US7024433B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Parts design change supporting system, program, and recording medium
Assignee: Ricoh Co Ltd
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Filing: 2002-10-24
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Granted: 2006-04-04
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Expires: 2022-10-24
Abstract
Abstract In order to support a system of changing a design of a parts constituting a product, both a parts composition information database for storing and supervising parts compositions of various products, and a related section information database for storing various sections and/or persons in charge of assessing design change capability in connection with the product are provided. Information of design change objective is input so as to retrieve and specify one or more products employing the design change parts from the parts composition information database in accordance with the input parts information. In accordance with the specified product, the related section information database is retrieved so as to select sections and/or persons. A request for assessing the parts design change capability is electronically transmitted to the selected one or more sections and/or persons. Plural assessment resultants are received from the assessment requesting destinations so as to determine if a formal design change instruction can be released.
Inventors
- 👤 Shuko Arai
- 👤 Makoto Moriguchi
- 👤 Hiroshi Ohno
- 👤 Yumiko Hayashi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 13:24
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F30/00; G06F2111/00; G06F2111/02; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99944; Y10S707/99945; Y10S707/99951; Y10S707/99952; Y10S707/99954
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
293 words
A design change supporting system for supporting a system of changing a design of one or more parts constituting a product, said design change supporting system comprising: a parts composition information database configured to store and supervise various parts compositions of various products; a related section information database configured to store various sections and/or persons in charge of assessing capability of design change in connection with a product; a change parts information inputting device configured to input information related to design change objective parts; a product specifying device configured to retrieve and specify one or more products employing design change parts from the parts composition information database in accordance with input parts information; an assessment destination selecting device configured to retrieve and/or select one or more sections and persons from the related section information database in accordance with a specified product; a transmitting device configured to electronically transmit a request for assessment of a design change capability to the one or more sections and persons selected by the assessment destination selecting device; and a reception device configured to receive resultant of the capability assessment from the one or more sections and/or persons so as to determine if a formal design change instruction can be released, wherein said assessment destination selecting device inhibits a designer from arbitrarily changing the sections and/or persons retrieved from the related section information database in accordance with the specified product, and wherein said related section information database stores one or more sections and/or parsons who totally assess inconsistent design change inspection resultants in connection with the product, and said transmitting device selects and transmits inconsistent inspection resultants to the one or more sections and/or parsons when the assessment resultants received by the reception device are inconsistent with each other.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
293 words
A design change supporting system for supporting a system of changing a design of one or more parts constituting a product, said design change supporting system comprising: a parts composition information database configured to store and supervise various parts compositions of various products; a related section information database configured to store various sections and/or persons in charge of assessing capability of design change in connection with a product; a change parts information inputting device configured to input information related to design change objective parts; a product specifying device configured to retrieve and specify one or more products employing design change parts from the parts composition information database in accordance with input parts information; an assessment destination selecting device configured to retrieve and/or select one or more sections and persons from the related section information database in accordance with a specified product; a transmitting device configured to electronically transmit a request for assessment of a design change capability to the one or more sections and persons selected by the assessment destination selecting device; and a reception device configured to receive resultant of the capability assessment from the one or more sections and/or persons so as to determine if a formal design change instruction can be released, wherein said assessment destination selecting device inhibits a designer from arbitrarily changing the sections and/or persons retrieved from the related section information database in accordance with the specified product, and wherein said related section information database stores one or more sections and/or parsons who totally assess inconsistent design change inspection resultants in connection with the product, and said transmitting device selects and transmits inconsistent inspection resultants to the one or more sections and/or parsons when the assessment resultants received by the reception device are inconsistent with each other.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
42 words
The design change supporting system according to claim 1 , wherein said assessment is performed with regard to assembling, processing, servicing performances, conformity to a standard, and necessity of approval from a product OEM product providing destination in connection with the product.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
111 words
The design change supporting system according to claim 1 , further comprising: a drawing database configured to separately store both before and after design changed drawings in connection with a product; one or more terminal computers adapted to be operated by the one or more sections and/or persons, said one or more terminal computers including a display adapted to display information; and a display control device configured to display both the before and after design changed drawings on a screen of the display when both the before and after design changed drawings are read from the drawing database in accordance with an instruction from the one or more sections and/or persons.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
The design change supporting system according to claim 3 , wherein said display is performed by displaying a design changed drawing with a design changed portion being prominently emphasized while being superimposed on or below the before design changed drawing.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
257 words
A design change supporting system, comprising: a changing parts information input device for receiving information relating to a part subject to a design change; a product specifying device in electronic communication with the changing parts information input device, the product specifying device having a parts composition information database in electronic communication therewith for storing parts compositions for at least one product, the product specifying device configured to retrieve and specify one or more products employing a design change part from the parts composition information database in accordance with a changing parts information input; an assessment destination selection device for receiving input from the product specifying device, having a related section information database for storing information relating to design change assessment; a transmitting device for electronically transmitting a request for assessment of a design change to at least one section and/or persons selected by the assessment destination selection device; and a reception device for receiving a capability assessment from the section and/or persons selected by the assessment destination selection device, wherein said assessment destination selection device inhibits a designer from arbitrarily changing the section and/or persons retrieved from the related section information database in accordance with a specified product, and wherein said related section information database stores one or more sections and/or parsons who totally assess inconsistent design change inspection resultants in connection with the product, and said transmitting device selects and transmits inconsistent inspection resultants to the one or more sections and/or parsons when the assessment resultants received by the reception device are inconsistent with each other.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
257 words
A design change supporting system, comprising: a changing parts information input device for receiving information relating to a part subject to a design change; a product specifying device in electronic communication with the changing parts information input device, the product specifying device having a parts composition information database in electronic communication therewith for storing parts compositions for at least one product, the product specifying device configured to retrieve and specify one or more products employing a design change part from the parts composition information database in accordance with a changing parts information input; an assessment destination selection device for receiving input from the product specifying device, having a related section information database for storing information relating to design change assessment; a transmitting device for electronically transmitting a request for assessment of a design change to at least one section and/or persons selected by the assessment destination selection device; and a reception device for receiving a capability assessment from the section and/or persons selected by the assessment destination selection device, wherein said assessment destination selection device inhibits a designer from arbitrarily changing the section and/or persons retrieved from the related section information database in accordance with a specified product, and wherein said related section information database stores one or more sections and/or parsons who totally assess inconsistent design change inspection resultants in connection with the product, and said transmitting device selects and transmits inconsistent inspection resultants to the one or more sections and/or parsons when the assessment resultants received by the reception device are inconsistent with each other.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
12 words
The system of claim 5 , comprising a drawing device updating device.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 6 , wherein the drawing device updating device comprises a drawing data database.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 7 , comprising a display control device capable of simultaneously displaying before and after images of a part subject to a design change.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 8 , further comprising a stored design changed drawing, wherein the most recently stored design changed drawing is stored as a formal drawing in the drawing data database.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
260 words
A computer readable medium having computer software stored thereon, comprising: changing parts information input means for receiving information relating to a part subject to a design change; product specifying means in electronic communication with the changing parts information input means, wherein the product specifying means includes a parts composition information database in electronic communication therewith for storing parts compositions for at least one product, the product specifying means configured to retrieve and specify one or more products employing a design change part from the parts composition information database in accordance with a changing parts information input; assessment destination selection means for receiving input from the product specifying means and having a related section information database for storing information relating to design change assessment; transmitting means for electronically transmitting a request for assessment of a design change to at least one section and/or persons selected by the assessment destination selection means; and reception device means for receiving a capability assessment from the section and/or persons selected by the assessment destination selection means, wherein said assessment destination selection means inhibits a designer from arbitrarily changing the section and/or persons retrieved from the related section information database in accordance with a specified product, and wherein said related section information database stores one or more sections and/or parsons who totally assess inconsistent design change inspection resultants in connection with the product, and said transmitting means selects and transmits inconsistent inspection resultants to the one or more sections and/or parsons when the assessment resultants received by the reception device means are inconsistent with each other.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
260 words
A computer readable medium having computer software stored thereon, comprising: changing parts information input means for receiving information relating to a part subject to a design change; product specifying means in electronic communication with the changing parts information input means, wherein the product specifying means includes a parts composition information database in electronic communication therewith for storing parts compositions for at least one product, the product specifying means configured to retrieve and specify one or more products employing a design change part from the parts composition information database in accordance with a changing parts information input; assessment destination selection means for receiving input from the product specifying means and having a related section information database for storing information relating to design change assessment; transmitting means for electronically transmitting a request for assessment of a design change to at least one section and/or persons selected by the assessment destination selection means; and reception device means for receiving a capability assessment from the section and/or persons selected by the assessment destination selection means, wherein said assessment destination selection means inhibits a designer from arbitrarily changing the section and/or persons retrieved from the related section information database in accordance with a specified product, and wherein said related section information database stores one or more sections and/or parsons who totally assess inconsistent design change inspection resultants in connection with the product, and said transmitting means selects and transmits inconsistent inspection resultants to the one or more sections and/or parsons when the assessment resultants received by the reception device means are inconsistent with each other.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
13 words
The computer readable medium of claim 10 , comprising drawing data updating means.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
34 words
The computer readable medium of claim 10 , comprising design change instruction providing including a design change instruction database, wherein the design change instruction database is accessible by the changing parts information input means.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
239 words
A method for implementing a product design change, comprising: inputting a proposed design change into a changing parts information input device; querying a parts composition information database; performing an assessment to determine a feasibility of the design change; approving a design change instruction; inputting the design change instruction into a design change database; selecting a design change destination; automatically forwarding the design change instruction to a production facility for implementation; retrieving and specifying one or more products employing a design change part from the parts composition information database in accordance with input parts information, providing a related section information database configured to store various sections and/or persons in charge of assessing capability of design change in connection with a product; and providing an assessment destination selecting device configured to retrieve and/or select the one or more sections and persons from the related section information database in accordance with a specified product, wherein said assessment destination selecting device inhibits a designer from arbitrarily changing the sections and/or persons retrieved from the related section information database in accordance with the specified product, and wherein said related section information database stores one or more sections and/or parsons who totally assess inconsistent design change inspection resultants in connection with the product, and a transmitting device selects and transmits inconsistent inspection resultants to the one or more sections and/or parsons when the assessment resultants received by a reception device are inconsistent with each other.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
239 words
A method for implementing a product design change, comprising: inputting a proposed design change into a changing parts information input device; querying a parts composition information database; performing an assessment to determine a feasibility of the design change; approving a design change instruction; inputting the design change instruction into a design change database; selecting a design change destination; automatically forwarding the design change instruction to a production facility for implementation; retrieving and specifying one or more products employing a design change part from the parts composition information database in accordance with input parts information, providing a related section information database configured to store various sections and/or persons in charge of assessing capability of design change in connection with a product; and providing an assessment destination selecting device configured to retrieve and/or select the one or more sections and persons from the related section information database in accordance with a specified product, wherein said assessment destination selecting device inhibits a designer from arbitrarily changing the sections and/or persons retrieved from the related section information database in accordance with the specified product, and wherein said related section information database stores one or more sections and/or parsons who totally assess inconsistent design change inspection resultants in connection with the product, and a transmitting device selects and transmits inconsistent inspection resultants to the one or more sections and/or parsons when the assessment resultants received by a reception device are inconsistent with each other.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 13 , comprising updating product drawing data, based on the design change instruction.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 14 , comprising updating a drawing data database to reflect the design change instruction.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 15 , comprising displaying a design changed drawing on a display device.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 16 , comprising simultaneously displaying before and after design changed drawings.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2009-04-03 | 2009-10-03 | 2010-04-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2013-04-03 | 2013-10-03 | 2014-04-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2017-04-03 | 2017-10-03 | 2018-04-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |