shown in FIG. 6 is generated during the process of dividing the wire harness to generate sub-harness data. This intermediate data 80 includes group division information 81 and circuit number information 82 .

<System subdivision>
FIG. 7 shows an example of the processing procedure of "system subdivision". That is, the process of "system subdivision" shown in FIG. 7 is the details of step S01 shown in FIG. there is Actually, the process of FIG. 7 is configured as a part of application software dedicated to wire harnesses executable on a predetermined computer, that is, as a special dedicated tool, and executed by the CPU in the computer. The processing procedure of FIG. 7 will be described below.

The above tool on the computer acquires the data of each electric wire from the input drawing data on the predetermined input drawing file F1 in step S11. Here, the input drawing file F1 is a data file corresponding to an actual wiring diagram among those representing the design specifications of the wire harness received from the vehicle maker by the parts maker that manufactures the wire harness. For example, data such as the input drawing data 70 shown in FIG. 5 exists in the input drawing file F1. Therefore, in S11, for example, the wire data DA1 to DA8, DB to 1DB4, DC1 to DC5, DD1 to DD3, . . . in FIG. 5 are obtained in order.

The tool extracts the system code information 73 from the data of each wire in step S12. Further, it is identified in the next step S13 whether or not the corresponding electric wire corresponds to the common circuit. In the case of a common circuit, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of system codes are described side by side as data separated by commas in the system code information 73 . Therefore, the above tool examines whether a plurality of system codes are included in the system code information 73 of one wire data and identifies whether or not it is a common circuit.

If the corresponding wire data corresponds to a common circuit, the tool extracts a plurality of system codes from the system code information 73 of the same wire data in step S14. For example, when processing the electric wire data DB4 shown in FIG. 5, three items "SC-B1", "SC-B2", and "SC-B3" are extracted in S14.

In step S15, the above tool generates groups corresponding to system code categories for each of the one or more system codes extracted in step S12 or S14 for each wire data, and assigns each wire circuit to the corresponding group. .

The above tool processes all electric wire data constituting the entire wire harness by repeating steps S11 to S16. That is, for all wire data, the relationship between wire circuits and groups is assigned to each system system.

The above tool aggregates the results of the processing of steps S11 to S16 in next step S17, and calculates the number of circuits for each group. As a result of step S17, data such as the intermediate data 80 shown in FIG. 6 is obtained.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the number of electric wire circuits assigned to each group of system codes SC-A1, SC-B1, SC-B2, SC-C1, SC-C2, . "n2", "n3", "n4", "n5", and so on.

The tool performs special processing on the common circuit in the next step S18. That is, of the electric wire circuits assigned to each group, the common circuit is assigned only to the group with the largest number of circuits using it, and the assignment is deleted from the other groups.

For example, in the input drawing data 70 shown in FIG. 5, the wires of the wire data DB1 to DB4 are common circuits, so they are assigned to the groups of the system codes SC-B1 and SC-B2 in S15. Then, when the intermediate data 80 of FIG. 6 is obtained as the totalization result of step S17, for example, if "n2>n3", each wire of the wire data DB1 to DB4, which is a common circuit, is replaced with the system code SC- in step S18. It is reassigned to the group of B1 and excluded from the group of system code SC-B2. As a result, the total number of wires in the common circuit can be reduced for the entire wire harness.

The tool generates output drawing data of sub-harnesses corresponding to each group in the next step S19 based on the result of step S18 reflected in the data of each electric wire assigned to each group in step S15.

As a result, for example, the following data representing the sub-harnesses SH1 to SH4 are generated from the input drawing data 70 shown in FIG.
SH1: Sub-harness SH2 including the circuits of the wire data DA1 to DA8 of the group corresponding to "SC-A1": Sub-harness SH3 including the circuits of the wire data DB1 to DB4 of the group corresponding to "SC-B1": Sub-harness SH4 including each circuit of wire data DC1 to DC5 of the group corresponding to "SC-C1": Sub-harness including each circuit of wire data DD1 to DD3 of the group corresponding to "SC-D1"

The tool displays the output drawing data generated in step S19 on the screen of the computer, prints it with a printer, or outputs it to the output drawing file F2 in the next step S20.

<Pre-fitting/later-fitting determination>
FIG. 8 shows an example of a processing procedure for "previous fitting/last fitting determination". That is, the processing of "previous fitting/later fitting determination" shown in FIG. 8 is the details of step S02 shown in FIG. It has a function for automatically determining whether each terminal of the connector is pre-fitted or post-fitted. This process is a dedicated tool configured as part of wire harness dedicated application software executable on a given computer. The processing procedure of FIG. 8 will be described below.

The tool on the computer acquires the data of each connector from the input drawing data on the input drawing file F3 in step S31. Since the input drawing data on the input drawing file F3 is the processing result of step S01, it includes the data of each electric wire classified for each sub-harness. The input drawing data also includes information specifying both ends of each electric wire, connectors connected thereto, and cavity positions on the connectors.

Based on the input drawing data, the tool identifies the sub-harness category of the electric wire connected to each cavity of the connector, that is, the group representing the system system in step S32. Then, in step S33, the number of circuits for each sub-harness connected to the connector is counted.

The above tool identifies the sub-harness with the largest number of circuits among the sub-harnesses connected to the connector, based on the result of counting in step S33. Also, it is checked whether there are a plurality of sub-harnesses having the maximum number of circuits among the sub-harnesses connected to the connector. Then, if there are a plurality of sub-harnesses with the largest number of circuits, the process proceeds from step S34 to S35, and the sub-harness with the largest total number of circuits is preferentially selected.

For example, when three sub-harnesses SH1, SH2 and SH3 are connected to a specific connector CN1, the following process is performed.
Prerequisites:
SH1n = SH2n
SH1n, SH2n > SH3n
SH20 > SH10
SH1n: the number of circuits connected to CN1 in the SH1 wire SH2n: the number of circuits connected to CN2 in the SH2 wire SH3n: the number of circuits connected to CN3 in the SH3 wire SH10: the total number of circuits in the SH1 wire SH20: Total number of circuits of SH2 wires

In this case, although the two sub-harnesses SH1 and SH2 have the largest number of circuits connected to CN1, only one sub-harness SH2 is preferentially selected in step S35 because "SH20>SH10".

The above tool selects the corresponding terminals of all wires belonging to the sub-harness with the largest number of circuits counted in step S33 or the sub-harness preferentially selected in step S35 among the wires connected to the connector. are assigned with pre-fit attributes in step S36. Each terminal to which the first-fit attribute is not assigned has the last-fit attribute.

The above tool repeats the processes of steps S31 to S37 to process all the connectors included in one wire harness. As a result, for every connector, a pre-fit attribute is assigned to each terminal of one sub-harness connected to it.
The tool reflects the pre-fitting attribute data of each terminal of each electric wire of each sub-harness determined by the above-described processing in the output drawing data of the output drawing file F4 in step S38.

<Subdivision -2>
FIG. 9 shows an example of the processing procedure for "subdivision-2". "Subdivision-2" shown in FIG. 9 is a procedure for realizing a function for automatically dividing the entire wire harness to generate a configuration of a plurality of subharnesses, and is a modification of the "system subdivision" in FIG. corresponds to the example.

In the wiring harness design drawings received from vehicle manufacturers by parts manufacturers that manufacture wiring harnesses, among the terminals of each electric wire that constitutes the wiring harness, "pre-fitting required" and "pre-fitting It may contain information that pre-specifies "recommended". Alternatively, it is conceivable that the wire harness component maker may determine in advance whether "pre-fitting is required" or "pre-fitting is recommended" independently.

For example, in the case of an air bag circuit mounted on a vehicle, since it is necessary to give top priority to avoiding connection errors, it is assumed that "pre-fitting is mandatory". Also, it is assumed that "pre-fitting required" or "pre-fitting recommended" is applied to a specific type of electric wire, a specific type of connector, and the like.

In the "subdivision-2" shown in FIG. 9, automatic division of the wire harness is performed using an algorithm emphasizing the content of the previously determined "total checkpoint". "Subdivision-2" in FIG. 9 will be described below.

The input drawing file F5 shown in FIG. 9 holds in advance the input drawing data including the data of the "general checkpoint".
The tool that executes the contents of "sub-division -2" in Fig. 9 step-by-step information representing the conditions of connectors and terminals, including "pre-fitting required" and "pre-fitting recommended", which correspond to the above-mentioned "general checkpoints". In S41, it is obtained from the input drawing file F5.

The above tool acquires the data of each electric wire included in the configuration of the wire harness from the input drawing file F5 in step S42. Next, in step S43, the tool automatically identifies whether or not each terminal of the electric wire satisfies the condition of "pre-fitting required" acquired in step S41. For example, a location that satisfies specific conditions such as the size, shape, type, etc. of an electric wire, terminal, or connector is determined to be “pre-fitting required”.

At step S44, the tool automatically identifies whether or not each terminal of the electric wire satisfies the condition of "pre-fitting recommendation" acquired at step S41. For example, a portion that satisfies specific conditions such as the size, shape, type (waterproof, bonder, ground terminal, special shape, etc.) of an electric wire, terminal, or connector is determined to be “pre-fitting recommended”.

In step S45, the tool sequentially assigns the circuit of each electric wire to each group in accordance with the order of priority in consideration of the attributes of "pre-fitting required" and "pre-fitting recommended" specified in steps S43 and S44. For example, since the priority of pre-fitting must be maximized for a wire circuit of "pre-fitting required", a new group is created with the highest priority and distinguished from groups other than "pre-fitting required".

The above tool repeats the processing of steps S42 to S46 and assigns each circuit of all wires to one of the groups. When all electric wires have been processed, the process advances to step S47 to generate sub-harness data corresponding to each group and reflect this in the output drawing data. Further, in the next step S48, the output drawing data is displayed on the screen, printed, and output to the output drawing file F6 using output means such as a screen and a printer.

<Advantages of the design support method>
For example, when implementing a design support method such as "system subdivision" shown in FIG. 7 or "subdivision-2" shown in FIG. can be automatically processed by a computer. Therefore, it is possible to significantly reduce the man-hours of the design work before manufacturing the wire harness.

Moreover, when implementing the "system sub-division" shown in FIG. 7, sub-harnesses are generated for each system system of the in-vehicle device, so the number of divisions can be increased and the possibility of automating the manufacture of each sub-harness increases. . In addition, since a sub-harness is generated for each system system, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of crossovers and loops between electric wires and to improve the ratio of pre-fitting.

Further, when executing the "sub-division-2" shown in FIG. 9, each sub-harness can be generated in consideration of the pre-fitting priority condition determined in advance. can avoid becoming That is, after automatically generating each sub-harness, there is less need to change the configuration of each generated sub-harness.

Further, by executing the "first fitting/last fitting determination" shown in FIG. 8, the first fitting attribute and the last fitting attribute of each terminal can be automatically determined. Moreover, it is possible to increase the ratio of terminals that are pre-fitted.

Here, the features of the design support method and the design support apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention described above are briefly summarized in [1] to [5] below.
[1] Supporting the design related to the manufacturing process of the wire harness based on the design drawing data (input drawing file F1) representing the manufacturing specifications of the desired wire harness including a plurality of electric wires and a plurality of connectors as constituent elements. A design support method for generating output drawing data (output drawing file F2),
The design drawing data includes a system code (system code information 73) representing the equipment system to which the circuit of the corresponding electric wire belongs for each electric wire (electric wire data DA1 to DA8, DB1 to DB4, . . . ). under the circumstances
dividing each component of the wire harness into a plurality of groups according to the system code (S15);
generating output drawing data that associates each component classified into the same group with one sub-harness that is an intermediate part of the wire harness (S19);
A design support method characterized by:

[2] In the design drawing data, when a plurality of system codes are commonly assigned to one electric wire, the number of circuits of the electric wire is the largest among the assigned system codes. (S17, S18),
The design support method according to the above [1], characterized by:

[3] After assigning wires to each group of sub-harnesses,
A specific sub-harness having the largest number of wires connected to the connector is extracted from wires whose connection destination is the same connector, and the pre-fit attribute for the corresponding connector is preferentially applied to the wires belonging to the specific sub-harness. (S36),
The design support method according to the above [1] or [2], characterized by:

[4] Supporting the design related to the manufacturing process of the wire harness based on the design drawing data (input drawing file F5) representing the manufacturing specifications of the desired wire harness including a plurality of electric wires and a plurality of connectors as constituent elements. A design support method for generating output drawing data (output drawing file F6),
obtaining pre-fitting information indicating pre-fitting conditions for connection destination parts for each electric wire from the design drawing data (S41);
dividing each component of the wire harness into a plurality of groups based on the pre-fitting information (S45);
generating the output drawing data by associating each component divided into the same group with one sub-harness that is an intermediate part of the wire harness (S47);
A design support method characterized by:

[5] Supporting the design related to the manufacturing process of the wire harness based on the design drawing data (input drawing file F1) representing the manufacturing specifications of the desired wire harness including a plurality of electric wires and a plurality of connectors as constituent elements. A design support device that generates output drawing data (output drawing file F2),
Input the design drawing data including the system code (system code information 73) representing the equipment system to which the circuit of the corresponding electric wire belongs for each electric wire (electric wire data DA1 to DA8, DB1 to DB4, . . . ). an input means (interface, S11) for
Classification means (CPU, S15) for classifying each component of the wire harness into a plurality of groups according to the system code;
generation means (CPU, S19) for generating output drawing data that associates each component classified into the same group by the classification means with one sub-harness that is an intermediate part of the wire harness;
output means (S20) for outputting the output drawing data generated by the generating means;
A design support device characterized by comprising:

10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E, 10F Sub-harness 11, 12, 13 Electric wire 14, 15, 16, 17 Connector 21, 22, 23 Connector 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 Electric wire 31, 32, 33 , 34, 35, 36 wires 41, 42, 43 connectors 44, 45, 46, 47 wires 48 intersections 51, 52, 53, 54 connectors 55, 56, 57, 58 wires 61, 62, 63 connectors 61a, 61b, 61d, 61f, 61g, 61h Pre-fitting parts 61c, 61e, 61i After-fitting parts 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 Electric wire 70 Input drawing data 71 Connection source information 72 Connection destination information 73 System code information 80 Intermediate data 81 Group classification information 82 Circuit number information DA1 to DA8 Wire data DB1 to DB4 Wire data DC1 to DC5 Wire data DD1 to DD3 Wire data SC-A1, SC-B1, SC-B2, SC-B3 System code SC-C1, SC- C2, SC-D1 System code F1, F3, F5 Input drawing file F2, F4, F6 Output drawing file

Claims (4)

Using a computer , based on design drawing data representing manufacturing specifications of a desired wiring harness including a plurality of electric wires and a plurality of connectors as components, output drawing data for supporting design related to the manufacturing process of the wiring harness is generated. A design support method for generating
to the computer;
In a situation where the design drawing data contains, for each electric wire, a system code representing the equipment system to which the circuit of the electric wire belongs,
Each component of the wire harness is divided into a plurality of groups according to the system code,
Execute a process of generating output drawing data that associates each component classified into the same group with one sub-harness that is an intermediate part of the wire harness;
A design support method characterized by: to the computer;
In the design drawing data, when a plurality of the system codes are commonly assigned to one wire, the group having the largest number of circuits of the wire among the assigned system codes , assign priority to the corresponding wire , execute the process,
2. The design support method according to claim 1, characterized by: to the computer;
After assigning wires to each group of subharnesses,
A specific sub-harness having the largest number of wires connected to the connector is extracted from wires whose connection destination is the same connector, and the pre-fit attribute for the corresponding connector is preferentially applied to the wires belonging to the specific sub-harness. assign to, execute processing,
3. The design support method according to claim 1, wherein: A design support device for generating output drawing data for supporting design related to a manufacturing process of a wire harness based on design drawing data representing manufacturing specifications of a desired wire harness including a plurality of electric wires and a plurality of connectors as constituent elements. and
an input means for inputting the design drawing data including, for each electric wire, a system code representing the equipment system to which the circuit of the electric wire belongs;
Classification means for classifying each component of the wire harness into a plurality of groups according to the system code;
generating means for generating output drawing data that associates each component divided into the same group by the dividing means with one sub-harness that is an intermediate part of the wire harness;
output means for outputting the output drawing data generated by the generating means;
A design support device characterized by comprising:

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