JP7637492B2 - COMPUTER PROGRAM, INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a computer program, an information processing device, and an information processing method.

Between manufacturing an ordered product and delivering it to a customer, the ordered product must go through various production processes, such as estimating, designing, manufacturing, inspecting, and managing it. At each production process, production process information specific to the ordered product must be created.

Patent Document 1 discloses a device that calculates the estimated cost of a product based on the physical quantity data and processing type data of the components included in the design drawings when creating the design drawings of the product.

JP 2003-196344 A

However, while the device in Patent Document 1 can create product estimates, it does not take into account the production process information required for each production process until the product is completed. As a result, the person in charge of each production process must create production process information for the product every time an order is received, which creates a problem of a heavy workload.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a computer program, an information processing device, and an information processing method that can reduce the workload of personnel in a product production process.

A computer program according to an embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring order-related information related to an order for a target product, identifying related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past based on the acquired order-related information, and outputting production process information related to the related products based on the identified related products by referring to a production process database that associates products ordered in the past with production process information related to the production process of the products.

The information processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires order-related information related to an order for a target product, an identification unit that identifies related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past based on the acquired order-related information, and an output unit that outputs production process information related to the related products based on the identified related products by referring to a production process database that associates products ordered in the past with production process information related to the production process of the products.

A user terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an output unit that outputs, to an information processing device, information on related products related to a target product and specific information that identifies required production process information from among multiple pieces of production process information, and an acquisition unit that acquires, from the information processing device, production process information related to the related products, which is identified by the specific information.

An information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention acquires order-related information related to an order for a target product, identifies related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past based on the acquired order-related information, and, based on the identified related products, references a production process database that associates products ordered in the past with production process information related to the production process of the products, and outputs production process information related to the related products.

The present invention can reduce the workload of personnel in the product production process.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user terminal device. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a server. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a method for identifying related products based on drawing information. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a product DB. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a method for identifying related products based on document information. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a first example of an information flow through the information processing system. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a second example of an information flow through the information processing system. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an estimate DB; 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search screen when searching for quotation information of a related product related to a target product. FIG. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a search result for estimate information. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of production process information. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a third example of an information flow through the information processing system. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search screen when searching for production process information of related products. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a search result screen. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a production process information screen. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an editing screen. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a fourth example of an information flow through the information processing system. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a fifth example of information flow through the information processing system. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the search result screen. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a production process information selection screen. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a sixth example of information flow through the information processing system. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen for searching production process information. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a seventh example of information flow through the information processing system. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a server 50.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to the present embodiment. The information processing system includes a server 50 as an information processing device. A product DB 71, a production process DB 72, an estimate DB 73, and a sales DB 74 are connected to the server 50. The server 50 is connected to a communication network 1 such as an in-house LAN or the Internet. A plurality of user terminal devices 10 are connected to the communication network 1. The user terminal devices 10 can be used by, for example, personnel in the sales department, design department, manufacturing department, inspection department, and management department. The user terminal devices 10 can be configured with a personal computer, tablet, smartphone, or the like. The design department, manufacturing department, inspection department, and management department are examples, but any name may be used as long as they are departments related to the production process, such as product design, manufacturing, testing, and management. In addition, although not shown, departments in charge of processes such as product collection and maintenance may be included. The user terminal devices 10 of each department can exchange information with the server 50 via the communication network 1.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 includes a control unit 11 that controls the entire device, a communication unit 12, a storage unit 13, a display panel 14, and an operation unit 15. The control unit 11 can be configured with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.

The communication unit 12 can send and receive required information to and from the server 50 via the communication network 1.

The storage unit 13 is composed of a semiconductor memory or a hard disk, etc., and can store required information. Note that a storage device in the cloud server may be used instead of the storage unit 13.

The display panel 14 can be composed of a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display.

The operation unit 15 can be configured with, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. The operation unit 15 may also be configured with a touch panel or the like, and may be used to input characters on the display panel 14, and to perform operations on icons, images, characters, etc. displayed on the display panel 14.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 50. The server 50 includes a control unit 51 that controls the entire server 50, an acquisition unit 52, an interface unit 53, a storage unit 54, an identification unit 55, and an output unit 56. The identification unit 55 includes an extraction unit 551 and a calculation unit 552. The control unit 51 can be configured with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 54 can be configured with a semiconductor memory or a hard disk, etc., and can store required information such as the processing results in each part of the server 50. Note that the functions of the server 50 may be distributed among multiple servers. The server 50 may also be a cloud server.

The interface unit 53 provides an interface function between the product DB 71, the production process DB 72, the quotation DB 73, and the sales DB 74. Under the control of the control unit 51, the interface unit 53 can access the product DB 71, the production process DB 72, the quotation DB 73, and the sales DB 74 and read and write required information.

The acquisition unit 52 can acquire required information from the user terminal device 10 via the communication network 1. The acquisition unit 52 can acquire order-related information on the target product from the user terminal device 10. The order-related information is sales information on the target product, information necessary to identify the target product (e.g., the ordered product) and to manufacture and deliver the target product to the customer, and can be information acquired directly or indirectly from the customer. Sales information includes not only sales information that is linked to an order, but also sales information that is not linked to an order. The order-related information includes, for example, customer needs, drawing information on the target product, document information on the target product, audio information on the target product, image information, video information, or numerical information on the target product. The customer needs include, for example, memos and minutes created during an interview with the customer, requests, requests, specifications, drawings, questions, consultations, etc. presented by the customer.

The identification unit 55 can refer to the product DB 71 based on the order-related information acquired via the acquisition unit 52 to identify related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past. For example, a product similar to the target product identified by the order-related information can be searched for from among products ordered in the past, and if a similar product is found, the product can be identified as a related product. Details of the method for identifying related products will be described later.

Based on the identified related products, the identification unit 55 can identify (extract) proposal information related to the related products by referring to a proposal DB 74 that associates products ordered in the past with proposal information for the products. The proposal information includes, for example, a proposal summary for customer needs, a proposal example, a product summary, a proposal drawing, etc. The proposal information may also include quotation information and production process information, which will be described later.

Based on the identified related products, the identification unit 55 can identify (extract) quotation information regarding the related products by referring to the quotation DB 73, which associates products ordered in the past with quotation information for the products. Details of the quotation information will be described later.

Based on the identified related products, the identification unit 55 can identify (extract) production process information related to the related products by referring to the production process DB 72, which associates products ordered in the past with production process information related to the production process of the products. Details of the production process information will be described later.

The output unit 56 can output the required information to the user terminal device 10 via the communication network 1. The output unit 56 can output the production process information corresponding to the identified related product to the user terminal device 10.

The above-mentioned configuration makes it possible to obtain production process information for related products that are similar to the target product, so that production process information for the target product can be created using the production process information for related products without having to create the production process information for the target product from scratch, reducing the workload of personnel in charge of the product's production process. In addition, in response to customer needs, proposal information (proposal examples) collected based on past customer needs can be found and used as a reference proposal, and the reference example can be modified as necessary and presented to the customer.

Next, we will explain how to identify related products. Below, we will explain the cases where the order-related information is drawing information and document information. First, we will explain the cases where the order-related information is drawing information, image information, video information, or numerical information.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a method for identifying related products based on drawing information. Drawing data of the target product is assumed to be drawing a. The extraction unit 551 can extract image feature a of drawing a. In this case, the extraction unit 551 can use a neural network such as a CNN (Convolutional Neural Network). The extraction unit 551 can further generate vector a by performing a vectorization operation (e.g., conversion to a hash value of a binary number, etc.) that generates a unique vector for the extracted image feature a. When the target product drawing is composed of multiple drawings, a vector may be generated for each drawing, and the cosine similarity for each vector may be calculated as described later, and the final cosine similarity may be obtained based on the statistical value (e.g., average value, median, etc.) of the calculated cosine similarity. Note that instead of a configuration using a neural network, a method such as pattern matching may be used.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of product DB71. Product DB71 records product numbers, product names, drawing data, document data, voice-converted data (data converted from voice to text information), image data, video data, or numerical data in association with each other for products that have been ordered in the past and have actually been manufactured, shipped, etc. A product corresponding to one product number may include one or more parts. Drawing data includes, for example, two-dimensional or three-dimensional CAD (Computer Aided Design) data of the product, PDF (Portable Document Format) data, etc. Document data includes product-related specifications, reports, instructions, questionnaires, customer needs, questions, requests, consultations, etc., and includes Excel files, Word files, etc. Voice-converted data includes, for example, conversations between sales representatives and customers regarding products, and includes conversations regarding customer needs, questions, requests, consultations, etc.

The extraction unit 551 performs the same process on drawing data of past products by referring to the product DB 71. In the example of FIG. 4, image feature A of drawing data F0002 with product number: P0002 and product name: BBB1 is extracted. The extraction unit 551 performs a vectorization operation on the extracted image feature A to generate vector A. The extraction unit 551 performs the same process on products recorded in the product DB 71 (for example, all products or required products) to generate vectors.

The calculation unit 552 can calculate the cosine similarity between vector a generated based on the drawing data of the target product and vector A (there are multiple vectors A for each product) generated based on the drawing data of past products. The closer the cosine similarity is to 1, the higher the similarity is, and the closer the cosine similarity is to 0, the lower the similarity is. This makes it possible to identify products related to the target product using the measure of similarity, and to check the ranking of the degree of similarity.

The method for identifying related products is not limited to a configuration using vectors, and known methods may be used. Also, feature moments may be used that can calculate the area occupied by an area surrounded by lines, the center of gravity of the area, the perimeter of the outline, etc., from the line diagram depicted in the drawing.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a method for identifying related products based on document information. Document data includes documents such as specifications, reports, instructions, questionnaires, Q&As, customer needs, questions, requests, and consultations related to the target product and past products, and can be Excel files or Word files. These documents are often written in a standard format. As an example, let us assume that document data is composed of multiple items and content (text) for each item, as shown in Figure 6.

The extraction unit 551 performs morphological analysis on sentences a, b, c, ... of each item 1, 2, 3, ... in the document data of the target product, and divides the sentences into words. After dividing into words, it counts how many times each word and similar word appears in each sentence, and generates a vector whose vector length is the number of vocabulary words. As shown in the figure, it generates vector a for sentence a, vector b for sentence b, vector c for sentence c, ....

The extraction unit 551 performs the same process on the document data of past products by referring to the product DB 71. In the example of FIG. 6, for the document data of product number: P0004, product name: AAA2, vector A of text A, vector B of text B, vector C of text C, ... are generated. Note that items 1, 2, 3, ... in the text data of the target product and past products are assumed to be the same items.

The calculation unit 552 can calculate the cosine similarity between vector a generated based on the text data of the target product and vector A generated based on the text data of a past product. Similarly, the calculation unit 552 can calculate the cosine similarity between vector b generated based on the text data of the target product and vector B generated based on the text data of a past product. The similarity between the target product and past products can be calculated based on the cosine similarity calculated for each of the multiple items. In this case, the similarity between the target product and past products may be the average value, median, maximum value, or minimum value of the cosine similarity calculated for each of the multiple items. Note that the similarity is not limited to the cosine similarity, and other methods may be used to calculate the similarity.

The calculation of document similarity is not limited to vectorization of documents based on the frequency of word occurrence as described above, but may use any known method such as a method using distributed representations such as Word2Vec or Dec2Vec, or a rule-based method.

The similarity between speech data can be calculated by converting the speech data into text and using a method for calculating document similarity. Alternatively, the speech data can be converted into text and input to a machine-learned classifier to calculate the similarity.

When identifying related products, all of the drawing information, document information, audio information, image information, video information and numerical information may be used, or only a part of the drawing information, document information, audio information, image information, video information and numerical information may be used, such as drawing information and document information, drawing information and audio information, or drawing information only, drawing information and image information, drawing information and numerical information, etc.

As described above, the order-related information includes at least one of drawing information, document information, and audio information related to the target product. Drawing information is drawing data related to the target product, and includes, for example, 2D or 3D CAD data, PDF data, etc. Document information includes specifications, reports, instructions, questionnaires, etc. related to the target product, and includes Excel files and Word files. Audio information includes, for example, conversations between sales representatives and customers regarding the target product, including conversations about customer needs, questions, requests, consultations, etc. This makes it possible to collect a wide range of information related to the target product from customers via various communication media.

Next, we will explain the operation of the information processing system of this embodiment.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing a first example of information flow through an information processing system. When a sales department staff member obtains customer needs, the customer needs are input into the user terminal device 10 used by the sales department staff member, and the input customer needs are output to the server 50. The server 50 refers to the sales DB 74 to identify proposal information corresponding to the customer needs, and outputs the identified proposal information to the user terminal device 10 used by the sales department staff member. Here, the customer needs include notes and minutes created during interviews with customers, requests, requests, specifications, drawings, etc. submitted by customers. The proposal information includes a proposal outline for the customer needs, a product outline, proposal drawings, etc.

The server 50 may refer to the quotation DB 73 based on the inputted needs of the customer to identify quotation information (e.g., the estimated amount, the quotation conditions, the quotation invoice, etc.) corresponding to the needs of the customer, and output the identified quotation information to the user terminal device 10 used by the sales department staff. The server 50 may refer to the production process DB 72 based on the inputted needs of the customer to identify production process information (e.g., an exterior drawing, a concept drawing, a concept design drawing, etc.) corresponding to the needs of the customer, and output the identified production process information to the user terminal device 10 used by the sales department staff.

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing a second example of information flow through the information processing system. When a sales department staff member obtains order-related information regarding an order for a target product, the order-related information for the target product is input into the user terminal device 10 used by the sales department staff member, and the input order-related information is output to the server 50. The server 50 refers to the quotation DB 73 to identify quotation information for related products related to the target product, and outputs the identified quotation information to the user terminal device 10 used by the sales department staff member.

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of quotation DB73. Quotation DB73 includes quotation information and detailed information, for example, in association with product names. Quotation information includes information such as the estimated amount and quotation conditions. Detailed information includes information such as the date of quotation, the person who created the quotation, and the results of business negotiations. By identifying the product name, it is possible to identify the quotation information and detailed information for that product. Note that the configuration of the quotation DB is not limited to that shown in the example of Figure 9.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search screen when searching for quotation information for related products related to the target product. On the search screen, the file names of drawing data, document data, and voice data can be selected and input as order-related information. It is not necessary to input all of the drawing data, document data, and voice data. When drawing data is selected, a drawing of the target product is displayed. When document data is selected, the document of the target product is displayed. In addition, the number of related products related to the target product to be extracted can be selected by selecting how many of the top similarities to extract, or by selecting products with a certain degree of similarity or higher. By operating the "Search" icon, the order-related information is sent to the server 50.

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search result for quotation information. The search result screen displays the rankings and drawings of related products in order of similarity. In the example shown, related product 1, related product 2, related product 3, and related product 4 related to the target product are shown in the order of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. When displaying related products, related products with a similarity equal to or greater than a threshold value may be displayed, or a predetermined number of related products may be displayed starting from those with the highest similarity. As shown in Figure 11, the file names of the drawing data for the related products, the estimated amount of the related products, and the similarity can be displayed together with the drawings of the related products.

As described above, by displaying the quotation information (e.g., the estimated amount) of the related product, the person in charge can easily check the drawings and quotation information of the related product related to the target product. In addition, since the drawings of the related product can be checked, it is possible to immediately grasp, for example, whether the quotation information of the related product can be used as quotation information for the target product or whether some modification work is required, improving the convenience for the person in charge.

Next, we will explain the production process.

Figure 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of production process information. Figure 12 shows production process information for a product (in the figure, product number: XXXX, product name: ABC) that was ordered in the past and actually manufactured and shipped, and the production process information as shown in the figure is recorded in the production process DB 72 for each product. As shown in the figure, the departments related to the product are, for example, the design department, manufacturing department, management department, and inspection department. The design department is responsible for each production process of concept design (production process ID = 1) and part design (production process ID = 2). The manufacturing department is responsible for each production process of production instructions (production process ID = 3), NC processing, machining, sheet metal pressing, welding processing, assembly processing, etc. (production process ID = 4). The management department is responsible for each production process of production planning (production process ID = 5), process management (production process ID = 6), and cost management (production process ID = 7). The inspection department is responsible for the production process of inspection (production process ID = 8). The names and classifications of departments and processes are not limited to the examples shown in the figure, and may be changed as appropriate depending on the product field and product attributes. Also, the production process ID is not limited to an ID as long as it is information that can identify the production process.

Production process information used or created in concept design includes, for example, product appearance drawings, concept drawings, concept design drawings, etc. Production process information used or created in part design includes, for example, product appearance drawings, concept drawings, concept design drawings, part drawings, detailed design drawings, etc.

Production process information used or created in production instructions includes, for example, product appearance drawings, processing instructions, work instructions, process instructions, etc. Production process information used or created in NC machining includes, for example, product appearance drawings, processing instructions, work instructions, process instructions, NC machining programs, etc.

Production process information used or created in production planning includes, for example, product appearance drawings, processing instructions, work instructions, process instructions, purchase orders, equipment spec sheets, process management sheets, and labor-hour management sheets. Production process information used or created in process management includes, for example, process management sheets and labor-hour management sheets. Production process information used or created in cost management includes, for example, cost management sheets.

Production process information used or created during inspection includes, for example, inspection sheets, collections of good and bad products, and failure case studies.

As described above, the production process information includes information on at least one of concept design, part design, part processing, work instructions, process instructions, NC processing programs, production plans, process management, labor-hour management, cost management, and inspection results. This allows production process information for the target product to be created using production process information for related products that are related to (similar to) the target product that has already been created, rather than creating production process information for the target product from scratch, thereby enabling productivity improvements, quality improvements, and added value rates to be achieved in all production processes related to the production of the product.

Figure 13 is a schematic diagram showing a third example of information flow through an information processing system. When order-related information for a target product is input from the sales department, it is common for the product to be designed in the design department first. In the example of Figure 13, order-related information for the target product is input into a user terminal device 10 used by a member of the design department, and the input order-related information is output to a server 50. The server 50 outputs production process information for related products related to the target product, for example, production process information used or generated in part design, to the user terminal device 10 used by a member of the design department. The following will be described with reference to the screen displayed by the user terminal device 10 when inputting order-related information for the target product in the user terminal device 10.

Figure 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search screen when searching for production process information of related products. The search screen is a screen for inputting order-related information and outputting a search request to the server 50 when the person in charge searches for related products and production process information related to the target product. On the search screen, the file names of drawing data, document data, and voice data as order-related information can be selected and input. It is not necessary to input all of the drawing data, document data, and voice data. When drawing data is selected, the drawing of the target product is displayed. When document data is selected, the document of the target product is displayed. When searching for related products, it is possible to select how many of the top similarities to search and extract, or to search and extract those with a certain degree of similarity. By inputting an ID in the production process ID, the production process that the person in charge is in charge of can be specified and notified to the server 50. By operating the "search" icon, a search request is sent to the server 50 together with the order-related information and the production process ID.

Figure 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search result screen. The search results include information on related products related to (similar to) the target product. The search result screen displays the rankings and drawings of the related products in order of similarity. In the example shown, related products 1, 2, 3, and 4, which are similar to the target product, are displayed in the order of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. The number of related products displayed may be related products whose similarity is equal to or exceeds a threshold value, or a predetermined number of related products may be displayed starting from the top of the similarity. As shown in Figure 15, the file names of the drawing data of the related products and the similarity of the related products can be displayed together with the drawings of the related products.

As described above, products related to the target product are displayed along with their similarity and similarity ranking, allowing the person in charge to check the products related to the target product in order of similarity.

By selecting the desired related product from the displayed related products and operating the "production process information" icon, it is possible to display the production process information of the related product that is used or created in the production process identified by the production process ID.

Figure 16 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a production process information screen. In the example of Figure 16, the production process is "parts design". In the production process information screen, the appearance diagram, concept diagram, concept design diagram, part diagram, detailed design diagram, etc. of the selected related product 1 are displayed. Since the person in charge of the design department can obtain the appearance diagram, concept diagram, concept design diagram, part diagram, detailed design diagram, etc. of the related product related to the target product, for example, when creating a part diagram of the target product, it is possible to create the part diagram of the target product by editing the part diagram of the related product, thereby reducing the workload and improving productivity. In addition, since a part diagram that has already been created without quality problems can be used, there is less room for human error compared to creating a part diagram from scratch, and quality can also be improved. By selecting one of the appearance diagram, concept diagram, concept design diagram, part diagram, or detailed design diagram and operating the "edit" icon, an editing screen can be displayed as shown below. Note that the production process information is not limited to the example of Figure 16.

Figure 17 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an editing screen. In the example of Figure 17, an editing screen for a parts drawing is displayed. Editing icons Ed1 to Ed8 are arranged in the editing tool box, and functions required for editing are assigned to each editing icon. Operating the "Preview" icon allows the edited parts drawing to be displayed. Operating the "Save as" icon allows the edited parts drawing to be saved with a new file name. Operating the "Delete" icon allows the part drawing to be deleted while being edited or after being edited. Operating the "Print" icon allows the edited parts drawing to be printed.

Figure 18 is a schematic diagram showing a fourth example of information flow through an information processing system. As with the third example illustrated in Figure 13, when order-related information for a target product is input to a user terminal device 10 used by a production department staff member, the input order-related information is output to a server 50. The server 50 can output production process information for related products related to the target product, for example, production process information used or generated in production instructions (for example, product appearance diagrams, processing instructions, work instructions, process instructions, etc.), to the user terminal device 10 used by a production department staff member. The same is true for the management department and inspection department, although not shown.

Figure 19 is a schematic diagram showing a fifth example of information flow by an information processing system. In the third and fourth examples described above, when order-related information is sent to the server 50, the server 50 is configured to output not only related product information but also production process information of the related product to the user terminal device 10 in a series of processing flows. In the fourth example, the server 50 outputs only related product information to the user terminal device 10. As shown in Figure 19, for example, when order-related information of the target product is input in the user terminal device 10 used by the design department staff, the server 50 outputs related product information (product number, product name, etc.) to the user terminal device 10 used by the design department staff. The server 50 can also output order-related information of the target product and related product information (product number, product name, etc.) to the user terminal device 10 used by the staff of other departments, such as the manufacturing department, management department, and inspection department. This allows information on related products related to the target product to be shared among the staff of all production processes.

In the fifth example described above, the search screen is the same as that shown in Figure 14, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

Figure 20 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the search result screen. The search result screen shown in Figure 20 is displayed by the user terminal device 10 in the fifth example shown in Figure 19. The difference from the search result screen shown in Figure 14 is that it includes a "Related Product Decision" icon. For example, in the user terminal device 10 used by a design department staff member, when the staff member checks the checkbox to select related product 1 and operates the "Related Product Decision" icon, the related product related to the target product is decided to be related product 1, and as shown in Figure 19, information on the decided related product is also output to the user terminal device 10 used by staff members of other departments, such as the manufacturing department, management department, and inspection department. This allows information on related products related to the target product to be shared among the staff members of each production process. Note that it is preferable that the decision on related products is made by a design department staff member who is located upstream in the production process, but it may be made by a staff member of another department.

Depending on the type of product, it may be manufactured not only in one production process specific to the product, but also in other cases, the same product may be manufactured by selecting the required production process from among multiple different production processes. For example, even for the same product, it may be necessary to use the optimal production process depending on requirements such as the region or country where it is used, the environment, and the required specifications. Below, we will explain how to select the required production process information from multiple types of production process information for the same related product.

Figure 21 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a production process information selection screen. As shown in Figure 21, assume that a related product xx with a similarity rank of xx is selected and displayed. If there are three types of production process information related to the selected related product xx, for example, production process information xx-1 (for example, for high specifications), production process information xx-2 (for example, for normal specifications), and production process information xx-3 (for example, specifications for overseas markets), the server 50 can display production process information xx-1, production process information xx-2, and production process information xx-3, as well as a "Details" icon for displaying detailed information on each production process information and a "Select" icon for selecting the desired production process information. This allows the person in charge to obtain production process information that suits the requirements of the target product.

As described above, the server 50 can output a plurality of pieces of production process information identified by a production process ID to a user terminal device in a selectable manner, and when a selection of the required production process information is received from the user terminal device, the server 50 can output the production process information relating to the related product.

The timing at which production process information is required may differ between the upstream and downstream of the production process. For example, the design department designs the target product immediately after receiving an order, so production process information is required at an early stage. On the other hand, the manufacturing department often starts manufacturing the target product after the design is completed, so the timing at which production process information is required is often later than in the design department. The same is true for the management department and inspection department. Below, we will explain how to obtain production process information for related products when it is needed.

Figure 22 is a schematic diagram showing a sixth example of information flow through an information processing system. As explained in Figure 19, the staff in each department have already acquired information on related products (product number, product name, etc.). The design department staff performs a production process information search process when they start creating production process information for the target product. Specifically, they can use the user terminal device 10 to output the product number and product name of the related product related to the target product to the server 50. The server 50 outputs the production process information of the related product, for example, the production process information used or generated in part design, to the user terminal device 10 used by the design department staff.

Figure 23 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen for searching production process information. To search for production process information, the person in charge of each department selects information on related products (e.g., product number, product name, etc.). In the figure, the product number is selected. The person in charge further selects the process ID of the production process for which he or she is responsible. In the figure, part design is selected. After selecting the related product and the process ID, the user terminal device 10 outputs a search request for production process information and the process ID of the production process to the server 50 by operating the "Search" icon. The server 50 can refer to the production process DB 72 based on the acquired information on the related product and the process ID of the production process, extract the required production process information, and output the extracted production process information to the user terminal device 10. In this case, the person in charge of the design department can obtain production process information as shown in FIG. 16.

As described above, the server 50 can acquire, from the user terminal device 10, information on related products and specific information that identifies the required production process information from among multiple pieces of production process information. The information on related products can be, for example, the product number or product name of the related products, but is not limited to this. The required production process information can be production process information required in the production process that the person in charge is in charge of. The specific information can be any information that can identify the production process information, and can be, for example, a production process ID, a process name, a department name, etc. The server 50 can output the production process information identified by the acquired specific information to the user terminal device 10 based on the information on related products. As a result, the person in charge of each production process can input the previously acquired information on related products into the user terminal device 10, and obtain the production process information on related products that is required in the production process that the person in charge is in charge of or in the department to which the person in charge belongs, at the required timing.

Figure 24 is a schematic diagram showing a seventh example of information flow by an information processing system. As with the sixth example illustrated in Figure 22, a production department staff member can perform a production process information search process when starting to create production process information for the target product. Specifically, the production number and product name of a related product related to the target product can be output to the server 50 using the user terminal device 10. The server 50 can output the production process information of the related product, for example, production process information used or generated in a production instruction (for example, a product appearance diagram, processing instructions, work instructions, process instructions, etc.), to the user terminal device 10 used by the production department staff member. The same applies to the management department and inspection department, although not shown.

Figure 25 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the server 50. For convenience, the following description will be given with the control unit 51 acting as the subject of the processing. The control unit 51 acquires order-related information for the target product (S11), and identifies related products related to (similar to) the target product based on the acquired order-related information (S12). Product numbers and product names can be used to identify related products.

The control unit 51 outputs information about the identified related product (product number, product name, etc.) to the user terminal device 10 (S13), and determines whether or not the selection of the related product has been accepted (S14). If the selection of the related product has not been accepted (NO in S14), the control unit 51 continues the processing of step S14.

If the selection of a related product is accepted (YES in S14), the control unit 51 identifies production process information related to the related product, outputs the identified production process information to the user terminal device 10 (S15), and ends the process.

The server 50 can also be realized using a general-purpose computer equipped with a CPU (processor), ROM, RAM (memory), etc. That is, the server 50 can be realized on a computer by loading a computer program that defines the procedures for each process, such as that shown in FIG. 25, into the RAM (memory) of the computer and executing the computer program with the CPU (processor). The computer program may be recorded on a recording medium and distributed, or may be installed on a computer via a network.

The computer program of this embodiment causes a computer to execute the following process: acquire order-related information regarding an order for a target product; identify related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past based on the acquired order-related information; and, based on the identified related products, refer to a production process database that associates products ordered in the past with production process information regarding the production process of the products, and output production process information related to the related products.

The information processing device of this embodiment includes an acquisition unit that acquires order-related information related to orders for a target product, an identification unit that identifies related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past based on the acquired order-related information, and an output unit that outputs production process information related to the related products based on the identified related products by referring to a production process database that associates products ordered in the past with production process information related to the production process of the products.

The information processing method of this embodiment acquires order-related information regarding an order for a target product, identifies related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past based on the acquired order-related information, and, based on the identified related products, references a production process database that associates products ordered in the past with production process information regarding the production process of the products, and outputs production process information related to the related products.

The computer program acquires order-related information regarding an order for a target product. The order-related information is information necessary to identify the target product (e.g., an ordered product) and to manufacture and deliver the target product to a customer, and can be information acquired directly or indirectly from a customer. The order-related information includes, for example, drawing information regarding the target product, document information regarding the target product, and audio information regarding the target product.

The computer program identifies related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past based on the acquired order-related information. For example, it searches among products ordered in the past for products similar to the target product identified by the order-related information, and if a similar product is found, it can identify that product as a related product.

Based on the identified related products, the computer program references a production process database that associates previously ordered products with production process information related to the production process of the products, and outputs production process information related to the related products. In other words, the computer program can reference the production process database to extract and output production process information corresponding to the identified related products.

The above-mentioned configuration makes it possible to obtain production process information for related products that are similar to the target product, so that production process information for the target product can be created using the production process information for the related products without having to create the production process information for the target product from scratch, thereby reducing the workload of personnel in the product production process.

The computer program of this embodiment causes the computer to execute a process to output information about the related products to a user terminal device.

The computer program outputs information about related products to a user terminal device. The user terminal device can be a terminal device used by a person in charge of each production process of the product. When a related product related to (similar to) the target product is identified, the information about the related product can be output to the user terminal device, allowing each person in charge of the production process to share information about the related products related to the target product.

The computer program of this embodiment causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring, from a user terminal device, information on the related product and specific information that identifies the required production process information from among multiple pieces of production process information, and outputting, to the user terminal device, the production process information related to the related product that is identified by the specific information.

The user terminal device of this embodiment includes an output unit that outputs information on related products related to the target product and specific information that identifies the required production process information from among multiple pieces of production process information to an information processing device, and an acquisition unit that acquires production process information on the related products, which is identified by the specific information, from the information processing device.

The computer program acquires, from the user terminal device, information on related products and specific information that identifies the required production process information from among multiple pieces of production process information. The related product information can be, for example, but is not limited to, the product number or product name of the related product. The required production process information can be production process information required for the production process that the person in charge is in charge of. The specific information can be any information that can identify the production process information, and may be, for example, a production process ID, process name, department name, etc.

The computer program outputs production process information about related products that is identified by the acquired specific information to a user terminal device. This allows a person in charge of each production process to input previously acquired information about related products into a user terminal device, thereby obtaining production process information about related products that is required for the production process that the person in charge is in charge of or the department to which the person in charge belongs, at the required timing.

In the computer program of this embodiment, the order-related information includes at least one of drawing information, document information, and audio information related to the target product.

The order-related information includes at least one of drawing information, document information, and audio information related to the target product. Drawing information is drawing data related to the target product, and includes, for example, 2D or 3D CAD data, PDF data, etc. Document information includes specifications, reports, instructions, questionnaires, etc. related to the target product, and includes Excel files and Word files. Audio information includes, for example, conversations between sales representatives and customers regarding the target product, including conversations about the customer's needs, questions, requests, consultations, etc.

This allows us to collect a wide range of information about the target product from customers through various communication media.

In the computer program of this embodiment, the production process information includes information on at least one of concept design, part design, part processing, work instructions, process instructions, NC processing programs, production plans, process management, labor-hour management, cost management, and inspection results.

The production process information includes information related to at least one of concept design, parts design, parts processing, work instructions, process instructions, NC processing programs, production plans, process management, labor-hour management, cost management, and inspection results. This allows production process information for the target product to be created using production process information for related products that are related to (similar to) the target product that has already been created, rather than creating production process information for the target product from scratch, thereby enabling productivity improvements, quality improvements, and added value rates to be achieved in all production processes related to the production of the product.

The computer program of the present embodiment causes the computer to distribute information on the identified related products to user terminal devices within the production process.
Execute the process

The computer program distributes information on the identified related products to user terminal devices within the production process. For example, if the design department is the lead department in the production process that determines which products are related to the target product, the information on the related products determined by the design department can be notified to other departments within the production process, allowing the information on related products to be shared between departments.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Communication network 10 User terminal device 11 Control unit 12 Communication unit 13 Storage unit 14 Display panel 15 Operation unit 50 Server 51 Control unit 52 Acquisition unit 53 Interface unit 54 Storage unit 55 Identification unit 551 Extraction unit 552 Calculation unit 56 Output unit 71 Product DB
72 Production process DB
73 Estimate DB
74 Sales DB

Claims (8)

On the computer,
Acquire order-related information including customer needs and information acquired from the customer regarding the order for the target product;
Identifying related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past based on the acquired order-related information;
receiving identification information identifying at least one of a concept design, a part design, and a production plan;
Based on the identified related products, a production process database is referenced, which associates previously ordered products with production process information related to the production processes of the products, and the related products are output with production process information including an external view used or created in the production process identified by the received identification information , as well as proposal information and estimate information for the needs of the customer .
A computer program that executes a process. On the computer,
outputting the related product information to a user terminal device;
2. A computer program product as claimed in claim 1, which causes a process to be carried out. On the computer,
acquiring, from a user terminal device, information on the related products and specific information for identifying a desired production process information from among a plurality of pieces of production process information;
outputting, to the user terminal device, production process information relating to the related product, the production process information being identified by the identification information;
3. A computer program product according to claim 1 or 2, which causes a process to be executed. The order-related information is
At least one of drawing information, document information, and audio information relating to the target product is included.
A computer program according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The production process information is
The information includes at least one of information regarding concept design, part design, part processing, work instructions, process instructions, NC processing programs, production plans, process management, labor-hour management, cost management, and inspection results.
A computer program according to any one of claims 1 to 4. On the computer,
Delivering information on the identified related products to a user terminal device in the production process;
A computer program product according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is used to execute a process. an acquisition unit for acquiring order-related information including customer needs and information acquired from the customer regarding the order of the target product;
an identification unit that identifies related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past based on the acquired order-related information;
a reception unit that receives specification information that specifies at least one of a concept design, a part design, and a production plan;
and an output unit that refers to a production process database that associates previously ordered products with production process information related to the production process of the products based on the identified related products, and outputs production process information including an external view to be used or created in the production process identified by the received identification information for the related products, as well as proposal information and estimate information for the needs of the customer . Acquire order-related information including customer needs and information acquired from the customer regarding the order for the target product;
Identifying related products related to the target product from among products ordered in the past based on the acquired order-related information;
receiving identification information identifying at least one of a concept design, a part design, and a production plan;
Based on the identified related products, a production process database is referenced, which associates previously ordered products with production process information related to the production processes of the products, and for the related products, production process information including an external view to be used or created in the production process identified by the received identification information , as well as proposal information and estimate information for the needs of the customer are output.
Information processing methods.

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