Vehicle planning support system

• US 7,908,123 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2006
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Inventors: Noma, Kouji, Takashi, Yoshinori, Yamamoto, Teruhisa, Maebayashi, Jiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Craig; Dwin M
• Application Number:
  US11/522,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20070073526A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,639 Days
• Field of Search: 703/1, 700/97
• US Class Current: 703/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

The present invention is a vehicle planning support system for supporting the planning of new vehicles by building vehicle models, comprising a database (1) for storing vehicle data for building vehicle models, and a computing device (2) utilizing the vehicle data stored in the database to build planned vehicle models for the vehicle being planned, wherein performance evaluation values for quantifying performance valuations of the vehicle with respect to each of a predetermined evaluation items are included in vehicle data stored in the database for a plurality of existing vehicles, and the computing device has a target value setting section for setting target values with respect to each evaluation item based on a distribution of performance evaluation values for at least a section of comparison subject existing vehicles among the existing vehicles, a performance calculation section for computing performance evaluation values for each evaluation item with respect to the planned vehicle models, and a degree-of-completion calculation section for obtaining a target degree-of-completion by comparing target values and performance evaluation values with respect to each evaluation item.

Claims

1. A vehicle planning support system for supporting the planning of new vehicles by building vehicle models, comprising:

a database for storing vehicle data for building vehicle models, and

a computing device utilizing the vehicle data stored in the database to build planned vehicle models for the vehicle being planned, wherein

performance evaluation values for quantifying performance evaluations of the vehicle with respect to each of a predetermined evaluation items are included in vehicle data stored in the database for a plurality of existing vehicles,

timing-related correction data indicating trends in time period-related changes in performance evaluation values based on performance evaluation values for past and present existing vehicles for each evaluation item is stored in the database, and

the computing device has

a performance evaluation values distribution defining section for defining a distribution of performance evaluation values of at least a section of comparison subject existing vehicles among the plurality of existing vehicles with respect to each evaluation item based on the data of the performance evaluation values for quantifying performance evaluations for a plurality of existing vehicles stored in the database,

an initial target value setting section for setting initial performance target values of the planned vehicle with respect to each evaluation item based on the performance evaluation values distribution which is defined by the performance evaluation values distribution defining section, for at least a section of comparison subject existing vehicles among the existing vehicles,

a final target value setting section for setting final performance target values of the planned vehicle with respect to each evaluation item by correcting the initial performance target values to match the planned vehicle selling period, based on the timing-related correction data,

a performance calculation section for computing performance evaluation values of the planned vehicle with respect to each evaluation item, and

a target degree-of-completion calculation section for obtaining a target degree-of-completion by comparing the final performance target values and performance evaluation values of the planned vehicle with respect to each evaluation item.

2. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein ranking information indicating a ranking determining the relative position in the performance to be achieved by the planned vehicle relative to performances of a competitive group of vehicles is stored in the database for each evaluation item, and,

the initial target value setting section of the computing device segments performance evaluation values into a plurality of ranges based on the distribution of the performance evaluation values for the subject existing vehicles of the comparison with respect to each evaluation item, adopting performance evaluation values within ranges corresponding to the set ranking as respective initial performance target values for each evaluation item.

3. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein the initial target value setting section sets initial performance target values for each evaluation item based on a distribution of performance evaluation values for the subject existing vehicles of the comparison, set separately from those of the competitive vehicles.

4. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein ranking information indicating rankings determining the relative position in performance to be achieved by the planned vehicle relative to performances of a competitive group of vehicles is stored in the database with respect to each evaluation item, and

the initial target setting section of the computing device segments performance evaluation values for each evaluation item into a plurality of ranges based on a distribution of performance evaluation values for the subject existing vehicles of the comparison, adopting performance evaluation values within ranges corresponding to the set ranking as the respective initial performance target values for each evaluation item, and

the final target value setting section of the computing device uses final performance target values as values within the same range as initial performance target values.

5. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein

customer evaluation index values quantifying customer requirement levels with respect to each evaluation item, and

correspondence data indicating a correspondence between the customer evaluation index values and performance evaluation points are stored in the database;

and,

the final target value setting section corrects the initial performance target values by obtaining performance evaluation values corresponding to customer evaluation index values, based on the correspondence data, so as to satisfy these corresponding performance evaluation values.

6. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein

vehicle data stored in the database further includes change effect data which correlates changes in vehicle constituent elements with fluctuations in performance evaluation values caused by those changes in constituent elements;

said computing device furthermore having a vehicle model building section for building reference vehicle models based on vehicle data for vehicles selected from among existing vehicles, and for building planned vehicle models in which constituent elements of the reference vehicle model are changed, and

the performance computing section of the computing device computes performance evaluation values with respect to each evaluation item for the reference vehicle model and corrects performance evaluation values for planned vehicle models in which constituent elements of the reference vehicle model have been changed, based on the change effect data.

7. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 6, wherein constituent element data for vehicle data stored in the database is hierarchically structured, and

when high level constituent elements of the hierarchical structure are changed, low level constituent elements of that hierarchical structure are also changed in tandem.

8. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 6, wherein

when a change-restricted constituent element in the reference vehicle model is specified, the vehicle model computing section does not accept changes in the change-restricted constituent element.

9. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 8, wherein the vehicle model computing device distinguishes constituent elements for which changes have been restricted from constituent elements for which changes are unrestricted in the reference model, and displays.

10. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein the computing device furthermore has

a layout validation model building section which, based on vehicle data for a first reference vehicle selected from among the existing vehicles, displays the vehicle model shape on a screen and builds a layout validation model for evaluation of the planned vehicle, and

a performance validation model building section which, based on vehicle data for a second reference vehicle selected from among existing vehicles, builds a performance validation model for evaluating the evaluation items with respect to the performance of the planned vehicle, separate from the layout validation model, without displaying the vehicle model shape, and

the performance computing section in the computing device computes performance evaluation values with respect to each evaluation item for the performance validation model, and

the degree-of-completion computing section in the computing device compares the final performance target values and the performance evaluation values for the performance evaluation vehicle with respect to each evaluation item in order to obtain a target degree-of-completion value.

11. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 10, wherein the performance evaluation vehicle model building section builds a performance validation model based on vehicle data for a second reference vehicle, different from the first reference vehicle.

12. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 10, wherein the performance evaluation vehicle model building section builds constituent parts for each of multiple vehicles selected from the existing vehicles as the second reference vehicle, and further combines these vehicle constituent part models to build performance evaluation vehicle models.

13. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 12, wherein the percentage contribution of vehicle constituent parts with respect to the overall vehicle for each performance evaluation item is included in the vehicle data stored in the database, and

the performance computing section, using vehicle data showing a percentage contribution by each vehicle constituent part, computes an evaluation point count with respect to each evaluation item for the performance evaluation vehicle model.

14. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 12, wherein the performance evaluation vehicle model computing section obtains a weight and center of gravity for each vehicle constituent part model and, furthermore, obtains a weight and center of gravity for the performance evaluation vehicle model from the weight and center of gravity of each vehicle constituent part model.

15. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein the computing device furthermore has

a layout validation model building section for building a layout validation model based on vehicle data for a first reference vehicle selected from among existing vehicles for the purpose of displaying the shape of the vehicle on a screen, changing the layout validation model specifications and evaluating the planned vehicle and,

a performance evaluation vehicle model building section for building a performance validation model based on vehicle data for a second reference vehicle selected from among the existing vehicles for the purpose of evaluating the planned vehicle performance with respect to the evaluation items, without displaying the vehicle model shape, separate from the layout validation model, wherein

the performance computing section of the computing device computes a performance evaluation value for each evaluation item with respect to the performance validation model, and

the degree-of-completion computing section of the computing device compares the final performance target value and the performance evaluation vehicle model performance evaluation value with respect to each evaluation item to obtain a target degree-of-completion value,

and the performance validation model building section of the computing device changes relevant parts, which relate to the specifications of the layout validation model, of the performance validation model in accordance with changes in layout validation model specifications in the layout validation model building section.

16. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein the computing device further has

a performance evaluation model building section for building each of the respective constituent part models from vehicle data for each of the vehicle constituent parts of the plurality of vehicles selected from the existing vehicles and, further, for combining these vehicle constituent part models to build performance evaluation validation models for evaluating the performance of each of the planned vehicle evaluation items without displaying the vehicle model shape;

and

a layout validation model building section for building layout validation models for evaluating planned vehicles based on the performance validation models built by the performance validation model building section, displaying the vehicle model shape on a screen;

whereby the performance computing section of the computing device computes a performance evaluation value for each evaluation item, and

the performance computing section of the computing device obtains a target degree-of-completion by comparing the final performance target value with the performance evaluation value for the performance evaluation vehicle model.

17. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 16, wherein priority order data indicating the order of priority among vehicle constituent part models is stored in the database, and

the layout validation model building section, when matching the bordering sections between vehicle constituent part models, does so according to the order of priority indicated by the priority order data.

18. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 16, wherein percentage contribution data indicating the percentage contribution of vehicle constituent part models is stored in the database for each performance evaluation item, and

the layout validation model building section deforms each of the vehicle constituent parts in the border sections based on percentage contribution data when the bordering sections of each of the vehicle constituent part models are being matched.

19. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 16, wherein the layout validation model building section displays the vehicle model shape on a screen to enable interferences within a predetermined permitted range of positions between the vehicle constituent part models in the bordering sections of the vehicle constituent part models.

20. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein

the vehicle data stored in the database further includes change effect data correlating changes in vehicle constituent elements with fluctuations in performance evaluation values caused by those changes in constituent elements, and

the computing device furthermore has a vehicle model building section for building reference vehicle models based on vehicle data for a vehicle selected from among the existing vehicles, and for building planned vehicle models in which constituent elements of the reference vehicle model are changed, and

the performance computing section of the computing device computes performance evaluation values with respect to each evaluation item for the reference vehicle model, and corrects performance evaluation values for planned vehicle models in which constituent elements of the reference vehicle model have been changed, based on the change effect data, and

furthermore, in cases when the final performance target values are not achieved for any of the evaluation items in the planned vehicle model, the computing device has a technology presenting section for selecting and presenting, from the vehicle data stored in the database, constituent element candidates to serve as alternatives in order to achieve the final performance target value.

21. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 20, wherein the technology presentation section selects and presents, as constituent element candidates, existing vehicle constituent elements having performance evaluation values which achieve target values for the evaluation items.

22. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 20, wherein when target values are not achieved for a plurality of evaluation items, the technology presenting section presents a relational map of performance evaluation values for those evaluation items, and plots and presents performance evaluation values on that relational map for the case in which constituent element candidates are selected.

23. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 20 wherein the technology presenting section excludes as constituent element candidates those constituent elements for which performance evaluation values exceed the target value by a predetermined value.

24. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 20, wherein ranking information indicating rankings determining the relative position in performance to be achieved by the planned vehicle relative to performances of a competitive group of vehicles is stored in the database for each evaluation item, and

the performance evaluation values distribution defining section of the computing device segments performance evaluation values into a plurality of ranges based on the distribution of performance evaluation values for the subject existing vehicles of the comparison for each evaluation item, and

the initial target value setting section of the computing device adopts performance evaluation values within ranges corresponding to the set ranking as respective initial performance target values for each evaluation item, and

the technology presenting section selects and presents constituent element candidates to serve as performance evaluation values within a range corresponding to the set ranking.

25. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 20, wherein when there is no existing vehicle constituent element having performance evaluation values achieving the target value included in the vehicle data, the technology presenting section outputs a message to that effect.

26. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein the computing device furthermore has a vehicle model building section for building reference vehicle models based on vehicle data for the vehicle selected from among existing vehicles, and builds planned vehicle models in which constituent elements of the reference vehicle model are changed, and

the performance computing section of the computing device computes performance evaluation values with respect to each evaluation item for the reference vehicle model and corrects performance evaluation values for planned vehicle models in which constituent elements of the reference vehicle model have been changed, based on the change effect data, and

the computing device further has a performance display section which causes performance evaluation values for each evaluation item to be displayed in a high level radar chart and, further, converts a plurality of technology items correlated to each evaluation item into respective point counts, causing these to be displayed on a low level radar chart, whereby

the performance evaluation values in the high level radar chart and the point count in the low level radar chart mutually vary in tandem, and

past data correlating changes in point count for low order radar chart technology items with high level radar chart evaluation item performance evaluation values during past vehicle planning projects is stored in the database, and

the performance display section selects and presents from the past data those items for which the amount of fluctuation in performance evaluation values for each evaluation item fits the differential between the performance evaluation value for that evaluation item and the target value.

27. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 26, wherein the performance display section further selects selected past data using other selection conditions.

28. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 27 wherein the performance display section makes a selection based on cost and/or weight as the other selection condition.

29. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 1, wherein the computing device furthermore has a vehicle model building section for building reference vehicle models based on vehicle data for the vehicle selected from among existing vehicles, and builds planned vehicle models in which constituent elements of the reference vehicle model are changed, and

the performance computing section of the computing device computes performance evaluation values with respect to each evaluation item for the reference vehicle model and corrects performance evaluation values for planned vehicle models in which constituent elements of the reference vehicle model have been changed, based on the change effect data, and

the computing device further has a performance display section which causes performance evaluation values for each evaluation item to be displayed in a high level radar chart and, further, converts a plurality of technology items correlated to each evaluation item into respective point counts, causing these to be displayed on a low level radar chart, whereby

the performance evaluation values in the high level radar chart and the point count in the low level radar chart mutually vary in tandem.

30. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 29, wherein change influence data correlating changes in performance evaluation values for high level radar chart evaluation items with fluctuations in low level radar chart technology item point counts caused by those changes is stored in the database, and

when the low level radar chart point count balance is changed, the performance display section changes the balance of performance evaluation values in the high level radar chart in tandem with that change.

31. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 29, wherein when the balance of performance evaluation values in the high level radar chart is changed, the performance display section changes the low level radar chart technology item point count balance in tandem with that change.

32. The vehicle planning support system set forth in claim 29, wherein data correlating degree of customer satisfaction with performance evaluation values is stored in the database for each evaluation item, and

the performance display section displays the degree of customer satisfaction for each evaluation item along with the high level radar chart.