JP5035110B2 - Vehicle design support device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle design support apparatus for supporting a vehicle design work, and more particularly to a vehicle design support apparatus for supporting a design work related to a wheel arch design surface of a vehicle.

  Development of a vehicle (automobile) is performed using various CAD / CAM / CAE systems. However, if a design work using such a system takes a long time, the vehicle development period will be extended. Become. For this reason, various systems / apparatuses aimed at enabling various design operations to be performed in a shorter time (more efficiently and in a less wasteful manner) have been proposed.

  For example, a design rule check system for checking whether design data conforms to a design rule (design standard) can output pseudo errors and essential errors separately (for example, see Patent Document 1) .) Has been proposed. A pseudo error is an error that occurs because a special specification is designed against a general design rule.

  Also, based on the entered vehicle outline data, create multiple vehicle design plans with different combinations of components, perform structural analysis for each vehicle design plan created, and output the vehicle design plan with the best analysis results. A vehicle shape determination device that can be used (see, for example, Patent Document 2) has also been proposed.

  Further, when the design CAD data is corrected, the product design CAD data generated from the design CAD data before the correction is corrected instead of newly generating the product design CAD data ( For example, refer to Patent Document 3), and a vehicle design support apparatus (for example, refer to Patent Document 4) that can determine whether each member constituting the vehicle satisfies the legal regulations has also been proposed.

JP 2000-99558 A JP 2002-366606 A JP 2003-122801 A JP 2005-173761 A

  As described above, various systems / apparatuses have been proposed for enabling a vehicle design work to be performed in a shorter time. However, a check as to whether or not the wheel arch design surface of the vehicle and the shape and positional relationship of the tires satisfy the requirements by law (hereinafter referred to as wheel guard requirements) is schematically shown in FIGS. As shown, a plurality of cross-sectional views in the specified area near the tire are created, and the tire (or wheel, etc.) does not protrude from the wheel arch design surface (design surface in the figure) in each cross-sectional view. The current situation is that this is performed by a complicated operation in which the operator confirms this. For this reason, the technique which can perform the wheel guard requirement check about a vehicle in a short time is desired.

In addition, when the wheel arch design surface of the vehicle and the shape and positional relationship of the tires do not satisfy the wheel guard requirements, it is necessary to change the shape (design) of the wheel arch design surface. The method of checking the requirements is that if you do not perform separate work to create multiple cross-sectional views near the part where the tire is protruding, you will not know the part of the wheel arch design surface that needs to be corrected It has become.

  Therefore, a first problem of the present invention is to provide a vehicle design support apparatus that can perform a wheel guard requirement check on an evaluation target vehicle in a short time.

  In addition, the second problem of the present invention is that it is possible to check the wheel guard requirements for the vehicle to be evaluated in a short time, and it is not necessary to separately perform a work for specifying a portion of the wheel arch design surface that needs to be corrected. The object is to provide a vehicle design support apparatus.

  In order to solve the first problem, the vehicle design for determining whether or not the wheel arch design surface of the vehicle to be evaluated satisfies a predetermined wheel guard requirement according to the first aspect of the present invention. The support device is a storage means for temporarily storing information, based on the vehicle information indicating the shape of the wheel arch design surface, the shape of the tire provided in the evaluation target vehicle, and the positional relationship thereof, and the evaluation target vehicle The outermost line segment information representing the outermost line segment corresponding to the line segment projected on the ground line surface of the vehicle to be evaluated is created on the storage means. The wheel arch design surface of the vehicle to be evaluated satisfies the wheel guard requirement based on line segment information creating means, and the vehicle information and the outermost line segment information on the storage means. It determines whether or not, the judgment means for outputting a determination result provided.

  That is, the vehicle design support apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is a wheel guard requirement check (where the wheel arch design surface satisfies the wheel guard requirement without creating a sectional view of the vicinity of the tire of the vehicle to be evaluated. Process for automatically determining whether or not there is). Therefore, if this vehicle design support device is used, the wheel guard requirement check for the vehicle to be evaluated is performed as described above for the current check method (the operator creates a plurality of sectional views near the tire and checks each sectional view by the operator). Check method) or a check method that automates the check method.

  Moreover, the vehicle design support apparatus for determining whether or not the wheel arch design surface of the vehicle to be evaluated satisfies the predetermined wheel guard requirement according to the second aspect of the present invention temporarily stores information. Storage means for storing, based on vehicle information indicating the shape of the wheel arch design surface provided in the evaluation target vehicle, the shape of the tire, and their positional relationship, the wheel guard requirement outside the tire of the evaluation target vehicle Requirement surface information creating means for creating on the storage means requirement surface information representing a wheel guard requirement surface corresponding to a trajectory surface obtained when the portion corresponding to the above is translated upward, and the vehicle information and the vehicle information Based on the requirement surface information on the storage means, a display that displays a graphic representing the shape of the vehicle to be evaluated and a graphic representing the wheel guard requirement surface on the screen of the display device. The control means comprises.

That is, the vehicle design support apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a figure showing the shape of the evaluation target vehicle on the screen of the display device without creating a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the tire of the evaluation target vehicle. A configuration in which a graphic representing “a wheel guard requirement surface corresponding to a trajectory plane obtained when a portion corresponding to the wheel guard requirement outside the tire of the evaluation target vehicle is translated upward” is displayed in an overlapping manner. Have. An image (an image composed of a graphic showing the shape of the vehicle to be evaluated and a graphic showing the wheel guard requirement surface) displayed on the screen of the display device by the vehicle design support device (display control means thereof) It is possible to immediately determine whether the guard requirement is satisfied. In addition, the image is an image that can accurately identify which part of the wheel arch design surface needs to be corrected. Therefore, in the vehicle design support apparatus according to the second aspect, the wheel guard requirement check (including determination by the operator) for the vehicle to be evaluated can be performed in a short time, and the wheel arch design surface needs to be corrected. It is an apparatus (apparatus that can solve the above-described second problem) that does not need to separately perform work for specifying.

  Moreover, the vehicle design support apparatus for determining whether the wheel arch design surface of the vehicle to be evaluated satisfies a predetermined wheel guard requirement according to the third aspect of the present invention temporarily stores information. Storage means for storing, based on vehicle information indicating the shape of the wheel arch design surface provided in the evaluation target vehicle, the shape of the tire, and their positional relationship, the wheel guard requirement outside the tire of the evaluation target vehicle Requirement surface information creating means for creating on the storage means requirement surface information representing a wheel guard requirement surface corresponding to a trajectory surface obtained when the portion corresponding to the tire is enlarged around the rotation axis of the tire, and Based on the vehicle information and the requirement surface information on the storage means, a graphic representing the shape of the vehicle to be evaluated and a graphic representing the wheel guard requirement surface are superimposed on the screen of the display device. Display control means for displaying comprises.

  That is, the vehicle design support apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention is also similar to the vehicle design support apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention. It is a device that displays on the screen of the display device an “image that can immediately determine whether or not the wheel guard requirement is satisfied and that can accurately determine which part of the wheel arch design surface needs correction”. Yes. Therefore, this vehicle design support apparatus is also an apparatus that can solve the above-described second problem, like the vehicle design support apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention.

  The vehicle design support apparatus according to each aspect of the present invention creates outermost line segment information and requirement plane information in a form that takes into account the degree of variation in the size and mounting position of each part used for manufacturing the vehicle to be evaluated. It is desirable to realize this as a device to be performed (device having the configuration described in claims 4, 5 and 8). This is because, if the vehicle design support device of each aspect of the present invention is realized as such a device, the vehicle satisfies the wheel guard requirement in design but does not actually satisfy the wheel guard requirement. It is because it can prevent that is manufactured.

  In addition, the vehicle design support apparatus according to the second and third aspects of the present invention can be used as the vehicle information and the requirement surface information on the storage means (requirement surface information created by the requirement surface information creation means). Based on this, it can also be realized as an apparatus including a determination unit that determines whether or not the wheel arch design surface of the vehicle to be evaluated satisfies the wheel guard requirement and outputs a determination result.

  In the vehicle design support apparatus according to the second and third aspects of the present invention, the requirement surface information created by the requirement surface information creation means is stored in a nonvolatile storage means (portable recording medium or HDD). The display control unit further includes a storage unit, and the display control unit is configured on the screen of the display device based on the vehicle information in which the shape of the wheel arch design surface is corrected and the requirement surface information stored in the nonvolatile storage unit. Moreover, it can also be realized as an apparatus that employs means having a function of displaying a graphic representing the shape of the vehicle to be evaluated and a graphic representing the wheel guard requirement surface in an overlapping manner. In addition, according to the vehicle design support device of each aspect realized as such a device, the wheel after the shape correction of the wheel arch design surface is performed in a form in which the creation of the requirement surface information is omitted (a form that takes less time). Guard requirement check can be performed.

  According to the present invention, a vehicle design support apparatus that can perform a wheel guard requirement check on an evaluation target vehicle in a short time, a wheel guard requirement check on an evaluation target vehicle can be performed in a short time, and a wheel arch design surface can be corrected. It is possible to provide a vehicle design support apparatus that does not need to separately perform a work for specifying a necessary accurate portion.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<< First Embodiment >>
As schematically shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a vehicle (so-called computer, computer system) including a computer main body 11, a display 12, and a keyboard. This is a device installed with a design support program.

  The vehicle design support program is a program for causing the vehicle design support apparatus 10 (CPU in the computer main body 11) to execute the vehicle design support process of the procedure shown in FIG.

  Before describing the contents of the vehicle design support process (the operation details of the CPU in the vehicle design support apparatus 10 / computer main body 11 during the vehicle design support process), here are some of the explanations used in the following description. The meaning of terms will be explained (defined).

  In the following description, the tire portion is a rotating portion (a portion including a tire, a wheel, a wheel cap, etc.) including a tire provided in the vehicle. The vehicle information is information indicating the shape of the wheel arch design surface (outer plate design surface of the wheel arch portion) provided in the vehicle, the shape of the tire portion, the positional relationship between the wheel arch design surface and the tire portion, etc. It is information that can display a three-dimensional figure around each tire part). The vehicle information to be processed by the vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes information indicating the shape of the wheel arch design surface included therein and the position of each part of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as design surface information). It has a data structure that can be easily replaced with other design surface information.

  The vehicle to be evaluated is a vehicle that checks / performs whether or not the wheel guard requirement is satisfied using the vehicle design support apparatus 10. The vehicle information file and the design surface information file are files holding vehicle information and design surface information (information indicating the shape of the wheel arch design surface, etc.), respectively. The ground line plane is a plane on which the evaluation target vehicle is positioned. Front, rear, left, right, top, and bottom are directions indicated by arrows in FIG. 2 (directions defined with reference to the evaluation target vehicle and the ground line plane). The vertical plane is a plane orthogonal to the ground line plane, and the horizontal vertical plane is a vertical plane orthogonal to the front-rear direction.

  Based on the above assumptions, the operation contents of the vehicle design support apparatus 10 during the vehicle design support processing will be specifically described below.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has started the vehicle design support processing first performs information setting reception processing (step S100).

  In this information setting reception process, a setting window having a predetermined configuration is displayed on the screen of the display 12, so that execution check process specifying information, vehicle information file specifying information, design surface information file specifying information, etc. are set for the operator. And storing each piece of information set by the operator on the memory in the computer main body 11.

Here, the required execution check process designation information designates whether the check process to be executed by the vehicle design support apparatus 10 is a new check process or a correction check process (see FIG. 3; details will be described later). It is information for. The vehicle information file designation information is information for designating a vehicle information file to be processed by the vehicle design support apparatus 10 (vehicle information file holding vehicle information related to the evaluation target vehicle) (in this embodiment, the vehicle information file , File name including path name). Design surface information file designation information is information for designating a design surface information file to be processed by the vehicle design support apparatus 10 (design surface information file holding design surface information related to the evaluation target vehicle) (in this embodiment, This is the file name including the path name of the design surface information file. Among these file designation information, the vehicle information file designation information is information that needs to be set when either the new check process or the correction check process is performed by the vehicle design support apparatus 10. On the other hand, the design surface information file designation information is information that needs to be set only when the vehicle design support apparatus 10 performs the correction check process.

  Although the detailed description is omitted, the setting window displayed during the information setting acceptance process can set the above information, and an item (this book) for changing the variation amount designation information from the default value. In the embodiment, a numerical value input text box in which a default value of variation amount designation information is indicated as an initial value is provided. Here, the variation amount designation information (the application will be described later) is the positional relationship between the tire portion and the wheel arch portion, which is determined in consideration of the size of each portion of the vehicle to be evaluated and the degree of variation in the mounting position. , Numerical information that specifies the maximum variation (maximum deviation) from the design value.

  In addition, the setting window includes items to be operated by the operator when the setting of various information is completed, and the information setting reception process is a process instructed to be executed when the item is operated. The process ends after confirming whether or not a file necessary for the file actually exists (a process for prompting the operator to reset information without ending if the file cannot be confirmed).

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has completed the information setting reception process has a check process (hereinafter referred to as a required execution check process) indicated by the set required execution check process designation information is a new check process. In (Step S101; YES), a new check process (the processes in Steps S104 to S111) is started.

  First, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has started the new check process, for each tire part of the evaluation target vehicle, based on the evaluation target vehicle information, checks target part information indicating the shape and position of the check target part related to the tire part. A process of creating on the memory (step S104) is performed. Here, the evaluation target vehicle information is vehicle information (vehicle information of the evaluation target vehicle) in the vehicle information file indicated by the vehicle information file designation information set by the operator. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the check target portions are inclined 30 ° forward and 50 ° rearward from the vertical plane passing through the “axle center (rotation center of the tire portion) of the tire portion, It is the “part sandwiched by two planes that pass through the axle center”.

  Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, description of the place where information is created by the process of each step will be omitted, but the process of each step described below is also a process of creating information on the memory (created / obtained). Information stored in the memory).

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has finished the process of step S104, based on the four pieces of check target part information created in the process, for each check target part, the check target part has a plurality of left and right positions that are different in the front-rear direction. A process of obtaining the coordinates of the outermost point of each divided surface when divided in the direction vertical plane (step S105). The outermost point of the dividing plane is the furthest away from the center plane in the horizontal direction of the evaluation target vehicle (the vertical plane perpendicular to the horizontal direction of the evaluation target vehicle and intersecting the evaluation target vehicle) on the outline of the division plane. It is a point.

  In the process of step S105, as schematically shown in FIG. 5, the interval between the divided surfaces at each end portion (left end portion and right end portion in the drawing) of the check target portion is shorter than the interval between other portions. In this way, the position of each vertical plane in the left-right direction (the position in the front-rear direction of the outermost point for obtaining coordinates) is determined. Further, the process of step S105 is also a process that is performed without actually generating a split surface (without generating information that can display the split surface).

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has finished the process of step S105, for each check target portion, based on the coordinates of the outermost points obtained in the process, the outermost line segment information indicating the shape and position of the outermost line segment. The process (step S106) which produces is performed. The outermost line segment information created for each check target portion by this processing is information representing the outermost line segment as shown in FIG.

  That is, the process of step S106 projects, for each check target part, the outermost point group on the ground line plane from the coordinates of the outermost point group obtained in the process of step S105 for the check target part. After obtaining the coordinates of the point group, the outermost line segment information representing the line segment (= outermost line segment) connecting these point groups is created. The process of step S106 is a process of creating a line segment that smoothly connects the point groups (in this embodiment, a quadratic curve approximation between each two points) as the outermost line segment information. It has become.

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has finished the processing of step S106, based on each outermost line segment information created, obtains the outermost line obtained by translating the outermost line segment upward for each check target portion. A process of creating information representing the provisional wheel guard requirement surface from which the predetermined portion is removed from the minute locus surface (step S107) is performed.

  More specifically, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has started the process of step S107 firstly, for each outermost line segment information created by the process of step S106, the outermost line segment information represents the outermost line segment information. Trajectory plane information representing the trajectory plane obtained by translating the line segment upward is created. And the vehicle design support apparatus 10 is a part below the two planes (see FIG. 4) used for specifying the check target part from the trajectory plane represented by the trajectory plane information for each created trajectory plane information. After creating information representing the provisional wheel guard requirement surface, which is a surface from which the step is removed, the process of step S107 is terminated.

  In short, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 generates four pieces of locus surface information indicating the shape and position of the locus surface as shown in FIG. 7, and then the provisional wheel guard requirement surface having the shape as shown in FIG. In step S107, a process for creating four pieces of information indicating is performed.

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has finished the processing of step S107, based on the created information and variation amount designation information, for each check target part, from the provisional wheel guard requirement surface of each part (each point on the surface). A process of creating requirement plane information representing a wheel guard requirement plane whose distance matches the variation amount designation information (step S108). In addition, each requirement surface information created by the process of this step is information showing the wheel guard requirement surface which is a surface having the relationship shown in FIG. 9 with the provisional wheel guard requirement surface. That is, in the process of step S108, the distances from the provisional wheel guard requirement surface of each part (each point on the surface) coincide with the variation amount designation information, and are positioned outside the provisional wheel guard requirement surface. The requirement surface information representing the wheel guard requirement surface is created for each check target portion.

Returning to FIG. 3, the operation content of the vehicle design support apparatus 10 after the process of step S108 will be described.

  After completing the process of step S108, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 can know the correspondence relationship between the wheel guard requirement surface information file holding the wheel guard requirement surface information including the four pieces of requirement surface information and the evaluation target vehicle information. A process (step S109) of generating (saving) the file as a file in the own apparatus is performed. Note that the processing actually performed in step S109 is a file name whose correspondence with the evaluation target vehicle information can be obtained by processing the vehicle information file designation information (file name of the vehicle information file) set by the operator. Is prepared, and a wheel guard requirement plane information file having the file name is generated in a predetermined folder.

  Thereafter, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 performs a process (step S110) of executing a design surface shape check process for each wheel arch design surface.

  In step S110, the design surface shape check process executed by the vehicle design support apparatus 10 for each wheel arch design surface is a process of the procedure shown in FIG. In FIG. 10 and the following description, the noticeable wheel arch design surface is a wheel arch design surface that is a processing target of the design surface shape check process. The attention wheel guard requirement surface is a wheel guard requirement surface relating to a tire portion located below the attention wheel arch design surface. The X, Y, and Z coordinate values are an XYZ coordinate system that is set so that the X, Y, and Z axes are parallel to the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction (see FIG. 2), respectively. (The direction in which the coordinate value increases is the front / right / upward direction, and the XZ plane passes through the center in the left-right direction of the vehicle to be evaluated).

  That is, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has started the design surface shape check process for a certain wheel arch design surface first includes wheel guard requirement surface information (four requirement surface information created in the process of step S108). Information), the X coordinate value of each end in the X direction (front-rear direction) of the target wheel guard requirement surface is obtained, and the smaller coordinate value is set to the variable Xs and the larger coordinate value is set to the variable Xe. (Step S201) is performed. Next, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 performs a process of setting “0” and an Xs value to the variable CC and the variable Xc, respectively (step S202).

  Thereafter, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 obtains the Y coordinate value of the point where the X coordinate value on the target wheel guard requirement surface coincides with the Xc value based on the wheel guard requirement surface information, and uses the obtained value as the variable Yw. The process of setting to (step S203) is performed. Further, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 determines, based on the evaluation target vehicle information, the Y coordinate of the lowest point (Z coordinate value is the smallest) on the attention wheel arch design surface where the X coordinate value coincides with Xc. A process of obtaining the value and the Z coordinate value and setting the obtained Y coordinate value and Z coordinate value to the variable Yc and the variable Zc, respectively (step S204) is also performed.

Thereafter, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 determines whether or not abs (Yc)> abs (Yw) is established (step S205). Here, abs (u) is the absolute value of u. As described above, in the XYZ coordinate system used for the description of the design surface shape check process, the direction in which the Y coordinate value increases is the right direction, and the XZ plane is the center in the left-right direction of the evaluation target vehicle. Passing through [Y coordinate value of points on each side on the right side of the vehicle to be evaluated (wheel guard requirement surface, etc.) is positive, and Y coordinate value of points on each side on the left side of the vehicle to be evaluated is negative It will be]. Abs (Yc)> abs (Yw) is an inequality equivalent to Yc> Yw when both Yc and Yw are positive, and Yc <Yw when both Yc and Yw are positive. Is an inequality equivalent to. Therefore, the process of step S205 is performed on the point on the target wheel arch design surface where the Y coordinate value Yc is obtained even when the target wheel arch design surface is the wheel arch design surface on either side of the evaluation target vehicle. It is determined whether or not the point is located outside the point on the target wheel guard requirement surface for which the Y coordinate value Yw is obtained, as viewed from above (or below) the vehicle to be evaluated. It will be a process to do.

  When abs (Yc)> abs (Yw) is satisfied (step S205; YES), the vehicle design support apparatus 10 adds “1” to CC (step S207), and then CC ≧ specified It is determined whether or not a number (a predetermined positive integer) is established (step S208).

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 determines whether or not Zc + ΔZ> Zw is satisfied when CC ≧ the specified number is not satisfied (step S208; NO) (step S209). Here, Zw is the height of the upper end of the target wheel guard requirement surface, and ΔZ is a predetermined positive real number.

  Further, when abs (Yc)> abs (Yw) is not established (step S205; NO), the vehicle design support apparatus 10 sets “0” in CC (step S206), It is determined whether Zc + ΔZ> Zw is satisfied (step S209).

  Then, if Zc + ΔZ> Zw is not satisfied (step S209; NO), the vehicle design support apparatus 10 adds ΔZ to Zc (step S210), and then based on the evaluation target vehicle information, The Y coordinate value of the point where the X coordinate value and the Z coordinate value of the design surface coincide with Xc and Zc, respectively, is obtained, and the obtained value is set to the variable Yc (step S211). Then, the design support apparatus 10 starts again the processes after step S203.

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 is a positive real number determined in advance in Xc when CC ≧ the specified number is satisfied while repeating the above-described processing (step S208; YES). After adding ΔX (step S212), it is determined whether Xc> Xe is satisfied (step S213). Then, when Xc> Xe is not established (step S213; NO), the vehicle design support apparatus 10 starts the processing from step S203 onward again.

  Further, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 determines that NG (wheel guard) is obtained as a check result on the attention wheel arch design surface when CC ≧ ΔZ> Zw is satisfied without satisfying CC ≧ the specified number (step S209; YES). The process (step S215) which memorize | stores the information which shows not satisfy | filling requirements is performed. And the design support apparatus 10 for vehicles complete | finishes this design surface shape check process, and when the unevaluated wheel arch design surface remains, it starts the design surface shape check process with respect to the wheel arch design surface. Moreover, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 ends the process of step S110 (FIG. 3) when the unevaluated wheel arch design surface does not remain.

  If Xc> Xe is satisfied (step S213; YES), the vehicle design support apparatus 10 determines OK (information indicating that the wheel guard requirement is satisfied) as a check result regarding the attention wheel arch design surface. Store (step S215). And the design support apparatus 10 for vehicles complete | finishes the design surface shape check process, and when the unevaluated wheel arch design surface remains, it starts the design surface shape check process with respect to the wheel arch design surface, and remains. If not, the process of step S110 (FIG. 3) ends.

In short, in the design surface shape check process, as schematically shown in FIG. 11, each point of the attention wheel arch design surface whose X coordinate value is Xc is outside the attention wheel guard requirement surface. This is a process of checking whether or not the height is changed by ΔZ from the lower side. Further, in the design surface shape check process, when a positive check result is continuously obtained as many times as the specified number (step S208; YES), the next location (location where the X coordinate value is Xc + ΔX) When a positive check result is obtained for the same number of times consecutively as many as the specified number (step S213; YES), the check result regarding the attention wheel arch design surface is OK. Is stored and finished. Further, in the design surface shape check process, when Zc + ΔZ> Zw is satisfied without positive check results being continuously obtained as many times as the specified number (step S209; YES), a check on the next location is performed. Without starting, it is also a process of storing NG as a check result on the attention wheel arch design surface and ending.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the description of the operation contents of the vehicle design support apparatus 10 during the vehicle design support process will be continued.

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has finished the process of step S110 displays, on the screen of the display 12, a vehicle shape graphic representing the shape of the vehicle to be evaluated and a wheel guard requirement surface graphic representing the shape of each wheel guard requirement surface. A process result display process (step S111), which is a process of displaying the check result (information indicating whether or not the wheel guard requirement is satisfied) regarding each wheel arch design surface, is performed while being displayed repeatedly.

  Although detailed description is omitted, in this processing result display processing, an arbitrary portion (a portion designated by the operator) of the vehicle shape figure (and the wheel guard requirement surface figure) is displayed on the screen of the display 12. It is possible. That is, in the processing result display process, the entire vehicle shape graphic (and the wheel guard requirement surface graphic) is displayed on the screen of the display 12, or the graphic (vehicle shape graphic of the vehicle shape graphic) is displayed as shown in FIG. It is also possible to display part and wheel guard requirement surface graphics).

  Further, the processing result display process is a process capable of printing an image displayed on the screen of the display 12 and saving it as a file on an arbitrary storage medium accessible by the computer main body 11. ing.

  Furthermore, the process result display process is a process that ends when a predetermined instruction is input by the operator. The vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has completed the process result display process performs a new check process and a vehicle design. The support process (the process of FIG. 3) is terminated.

  When the required execution check process is a new check process (step S101; NO), the vehicle design support apparatus 10 starts the correction check process (the processes of steps S102, S103, S110, and S111).

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 that has started the correction check process performs a process (step S102) of preparing (creating) the vehicle information obtained by replacing the design surface information with the designated design surface information as the evaluation target vehicle information. More specifically, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 includes the design surface information file specified by the design surface information file specifying information in the vehicle information in the vehicle information file specified by the vehicle information file specifying information. The vehicle information incorporating the design surface information is prepared as evaluation target vehicle information.

Next, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 performs a process (step S103) of reading the corresponding wheel guard requirement surface information from a predetermined folder (HDD in the figure) in the apparatus itself. Here, the corresponding wheel guard requirement surface information is a file in which the correspondence relationship with the evaluation target vehicle information is known in the process of step S109 already described (a file having a file name having a specific relationship with the vehicle information file designation information). The wheel guard requirement surface information in the wheel guard requirement surface information file generated in the vehicle design support apparatus 10.

  And the design support apparatus 10 for vehicles which finished the process of step S103 starts the process after step S110.

  As is clear from the above description, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment performs a wheel guard requirement check (processing in step S110) without creating a sectional view of the vicinity of the tire of the vehicle to be evaluated. It has a configuration (see FIG. 3). Therefore, if this vehicle design support device 10 is used, the wheel guard requirement check for the vehicle to be evaluated can be performed in a shorter time than when the current check method or a check method that automates the check method is used. It will be.

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 also has a function of displaying a vehicle shape graphic and a wheel guard requirement surface graphic in an overlapping manner on the screen of the display 12. In other words, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 can immediately determine whether the wheel guard requirement is satisfied (FIG. 13) or not (FIG. 12), and any part of the wheel arch design surface needs to be corrected. This is a device that displays an image on which the image can be accurately determined on the screen of the display 12. Therefore, this vehicle design support apparatus 10 is also an apparatus that does not need to separately perform an operation for specifying a portion of the wheel arch design surface that needs to be corrected.

  Further, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 uses the wheel guard requirement surface information file created during the new check process (without creating wheel guard requirement surface information), and performs a function for checking wheel guard requirements (correction check). A function of executing processing). Therefore, if the vehicle design support apparatus 10 is used, the wheel guard requirement check after correcting the shape of the wheel arch design surface can be performed in an extremely short time.

  Furthermore, the vehicle design support device 10 is a device that can check the wheel guard requirement in consideration of the size of each part used for manufacturing the vehicle to be evaluated and the degree of variation in the mounting position. Therefore, if the vehicle design support apparatus 10 is used, it is possible to prevent the manufacture of a vehicle that satisfies the wheel guard requirement in design but does not actually satisfy the wheel guard requirement.

<< Second Embodiment >>
The vehicle design support apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention performs a vehicle design support process having a different content from the vehicle design support process (FIG. 3) described above. The design support apparatus 10 is modified. For this reason, in the following description, the same reference numerals as those used in the description of the vehicle design support apparatus 10 of the first embodiment are used, and the second embodiment will be described with a focus on the differences from the vehicle design support processing described above. The contents of the vehicle design support processing executed by the vehicle design support device 10 will be described.

  The vehicle design support process executed by the vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is a process of the procedure shown in FIG.

  Steps S300 to S304, S309, and S311 in this vehicle design support processing (hereinafter also referred to as second vehicle design support processing) are respectively the vehicle design support processing (hereinafter referred to as the first vehicle) shown in FIG. This process is the same as the process in steps S100 to S104, S109, and S111.

Also, the processes in steps S305 to S308 during the second vehicle design support process are the same as the processes in steps S105 to S108 during the first vehicle design support process. It is a process for creating information.

  However, the wheel guard requirement surface information created by the processing of steps S305 to S308 is information that the images shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 are displayed on the screen of the display 12 during the processing of step S311. It has become.

  Specifically, in step S305 during the second vehicle design support process, each check target part (see FIG. 4) is divided into a plurality of surfaces that pass through the axle center and have different inclination angles. Processing for obtaining the coordinates of the outermost point of each divided surface is performed. In subsequent step S306, for each outermost point of each check target portion, when the outermost point is moved by a predetermined distance in a direction passing through the axle and away from the axle on a vertical plane passing through the axle center. A process of creating radial line segment information representing a trajectory (hereinafter referred to as a radial line segment) is performed.

  In step S307, based on the radial line segment information group created in the process of step S306, information representing the provisional wheel guard requirement surface including all radial line segments related to the check target part is created for each check target part. Processing is performed.

  In step S308, based on each piece of information created in the process in step S307 and the variation amount designation information, each part (each point on the surface) of each part (provisional wheel guard requirement surface) is provisionally checked. Processing is performed to create requirement surface information representing a wheel guard requirement surface, which is a surface located outside the provisional wheel guard requirement surface, whose distance from the wheel guard requirement surface matches the variation amount designation information. .

  The process of step S310 is also a process of executing a design surface shape check process for each wheel arch design surface, similarly to the process of step S110.

  However, the design surface shape check process executed at the time of the process of step S310 checks whether each point of the attention wheel arch design surface is outside the attention wheel guard requirement surface in various directions passing through the axle center. As is done, the design surface shape check process of FIG. 10 is modified.

  As is clear from the above description, in the vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment, the wheel guard requirement surface is enlarged around the rotation axis of the tire in the check target portion of the tire of the evaluation target vehicle. The vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment is modified so as to correspond to a trajectory plane obtained at that time.

  Therefore, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment also has the same effect as the vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment described above.

<Deformation>
The vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to each of the above-described embodiments can perform various modifications. For example, if an image as shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 15 or FIG. 16 is displayed on the screen of the display 12, the operator determines whether each wheel arch design surface satisfies the wheel guard requirement. Can be determined immediately. Therefore, the vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to each embodiment automatically determines whether each wheel arch design surface satisfies the wheel guard requirement and outputs the determination result (in steps S110 and S310). The apparatus can be modified to have no function).

The vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to each embodiment is shown in FIGS. 12, 13, 15, and 16. FIG.
That do not have a display function to display an image as shown on the screen of the display 12 (automatically determines whether each wheel arch design surface satisfies the wheel guard requirements and outputs the determination result) It is also possible to transform it into one having only a function to perform. However, when the vehicle design support device 10 is transformed into such a device, if a certain wheel arch design surface does not satisfy the wheel guard requirement, the wheel arch design surface needs to be corrected. It will be necessary to perform a separate operation for specifying the portion. For this reason, it is desirable to leave the display function when the vehicle design support apparatus 10 is deformed.

  The vehicle design support apparatus 10 according to each embodiment is an apparatus that creates wheel guard requirement surface information by a process that does not use variation amount designation information (an apparatus that does not perform the processes of steps S108 and S308, and a provisional wheel guard requirement surface is a wheel. It can also be modified to a device that is handled as a guard requirement surface. However, when the vehicle design support device 10 is transformed into such a device, a vehicle that does not satisfy the wheel guard requirements may be manufactured even though the wheel guard requirements are satisfied in design. Will get. Therefore, when the vehicle design support apparatus 10 is deformed, the shape and position of the wheel guard requirement surface are determined in consideration of the size of each part of the vehicle to be evaluated and the degree of variation in the mounting position. It is desirable.

In addition, the vehicle design support device 10 according to each embodiment, a device that only checks the wheel arch design surface on one side of the vehicle to be evaluated, a wheel guard requirement surface information file, a portable recording medium, Of course, it may be modified into a device that can be stored in an HDD in another computer.

1 is an external view of a vehicle design support apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the meaning of the term regarding a direction. It is a flowchart of the design support process for vehicles which can be performed by the design support apparatus for vehicles concerning a 1st embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the check object part. It is explanatory drawing of an outermost point. It is explanatory drawing of an outermost line segment (outermost line segment information). It is explanatory drawing of a locus surface. It is explanatory drawing of a provisional wheel guard requirement surface. It is explanatory drawing of the relationship between a provisional wheel guard requirement surface and a wheel guard requirement surface. It is a flowchart of the design surface shape check process which the vehicle design support apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment performs. It is a figure for demonstrating the content of the design surface shape check process. It is the figure which showed an example of the image which the vehicle design assistance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment displays as a processing result. It is the figure which showed the other example of the image which the vehicle design assistance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment displays as a processing result. It is a flowchart of the design support process for vehicles which can be performed by the design support apparatus for vehicles concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed an example of the image which the vehicle design support apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment displays as a processing result. It is the figure which showed the other example of the image which the vehicle design assistance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment displays as a processing result. It is explanatory drawing of the check method of the conventional wheel guard requirement. It is explanatory drawing of the check method of the conventional wheel guard requirement.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle design support apparatus 11 ... Computer main body 12 ... Display

Claims (6)

A vehicle design support apparatus for determining whether or not a wheel arch design surface of a vehicle to be evaluated satisfies a predetermined wheel guard requirement,
Storage means for temporarily storing information;
Based on the vehicle information indicating the shape of the wheel arch design surface of the vehicle to be evaluated, the shape of the tire, and the positional relationship between them, the portion corresponding to the wheel guard requirement outside the tire of the vehicle to be evaluated is parallel in the upward direction. Requirement surface information creating means for creating on the storage means requirement surface information representing a wheel guard requirement surface corresponding to a trajectory surface obtained when moving, and
Based on the vehicle information and the requirement surface information on the storage means, a display control for displaying a graphic representing the shape of the vehicle to be evaluated and a graphic representing the wheel guard requirement surface on the screen of a display device. A vehicle design support apparatus comprising: means. A vehicle design support apparatus for determining whether or not a wheel arch design surface of a vehicle to be evaluated satisfies a predetermined wheel guard requirement,
Storage means for temporarily storing information;
Based on the vehicle information indicating the shape of the wheel arch design surface of the vehicle to be evaluated, the shape of the tire, and the positional relationship between them, the portion corresponding to the wheel guard requirement outside the tire of the vehicle to be evaluated is rotated by the tire. Requirement surface information creation means for creating requirement surface information representing a wheel guard requirement surface corresponding to a trajectory surface obtained when expanding about an axis on the storage means; and
Based on the vehicle information and the requirement surface information on the storage means, a display control for displaying a graphic representing the shape of the vehicle to be evaluated and a graphic representing the wheel guard requirement surface on the screen of a display device. A vehicle design support apparatus comprising: means. The requirement side information creating means is
A virtual position located outside by a predetermined distance determined in accordance with the size of each part of the evaluation target vehicle and the degree of variation of the mounting position from the part corresponding to the wheel guard requirement outside the tire of the evaluation target vehicle 2. The vehicle design support apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said vehicle design support device is means for creating requirement surface information representing a wheel guard requirement surface corresponding to a trajectory surface obtained by parallel translation of a target portion. . The requirement side information creating means is
A virtual position located outside a predetermined distance determined based on the degree of variation in the size and the mounting position of each part of the evaluation target vehicle from the part corresponding to the wheel guard requirement outside the tire of the evaluation target vehicle 3. The vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein the vehicle is a means for creating requirement surface information representing a wheel guard requirement surface corresponding to a trajectory surface obtained by enlarging the main portion around the rotation axis of the tire. Design support device. Determining whether or not the wheel arch design surface of the vehicle to be evaluated satisfies the wheel guard requirement based on the vehicle information and the requirement surface information on the storage means, and outputting a determination result means, further, the vehicle design support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises. A storage unit that stores the requirement plane information created by the requirement plane information creation unit in a nonvolatile storage unit;
The display control means is
Based on the vehicle information in which the shape of the wheel arch design surface is corrected and the requirement surface information stored in the nonvolatile storage means, a graphic indicating the shape of the vehicle to be evaluated on the screen of the display device; vehicle design support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a means having a function of displaying overlapping a figure representing the wheel guard requirements surface.

Images