Apparatus for displaying wiring
Contents
1. automobile to form the three dimensional view 46 In this way part B and wire A that is connected to part B are displayed together in the three dimensional view According to one aspect of the present invention transition from a part selected from a three dimensional layout to a shape in a plan wiring diagram is sequentially displayed Returning to FIG 1 when the user starts the program of the electronic manual 21 and selects for example the three dimensional layout 46 shown in FIG 2 from the menu of the electronic manual 23 an appropriate underlying drawing is retrieved from the three dimensional underlying drawing data storage 11F Three dimensional layers of a plurality of appropriate parts and wirings are retrieved from the three dimensional layer data storage 11E and superimposed over the underlying layer to form the three dimensional layout 46 which is displayed on the display device 30 27 When the user selects part B by placing the cursor on part B in the three dimensional layout diagram 46 and clicking the mouse US 8 274 511 B2 9 or by entering the part number of part B via an input device 40 the layer of part B is superimposed over the underlying draw ing of the entire plan wiring diagram Part B is highlighted by bold lines or by color Next when the user pushes the Confirmation button not shown displayed on the screen of the display device 30 for example by clicking the button with a mouse the underlyi2. of the display device 30 for example by clicking the button with a mouse part B changes its shape gradually to a three dimensional 20 40 45 50 60 8 shape via intermediate images 7 The three dimensional view is shown in block 46 The layer of part B is superimposed over an underlying layer of three dimensional view retrieved from the three dimensional underlying drawing data storage 11F The speed of transition can be adjusted by sliding the button of the scroll bar 49 FIG 3 shows stop motion transition First a plan wiring diagram 41 selected by the user is displayed on the display device 30 Layers of multiple wirings retrieved from the pla nar layer data storage 11C are superimposed over an under lying drawing retrieved from the planar underlying drawing data storage 11B When the user selects part B from the wiring diagram in the manner described above the layer 43 of part B is displayed over an image 41 of the plan wiring diagram Part B is highlighted by bold lines or by color Next the intermediate images of the layer 43 are retrieved from the intermediate image data storage 11D and transition to a cor responding layer 44 in the three dimensional diagram is dis played 33 In parallel the underlying layer of the plan view disappears gradually from the display screen resulting in a blank image 42 31 At the same time an image 46 appears gradually on the display screen with the layer 44 of part B superimp
3. three dimensional layout diagram 46 and click ing the mouse or by entering the part number of wire A with an input device 40 the layer of wire A is superimposed over the underlying drawing of the general three dimensional lay out diagram Wire A is highlighted by bold lines or by color Next when the user pushs the Confirmation button dis played on the screen of the display device 30 for example by clicking the button with a mouse the underlying drawing of the plan wiring diagram including wire A is retrieved from the planar underlying drawing data storage 11B the layers of multiple wirings contained in the underlying drawing are retrieved from the planar layer data storage 11C and a stack of the underlying drawing and the layers appears gradually on the display device 30 as the image 41 of the plan wiring diagram Then the intermediate images 7 of wire A in the three dimensional layout diagram 46 are retrieved from the intermediate image data storage 11D to display transitions continuously until wire A takes the shape shown in the plan wiring diagram Eventually the layer of wire A is superim posed over the underlying drawing of the plan wiring diagram to complete the image 41 Consequently the image 41 of the plan wiring diagram is displayed on the display device 30 with wire A highlighted In parallel with this operation the image 46 of the three dimen sional layout diagram fades out as it is thinned gradually The speed of tran
4. wiring diagram from the first storage based on user s selection and retrieves intermediate images of a wiring from the third storage when the wiring is selected from the plan wiring diagram and displays continuous transition until the wiring is illustrated by a shape in the three dimensional lay out diagram Since continuous transition of the wiring the user selected from the plan wiring diagram is displayed until the wiring takes the three dimensional shape in the three dimensional layout diagram the present invention can make it easy for the user to recognize correspondence between the plan wiring diagram and three dimensional layout diagram According to one aspect of the present invention the appa ratus for displaying wiring further comprises a forth storage adapted to store positions and shapes of the parts in the plan wiring diagram in association with three dimensional posi tions and three dimensional shapes of the parts in the three dimensional layout diagram The processor displays the plan wiring diagram on the display device by retrieving the plan wiring diagram from the first storage based on a user s selec tion and retrieves the three dimensional position and three dimensional shape of a part from the fourth storage when the part is selected from the plan wiring diagram for displaying the part superimposed over the three dimensional layout dia gram According to the present invention since the three dimen sional shap
5. 1 ONY ONIMYYG 13103135 WYYOVIC ONIMIM 133135 OL 835 MOTIV z WWYDONd LUVLS 33899 AV1dSI0 ONIMVYC 3SV TWNOISNAWIG 3SYHL 93 384 ddd 3 JOVI ALVIGSWYS NI NOILOSNNOO JIM Ydd YLVA USAW YYNYTd YYNY Id Ylva 39 8 US 8 274 511 B2 Sheet 2 of 7 Sep 25 2012 U S Patent a U S Patent Sep 25 2012 Sheet 3 of 7 US 8 274 511 B2 45 47 4 U S Patent Sep 25 2012 Sheet 4 of 7 US 8 274 511 B2 U S Patent Sep 25 2012 Sheet 5 of 7 US 8 274 511 B2 FIG 5 WIRING HARNESS U S Patent Sep 25 2012 Sheet 6 of 7 US 8 274 511 B2 FIG 6 HEADLIGHT PGM FI U S Patent Sep 25 2012 Sheet 7 of 7 US 8 274 511 B2 FIG 7 US 8 274 511 B2 1 APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING WIRING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for displaying wiring which can graphically display correspondence between a plan wiring diagram of an electric circuit and a geographical layout diagram which represents layout of wir ings in an actual machine or apparatus 2 Description of the Related Art Instruction manuals such as automotive service manuals contain a plan wiring diagram showing an electrical system and a three dimensional layout diagram showing a geo graphical layout of wirings in i
6. A is retrieved from the planar underlying drawing data storage 11B and appears gradually on the display screen 35 At the same time the layers of the other wirings and parts contained in the underlying drawing are retrieved from the planar layer data storage 11C and eventually superimposed over the underlying drawing FIG 4 illustrates a case in which wire A and part B that is connected to wire A are selected as in the case of FIG 3 Referring now to FIG 6 the user selects a three dimen sional layout view such as shown in FIG 6 A out of the electronic manual 25 for display on the display device 30 When the user places the cursor on a harness E a bundle of wires in the drawing and clicks the mouse 29 the processor 20 displays transition from the harness to the plan wiring diagram using intermediate images In this case each of multiple wires contained in the harness has its transition to a plan wiring diagram In the example of FIG 6 B the plan wiring diagrams of wires 1 2 and 3 are displayed on the display device In one example when harness E is selected in FIG 6 A types of wires contained in the harness are presented in text form on the display to specify to which system the sires belong for example a fuel injection system a headlight system etc Regarding the type of wiring selected by the user transition to the plan wiring diagram are displayed The other types of wiring unless selected do not have their tran
7. aratus includes a processor adapted to display images on a display device The processor displays the three dimensional layout diagram on the display device by retriev ing the three dimensional layout diagram from the second storage based on a user s selection and retrieves the interme diate images of a wiring from the third storage when the wiring is selected from the three dimensional layout diagram Continuous transition is displayed until the wire Appears in the plan wiring diagram Since transition of the wiring selected from the three di mensional layout diagram by the user is displayed until the wire Assumes the shape and position in the plan wiring dia US 8 274 511 B2 3 gram the user may recognize correspondence between the three dimensional layout diagram and plan wiring diagram According to an embodiment of the present invention the apparatus for displaying wiring further comprises a forth storage adapted to store positions and shapes of the parts in the plan wiring diagram in association with three dimen sional positions and shapes of the parts in the three dimen sional layout diagram The processor displays the three di mensional layout diagram on the display device by retrieving the three dimensional layout diagram from the second stor age based on a user s selection The processor retrieves the position and shape of a part in the plan wiring diagram from the fourth storage when the part is selected from the thre
8. associating them with each other so that they can be viewed easily A apparatus for displaying wiring includes a first storage for storing an image of a plan wiring diagram which shows parts and wirings and a second storage for storing a three dimensional layout of an apparatus which incorporates the parts and the wirings and a third storage for storing intermediate images transitional between a starting image in the plan wiring diagram and an ending image of a shape of the corresponding wiring in the three dimensional layout A processor displays the plan wiring diagram on the display device by retrieving the plan wiring diagram from the first storage based on a user s selection and retrieves the intermediate images of a wiring from the third storage when the wiring is selected from the plan wiring diagram and dis plays transitions to the shape shown in the three dimensional layout 13 Claims 7 Drawing Sheets US 8 274 511 B2 Sheet 1 of 7 Sep 25 2012 U S Patent 39 30 1 Ov AYISI JYIM 30 344 SY3AV 8 3 5 4 TWNOISNSWIG SSYHL 18 4 03193135 40 Ol 83 1 ONIMVYC 3938 JOVI TWNIWYSL ONY 13193135 0 TWNOISNSWIG JSYHL SSDVW SLVIGSWYSINI ONY ONIMYYG 35998 35 9 ce Le WHISNOD 18 XO LYVd 31 3 93135 OL Y3SN MOTIV 83 1 31d IL TN ONY 39 8 40 HOVLS Y3AV1
9. az United States Patent Sato US008274511B2 10 Patent No US 8 274 511 B2 45 Date of Patent Sep 25 2012 54 APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING WIRING 75 Inventor Yasushi Sato Tokyo JP 73 Assignee Honda Motor Co Ltd Tokyo JP Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this J y patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 681 days 21 Appl No 12 285 933 22 Filed Oct 16 2008 65 Prior Publication Data US 2009 0146997 A1 Jun 11 2009 30 Foreign Application Priority Data Oct 29 20 JP csiis 2007 274754 Oct 23 2007 2007 274798 51 Int Cl GO6T 17 00 2006 01 6 15 00 2006 01 GO06F 19 00 2006 01 52 US Cl ieee tek dinette 345 420 345 619 700 97 58 Field of Classification Search None See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 506 950 A 4 1996 Hughes etal 345 420 6 970 755 B2 11 2005 Sakakura et al we 700 97 2006 0214947 9 2006 Boose etal 345 619 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS JP 2005 004726 1 2005 cited by examiner Primary Examiner Daniel Washburn Assistant Examiner Donna Ricks 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Squire Sanders US LLP 57 ABSTRACT The present invention provides an apparatus which displays a plan wiring diagram and three dimensional layout diagram by
10. being configured to display the three dimensional layout on the display screen in the form of said underlying drawing by retrieving the three dimensional layout from the second storage responsive to a user s selection responsive to selection of a piece of wiring by a user from the displayed three dimensional layout sequentially retrieve the intermediate images of the piece of wiring from the third storage and display transition of the shape of the piece of wiring until the shape transforms into the shape that may be superimposed to a layer of the under lying drawing of the plan wiring diagram 7 The apparatus for displaying wiring according to claim 6 further comprising a fourth storage for storing positions and shapes of the parts in the plan wiring diagram in association with three dimensional positions and shapes of the parts in the three dimensional layout diagram wherein the proces sor displays the three dimensional layout on the display device by retrieving the three dimensional layout from the second storage based on a user s selection retrieves the position and shape of the part in the plan wiring 5 20 25 30 12 diagram from the fourth storage responsive to selection of the part from the three dimensional layout and dis plays the part at a corresponding position in the plan wiring diagram 8 The apparatus for displaying wire according to claim 6 wherein the three dimensional layout is formed of a supe
11. d connector C2 in the plan wiring diagram A Connectors C1 and C2 which actually are connector C as illustrated in the three dimensional layout diagram In this case when the user selects connector C1 from the plan wiring diagram A both connectors C1 and C2 are highlighted and transitions from the plan wiring diagram A to the three dimensional layout diagram B are displayed on the display device 30 using an animated display created by morphing technique described with reference to FIG 3 Connectors C1 and C2 are displayed in the three dimensional layout diagram B as connector C which is a single part According to a second aspect of the present invention transitions from a three dimensional layout diagram to a plan wiring diagram are displayed continuously Returning to FIG 1 when the user starts the program of the electronic manual 21 and selects for example the three dimensional layout diagram 46 shown in FIG 2 from the menu of the electronic manual 23 an appropriate underlying drawing is retrieved from the three dimensional underlying drawing data storage 11F Three dimensional layers of a plurality of appropriate wirings are retrieved from the three dimensional layer data storage 11E and the three dimensional layout diagram 46 is displayed on the display device 30 as a superimposition of the underlying drawing and multiple three dimensional layers 27 When the user selects wire A by placing the cursor on wire A in the
12. e dimensional layout diagram and displays the part at a corre sponding position in the plan wiring diagram According to this embodiment since the part selected from the three dimensional layout diagram by the user is displayed at the position and in the shape of the part in the plan wiring diagram the user may recognize correspondence between the three dimensional layout diagram and plan wiring diagram According to another embodiment of the present invention the three dimensional layout diagram is formed of superim position of a general underlying drawing of a three dimen sional layout and layers of individual wirings The interme diate images are provided for each layer According to another embodiment of the present invention the plan wiring diagram is formed of superimposition of a general underlying drawing of the wirings and layers of the respective wirings According to another embodiment of the present invention the intermediate images represent transitions which take place before a plurality of wires bundled into a harness shown in the three dimensional layout diagram are displayed as wirings in the plan wiring diagram According to another embodiment of the present invention when the plurality of wires bundled into a harness correspond to a plurality of drawings in the plan wiring diagram the processor displays identification information about the plu rality of drawings When one of the drawings is selected the processo
13. e 11C for storing planar layers for each wiring inter mediate image data storage 11D for storing intermediate images which represent transitions in wiring shape from the shape in the plan wiring diagram to the shape in a three dimensional layout diagram and conversely from the three dimensional shape in the three dimensional layout diagram to the shape in the plan wiring diagram The manual also includes data storage 11E for storing three dimensional layer for each wire and data storage 11F for storing underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout diagram The processor 20 realizes a function of displaying wire According to the present invention with the disk storage device 10 display device 30 and input devices 40 When a user starts the computer of the apparatus and selects the program for the electronic manual the processor 20 activates the program for the electronic manual 21 Consequently a menu of the electronic manual is displayed on the display device 30 23 Since the electronic manual itself is publicly known detailed description is omitted When the user selects a fuel injection system brake system ABS head light system or the like and selects a page of a plan wiring diagram 25 in accordance with the menus and using input devices 40 such as the keyboard and mouse a plan wiring diagram is retrieved and displayed on the display device 30 27 FIG 2 is a diagram illustrating how display on the displa
14. e of the part selected from the plan wiring diagram by the user is retrieved and superimposed over the three dimensional layout diagram Thus the user may recognize correspondence between the plan wiring diagram and three dimensional layout diagram According to an embodiment of the present invention the plan wiring diagram is formed superimposing on a general underlying drawing of the wirings layers of the respective wirings Intermediate images are provided for each layer According to another embodiment of the present invention the intermediate images are generated by morphing According to another embodiment of the present invention while displaying the intermediate images of the selected wir ing the processor erases the general underlying drawing of the wirings and retrieves and gradually displays a general underlying drawing of a corresponding three dimensional layout on the display According to another form of the present invention an apparatus for displaying wiring comprises a first storage adapted to store an image of a plan wiring diagram which shows parts and wirings a second storage adapted to store a three dimensional layout diagram of an apparatus which incorporates the parts and the wirings and a third storage adapted to store intermediate images transitional between a starting image and an ending image The three dimensional layout diagram is the starting image and the plan wiring diagram is the ending image The app
15. erly ing drawing in such a way as to take an appropriate position on the underlying drawing The intermediate images used here are generated using a morphing technique The morphing technique generates moving image data which represents smooth transitions from a still image to another still image and is used in the field of animation Morphing software products are commercially available The morphing technique handles images in GIF JPEG TIFF PNG and other file formats In one example wire A and part B connected to wire A are selected When wire A and part B are selected a layer 43 of part B e g an electronic control unit ECU and layer 47 of wire A are highlighted Transition of part B into a three dimensional layer 44 is represented by intermediate images which are produced by the morphing technique The three dimensional layer 44 of part B is superimposed over the underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout diagram of the automobile to resulting in the three dimensional layout diagram 46 In this way wire A and part B connected to wire A are superimposed over the underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout diagram an 0 20 35 40 45 55 65 6 FIG 5 shows an embodiment of one application of the present invention In a plan wiring diagram a single connec tor unit or pin is sometimes split into multiple portions for convenience In FIG 5 a single connector C is split into connector C1 an
16. g multiple wires FIG 7 is a diagram showing an example of transitions from a three dimensional layout diagram to a plan wiring diagram when the transitions involve rotation of the three dimensional diagram DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings An apparatus for displaying wire According to the present invention is implemented when a computer program created for the present invention is installed on a general purpose computer such as a personal computer In its basic configuration the computer includes a processor CPU a random access memory RAM which provides a working area for the processor and temporarily stores programs and data a non volatile storage device such as a disk drive which stores computer programs and data a display device such as a CRT display and a liquid crystal display for displaying computer output and input devices such as a keyboard and mouse FIG 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of the apparatus for displaying wire According to the present invention A disk storage device 10 stores an electronic manual 11 for automobile servicing The electronic manual 11 includes data stored in a menu screen data storage 11A for the electronic manual underlying drawing data storage 11B for a plan wiring diagram linked to the menu screen data storage 11A The manual further includes planar layer data storag
17. he apparatus for displaying wire according to claim 3 wherein the intermediate images are generated by morphing 5 The apparatus for displaying wiring according to claim 4 wherein while the intermediate images of the selected wiring are displayed the processor erases the general under lying layer of the wirings and retrieves a general underlying layer of a corresponding three dimensional layout for display on the display device 6 A apparatus for displaying a plan wiring diagram of parts and wirings in association with three dimensional layout ofa device incorporating the parts and the wirings the apparatus comprising a first storage for storing an underlying drawing of the plan wiring diagram which illustrates parts and wirings US 8 274 511 B2 11 a second storage for storing an underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout of a device which incorporates the parts and the wirings a third storage for storing intermediate images of the shapes of respective pieces of wirings in the three di mensional layout with a starting image of each piece of wiring being a shape corresponding to the wiring in the three dimensional layout and with an ending image of each piece of wiring being a shape corresponding to the wiring in the plan wiring diagram said intermediate images showing transition of the shape of a correspond ing piece of the wiring and a processor adapted to display images on a display screen wherein the processor
18. ing drawing on the display screen by retrieving the plan wiring diagram from the first storage responsive to a user s selection responsive to selection of a piece of wiring by a user from the displayed plan wiring diagram sequentially retrieve intermediate images of the shape corresponding to the selected piece of wiring from the third storage to display transition of the shape of the piece of wiring until the shape transforms into the shape that may be superim posed to a layer of the underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout 2 The apparatus for displaying wire according to claim 1 further comprising a fourth storage for storing positions and shapes of the parts in the plan wiring diagram in association with three dimensional positions and shapes of the parts in the three dimensional layout wherein the processor dis plays the plan wiring diagram on the display device by retrieving the plan wiring diagram from the first storage based on a user s selection and retrieves the three di mensional position and shape of the part from the fourth storage when the part is selected from the plan wiring diagram and superimposes the part over the three di mensional layout 3 The apparatus for displaying wire according to claim 1 wherein the plan wiring diagram is formed of superimposi tion of a general underlying layer of the wirings and layers of respective wirings and the intermediate images are provided for each layer 4 T
19. llustrations of an automobile Both manuals are referred to during servicing of the automo bile Recently plan wiring diagrams and geographical layout diagrams have become very complicated leading to a practice of referring to a service manual on a display screen The service manual is converted into an electronic form In a service manual in electronic form a wiring diagram and a circuit board with electronic components mounted are dis played together in a split display screen or a position in the layout diagram corresponding to a position selected by a user in the plan wiring diagram is displayed in a different color for example as shown in Japanese Patent Application Publica tion No 2005 4726 However plan wiring diagrams represent electrical rela tionships among components of an electrical system while three dimensional layout diagrams represent relationships between positions and wirings of parts The two types of diagram differ completely in the form of expression It is difficult to watch the two diagrams alternately by shifting one s line of sight and understand the correspondence between the two diagrams In automobiles wirings are often bundled into a wiring harness Difficulty is also encountered in finding out where the plurality of wirings contained in the harness is located in a plan wiring diagram Further a single wiring connector or a single electrical component with multiple functions may be split into multiple por
20. may be selected in the three dimensional layout diagram B and displayed in the plan wiring diagram A as split into connectors C1 and C2 The present invention has been described above by citing concrete examples but it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to these concrete examples 5 20 25 30 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 What is claimed is 1 An apparatus for displaying a plan wiring diagram of parts and wirings in association with a three dimensional layout of a device incorporating the parts and wirings the apparatus comprising a first storage for storing an underlying drawing of the plan wiring diagram which illustrates parts and wirings a second storage for storing an underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout of a device which incorporates the parts and the wirings a third storage for storing intermediate images of the shapes of respective pieces of wirings in the plan wiring diagram with a starting image of each piece of wiring being a shape corresponding to the wiring in the plan wiring diagram and with an ending image of each piece of wiring being a shape corresponding to the wiring in the three dimensional layout said intermediate images showing transition of the shape of a corresponding piece of the wiring and a processor adapted to display images on a display screen the processor being configured to display the plan wiring diagram in the form of said under ly
21. ng drawing of the plan wiring diagram including part B is retrieved from the planar underlying drawing data storage 11B The layers of multiple parts and wirings contained in the underlying drawing are retrieved from the planar layer data storage 11C and superimposed over the underlying drawing layer The layers appear gradually on the display device 30 as the image 41 of the plan wiring diagram The intermediate images 7 of part B layer in the three dimensional layout diagram 46 are retrieved from the intermediate image data storage 11D to display transition of part B Eventually the layer of part B is superimposed over the underlying drawing of the plan wiring diagram to complete the image 41 Consequently the image 41 of the plan wiring diagram is displayed on the display device 30 with part B highlighted The image 46 of the three dimensional layout fades out by thinning The speed of transition from the image 46 to the image 41 can be adjusted by sliding the button of the scroll bar 49 displayed on the screen of the display device 30 FIG 4 shows display stop motion transition The transition flow is opposite in direction to the one shown in FIG 3 First the three dimensional layout 46 selected from the menu by the user is displayed on the display device 30 The three dimensional layout 46 includes the underlying drawing retrieved from the three dimensional underlying drawing data storage 11F Multiple layers of the parts and wirings c
22. on transitions First a plan view 41 selected by the user is displayed on the display device 30 which comprises an underlying drawing retrieved from the data storage 11B and superimposed layers of multiple wirings retrieved from data storage 11C When the user selects wire A from the wiring diagram in the manner described above a layer 47 of wire A is superimposed over an image 41 of the plan wiring diagram wire A being highlighted by bold lines or by color Next the intermediate images of the layer 47 are retrieved from the intermediate image data storage 11D to represent transitions to a corresponding layer 48 in the three dimensional layout diagram 33 In the meantime the underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout diagram disappears gradually from a dis play screen resulting in a blank image 42 31 At the same time an image 46 appears gradually on the display screen with the layer 48 of wire A being superimposed over the underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout of the automobile retrieved from the storage 11F 35 Then mul tiple layers of three dimensional diagrams of the wirings contained in the underlying drawing are retrieved from the data storage 11E and superimposed over the underlying draw ing to complete the image 46 of the three dimensional layout diagram in which wire A is highlighted 35 The layer of each wiring is linked to the underlying draw ing using a part number and superimposed over the und
23. ontained in the underlying drawing are retrieved from the layer storage 11C and superimposed over the underlying drawing When the user selects part B from the three dimensional layout in the manner described above the layer 44 of part B is highlighted by bold lines or by color The intermediate images of the layer 44 are retrieved from the intermediate image data storage 11D to display transition to the corre sponding layer 43 in the plan wiring layout 33 The shape of part B in the layer 44 changes gradually to the shape of part B in the layer 43 of the plan wiring view Meanwhile the layer in the underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout disappears gradually from the display screen resulting in a blank image 45 31 The underlying drawing of the plan view including part B is retrieved from the planar underlying drawing data storage 11B and appears gradually on the dis play screen 35 At the same time the layers of the other wirings and parts contained in the underlying drawing are retrieved from the planar layer data storage 11C and super imposed over the underlying drawing Incidentally FIG 4 shows a case in which part B and wire A that is connected to part B are selected as in the case of FIG 3 In the example of FIG 5 connector C is split into connector C1 and connector C2 in the plan wiring diagram A Con nector C is displayed as a single part in the three dimensional layout diagram B Conversely connector C
24. osed over the underlying layer of the three dimensional view of the automobile retrieved from the three dimensional underlying drawing data storage 11F 35 Multiple layers of three di mensional view of the wirings contained in the underlying drawing are retrieved from the three dimensional layer data storage 11E and are superimposed over the underlying layer resulting in the image 46 of the three dimensional view in which part B is highlighted 35 The layer of each part or wiring is linked to the underlying layer using a part number and is superimposed over the under lying layer to align with the underlying layer The intermediate images used here are generated using a morphing technique The morphing technique generates moving image data which represents smooth transition from a still image to another still image and is used in the field of animation Morphing software products are commercially available The morphing technique handles images in GIF JPEG TIFF PNG and other file formats In one example part B and wire A connected to part B are selected When part B and wire A are selected the layer 47 of wire A connected to part B as well as the layer 43 of part B are highlighted Intermediate images are produced by the mor phing technique to show the manner wire A changes to a shape in a three dimensional layer 48 The three dimensional layer 48 of wire A is superimposed over the underlying layer of the three dimensional view of the
25. r imposition of a general underlying layer of a three dimen sional layout and layers of individual wirings 9 The apparatus for displaying wire according to claim 6 wherein the plan wiring diagram is formed of a superimpo sition of a general underlying layer of the wirings and layers of the respective wirings 10 The apparatus for displaying wire according to claim 6 wherein while the intermediate images of the selected wiring are displayed the processor erases the general underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout and gradually dis plays a underlying drawing ofa plan wiring diagram contain ing the corresponding wiring 11 The apparatus for displaying wire according to claim 10 wherein the intermediate images represent transition of a plurality of wirings bundled in a harness in the three dimen sional layout to wirings in the plan wiring diagram 12 The apparatus for displaying wiring according to claim 11 wherein when the plurality of wirings bundled into a harness corresponds to a plurality of drawings in the plan wiring diagram the processor displays identification infor mation about the plurality of drawings on the display device and when one of the drawings is selected the processor dis plays intermediate images to the selected drawing on the display device 13 The apparatus for displaying wire According to claim 12 wherein the intermediate images are produced by mor phing
26. r displays intermediate images for the selected draw ing on the display According to another embodiment of the present invention the intermediate images are generated by morphing According to another embodiment of the present invention while displaying the intermediate images of the selected wir ing the processor erases the general underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout diagram and gradually displays a general drawing of a plan wiring diagram containing the corresponding wiring on the display BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a apparatus for displaying wire According to the present invention FIG 2 is a diagram showing how transitions which take place from a plan wiring diagram to a three dimensional layout diagram FIG 3 is a stop motion diagram showing a mechanism of transitions from a plan wiring diagram to a three dimensional layout diagram FIG 4 is a stop motion diagram showing a mechanism of transitions from a three dimensional layout diagram to a plan wiring diagram 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 FIG 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between a plan wiring diagram and three dimensional layout diagram where a single part is split into two portions in the plan wiring diagram FIG 6 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence between a three dimensional layout diagram and plan wiring diagram of a harness containin
27. sition from image 46 to image 41 can be adjusted using the scroll bar 49 displayed on the screen of the display device 30 FIG 4 illustrates stop motion view of such transition The transition flow 15 opposite in direction to the one shown in FIG 3 First the three dimensional layout diagram 46 selected from the menu by the user is displayed on the display device 30 The three dimensional layout diagram 46 includes the underlying drawing retrieved from the three dimensional underlying drawing data storage 11F Multiple layers illus trating the wirings and parts included in the structure of the underlying drawing are retrieved from the planar layer data storage 11C and superimposed US 8 274 511 B2 7 When the user selects wire A from the three dimensional layout diagram in the manner described above the layer 48 of wire A is highlighted by bold lines or by color Next the intermediate images of the layer 48 are retrieved from the intermediate image data storage 11D to continuously display transition to a corresponding layer 47 in the three dimen sional layout diagram 33 Consequently the shape of wire A in the layer 48 changes gradually to the shape of wire A in the layer 47 of the plan wiring diagram Meanwhile the layers in the underlying drawing of the three dimensional layout dia gram disappear gradually from the display screen resulting in a blank image 45 31 An underlying drawing of the plan wiring diagram including wire
28. sition to the plan wiring diagram displayed Thus a functional part which needs to be checked may be displayed on a single screen in an easy to view fashion reducing the amount of data for intermediate images greatly In this case a combina tion of part numbers at each wiring connection in the plan wiring diagram is associated with the harness FIG 7 shows a variation of the second aspect of the present invention When the user places the cursor on wire F in the three dimensional view as shown in FIG 7 A and clicks the mouse the processor 20 rotates the three dimensional view from A to B and then from B to C In FIG 7 C wire F appears in the front of the view The processor 20 displays transition to a plan wiring diagram D which contains wire F beginning with the image in FIG 7 C and using intermediate images As a plan wiring diagram is associated with the three dimensional view the amount of data needed to create the intermediate images may be greatly reduced Next another embodiment of the present invention will be described Referring to FIG 2 when the user selects part Bin the plan wiring diagram by placing the cursor on part B and clicking the mouse or by entering a part number of part B via the input device 40 29 only the layer of part B is superim posed over the underlying layers of all the wirings and is highlighted by bold lines or by color When the user pushed the confirmation button displayed on the screen
29. tions and is displayed at multiple loca tions in a plan wiring diagram This makes it difficult to recognize the wiring connector or electrical component When similar parts are placed in a concentrated manner such as when a plurality of electronic control units ECU are placed in layers it is not easy to distinguish the parts SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an appara tus which can display a plan wiring diagram and three dimen sional layout diagram by associating them with each other so that they can be viewed easily To achieve the above object the present invention provides an apparatus for displaying wiring The apparatus comprises a first storage adapted to store an image of a plan wiring diagram which shows parts and wirings a second storage adapted to store a three dimensional layout diagram of an apparatus which incorporates the parts and the wirings and a third storage adapted to store intermediate images which are transitional between a starting image and an ending image Each of the wirings shown in the plan wiring diagram is a starting image and the shape of a corresponding wiring in the three dimensional layout diagram is an ending image The apparatus further comprises a processor adapted to display images on a display device The processor displays 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 the plan wiring diagram on the display device by retrieving the plan
30. y device 30 changes from a plan view to a three dimensional view Block 41 shows an example of a plan view displayed on the display device 30 The plan view is formed by superim posing layers of individual wirings and parts retrieved from the data storage 11C over a underlying layer containing all the US 8 274 511 B2 5 wirings which is retrieved from the data storage 11B in FIG 1 For example if the number of wirings and parts is thirty thirty one layers consisting of thirty wiring layers plus one underlying layer are superimposed and displayed as a plan view on the display device 30 If the user selects wire A by placing a cursor on wire A in the plan view and clicking the mouse or entering a part num ber of wire A via an input device 40 29 the layer of wire A is superimposed over the underlying drawing of all the wir ings The wire A is highlighted by bold lines or by color Next when the user pushes a confirmation button not shown dis played on a screen of the display device 30 for example by clicking the button with a mouse wire A changes its shape gradually to a three dimensional shape as shown in block 46 through intermediate images 7 FIG 2 The three dimen sional shape is superimposed over an underlying drawing of a three dimensional layout retrieved from data storage 11F storing the three dimensional underlying drawings The speed of transition may be adjusted using a scroll bar 49 FIG 3 illustrates stop moti
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