JPH08180085A - Device and method for supporting design - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make possible equal correction without applying any excess load to a user by storing the correction contents of design cases mutually performed from the user to a computer and effectively utilizing those contents for automatically correcting the design cases. CONSTITUTION: An editing means 19 corrects design case data by an automatic design case correcting means 17 while using any correction knowledge held in a case correction data storage means 12. On the other hand, the editing means 19 outputs one of correction procedures held in a basic correcting method storage means 13 to an input/output means 22 at least and it is selected by an input/output device 33. Next, after the input/output means 22 receives this selection, corresponding to the history of correction performed to the design cases, case correction data are automatically generated by a case correction data generating means 20 and stored in a case correction data storage means 12. Then, while referring to the data held in the case correction data storage means 12, the automatic design case correcting means 17 automatically corrects the extracted design cases so as to match them with design request specification.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a design support method and an information processing apparatus which supports design using the method, and more particularly, to a design result which receives an input of design specification and realizes the design specification. The present invention relates to a design support method and a design support device for outputting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to save human labor in design work, when a design work is supported by a computer, a design solution conforming to a required design specification is utilized by utilizing information of design know-how created in advance. Various methods such as a method of obtaining have been used. Further, a method of obtaining a design solution that meets the required design specifications by using a design example designed in the past is, for example, P
rosecedings of 10th. Europ
ean Conference on Artificial
ial Intelligence (published 1992), pages 587-589.

The method discussed here holds a design case designed in the past in the storage means of the design case, and a processing method for automatically correcting the design case in the storage means of the correction knowledge. By repeating the four processes shown in (1), a computer supports the work of creating a design solution intended by humans.

(1) Extraction of past design cases similar to required design specifications (2) Automatic modification of design cases to meet required design specifications (3) Correction of results of automatic modification of design cases by the user (4) Storing Correction Result by User in Design Case Storage Means In this method, the correction knowledge is used in the extraction of the design case of (1). This correction knowledge (case correction data)
As described above, includes processing procedure information for automatic correction of existing design cases and cost information for correction (information indicating the priority order of correction). In the design case extraction process, the design case most similar to the required design specifications is extracted. In this method, cost information is used as a similar index. That is, in this method, the cost of the correction process when the design case is modified so as to be adapted to the required design specifications is totaled, and the design case with the smallest total value is regarded as the most similar to the required design specification. To extract. Accordingly, in this method, when there are a plurality of pieces of correction knowledge, the correction method actually used for the correction is determined according to the predetermined cost (priority order).

Further, according to this method, a new design case obtained by modifying the previously stored design case is stored in the design case storage means and held as a reusable design case. Therefore, the more the design is performed, the more the number of design cases can be increased.

In the conventional design support method using the above-described design case reuse method, a computer can extract the past design cases as the ones most similar to the required design specifications and realize automatic correction. Therefore, although the labor of the designing user can be saved, the correction knowledge must be created by the user in advance. Therefore, this method has a problem that the burden on the user for creating the correction knowledge is large. This correction knowledge is used in the extraction and correction of design cases as described above, and therefore the amount and quality of this correction knowledge influences the quality of design by this conventional method.

This correction knowledge should be added or updated in order to realize efficient design support. If the correction knowledge is not added or updated, the newly stored design case will not be reused unless the required design specifications are the same. This is because only the same revision knowledge can be used. Even if the new design case obtained as a result of modification is stored, if the user does not need to add modification knowledge to the part where the user had to make new modifications, it will still be automatically modified. The correction knowledge to do is not retained. Therefore, even if a similar design requirement is given for this part, the newly added design case is not extracted because there is no correction knowledge.

As described above, in order to realize efficient design support, the modification knowledge should be frequently added and updated, but it is useful to create this modification knowledge as described at the beginning. This will be a heavy burden on the user and will be a problem in supporting efficient design.

Therefore, as described in JP-A-5-12018, a knowledge processing system that corrects a design case according to an input correction method and acquires and accumulates correction knowledge from the correction history. Can be considered. In this way, since the correction knowledge is automatically generated and accumulated every time the correction is performed, the creation of the correction knowledge does not burden the user.

[0010]

However, JP-A-5-1 is used.
In the knowledge processing system described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018, the user has to determine a correction method in advance and input it. This correction method is the basis of correction knowledge generation, and the acquired correction knowledge is retained,
Since it is reused in the subsequent design case modification process, it is desirable to input the most efficient modification method. Therefore, the user needs to determine the most efficient correction method in advance, which is a burden on the user. Further, in this method, the quality of the correction method varies depending on the individual difference of the user, which is not preferable.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a design support device and a design support method which can obtain a uniform correction method without imposing an excessive load on a user.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an input means, an output means, a design case storage means for holding design case data, and a design case storage means are stored in advance. In a design support apparatus including an editing unit that corrects the held design case data, a basic correction method storage unit that holds one or more predetermined correction procedures, and a correction that is knowledge information of the design case data correction method. There is provided a design support device including case correction data storage means for holding knowledge and case correction data generation means for generating correction knowledge and storing it in the case correction data storage means. The editing means of the design support device includes at least a means for correcting the design case data using any of the correction knowledge held in the case correction data storage means and a correction procedure held in the basic correction method storage means. It is provided with means for outputting one to the output means and accepting the selection thereof via the input means, and means for correcting the design case data according to the selected correction procedure. The correction procedure used by the case correction data generation means of the design support apparatus is the selected correction procedure.

Further, according to the present invention, the input means, the output means, the design case storage means for holding the design case data, and the editing means for correcting the design case data held in advance in the design case storage means. In a design support apparatus including: a basic correction method storage unit for holding one or more correction parts, which is information for generating a predetermined correction procedure, and correction knowledge, which is knowledge information of a design case data correction method. There is provided a design support device further comprising case correction data storage means for holding the correction data, and case correction data generation means for generating correction knowledge using a correction procedure and storing the correction knowledge in the case correction data storage means. The editing means of the design support device includes at least one of means for correcting the design case data using any of the correction knowledge held in the case correction data storage means and a correction part held in the basic correction method storage means. One of which is output to the output means, the means for receiving the selection via the input means, and the design of the type predetermined according to the correction part by the procedure predetermined according to the selected correction part A means for receiving an input of information for correcting the case data, a means for generating a correction procedure from the input correction information, and the correction component are provided. The correction procedure used by the case correction data generation means of the design support apparatus is the correction procedure generated above.

In the design support apparatus of the present invention, it is desirable that the correction knowledge includes information on the correction procedure and the priority order of the correction procedure. In this case, the means for correcting the design case data by using the correction knowledge of the editing means includes:
It is desirable that the method with the highest priority be used to modify the design case data.

Further, according to the present invention, in the design work support method for correcting the design case data held in advance to obtain the design case data satisfying the required specifications, the knowledge information of the method for correcting the design case data is used. A modification knowledge applying step of modifying the design case data using any of a certain modification knowledge, a modification procedure selection step of displaying at least one of modification procedures accumulated in advance and accepting the selection, and a modification procedure A modification procedure applying step of modifying the design case data according to the modification procedure selected in the selecting step, and a modification procedure in which the modification knowledge is generated using the modification procedure selected in the modification procedure selecting step and stored in the storage means. A design support method including a data generation step is provided.

Further, according to the present invention, in the design work support method, the design case data held in advance is corrected to obtain the design case data satisfying the required specifications.
Of the correction knowledge application step that corrects the design case data using any of the correction knowledge that is the knowledge information of the method of correcting the design case data and the correction parts that are the information that is accumulated in advance and that is the information for generating the correction procedure. Of at least one of the following, the correction component selection step of accepting the selection, and the procedure predetermined according to the correction component selected in the correction component selection step, of the type determined in advance according to the correction component, From the specific data receiving step for receiving the input of information for the correction of the design case data, the information for the correction input in the specific data receiving step, and the correction component selected in the correction component selecting step, The fix procedure generation step that generates the fix procedure and the fix procedure A modification procedure applying step of modifying the design case data by a modification procedure, and a case modification data generation step of generating the modification knowledge using the modification procedure generated in the modification procedure generation step and storing the modification knowledge in the storage means. A design support method is provided.

[0017]

The present invention provides a means for storing the correction contents of the design case interactively performed by the user on the computer, and utilizes the information of the correction contents to realize the extraction of the design case or the automatic correction of the design case. In order to do so, correction knowledge in a predetermined format is automatically generated by a computer, and this correction knowledge is stored in the correction knowledge storage means.

In the present invention, in order to realize this, the logic created as a result of the design is composed of nodes, links connecting these nodes, and attribute information such as processing contents which these nodes and links mean. In order to correct the design result, for example, (1) node addition, (2) node deletion, (3) link addition, (4) link deletion,
And (5) changing the attribute information into five basic processes, and modifying the design results by performing these processes (1) to (5).
The automatic generation of correction knowledge is realized by giving it as a combination of the basic processing of.

That is, in the present invention, the above (1)-
For each basic process of (5), the information necessary to reproduce the change in the control logic information consisting of nodes, links, and attributes before and after the process is defined in advance, and these information and each process By storing a pre-defined modification cost in the storage means and interactively accepting an input to acquire the modification procedure, general-purpose modification knowledge can be created.

Further, in the present invention, when acquiring the correction procedure, the selection of the basic processing of the above (1) to (5) is accepted. At this time, by presenting a selection branch and accepting the selection, Since the input is guided, necessary information can be efficiently obtained.

Further, according to the present invention, together with the correction information extracted from the user's correction contents, the cost for the correction used as the measure of the most similar design case is automatically extracted when the design case is extracted by the conventional method. And the correction knowledge is stored in the storage means. In order to automatically generate the cost for this correction, a value obtained by adding the costs related to the basic processing of (1) to (5) is used. Therefore, according to the present invention, the correction method according to the predetermined priority order is automatically selected.

Further, according to the present invention, when setting the information of the attributes of the above-mentioned nodes or links, the required specifications of the design, the specification information of the equipment of the design object, etc. are held in advance, and by presenting them, It is also possible to assist the user in inputting the correction method and the like. In this way, the user does not need to check the attribute information of the node and / or the link in advance, which makes it easier for the user to create the design result.

As described above, according to the present invention, a design result stored in advance is corrected in accordance with the input correction procedure to create a design result, and the design result is stored for reuse. Furthermore, the present invention creates and accumulates correction knowledge based on the input correction procedure.

Further, in the present invention, when the correction procedure is input, the selection branch is presented based on the information held in advance, so that the efficient input of the homogeneous correction procedure is guided. Therefore, according to the present invention, the design work for obtaining the design result satisfying the required specifications is effectively supported, so that the labor of the design work can be saved.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. <Embodiment 1> A design support device according to the present embodiment is a programmable controller for controlling a plant (hereinafter referred to as a PC).
Achieve support for the design of control logic.

A. Configuration of Design Support Device The design support device 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Main memory 31 and central processing unit (CPU) 30
And an external storage device 32 and an input / output device 33.
The external storage device 32 includes a working storage means 23 for temporarily storing the processing result of the design support device 10. In the present embodiment, the input / output device 33 is a keyboard (not shown) which is an input means for receiving the input of data from the outside.
And an image display device (not shown) which is an output unit for outputting data.

Further, the design support device 10 of this embodiment is provided with each means 11 to 22 shown in the functional block diagram of FIG.
Design case storage means 11, case correction data storage means 12,
Basic correction method storage means 13 and correction history storage means 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a storage unit, specifically, a storage area secured in the main storage device 31. Further, the design requirement specification analyzing means 15, the similar design case extracting means 16, the design case automatic correcting means 17, the design result data arranging means 18, the editing means 1
9, case correction data generating means 20, design result synthesizing means 2
1 and the input / output unit 22 are realized by the CPU 30 executing instructions stored in the main storage device 31 in advance.

The design case storage means 11 is a storage area for storing a file containing design specifications relating to an existing design case and a file of design result data as a pair.
The case modification data storage unit 12 stores, as a pair, a file including an application condition for a design required specification used when automatically modifying an existing design case, and a file including a design result modification procedure data. It is a storage area.
The basic correction method storage unit 13 stores, as a pair, a file including basic correction component data for guiding a user of the design support apparatus 10 to correct a design case and a file including correction guidance data. Is a storage area for. The correction history storage unit 14 is a storage area for temporarily storing the correction content of the design case received from the user.

The input / output means 22 has means for accepting input of data of required design specifications and data of correction contents via the input / output device 33, and means for outputting processing results to the input / output device 33. The design requirement specification analysis means 15
It is a means for converting a design requirement specification into a predetermined requirement specification attribute and a type of a set of its values. The similar design case extracting means 16 is means for searching and extracting from the design case storing means 11 a past design case most similar to the design requirement specifications. The design case automatic correction means 17 is a means for referring to the data held in the case correction data storage means 12 and automatically correcting the extracted design case so as to conform to the design requirement specifications. The design result data arranging means 18 is means for arranging the data of the result obtained by automatically correcting the design cases in a predetermined order. The editing unit 19 is a unit that displays a message for displaying the result of automatic correction of the past design case or guiding the user to correct the design case on the input / output device 33 via the input / output unit 22. is there. The case correction data generation means 20 is means for automatically generating case correction data from the history of corrections made to the design case, which is input from the input / output device 33 via the input / output means 22. The design result synthesizing unit 21 decomposes the correction result of the design case into the required design specifications of the lower design stage, combines the correction results of the design case that cannot be decomposed into the lower design stage, and synthesizes the final design result. It is a means for synthesizing data.

The design support apparatus 10 of this embodiment uses the data of the control logic of the control program, which is read from the input / output unit 33 through the input / output unit 33 and conforms to the required design specifications, as the design result to the input / output unit 22. It outputs to the input-output device 33 via. The control program is, for example, in a plant control device such as a programmable controller (hereinafter referred to as a PC), which realizes arithmetic processing for converting a plant process state signal input via a detector into an operation signal to an actuator. A program, etc. The control logic output from the design support device 10 of this embodiment is input data to the programming tool for PC. The programming tool for this PC is
It has a function to automatically generate a machine language program for a target PC.

B. Configuration of Storage Unit (1) Design Case Storage Unit As described above, the design case storage unit 11 holds a file including design specifications and a file of design result data as a pair. Specifically, the design case storage unit 11 stores the design specification record file 50 (shown in FIG. 5), the element record file 55 (shown in FIG. 16), the path record file 56 (shown in FIG. 17), and the attribute record file. 57 (shown in FIG. 18). Design case storage means 11
Stores the design specifications in the form of data held in the design specification record file 50 whose data structure example is shown in FIG. Further, the design case storage unit 11 stores the design result data in the element record file 55 whose data structure example is shown in FIG. 16, the path record file 56 whose data structure example is shown in FIG. 17, and the data structure example which is shown in FIG. It is stored in the form of data held in the illustrated attribute record file 57. Here, a pair of this design specification (held in the design specification record file 50) and design result data (held in the element record file 55, the path record file 56, and the attribute record file 57) is called a design case. . The design case storage unit 11 holds a plurality of these design cases.

A. Design Specification Record File First, the control logic to be designed in this embodiment and its design specification will be described. In this embodiment,
The design specification of the control logic to be designed is expressed by one or more records each consisting of a pair of design specification attribute and its attribute value. A file holding this record is called a design specification record file. FIG. 5 shows an example of the data structure of the design specification record file 50.

The design specification record file 50 has a record number storage area 50 for holding a record number uniquely assigned to each record.
1, a design specification attribute storage area 502 for holding attributes of design specifications, and an attribute value storage area 503 for holding attribute knowledge. In the design specification attribute storage area 502 of the record with the record number “0” (the column holding “0” in the record number storage area 501) stored in the design specification record file 50 shown in FIG. Is held, and “2” is held in the attribute value storage area 503. The number of outputs is held in the design specification attribute storage area 502 of the record with the record number “1” (the column holding “1” in the record number storage area 501), and “1” is stored in the attribute value storage area 503. Is held. “Process 1” is stored in the design specification attribute storage area 502 of the record with the record number “2” (column that stores “2” in the record number storage area 501), and “*” is stored in the attribute value storage area 503. Is held.

Therefore, the required specifications for the design of the control logic defined by the design specification record file 50 shown in FIG. 5 are defined by the record whose signal "input number" is "2" (record number "0"). ), The “number of outputs” of the signal is “1” (defined by the record of the record number “1”), and “*” (multiplication) is set as “processing 1” between the input and output of these signals. Is defined (defined by the record of record number “2”).

As a design result for the design specification 50 shown in FIG. 5, the control logic described in the PC programming language, which is the input data to the programming tool for PC, is shown in FIG. 3 in the form of a control logic diagram. The control logic diagram is basically a diagram showing the control logic in the relationship between nodes or elements and links or paths. The control logic diagram shown in FIG. 3 includes an input element 51 for two signals, an output element 51 for one signal, and an arithmetic element for multiplication 53. Each input element 51 and the arithmetic element 5 are provided.
3 shows that the arithmetic element 53 and the output element 51 are connected by a path 54, respectively. Input element 51
Represents a process of loading data from a memory (storage device) in the target PC, and the output element 52
Represents a process of storing data in a memory in a target PC, and an arithmetic element 53 represents a process of performing a predetermined arithmetic operation on given data in a target PC.

The control logic shown by this control logic diagram is in the form of an element record file 55, a path record file 56, and an attribute record file 57.
Input to the programming tool for PC. The data structure of the element record file 55 is shown in FIG. 16, the data structure of the path record file 56 is shown in FIG. 17, and the data structure of the attribute record file 57 is shown in FIG.

B. Element Record File As shown in FIG. 16, the element record file 55 is a file that holds an element record that is data obtained by extracting information about an element included in the control logic diagram and that is made up of data indicating the attribute of the element. That is, the element record file 55 has, for each record, a record number storage area 551 for holding the record number of the record and an element attribute storage area 55 for holding the attribute data of the element.
2 and an attribute data record number storage area 553 for holding the record number of the attribute data in the attribute record file 57.

In the data example shown in FIG. 16, there are four records of record numbers “0” to “3”, and the element attribute storage area of the column whose value held in the record number storage area 551 is “0”. 552 and record number storage area 55
In the element attribute storage area 552 of the column in which the value held in 1 is “1”, the attribute “input element” is held in all, and the value held in the record number storage area 551 is “2”. The attribute “arithmetic element” is stored in the element attribute storage area 552 of the column that is “1” and the attribute is stored in the element attribute storage area 552 of the column whose value is “3” stored in the record number storage area 551. The "output element" is held.
These four columns of records represent the elements of the control block diagram shown in FIG. That is, the design logic indicated by the file 56 shown in FIG. 16 has four elements represented by four records of record numbers “0” to “3”, and record elements of record numbers “0” and “1”. The element represented by the two records is the “input element” 51, the element represented by the record of the record number “2” is the “arithmetic element” 53, and the element represented by the record of the record number “3” is represented. The output element is the "output element" 52
Are represented by these records.

In the data example shown in FIG. 16, the values held in the attribute data record number storage area 55 of the rows having record numbers "0", "1", and "3" are all "-1". It is. This indicates that there is no attribute record indicating the attribute of the element indicated by those records.
Further, "0" is held in the attribute data record number storage area 53 of the row with the record number "2". This indicates that the attribute of this element (element of element record number “2”) is stored by the record of record number “0” held in the attribute record file 57.

As the element information held in the element record file 55, data designating required design specifications in a lower design stage can be added. That is, it is possible to create a design specification record file 50 indicating the design specification of the element itself or a component included in the element in the element record, and provide a link to the data of the design specification record file 50. By doing so, the design specifications can be expressed hierarchically.

C. Path record file As shown in FIG. 17, the path record file 56 extracts information on the connection relationship between the elements indicated by each record held in the element record file 55 as the information of the path included in the control logic diagram. This is a file that holds path records that are data. The path record is a record including the record number and the terminal number of the input element and the output element of the path for the path indicated by the record. The path record file 56 is
A record number storage area 561 for holding the record number of the record, and an input element record number storage area 562 for holding the record number in the element record file 55 of the input element that is the input source to the path.
An input element terminal number 563 for holding the terminal number of the input element, and an output terminal record board number storage for holding the record number in the element record file 55 of the output terminal that is the output destination from the path Area 564
And an output element terminal number 565 for holding the terminal number of the output element.

In the data example shown in FIG. 17, there are three records of record numbers "0" to "2", and the value stored in the record number storage area 561 is "0".
“0” is stored in the input element record number storage area 562, “0” is stored in the input element terminal number storage area 563, “2” is stored in the output element record number storage area 564, and in the output element terminal number storage area 565. "0" is held in each. Further, in the column in which the value held in the record number storage area 561 is “1”, “1” is stored in the input element record number storage area 562, and the input element terminal number storage area 56 is displayed.
“3” is stored in the output element record number storage area 564.
Holds “2” and the output element terminal number storage area 565 holds “1”. Further, in the column in which the value held in the record number storage area 561 is “2”, “3” is set in the input element record number storage area 562.
However, “2” is stored in the input element terminal number storage area 563, “3” is stored in the output element record number storage area 564, and “0” is stored in the output element terminal number storage area 565.

The records of these three columns represent the path of the control logic diagram shown in FIG. That is, the design logic represented by the file 56 shown in FIG. 17 has three paths represented by three records of record numbers “0” to “2” and represented by the record of record number “0”. The pass indicates the signal input from the terminal number “0” of the input element 51 represented by the record number “0” of the element record file 55 by the record number “2” of the element record file 55. The path which is output to the terminal of the terminal number “0” of the arithmetic element 53 and which is represented by the record of the record number “1” is represented by the record of the record number “1” of the element record file 55. Input element 5
This is a path for outputting a signal input from the terminal number “0” of 1 to the terminal of the terminal number “1” of the arithmetic element 53 represented by the record of the record number “2” of the element record file 55. The path represented by the record of “2” records the signal input from the terminal number “2” of the operation element 53 represented by the record of the record number “2” of the element record file 55 to the record of the element record file 55. It is represented by these records that the path is output to the terminal of the terminal number "0" of the output element 52 represented by the record of the number "3".

D. Attribute record file 57, as shown in FIG. 18, the attribute record file 57 is a file that holds an attribute record that is data obtained by extracting the operation contents executed by the operation element 53 in the elements and paths included in the control logic diagram. is there. The attribute record stores, for each record, a record number storage area 571 for holding the record number of the record, a data attribute storage area 572 for holding the data attribute of the attribute record, and an attribute value of the data attribute. And an attribute value storage area 573 for holding.

In the data example shown in FIG. 18, there is a record of record number "0", and the record number storage area 57
“Processing 1” is stored in the data attribute storage area 572 and “*” is stored in the attribute value storage area 563 of the column whose value stored in 1 is “0”. It should be noted that "process 1" indicates that the attribute is the content of the process to be performed first. When a plurality of processes are performed by the arithmetic element, the contents of the process are represented by an attribute record for each process, and the process of “process 1”, “process 2”, ... The data indicating the order of is stored.

This record expresses a special attribute (in this example, the operation content executed by the operation element 53) of the control logic diagram shown in FIG. That is, the design logic represented by the file 57 shown in FIG. 18 has a special attribute represented by the record of record number “0”, and the attribute can be understood from the value held in the data attribute storage area 572. This process represents "processing 1", and the specific attribute value thereof is "*" (multiplication) as can be seen from the value held in the attribute value storage area 573.

E. Alignment guideline Element record file 55, Path record file 5
6. The attribute record file 57 is arranged according to the unified arrangement guideline. Table 1 shows the alignment guide in this example.

[0048]

[Table 1]

The smaller the value of the priority, the higher the priority in sorting. In this embodiment, these files 55
Each of the records 57 to 57 may be arranged in the order according to the alignment guideline having a high priority (that is, a low priority value) by the alignment guide having a low priority (that is, a high priority value). It is arranged so that it does not exist.

(2) Case Correction Data Storage Means Next, the data held by the case correction data storage means 12 for storing the file containing the application conditions for the required design specifications and the information on the correction procedure of the design result in association with each other. Will be described. The case correction data storage unit 12 includes a correction knowledge data file for holding the application condition and a correction procedure data file for holding information defining the contents of the correction procedure.

A. Modified Knowledge Data File The modified knowledge data file 58 has a data structure as shown in FIG. The modification knowledge data file 58 holds all modification knowledge data of one design case in one file. The correction knowledge data includes a “correction target attribute” to be corrected, a “required specification attribute value” indicating the number of elements in the requested specifications, and a “design case attribute value” indicating the number of elements in the specifications before correction. , "Preconditions" that are combinations of other required specification attributes and their attribute values that are the preconditions for modification,
It is composed of a "correction cost" which is defined in advance as a degree of difficulty or a priority order of the correction, and a "correction procedure name" attached to information on a specific correction processing procedure. Therefore, the correction knowledge data file 58 has a name storage area 58 for holding the name of the correction knowledge in each line.
1, a correction target attribute storage area 582 for holding a “correction target attribute”, a requirement specification attribute value storage area 586 for holding a “request specification attribute value”, and a “design case attribute value”. Design case attribute value storage area 587 for
And a precondition storage area 5 for holding "preconditions"
83, a correction cost storage area 583 for holding the “correction cost”, and a correction procedure name storage area 585 for holding the “correction procedure name”, and each line stores one piece of correction knowledge data. It has an array structure that represents records.

Modified knowledge data file 58 shown in FIG.
In the data example of “1”, “correction knowledge 1” is stored in the name storage area 581 of the first line, “processing 1” is stored in the correction target attribute storage area 582, and “number of inputs = 3, output” is stored in the prerequisite storage area 583. Number = 1 ”, but“ 2 ”in the correction cost storage area 584.
However, “element attribute change 1” is held in the correction procedure name storage area 585. This has 3 inputs
In addition, when modifying the "process 1" of the specification in which the number of outputs is 1, this modification cost is "2", the name of the modification procedure is "element attribute change 1", and the name of this modification knowledge data Indicates that it is “correction knowledge 1”.

B. Modification Procedure Data File In the present embodiment, there are three kinds of modification procedures: element attribute modification, element addition, and element deletion. The format of the modification procedure record that defines the modification procedure is It is defined for each type. Therefore, in this embodiment, the correction procedure data file includes an element attribute change procedure data file, an element addition correction procedure data file, an element data setting procedure data file, and an element deletion procedure data file. The correction procedure record showing the correction procedure for changing the element attribute is held in the element attribute changing procedure data file, and the correction procedure record showing the correction procedure for adding the element is the element addition correction procedure data file and the element data setting procedure data file. The correction procedure record stored in the element deletion procedure and indicating the correction procedure for element deletion is held in the element deletion procedure data file.

B-1. Element Attribute Change Procedure Data File The element attribute change procedure data file 59 includes the elements to be modified as shown in FIG.
It is specified in the unit of the element record held in the element record file 55 shown in (1) and has the information necessary to retrieve the attribute value to be changed as a result of the correction. That is, the element attribute change procedure data file 59 of the present embodiment has a modification procedure name storage area 591 for holding the name of the modification procedure for each modification procedure, and a record of the modification target element in the element record file 55. A target element record number storage area 592 for holding the number and a replacement attribute storage area 597 for holding the changed information are provided.
The replacement attribute storage area 597 includes a file name storage area 593 for holding the name of the file in which the changed information is held, and a key field storage area 594 for holding information indicating the search target storage area. , A key data storage area 595 for holding concrete data which is a search target key, and a target field storage area 596 for holding information indicating a storage area for holding the changed information of the detected record. Consists of.

In this embodiment, the data held in the file name storage area 593 is the "design specification record", the data held in the key field storage area 594 is the "design specification attribute", and the key data is Storage area 595
It is pre-determined that the data stored in the target field storage area 596 is "attribute value", and the data stored in the target field storage area 596 is "process 1". These data are
In the "design specification record" file 50, the value held in the "design specification attribute" storage area 502 is the value held in the "attribute value" storage area 503 of the record (row) whose value is "process 1" Is the value after the change.

Furthermore, since "4" is held in the target element record number storage area 592 of this "element attribute change 1" record, the element record whose record number in the element record file 55 is "4". If the record number of the attribute record stored in the attribute data record number storage area 553 of the attribute record file 57 is i, the attribute value storage area 573 of the record whose record number is “i” in the attribute record file 57 is the change target. It indicates that there is.

Therefore, in the data example of the correction knowledge data file 58 and the element attribute change procedure data file 59 shown in FIG. 4, when the "process 1" of the specification in which the number of inputs is 3 and the number of outputs is 1 is corrected, Attribute value storage area 5 of the record whose record number in the attribute record file 57 is "i"
Knowledge of substituting the value of “data1” into 73
It is stored as the correction knowledge 1.

B-2. Element addition / correction procedure data file Example of element addition / correction procedure data file 95 is shown in FIG.
(A). Element addition and correction procedure data file 95
Is a correction procedure name storage area 951 for holding the name of the procedure, an additional element attribute storage area 952 for holding the attribute of the element to be added, and a record number of the path to which the element is added, for each additional procedure. And an element data attribute setting procedure name storage area 954 for holding the name of the procedure for setting the data attribute of the element.

In this embodiment, the additional position path record number storage area 953 holds the record number of the inserted path in the case of insertion into an existing path.
In the case of adding to the end of the control logic instead of inserting into the path, data that means no path (“nu” in this embodiment)
ll "and is shown as blank in FIG. 38 (a).
Is held.

In the element data attribute setting procedure name storage area 954, the element data setting procedure data file 96 is stored.
The name of the correction procedure in is held. When adding an element such as a box element or a step condition element that needs to be given an attribute by a certain procedure, not only the additional procedure but also the step of giving an attribute to the element to be added is required. Therefore, in the present embodiment, regarding the addition of these elements, the procedure of assigning attributes is further defined by the record of the element data setting procedure data file 96.

B-3. Element data setting procedure data file The element data setting procedure data file 96 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), a correction procedure name storage area 961 for holding the name of the procedure for setting the element attribute, and a data attribute storage area 9 for holding the attribute of the element to be set
62, an additional attribute storage area 968 for holding the contents of the attribute setting procedure, and a next procedure name storage area 967 for holding the name of the procedure to be performed next.

The additional attribute storage area 968 holds a file name storage area 963 for holding the name of a file to be subjected to the correction procedure and an area name of the search target area when searching for a record to be corrected. A key field storage area 964, a key data storage area 965 that holds the search data, and a target field storage area 966 that holds the area name of the area to be corrected are provided. Figure 38
In the example shown in (b), the “attribute value” storage area 503 of the record holding the data “process 1” in the “design specification attribute” storage area 502 of the “design specification record” file 50.
Is stored as a record with the name “element attribute setting procedure 1”.

B-4. Element Deletion Procedure Data File The element deletion procedure data file 350 is stored in a correction procedure name storage area 351 for holding the name of the correction procedure and the element record file 55, as in the data configuration example shown in FIG. A target element record number storage area 352 for holding the record number of the element record of the element to be deleted.

(3) Basic Correction Method Storage Means The basic correction method storage means 13 comprises a correction component file and a correction guidance data file. FIG. 7 shows a data configuration example of the correction component file and the correction guide data file.

A. Correction component file In the present embodiment, a partial correction procedure (referred to as a correction component), which is the basis of the correction, is defined in advance, and this correction component is displayed on the display screen and presented to input a correction instruction. Induce. The correction component file 60 is a file for holding information (basic correction component data) regarding this correction component. The correction component file 60 is a "keyword" that is a name that is predetermined for each correction component in the correction component file 60 (in this embodiment, a name that specifically expresses the function of the correction component is added). A keyword storage area 601 for holding the correction cost, a correction cost storage area 602 for holding the correction cost of the correction component,
Correction guidance data (stored in the correction guidance data file 61) which is data defining a specific procedure of the correction component.
Modified guide data name storage area 6 for holding the name of
And 03.

B. Correction Guidance Data File As described above, the specific correction procedure of each correction component is held in the correction guidance data file 61 as correction guidance data. In this embodiment, the correction component consists of two procedures. Therefore, the correction guidance data file 61 has, for each correction guidance data, a correction guidance name storage area 611 for holding the name of the correction guidance data and a first procedure for holding information indicating the first procedure. Storage area 612 and a second
And a second procedure storage area 613 for holding information indicating the procedure. The correction guidance data is information necessary for constructing the case correction data from the correction history using the correction parts.

(4) Correction History Storage Means The correction history storage means 14 is a storage area for temporarily storing a correction history record which is information indicating the contents of the design case correction procedure. The information held in the correction history record differs depending on the type of correction (addition, attribute change, deletion), but includes the information necessary for executing the correction procedure. For example, in the case of an attribute change, the storage area 310 of the correction history record is composed of four storage areas 311 to 314, as shown in the data example of FIG. The contents (type of correction procedure), the element record number of the element to be changed, and the attribute value of the element (replacement attribute) are held.

C. Support Process of Control Logic Design Work FIG. 2 shows a process flow when the design support device 10 of the present embodiment supports the user's control logic design work.

(1) Acceptance of Input of Required Specifications First, the input / output unit 22 receives an input of required specifications of the control logic to be designed through the input / output device 33, and the design data is stored in the work data storage unit 23. Write as required specifications (step 100). In this embodiment, the control logic requirement specification receives the number of inputs, the number of outputs, and the processing content as character string data. Here, the description will proceed assuming that the character string data “number of inputs = 2, number of outputs = 1, processing = +” is input.

Next, the design requirement specification analyzing means 15 takes out the design requirement specifications held in the work data storage means 23 and extracts the design requirement specifications as a set of predetermined requirement specification attributes and their attribute values. It is converted into a mold and written in the work data storage means 23 (step 110). That is, the design requirement specification analysis unit 15 secures an area for the design specification record file 50 in the work data storage unit 23, and creates the design specification record file 50 using the design requirement specifications extracted in this area.

For example, the design requirement specification analyzing means 15 is
When the design requirement specifications “number of inputs = 2, number of outputs = 1, processing = +” are retrieved from the work data storage means 23, the design specification record file 50 is arranged in the work data storage means 23 as an array of 3 rows and 3 columns. Area is secured for each row of the record number storage area 501, and "0",
"1" and "2" are stored. Next, the design requirement / specification analysis unit 15 sets the “input number” in the design specification attribute storage area 502 of the row in which “0” is stored in the record number storage area 501.
Is stored in the attribute value storage area 503, and a record expressing “the number of inputs = 2” is created. Further, the design requirement specification analysis means 15 uses the record number storage area 501.
The number of outputs is stored in the design specification attribute storage area 502 and the number of outputs is stored in the attribute value storage area 503 of the row in which “1” is stored in the row, and a record expressing “the number of outputs = 1” is created. Finally, the design requirement / specification analysis unit 15 sets “Process 1” in the design specification attribute storage area 502 of the row in which “2” is stored in the record number storage area 501 and “+” (adds) in the attribute value storage area 503. Is stored and a record expressing “processing = +” is created. As a result, the design specification record file 50 having the data structure shown in FIG. 28 is created in the work data storage means 23.

(2) Extraction of Similar Design Cases Next, the similar design case extraction means 16 reads the design requirement specifications from the work data storage means 23, and has a design requirement specification similar to the design requirement specifications in the past. Is searched from the design case storage means 11, and the required specification record file 50, the element record file 55, the path record file 56, and the attribute record file 57 of the design case having the highest degree of similarity are extracted, and the work is performed. The data is written in the data storage means 23 (step 120).

Here, the similar design case extracting means 16 searches the similar design cases to find the case correction data storage means 12.
Utilizing the correction knowledge data of the design case held in.

The similar design case extracting means 16 first searches the design specification record file 50 showing the design specification of the past design case held in the design case storing means 11, and stores the design specification attribute storage area 502 and the attribute value storage. The value held in the area 503 is held in the design specification attribute storage area 502 and the attribute value storage area 503 of the design specification record file 50 showing the required specifications created in step 110 and held in the work data storage means 23. Search for each value that matches All row regions 502, 5
If there is a design specification record file 50 whose value held by 03 matches, the similar design case extracting means 16
Uses the design case as a search result.

If there is a line in which the values held in the design specification attribute storage area 502 or the attribute value storage area 503 do not match, the similar design case extracting unit 16 indicates the inconsistent value as the required specification. It is checked whether or not the correction knowledge data for correcting the value held in the design specification record file 50 is held in the correction knowledge data file 58. If there is applicable correction knowledge data,
The similar design case extracting unit 16 sets the design case having the smallest total value of the modification costs as the search result as the design case having the highest degree of similarity.

If there is no applicable correction knowledge data, the similar design case extracting unit 16 sets the design case having the largest number of matching design specification attributes as the search result as the design case having the highest degree of similarity.

Here, since it is assumed that the data of the character string "the number of inputs = 2, the number of outputs = 1, the process = +" is input, the design requirement specifications are the design specifications shown in FIG. It is held in the work data storage means 23 in the form of a record file 50c. Next, the case correction data storage means 12 holds the correction knowledge data 58 and the element attribute change procedure data file 59 having the data shown in FIG. 4, and the design case storage means 11 has the design specification having the data shown in FIG. Record file 50a (this file 5
A design case represented by 0a is referred to as "design case 1") and a design specification record file 50b having the data shown in FIG. 29 (the design case represented by this file b is referred to as "design case 2"). What to keep
A specific process of step 120 by the similar design case extracting means 16 will be described.

In this case, in the design specification record file 50a of the design case 1, the value held in the attribute value storage area 503 of the record (row) with the record number "2" is the same as that in the design specification record file 50c of the design requirement specification. Are different. In the design specification record file 50b of the design case 2, the values held in the attribute value storage area 503 of either record (row) of the record numbers “1” and “2” are the design specification record file 50c of the design requirement specification.
Is different from that. Therefore, the similar design case example extraction unit 16 detects that the design case record storage unit 11 does not have the design specification record file 50 that matches the design specification record file 50c indicating the design requirement specification.

Next, the similar design case extracting means 16 uses the correction knowledge data file 5 of the case correction data storage means 12.
As shown in FIG. 4, a condition for satisfying the precondition of “the number of inputs = 2, the number of outputs = 1” required by the design requirement specifications is held as shown in FIG. There are no records. Therefore, the similar design case extraction unit 16 determines that there is no applicable correction knowledge data, and compares the number of items in the design specification record files 50a and 50b held in the design case storage unit 11 that match the design requirement specifications. To do.

As described above, in the design specification record file 50a of the design case 1, only the value held in the attribute value storage area 503 of the record (row) with the record number "2" is the design specification record file of the design requirement specification. Since it is different from that of 50c, the number of matching items is "5".
On the other hand, the design specification record file 50b of the design example 2
Indicates that the value held in the attribute value storage area 503 of any of the records (rows) having the record numbers “1” and “2” is different from that of the design specification record file 50c of the design requirement specification, and therefore the matching items The number is "4".

Therefore, the similar design case extracting means 16 extracts the design case 1 as the design case having the highest degree of similarity,
Design specification record file 50a of design case 1, element record file 55 of design case 1 (shown in FIG. 16), path record file 56 of design case 1 (shown in FIG. 17), and attribute record file 57 of design case 1
(Illustrated in FIG. 18) is read from the design case storage means 11 and written in the work data storage means 23.

(3) Modification of design case a. Step 130 Next, the design case automatic correction means 17 reads out the design case most similar to the above-mentioned design requirement specifications from the work data storage means 23 and corrects it to the design requirement specifications. The correction knowledge data held in 12 is called. If such correction knowledge data is not stored in the case correction data storage unit 12, the design case automatic correction unit 17 ends the process without correcting the design case, but if there is applicable correction knowledge data. The design case is actually corrected, and the result is input to the work data storage means 23 (step 130). As described above, the case where the applicable correction knowledge data is not stored in the case correction data storage unit 12 is described as an example, so the design case automatic correction unit 17 corrects the design case 1. Absent.

B. Step 140 If the correction is made in step 130, the editing means 19 further reads the correction result of the design case from the work data storage means 23 and notifies the design result data alignment means 18 of this. Upon receiving the notification, the design result data arranging means 18 rearranges the records of the design case (that is, the element record file 55, the path record file 56, and the attribute record file 57) according to a predetermined processing procedure, and designs the result. As a result, the editing means 19 is notified. Upon receipt of the notification, the editing means 19 stores the design result (design specification record file and design case) in the work data storage means 23 as the pre-correction design result (step 140). The alignment guideline of the design case data in this embodiment is as shown in Table 1 above. As described above, in the example described here, since the design case 1 is not modified in step 130, the data is not rearranged also in step 140, and the design case 1 is the design result as it is, and the design result before modification is performed. Is stored in the work data storage means 23 as

If applicable correction knowledge data is held in the case correction data storage means 12, step 1
At 30, the most similar design case is modified, and at 140, the data is rearranged.

(4) Confirmation of Design Result Next, the editing means 19 causes the design result (the design case modified in step 130 and rearranged in step 140, or when there is no applicable correction knowledge data). The design example extracted in step 120) and a message inquiring whether or not to modify the design result are input / output device 3 via input / output unit 22.
No. 3 is displayed on the display screen 70, and the input of the response is accepted (step 150). FIG. 6 shows an example of the display screen at this time in the present embodiment. The display screen 70a of FIG. 6 includes a display of an inquiry message 71, a content 72 input as a design requirement specification, and a control block diagram 73 derived from the input design requirement specification. Further, the display screen 70a has two selection areas 74a and 75b. The input of the response described above is accepted by the cursor 75.
This is performed by receiving an instruction from the selection area 74a or 74b.

When the selection area 74a is designated by the cursor 75, the input / output means 22 highlights the designated selection area 74a and notifies the editing means 19 that the end instruction has been made. . Upon receipt of this notification, the editing means 19 advances the processing to step 190 (step 16
0).

On the other hand, when the selection area 74b is designated by the cursor 75, the input / output means 22 highlights the designated selection area 74b and notifies the editing means 19 that the design result correction is designated. To do. Upon receipt of this notification, the editing means 19 advances the process to step 170 (step 160). It should be noted that FIG. 6 shows an example of a display screen when an input of a design case correction instruction is accepted and the instructed selection area 74b is highlighted.

(5) Acceptance of modification method of design result Upon receipt of the notification of modification instruction, the editing means 19 reads the information of the basic modification component from the basic modification method storage means 13 and displays it, and accepts the selection of the modification method. (Step 17
0). In step 170, the editing unit 19 first displays the information serving as the basis of the correction on the display screen via the input / output unit 22. A display example 70c of the screen 70 of the display device at this time is shown in FIG. Next, the editing means 1
9 displays a window 80 on the display screen as a menu of correction parts, and accepts an input of selection of correction parts via the input / output means 22. The details of the display screen 70c and the window 80 output in step 170 and the processing of the editing means 19 in step 170 will be described below.

A. Display of inquiry screen The display screen 70c includes an inquiry message 81b,
It includes a display 85 of information about the modification target and a control block diagram 83 derived from the design specifications of the design result. The display 85 of the information regarding the correction target is performed in step 16
Display of design specification attributes to be modified selected in 0
5a, display 85b of the attribute value of the design specification attribute in the design specification of the design result, and display 85c of the attribute value of the design specification attribute in the design requirement specification.

The editing means 19 displays the design specification attribute of the correction target selected in step 160 as the display 85a. Further, the editing means 19 detects the design specification record file 50 of the design case of the design result held in the work data storage means 23, and is designated in the design specification attribute storage area 502 of the file 50 in step 160. A line (design specification record) holding a value that matches the design specification attribute is detected, and the attribute value storage area 5 of that line is detected.
The value held by 03 is displayed as the correction target attribute value display 85b. Similarly, the editing means 19 detects the design specification record file 50 of the design requirement specifications held in the work data storage means 23, detects the line of the design specification attribute designated in step 160, and The value held in the attribute value storage area 503 is displayed as the attribute value display 85c in the requested design specification.

B. Acceptance of Correction Method Next, the storage unit 19 displays on the display screen 70 of the input / output device 33 a window (rectangular region displayed overlaid on the already output display) 80 that presents information about the correction component. Output through the input / output unit 22. Window 8
0 has a plurality of selection areas 86. Each selection area 86 defines each line of the correction component file 60 (the correction component is registered for each line), and the keywords held in the keyword storage area 601 of that line are displayed.

The acceptance of the selection of the correction component in step 170 is performed by accepting the instruction of the selection area 86 by the cursor 75. That is, the input / output unit 22
Receives an instruction from the cursor 75, highlights the selection area 86 at the position where the instruction is made,
The editing unit 19 is notified of the correction component defined in No. 6. In the window example 80 shown in FIG. 8B, the selection input of the correction component “change element attribute” is accepted,
The selection area 86a in which this keyword is defined is highlighted.

(6) Correction Guidance Processing Next, the editing means 19 performs the correction guidance processing (step 18).
0) is executed and the process returns to step 150. FIG. 3 shows the flow of the correction guidance process executed in step 180.
4 shows. In step 180, first, the editing means 1
Reference numeral 9 notifies the case correction data generation means 20 of the keyword of the selected correction component and causes the case correction data to be generated.

A. Creation of Correction Knowledge Record The case correction data generation means 20 first creates a new row (area for storing records) 588 in the correction knowledge data file 58a held in the case correction data storage means 12, as shown in FIG. It is secured (step 3401). At this time, the case correction data generation means 20 creates a unique name (“correction knowledge 3” in the example shown in FIG. 10) that does not match other lines of the correction knowledge data file 58 and newly secures it. The row is stored in the corrected knowledge name storage area 581. Further, the case modification data generation unit 20 searches the modification component file 50 for a row that holds the notified modification component keyword in the keyword storage area 601, and retrieves the value held in the modification cost storage area 602 for that row. Store in the newly secured correction cost storage area 584 of row 588,
A correction procedure name is created based on the keyword so as to be unique, and is stored in the correction procedure name storage area 585 of the newly secured row 588. In the example described here, “change element attribute” is selected as the correction component, so as shown in FIG.
Is stored in the storage area 585, and “element attribute change 2” is stored in the correction procedure name storage area 585.

Next, the case modification data generation means 20
The input / output unit 2 displays a message inquiring which design specification attribute of the design result specification is to be modified.
2 is displayed on the display screen of the input / output device, and the input of the selection of the design specification attribute from the user is accepted via the input / output device 33 and the input / output means 22, and the correction history storage means 1
4 is notified (step 3402). This step 34
An example of the display screen 70 output in 02 is shown in FIG.
Shown in

As shown in FIG. 8A, step 34
The display screen 70b output in 02 displays an inquiry message 81a and a design specification design result 82.
And a control block diagram derived from the design specifications of the design result
3 is included. The display of the design specification of the design result includes a selection area 84, and each selection area has
Design specification attributes and their attribute values are defined and displayed.

In the example shown in FIG. 8A, the selection area 84
In a, the design specification attribute "number of inputs" and its attribute value "2"
However, the design specification attribute "output number" and its attribute value "1" are defined in the selection area 84b, and the design specification attribute "process 1" and its attribute value "*" are defined and displayed in the selection area 84c. Has been done.

The acceptance of the selection of the design specification attribute in step 3402 is performed by accepting the instruction of the selection area 84 by the cursor 75. That is, when the input / output unit 22 receives an instruction from the cursor 75, the input / output unit 22 highlights the selection region 84 at the position where the instruction is made, and the design specification attribute defined in the region 84 is used as the case modification data generation unit 20. To notify. In the display screen example 70b shown in FIG. 8A, the input of the selection of the design specification attribute "process 1" is accepted, and the selection area 84c in which this attribute is defined is highlighted.

The case modification data generation means 20 stores the received design specification attribute in the modification target attribute storage area 582 of the line 588 newly secured in step 3401 (step 3403).

Next, the case modification data generation means 20
The inquiry message of the design specification attribute which is the precondition of the modification is displayed, and the input of the precondition of the modification is accepted via the input / output device 33 (step 3404). This message includes a display of the design requirement specifications (held in the design specification record file 50 of the work data storage means 23) input in step 100. In the present embodiment, this design requirement specification is included. When the pick of the attribute included in is accepted, the attribute and its attribute value are assumed to have been input as a precondition. Upon receiving the input of the precondition, the case modification data generation means 20 stores it in the precondition storage area 583 of the row 588 of the modification knowledge data file 50a (step 3405).

Further, the selected correction component is "element addition".
Alternatively, if it is “element deletion”, the number of elements of the design requirement specification is stored in the requirement specification attribute value storage area 586, and the number of elements of the design result before correction held in the work data storage unit 23 is stored as the design case attribute value. Store in area 597.

Since the correction knowledge record is completed as described above, the case correction data generating means 20 returns the control to the editing means 19. When the control is returned, the editing means 19 performs each of the following correction guidance processes a-1 to a3 according to the selected correction method, and advances the process to step 150. In addition,
In this embodiment, addition, deletion, and attribute change of elements are accepted as the correction method, but other than this, path replacement may be accepted. In this case, in addition to steps 3406 to 3411, the editing means 19 executes a predetermined path replacement correction guidance process if the selected correction method is "path replacement".

A-1. Element Addition Correction Guidance Processing If the selected correction method is “element addition” (step 3406), the editing means 19 executes the element addition correction guidance processing shown in FIG. Here, the design case storage means 1
14 is held as the design specification record file 50, the file 91 shown in FIG. 23 is held as the element record file 55, and the path record file 56 is shown in FIG. An example of processing when a new element is added when the file 92 is held and the file 251 shown in FIG. 25 is held as the attribute record file 57 will be described.

In the element addition / correction guidance processing, the editing means 19 firstly, the element addition / correction procedure data file 95.
An area (row) for storing a new record is secured in (illustrated in FIG. 38A) (step 3301). Here, the editing means 19 stores again the name stored in the correction procedure name storage area 585 in step 3401 in the correction procedure name storage area of the newly secured row.

Next, the editing means 19 detects the line of the selected correction part from the correction part file 60 of the basic correction method storage means 13, and the correction guide stored in the correction guide data name storage area 603 of the line. Detect the name of data. Further, the editing unit 19 refers to the first procedure storage area 612 in the row of the corrected guidance data file 61 that holds the detected name in the corrected guidance name storage area 611.
In this embodiment, in the case of adding an element, the first procedure holds information indicating "selection of attribute of element to be added".
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 20, the editing unit 19 enumerates predetermined element attributes as the window 201 on the display screen 70g (step 3302) and accepts the selection input via the input / output device 33. A message 202 indicating that the input of the attribute of the element to be added is accepted and the control block diagram 83 are displayed on the display screen 70g. Here, when the selection of the element attribute is input, the editing unit 19 stores the input attribute value in the additional element attribute storage area 952 (step 3303).

Next, the editing means 19 sets the name detected in the correction guide data file 61 to the correction guide name storage area 6
The second procedure storage area 613 of the row held in 11 is referred to. In the present embodiment, in the case of adding an element, information indicating "selection of position of element to be added" is held in the second procedure. Therefore, the editing means 19 displays a message on the display screen 70 via the input / output device 22 asking whether to insert into the existing path or add to the end, and accepts the selection (step 3304).

Here, when the insertion into the existing path is instructed (step 3305), the editing means 19 displays a message inquiring about the path to be inserted on the display screen 70 and accepts the selection of the path (step 3306). ). When the path is selected, the editing means 19 detects the record number in the record file 92 of the selected path and stores it in the additional position path record number storage area 953 of the element addition / correction procedure data file 95 (step 330).
7).

Next, if the attribute of the element selected in step 3303 is a box element or a step condition element (step 3308), the editing means 19 executes element attribute value selection guidance processing to obtain element data. A new record is added to the setting procedure data file 96 (illustrated in FIG. 38B) (step 3309).

Finally, the editing means 19 uses the input / output device 22.
A message for inquiring whether or not to add another element is displayed on the display screen 70 via, and the selection is accepted (step 3310). The editing means 19 is “No addition”
If is selected, the process is terminated and "Additional"
If is selected, the process returns to step 3301.

Next, the element attribute value selection guide processing in step 3309 will be described. FIG. 32 shows the flow of the element attribute value selection guide processing.

First, the editing means 19 secures an area (row) for storing a new record in the element data setting procedure data file 96 (step 3201) and assigns the name of the correction procedure to make it unique. , The element data attribute setting procedure name storage area 954 in the row of the element addition / correction procedure data file 95 secured in step 3301 and the row of the element data setting procedure data file 96 secured in step 3201 (referred to as the first row) In the correction procedure name storage area 961.

Next, as shown in FIG. 21, the editing means 19 displays the window 211 on the display screen 70g, enumerates predetermined attribute values for each element attribute in this window 211, and inputs / outputs the device. The selection input is accepted via 33 (step 3202). The display screen 70
Instead of the message 202 indicating that the input of the attribute of the element to be added is accepted, a message 212 predetermined for each attribute of the element is displayed in g. This display screen 70g is called an attribute value selection screen. Upon accepting the selection of the attribute value, the editing means 19 stores the data predetermined according to the attribute value in the element data setting procedure data file 96 newly secured in step 3201 (step 3203). . In addition,
In the example shown in FIG. 21, the attribute value is “MV24-2”.
Is selected.

If the attribute value of the selected element is "box element" (step 3204), the editing means 1
9 further secures an area (row) for storing a new record in the element data setting procedure data file 96 (step 3205), assigns the name of the correction procedure to make it unique, and sets the element data setting procedure data. The file is stored in the correction procedure name storage area 961 of the line newly secured here (referred to as the second row) and the next procedure name storage area 967 of the second row secured in step 3201 of the file 96.

Next, the editing means 19 uses the input / output device 33.
The input of the operation type is accepted via (step 320).
6). When the input of the operation type is accepted, the editing means 19
Is data that is predetermined according to the operation type,
The data is stored in the second row of the element data setting procedure data file 96 (step 3207).

A-2. Element Deletion Correction Guidance Processing If the selected correction method is “element deletion” (step 3408), the editing means 19 holds the record number of the element to be deleted in the element deletion procedure data file 350 shown in FIG. Record). That is, the editing means 19 firstly, the element deletion procedure data file 350.
Then, an area (row) for storing a new record is secured. Here, the editing unit 19 stores again the name stored in the correction procedure name storage area 585 in step 3401 in the correction procedure name storage area 351 of the newly secured row.

Next, the editing means 19 displays the control block diagram 83 on the display screen 70, and the control block diagram 83
By accepting the pick of the symbol that shows the element in
The record number in the file 55 to be deleted is detected and stored in the target element record number storage area 352 of the newly secured row in the element deletion procedure data file 350.

A-3. Element Attribute Value Selection Guidance Processing If the selected correction method is “element attribute change” (step 3412), the editing means 19 executes element attribute value selection guidance processing. Here, the editing unit 19 detects a line (record of the correction guidance data) holding the name in the correction guidance name storage area 611 from the correction guidance data file 61 of the basic correction method storage unit 13, and The contents of the correction procedure held in the first procedure storage area 612 and the second procedure storage area 613 are displayed as a message, and the selection input is accepted via the input / output device 33.
9 (a) and 9 (b), at this time, the editing means 19
An example of a display screen displayed on the display screen 70 is shown. The element attribute value selection guidance process will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

The editing means 19 which has read out from the first procedure storage area 612 that the first procedure is "select attribute change element", changes the message 81b of the display screen 70c to the message 91 inquiring about the attribute change element. The display screen is changed to the display screen 70d shown in FIG. 9A, and the input of the element whose attribute is to be changed is accepted. Here, the input of the element is accepted by the control block diagram of the cursor 75.
3 is performed by receiving an instruction of the displayed area of each of the elements 51 to 53. That is, the input / output unit 22
When receiving the instruction from the cursor 75, the icon highlights the graphic showing the element displayed at the position where the instruction is made, and notifies the editing means 19 of the element record number of the element displayed at that position. In the display screen example 71d shown in FIG. 9A, the input for selecting the arithmetic element 53 is accepted, and the graphic showing the element 53 is highlighted.

Upon receiving the notification that the arithmetic element 53 has been selected, the editing means 19 then proceeds to the second procedure storage area 61.
3 that the second procedure is "select replacement attribute" is read, the message 91 on the display screen 70d is changed to a message 92 for inquiring the changed attribute value, and the display screen is shown in FIG. 9B. The display screen 70e shown is used to accept input of what attribute value is to replace the attribute value of the design specification of the design result. Here, the acceptance of the input of the attribute value is performed by the cursor 75 receiving an instruction of the displayed area of any of the displays 85a to 85c of the information 85 regarding the correction target. That is, when the input / output unit 22 receives an instruction from the cursor 75, the input / output unit 22 highlights the character string displayed at the position where the instruction is made, and notifies the editing unit 19 of the attribute value displayed at that position. . In the display screen example 71e shown in FIG. 9B, the selection of the attribute value "+" (addition) of the design specification attribute in the design requirement specification is accepted, and the character string 85c is highlighted. ing.

B. Execution of Correction Procedure When the correction knowledge is created as described above, the editing means 19 then executes the correction procedure using the created correction knowledge (step 3412).

For example, in the case of adding an element, the editing means 19
Is the newly created element addition and correction procedure data file 9
The record of No. 5 and the record of the element data setting procedure data file 96 are used to add an element record to the element record file 55. If the added element is a calculation element, the attribute record of the added element is added to the attribute record file 57. Add and modify the path record file 56 to insert the element at the indicated position.

In the case of element deletion, the editing means 19 sets the value (element record number of the deletion target) held in the target record number storage area 352 of the newly created row of the element deletion procedure data file to the record number storage area. The line of the element record file 55 held in 551 is detected, and the line is deleted. Further, the editing means 19 updates the path record file 56 to change the path so that the element to be deleted is removed.

In the case of changing the attribute of the element, the editing means 19 first changes the row indicating the element record of the input element record number to the element of the design case of the design result held in the working data storage means 23. Detected from the record file 55, the attribute data record number held in the attribute data record number storage area 553 of that line is detected. Further, the editing unit 19 stores the line indicating the attribute record of this attribute data record number in the attribute record file 5 of the design case of the design result held in the working data storage unit 23.
7, and the input attribute value is stored in the attribute value storage area 573 of that row.

Therefore, in the above-described example, the design specification attribute is "process 1", the correction component keyword is "element attribute change", and the element record number is "3".
However, since "+" is designated as the attribute value, the editing means uses the element record file 55 of the design result.
It is detected that the value held in the attribute data record number storage area 553 of the record with the record number “4” is “0”, and the attribute value storage area in the “0” line of the design result attribute record file 57 is detected. The inputted attribute value “+” is stored in 573. FIG. 19 shows the attribute record file 57 which is the result of the correction by this correction processing. In the example shown here, only the element attributes are modified, so the element record file 55 and the path record file 56 are not modified.

C. Storing Modification History In step 180, the editing means then stores the modification history record 310 in the modification history storage means 14.

Here, a case where an element attribute change is instructed will be described as an example. In the correction history record stored in the correction history storage means 14, since the correction procedure is attribute change, the correction target attribute, the processing content, the element record number of the element to be changed, and the attribute of the element are described. It has information indicating whether or not a different attribute value is set. Therefore, the editing unit 19 secures the storage area 310 of the correction history record in the correction history storage unit 14, and as shown in FIG. 31, the design specification attribute of the correction target input in step 160 (see FIG. In the example shown in a), "Process 1")
Is stored in the storage area 311 to be corrected, and step 17
The keyword of the correction component whose input is 0 (“element attribute change” in the example shown in FIG. 8B above) is stored in the correction content storage area 312, and the attribute value whose input is received in step 180 The element record number (“2” in the example shown in FIG. 9A) of the element whose value is to be changed is stored in the storage area 313 of the record number of the correction target element, and the attribute value to be stored which is input in step 180 is stored. (Fig. 9
By storing “+” in the example shown in FIG. 7B in the replacement attribute storage area 314, the correction history record 31
Create and store 0.

In the case of element addition and deletion, the correction history record 310 is similarly created and stored. At the end of step 180, the editing means 19 executes the process at step 15
Return to 0. Steps 150 to 180 are steps 150
The process is repeated until a correction end instruction is input at.

(7) Saving of Design Result In steps 150 to 180, if a correction involving changing the order of records, such as addition or replacement of elements, is performed, the editing means 19 performs the same operation as in step 140. The design results are sorted so that the order of the records in the design example (element record file 55, path record file 56, and attribute record file 57) follows a predetermined sorting rule (step 1
90). In the above example, the attribute record file 5
Since the attribute value held in 7 has been updated and the order of records has not been modified, the sorting process in step 190 is not performed.

Further, the editing means 19 writes the design requirement specifications and the design result in the design case storage means 11 (step 200). That is, the design specification record file 50 of the design requirement specifications (in the example described here, FIG.
File 50c), a design result element record file 55 (in the example described here, it holds the data shown in FIG. 16), and a path record file 56 (in the example described here). , Which holds the data shown in FIG. 17) and attribute record file 5
7 (in the example described here, the design example of the design result composed of the updated file 57 shown in FIG. 19),
The data is read from the work data storage means 23 and written in the design case storage means 11.

In the present embodiment, the design specification record file 50 of the design requirement specifications and the design case of the design result are held in the work data storage means 23, but temporarily stored in the main storage device 31. A region may be provided and held here. In this case, these data will be read from this temporary storage area, not from the working data storage means 23. Further, in this case, in step 200, the editing means 1
Further, 9 writes the design specification record file 50 of the design requirement specification and the design case of the design result in the work data storage means 23.

(8) Decomposition of Design Result Next, the control means 19 transfers control to the design result synthesizing means 21. The design result synthesizing unit 21 determines whether the design result can be decomposed into the already registered design specifications, that is, whether the design result includes an attribute record that can be defined by another design specification (called a lower design requirement specification). The determination is made (step 210). In the present embodiment, whether the design result can be decomposed is determined by the attribute record file 57.
In addition, it is determined whether or not there is a record holding predetermined data indicating that the attribute value storage area 573 is defined by another specification. The record holding this data indicates that the element attribute can be expressed by a lower-level design requirement specification.

If the design result can be decomposed (that is,
If an attribute record that can be defined by another design specification is included), the design requirement specification (lower level design specification) is created from the information held in the attribute record file and written in the work data storage means 23, Returning to step 110, steps 110 to 110 regarding the lower-level design requirement specifications are performed.
Repeat 210. As a result, a design case for a lower-level design specification is created.

A specific example of the processing in this case will be described with reference to FIG. When the design requirement specifications shown in FIG. 37A are given in step 100, the first step 1
The design result shown in FIG. 37B is created by 10 to 190.

"0" is held in the attribute data record number storage area of the third record of the element record file 55 shown in FIG. 37, and the fourth record of the attribute record file 57 shown in FIG. 37 (b). The "specification type" is stored in the data attribute storage area 571, and the "upper specification" is stored in the attribute value storage area 573 as the attribute value of the "specification type". This means that the element of record number 3 is defined by the subordinate specifications defined by the "0" to "3" th attribute records of the attribute record file 57.

Therefore, in step 210, the editing means 19 uses the "0" to "3" th attribute records of the attribute record file 57 to design design record file of the new design requirement specification shown in FIG. 53 (c). 50 is created and stored in the work data storage means 23, and the process is returned to step 110. As a result, step 11 on the second floor
0 to 200 are executed, and the design result for the lower design specification shown in FIG. 37D is obtained.

As shown in FIG. 37D, the record represented by the lower design specification is the attribute data file 5
If it is not included in 7, the design result is not decomposed, so the control means 19 advances the processing to step 220,
The control is passed to the design result synthesizing means 21.

(9) Synthesis of Design Results The design result synthesis means 21 to which control has been passed in step 220 reads all design results from the work data storage means 23. When the design result is composed of a plurality of design cases, it means that the element is defined by a plurality of hierarchical design specifications (that is, the element is decomposed in step 210). The process of connecting the design cases independent of each other is performed.

The process of connecting the design cases is to create a record representing the path of the disassembled element, delete the attribute record for the upper element defined by the lower design result, and delete the lower design result. Is a process of deleting the record of the input / output element included in. As a result, the upper design result is connected to the lower design result, and the record of the upper design result which is unnecessary because it is defined by the lower design result is deleted.

For example, the control logic derived from the design requirement specifications of FIG. 37 (a) is as shown in FIG. 36 (a). However, the first steps 110-200
The control result shown in FIG. 37A is the control logic shown in FIG. 37A.
From the design result (that is, the lower level) created by
The control logic shown in FIG. 36B is obtained.

Therefore, in order to connect these to obtain the desired control logic, the design result synthesizing means 21 first determines the attribute "process 1" from the upper design result (shown in FIG. 37 (b)). The element record (record with the record number "3") of the element whose attribute value is "**" is deleted, and instead the element whose attribute is defined in the lower design result (illustrated in FIG. 37 (d)) (Elements with attribute value “*” and elements with “+” in attribute “Processing 1”) are stored. That is, the design result synthesizing unit 21 deletes the record with the record number “3” from the upper element record file 55 shown in FIG. 37B and newly adds two records of the arithmetic element.

Further, the design result synthesizing means 21 deletes the attribute record whose attribute value of the operation content is "**" from the attribute record file 57, and stores the attribute record of these newly added arithmetic elements. That is, FIG.
After initializing the storage areas of the records of record numbers “0” to “4” in the upper attribute record file 57 shown in (b), from the lower attribute record file 57 shown in FIG. The records with the record numbers "0" and "1" are read out and stored in the storage areas of the records with the record numbers "0" and "1" in the upper attribute record file 57 shown in FIG.

Next, the design result synthesizing means 21 deletes the records of the input / output elements 361 and 363 and the records of the paths connected to these elements 361 and 363 from the lower level design result, and deletes the deleted input elements. Instead of the record of the path connecting 361 and the arithmetic elements 362 and 364, a record of the path connecting the input element of the upper design result and the arithmetic elements 362 and 364 of the lower design result is created, and the output element Instead of the record of the path connecting the 363 and the arithmetic element 364, the path connecting the arithmetic element of the upper design result (the element of which the attribute value of the operation content is "√") and the arithmetic element 364 of the lower design result. Create a record for.

Finally, the design result synthesizing means 21 aligns the synthesized design results in the design result data arranging means 18 according to the alignment guideline shown in Table 1, and controls the editing means 19
Return to. As a result, the design example shown in FIG.
It is finally obtained in the work data storage means 23. The editing means 19 returned to the control stores the obtained design result in the design case storage means 11, outputs it to the input / output device 33 via the input / output means 22, and ends the processing.

D. When a design case satisfying the design requirement specifications is extracted By the above steps 100 to 220, the design is completed,
The design result of the design requirement specifications can be obtained. Here, the design case 1 and the design case 2 are held in the design case storage unit 11, and the attribute value changing process of the element is executed by the processes (1) to (9) described above to create the design case 3. If
Consider again the processing when the system of this embodiment is started from step 100.

In the design case 1, the design specification record file 50a (shown in FIG. 5), the element record file 55 (shown in FIG. 16), the path record file 56 (shown in FIG. 17) and the attribute record file 57 (shown in FIG. 17). FIG.
(Illustrated in). The design case 2 includes a design specification record file 50b (shown in FIG. 29), an element record file 55 (not shown), a path record file 56 (not shown), and an attribute record file 57 of the design case 2.
(Not shown). The design case 3 includes a design specification record file 50c (shown in FIG. 28), a newly created element record file 55 (which holds the same data as that shown in FIG. 16), and a path record file 56 (shown in FIG. 17, which holds the same data as that shown in FIG. 17) and an attribute record file 57b (shown in FIG. 19).

At this time, the case modification data storage means 12
Has the modified knowledge data file 58a and the element attribute change procedure data file 59a (illustrated in FIG. 32) updated by the above-described processing (step 240). In addition,
The basic correction method storage means 13 is the same as before the above-mentioned processing is performed, and has the correction component file 60 and the correction guide data file 61 shown in FIG. 7, and the correction history storage means is initialized and the information is still in progress. Does not hold.

In such a storage condition, when the required specifications "number of inputs = 2, number of outputs = 1, processing = +" are input in step 100, the design required specification analysis means 15
Creates a file 50 having the same contents as the design specification record file 50c of the design case 3 and writes it in the work data storage means 23.

Next, the similar design case extracting means 16 determines that the values held in the design specification attribute storage area 502 and the attribute value storage area 503 are the design specification attribute storage area 502 and the attribute of the design specification record file 50 of the required specification. Those that match the values held in the value storage area 503 are searched (step 120). At this time, since the content of the required specification file 50 matches the content of the design specification record file 50c of the design case 3, the similar design case extracting unit 16 causes the design case 3 (design specification record file 5).
0c (shown in FIG. 28), a newly created element record file 55 (which holds the same data as that shown in FIG. 16), and a pass record file 56 (FIG. 17).
(Which holds the same data as that shown in FIG. 4) and the attribute record file 57b are used as the search results.

In this case, since there are cases in which the requested specifications have already been met, the correction in step 130 and the data alignment in step 140 are not performed, but step 15
At 0, an inquiry is made by the editing means 19 to confirm the design result. In response to an inquiry, if an instruction to end the modification is input (step 160), the design result is output in step 220 without inquiring about the modification content (steps 170 to 180).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the design case corresponding to the required design specification is already stored,
Since this design case is extracted, the user does not need to make corrections to the design result. Further, according to the present embodiment, the created design cases are stored in the design case storage means 11 each time. Therefore, by using the design support device of the present embodiment, the labor saving of the design work of the user is realized.

E. When applicable case correction data is stored The contents of the storage units 11 to 14 when the processing of (9) described above is performed, and then the processing is started again from step 100, the contents of the storage means 11 to 14 are the same as in (9) above. It is similar to the case. Here, in step 100, when the required specification “the number of inputs = 2, the number of outputs = 1, the processing = −” (this specification is referred to as required design specification 2) is input, the design required specification analysis means 15 A design specification record file 50d shown in FIG. 30 is created and written in the work data storage means 23 (step 11).
0).

Next, the similar design case extracting means 16 searches the design specification record file 50 which matches the design specification record file 50d of the required specification in step 120, but the design held in the design case storing means 11 is searched. There is no match in the specification record files 50a-50c. However, the design specification record file 50a
The values held in the design specification attribute storage area 502 in all of the items up to 50c match the required design specification 2. Therefore, the similar design case extracting unit 16 uses the respective files 50a.
The modification cost for modifying the attribute values held by .about.50c to the required design specification 2 is calculated.

When the design specification record file 50a is modified to the required design specification 2, it is necessary to change the attribute value of the design specification attribute "process 1". In this modification, the modification procedure type is an element attribute modification, and the modification target attribute is "process 1".
Is. Since the type of modification procedure is element attribute modification, the prerequisites are the number of inputs and the number of outputs. Since the number of inputs in the required design specification 2 is 2 and the number of outputs is 1, the similar design case extracting unit 16 sets the modification target attribute to “process 1” and the precondition is “number of inputs = 2, number of outputs”. = 1 "
The correction knowledge record that is the case correction data storage means 1
The second correction knowledge data file 58a is searched. Then, the line (record) of the newly created correction knowledge 3,
This condition is met. Correction cost storage area 58 for this row
Since the value held in 4 is “2”, the similar design case extracting means 16 uses the correction knowledge 3 as the correction knowledge data applicable when the design specification record file 50 a is corrected to the required design specification 2. Yes, it is determined that the value of the correction cost is “2”.

When the design specification record file 50b is modified to the required design specification 2, it is necessary to change the attribute values of the two items of the design specification attributes "number of outputs" and "process 1".
As described above, the modification knowledge record having the modification target attribute of “process 1” and the precondition of “number of inputs = 2, number of outputs = 1” is a record of modification knowledge 3, and the modification cost thereof is “2”. Is. However, the modification knowledge record whose modification target attribute is "output number" is the modification knowledge data file 58a.
Not held in. Therefore, the similar design case extracting unit 1
6 determines that the correction knowledge data for correcting the design specification record file 50b is not stored.

When the design specification record file 50c is modified to the required design specification 2, it is necessary to change the attribute value of the design specification attribute "process 1" as in the case of the file 50a. Therefore, the similar design case extracting means 16 applies the correction knowledge 3 to the correction knowledge data applicable when the design specification record file 50a is corrected to the required design specification 2.
The value of the correction cost is determined to be "2".

As described above, the design case storage means 11
Individual design specification record file 50 stored in
The similar design case extracting unit 16 that has obtained the correction costs of a to 50c stores the design specification record file 50c (in this embodiment, if the correction costs are the same, a new one is used) of the design specification record file 50c having the correction cost of "2". The design case 3 which is the design case is extracted as the most similar design case, and the design specification record file 50c, the element record file 55, the path record file 56 and the continuation record file 57b of the design case 3 are designed as the design case of the design result. Is written in the work data storage means 23 (step 12
0).

Next, the design case automatic correction means 17 automatically corrects the extracted design case 3 using the correction knowledge 3 (step 130). That is, the design case automatic correction means 17 detects that the name of the correction procedure is "element attribute change 2" from the correction procedure name storage area 585 of the row of the correction knowledge 3 of the correction knowledge data file 58a,
In the element attribute change procedure data file 59a, the correction procedure name storage area 591 is searched for a line holding this name.
The design case automatic correction means 17 that has detected this row has the value "3" held in the target element record number storage area 592, so that the element record file 55 of design case 3 is used.
, The line having the record number “3” is searched, and it is detected from the attribute data record number storage area 55 of the line that the record number of the attribute record is “0”. Therefore, the design case automatic correction means 17 stores the design specification record file 50d of the required design specification 2 in the attribute value storage area 573 of the row (record) of the record number "0" of the attribute record data file 57b of the design result of the design result. The value "-" (subtraction) held in the attribute value storage area 503 of the row holding "Processing 1" is stored in the design specification attribute storage area 502 of FIG.

By the processing of step 130, the design result extracted is automatically corrected so that the extracted design case 3 meets the required design specification 2. Therefore, the user does not need to modify the design result. That is, according to the present embodiment, even if the design case storage unit 11 does not store the same design case as the required design specification, the correction knowledge data stored in advance is used to meet the requested design specification. Design results can be generated. Therefore, according to the design support device 10 of the present embodiment, further labor saving of the design work of the user is realized.

F. Effects of the present embodiment As described above, the design support device 10 of the present embodiment
Stores the design case in the design case storage unit 11 and provides the design case that meets the required design specifications if the design case is already stored.

When no compatible design case is stored, the design support device 10 of the present embodiment extracts a design case having a specification most similar to the requested specification and stores it as the case correction data storage means 12 Using the correction knowledge data accumulated in, automatically corrects to meet the required specifications.

Further, in the present embodiment, if the design case generated as a result of the automatic correction does not satisfy the required specifications, the procedure for correcting the design case of this design result is accepted and the inputted. Modify the design case based on the modification procedure. Further, the input correction procedure is saved as new correction knowledge.

Therefore, when the design support apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is used, the user does not need to separately create the correction knowledge data regarding the input instruction contents when designing the control logic regarding the operation of the PC. The more the design support device 10 is used, the more the corrected knowledge data is accumulated, so that the automatic generation of the design result according to the design requirement specification becomes easier.

Further, in the case of inputting the correction procedure, in the present embodiment, the selection of the correction component which is the template of the basic correction procedure stored in the basic correction method storage means 13 in advance is accepted, and this correction component is used. By interactively accepting the input of the specific information necessary to actually make the correction, it is possible to easily obtain a uniform correction procedure that is not affected by the ability of the user.

<Embodiment 2> Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to support the design of a control logic of a PC for plant control will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

A. Configuration of Design Support Device The design support device according to the present embodiment is the design support device 1 according to the first embodiment.
It has the same configuration as 0. However, as shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 11, FIG. 11 shows a functional block diagram of the design support device 110 of the present embodiment. The design support apparatus 110 according to the present exemplary embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the first exemplary embodiment, and further includes a design target object information storage unit 24 for storing data of the specification of the device of the design target object. The design object information storage means 24 is a storage area secured in the main storage device 31. In the present embodiment, the design object information storage means 24 comprises a device specification data file 94 shown in FIG. This device specification data file 94 includes the name of each device,
This is a file for storing the operating speed of the excitation valve, and includes a device symbol storage area 261, a device name storage area 262, and an operating speed storage area 263 when a valve excitation control signal is input. And a storage area 264 of the operating speed when a control signal for b-valve excitation is input
And an operation speed storage area 265 when a non-excitation control signal is input.

B. Design Target The design support device 110 of the present embodiment supports the interlocking control of the PC, that is, the design of the sequence control logic. Here, as an example of the required control logic, a “coil car trolley” having a speed switching function (with speed switching “present”)
Of the device driven by hydraulic pressure called "MV24-
By operating two "electromagnetic valves" of "1" and "MV24-2", the position of the device is "moved" in the "forward" direction.
Then, the description is advanced using the interlocking control logic necessary to stop at the "skid position".

The required control logic is, as shown in FIG. 12, a tip connector element 80 indicating that it is connected to another interlocking control logic, a branch element 81 indicating the starting point of parallel operation, and a device (equipment). A box element 82 that outputs a specific operation signal, a step condition element 83 that determines whether or not an operation can be executed, an AND confluence element 84 that indicates an AND type confluence point of parallel operation, and another motion control. It is provided with a terminating connector element 85 which is connected to the logic and a link 86 which shows the connection relationship of each element.

Table 2 shows the design specifications of the interlocking control logic required in this embodiment.

[0169]

[Table 2]

The design examples constructed by this design specification are the design specification record file 90 (shown in FIG. 14) and the element record file 91 (shown in FIG. 23).
And the attribute record file 93 (shown in FIG. 25) and the path record file 92 (shown in FIG. 24) are stored in the design case storage means 11.

C. Support Process for Control Logic Design Work The process flow in this embodiment is almost the same as the process flow (illustrated in FIG. 2) of the first embodiment. However, step 1
In 80, the design object information storage means 24 is used, which is different from the case of the first embodiment. The flow of the design support process in the second embodiment will be described below.

(1) Acceptance of Input of Required Specifications First, the input / output unit 22 receives the input of the required specifications shown in Table 2 via the input / output device 33, and the work data storage unit 23 stores the input as required design specifications. Write (Step 10
0). Next, the design requirement specification analysis unit 15 takes out the design requirement specifications held in the work data storage unit 23, creates a design specification record file 90 shown in FIG. 14 based on the design requirement specifications, and designs the design requirement record file 90. The design specification record file 50 of the required specifications is written in the work data storage means 23 (step 110).

(2) Extraction of Similar Design Cases Next, the similar design case extraction means 16 causes the design case storage means 11 to obtain the design case most similar to the design requirement specification (requirement specification record file 50, element record file). 5
5, the path record file 56, and the attribute record file 57) are extracted and written in the work data storage means 23 (step 120).

(3) Correction of design case When the design case to be corrected is extracted, the design case automatic correction means 17 corrects the extracted design case to the design requirement specifications. The correction knowledge data held in is called, and the extracted design case is corrected using this correction knowledge data (step 130).
Further, the design result data sorting means 18 sorts the records according to the correction results. In addition, the editing unit 19 sets the rearranged design result (design specification record file and design case) as the pre-correction design result.
Stored in the work data storage means 23 (step 14)
0).

Here, the above steps 120 to 140 are carried out.
Process, the attribute value of the design specification attribute "speed switching" is "none", and the design specification attribute "device 2"
It is assumed that a design case including “deceleration position” and “deceleration position” is generated.

(4) Confirmation of Design Result When the design example after the automatic correction is obtained in this way, the editing means 19 displays the design result on the display screen 70 of the input / output device 33 via the input / output means 22. It is displayed and the input of the response is accepted (step 150). The display screen 70f output at this time is shown in FIG. As described above, in the design specification obtained as the correction result, the attribute value of “speed switching” is “none”, which is different from the required design specification.

Here, as shown in FIG. 13, when the cursor 75 indicates the selection area 74b for instructing the case modification, the design result is requested while further interactively receiving the instruction of the modification method. The processing of steps 170 to 180, which is processing for approaching the design specifications, is executed.

(5) Modification of Design Result When the modification of the design result is instructed, the editing means 19 inquires which design specification attribute in the specification of the design result is to be modified, and selects the modification type. The input is accepted via the input / output device 33 and the input / output means 22 (step 170). Here, it is assumed that an instruction to add an element is input by the instruction in the selection area 86 of the window 80.

Upon receipt of this instruction, the editing means 19 executes the element addition correction guidance processing of step 3407. here,
As shown in FIG. 20, the editing unit 19 receives the inquiry message 2 for receiving the selection of the attribute of the element to be added.
02 and a window 201 for presenting a selection branch are displayed (step 3302). The window 201 has a plurality of selection areas corresponding to the types of elements. Here, as shown in FIG. 20, it is assumed that the “box element” is selected.

In the box element among the elements constituting the interlocking control logic, there is data that needs to be defined as the attributes of the design requirement specifications, such as “operation target device” and “operation name” as data attributes.

Therefore, the editing means 19 of the present embodiment receives the designation of the data which is not defined as the attribute value of the design requirement specification, and therefore executes the element attribute value selection guiding process in step 3309. In this element attribute value selection guide processing, the editing means 19 displays a message 212 for inquiring the device to be operated of the box element, and a window 211 for presenting the specifications of the device to be designed as a selection branch (step). 3402). Here, as shown in FIG. 21, "device 2", that is, "MV
It is assumed that “24-2” is selected.

Further, in step 3404, the editing means 19 displays the message 222 for inquiring the action name on the display screen 70 and accepts the input of the action type as in the case of the first embodiment, but unlike the first embodiment. , A window 221 for presenting a selected branch of the action name is displayed on the screen 7
Display above 0. Here, the editing means 19 refers to the device specification data file 94 (held in the design object information storage means 24) shown in FIG. 26, and selects the device name “MV24-2” selected in the device storage area 261. Is stored in the operation type storage area 263 of the row (record)
The data held in 265 is listed in the window 221. Here, as shown in FIG. 22, it is assumed that the operation by “a valve excitation”, that is, “high speed” is selected as the operation name.

FIG. 26 shows the structure of the device specification data file 94 stored in the design object information storage means 24 in this embodiment. In this example, the device "MV24-
The name of “1” is “coil car carriage speed”, and the operation when a control signal for a-valve excitation is input to this device is “high speed”, and the operation when a non-excitation control signal is input is “low speed”. It means that it does not operate when a control signal for b-valve excitation is input.

Upon receiving the selection of the operation type, the editing means 19 stores the data predetermined according to the operation type in the second row of the element data setting procedure data file 96 (step 3207).

Since the correction knowledge is generated as described above, the editing means 19 corrects the design result according to the correction knowledge (step 3412) and stores the correction history (step 3413). Steps 190 to 190
By executing 220, the design example of the control logic corresponding to the required design specification is output.

The user corrects the design result by repeating the above processing. FIG. 15 shows correction knowledge data created when the correction used in the example of the description of the present embodiment is executed. In the case of this correction knowledge data, since it is composed of five basic correction parts “element addition”, the correction cost is set to 150, which is five times the cost 30 of the basic correction part “element addition”.

D. Effects of this Embodiment According to this embodiment, by storing the specifications of the device to be designed in the design object information storage means 24, it is only necessary to change the data held in the design object information storage means 24. Therefore, it is possible to easily cope with changes in the specifications of the device to be designed. Further, by presenting the information on the specifications of the device on the display screen and accepting the selection, it is not necessary for the user to have knowledge in advance about the specifications of the device, and the load on the user is reduced. In addition, such as operation type
Since the device specifications are also input in the form of selection options, the input information will be uniform, and uniform and efficient correction procedures and correction knowledge that are not affected by individual differences of users can be obtained. .

Further, the design support apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the user designs the control logic relating to the interlocking of the PC, is the result of the design support apparatus automatically correcting the design case similar to the required specifications of the design. In addition to inputting the correction result input by the user to the design case storage means, the case correction data is automatically generated from the correction contents of the design result performed by the user, so that it is not necessary to create the case correction data separately. The more the design support apparatus is used, the easier it is to automatically generate the design result according to the required design specifications.

The design support apparatus described in the present embodiment is intended for the design of the control logic relating to calculation or interlocking, but basically, if the logic can be described in the relation of nodes and links, The application target is not selected. That is, the design support apparatus according to the present invention can support design in a field in which logic can be described by nodes and links such as block diagrams.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
In order to obtain the design result for the desired design requirement specifications, the most similar items are extracted from the past design cases and automatically corrected, and the correction method for the part that could not be automatically corrected is interactively guided. The design result of the design specification is obtained, and the correction knowledge about the correction method is accumulated. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the design requirement specifications with the same correction content are given in the next design, the design result can be automatically corrected without guiding the correction method.

[0191]

According to the present invention, a uniform correction method is obtained without imposing an excessive load on the user, and further correction is performed based on the method, and design cases as the correction results are accumulated. By generating and accumulating revision knowledge,
Since the burden on the user who performs the design operation is significantly reduced, the efficiency and the reliability of the design work can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a design support device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of support processing of a control logic design work.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a design specification and a control logic diagram.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of correction knowledge.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a design specification record file.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen that displays an inquiry about the presence or absence of correction.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a basic correction method.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen at the time of design result correction processing.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen at the time of modification processing of a design result.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of correction knowledge.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a design support device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a control logic diagram showing a control logic required in the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen that displays an inquiry about the presence or absence of correction.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a design specification record file.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of correction knowledge in which an element addition / correction procedure is registered.

16 is an explanatory diagram showing an element record file of design example 1; FIG.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a path record file of design example 1;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an attribute record file of design example 1;

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an attribute record file of Design Example 3;

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed in the design result modification process.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed in the design result correction process.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed in the design result modification process.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing an element record file according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a path record file according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing an attribute record file according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a device specification data file.

FIG. 27 is a hardware configuration diagram of a design support device according to the first and second embodiments.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing a design specification record file of design example 2;

29 is an explanatory diagram showing a design specification record file of requirement design specification 1; FIG.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram showing a design specification record file of requirement design specification 2;

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a correction history record.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing the flow of element attribute value selection guidance processing.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the flow of element addition correction guidance processing.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a flow of correction guidance processing.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of correction knowledge.

FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram showing the processing contents of the design result combining processing.

FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram showing the processing contents of the design result decomposition processing.

FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of correction knowledge.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 110 ... Design support device, 11 ... Design case storage means, 12 ... Case correction data storage means, 13 ... Basic correction method storage means, 14 ... Correction history storage means, 15 ... Design requirement specification analysis means, 16 ... Similar design Case search and extraction means, 17
... design case automatic correction means, 18 ... design result data alignment means, 19 ... editing means, 20 ... case correction data generation means,
21 ... Design result synthesizing means, 22 ... Input / output means, 23 ... Work data storage means, 24 ... Design object information storage means,
30 ... Central processing unit, 31 ... Main storage device, 32 ... External storage device, 33 ... Input / output device, 51 ... Input element, 52
... output element, 53 ... arithmetic element, 54 ... path, 50 ... design specification record file, 55 ... element record file,
56 ... Path record file, 57 ... Attribute record file, 58 ... Correction knowledge data file, 59 ... Element attribute change procedure data file, 60 ... Correction component file, 6
1 ... Modified guidance data file, 70 ... Display screen, 75 ...
Cursor, 83 ... Control block diagram, 94 ... Device specification data file, 95 ... Element addition / correction procedure data file,
96 ... Element data setting procedure data file, 310 ... Correction history record storage area, 350 ... Element deletion procedure data file.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Miki Miyasaka 5-2-1 Omika-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Hitachi Ltd. Omika Plant

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A design comprising input means, output means, design case storage means for holding design case data, and editing means for correcting design case data held in advance in the design case storage means. In the support device, a basic correction method storage means for holding at least one predetermined correction procedure, a case correction data storage means for holding correction knowledge that is knowledge information of a design case data correction method, and the correction knowledge And a case correction data generating means for storing the design case data in the case correction data storage means, and the editing means uses one of the correction knowledge held in the case correction data storage means to store the design case data. At least one of the correction means and the correction procedure stored in the basic correction method storage means is output to the output means, and the selection is performed as described above. And a means for receiving the design case data according to the selected correction procedure, and the correction procedure used by the case correction data generation means is the selected correction procedure. Design support device characterized by. 2. A design comprising input means, output means, design case storage means for holding design case data, and editing means for modifying design case data held in advance in the design case storage means. In the support device, a basic correction method storage means for holding one or more correction parts, which is information for generating a predetermined correction procedure, and a correction knowledge, which is knowledge information of the correction method of the design case data, are held. The method further comprises case correction data storage means and case correction data generation means for generating the correction knowledge using the correction procedure and storing the correction knowledge in the case correction data storage means, and the editing means includes the case correction data storage means. Means for correcting the design case data by using any of the correction knowledge held in, and the correction parts held in the basic correction method storage means. At least one of which is output to the output means, and means for accepting the selection via the input means; and a procedure predetermined according to the selected repair component, which is predetermined according to the repair component. Different types of means for accepting input of information for correcting the design case data, means for generating a correction procedure from the input information for correction and the correction parts, The design support apparatus, wherein the modification procedure used by the modification data generation means is the modification procedure generated above. 3. The means for modifying design case data according to claim 1, wherein the modification knowledge includes information on the modification procedure and priority of the modification procedure, and uses the modification knowledge of the editing means. Is a means for correcting the design case data by using the one having the highest priority among the correction knowledge including the correction procedure that obtains the required result. 4. A design knowledge support method for correcting design case data held in advance to obtain design case data satisfying required specifications, wherein the correction knowledge is knowledge information of the method for correcting the design case data. A correction knowledge applying step of correcting the design case data using any of the above, a correction procedure selecting step of displaying at least one of the correction procedures accumulated in advance and accepting the selection thereof, and the correction procedure selecting step. The correction procedure applying step of correcting the design case data according to the correction procedure selected in step 1, and the case correction data for generating the correction knowledge using the correction procedure selected in the correction step selecting step and storing the correction knowledge in the storage means. A design support method comprising: a generation step. 5. A design knowledge support method for modifying design case data held in advance to obtain design case data satisfying a required specification, which is correction knowledge that is knowledge information of the method for modifying the design case data. Display at least one of the correction knowledge applying step for correcting the design case data using any one of the above and the correction parts that are the information for generating the correction procedure accumulated in advance, and accept the selection. Information for modifying the design case data of the type predetermined according to the modified component by the modified component selection step and the procedure predetermined according to the modified component selected in the modified component selection step. The concrete data acceptance step for accepting the input of The design case data is generated by the correction procedure generation step of generating a correction procedure from the correction information selected in the correction component selection step and the correction procedure generated in the correction procedure generation step. And a case modification data generation step for generating the modification knowledge using the modification procedure generated in the modification procedure generation step and storing the modification knowledge in the storage means. Method. 6. The correction knowledge according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the correction knowledge includes information on the correction procedure and a priority order of the correction procedure, and the correction knowledge applying step obtains the required result. A design support method comprising a step of correcting design case data by using the one having the highest priority among the correction knowledge including a correction procedure.