JP5652068B2 - Design support system and design support method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a design support system that supports design work in CAD, and more particularly, to a design support system and a design support method that support design work using CAD having a design rule checker (design rule check function).

  In general, CAD (Computer Aided Design) is used for designing devices such as electronic devices such as circuit design and mechanism design. Compared with the manual design, the design using CAD is easy to correct and divert data, and the accuracy is very high, so it has become indispensable in the design work. However, since the CAD system is difficult to operate due to its high functionality and has a problem that it takes time to learn, efficient education according to the proficiency level is necessary.

  There is a related user skill level determination method (see Patent Document 1). The user skill level determination method described in Patent Document 1 can be objectively and accurately determined regardless of the subjectivity of the judge, can also be determined in an atypical task, and has a user-adaptive interface. It is an object of the present invention to provide a user skill level determination method capable of real time determination in order to realize it. In this technique, event information associated with a user operation from the start to the end of work is recorded in a memory, the event information stored in the memory is read, an event type is determined, and a frequency distribution of time between operations is calculated. The distribution value of the distribution is calculated based on the obtained frequency distribution, and then the calculated dispersion value is replaced with the skill index, and the skill level is determined based on the skill index.

  There is also a related three-dimensional CAD education system (see Patent Document 2). In the three-dimensional CAD education system described in Patent Document 2, a three-dimensional CAD education system capable of efficiently improving the proficiency level in the three-dimensional CAD education system for allowing the operator to master the operation method of the three-dimensional CAD device. The purpose is to provide. In this technique, the stored proficiency level measurement problem is extracted and presented, an operation that is an answer to the problem is accepted, 3D CAD model data corresponding to the operation is created, and the 3D model data is generated from the 3D model data. The design method procedure and the command operation combination procedure are extracted, the extracted design method procedure is compared with the standard design method procedure, a mismatch is detected, and an unfamiliar point in the operation is determined based on both detected mismatches, Based on the non-skilled points obtained in this way, a reinforcing material to be presented to the person who performed the operation is selected and output from among a plurality of reinforcing materials.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-055103 JP 2005-017982 A

  In the user skill level determination method described in Patent Literature 1, the user's work is monitored by the system side, and the proficiency level of the user is estimated by calculating time and variance between operations. However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, the time between CAD operations is extracted in order to determine the user's learning level. The larger this is, the more beginner, the smaller the expert. In the case of this determination method, the proficiency level of CAD as a tool can be determined, but there is a problem that the proficiency level according to the complexity of the design object (CAD drawing) cannot be determined.

In the 3D CAD education system described in Patent Document 2, proficiency measurement problems, standard design method procedures, standard command operation combination procedures, and a plurality of reinforcing materials are stored in advance. It is characterized by presenting and allowing the operator to perform a CAD operation as an answer.
However, in the system described in Patent Document 2, the proficiency level is determined by letting a designer solve a proficiency level measurement problem prepared in advance and extracting a non-learning location from the difference from the correct answer. In this case as well, there is a problem that the proficiency level according to the complexity of the design object cannot be determined, as in the system of Patent Document 1.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a design support system and a design support method that can solve the above-described problems.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a design support system according to the present invention includes a CAD unit having a design rule check function, a design elapsed time measuring unit that measures an elapsed time of design work, and a design. Records the elapsed time, the number of errors detected by the design rule check, design target information, past design case information, and CAD design method information, and user operations from the start to the end of design work The degree of change in the number of errors detected by the design rule check with respect to the design elapsed time, and the degree of change in the number of errors obtained in a plurality of cases stored in the database unit with respect to the work elapsed time, And a proficiency level determination unit for determining the proficiency level.

  According to the present invention, not only a designer's proficiency with respect to CAD operation but also proficiency with respect to a design object (for example, proficiency with respect to complexity of the design object) is determined, and an optimal operation according to the proficiency level of the designer (User interface) can be provided. For this reason, the efficiency of design work can be improved. Furthermore, by determining the proficiency level of the designer, the manager can optimize the human resources of the workplace design environment by giving a design object corresponding to the proficiency level of the designer.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the design support system concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the design support system shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the 1st specific design object. It is a figure which shows the example of the wiring design result of the design object shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the 2nd specific design object. It is a figure which shows the example of the wiring design result of the design object shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the time change of the number of errors when the beginner and the expert design the design object shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the time change of the number of errors when the expert of CAD operation and the beginner about a design object design the design object shown in FIG.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Description of design support system configuration and processing flow]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a design support system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows only a portion directly related to the present invention. The design support system 1 includes a CAD unit 11 having a design rule checker (design rule check function), and a design elapsed time measuring unit 12 that measures an elapsed time of design work. The design support system 1 also includes a learning database 13 that stores design elapsed time, the number of errors detected by the design rule check, design target information, design past case information, and CAD operation information. . In addition, the design support system 1 records user operations from the start to the end of design work, and a proficiency level determination unit 14 that determines a proficiency level according to a change in the number of errors detected by the design rule check. And a design support information providing unit 15 that provides the corresponding design support information. The design rule checker (design rule check function) is a CAD tool for verifying whether design data violates a design rule (design rule).

  In this design support system 1, the step of checking errors by the design rule check and the step of recording the number of detected errors are repeated. By recording the number of errors due to the design rule check, the relationship between the elapsed time of design work and the number of errors can be obtained. In general, it is considered that the number of errors decreases as the design work time elapses. Therefore, by obtaining the relationship between the design elapsed time and the number of errors, the level of proficiency of the designer in the design target can be determined.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the design support system 1.
In the design support system 1, a step S102 for recording the elapsed work time from the start to the end of the design work, a step S103 for performing the design rule check, and a step for recording the number of errors as a result of the design rule check. S104, step S105 for calculating the relationship between the elapsed time of design work and the number of errors, step S106 for determining the proficiency level, and step S107 for providing design support information according to the proficiency level are repeated. .

  Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 2, when CAD is started and design work is started (step S101), the design support system 1 is started in conjunction. The design support system 1 measures the elapsed time of the design work by using the design elapsed time measuring unit 12, and records the elapsed work time together with the work content in a log file every time a fixed time passes (step S102). At the same time, every time a certain time elapses, a design rule check is executed by the design rule check function of the CAD unit 11 (step S103). The design rule check preferably operates in the background without impairing the design work.

  The most important design rule check result is the number of errors. The CAD unit 11 records this error number information in a log file (step S104). Up to this point, information on elapsed time and the number of errors is recorded in the log file. Therefore, next, the proficiency level determination unit 14 calculates the relationship between the design elapsed time and the number of errors (step S105), and determines the proficiency level based on the degree of temporal change in the number of errors (step S106). In the determination of the proficiency level, it is possible to determine both the proficiency level for the user's CAD operation and the proficiency level according to the design object (for example, the proficiency level for the complexity of the design object). Based on the determination result of the proficiency level, the design support information providing unit 15 provides the user with design information corresponding to the proficiency level (step S107).

  Subsequently, the design support system 1 determines whether or not the design work has been completed. If the work has not been completed (step S108: No), the process proceeds to step S102 and the design work is continued. If the design work has been completed (step S108: Yes), the process proceeds to step S109, and the work results (designer information, data related to the design acquired during the design work, etc.) are stored in the learning database 13. Save and end the process (step S110).

  Based on the above flow of processing, the degree of change in the number of errors with respect to the design elapsed time, the proficiency level of the user (designer) for the CAD operation, and the proficiency level according to the design target (for example, the proficiency level for the complexity of the design target) And the optimum operability (user interface) according to the user can be provided. For this reason, the efficiency of design work can be improved. Furthermore, by determining the proficiency level of the designer, the manager can optimize the human resources of the workplace design environment by giving a design object corresponding to the proficiency level of the designer.

  When performing a design work, generally, the more skilled (skilled) the CAD operation and the design object, the shorter the time required for the design. That is, the time until the error becomes zero is short. In addition, the more complex the design object, the longer the design time. Therefore, it can be said that the time required for the design varies depending on the design object and the proficiency level. From such a background, in order for the design support system 1 to determine the proficiency level of the designer, it is necessary to learn the correlation between the work elapsed time and the number of errors obtained in a plurality of cases. In other words, this correlation becomes unique to the designer, and in addition to the proficiency level, it becomes possible to discriminate the wrinkles at the time of design.

  In the above embodiment, the timing for performing the design rule check within the working time may be an indefinite (random) time interval instead of a fixed time interval. However, if the time interval of the design rule check is too long, the resolution is lowered. Therefore, it is preferable to perform the design rule check at least once every 5 minutes. Especially about 1 minute is preferable. In addition, the design support system may not exist in the same computer system as the CAD. In addition, the design support system does not need to be activated and terminated in conjunction with CAD, and may be in a form of being resident when the computer system is activated.

[Specific wiring design target example]
Next, the processing operation in the design support system of the present invention will be described using a specific example of a wiring design object.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a first wiring design target. In the example shown in this figure, the terminals in two rows with terminal numbers 1 to 50 face each other. The numbers (net names) of the terminals facing each other are the same. The design purpose is to connect terminals with the same terminal number. That is, in the case of FIG. 3, the terminals may be short-circuited with the wiring.

  Commercially available electronic design automation software was used as the electrical design CAD. FIG. 4 shows the result of actual wiring design using this electronic design automation software. Although this electronic design automation software is not a tool intended for wiring design, it is used because it has a wiring rule check function. The wiring rule check function is a check of wiring open / short.

  In this electronic design automation software, a net name is newly defined when wiring is added with default settings. That is, when a wiring is added starting from an existing terminal (net), it is determined that a plurality of nets are short-circuited. When the short is intentional, it is redefined as a single net by merging the net with the original net after the addition, but the two steps of adding and merging the net are necessary, and the work efficiency is poor. Therefore, this electronic design automation software has a function of adding a net and merging it with an existing short net. If you use this function, you only need to add nets and no merge is required.

  In this example, it is assumed that there are beginners and experts of the electronic design automation software, and that the beginner does not know the merge function and only the expert knows. FIG. 7 shows a time variation comparison of the number of errors at this time every minute.

  In FIG. 7, the horizontal axis represents the design elapsed time (minutes), the vertical axis represents the number of errors, and the vertical axis represents the time variation of the number of errors for a CAD beginner and the time variation of the number of errors for a CAD expert. Are shown side by side. As shown in FIG. 7, since beginners first add wiring with a predetermined setting, short-circuit errors rapidly increase, and the number of errors reaches a maximum in 4 minutes of design elapsed time. The initial value of the number of errors is 50 at the start of design work (0 minutes) because an open error has occurred because 50 terminals are not connected.

  After the connection of 50 terminals is completed, the beginner merges nets for each net. Therefore, the number of errors starts to decrease and ends at zero after 12 minutes. On the other hand, in the case of an expert, since the merge function of a new net is used, the error monotonously decreases and converges to zero after 3 minutes. From this result, it is understood that a beginner may frequently cause short errors in the initial stage of wiring design. Therefore, when frequent short errors occur, the existence of the merge function of the additional net is presented to the user.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, in the proficiency level determination process, the time until the design work is completed and the number of errors does not exceed a predetermined multiple of the initial value (number of errors detected in the first period). It is judged whether it is a skilled person or a beginner depending on whether or not it has decreased. That is, first, the proficiency level determination unit 14 counts the number of errors every one minute from the start of the design work, and determines whether the time until the design work ends exceeds a threshold value. If the threshold is exceeded, it is determined that the user is a beginner. Even if the threshold value is not exceeded, it is determined whether the transition of the number of errors has reached a predetermined multiple (for example, twice) of the number of errors of the initial value measured in the first minute. To do. And if the number of errors decreases without exceeding a predetermined multiple of the number of errors of the initial value, if the number of errors exceeding the number of errors of the initial value is detected by the expert, the end of the design work Determined to be a beginner.

  Next, it is assumed that even if the proficiency level of the CAD operation is high, the proficiency level of the design object is low. FIG. 5 shows a second wiring design object. The terminals with terminal numbers 1 to 50 face each other, but the terminal numbers on one side are rearranged randomly. The design purpose is the same as in FIG. 3, and is to connect terminals having the same terminal numbers. FIG. 6 shows an example of the wiring result.

  In the case of this example, the connection becomes very complicated, and shorts between the wirings occur frequently. The net merging function described in the description of the first wiring design object merges all the wirings that cross the added wiring into a single net, and therefore cannot be used for a complicated wiring design. This means that since the level of proficiency in CAD operation is high, even if the existence of a function is recognized, it cannot be used due to the convenience of the design object. Therefore, a short error with an existing terminal due to a new addition of wiring and a short error between wirings frequently occur. FIG. 8 shows a time variation comparison of the number of errors at this time every minute.

  FIG. 8 shows the time change in the number of errors in the CAD operation expert and the beginner with respect to the design target, with the design elapsed time (minutes) on the horizontal axis and the number of errors on the vertical axis. As shown in FIG. 8, the error increases with the passage of time for a while after the start of design, and then starts to decrease.

  This can be regarded as a tendency similar to a time change (see FIG. 7) when a beginner of CAD operation is assumed in the first design object. However, since it is assumed that the proficiency level of CAD operation is high, the information provided to the designer is not related to CAD operation, and know-how information such as past design cases and design guidelines is desirable. Since the major difference between the beginner about the design object in FIG. 8 and the beginner of the CAD operation in FIG. 7 is the time until the completion of design, when determining the proficiency, the similar elapsed time from the database It can be determined by determining the relationship between the number of errors. That is, the time until the completion of design may be used as a criterion for determination in addition to the relationship between the design elapsed time and the number of errors.

  More specifically, for example, the relationship between the number of errors and time is sampled for a plurality of design operations in association with the identification ID of the design object. And the threshold value of the time until design work is completed for determining an expert based on the statistical processing of the results of the plurality of samples is specified. For example, in order to determine the time indicated by the sample with the longest time among the samples as a skilled person by extracting the top two-third samples of the shortest time until the design work is completed. You may make it identify with the threshold value of time until a design work is complete | finished.

  In addition, the statistics of the number of errors obtained every other minute by the end of the design work are taken from the top two-thirds of the samples that have a short time until the design work is completed. Then, the upper limit value of the number of errors of the sample determined to be an expert is determined. For example, out of the top two-third samples that have a short time until the design work is completed, extract the top two-third samples with a small number of errors until the design work is completed. Of these, the largest number of samples may be specified as the upper limit value of the number of errors for determining an expert.

  The configuration and operation of the design support system 1 have been described above. The design support system 1 has a computer system including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM inside. The processes performed in the CAD unit 11, the design elapsed time measuring unit 12, the proficiency level determining unit 14, and the design support information providing unit 15 in the design support system 1 are recorded in a computer-readable form in the form of a program. The functions necessary for the design support system 1 are realized by reading out and executing this program by a computer (ROM or the like). (Of course, some or all of the functions of the design support system 1 are realized.) Or may be realized by dedicated hardware).

Here, the computer-readable recording medium means a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, or the like. Alternatively, the computer program may be distributed to the computer via a communication line, and the computer that has received the distribution may execute the program.
Further, it is assumed that an input device, a display device, and the like (none of them are shown) are connected to the design support system 1 as peripheral devices. Here, the input device refers to an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display device refers to a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), a liquid crystal display device, or the like.

Next, the correspondence relationship between the present invention and the above embodiment will be supplementarily described.
The design support system in the present invention corresponds to the design support system 1 in the above embodiment. The CAD unit 11 corresponds to the CAD unit in the present invention. In addition, the design elapsed time measurement unit corresponds to the design elapsed time measurement unit 12, the database unit corresponds to the learning database 13, and the proficiency level determination unit corresponds to the proficiency level determination unit 14. The support information providing unit corresponds to the design support information providing unit 15.

(1) In the above embodiment, the design support system 1 includes a CAD unit 11 having a design rule check function, a design elapsed time measurement unit 12 that measures an elapsed time of design work, a design elapsed time, and a design rule check. Records the number of errors detected, design target information, past design case information, and CAD design technique information, and the user's operations from the start to the end of the design work. A proficiency level determination unit that determines the proficiency level from the degree of change of the number of errors detected by the check with respect to the design elapsed time.
In the design support system 1 having such a configuration, the design rule check is performed during the design work, the relationship between the design elapsed time and the number of errors detected by the design rule check is recorded, and the change in the number of errors with respect to the design elapsed time is recorded. The user's proficiency level (the proficiency level for CAD operation and the proficiency level for the complexity of the design object) is determined from the degree of the above, and the optimum operability (user interface) is provided.
Thereby, the user's (designer's) proficiency level with respect to the CAD operation and the design target (for example, the complexity of the design target) can be determined, and optimal operability (user interface) can be provided to the user. For this reason, the efficiency of design work can be improved. Furthermore, since the level of proficiency of the designer can be grasped, the manager can optimize human resources in the workplace design environment by giving a design object corresponding to the level of proficiency of the designer.

(2) Moreover, in the said embodiment, the design support system 1 is provided with the design support information provision part 15 which provides the design support information according to the proficiency level.
In the design support system 1 having such a configuration, the design support information providing unit 15 uses the design support information according to the proficiency level of the designer (for example, generated) based on the proficiency level determination result in the proficiency level determination unit 14. Information on CAD operation methods for dealing with errors).
Thereby, optimal design support information can be provided according to the proficiency level of the user (designer). For this reason, a user's proficiency level can be improved.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the design support system 1 has a function of presenting know-how information including CAD operation methods and past examples and guidelines of design as design support information according to the proficiency level.
Thereby, optimal design support information can be provided according to CAD operation and the proficiency level of the user (designer) with respect to the design target. For example, it is possible to provide know-how information such as past design cases and design guidelines, not information on CAD operations, to CAD experts and beginners about design objects.

(4) Moreover, in the said embodiment, the time when the user is not operating is excluded among the time from a design work start to completion | finish.
In the design support system 1 having such a configuration, for example, when the next CAD operation is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous CDA operation, the design work is interrupted for some reason. As a rule, this time is excluded.
Thereby, even when the design work is temporarily interrupted, the design elapsed time can be correctly measured.

(5) Moreover, in the said embodiment, the design support system 1 implements a design rule check once each at the time of a work start and an end.
In the design support system 1 having such a configuration, a design rule check is performed at the start of design work, and the number of errors detected at this time is recorded. After that, every time a certain time elapses, the elapsed work time is recorded in the log file together with the work content. At the end of the design work, the design rule is checked again with reference to the log file.
As a result, the number of errors existing at the start of the design work can be determined, and the temporal change in the number of errors that has occurred after the start of the design work can be determined at the end of the design work.

(6) In the above embodiment, the design support system 1 performs the design rule check at least once in the time from the start to the end of the design work.
In the design support system 1 having such a configuration, the design rule check is performed at least once, for example, a plurality of times during the design work.
Thereby, the design rule check and the proficiency level can be determined in the middle of the design work. For this reason, it is possible to appropriately provide design support information according to the user's proficiency level during the design work.

(7) In the above embodiment, the design support system 1 performs the design rule check at regular intervals.
In the design support system 1 having such a configuration, the design rule is checked at regular intervals during the design work.
Thus, the proficiency level can be determined at regular intervals during the design work. For this reason, it is possible to appropriately provide design support information according to the user's proficiency level during the design work.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, the design assistance system 1 of this invention is not limited only to the above-mentioned example of illustration, A various change can be added in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. Of course.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Design support system 11 ... CAD part 12 ... Design elapsed time measuring part 13 ... Learning database 14 ... Proficiency determination part 15 ... Design support information provision part

Claims (9)

A CAD unit having a design rule check function;
A design elapsed time measurement unit for measuring the elapsed time of the design work;
A database section storing design elapsed time, number of errors detected by design rule check, design target information, past design case information, and CAD design technique information;
Record user operations from the start to the end of design work, the degree of change of the number of errors detected by design rule check with respect to the design elapsed time, and the number of errors obtained in multiple cases stored in the database section A proficiency level determination unit for determining a proficiency level from the degree of change with respect to the work elapsed time ,
A design support system comprising: The proficiency level determination unit determines that the time required from the start of design to the end of design is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, and the number of errors measured until the end of design is equal to or less than a predetermined upper limit. The design support system according to claim 1, wherein determination is made. The design support system according to claim 1, further comprising a design support information providing unit that provides design support information according to the proficiency level. The design support system according to claim 3, wherein the design support system has a function of presenting know-how information including a CAD operation method and past examples and guidelines of design as the design support information according to the proficiency level.   5. The design support system according to claim 1, wherein, of the time from the start to the end of the design work, a time during which the user is not operating is excluded.   The design support system according to claim 1, wherein the design rule check is performed once each at the start and end of the work.   6. The design support system according to claim 1, wherein a design rule check is performed at least once during a period from the start to the end of the design work.   The design support system according to claim 1, wherein the design rule check is performed at regular intervals. A procedure for performing a design rule check using a design rule check function provided by the CAD;
Design elapsed time measurement procedure to measure the elapsed time of design work,
The procedure for storing the design elapsed time, the number of errors detected by the design rule check, the information of the design object, the past design case information, and the CAD design technique information in the learning database;
Record user operations from the start to the end of design work, the degree of change of the number of errors detected by design rule check with respect to the design elapsed time, and the number of errors obtained in multiple cases stored in the database section A proficiency level determination procedure for determining a proficiency level from the degree of change in the work elapsed time of
A design support method comprising:

Images