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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A method for use in a design support apparatus which includes input
means; a display device; a memory device; and a data processor, connected
to said input means, said display device and said memory device, for
generating a design reference, comprising the steps performed in said
processor of:
displaying graphics of a plurality of designated design objects on said
display device;
selecting a particular design object from the design objects displayed on
said display device by using a selection signal from said input means;
displaying specification data selected from said memory device by using the
selected design object;
displaying menus of restrictive items to be applied in designing the
selected design object and said restrictive items being selected from said
memory device by using the selected design object, said restrictive items
being parameters of said selected design object;
selecting particular specification data from the specification data
displayed on said display device by using a selection signal from said
input means;
selecting a particular restrictive item from the restrictive items menus
displayed on said display device by using a selection signal from said
input means;
setting a reference value corresponding to said selected restrictive item
by using data from said input means; and
creating a design reference of the selected design object consisting of
condition and conclusion parts using said selected specification data,
said selected restrictive item and said reference value.
2. A method for generating a design reference according to claim 1, wherein
said selecting step includes the steps of displaying a plurality of
restrictive items on said display device and selecting the restrictive
item applied to said selected design object from said plurality of
displayed restrictive items in response to a selection signal from said
input means.
3. A method for generating a design reference according to claim 1 further
comprising the steps performed by said data processor of creating a
condition part of said design reference in accordance with said selected
design object and said selected specification data, and creating a
conclusion part of said design reference in accordance with said selected
design object, said restrictive item and said reference value.
4. A method for generating a design reference according to claim 3, wherein
said selected specification data is displayed on said display device.
5. A method for generating a design reference according to claim 3, wherein
said design reference is displayed on said display device.
6. A method for generating a design reference according to claim 3, wherein
said design reference is stored in said memory device.
7. A method for generating a design reference according to claim 1, wherein
said design reference is displayed on said display device.
8. A method for generating a design reference according to claim 1, wherein
said design reference is stored in said memory device.
9. A design reference generating apparatus comprising:
an input device;
a display device;
first memory means for storing data of design objects;
second memory means for storing a procedure for supplying to said display
device graphic information of design objects designated by said input
device for display of said graphic information on said display device,
selecting specification data from said memory device by using a
redesignated design object for display of said specification data on said
display device, selecting restrictive items from said memory device using
said redesignated design object for display of said restrictive items as a
plurality of menus of restrictive items on said display device, said
restrictive items being parameters of said redesignated design object,
selecting particular specification data by using a selection signal from
said input means, selecting a particular restriction item using a
selection signal from said input means, and setting a reference value
corresponding to said selected particular restrictive item; and
processing means for outputting graphic information of said redesignated
design object based on said procedure stored in said second memory means
and for creating said design reference consisting of condition and
conclusion parts;
said display means displaying the graphic information of said redesignated
design object and said design reference.
10. A design reference making apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said
second memory means further stores a procedure for supplying graphic
information of the designated design object to said display device,
supplying the restrictive items selected from said first memory means to
said display means, and for replacing the designated design object with
the redesignated design object based on the restrictive item displayed on
said display means and designated by said input device, the redesignated
design object and the reference value, and said processing means produces
the graphic information of the design objects and the selected restrictive
items and creates the design reference consisting of said condition and
conclusion parts.
11. A design reference making apparatus according to claim 9 wherein
said second memory means further stores a procedure for supplying graphic
information of designated design objects to said display device,
conclusion part of the design reference being created based on the
redesignated design object, the selected restrictive item and the
reference value; and said processing means outputs graphic information of
the design objects in accordance with said procedure.
12. A design reference generating apparatus comprising:
an input device;
a display device;
first memory means for storing data of design objects;
second memory means for storing design references;
third memory means for storing a procedure for supplying graphic
information of design objects designated by said input device to said
display device for display, selecting specification data from said memory
device by using a redesignated design object for display of said
specification data on said display device, selecting restrictive items
from said memory device using said redesignated design object for display
of said restrictive items as a plurality of menus of restrictive items on
said display device, said restrictive items being parameters of said
redesignated design object, selecting particular specification data by
using a selection signal from said input means, selecting a particular
restriction item using a selection signal from said input means, and
setting a reference value corresponding to said selected particular
restrictive item, for creating a design reference of the redesignated
design object consisting of condition and conclusion parts according to
the redesignated design object, the selected restrictive items and said
reference value inputted by said input device, and for storing the created
design reference into said second memory means; and
processing means for outputting graphic information of the design reference
in accordance with said procedure, creating the design reference
consisting of condition and conclusion parts and for storing the design
reference into said third memory means;
said display means displaying the graphic information of the design objects
and the design reference.
13. A design reference making apparatus according to claim 12, wherein:
said third memory means further stores a procedure for supplying graphic
information of the designated design object to said display device;
said condition part of the design reference being created based on the
redesignated design object and the selected specification data;
said conclusion part of the design reference being created based on the
redesignated design object, the selected restrictive item and the
reference value;
wherein said design reference consisting of the condition part and the
conclusion part is stored into said second memory means.
14. A design reference generating apparatus comprising:
an input device;
a display device;
memory means for storing data of a design object;
means for supplying graphic information of design objects designated by
said input device and read from said memory means to said display device
for display of said graphic information on said display device, for
selecting a particular design object from the design objects displayed on
said display device in response to a selection signal from said input
device, selecting specification data from said memory device by using a
redesignated design object for display of said specification data on said
display device, selecting restrictive items from said memory device using
said redesignated design object for display of said restrictive items as a
plurality of menus of restrictive items on said display device, said
restrictive items being parameters of said redesignated design object,
selecting particular specification data by using a selection signal from
said input means, selecting a particular restriction item using a
selection signal from said input means, and setting a reference value
corresponding to said selected particular restrictive item, and for
creating a design reference with the selected design object, said
restrictive item and a reference value inputted by said input device.
15. A design reference generating apparatus according to claim 14, wherein
said processing means includes means for supplying to said display device
the restrictive item from said memory means and for generating said design
reference with said selected design object, said restrictive item
displayed on said display device and designated by said input device and
said reference value.
16. A design reference generating apparatus according to claim 14, wherein
said processing means includes means for generating said design reference
consisting of a condition part with said selected design object and said
selected specification data and a conclusion part with said selected
design object, said restrictive item and said reference value.
17. A design reference generating apparatus comprising:
an input device;
a display device;
memory means for storing a design object and design references;
means for supplying graphic information of design objects designated by
said input device and read from said memory means to said display device
for display, for selecting a particular design object from the design
objects displayed on said display device in response to a selection signal
from said input device, selecting specification data from said memory
device by using a redesignated design object for display of said
specification data on said display device, selecting restrictive items
from said memory device using said redesignated design object for display
of said restrictive items as a plurality of menus of restrictive items on
said display device, said restrictive items being parameters of said
redesignated design object, selecting particular specification data by
using a selection signal from said input means, selecting a particular
restriction item using a selection signal from said input means, and
setting a reference value corresponding to said selected particular
restrictive item, for creating a design reference with the selected design
object, said restrictive item and a reference value to said restrictive
item and said reference value inputted by said input device, and for
storing the generated design reference into said memory means.
18. A design reference generating apparatus according to claim 17, wherein
said processing means includes means for creating said design reference
consisting of a condition part with said selected design object and said
selected specification data and a conclusion part with said selected
design object, said restrictive item and said reference value. |
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Description |
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
Reference is made to co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 838,957, filed
Mar. 12, 1986, entitled "Design Support Method and Apparatus Therefor",
now U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,944.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for making a design reference or
rule and an apparatus therefor, and more particularly to such a method
used by a designer who establishes a design reference or rule by selecting
an object in an existing design drawing, selecting and combining
specifications thereof and establishing a condition of design references.
A conventional computer-aided design apparatus (hereinafter CAD apparatus)
comprises a display for displaying a design object and an input device for
generating coordinate data based on the pointing to a position on the
display screen, and interactively processes by displaying point, line or
characters at the position pointed to by the designer and storing the
coordinate of that position and the displayed data into a memory. Such CAD
apparatus is described in JP-A-59-45575 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,895. In
another known interactive CAD apparatus, when design parameters such as
position, shape and dimension of the design object are entered, they are
composed with reference values of design parameters derived from design
references or rules so that the design proceeds while the validity of the
input value is checked. In this CAD apparatus, it is necessary to
previously store the design references in the memory A portion of the
design references accumulated and utilized in the particular technical
fields, such as design references on layout design of plant piping are
published in a "Piping Handbook, by Reno C. King et al., McGraw-Hill 1981.
It teaches that when a design expert determines a design reference or
rule, it is effective to refer to an existing design drawing and quote,
indicate or describe items on position and specification of the design
object. In order to implement this method in the CAD apparatus, it is
necessary to allow interactive reference of the data of the design object
in the design drawing for use as data for making the design references. In
a CAD apparatus disclosed in JP-A-59-220867 and JP-A-59-66763, when part
of a machine design drawing displayed on a display screen is selected, a
part of the data base is searched and data such as a part specification
and dimension are registered in a list in the data base, and it may be
displayed on the display screen or used to make a more detailed
manufacturing design drawing. By utilizing the CAD apparatus disclosed in
those A-PA's, the part data for checking the design references can be
rapidly retrieved while the designer watches the design drawing. However,
since the designer cannot directly input to the design reference making
process, the designer needs to input the design references by a separate
device to store them in the data base.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for making a
design reference or rule and an apparatus therefor for providing a high
precision design reference in a short time.
In accordance with the present invention, graphics of a plurality of
designated design objects are displayed on a display device, one or more
of the design objects displayed on the display device is selected, a
restrictive item applied to the selected design object is read from a
memory, a reference value to the restrictive item is established, and a
design reference is made based on the selected design object, the
restrictive item and the reference value.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of one embodiment of a design reference making
apparatus of the present invention,
FIG. 2 shows a data storage format for a design object,
FIG. 3 shows a data storage format for a menu item coordinate,
FIG. 4 shows a data storage format for a menu item,
FIG. 5 shows a data storage format for a specification item of a design
object,
FIG. 6 shows a data storage format for another specification item of the
design object,
FIG. 7 shows a data storage format for menu item, specification item and
specification value by the present apparatus,
FIG. 8 shows a process flow in the design reference making apparatus shown
in FIG. 1,
FIG. 9 shows a detailed process of a step 8 shown in FIG. 8,
FIG. 10 shows an image of a design object by the design reference making
apparatus shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 11 shows an image of a restrictive item to a menu item by the design
reference making apparatus shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 12 shows an image of another restrictive item to the menu item by the
apparatus shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 13 shows an image of a design object and a restrictive item by the
apparatus shown in FIG. 1,
FIGS. 14 and 15 show details of a step 9 of FIG. 8,
FIG. 16 shows a detailed process of a third step 10 in the process flow by
the processing apparatus of FIG. 8,
FIG. 17 shows a detailed process of a step 11 of FIG. 8,
FIG. 18 shows a data storage format for a menu item by the apparatus shown
in FIG. 1,
FIG. 19 shows an image of design object, specification item and
specification value by the apparatus shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 20 shows a detailed process of a step 12 of FIG. 8,
FIG. 21 shows a content of an intermediate data memory before the step 12,
FIGS. 22 to 24 show contents of the intermediate data memory which vary as
the process of the step 12 proceeds,
FIG. 25 shows a detailed process of a step 13 of FIG. 8,
FIG. 26 shows a content of the intermediate data memory after the step 13,
FIG. 27 shows a detailed process of a step 14 of FIG. 8,
FIG. 28 shows a detailed process of a step 14A of FIG. 27,
FIG. 29 shows a detailed process of a step 14B of FIG. 27,
FIG. 30 shows a stored design reference obtained in the step 14, and
FIG. 31 shows a detailed process of a step 15 of FIG. 8.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an embodiment of the design reference
making apparatus of the present invention. A processor 5 includes a
processing unit 5a, a process memory unit 5b, an input unit 5c, an image
data output unit 5d, a design object data retrieval code output unit 5e, a
design object data input unit 5f, an intermediate data memory unit 5g and
a design reference output unit 5h. The processing unit 5a sequentially
reads the processing procedures stored in the process memory unit 5b to
carry out the processing in accordance with the processing procedures. An
image data memory 3 stores coordinate data of a design object which is the
image data supplied from the processor 5 and coordinate data of a menu
area. An image display controller 2 reads the coordinate data of the image
to be displayed from the image data memory 3 to display characters or an
image on a display device 1. A design object memory 6 stores coordinate
data of the design object, coordinate data of the menu area, menu content
data, specification data of the design object and coordinate data of a
display position. An example of the coordinate data of the design object
stored in the design object data memory 6 is shown in FIG. 2. The data of
the design object shown in FIG. 2 includes design objects WL001, WL002,
CL001, CL002, HD001-01 and HD001-02, and maximum and minimum values of X
coordinates and Y coordinate Xmax, Ymax, Xmin and Ymin. FIG. 3 shows an
example of position coordinate data of the menu items stored in the design
object data memory 6. FIG. 4 shows an example of menu content data of
menus A.sub.1 -A.sub.4 of the menu items stored in the design object data
memory 6. The menu items on pages 1 and 2 are restrictive items of a
conclusion part of the design reference. FIG. 5 shows an example of
specification data of the design object WL001 (FIG. 2) stored in the
design object data memory 6. FIG. 6 shows an example of specifications of
the design object HD001-01 (FIG. 2) stored in the design object data
memory 6. FIG. 7 shows an example of display position coordinate data
stored in the design object data memory 6.
FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a processing procedure (computer program) which
is stored in the process memory unit 5b and executed by the processing
unit 5a. An operation of the design reference making apparatus of the
present embodiment is explained with reference to the flowchart.
When an operator powers on the design reference making apparatus and enters
a start signal into the processor 5 through an input device such as a
keyboard, the computer program is read from the process memory unit 5b to
the processing unit 5a. The processing unit 5a performs an operation to
determine a design reference or rule consisting of a condition part and a
conclusion part in accordance with the computer program of FIG. 8. Details
of the processing are explained below.
A step 8 of the computer program is first executed. FIG. 9 shows details of
the step 8. In a step 8A, a design object name (code) which the operator
designates by the input device 4 is sent to the design object data memory
6 through the design object data retrieval code output unit 5e, the
coordinate data of the designated design object is selected from the
design object data memory 6 (FIG. 2), and the coordinate data is read into
the processing unit 5a through the data input unit 5f. The coordinate data
of the selected design object is supplied to the image data memory 3
through the image data output unit 5d (step 8B). Then, the image display
controller 2 reads in the design object image data stored in the image
data memory 3 and displays it on the display device 1. FIG. 10 shows a
displayed image 18. Numeral 17 denotes a screen of the display device 1,
numeral 20 denotes piping, numeral 21 denotes a valve and numeral 22
denotes a wall. In a step 8C, coordinate data of menu items is selected
from the design object data memory 6 and it is read in through the data
input unit 5f. The coordinate data of the selected menu items consists of
four menu items (menus A.sub.1 -A.sub.4). Detail of the menu items is
shown in FIG. 4. In a step 8D, items "minimum spacing", "maximum straight
line length", "minimum straight line length" and "inhibit to set"
corresponding to the menus A.sub.1, A.sub.2, A.sub.3 and A.sub.4 on the
page 1 are selected from the data (FIG. 4) stored in the design object
data memory 6. Those items as well as the coordinate data of the menu
items selected in the step 8C are supplied to the image data memory 3
through the image data output unit 5d. Those data are stored in the image
data memory 3. In the step 8D, for the menu items "update" and "return" of
the menu items shown in FIG. 3, the characters "update" and "return" are
used as displayed contents and they are stored in the image data memory 3.
In the present embodiment, an example of an image 19A of the menu items on
the page 1 displayed on the display device 1 after the step 8D is shown in
FIG. 11, and an example of an image 19B of the menu items on the page 2
displayed on the display device 1 after the step 8D is shown in FIG. 12.
An example of an image displayed on the display device 1 after the
completion of the step 8 is shown in FIG. 13. In the present example, the
image 18 of the design drawing including the design object and the image
19 of the menu items (image actually displayed is shown by an image 19A in
FIG. 11) are simultaneously displayed. An origin point of the image 19
(minimum point on the X axis, minimum point on the Y axis) is shifted from
an origin point of the screen 17 by a displacement X.sub.0 in the X
direction and a displacement Y.sub.0 in the Y direction, added to the
coordinate data of the selected menu items in the step 8. The menu items
are selected from the items shown in FIG. 4 with the designation of a
page. The items having the page designated to page 1 in the step 8 may be
changed in a process to be described later.
Then, the operator designates a design object in the image 24 displayed on
the display device 1 by the input device 4. A step 9 comprises two major
procedures (a) reading a coordinate of the designated design object and
(b) selecting the design object corresponding to the coordinate from the
design object data memory 6.
FIG. 14 shows the procedure (a) of the step 9, that is, steps 9A-9D. The
steps 9A-9D are executed in accordance with an operator's instruction
given through the input device 4. A two dimensional coordinate input
device such as a mouse or joy stick may be used. In the input device 4, an
encoder for converting a displacement to a coordinate value is coupled to
a mechanism which transduces movement of a manipulator into displacements
in two orthogonal directions. The input device 4 writes the coordinate and
applies an interrupt signal to the processor 5 through the input unit 5c.
The coordinates (X.sub.1, Y.sub.1) of the design object in the image 18
which the operator designated by the input device 4 are read through the
input unit 5c (step 9A). The coordinates X.sub.1, Y.sub.1 are stored in
the intermediate data memory unit 5g (step 9B). Then, the coordinates
X.sub.1, Y.sub.1 are read from the intermediate data memory unit 5g and
supplied to the image data memory 3 through the image data output unit 5d
(step 9C). The coordinates X.sub.1, Y.sub.1 are stored in the image data
memory 3 and displayed on the display device 1. Finally, whether the
interrupt signal has been sent from the input device 4 through the input
unit 5c or not is checked (step 9D). If it has been sent, the procedure
(b) of the step 9 is executed If it has not been sent, the steps 9A-9D are
repeated. Thus, until the interrupt signal is applied to the processor 5
by the input device 4 through the input unit 5c, the point corresponding
to the coordinate designated by the input device 4 is displayed on the
screen 17 of the display device 1. This is done by reading the coordinates
X and Y stored in the image data memory unit 5d by the image display
controller 2 and displaying the designated point on the screen of the
display device 1.
FIG. 15 shows a detail of the procedure (b) of the step 9, that is, steps
9E and 9F. In the step 9E, the design object and the coordinate data
(X.sub.1 max, Y.sub.1 max, X.sub.1 min, Y.sub.1 min) of the design object
corresponding to the coordinate which is in the image 24 displayed on the
display device 1 and inputted in the step 9A and which is stored in the
intermediate data memory unit 5g are selected from the design object data
memory 6, and they are stored in the intermediate data memory unit 5g
through the data input unit 5f. Then, in the step 9F, the design object
whose coordinates X.sub.1 and Y.sub.1 which are displayed on the screen 17
and stored in the intermediate data memory unit 5g in the step 9B meet the
relations (1). and (2) in which the coordinate data of the design object
stored in the intermediate data memory 5g in the step 9E are placed is
selected from the intermediate data memory 5g.
X.sub.1 min.ltoreq.X.sub.1 .ltoreq.X.sub.1 max (1)
Y.sub.1 min.ltoreq.Y.sub.1 .ltoreq.Y.sub.1 max (2)
where X.sub.1 min is a value of the item X.sub.1 min of the design object
coordinate data of FIG. 2, X.sub.1 max is a value of the item X.sub.1 max,
Y.sub.1 min is a value of the item Y.sub.1 min, and Y.sub.1 max is a value
of the item Y.sub.1 max.
In the present embodiment, let us assume that the coordinates inputted in
the step 9A are X.sub.1 =3,000, Y.sub.1 =11,000. From the design object
coordinate data (stored in the design object data memory 6) shown in FIG.
2, the design object WL001 which has
Xmin=1,000
Xmax=5,000
Ymin=10,000
Ymax=11,500
meets the conditions (1) and (2). Thus, the design object WL001 is
selected. The name of the design object selected in the step 9 is
temporarily stored in the intermediate data memory unit 5g.
After the processing of the step 9, processing of a step 10 is performed.
The step 10 is a menu item selection step which comprises three procedures
including
(a) reading a coordinate of the menu item on the display screen by the
input device 4,
(b) changing the menu item name displayed on the display device 1 if the
coordinate value read corresponds to an "update" or "return" item, and
(c) reading the menu item name of the read coordinate from the design
object data memory 6. Detail of the step 10 is shown in FIG. 16.
The procedure (a) of the step 10, that is, a step 10A is the same as the
procedure (a) of the step 9, that is, the steps 9A-9D shown in FIG. 14,
except that the coordinates X.sub.1, Y.sub.1 in the steps 9A, 9B and 9C
are replaced by coordinates X.sub.2, Y.sub.2 in the step 10A. In the step
10A, the coordinates X.sub.2 and Y.sub.2 of the menu item which is in the
image 19 FIG. 13) displayed on the display device 1 and designated by the
operator through the input device 4 are entered and stored in the
intermediate data memory unit 5g.
The procedure (b) of the step 10 corresponds to steps 10B-10E of FIG. 16. A
change of the image 19 due to the position on the screen 17 designated by
the input device 4 in the steps 10A-10E is explained in connection with a
simple example, with reference to FIG. 13. The image 19 is now an image
19A shown in FIG. 11. For example, a pointing position (cursor) displayed
on the image 19 is moved to the menu item "minimum spacing" by the input
device 4, and an interrupt signal is sent from the input device 4 to the
processor 5. Thus, the menu item name "minimum spacing" is entered to the
intermediate data memory unit 5g and stored therein (step 10A). However,
if there is no menu item to be selected by a designer (operator) from the
menu items 1 to 4 of the displayed image 19, the display content of the
menu items of the image 19 is changed to menu items of the other page
shown in FIG. 4. This is done by updating the page. The page updating is
carried out in the following manner. A pointing position (cursor)
displayed in the image 19 of the menu item is moved to the item name
"update" by the input device 4 and an interrupt signal is sent from the
input device 4 to the processor 5 (step 10B). Thus, the page number which
designates the item name corresponding to the menu item shown in FIG. 4 is
incremented by one (step 10C). For example, when the position of "update"
on the image 19 shown in FIG. 13 is designated by the input device 4 and
the interrupt signal is sent to the processor 5, the page number of the
menu items to be displayed is updated from page 1 to page 2. As a result,
the image 19 on the screen 17 changes to an image 19B shown in FIG. 12.
When the page number of the menu items to be displayed is to be returned
from page 2 to page 1, "return" in the image 19 is pointed to by the input
device 4. Thus, the item names of the menu items on the page 1 are
displayed in the image 19 in the steps 10D and 10E. In the procedure (c)
of the step 10, that is, in the step 10F of FIG. 16, the item name at the
position which meets the following conditions is selected based on the
coordinates X.sub.2 and Y.sub.2 on the image 19 of the menu items stored
in the intermediate data memory unit 5g in the procedure (a) of the step
10. The selected item name is the data for the object of the design
reference to be made.
X.sub.2 min.ltoreq.X.sub.2 .ltoreq.X.sub.2 max (3)
Y.sub.2 min.ltoreq.Y.sub.2 .ltoreq.Y.sub.2 max (4)
where X.sub.2 min is a value of the coordinate data X.sub.2 min of the menu
item, X.sub.2 max is a value of the coordinate data X.sub.2 max, Y.sub.2
min is a value of the coordinate data Y.sub.2 min, and Y.sub.2 max is a
value of the coordinate data Y.sub.2 max.
For example, in the present embodiment, when the coordinates of the menu
item inputted in the step 10A are X.sub.2 =250 and Y.sub.2 =30, the menu
item "menu 1" in the menu item coordinate data (stored in the design
object data memory 6) shown in FIG. 3, which has
X.sub.2 min=200
X.sub.2 max=300
Y.sub.2 min=0
Y.sub.2 max=50
meets the conditions (3) and (4). The page to be selected from FIG. 4 is
designated in the step 10B or 10D. For example, in the procedure (b) of
the step 10, when the page 1 is selected, the item name of the menu item
selected in the above procedure is "minimum spacing". This selected item
name is a restrictive item for the design reference and it is temporarily
stored at a predetermined address of the intermediate data memory unit 5g
(FIG. 20). The process after the step 11 in accordance with the computer
program is explained assuming that the menu item stored in the
intermediate data memory unit 5g in the step 10F is "minimum spacing".
In the step 11, specification data of the design object stored in the
design object data memory 6 is retrieved based on the design object name
selected in the step 9 and temporarily stored in the intermediate data
memory unit 5g, and it is displayed in a list on the screen 17 of the
display device 1.
FIG. 17 shows a detail of the step 11, that is steps 11A-11D. In the step
11A, the code of the design object stored in the intermediate data memory
unit 5g is read. The code of the design object is sent to the design
object data memory 6 through the design object data retrieval code output
unit 5e and the specification data corresponding to the code of the design
object is retrieved from the specification data of the design object
stored in the design object data memory 6, and the retrieved specification
data of the design object is temporarily stored in the intermediate data
memory unit 5g (step 11B). In the step 11C, the display position
coordinate data stored in the design object data memory 6 is retrieved
based on the selected specification data in order to display the selected
specification data of the design object in a list in superposition on the
image 18 of the design object displayed on the screen 17, and the display
position coordinate data is temporarily stored in the intermediate data
memory unit 5g. A relationship between the specification data and the
display positions is temporarily stored in the intermediate data memory
unit 5g. FIG. 18 shows an example of list data which shows the
relationship between the specification data and the display positions
stored in the intermediate data memory unit 5g after the step 11B. In the
present embodiment, the display position coordinate data of FIG. 7 shows
display positions for menu items, specification items and specification
values and they are used in the process of displaying the menu items, as
are the coordinate data shown in FIG. 3. On the other hand, the list data
showing the relationship between the specification data and the display
positions shows the relationship between the display positions of the menu
items and the specification items displayed adjacently and the
specification values. The data shown in FIG. 18 is used to refer to the
specification items and values based on the selection of the menu display
area in a process to be described later. In the step 11D, the list data
(FIG. 18) of the specification data of the design object stored in the
intermediate data memory unit 5g is supplied to the image data memory 3.
The image display controller 2 displays the list data stored in the image
data memory 3 in the step 11D as well as the image of FIG. 13 on the
screen 17 of the display device 1. FIG. 19 shows an example of an image
displayed on the screen 17 of the display device 1 after the step 11. The
list images 23 and 24 are prepared in the step 11.
In a step 12 of the present embodiment, the specification items of the
design object in the image displayed on the display device 1 and the menu
items in the list of the corresponding specification values are combined
in accordance with the data inputted by the operator to prepare the design
reference data. As the operator sequentially designates the specification
items of the design object such as lists 23 and 24 displayed on the screen
17 of the display device 1 and the corresponding specification values, the
data items of the design reference and the corresponding values are
written into predetermined addresses of the intermediate data memory unit
5g. This is shown in FIGS. 22 to 24. FIG. 21 shows a content of the
intermediate data memory unit 5g of the item names of the menu items of
the design reference selected in the step 10. The operator designates the
specification item of the design object on the screen 17 and the
corresponding value by the input device 4 to read out the specification
item and the corresponding value from the intermediate data memory unit
5g, in the following manner The step 12 comprises the following procedures
(a) and (b).
(a) Retrieve a correlation table (FIG. 7) of the menu item and the
coordinate stored in the design object data memory 6 based on the
coordinate on the screen designated by the input device 4 to determine the
menu item (steps 12A and 12B in FIG. 20).
(b) Retrieve the specification item and value corresponding to the
retrieved menu item from the correlation list (FIG. 18) stored in the
design object data memory 6 and store them in the intermediate data memory
unit 5g (steps 12C and 12D in FIG. 20). In FIG. 20, the data item of the
design reference of "minimum spacing" and basic candidates of values
thereof are previously stored in the design object data memory 6, and they
are temporarily stored in the intermediate data memory unit 5g. This is
done before the step 12. The design reference data includes items "object
- 1" and "object - 2" for designating two design objects which secure
"minimum spacing" and an item "reference value" for designating a
reference value of "minimum spacing" secured between the two design
objects.
A procedure for limiting the specification item and value of the design
object to specifically set the "reference value" of the "minimum spacing"
by making the design reference data based on the limited specification
item and value selected from | | |
