JP7645009B2 - User's Manual Creation System, Server Device, and User's Manual Creation Method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an instruction manual creation system, a server device, and a method for creating an instruction manual.

Conventionally, devices have been proposed for creating product instruction manuals. For example, the instruction manual creation system described in Patent Document 1 is configured to create an instruction manual by associating the items of the instruction manual stored in a storage unit with text information input by a user.

JP 2018-92277 A

However, while products have become increasingly diversified in recent years, the instruction manual creation system described in Patent Document 1 is designed to create an instruction manual for a single product and is not designed to accommodate the diversification of products.

In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide an instruction manual creation system, a server device, and an instruction manual creation method that can efficiently create instruction manuals for a variety of products.

The instruction manual creation system according to the present invention is an instruction manual creation system comprising a storage unit in which a database used for creating an instruction manual is stored, and a processing unit that creates an instruction manual based on the database stored in the storage unit, the database being a database referenced by the processing unit when the processing unit creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which there may be multiple types of mechanical products with different specifications, based on the model of the mechanical product, the group of mechanical products having multiple mechanical products in which the specifications of at least some of the multiple components constituting the mechanical product are different from each other, the model is composed of multiple identifiers each indicating one of the specifications of the multiple components, the database being an item database in which the items described in the instruction manual are itemized and described and the identifiers are associated with each other, and an item database in which the items described in the instruction manual are itemized and described and the identifiers are associated with each other, and an explanatory item database containing explanatory items corresponding to each of the items, the multiple items in the item database include items corresponding to the multiple mechanical products and the multiple components that make up the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the multiple items are necessary for the instruction manual with multiple identifiers that correspond to the multiple components of the multiple mechanical products that make up the mechanical product group, and the processing unit refers to the item database to select multiple items that make up the instruction manual based on the multiple identifiers that make up the input model, refers to the explanatory item database based on the selected multiple items, extracts corresponding explanatory items, and creates the instruction manual, which is a data file in which the selected multiple items and the extracted explanatory items are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected multiple items and the extracted explanatory items.

The server device according to the present invention is a server device having a storage unit in which a database used to create an instruction manual is stored, and a processing unit that creates an instruction manual based on the database stored in the storage unit, and the database is a database that is referenced by the processing unit when the processing unit creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which there may be multiple types of mechanical products with different specifications, based on the model of the mechanical product, and the group of mechanical products has multiple mechanical products in which the specifications of at least some of the multiple components that make up the mechanical product are different from each other, and the model is composed of multiple identifiers each indicating one of the specifications of the multiple components, and the database includes an item database in which the identifiers are associated with multiple items in which the contents of the instruction manual are itemized, and an explanation database containing explanations corresponding to each of the multiple items. The item database includes a plurality of items corresponding to the plurality of mechanical products and the plurality of components that constitute the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the plurality of items is necessary for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifiers that correspond to the plurality of components of the plurality of mechanical products that constitute the mechanical product group, and the processing unit refers to the item database to select a plurality of items that constitute the instruction manual based on the plurality of identifiers that constitute the input model, refers to the explanation database based on the selected plurality of items, extracts corresponding explanations, creates the instruction manual, which is a data file in which the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanations are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanations, and transmits the created instruction manual to a terminal device connected to the server device.

The server device according to the present invention is a server device having a storage unit in which a database used for creating an instruction manual is stored, and the server device is communicably connected to a processing unit that creates an instruction manual based on the database stored in the storage unit, and the database is a database that is referenced by the processing unit when the processing unit creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which there may be multiple types of mechanical products with different specifications, based on the model of the mechanical product, and the group of mechanical products has multiple mechanical products in which the specifications of at least some of the multiple components that make up the mechanical product are different from each other, and the model is composed of multiple identifiers each indicating one of the specifications of the multiple components, and the database includes an item database in which the description of the instruction manual is itemized and described, and the identifiers are associated with each other, and an explanation database including explanatory items corresponding to each of the multiple items. and a description database, the items in the item database include items corresponding to the multiple mechanical products and the multiple components that make up the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the multiple items are necessary for the instruction manual with multiple identifiers that correspond to the multiple components of the multiple mechanical products that make up the mechanical product group, and the database is used in the processing in which the processing unit refers to the item database to select multiple items that make up the instruction manual based on the multiple identifiers that make up the model input to the processing unit, the processing unit refers to the description database to extract corresponding descriptions based on the selected multiple items, and the processing unit creates the instruction manual, which is a data file in which the selected multiple items and the extracted description are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected multiple items and the extracted description.

The method according to the present invention is a method of creating an instruction manual by a computer based on a database used for creating the instruction manual, the database being a database referenced by the computer when the computer creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which there may be multiple types of mechanical products with different specifications, based on the model of the mechanical product, the group of mechanical products having multiple mechanical products in which the specifications of at least some of the multiple components that make up the mechanical product are different from each other, the model being composed of multiple identifiers each indicating one of the specifications of the multiple components, the database being an item database in which the identifiers are associated with multiple items in which the contents of the instruction manual are itemized, and an explanation database containing explanations corresponding to each of the multiple items. The item database includes a database of items corresponding to the multiple mechanical products and the multiple components that make up the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the multiple items are necessary for the instruction manual with multiple identifiers that correspond to the multiple components of the multiple mechanical products that make up the mechanical product group. The computer refers to the item database based on the multiple identifiers that make up the input model, selects multiple items that make up the instruction manual, refers to the explanation database based on the selected multiple items, extracts corresponding explanations, and creates the instruction manual, which is a data file in which the selected multiple items and the extracted explanations are combined in a predetermined order, based on the selected multiple items and the extracted explanations.

The present invention provides an instruction manual creation system, a server device, and an instruction manual creation method that can efficiently create instruction manuals for a variety of products.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an instruction manual creation system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen in the instruction manual creation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a processing unit in an instruction manual creation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an item database in the instruction manual creation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an explanation item database in the instruction manual creation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. A figure showing an example of the output of information regarding the safety of specifications and the output of a display to prompt confirmation in an instruction manual creation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an instruction manual creation system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a storage unit in the instruction manual creation system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes an instruction manual creation system according to one embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are given the same reference numerals and their description will not be repeated. In addition, at least some of the embodiments described below may be combined in any manner. In addition, the embodiments described below are merely examples, and the instruction manual creation system of the present invention is not limited to the examples below.

The instruction manual creation system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a system that creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products, which may include multiple types of mechanical products with different specifications, based on the model of the mechanical product. In this specification, an "instruction manual" is a document that describes instructions and advice regarding the use of a mechanical product throughout all phases of the mechanical product's life cycle. Also, an "instruction manual" is a document that describes usage information provided by a user of the instruction manual creation system 1 (hereinafter also referred to as a system user) to a user of a mechanical product (hereinafter also referred to as a product user). In this embodiment, the system user is primarily the manufacturer of the mechanical product (machine manufacturer).

In this specification, a "mechanical product" is a product that receives power and performs a certain motion and work according to a purpose. A "mechanical product" is a product that receives power and performs a certain motion and work according to a purpose, regardless of whether it is electrically controlled, but it can be a product excluding equipment whose main purpose is information processing or communication (equipment whose main purpose is not to receive power and perform a certain motion and work according to a purpose), such as personal computers (PCs) and communication devices. "A certain motion and work according to a purpose" means mechanical (including fluid dynamics and thermodynamics) or electromagnetic motion and work. "Mechanical products" include, for example, industrial machines that assist or substitute for painful, difficult, or impossible work for people in industrial sites, including the chemical industry and construction industry. Specifically, "mechanical products" include relatively large machines, such as machine tools, manufacturing machines, transport machines, and construction machines. "Mechanical products" also include prime movers that perform "a certain motion and work according to a purpose," such as wind and hydraulic prime movers such as windmills, heat engines such as engines, and electric motors such as motors. Additionally, "mechanical products" include relatively small machines such as home appliances, so long as they perform "certain movements and work according to a purpose." Examples of home appliances include automatic washing machines equipped with motors and refrigerators equipped with compressors.

In this specification, the "specifications" of a mechanical product refer to the requirements for the mechanical product, such as its functions, performance, characteristics, dimensions, and materials. "Multiple types of mechanical products with different specifications" refer to mechanical products that have the same or similar uses but different specifications. For example, in a mechanical product called a pump, a first type of pump and a second type of pump that is different from the first type have the same use of sucking up or sending liquid or gas by the action of pressure, but because the types or specifications of the components are different (for example, the types, sizes, materials, etc. of the components are different), for example, the performance, functions, roles, sizes, weights, energy consumption, transportation methods, usage methods, safety, risks, precautions, etc. may differ. Specifically, for example, in a mechanical product called a pump, a pump having a discharge part with a first diameter (e.g., 8 mm) and a pump having a discharge part with a second diameter (e.g., 80 mm) have different specifications for the discharge part (different diameters), which may result in different pump discharge volumes, sizes, functions, roles, weights, energy consumption, transportation methods, usage methods, safety, risks, precautions, etc. Note that "specifications" in this specification correspond to an identifier ID constituting the model, which will be described later, and the identifier ID identifies the specifications of the mechanical product.

In this specification, a "machine product group" refers to a machine product that has the same or similar uses and different specifications. A "machine product group" has multiple machine products in which at least some of the multiple components that make up the machine product have different specifications. A "machine product group" may have some of the multiple components that make up the machine product have different specifications, or all of the components may have different specifications. The instruction manual creation system of this embodiment may handle only one machine product group, or may handle multiple machine product groups together. When the instruction manual creation system handles multiple machine product groups, the uses of one machine product group and the other machine product groups may be similar to each other, or may be different from each other. The components that make up a machine product may be, for example, parts, parts, units, etc. that make up a machine product.

In this specification, the term "model" refers to a specific type of mechanical product classified according to its specifications. The term "model" may be based on the premise that the uses are the same or similar, and may refer to both mechanical products with the same or similar uses and mechanical products with uses that are not the same or similar (different uses). The "model" is composed of multiple identifiers IDs, each of which indicates the specifications of one of multiple components. That is, the "model" is composed of multiple identifiers, and each identifier ID indicates the specifications of the corresponding component. The identifier ID may be represented by any symbol, such as numbers, letters such as alphabets, figures, or codes, as long as it is visible to the user. One identifier ID may be represented by one symbol or multiple symbols. The "model" may be represented as a symbol string in which multiple symbols are lined up in a row. The number of identifiers IDs that make up the "model" is not particularly limited, as long as it is a number that can identify the specifications of the mechanical product. The position of each identifier ID in the "model" indicates which component in the mechanical product the identifier ID corresponds to.

In this specification, the "specifications" of a component refer to the defined features of the component, such as the function, performance, properties, dimensions, and material of the component of a mechanical product. In this embodiment, the features of a component can be univocally defined by the specifications of the component, which are specified by a part of the model. For example, in the discharge part (component) of a mechanical product called a pump, when an identifier ID that is part of the model indicating the diameter is specified, the diameter of the discharge part is specified to be a first value (e.g., 8 mm), and when another identifier ID that is part of the model indicating the diameter is specified, the diameter of the discharge part is specified to be a second value different from the first value (e.g., 80 mm). In this way, when the identifier ID of the model is different, the specifications of the component are also different.

Next, the configuration of the instruction manual creation system 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. The instruction manual creation system 1 shown in Fig. 1 is equipped with a processing device 2 that creates an instruction manual corresponding to the model desired by the user. The "user" here refers to a person who receives an instruction manual creation service using the instruction manual creation system 1 (hereinafter also referred to as a system user). The system user is, for example, a manufacturer (machine maker) that produces mechanical products, and more specifically, the person in charge of creating instruction manuals at the manufacturer. The system user receives the instruction manual creation service from the processing device 2 by giving an instruction manual creation instruction to the processing device 2. The "instruction manual creation instruction" includes information specifying the model of the mechanical product for which the instruction manual is to be created. In other words, the processing device 2 creates an instruction manual for the mechanical product corresponding to the model desired by the system user based on the model specified by the system user, and provides the created instruction manual to the system user.

The processing device 2 may be any type of device that can create an instruction manual in response to an instruction from a system user and provide the created instruction manual to the system user. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the processing device 2 is a server device provided on a network 4 such as the Internet. The processing device 2 shown in FIG. 1 has a function of receiving an instruction from another computer (client terminal device 3, hereinafter also referred to as terminal device 3) among the computers provided on the network, transmitting information related to the creation of the instruction manual to the terminal device 3, performing processing related to the creation of the instruction manual, and transmitting the processing result to the terminal device 3. Note that the processing device 2 is not limited to a server device connected via the Internet, and may be an on-premise device (such as a PC) (not shown) that has a function of creating an instruction manual in response to an instruction from a system user without going via the Internet and providing the created instruction manual to the system user. Such an on-premise device is an information device having a display unit, an operation input unit, a processing unit, and a communication unit. In this case, the device has the functions of the processing device 2.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the processing device 2 (server device) includes a storage unit 21, a creation unit 22, and a control unit 23, which will be described later, but is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, among the multiple functions of the processing device 2, the function of the storage unit 21 may be moved to another server device (database server). In the example shown in FIG. 7, the multiple functions of the processing device 2 in FIG. 1 are implemented separately in a server device (application server) 2A and a server device (database server) 2B. Specifically, the server device 2A includes the creation unit 22 and the control unit 23 of the processing device 2 in FIG. 1. The server device 2B includes the storage unit 21 of the processing device 2 in FIG. 1. In addition, the server device 2B includes a communication unit (not shown) for transmitting and receiving information to and from the server device 2A, and a control unit 24 for writing and reading information to and from the storage unit 21. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the server device 2A and the server device 2B are connected via a communication line. The server device 2A can create an instruction manual using information stored in the server device 2B. The server device 2A and the server device 2B shown in FIG. 8 can perform the same processing as the processing device 2 shown in FIG. 1 as a whole.

The terminal device 3 shown in FIG. 1 is an information device operated by a system user, and has a display unit 31 (see FIG. 2) having a screen 32, and an operation input unit and a communication unit (not shown). The terminal device 3 is, for example, an information terminal such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet PC (Personal Computer), a notebook PC, a wearable device, or a PC equipped with a display. The terminal device 3 is configured to allow the system user to specify a model (for example, a selection operation) via an operation input unit such as a mouse or a touch panel. The terminal device 3 is also configured to be able to display an input format F for inputting a model on the display unit 31 by accessing the processing device 2. The terminal device 3 is also configured to instruct the processing device 2 to create an instruction manual corresponding to the model in response to the system user's operation to specify a model. The terminal device 3 is also configured to receive from the processing device 2 an instruction manual that the processing device 2 has created in response to an instruction to create an instruction manual. The terminal device 3 is also configured to be able to output the received instruction manual, such as displaying it on the display unit 31. The terminal device 3 is also configured to give instructions to the processing device 2 to modify the instruction manual created by the processing device 2 as necessary. The terminal device 3 is also configured to receive the instruction manual modified by the processing device 2 in response to the modification instruction, and to output it to the display unit 31, etc.

Next, the configuration of the processing device 2 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing device 2 includes a computer-readable storage medium 21 and a creation unit 22. The processing device 2 further includes a control unit 23.

The computer-readable storage medium (hereinafter also referred to as the storage unit) 21 stores various programs and data necessary for the operation of the creation unit 22. The type of the storage unit 21 is not particularly limited, and can be, for example, a storage device such as an HDD or a CD-ROM, or a memory such as a RAM or a ROM. The various information stored in the storage unit 21 may be stored collectively in one storage device or memory, or may be stored in a distributed manner in multiple storage devices or memories. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the storage unit 21 stores a database 210. In this embodiment, the database 210 includes an item database 211. The database 210 further includes an explanation item database 212. The database 210 further includes an instruction manual database 213. The database 210 further includes a safety information database 214.

The database 210 is referenced by a computer when the computer creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product based on the model of the mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which there may be multiple types of mechanical products with different specifications. In this embodiment, the computers that reference the database 210 are, for example, the creation unit 22 and the control unit 23.

The item database 211 associates multiple items IT, which are items in the instruction manual divided into sections, with an identifier ID (see FIG. 4). In this specification, "items in the instruction manual" refer to information that is necessary for a product user who uses a mechanical product to handle the mechanical product, and is information that serves as a guide for handling the mechanical product. The product user is different from the above-mentioned system user who uses the instruction manual creation system 1 (for example, the manufacturer of the mechanical product, the creator of the instruction manual). It is preferable that the items in the instruction manual are divided into sections so that the product user can quickly find the location of the information.

The multiple item ITs that make up the item database 211 are arranged in a predetermined order. Each item IT in the item database 211 and the order in which the item ITs are arranged may correspond to the headings that make up the table of contents of the instruction manual and the order in which the headings are arranged. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 4, the item database 211 is configured such that multiple item ITs are arranged along the vertical axis and multiple identifier IDs are arranged along the horizontal axis, but this is not limited to this example. For example, the item database 211 may be configured such that multiple item ITs are arranged along the horizontal axis and multiple identifier IDs are arranged along the vertical axis.

In this embodiment, the items described in the instruction manual are divided into chapters (major items), sections (medium items), and paragraphs (minor items). That is, multiple item ITs (see FIG. 4) are divided into chapters, sections, or paragraphs. "Chapter" item ITs are headings such as "Safety," "Machine Overview," "Transportation, Handling, Storage," "Assembly, Installation," "Operation," and "Finding Problems, Troubleshooting, Repairs." In the example shown in FIG. 4, the parts containing "A" correspond to "chapters," the parts containing "B" correspond to "sections," and the parts containing "C" correspond to "paragraphs."

The "chapter" item IT is a higher-level item than the "section" item IT. That is, each chapter item IT includes one or more "section" item ITs. For example, the "safety" chapter includes "sections" regarding precautions against risks when handling a machine product and "section" item ITs regarding warnings. The risk precautions include sections with headings such as "safety instructions" and the risk warnings include sections with headings such as "warning about dangerous conditions". The risk precautions and warnings take into account all aspects of the life cycle of the machine product and the life cycle of the components of the machine product. The "machine overview" chapter includes sections with headings such as "machine description" and "installation layout". The "transportation, handling, and storage" chapter includes sections with headings such as "transportation of the machine". The "assembly, installation" chapter includes sections with headings such as "positioning the machine". The "operation" chapter includes sections with headings such as "personal protective equipment to be used" and "response to emergency situations". The "fault finding, troubleshooting, and repair" chapter includes sections with headings such as "troubleshooting procedures".

The "section" item IT is a higher-level item than the "paragraph" item IT. That is, each section item IT contains one or more "paragraph" item IT. For example, the "safety instructions" section contains an item with a heading such as "Warning about hazardous conditions that may occur during use of the machine". The "transportation of the machine" section contains an item with a heading such as "Required skills and equipment". The "positioning of the machine" section contains an item with a heading such as "Minimum requirements for positioning and fastening the machine". Note that the specific examples of "chapter", "section", and "paragraph" listed here are only a part of the examples of item IT, and there may be other items. Note that the items described in the instruction manual may be divided into chapters (major items), sections (medium items), paragraphs (minor items), and items (subitems). The "paragraph" item IT is a higher-level item than the "item" item. That is, each section item IT may contain one or more items (subitems).

In this embodiment, the identifier ID and the item IT may correspond in a one-to-one relationship, or the identifier ID and the item IT may correspond in a many-to-one relationship (one item IT corresponds to multiple identifier IDs), or the identifier ID and the item IT may correspond in a one-to-many relationship (one identifier ID corresponds to multiple item ITs). In any case, the item IT to be described in the instruction manual is determined by the identifier ID indicating the specifications of the component being specified by the system user.

The multiple items IT in the item database 211 include items corresponding to multiple mechanical products and multiple components that make up a mechanical product group. For example, consider a case where attention is focused on a category called pump. In this case, the multiple items IT in the item database 211 include items corresponding to multiple specifications of pumps and multiple components (for example, parts or units that make up a pump) that make up a category called pump (pump group). That is, the multiple items IT stored in the item database 211 correspond to each component of pumps with various specifications (the item database 211 related to pump groups stores items that may be described in various pumps, such as items that should be described in the instruction manual for pump A with a certain specification, items that are unnecessary for pump A but are necessary for pump B with a different specification, and items that are unnecessary for pumps A and B but are necessary for pump C with yet another specification). Therefore, by combining any of the multiple items IT stored in the item database 211, multiple item ITs necessary for creating instruction manuals for pumps with various specifications are available. Note that the pumps listed here are an example of a category of mechanical products, and the same applies to mechanical products in other categories.

The item database 211 also associates which of the multiple item ITs is required for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifier IDs corresponding to a plurality of components of a plurality of machine products that constitute a machine product group. For example, when focusing on a category of pumps, the item database 211 associates which of the multiple item ITs is required for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifier IDs corresponding to a plurality of components of a plurality of pumps that constitute a pump group (for example, parts or units that constitute a pump). That is, the item database 211 associates the item IT required for the instruction manual with the identifier ID of the component of the pump for various types of pumps. Therefore, for various types of pumps, the identifier IDs of the multiple components that constitute the pump are specified by the system user, and the specifications of the pump for which the instruction manual is to be created and the item IT required for the instruction manual of the pump of that specification are determined. Note that the item database 211 may store only one data (table) in which the item IT and identifier ID related to one machine product group are associated, or may further store data of another machine product group different from the one machine product group.

In this embodiment, the item database 211 contains the item IT required to create instruction manuals for mechanical products for all of the multiple types of mechanical products included in the mechanical product group. In other words, the item database 211 contains the item IT required to create instruction manuals for all of the multiple types of mechanical products in the mechanical product group (multiple types of mechanical products that belong to a specific category, for example, a group of pumps). Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to create instruction manuals for various types of mechanical products that belong to a specific category.

In addition, in this embodiment, the item database 211 includes identifier IDs corresponding to components necessary for creating instruction manuals for mechanical products for all of the multiple types of mechanical products included in the mechanical product group. In other words, the item database 211 includes identifier IDs necessary for creating instruction manuals for all of the multiple types of mechanical products in the mechanical product group (multiple types of mechanical products belonging to a specified category, for example, a group of pumps). Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to create instruction manuals for various types of mechanical products that belong to a specified category.

In this embodiment, item IT has one or more chapters "A1"... (only one chapter is shown in FIG. 4). Item IT also has one or more sections "B1"... (only one section is shown in FIG. 4). Item IT also has one or more terms "C1", "C2",... (multiple terms are shown in FIG. 4). Note that the number of items required for a machine product group including multiple machine products may actually be 100 or more, but is shown in a simplified manner in FIG. 4, and items after chapter "C8" are not shown. Note that the number of items IT shown in FIG. 4 is just an example, and other numbers may be used.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, for the multiple identifier IDs corresponding to the multiple components of the multiple machine products that make up the machine product group, which of the multiple items IT are required for the instruction manual are indicated by a symbol "o". In the example shown in FIG. 4, there are two types of specifications for the specification S1 of the component (1) (shown as "(1)-S1" in FIG. 4), and the two identifier IDs corresponding to the two specifications are "a1" and "b1". When the item database 211 targets a pump group, the specification S1 of the component (1) shown in FIG. 4 is, for example, the number of stages (specifications) of the motor (component). And the two specifications for the number of stages of the motor are, for example, "2 stages" and "4 stages". The identifier IDs corresponding to the 2 stages and 4 stages, respectively, are "2" and "4". That is, the two identifier IDs "a1" and "b1" are specifically "2" and "4", respectively. Hereinafter, each component will be collectively referred to as the component EL. In addition, in the example shown in Figure 4, the specifications of each component are collectively referred to as EL-S.

There are two types of specifications for the specification S2 of the component (2) (shown as "(2)-S2" in FIG. 4), and the two identifier IDs corresponding to the two specifications are "a2" and "b2". When the item database 211 targets a group of pumps, the specification S2 of the component (2) shown in FIG. 4 is, for example, the nominal diameter (specification) of the rotor (component). And the two specifications for the nominal diameter of the rotor are, for example, "20 mm" and "50 mm". The identifier IDs corresponding to "20 mm" and "50 mm", respectively, are "20" and "50". That is, the two identifier IDs "a2" and "b2" are specifically "20" and "50", respectively. Similarly, there are multiple specifications for specification S3 "(3)-S3" of component (3), specification S4 "(4)-S4" of component (4), specification S5 "(5)-S5" of component (5), and specification S6 "(6)-S6" of component (6).

4, the identifier "a1" is associated with the item "C1" by the symbol "○", and the identifier "b1" is associated with the item "C2" by the symbol "○". When the item database 211 is for a pump group, the item "C1" is, for example, a heading "Safety Instructions (Number of motor stages: 2)" for "Safety Instructions" when the motor has two stages. Also, the item "C2" is, for example, a heading "Safety Instructions (Number of motor stages: 4)" for "Safety Instructions" when the motor has four stages. Furthermore, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the identifier "a1" is associated with the item "C3" by the symbol "○", and the identifier "b1" is associated with the item "C4" by the symbol "○". When the item database 211 is for a pump group, the item "C3" is, for example, a heading "Warning about a dangerous state (Number of motor stages: 2)" for "Warning about a dangerous state" when the motor has two stages. Also, item "C4" is, for example, the heading "Warning about a dangerous state (motor has four stages)" for "Warning about a dangerous state" when the motor has four stages. Due to differences in the specifications of the components of a mechanical product (for example, whether the motor has two stages or four stages), it may be necessary to differ the items to be described in the instruction manual. In such cases, the contents of the items (for example, the specific contents of the safety instructions and the specific contents of the warning about a dangerous state) differ. In this embodiment, the contents of the safety instructions corresponding to item C1 are different from the contents of the safety instructions corresponding to item C2. Furthermore, the contents of the warning about a dangerous state corresponding to item C3 are different from the contents of the warning about a dangerous state corresponding to item C4.

The identifier "a2" is associated with the item "C5" by the symbol "○", and the identifier "b2" is associated with the item "C6" by the symbol "○". When the item database 211 is for a pump group, the item "C5" is, for example, the heading "Safety Instructions (Rotor nominal diameter is 20 mm)" for "Safety Instructions" when the rotor nominal diameter is 20 mm. The item "C6" is, for example, the heading "Safety Instructions (Rotor nominal diameter is 50 mm)" for "Safety Instructions" when the rotor nominal diameter is 50 mm. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the identifier "a2" is associated with the item "C7" by the symbol "○", and the identifier "b2" is associated with the item "C8" by the symbol "○". When the item database 211 is for a group of pumps, the item "C7" is, for example, a heading "Warning about a dangerous state (number of motor stages is two)" for "Warning about a dangerous state" when the number of motor stages is two. Also, the item "C8" is, for example, a heading "Warning about a dangerous state (number of motor stages is four)" for "Warning about a dangerous state" when the number of motor stages is four. In this embodiment, the contents of the safety instructions corresponding to the item C5 are different from the contents of the safety instructions corresponding to the item C6. Furthermore, the contents of the warning about a dangerous state corresponding to the item C7 are different from the contents of the warning about a dangerous state corresponding to the item C8. The identifiers "a3", "b3", "a4", "b4", "a5", "b5", "a6" and "b6" are also associated in the same manner.

Furthermore, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the identifiers "a1" to "a6" and "b1" to "b6" are associated with the chapter "A1" and the item "B1" by the symbol "○". When the item database 211 targets a group of pumps, the chapter "A1" is, for example, a chapter with the heading "Safety". Also, the item "B1" is, for example, a section with the heading "Safety Rules". Note that the number of components EL and the number of specifications for each component EL shown in FIG. 4 are merely examples and may be other numbers. Also, the position of the symbol "○" shown in FIG. 4 is merely an example and may be placed in a position different from that shown in FIG. 4.

The explanatory item database 212 includes explanatory items DE (see FIG. 5) corresponding to each of a plurality of items IT. In this specification, an "explanatory item" is an explanatory item related to a component EL of the specifications corresponding to an item IT. Therefore, when an identifier ID is specified by a system user to determine the specifications of a component EL, explanatory items DE to be described in the instruction manual corresponding to the specifications are determined.

In this specification, the "explanation item DE" is information such as characters and figures that can be provided in an information service via the Internet or the like. The specific form of the "explanation item DE" is not particularly limited as long as it is information such as characters and figures that can be provided in an information service via the Internet or the like. In this specification, the "explanation item DE" is information such as characters and figures that indicate the explanation item. The "explanation item DE" is information that is stored in the explanation item database 212 and can be displayed on the terminal device 3. The "explanation item DE" is, for example, information such as characters and figures that are published on the Web. When the "explanation item DE" is information that is published on the Web, the "explanation item DE" is, for example, written in a markup language such as HTML on a Web page and can be viewed using a Web browser. In addition, a group of Web pages in the same domain are stored in the storage unit 21 as a Web site. Each Web page in the Web site has a hyperlink to another page, and the Web pages can be moved back and forth between each other by following the hyperlink. Furthermore, in addition to or instead of a description in a markup language such as HTML, the "explanation DE" may include, for example, information on documents (document files) created using software such as Microsoft Word (registered trademark), Microsoft Excel (registered trademark), and Microsoft PowerPoint (registered trademark), images created using software such as Portable Document Format (PDF), photographs, and other information on images displayed in a static state.

In this embodiment, the explanation item DE includes safety explanation information, which is information related to the safety of the specification. The explanation item DE is stored in the explanation item database 212 in association with an identifier IT indicating the specification. In this specification, "safety" refers to the degree of safety (a state in which risk is suppressed to an acceptable level). Also, in this specification, "safety explanation information" refers to information included in the explanation item DE, which indicates matters that system users and product users should pay attention to regarding safety. "Safety explanation information" includes safety precautions regarding the use and/or handling of a mechanical product. "Safety precautions" are precautions for using and/or handling a mechanical product safely. In other words, "safety explanation information" is information indicating matters that system users and product users should pay attention to in order to use and/or handle a mechanical product safely. Safety may differ for each specification. Therefore, safety precautions may differ between specifications with different safety. For example, when at least one of the weight, size, shape, etc. of a mechanical product differs depending on the specification, safety precautions may differ between multiple specifications. Safety precautions include, for example, safety precautions when using a mechanical product, and safety precautions when handling the mechanical product (for example, transporting the mechanical product, performing maintenance such as cleaning the mechanical product, inspecting the mechanical product, etc.). In this specification, "precautions" include precautions corresponding to each risk level, such as "danger," "warning," and "caution." "Danger," "warning," and "caution" are signal words that indicate the degree of danger when using and/or handling a mechanical product, from highest to lowest. At each risk level, such as "danger," "warning," and "caution," there may be prohibitions and things that must be strictly observed to ensure safety.

However, the safety information described in the instruction manual of a mechanical product may not necessarily match the mechanical product in question and may not be accurate. Specifically, for example, the safety information may not reflect the latest information on safety (for example, information resulting from new laws and regulations or user-reported items). In addition, the safety information may contain incorrect information on safety for some reason. In addition, mechanical products with the same or similar uses and functions but different specifications may be listed in the same instruction manual. For example, when the weight of a mechanical product differs depending on the specifications, the original handling method (for example, the transportation method) may differ between a light weight product and a heavy weight product. Specifically, for example, when the weight is light, a person may be able to carry the mechanical product by hand, whereas when the weight is heavy, the mechanical product must be transported using a machine such as heavy machinery or a dedicated tool. In contrast, when the safety information is inaccurate (wrong), it may state that the mechanical product may be transported by hand even if it is heavy. When the safety information is inaccurate in this way, the safety of the use and/or handling of the mechanical product may be significantly reduced. As mentioned above, the reason why safety information contains erroneous descriptions regarding safety is that conventional instruction manuals were often created by combining items and explanations manually, rather than by writing separate safety information sheets for each machine product with different specifications, resulting in human error. If there is an error in the safety description in a machine product's instruction manual, it could be at risk of human life, so there is a much greater need to prevent errors in the description than there are other types of errors.

The "explanation items DE" may be different or the same depending on the specifications. For example, when there are multiple specifications for a certain component EL, the explanation items may be the same for one group of the multiple specifications, and the explanation items may be different for the other group. When there are multiple specifications for a certain component EL, the explanation items may be different for all specifications, or the explanation items may be the same for all specifications. Note that, among the multiple components EL that constitute a mechanical product, the explanation items differ between the multiple specifications for at least some of the components EL. Since the explanation items database 212 includes explanation items DE corresponding to each of the multiple items IT, the explanation items DE are determined for each component EL by specifying an identifier ID for each component EL by the system user. Note that the explanation items DE of the instruction manual may be modifiable by the system user. In this case, after the identifier ID is specified by the system user and the explanation items DE of the instruction manual are determined, it becomes possible to modify the explanation items DE as necessary.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the explanatory matter database 212 includes explanatory matters DE for each item IT. Specifically, the explanatory matter database 212 includes explanatory matters DE for each chapter, explanatory matters DE for each section, and explanatory matters DE for each item. In addition, when the item database 211 includes an item of "item", it includes explanatory matters DE for each item. The explanatory matters DE may be short phrases such as headings or titles, sentences, drawings or tables, or any combination of sentences, drawings and tables. The explanatory matters DE of the chapters and explanatory matters DE of the sections are, for example, short phrases such as headings or titles, or sentences. The explanatory matters DE of the items and the explanatory matters of the items are explanatory matters corresponding to the specific specifications of the components EL, and are more likely to be specific than the explanatory matters DE of the chapters and items, and are therefore, for example, composed of sentences (for example, sentences more specific than the explanatory matters DE of the chapters and items), drawings and tables, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the explanatory items DE may be configured to be rewritable, or may be configured not to be rewritable. If the explanatory items DE are configured to be rewritable, they can be modified by the system user. Furthermore, the degree of completion of the explanatory items DE is not particularly limited. In other words, the explanatory items DE may be content in a certain format (template) that is intended to be modified, or may be content that is highly complete and does not necessarily require modification.

The safety information database 214 includes safety standard information SA, which is information corresponding to the identifier ID (indicating the specification) and serves as a standard for safety. In this specification, the "safety standard information SA" is information related to the inherent safety of the specification, and is information indicating matters that the system user and the product user should pay attention to regarding the safety of the specification. In other words, the "safety standard information SA" is accurate information indicating matters that the system user and the product user should pay attention to in order to use and/or handle the mechanical product safely. The safety of the mechanical product may differ for each specification. The safety standard information SA is different from the internal information stored in the explanation database 214, such as the explanation DE, and is information (external information) based on, for example, safety-related laws (e.g., the Industrial Safety and Health Act) and matters pointed out by the product user (e.g., information on near misses). The safety standard information SA is classified based on its contents, assigned an identifier ID, and stored in the safety information database 214 in association with the identifier ID. In this embodiment, the "safety standard information SA" includes safety precautions regarding the use and/or handling of the mechanical product. Since the safety standard information SA includes safety precautions regarding the use and/or handling of the mechanical product, the instruction manual creation system 1 can display to confirm whether the description of the instruction manual created by the creation unit 22 (the description of safety regarding the use and/or handling of the mechanical product) is correct. This allows the system user to confirm whether the description of safety regarding the use and/or handling of the mechanical product in the instruction manual is correct. If the safety description is incorrect, a correct instruction manual with a description regarding safety can be created by taking the necessary measures (correcting the explanation items DE). In this way, the safety standard information SA and the above-mentioned explanation items DE are assigned identifiers ID according to the content of the information (related to the specifications), and the safety standard information SA and the explanation items DE including related information are stored in the storage unit 21 in association with each other by the identifier ID. That is, the safety standard information SA and the above-mentioned explanation items DE are associated with each other via the identifier ID. Therefore, as described later, the safety standard information SA and the explanation items DE can be output (for example, displayed on the display unit 31 shown in FIG. 6) in an associated manner.

The safety standard information SA is accurate or more accurate than the safety explanation information included in the explanation item DE. Specifically, for example, the safety standard information SA reflects the latest information on safety. In addition, the safety standard information SA contains accurate descriptions of safety. For example, when the weight of a mechanical product varies depending on the specifications, the original handling method (e.g., the transportation method) may differ between a case where the weight is small and a case where the weight is large. In such a case, the safety standard information SA of the specifications corresponding to the identifier ID accurately reflects the original handling method (e.g., the transportation method) according to the weight, or reflects it with high accuracy. As will be described later, in this embodiment, the instruction manual creation system 1 is configured to be able to verify (check whether it is correct) the safety explanation information included in the explanation item DE based on the safety standard information SA.

The creation unit 22 refers to the database 210 and obtains information necessary for creating the instruction manual desired by the system user from the database 210, thereby creating the instruction manual desired by the system user. In this embodiment, the creation unit 22 refers to the item database 211 and selects multiple items IT that constitute the instruction manual based on multiple identifier IDs that constitute the input model. The creation unit 22 can be configured, for example, by a centralized processing unit (CPU). In this specification, the "input model" is a model input to the creation unit 22 in response to an input operation of the model by the system user. As long as the model is input to the creation unit 22 in response to an input operation of the model by the system user, there is no particular limitation on how the input operation of the model is performed. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a screen 32 having an input format F in which the identifier ID that constitutes the model can be input for each component EL of the mechanical product is displayed on the display unit 31 of the terminal device 3. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the input format F has multiple first areas F1 divided for each component EL of the mechanical product. The multiple first areas F1 each correspond to multiple components EL of the mechanical product.

In addition to the multiple first fields F1, the input format F may have a second field F2, which is another field for specifying a model. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the input format F has a second field F2 for specifying a category of a mechanical product. The category of a mechanical product is part of the model of the mechanical product. For example, the category of a mechanical product can be specified by inputting an identifier ID that specifies the category of the mechanical product into the second field F2.

2, the screen 32 displays an instruction manual creation button BT1 and an instruction manual search button BT2. When the instruction manual creation button BT1 is operated with a plurality of identifier IDs constituting the model input in the input format F on the screen 32, the creation unit 22 creates an instruction manual based on the input identifier IDs. The created instruction manual is stored in an area corresponding to the instruction manual database 213 in the storage unit 21. When the created instruction manual is stored in an area corresponding to the instruction manual database 213 in the storage unit 21 and a plurality of identifier IDs constituting the model are input in the input format F, the instruction manual corresponding to the input identifier IDs (model) is read out from among the stored instruction manuals and displayed on the display unit 31 by operating the instruction manual search button BT2 on the screen 32. When modifying an instruction manual stored in the instruction manual database 213, the instruction manual to be modified can be read out and displayed on the display unit 31 by operating the instruction manual search button BT2, and the instruction manual to be modified can be modified.

In this specification, the "category of a mechanical product" refers to a classification of a mechanical product, and the content of the classification is not particularly limited. The content of the classification can be determined, for example, according to the category of a mechanical product handled by the system user of the instruction manual creation system 1. For example, if a company that handles a small number of categories of mechanical products is the system user, the category of the mechanical products is narrowed down to a specific category handled by that company. Specifically, for example, if a specialized pump manufacturer is the system user, the category of the mechanical product can be specified as a pump or a predetermined type of pump in the second area F2. Then, detailed specifications of the pump or the predetermined type of pump specified in the second area F2 can be specified in the first area F1. Also, if a company that handles a large number of categories of mechanical products is the system user, the category of the mechanical product can be specified from the various categories handled by that company. Specifically, for example, if a comprehensive machinery manufacturer is the system user, the category of the mechanical product can be specified from the various categories in the second area F2. Then, detailed specifications of the mechanical products of the category specified in the second area F2 can be specified in the first area F1. Note that the second area F2 is not necessarily required. For example, if the system user handles only a few categories of mechanical products (e.g., one, such as only a specific type of pump), the specifications of the mechanical product can be specified in only the first area F1.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the first field F1 and the second field F2 of the input format F are configured with input boxes that are blank spaces (input fields) into which an identifier ID can be directly input. Furthermore, the input format F is configured to be divided into multiple input boxes so that multiple identifier IDs can be input with separation between them. By configuring the input format F so that multiple identifier IDs can be input with separation between them, the system user can input the multiple identifier IDs he or she inputs while clearly recognizing them individually, thereby reducing the possibility of input errors.

The input format F may have options for the identifier ID for each component EL of the mechanical product, and may be configured so that the system user can select an identifier ID from the options. For example, each of the first and second fields F1 and F2 of the input format F may be configured so that an identifier ID can be selected from a plurality of options and input. Specifically, the input format F may be configured so that a pull-down menu (drop-down list) (not shown) is provided in each of the first and second fields F1 and F2, and an arbitrary identifier ID can be selected from a plurality of options for each field. By configuring the input format F so that the system user can select an identifier ID from the options, the input operation of the identifier ID can be made easier and the possibility of input errors can be reduced.

When a drop-down menu is provided, the display unit 31 may be configured to display options and specifications corresponding to the options. For example, if there are two specifications for the rotor nominal diameter, "20 mm" and "50 mm," two options, "20" and "50," may be displayed, and an indication may be made that the option "20" corresponds to the specification "20 mm" and the option "50" corresponds to the specification "50 mm." This display can reduce the possibility of input errors by the system user. The options and the specifications corresponding to the options are displayed side by side in a drop-down menu, for example. By displaying the options and the specifications corresponding to the options side by side, the system user can easily and quickly grasp the correspondence between the options and the specifications.

The above-mentioned "selecting multiple items IT that make up the instruction manual by referring to the item database 211 based on multiple identifier IDs that make up the input model" means that the item IT that corresponds to the identifier ID specified in each component EL is determined based on a predetermined correspondence relationship as illustrated in FIG. 4 (the correspondence relationship is predetermined by the position of the "○"). Note that the correspondence relationship illustrated in FIG. 4 is only an example, and the number of identifier IDs and item ITs, and the correspondence relationship between identifier IDs and item ITs are set appropriately depending on the category of the machine product, etc.

Specifically, for example, if the input model includes identifier "a1" for component (1) (see FIG. 4) and identifier "b2" for component (2), the creation unit 22 selects items "A1," "B1," "C1," and "C3" corresponding to "a1," and items "A1," "B1," "C6," and "C8" corresponding to "b2." Note that while the selection of items for some of the identifiers IDs that make up the input model is described here, in reality the creation unit 22 selects items IT for all of the identifiers IDs that make up the input model.

The creation unit 22 also refers to the explanatory item database 212 based on the selected multiple item ITs, extracts corresponding explanatory items DE, and creates an instruction manual, which is a data file in which the selected multiple item ITs and the extracted explanatory items DE are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected multiple item ITs and the extracted explanatory items DE. That is, the creation unit 22 selects multiple item ITs corresponding to the multiple identifiers IDs constituting the input model from the item database 211, extracts multiple explanatory items DE corresponding to the selected item ITs from the explanatory item database 212, and creates an instruction manual, which is a data file, by combining the selected item ITs and the extracted multiple explanatory items DE in a predetermined order. The instruction manual created in this embodiment is an instruction manual in which explanatory items DE corresponding to each of the chapters, sections, and paragraphs are described.

In this specification, "combining the selected items IT and the extracted explanation items DE in a predetermined order" means associating the selected items IT and the extracted explanation items DE with each other so that the selected items IT and the extracted explanation items DE are arranged in a predetermined order. In this specification, "predetermined order" refers to a predetermined order of arrangement of the items IT and the explanation items DE constituting the instruction manual. If the selected items IT and the extracted explanation items DE are associated with each other so that the selected items IT and the extracted explanation items DE are arranged in a predetermined order, the items IT and the extracted explanation items DE may be combined in a state where they are combined into one data file, or may be combined in a state where they are divided into two or more data files. Specifically, the creation unit 22 can combine the extracted explanation items DE as one or more data files such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF. The creation unit 22 can also combine the extracted multiple explanatory items DE as multiple Web pages that are configured to allow users to move between Web pages by following hyperlinks. The control unit 23 is configured to output (display, print, etc.) the multiple items IT and multiple explanatory items DE of the created instruction manual in a predetermined order (a predetermined arrangement order, an order according to the table of contents). In this embodiment, even if the instruction manual is created in a state where it is compiled into one data file, or in a state where it is compiled into two or more data files, all the items IT and explanatory items DE that make up the instruction manual are associated with each other so that they are arranged in a predetermined order throughout the entirety when output. Therefore, the control unit 23 can output the entire instruction manual in a predetermined order simply by receiving a single output instruction in which all the data files that make up the instruction manual are selected. Therefore, the system user does not need to perform a cumbersome task such as rearranging the multiple pages of the output instruction manual according to the table of contents, and can easily and quickly output an instruction manual in which the multiple items IT and multiple explanatory items DE are arranged according to the table of contents.

The completeness of the instruction manual to be created is not particularly limited. In other words, the instruction manual to be created may be a draft instruction manual that is intended to be revised by the system user, or may be a highly complete instruction manual that does not necessarily require revision. In this embodiment, the completeness of the instruction manual to be created corresponds to the completeness of the explanatory items DE stored in the explanatory item database 212. Even if the created instruction manual is not highly complete, it is possible to make it into a highly complete instruction manual through subsequent revisions.

In this embodiment, the creation unit 22 is configured to modify the explanatory matters DE of the instruction manual created by the creation unit 22 in response to the input modification instruction. That is, the creation unit 22 is configured to modify the explanatory matters DE of the instruction manual that it has previously created in response to the input modification instruction (modification function). In this specification, the "input modification instruction" is an instruction input to the creation unit 22, including the modification content in response to the input operation by the system user, in order to modify the explanatory matters DE of the instruction manual that has previously been created. As long as the modification instruction is input to the creation unit 22 in response to the input operation of the modification instruction by the system user, there is no particular limitation on the manner in which the input operation of the modification instruction is performed. In this embodiment, the modification instruction including the modification content is input at the terminal device 3. Note that, as long as the modification instruction is input to the creation unit 22 in response to the input operation of the modification instruction by the system user, it may be input via an input operation unit (not shown) provided in the processing device 2. The creation unit 22 has a modification function, which can improve the completeness of the instruction manual.

As described above, when the creation unit 22 is configured to modify the explanatory items DE of the instruction manual in response to the inputted modification instructions, the explanatory items DE may include a template of the explanatory items DE. When the explanatory items DE include a template, the creation unit 22 refers to the explanatory items database 212 based on the selected multiple items IT, extracts a template of the corresponding explanatory items DE, and creates a draft of the instruction manual based on the selected multiple items IT and the template of the extracted explanatory items DE. The creation unit 22 may be configured to modify the draft of the instruction manual created by the creation unit 22 in response to the inputted modification instructions. According to such a configuration, the creation unit 22 can create a draft of the instruction manual based on the template of the explanatory items DE, and then modify the draft based on the inputted modification instructions to create a highly complete instruction manual. Therefore, there is no need to store highly complete explanatory items DE in the explanatory items database 212 from the beginning, and a highly complete instruction manual can be created simply by modifying the explanatory items DE corresponding to the model desired by the system user.

The control unit 23 is configured to control the display unit 31 (see FIG. 2) that displays a screen that is visible to the system user. As long as the display unit 31 is visible to the system user, there is no particular limitation on where the display unit 31 is provided in the instruction manual creation system 1. In this embodiment, for example, the display unit 31 is provided in the terminal device 3. Note that, as long as the display unit 31 is visible to the system user, the display unit 31 may be provided in the processing device 2. The control unit 23 is configured to control the display unit 31 to display a screen 32 having an input format F that allows the system user to input an identifier ID for each component EL of the mechanical product. By the control unit 23 displaying the input format F on the screen 32 of the display unit 31, the system user can input multiple identifier IDs that constitute a desired model into the input format F. The control unit 23 can be configured, for example, by a centralized processing unit (CPU) or the like.

In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit 23 is configured to output the safety standard information SA corresponding to the identifier ID constituting the input model together with the explanation item DE corresponding to the identifier ID in response to the input of the model. Specifically, the control unit 23 is configured to control the display unit 31 (see FIG. 6) to display the safety standard information SA corresponding to the identifier ID constituting the input model together with the explanation item DE corresponding to the identifier ID in response to the input of the model. The control unit 23 displays the safety standard information SA together with the explanation item DE on the screen 32 of the display unit 31, so that the system user can check whether the safety explanation information included in the explanation item DE is correct based on the safety standard information SA. For example, in this embodiment, the explanation item DE and the safety standard information SA are both stored in association with the identifier ID. The control unit 23 is configured to control the display unit 31 (see FIG. 6) to display the instruction manual created by the creation unit 22. When displaying the created instruction manual, the control unit 23 extracts the identifier ID assigned (associated) to each explanation item DE of the instruction manual. The control unit 23 refers to the explanatory item database 212 and selects the safety standard information SA corresponding to the extracted identifier ID from the safety information database 214. The control unit 23 displays the selected safety standard information SA together with the corresponding explanatory item DE. That is, the control unit 23 displays the explanatory item DE and the safety standard information SA associated via the identifier ID on the display unit 31. The control unit 23 displays in a display form that allows the user to confirm whether the description regarding safety in the explanatory item DE (safety explanatory information) is correct based on the safety standard information SA. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the explanatory item DE and the safety standard information SA associated via the identifier ID can be displayed side by side. Note that other display forms may be used as long as the user can confirm whether the description regarding safety in the explanatory item DE is correct based on the safety standard information SA.

In this way, the safety explanation information of the explanatory items DE in the instruction manual and the safety standards information SA are displayed side by side, allowing the system user to easily and quickly compare the two pieces of information. In the past, it was necessary to manually compare the separately managed instruction manual and various cautions, making it difficult to know which parts needed to be corrected or which laws and regulations and points of indication should be considered. However, since the safety standards information SA in particular is assigned an identifier ID that corresponds to the identifier ID of the explanatory items DE, it is possible to immediately determine that points of indication that require attention, such as laws and regulations and points of indication from product users, are the explanatory items DE that will be included in the instruction manual to be corrected. This makes it possible to easily and quickly check whether the safety explanation information of the explanatory items DE in the instruction manual is accurate.

In this embodiment, the instruction manual creation system 1 is configured to receive additional information, which is new safety standard information, by input from the outside, and store the additional information in the storage unit 21 in association with the identifier ID. In this specification, "new safety standard information" is safety standard information including new content to be updated. For example, "new safety standard information" is information based on new content due to legal amendments to safety laws (e.g., Industrial Safety and Health Act) and information based on new indications from product users (e.g., near-miss information). "Information based on new content due to legal amendments to safety laws and information based on new indications from product users" is, for example, information that is the gist of new content due to legal amendments to safety laws and information that is the gist of new indications from product users. Also, in this specification, "input from the outside" is input to the processing device 2 of the instruction manual creation system 1. Specifically, for example, it is input to the processing device 2 from the operation input unit of the terminal device 3. The instruction manual creation system 1 associates the additional information with the identifier ID and stores it in, for example, the safety information database 214.

In this embodiment, the processing device 2 is configured to be able to update the safety standard information SA to the contents of the additional information. The safety standard information SA stored in the storage unit 21 may be information that has been stored in advance in the storage unit 21 before the additional information is received, or may be information that has been updated to the contents of the additional information. The safety standard information SA that has already been stored before the update may be overwritten by the additional information, or may be left separately from the additional information. When the safety standard information SA is updated to the contents of the additional information, the safety standard information SA is updated to the new information. Therefore, for example, in the case of a legal amendment to a safety law or a new indication from a product user, the safety standard information SA that is adapted to such a legal amendment or new indication can be output. Therefore, it is possible to check whether the safety explanation information of the explanation items DE in the instruction manual is accurate so as to adapt to such a legal amendment or new indication. On the other hand, when the already stored safety standard information SA is left, for example, the content can be checked by displaying it on the display unit 31 as necessary.

In this embodiment, the processing device 2 is configured to output a confirmation display AL, which is a display for prompting a user (system user) of the instruction manual creation system 1 to confirm the safety standard information when the safety standard information SA differs between specifications of the same attribute. In this specification, the "confirmation display AL" is a display that prompts the system user to confirm whether the safety explanation information of the explanation item DE in the instruction manual is accurate (specifically, to compare the safety explanation information with the safety standard information) by calling the system user's attention. The form of the confirmation display AL is not particularly limited as long as it can prompt the system user to confirm whether the safety explanation information of the explanation item DE in the instruction manual is accurate by calling the system user's attention. In this embodiment, the confirmation display AL includes, for example, characters and/or figures that visually call attention. In the example shown in FIG. 6, for example, characters and/or figures that call attention are displayed in a speech bubble as the confirmation display AL. The content of the characters that call attention is not particularly limited, but is, for example, "Please check!", "Caution!", etc. In addition, a color that calls attention, such as yellow or red, can be suitably used for the confirmation display AL. The confirmation display AL can also be a display that includes a reason for encouraging confirmation. For example, the confirmation display AL can be a display such as "Safety information varies depending on the specifications. Please check!", "Safety information varies depending on the weight. Please check!", or "How to use and handle the product varies depending on the weight. Please check!".

In this embodiment, for example, when a component (e.g., a motor) of a mechanical product has multiple specifications with different characteristics (weight, size, material, etc.), the items to be described as safety explanation information may differ depending on the difference in the characteristics. For example, in a mechanical product having a component with a light weight specification, it is sufficient to describe in the explanation item DE that the mechanical product can be carried by hand, whereas in a mechanical product having a component with a heavy weight specification, it may be necessary to describe in the explanation item DE that the mechanical product should be carried using a machine such as heavy machinery or a dedicated tool. In such a case, the control unit 23 controls to output a confirmation display AL. Specifically, for example, in the safety information database 214, safety standard information of components with the same attribute is stored in the safety information database 214 in a state where the safety standard information is grouped according to the difference in the safety standard information. Each group is assigned an identifier (hereinafter also referred to as a group identifier) for identifying the group. In addition, the group identifier includes information on the number of groups according to the grouping. Therefore, when the number of groups is one, the safety standard information SA is common (identical) even if the specifications are different. On the other hand, when there are multiple groups, the safety standard information SA differs between the groups. The safety information database 214 stores, for example, information on the confirmation display AL associated with the group identifier. The control unit 23 displays the confirmation display AL corresponding to the identifier ID specified by inputting the model. Since the safety standard information SA is associated with the identifier ID, when the identifier ID is specified, the control unit 23 identifies the safety standard information SA corresponding to the specified identifier ID. The control unit 23 determines whether the safety standard information SA may differ depending on the specifications based on the group identifier assigned to the safety standard information SA. If the safety standard information SA does not differ depending on the specifications, the control unit 23 does not output the confirmation display AL. On the other hand, if the safety standard information SA differs depending on the specifications, the control unit 23 outputs the confirmation display AL.

In this embodiment, the processing device 2 is configured to output a confirmation display AL to a user (system user) of the instruction manual creation system 1 when (i) the safety standard information is newly stored in the storage unit 21, or (ii) the safety standard information is updated to the content of the additional information. The confirmation display AL can be, for example, a display including a reason for prompting confirmation. For example, the confirmation display AL can be a display such as "Safety regulations have been changed. Please check!" or "There are new points of indication from the product user. Please check!". In this embodiment, for example, the safety standard information SA is stored in the safety information database 214 with information on the version number or number of updates (hereinafter also referred to as version number, etc.) of the safety standard information SA. In addition, the version number of the safety standard information SA includes information indicating what type of content has been added or changed to the safety standard information SA when the version number is counted up. The version number of the safety standard information SA includes, for example, information indicating that the safety standard information SA has had a change in content based on a change in safety regulations, and/or information indicating that the safety standard information SA has had a change in content based on new points of indication from the product user. Therefore, by recognizing the version number, etc., the control unit 23 can recognize that the safety standard information SA has been changed in content based on changes in safety regulations and/or that a new issue has been pointed out by a product user. The control unit 23 periodically reads the version number, etc. of the safety standard information SA to check whether there has been a change in the version number, etc. (for example, a count-up of the version number, etc.). Furthermore, if the control unit 23 determines that there has been a change in the version number, etc., it recognizes what type of content has been added or changed in the safety standard information SA. If the control unit 23 determines that there has been a change in the version number, etc. of the safety standard information SA (for example, a count-up of the version number, etc.), it outputs a confirmation display AL on the display unit 31. The control unit 23 outputs a confirmation display AL according to the content that has been added or changed in the safety standard information SA.

In this embodiment, the processing device 2 is configured to output a confirmation display (not shown) that is a display for prompting a user (system user) of the instruction manual creation system 1 to confirm when an item that should be included in the created instruction manual is missing (dropped out) in the created instruction manual. In this specification, "when an item that should be included in the created instruction manual is missing in the created instruction manual" means, for example, when some of the items that are actually necessary are missing for some reason in the instruction manual created by the creation unit 22 (there is no description of the item IT and the explanatory item DE corresponding to the item IT). In such a case, the necessary item IT and explanatory item DE themselves are missing, which can be a serious defect. In order to eliminate such a defect, in this embodiment, the instruction manual creation system 1 is configured to output a confirmation display for prompting a system user to confirm. The confirmation display can be a display that includes a reason for prompting confirmation. For example, the confirmation display can be a display such as "There is no description of the item XXX and explanatory item. Please check!". In addition, the confirmation display can be placed at the position where the item that is actually necessary is missing in the instruction manual created by the creation unit 22 or in an area corresponding to the position (for example, near the position). If an item that should be included in the created instruction manual is missing (omitted) in the instruction manual, the system user is prompted to check, and the system user will notice the missing item and take the necessary action (adding item IT and explanation item DE), thereby creating an instruction manual that does not omit the necessary item IT and explanation item DE.

In this embodiment, the safety information database 214 stores information on items required for the instruction manual of the mechanical product (hereinafter also referred to as required item information) separately from the above-mentioned item IT. In this specification, "required item information" refers to information on required items that are predetermined, for example, in industrial standards. For example, if the item IT stored in the item database 211 is missing (some required items are not described), some of the items that are actually required will be missing for some reason in the instruction manual created by the creation unit 22. In this embodiment, the control unit 23 refers to the required item information in the safety information database 214 and determines whether an item that should be included in the instruction manual is missing (dropped out) in the created instruction manual. If the control unit 23 determines that an item is missing in the created instruction manual, it outputs a confirmation display (not shown) on the display unit 31. In addition, in this embodiment, each item of the "required item information" is assigned position information indicating the position of the item in the instruction manual. If the control unit 23 determines that an item is missing in the created instruction manual, it identifies the position of the missing item in the instruction manual. The control unit 23 outputs (displays) a confirmation display on the display unit 31 at the position where it is determined that an item in the instruction manual is missing or in an area corresponding to that position.

The instruction manual creation system 1 according to this embodiment may be configured to have the following functions in addition to the above functions. For example, the instruction manual creation system 1 may be configured to display the instruction manual created by the creation unit 22 on the display unit 31 of the terminal device 3, and multiple system users (for example, the creator of the instruction manual and the creator's superior, etc.) may take turns checking the contents of the explanatory items DE, and each person may modify the instruction manual as necessary. The instruction manual creation system 1 may also be configured to store the modification history of each person in the storage unit 21 and display the modification history of each person on the display unit 31. This allows multiple people to check the contents of the instruction manual and create a more accurate instruction manual. The instruction manual creation system 1 may also be configured to store the date and time of each person's modification together with the modification history in the storage unit 21. The instruction manual creation system 1 may also be configured to store the reason for modifying the instruction manual in the storage unit 21 and display the reason for the modification on the display unit 31. The instruction manual creation system 1 may also be configured to distribute the created instruction manual to the terminal device (not shown) of the product user in addition to the system user, so that the product user can view the instruction manual.

Next, an example of the operation of the instruction manual creation system 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. Here, a case will be described in which the machine product for which the system user wishes to create an instruction manual is a pump of a specific specification among a specific type of pump belonging to a pump group. For example, it is assumed that the specific type of pump is a rotary pump of a positive displacement pump, and the specific style of pump is a specific model of rotary pump (having a specific number of motor stages (e.g., 4 stages) and a specific rotor nominal diameter (e.g., 50 mm)) (hereinafter also referred to as the target pump). It is also assumed that a template of the explanation item DE is stored in the explanation item database 212.

First, the terminal device 3 (see FIG. 1) accesses the processing device 2 through the operation of the system user. The control unit 23 (see FIG. 3) of the processing device 2 displays the input format F, an instruction manual creation button BT1, and an instruction manual search button BT2 on the screen 32 of the display unit 31 (see FIG. 2) of the terminal device 3.

The system user inputs a number of identifier IDs constituting the model of the target pump into the input format F. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the identifier ID of a given type of pump (rotary pump) is input into the second field F2 of the input format F, and the identifier IDs of a number of components EL are input into the first fields F1, respectively. When the instruction manual creation button BT1 is operated with the number of identifier IDs constituting the model of the target pump input into the input format F, an instruction to create an instruction manual including the number of identifier IDs is sent from the terminal device 3 to the processing device 2 and input into the creation unit 22 (see FIG. 3).

Based on the multiple identifier IDs that make up the input model, the creation unit 22 refers to the item database 211 (see FIG. 4) and selects multiple item ITs that make up the instruction manual (all item ITs necessary to make up the instruction manual). Specifically, if the input model includes identifier "a1" (see FIG. 4) and identifier "b2", the creation unit 22 selects items "A1", "B1", "C1", and "C3" that correspond to "a1", and items "A1", "B1", "C6", and "C8" that correspond to "b2". Similarly, the creation unit 22 selects multiple item ITs that correspond to all identifier IDs that make up the input model.

The creation unit 22 refers to the explanatory item database 212 (see FIG. 5) based on the selected multiple items IT, extracts corresponding explanatory items DE, and creates an instruction manual based on the selected multiple items IT and the extracted explanatory items DE. Specifically, the creation unit 22 refers to the explanatory item database 212 based on the selected multiple items IT, extracts a template for the corresponding explanatory items DE, and creates a draft instruction manual, which is a data file in which the selected multiple items IT and the extracted explanatory items DE are combined in a predetermined order based on the template for the selected multiple items IT and the extracted explanatory items DE. This creates a draft instruction manual for a pump that corresponds to the model desired by the system user.

The creation unit 22 stores the created draft of the instruction manual in an area of the memory unit 21 that corresponds to the instruction manual database 213. The control unit 23 automatically, or in response to a display instruction from the terminal device 3 operated by the system user, causes the display unit 31 of the terminal device 3 to display the draft of the instruction manual stored in the area of the memory unit 21 that corresponds to the instruction manual database 213.

In response to the input of the model, the control unit 23 outputs the safety standard information SA corresponding to the identifier ID constituting the input model to the display unit 31 of the terminal device 3 (see FIG. 6). Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the safety standard information SA is displayed on the display unit 31 of the terminal device 3 alongside the draft text of the instruction manual. In addition, when the safety standard information SA differs depending on the specifications, the control unit 23 outputs a confirmation display AL to the display unit 31 of the terminal device 3 to prompt the system user to confirm (see FIG. 6). Specifically, for example, the confirmation display AL is displayed at a position corresponding to the safety standard information SA (for example, near the information SA). The system user compares the explanation item DE in the instruction manual with the safety standard information SA to which the confirmation display AL is attached. This allows the system user to confirm whether the safety explanation information in the explanation item DE of the instruction manual is correct. For example, if the safety explanation information in the explanation item DE of the instruction manual is incorrect, the description of the instruction manual can be corrected as follows.

A correction instruction including the correction content made by the system user is transmitted from the terminal device 3 to the creation unit 22 and input to the creation unit 22. The creation unit 22 corrects and updates the draft text of the instruction manual stored in the instruction manual database 213 in response to the input correction instruction. The creation unit 22 displays the corrected draft text of the instruction manual stored in the instruction manual database 213 on the display unit 31 of the terminal device 3 automatically, or in response to a display instruction from the terminal device 3 operated by the system user. This allows the creation unit 22 to create a highly complete instruction manual and provide the created highly complete instruction manual to the system user.

The instruction manual creation method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, again with reference to Figures 1 to 8. The instruction manual creation method of this embodiment can be implemented using the instruction manual creation system 1 described above, or can be implemented using a system or device other than the instruction manual creation system 1 described above. Below, a case where the instruction manual creation method is implemented using the instruction manual creation system 1 described above will be described. Note that the instruction manual creation method described below is merely one example, and the instruction manual creation method of the present invention is not limited to the following example.

The instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment is a method for creating an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which there may be multiple types of mechanical products with different specifications, based on the model of the mechanical product. Furthermore, the instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment is a method for creating an instruction manual that corresponds to the model desired by the system user.

In the instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment, the group of mechanical products includes multiple mechanical products in which the specifications of at least some of the multiple components that make up the mechanical products are different from each other. In addition, the model of the mechanical product is composed of multiple identifiers IDs, each of which indicates the specifications of one of the multiple components.

In the instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment, a plurality of items IT (see FIG. 4) in which the description items of the instruction manual are itemized and described, an item database 211 (see FIG. 3) in which identifiers IDs are associated, and an explanation item database 212 containing explanation items DE (see FIG. 5) corresponding to each of the plurality of items IT are prepared (preparation step). Specifically, for example, the item database 211 and the explanation item database 212 illustrated in FIG. 4 are stored in the storage unit 21.

The multiple item ITs in the item database 211 (see FIG. 4) include items corresponding to multiple mechanical products and multiple components that make up a mechanical product group. The item database 211 associates multiple identifier IDs that correspond to multiple components of multiple mechanical products that make up a mechanical product group with which items among the multiple item ITs are required for the instruction manual.

In addition, in the instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment, a screen 32 (see FIG. 2) that is visible to the system user is displayed on the display unit 31 (display step). Specifically, for example, the control unit 23 (see FIG. 3) of the instruction manual creation system 1 causes the display unit 31 to display a screen 32 (see FIG. 2) that is visible to the system user. The control unit 23 (see FIG. 3) causes the display unit 31 to display a screen 32 having an input format F (see FIG. 2) that allows the system user to input the identifier ID of the mechanical product for each component of the mechanical product. In this embodiment, the input format F has options for the identifier ID for each component of the mechanical product, and is configured to allow the system user to select an identifier ID from the options.

In addition, in the instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment, a model number is input, and an instruction manual is created based on the input model number (creation step). Specifically, for example, a model number of a mechanical product is input into an input format F (see FIG. 2) displayed on the display unit 31 of the instruction manual creation system 1, and an instruction manual is created based on the input model number. More specifically, the creation unit 22 (see FIG. 3) of the instruction manual creation system 1 refers to the item database 211 based on the multiple identifiers IDs constituting the input model number, selects multiple items IT (see FIG. 4) constituting the instruction manual, and refers to the explanation database 212 (see FIG. 5) based on the selected multiple items IT to extract the corresponding explanation items DE. Furthermore, the creation unit 22 creates an instruction manual, which is a data file in which the selected multiple items IT and the extracted explanation items DE are combined in a predetermined order, based on the selected multiple items IT and the extracted explanation items DE.

In addition, in the instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment, in response to input of the model, safety standard information SA corresponding to the identifier ID constituting the input model is output to the display unit 31 of the terminal device 3 (safety information output step, see FIG. 6). In addition, in the instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment, if the safety standard information SA differs depending on the specifications, a confirmation display AL that prompts the system user to confirm is output to the display unit 31 of the terminal device 3 (confirmation display step, see FIG. 6).

In addition, in the instruction manual creation method according to the present embodiment, the explanatory items DE of the created instruction manual are modified in accordance with the inputted modification instructions (modification step). The explanatory items DE include templates of explanatory items. Based on the selected items, the explanatory items database 211 is referenced to extract a template of the corresponding explanatory items DE, and a draft of the instruction manual is created based on the selected items IT and the template of the extracted explanatory items DE. Specifically, for example, the creation unit 23 (see FIG. 3) modifies the explanatory items DE of the created instruction manual in accordance with the inputted modification instructions. Based on the selected items IT, the creation unit 23 refers to the explanatory items database 212 to extract a template of the corresponding explanatory items DE. Based on the selected items IT, the creation unit 23 creates a draft of the instruction manual based on the selected items IT and the template of the extracted explanatory items DE. Furthermore, the creation unit 23 modifies the draft of the created instruction manual in accordance with the inputted modification instructions.

The computer program according to this embodiment is configured to cause a computer to execute the instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment. Specifically, the computer program according to this embodiment is configured to cause a computer to execute the above-mentioned preparation step and creation step. The computer program according to this embodiment is further configured to cause a computer to execute the above-mentioned display step. The computer program according to this embodiment is further configured to cause a computer to execute the above-mentioned correction step.

The computer program is stored in the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium (storage unit) 21. The control unit 23 reads the computer program and data in the database 210 from the storage unit 21 as necessary, and executes the computer program to perform the processing of each of the above-mentioned steps.

The database 210 is referenced by a computer when the computer creates an instruction manual for at least one of a group of mechanical products, which may include multiple types of mechanical products with different specifications, based on the model of the mechanical product. In this embodiment, the computer that references the database 210 is, for example, the creation unit 22 and the control unit 23. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 3, the database 210 and the computer that references the database 210 (for example, the creation unit 22 and the control unit 23) are provided in a common processing unit 2, but this is not limited to this. For example, the database 210 and the computer that references the database 210 may each be provided in separate devices connected via a network (for example, the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network)).

As described above, the creation unit 22 (see FIG. 3) of the instruction manual creation system 1 according to this embodiment is configured to create an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which there may be multiple types of mechanical products with different specifications, based on the mechanical product model (the model is composed of multiple identifier IDs (see FIG. 4) each of which indicates one specification among multiple components) input to the creation unit 22. That is, the creation unit 22 creates an instruction manual for a mechanical product corresponding to a model (multiple identifier IDs) specified by the system user. Therefore, the system user only needs to input (for example, input into the input format F shown in FIG. 2) the model (multiple identifier IDs) of the mechanical product for which the system user wishes to create an instruction manual, and the creation unit 22 can easily and quickly (efficiently) create an instruction manual for the mechanical product corresponding to the desired model. In addition, the system user can arbitrarily combine the identifier IDs stored in the storage unit 21 (the identifier IDs are stored in association with the items IT (see FIG. 4) of the instruction manual in the item database 211 and the explanatory items DE (see FIG. 5) of the instruction manual in the explanatory item database 212) and specify any model. This allows the creation unit 22 to create instruction manuals for various types of mechanical products with different specifications. In addition, the multiple item ITs in the item database 211 (see FIG. 4) include item ITs corresponding to multiple mechanical products and multiple components that constitute a mechanical product group, and the item database 211 (see FIG. 4) stores which of the multiple item ITs are necessary for the instruction manual in association with multiple identifier IDs corresponding to multiple components of multiple mechanical products that constitute a mechanical product group (see the symbol "O" in FIG. 4). Therefore, the system user only needs to input the model (plurality of identifiers IDs) of the machine product for which the user's manual is to be created (for example, inputting the model into the input format F shown in FIG. 2), and the creation unit 22 can extract the items IT and explanatory items DE required for creating the instruction manual for the machine product corresponding to the desired model from the item database 211 and the explanatory items DE, respectively, and create the instruction manual for the machine product corresponding to the desired model based on the extracted items IT and explanatory items DE. Therefore, the system user only needs to input the desired model to create an accurate instruction manual corresponding to the model. This makes it possible to prevent the creation of inaccurate handling instructions due to oversight or misprinting of items. In addition, in this embodiment, when there is a legal amendment to the safety regulations or a new indication from the product user, the safety standard information SA corresponding to the identifier ID that is adapted to such legal amendment or new indication can be output. Therefore, the system user can check whether the safety explanation information in the explanatory items DE of the instruction manual is accurate so as to adapt to such legal amendment or new indication. If the safety explanation information in the explanatory items DE of the instruction manual is not accurate, the instruction manual can be revised. Therefore, by handling the mechanical product while looking at the instruction manual for the mechanical product created using the instruction manual creation system 1 for the mechanical product according to this embodiment, the product user can handle the mechanical product safely. In this way, from the perspective of the system user, the instruction manual creation system 1 for the mechanical product according to this embodiment can increase the efficiency of creating instruction manuals for various types of mechanical products with different specifications, and can also increase the accuracy of the creation of the instruction manuals. Furthermore, from the perspective of the product user, the safety of handling the mechanical product can be increased by looking at an instruction manual that accurately matches the specifications. Furthermore, the instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment can achieve the same effects as the instruction manual creation system 1.

In addition, in large modules such as machinery products (industrial machinery) used in the industrial field, the impact and damage to workers due to appearance risks, operational risks, and accidents caused by operational errors and carelessness are serious. The instruction manual for a machinery product contains a huge amount of information and configuration data such as items and explanations to avoid such problems, such as operation instructions, operation procedures, and cautions (risk information), and there are rules and restrictions on how to write such information required by international standards and JIS standards linked to safety directives for machinery products. In the past, instruction manuals for such important machinery products were not created with accurate descriptions, and product users who handled the machinery products while looking at such incomplete instruction manuals faced a major risk problem. In addition, if information on how to deal with malfunctions of various components of the machinery product (cleaning, inspection, part replacement, repair, etc.), troubleshooting, FAQs, and other safety information on the life cycle of the machinery product are included, the instruction manual would be a huge number of pages, so it was previously difficult to accurately create such a machinery product instruction manual.

In addition, in general, at the development and design sites of machine products by system users (e.g., machine manufacturers), various creation tools are used to create instruction manuals that include instructions for correct operation of the machine product and cautions consisting of instruction and warning sentences to avoid product risks. However, machine products are composed of various components (e.g., parts and units) with different functions, and system users also develop many series of machine products with the same attributes (categories). Furthermore, machine products composed of models have various specifications (variations) due to differences in size, weight, and external shape, and even when it comes to how to transport a machine product, there are light models that can be carried by hand and heavy models that must be moved by a crane, and each operation explanation can have a wide variety of operation procedures and cautions (instruction and warning information), so establishing a method for creating instruction manuals for machine products and creating instruction manuals for machine products have been very difficult. For example, if the specifications of the components are different, the weight of the machine product will also be different (for example, if the dimensions of the components (e.g., the rotor diameter) are small, the machine product will be light, but if the dimensions of the components are large, the machine product will be heavy). In such cases, in addition to one item based on the specifications (differences in handling due to differences in the dimensions of the components), other items related to safety, such as transportation methods due to differences in weight, may be required. Also, if the specifications of the components differ, multiple items may be required in addition to one item. Also, if a person creates an instruction manual by referring to a past instruction manual, they may not notice safety issues arising from differences in specifications (for example, they may not notice differences in transportation methods due to differences in rotor diameters), and items in the instruction manual may be missing. Also, even if one item is corrected, if two or more items are required for that specification, there is a possibility that the item may be forgotten to be included in the instruction manual. Also, even if care is taken when creating the instruction manual, the instruction manual may end up with explanations about various specifications written side by side (for example, descriptions about multiple rotors with different diameters written side by side). In other words, when creating an instruction manual that can be used for various models of mechanical products, the instruction manual ends up with a mixture of unnecessary items for product users, which is very difficult to read and may lead to misidentification of the parts that should be looked at.

In contrast, as described above, the instruction manual creation system 1 according to this embodiment can improve the efficiency and accuracy of creating instruction manuals for various types of mechanical products with different specifications, and the safety of handling the mechanical products. Moreover, it is possible to avoid including descriptions that are unnecessary for product users (items and explanations corresponding to unnecessary specifications), and the efficiency and accuracy of creating the instruction manual can be ensured even if a large amount of description is included. Therefore, the instruction manual creation system 1 according to this embodiment can solve the above-mentioned problems of risk and difficulty in creating instruction manuals. Furthermore, the instruction manual creation method according to this embodiment can achieve the same effects as the instruction manual creation system 1.

1 Instruction manual creation system 2 Processing device 2A Server device (application server)
2B Server device (database server)
21 Computer-readable storage medium (storage unit)
210 Database 211 Item database 212 Explanation item database 213 Instruction manual database 214 Safety information database 22 Creation unit 23 Control unit 3 Client terminal device (terminal device)
31 Display unit 32 Screen 4 Network AL Confirmation display BT1 Instruction manual creation button BT2 Instruction manual search button DE Explanation item EL Component F Input format F1 First area F2 Second area ID Identifier IT Item SA Safety standard information

Claims (10)

An instruction manual creation system comprising: a storage unit in which a database used for creating an instruction manual is stored; and a processing unit that creates an instruction manual based on the database stored in the storage unit,
The database includes:
A database referred to by the processing unit when the processing unit creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which a plurality of types of mechanical products having different specifications may exist, based on a model of the mechanical product,
The group of mechanical products includes a plurality of mechanical products in which specifications of at least some of a plurality of components constituting the mechanical products are different from each other,
the type is composed of a plurality of identifiers each indicating a specification of one of a plurality of components;
The database includes:
The database includes an item database in which the description items in the instruction manual are itemized and associated with the identifier, and an explanation item database including explanation items corresponding to each of the plurality of items,
The plurality of items in the item database include items corresponding to the plurality of mechanical products and the plurality of components constituting the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the plurality of items is necessary for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifiers corresponding to the plurality of components of the plurality of mechanical products constituting the mechanical product group,
The processing unit includes:
selecting a plurality of items constituting the instruction manual by referring to the item database based on a plurality of identifiers constituting the input model, extracting corresponding explanatory matters by referring to the explanatory matter database based on the selected plurality of items, and creating the instruction manual which is a data file in which the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters ;
The explanation includes safety explanation information, which is information regarding the safety of the specification,
The instruction manual creation system includes a storage unit that stores, in addition to the safety instruction information, safety standard information that corresponds to the identifier and serves as a standard for the safety of the specification,
The processing unit is configured to output, in response to an input of the type, the safety standard information corresponding to the identifier constituting the input type,
The safety standard information is associated with the safety explanation information via the identifier,
The processing unit is configured to output the created instruction manual,
The processing unit is configured to output the safety standard information and the instruction manual in a manner in which the safety standard information and the safety explanation information are associated with each other based on the identifier,
The processing unit is configured to output a confirmation display for prompting a user of the instruction manual creation system to confirm the safety standard information when the safety standard information differs between the specifications of the same attribute,
The confirmation display is associated with the safety standard information via the identifier;
the processing unit is configured to output the confirmation display and the safety standard information in a manner in which the confirmation display and the safety standard information are associated with each other based on the identifier.
Instruction manual creation system. An instruction manual creation system comprising: a storage unit in which a database used for creating an instruction manual is stored; and a processing unit that creates an instruction manual based on the database stored in the storage unit,
The database includes:
A database referred to by the processing unit when the processing unit creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which a plurality of types of mechanical products having different specifications may exist, based on a model of the mechanical product,
The group of mechanical products includes a plurality of mechanical products in which specifications of at least some of a plurality of components constituting the mechanical products are different from each other,
the type is composed of a plurality of identifiers each indicating a specification of one of a plurality of components;
The database includes:
The database includes an item database in which the description items in the instruction manual are itemized and associated with the identifier, and an explanation item database including explanation items corresponding to each of the plurality of items,
The plurality of items in the item database include items corresponding to the plurality of mechanical products and the plurality of components constituting the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the plurality of items is necessary for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifiers corresponding to the plurality of components of the plurality of mechanical products constituting the mechanical product group,
The processing unit includes:
selecting a plurality of items constituting the instruction manual by referring to the item database based on a plurality of identifiers constituting the input model, extracting corresponding explanatory matters by referring to the explanatory matter database based on the selected plurality of items, and creating the instruction manual which is a data file in which the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters;
The explanation includes safety explanation information, which is information regarding the safety of the specification,
The instruction manual creation system includes a storage unit that stores, in addition to the safety instruction information, safety standard information that corresponds to the identifier and serves as a standard for the safety of the specification,
The processing unit is configured to output, in response to an input of the type, the safety standard information corresponding to the identifier constituting the input type,
The safety standard information is associated with the safety explanation information via the identifier,
The processing unit is configured to output the created instruction manual,
The processing unit is configured to output the safety standard information and the instruction manual in a manner in which the safety standard information and the safety explanation information are associated with each other based on the identifier,
the instruction manual creation system is configured to receive additional information, which is new safety standard information, by input from an external source, and to store the additional information in the storage unit in association with the identifier;
The processing unit is configured to update the safety standard information to the content of the additional information,
the processing unit is configured to output a confirmation display for prompting a user of the instruction manual creation system to confirm the safety standard information when (i) the safety standard information is newly stored in the storage unit, or (ii) the safety standard information is updated to the content of the additional information,
The confirmation display is associated with the safety standard information via the identifier,
The processing unit is configured to output the confirmation display in a manner associated with the safety standard information based on the identifier.
Instruction manual creation system. The instruction manual creation system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing unit outputs a display to prompt a user of the instruction manual creation system to confirm if an item that should be included in the created instruction manual is missing from the created instruction manual. 2. The instruction manual creation system according to claim 1 , wherein the safety information includes safety precautions regarding use and/or handling of a mechanical product. A server device including: a storage unit in which a database used for creating an instruction manual is stored; and a processing unit that creates an instruction manual based on the database stored in the storage unit,
The database includes:
A database referred to by the processing unit when the processing unit creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which a plurality of types of mechanical products having different specifications may exist, based on a model of the mechanical product,
The group of mechanical products includes a plurality of mechanical products in which specifications of at least some of a plurality of components constituting the mechanical products are different from each other,
the type is composed of a plurality of identifiers each indicating a specification of one of a plurality of components;
The database includes:
The database includes an item database in which the description items in the instruction manual are itemized and associated with the identifier, and an explanation item database including explanation items corresponding to each of the plurality of items,
The plurality of items in the item database include items corresponding to the plurality of mechanical products and the plurality of components constituting the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the plurality of items is necessary for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifiers corresponding to the plurality of components of the plurality of mechanical products constituting the mechanical product group,
The processing unit includes:
selecting a plurality of items constituting the instruction manual by referring to the item database based on a plurality of identifiers constituting the input model, extracting corresponding explanatory matters by referring to the explanatory matter database based on the selected plurality of items, creating the instruction manual which is a data file in which the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters, and transmitting the created instruction manual to a terminal device connected to the server device ;
The explanation includes safety explanation information, which is information regarding the safety of the specification,
the server device includes a storage unit that stores, in addition to the safety explanation information, safety standard information that corresponds to the identifier and serves as a standard for the safety of the specification;
The processing unit is configured to output, in response to an input of the type, the safety standard information corresponding to the identifier constituting the input type,
The safety standard information is associated with the safety explanation information via the identifier,
The processing unit is configured to output the created instruction manual,
The processing unit is configured to output the safety standard information and the instruction manual in a manner in which the safety standard information and the safety explanation information are associated with each other based on the identifier,
the processing unit is configured to, when the safety standard information differs between the specifications having the same attribute, output a confirmation display to prompt a user of the server device to confirm the safety standard information;
The confirmation display is associated with the safety standard information via the identifier;
the processing unit is configured to output the confirmation indication and the safety standard information in a manner in which the confirmation indication and the safety standard information are associated with each other based on the identifier.
Server device. A server device including: a storage unit in which a database used for creating an instruction manual is stored; and a processing unit that creates an instruction manual based on the database stored in the storage unit,
The database includes:
A database referred to by the processing unit when the processing unit creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which a plurality of types of mechanical products having different specifications may exist, based on a model of the mechanical product,
The group of mechanical products includes a plurality of mechanical products in which specifications of at least some of a plurality of components constituting the mechanical products are different from each other,
the type is composed of a plurality of identifiers each indicating a specification of one of a plurality of components;
The database includes:
The database includes an item database in which the description items in the instruction manual are itemized and associated with the identifier, and an explanation item database including explanation items corresponding to each of the plurality of items,
The plurality of items in the item database include items corresponding to the plurality of mechanical products and the plurality of components constituting the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the plurality of items is necessary for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifiers corresponding to the plurality of components of the plurality of mechanical products constituting the mechanical product group,
The processing unit includes:
selecting a plurality of items constituting the instruction manual by referring to the item database based on a plurality of identifiers constituting the input model, extracting corresponding explanatory matters by referring to the explanatory matter database based on the selected plurality of items, creating the instruction manual which is a data file in which the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters, and transmitting the created instruction manual to a terminal device connected to the server device;
The explanation includes safety explanation information, which is information regarding the safety of the specification,
the server device includes a storage unit that stores, in addition to the safety explanation information, safety standard information that corresponds to the identifier and serves as a standard for the safety of the specification;
The processing unit is configured to output, in response to an input of the type, the safety standard information corresponding to the identifier constituting the input type,
The safety standard information is associated with the safety explanation information via the identifier,
The processing unit is configured to output the created instruction manual,
The processing unit is configured to output the safety standard information and the instruction manual in a manner in which the safety standard information and the safety explanation information are associated with each other based on the identifier,
the server device is configured to receive additional information, which is new safety standard information, by input from an external source, and to store the additional information in the storage unit in association with the identifier;
The processing unit is configured to update the safety standard information to the content of the additional information,
the processing unit is configured to output a confirmation display for prompting a user of the server device to confirm the safety standard information when (i) the safety standard information is newly stored in the storage unit, or (ii) the safety standard information is updated to the content of the additional information;
The confirmation display is associated with the safety standard information via the identifier,
The processing unit is configured to output the confirmation display in a manner associated with the safety standard information based on the identifier.
Server device. A server device having a storage unit in which a database used for creating an instruction manual is stored,
the server device is communicably connected to a processing unit that creates an instruction manual based on the database stored in the storage unit;
The database includes:
A database referred to by the processing unit when the processing unit creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which a plurality of types of mechanical products having different specifications may exist, based on a model of the mechanical product,
The group of mechanical products includes a plurality of mechanical products in which specifications of at least some of a plurality of components constituting the mechanical products are different from each other,
the type is composed of a plurality of identifiers each indicating a specification of one of a plurality of components;
The database includes:
The database includes an item database in which the description items in the instruction manual are itemized and associated with the identifier, and an explanation item database including explanation items corresponding to each of the plurality of items,
The plurality of items in the item database include items corresponding to the plurality of mechanical products and the plurality of components constituting the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the plurality of items is necessary for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifiers corresponding to the plurality of components of the plurality of mechanical products constituting the mechanical product group,
The database includes:
The processing unit refers to the item database and selects a plurality of items constituting the instruction manual based on a plurality of identifiers constituting the model input to the processing unit, and the processing unit refers to the explanation database and extracts corresponding explanations based on the selected plurality of items, and the processing unit creates the instruction manual, which is a data file in which the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanations are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanations ,
The explanation includes safety explanation information, which is information regarding the safety of the specification,
the server device includes a storage unit that stores, in addition to the safety explanation information, safety standard information that corresponds to the identifier and serves as a standard for the safety of the specification;
The processing unit is configured to output, in response to an input of the type, the safety standard information corresponding to the identifier constituting the input type,
The safety standard information is associated with the safety explanation information via the identifier,
The processing unit is configured to output the created instruction manual,
The processing unit is configured to output the safety standard information and the instruction manual in a manner in which the safety standard information and the safety explanation information are associated with each other based on the identifier,
the processing unit is configured to, when the safety standard information differs between the specifications having the same attribute, output a confirmation display to prompt a user of the processing unit to confirm the safety standard information;
The confirmation display is associated with the safety standard information via the identifier;
the processing unit is configured to output the confirmation display and the safety standard information in a manner in which the confirmation display and the safety standard information are associated with each other based on the identifier.
Server device. A server device having a storage unit in which a database used for creating an instruction manual is stored,
the server device is communicably connected to a processing unit that creates an instruction manual based on the database stored in the storage unit;
The database includes:
A database referred to by the processing unit when the processing unit creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which a plurality of types of mechanical products having different specifications may exist, based on a model of the mechanical product,
The group of mechanical products includes a plurality of mechanical products in which specifications of at least some of a plurality of components constituting the mechanical products are different from each other,
the type is composed of a plurality of identifiers each indicating a specification of one of a plurality of components;
The database includes:
The database includes an item database in which the description items in the instruction manual are itemized and associated with the identifier, and an explanation item database including explanation items corresponding to each of the plurality of items,
The plurality of items in the item database include items corresponding to the plurality of mechanical products and the plurality of components constituting the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the plurality of items is necessary for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifiers corresponding to the plurality of components of the plurality of mechanical products constituting the mechanical product group,
The database includes:
The processing unit refers to the item database and selects a plurality of items constituting the instruction manual based on a plurality of identifiers constituting the model input to the processing unit, and the processing unit refers to the explanation database and extracts corresponding explanations based on the selected plurality of items, and the processing unit creates the instruction manual, which is a data file in which the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanations are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanations,
The explanation includes safety explanation information, which is information regarding the safety of the specification,
the server device includes a storage unit that stores, in addition to the safety explanation information, safety standard information that corresponds to the identifier and serves as a standard for the safety of the specification;
The processing unit is configured to output, in response to an input of the type, the safety standard information corresponding to the identifier constituting the input type,
The safety standard information is associated with the safety explanation information via the identifier,
The processing unit is configured to output the created instruction manual,
The processing unit is configured to output the safety standard information and the instruction manual in a manner in which the safety standard information and the safety explanation information are associated with each other based on the identifier,
the server device is configured to receive additional information, which is new safety standard information, by input from an external source, and to store the additional information in the storage unit in association with the identifier;
The processing unit is configured to update the safety standard information to the content of the additional information,
the processing unit is configured to output a confirmation display for prompting a user of the processing unit to confirm the safety standard information when (i) the safety standard information is newly stored in the storage unit, or (ii) the safety standard information is updated to the content of the additional information,
The confirmation display is associated with the safety standard information via the identifier,
The processing unit is configured to output the confirmation display in a manner associated with the safety standard information based on the identifier.
Server device. A method for creating an instruction manual by a computer based on a database used for creating the instruction manual, comprising the steps of:
The database includes:
A database referred to by a computer when the computer creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which a plurality of types of mechanical products having different specifications are present, based on a model of the mechanical product,
The group of mechanical products includes a plurality of mechanical products in which specifications of at least some of a plurality of components constituting the mechanical products are different from each other,
the type is composed of a plurality of identifiers each indicating a specification of one of a plurality of components;
The database includes:
The database includes an item database in which the description items in the instruction manual are itemized and associated with the identifier, and an explanation item database including explanation items corresponding to each of the plurality of items,
The plurality of items in the item database include items corresponding to the plurality of mechanical products and the plurality of components constituting the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the plurality of items is necessary for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifiers corresponding to the plurality of components of the plurality of mechanical products constituting the mechanical product group,
The computer includes:
selecting a plurality of items constituting the instruction manual by referring to the item database based on a plurality of identifiers constituting the input model, extracting corresponding explanatory matters by referring to the explanatory matter database based on the selected plurality of items, and creating the instruction manual which is a data file in which the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters ;
The explanation includes safety explanation information, which is information regarding the safety of the specification,
The database includes a storage unit that stores, in addition to the safety instruction information, safety standard information that corresponds to the identifier and serves as a standard for the safety of the specification,
The computer is configured to output, in response to an input of the model, the safety standard information corresponding to the identifier constituting the input model,
The safety standard information is associated with the safety explanation information via the identifier,
The computer is configured to output the created instruction manual,
the computer is configured to output the safety standard information and the instruction manual in a manner in which the safety standard information and the safety explanation information are associated with each other based on the identifier;
the computer is configured to, when the safety standard information differs between the specifications of the same attribute, output a confirmation display to prompt a user of the computer to confirm the safety standard information;
The confirmation display is associated with the safety standard information via the identifier;
the computer is configured to output the confirmation display and the safety standard information in a manner in which the confirmation display and the safety standard information are associated with each other based on the identifier.
How to create an instruction manual. A method for creating an instruction manual by a computer based on a database used for creating the instruction manual, comprising the steps of:
The database includes:
A database referred to by a computer when the computer creates an instruction manual for at least one mechanical product among a group of mechanical products in which a plurality of types of mechanical products having different specifications are present, based on a model of the mechanical product,
The group of mechanical products includes a plurality of mechanical products in which specifications of at least some of a plurality of components constituting the mechanical products are different from each other,
the type is composed of a plurality of identifiers each indicating a specification of one of a plurality of components;
The database includes:
The database includes an item database in which the description items in the instruction manual are itemized and associated with the identifier, and an explanation item database including explanation items corresponding to each of the plurality of items,
The plurality of items in the item database include items corresponding to the plurality of mechanical products and the plurality of components constituting the mechanical product group, and the item database associates which of the plurality of items is necessary for the instruction manual with a plurality of identifiers corresponding to the plurality of components of the plurality of mechanical products constituting the mechanical product group,
The computer includes:
selecting a plurality of items constituting the instruction manual by referring to the item database based on a plurality of identifiers constituting the input model, extracting corresponding explanatory matters by referring to the explanatory matter database based on the selected plurality of items, and creating the instruction manual which is a data file in which the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters are combined in a predetermined order based on the selected plurality of items and the extracted explanatory matters;
The explanation includes safety explanation information, which is information regarding the safety of the specification,
The database includes a storage unit that stores, in addition to the safety instruction information, safety standard information that corresponds to the identifier and serves as a standard for the safety of the specification,
The computer is configured to output, in response to an input of the model, the safety standard information corresponding to the identifier constituting the input model,
The safety standard information is associated with the safety explanation information via the identifier,
The computer is configured to output the created instruction manual,
the computer is configured to output the safety standard information and the instruction manual in a manner in which the safety standard information and the safety explanation information are associated with each other based on the identifier;
the computer is configured to receive additional information, which is new safety standard information, by input from an external source, and to store the additional information in the storage unit in association with the identifier;
The computer is configured to update the safety standard information with the content of the additional information;
the computer is configured to output a confirmation display for prompting a user of the computer to confirm the safety standard information when (i) the safety standard information is newly stored in the storage unit, or (ii) the safety standard information is updated with the content of the additional information;
The confirmation display is associated with the safety standard information via the identifier,
The computer is configured to output the confirmation display in a manner associated with the safety standard information based on the identifier.
How to create an instruction manual.

Images