Patent Publication Number: US-2023161926-A1

Title: Manufacturing system design verification device

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a manufacturing system design verification device. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     A plural types of design such as a mechanical design, an electrical design, a control design are performed when a manufacturing system is designed. Known is a technique for verifying adequacy of design information of a manufacturing system when such a manufacturing system is designed. For example, in a technique described in Patent Document 1, design information such as a mechanical CAD drawing and a control program is inputted to a dedicate device simulator, and adequacy of the design information of a manufacturing system is verified by simulating a whole operation of the manufacturing system by the dedicate device simulator. 
     PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS 
     Patent Documents 
     
         
         Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-225419 
       
    
     SUMMARY 
     Problem to be Solved by the Invention 
     However, in a conventional verification of adequacy of manufacturing system design information using the simulation, only some design information such as a mechanical CAD drawing and a control program can be inputted as the manufacturing system design information to the simulator. Thus, contents which can be verified are limited. 
     The present disclosure is made in view of this problem. An object of the present disclosure is to provide a manufacturing system design verification device capable of broadening design information which can be verified. 
     Means to Solve the Problem 
     A manufacturing system design verification device includes a design information model, a design information input part, a verification logic storage part, and a design information verification part. The design information model is a framework integrating and expressing design information. The design information is inputted to the design information input part. The design information input part converts the design information into an expression described in a resource description language with reference to the design information model. The verification logic storage part stores a verification logic including a group of a query described in a query language corresponding to the resource description language and an expected result. The design information verification part includes a query execution engine performing the query on the expression and returning an execution result and a comparison engine comparing the execution result with the expected result and returning a verification result. 
     Effects of the Invention 
     According to the present disclosure, the design information is converted into the expression described in the resource description language with reference to a design information model as the framework integrating and expressing the design information, and the verification result is returned based on the expression. Thus, the design information of various designs such as a process design, a mechanical design, an electrical design, and a control design can be inputted to the manufacturing system design verification device. Accordingly, a type of the design information which can be verified by the manufacturing system design verification device can be broadened. 
     These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    A block diagram schematically illustrating a hardware configuration of a manufacturing system design verification device according to an embodiment 1. 
         FIG.  2    A block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of the manufacturing system design verification information according to the embodiment 1. 
         FIG.  3    A flow chart illustrating a flow of a process relating to an input of manufacturing system design information performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 1. 
         FIG.  4    A flow chart illustrating a flow of a process relating to a verification of design information performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 1. 
         FIG.  5    A diagram describing an example of a verification of design information performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 1. 
         FIG.  6    A diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 1. 
         FIG.  7    A block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of a manufacturing system design verification device according to an embodiment 2. 
         FIG.  8    A diagram illustrating an example of a verification item template inputted to a manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 2. 
         FIG.  9    A diagram illustrating an example of an internal specification inputted to the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 2. 
         FIG.  10    A flow chart illustrating a flow of a process relating to an input of a verification item template and generation and storage of a verification logic performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 2. 
         FIG.  11    A diagram describing an example of a verification relating to an external specification performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 2. 
         FIG.  12    A block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of a manufacturing system design verification device according to an embodiment 3. 
         FIG.  13    A diagram illustrating an example of an operation specification inputted to the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 3. 
         FIG.  14    A flow chart illustrating a flow of a process relating to a verification of a control program using the operation specification performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 3. 
         FIG.  15    A diagram describing an example of a verification performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 3. 
         FIG.  16    A block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of a part of a manufacturing system design verification device according to an embodiment 4. 
         FIG.  17    A flow chart illustrating a flow of a process relating to acquirement of a design index and generation of a verification logic performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 4. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT(S) 
     Embodiment 1 
       FIG.  1    is a block diagram schematically illustrating a hardware configuration of a manufacturing system design verification device according to an embodiment 1. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  1   , a manufacturing system design verification device  1  according to the embodiment 1 includes a processor  92 , a memory  93 , a hard disk drive  94 , an input device  95 , an output device  96 , and a system bus  97 . 
     The processor  92  is a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a digital signal processor (DSP), for example. The memory  93  is a random access memory (RAM) or a read-only memory (ROM), for example. The hard disk drive  94  may be replaced with an auxiliary storage device other than the hard disk drive  94 . For example, the hard disk drive  94  may be replaced with a solid state drive (SSD) or a RAM disk, for example. The input device  95  is a keyboard, a pointing device, a microphone, a scanner, a camera, a communication interface, or a sensor, for example. The output device  96  is a display, a lamp, a speaker, or a communication interface, for example. 
     The system bus  97  connects the processor  92 , the memory  93 , the hard disk drive  94 , the input device  95 , and the output device  96  so that they can perform communication with each other. 
       FIG.  2    is a block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 1. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  2   , the manufacturing system design verification device  1  includes a design information model  10 , a design information input part  12 , a verification logic storage part  13 , a design information storage part  14 , and a design information verification part  15 . These elements are constituted by the processor  92  executing a program loaded from the hard disk drive  94  to the memory  93 . Some or all of these elements may be constituted by hardware which does not execute a program. 
     Manufacturing system design information  20  is inputted to the manufacturing system design verification device  1 . The manufacturing system design verification device  1  outputs a verification result  21  of the manufacturing system design information  20 . 
     The manufacturing system design information  20  indicates contents of a design of a manufacturing system for manufacturing a product. The manufacturing system design information  20  includes design information indicating contents of a design such as a process design, a mechanical design, an electrical design, and a control design included in the design of the manufacturing system. The design information indicating the contents of the design is outputted from a design tool used in the design. 
     Partial information constituting the design information is referred to as a design item hereinafter. 
     The design information model  10  is a framework integrating and expressing the design information. The design information model  10  defines a regulation for expressing the design information by a specific expression form, thereby integrating and expressing the design information. The defined regulation includes a definition of a class and a definition of a relationship between the design items. The definition of the class classifies the design items included in the design information. The definition of the relationship indicates how a design item and the other design item relating to the design item are related to each other. 
     The manufacturing system design information  20  is inputted to the design information input part  12 . Accordingly, the design information included in the manufacturing system design information  20  is inputted to the design information input part  12 . 
     The design information input part  12  converts the inputted design information into an expression described in a resource description language with reference to the design information model  10 . At that time, the design information input part  12  converts the design information into an expression described in a resource description language using a class and a relationship defined by the referred design information model  10 . The resource description language is an AutomationML, a Resource Description Framework (RDF), for example. The expression described in the resource description language is referred to as a design information resource hereinafter. 
     Considered herein is a case where a class of “process” and “device” and a relationship of “device used in process” are defined by the design information model  10 . In this case, the design information resource includes “process A” and “device B” as an instance of the class of “process” and “device”, and when there is a relationship of “device used in process” between “process A” and “process B”, the design information resource expresses that “device used in process A is device B”. 
     The design information storage part  14  stores both the inputted design information and a design information resource obtained by converting the design information. At that time, the design information storage part  14  stores the design information and the design information resource in a design information database (DB). 
     The verification logic storage part  13  stores at least one verification logic  130 . At that time, the verification logic storage part  13  stores at least one verification logic  130  in a verification item DB. At least one verification logic  130  which has been stored is used for verifying compliance of the design information. Each verification logic  130  includes a group of a query  1300  and an expected result  1301 . 
     The query  1300  is at least one query. The query  1300  is described in a query language corresponding to the resource description language described above. The query language is SPARQL, for example. The query  1300  is a query obtaining information included in the design information using the class and the relationship defined by the design information model  10 . For example, the query  1300  is a query obtaining a value of a specific design item or a query checking whether or not there is a specific relationship between two design items. 
     The expected result  1301  is compared with an execution result of the query  1300  paired with the expected result  1301 . The expected result  1301  is expressed by a function definition outputting a truth-value taking the execution result of the query  1300  as an argument using a programming language. Accordingly, the expected result  1301  expresses a limitation which should be satisfied by the execution result of the query  1300 . 
     The design information verification part  15  performs verification whether or not the design information satisfies the verification logic  130  on the verification logic  130  stored in the verification logic storage part  13  and the design information resource stored in the design information storage part  14 . The design information verification part  15  includes a query execution engine  150  and a comparison engine  151 . The query execution engine  150  executes the query  1300  described in a query description language on the design information resource described in the resource description language, and returns the execution result of the query  1300 . The query execution engine  150  is a SPARQL execution engine, for example. The comparison engine  151  compares the returned execution result of the query  1300  with the expected result  1301 , and returns a verification result. At that time, the comparison engine  151  applies a function as the expected result  1301  to the execution result of the query  1300 , and returns a verification result. Accordingly, the design information verification part  15  outputs the verification result for each verification logic  130 . The outputted verification result is given by true or false, and is included in the verification result  21  outputted by the manufacturing system design verification device  1 . Accordingly, the design information verification part  15  executes the verification logic  130 , thereby being able to mechanically confirm compliance of the manufacturing system design information  20 . 
       FIG.  3    is a flow chart illustrating a flow of a process relating to an input of manufacturing system design information performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 1. 
     The design information input part  12  executes Steps S 1  to S 4  illustrated in  FIG.  3   . 
     In Step S 1 , the design information included in the manufacturing system design information  20  is inputted to the design information input part  12 . 
     In subsequent Step S 2 , the design information input part  12  reads in the design information model  10 . 
     In subsequent Step S 3 , the design information input part  12  converts the design information inputted using the design information model  10  which has been read into the design information resource as the expression described in the resource description language. 
     In subsequent Step S 4 , the design information input part  12  stores the design information and the design information resource in the design information storage part  14 . 
       FIG.  4    is a flow chart illustrating a flow of a process relating to a verification of the design information performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 1. 
     The design information verification part  15  executes Steps S 21  to S 26  illustrated in  FIG.  4   . 
     In Step S 21 , the design information verification part  15  reads in the design information resource from design information DB constituted by the design information storage part  14 . 
     In subsequent Step S 22 , the design information verification part  15  reads in at least one verification logic  130  from the verification item DB constituted by the verification logic storage part  13 . 
     In subsequent Step S 23 , the query execution engine  150  executes each verification logic  130  and obtains the execution result of the query  1300  included in each verification logic  130 . At that time, the query execution engine  150  executes the query  1300  included in each verification logic  130  on the design information resource which has been read to obtain the execution result of the query  1300 . 
     In subsequent Step S 24 , the comparison engine  151  compares the obtained execution result with the expected value as the expected result  1301  included in each verification logic  130  to obtain the verification result. 
     In subsequent Step S 25 , the design information verification part  15  determines whether or not all of at least one verification logic  130  has been executed. When all of at least one verification logic  130  have been executed, the design information verification part  15  proceeds with the process to Step S 26 , and when they have not been executed, the design information verification part  15  returns the process to Step S 23 . When the process is returned to Step S 23 , the comparison engine  151  obtains, in Step S 23 , the verification result for the verification logic  130  whose verification result has not been obtained. 
     In Step S 26 , the design information verification part  15  outputs the verification result  21  including the verification result obtained for at least one verification logic  130 . 
     According to the embodiment 1, the design information is converted into the expression described in the resource description language with reference to the design information model  10  as the framework integrating and expressing the design information, and the verification result is returned based on the expression. Thus, the design information of various designs such as a process design, a mechanical design, an electrical design, and a control design can be inputted to the manufacturing system design verification device  1 . Accordingly, a type of the design information which can be verified by the manufacturing system design verification device  1  can be broadened. 
     According to the embodiment 1, the design information verification part  15  provides a system capable of formally expressing contents to be verified and executing verification by a computer. Accordingly, compliance of the manufacturing system design information  20  can be mechanically verified. 
     Thus, according to the embodiment 1, cost in a stage of the design of the manufacturing system can be reduced. 
       FIG.  5    is a diagram illustrating an example of a verification of the design information performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 1. 
     In the example described in  FIG.  5   , confirmed is that there is a device achieving all of the processes included in the design information, thus it is verified whether or not the design information includes a defect. Accordingly, in the example described by  FIG.  5   , a state where the design information has compliance is a state where there is a device achieving all of the processes included in the design information. 
     The design information model  10  includes a definition of the class of the design item and a definition of a relationship between the design items or between the classes. The design information resource  140  is obtained when the design information input part  12  converts the design information into the expression described in the resource description language using the definition of the class and the relationship. The design information resource  140  is described in an RDF form, for example, and takes a form of a list of three-piece group including two elements as the design item or the class and one relationship. In the example described in  FIG.  5   , “is_a relationship” in a first line in the design information resource  140  expresses that “process A” belongs to “process” class. Moreover, “hasEquipment relationship” in a fifth line in the design information resource  140  expresses that “device B” achieves “process A”. 
     The verification logic  130  includes the query  1300  and the expected result  1301 . The query  1300  is at least one query, and is described by SPARQL as the query language using the class and the relationship defined by the design information model  10 . The expected result  1301  may be a simple expected value, or may also be a procedure described in the programming language. When the expected result  1301  is the procedure described in the programming language, the expected result  1301  can describe a limitation which should be satisfied by an execution result  153  of the query  1300  even in a case where the query  1300  is a plurality of queries. 
     Described herein is a method of constituting the verification logic  130 , the query  1300 , and the expected result  1301 . 
     In the example illustrated in  FIG.  5   , the contents to be verified are that “there is device achieving all of processes included in design information”. The contents to be verified can be expressed by preparing the query  1300  including the query extracting all of the processes and the query extracting all of the processes expressed by the device, and determining that a state where the number of processes extracted to the former query is equal to the number of processes extracted by the latter query is the expected result  1301 . Prepared in the example described in  FIG.  5    is the query  1300  including “query 1” obtaining a group of processes and a device relating to the processes and “query 2” obtaining a list of the processes. The expected result  1301  has a function evaluating whether or not a magnitude of an execution result of “query 1” is a magnitude of an execution result of “query 2” are equal to each other. 
     The design information verification part  15  makes the query execution engine  150  execute the verification logic  130  on the design information resource  140  to verify the design information. Accordingly, the execution result  153  of each query  1300  can be obtained. The execution result  153  of each query  1300  and the expected result  1301  are inputted to the comparison engine  151 . The comparison engine  151  applies the function as the expected result  1301  inputted to the inputted execution result  153  of each query  1300 , thereby returning a truth-value provided by “True” or “False”. A state there the returned truth-value is provided by “True” indicates that the execution result  153  of each query  1300  satisfies the expected result  1301 . In the meanwhile, a state there the returned truth-value is provided by “false” indicates that the execution result  153  of each query  1300  does not satisfy the expected result  1301 . In the example described in  FIG.  5   , the magnitude of the execution result of “query 1” and the magnitude of the execution result of “query 2” is the same, that is 2, thus the returned truth-value is provided by “True”. 
     In the example described in  FIG.  5   , when the design information resource  140  lacks [“process C” hasEquipment “device D”], the execution result of “query 1” is only “process A, device B”, thus the magnitude of the execution result of “query 1” and the magnitude of the execution result of “query 2” are different from each other, and the returned truth-value is provided by “False”. Accordingly, the design information includes a defect in this case. 
     A method of constituting the verification logic  130 , the query  1300 , and the expected result  1301  different from the method of constituting the verification logic  130 , the query  1300 , and the expected result  1301  described above may also be adopted. 
       FIG.  6    is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 1. 
     A screen  190  illustrated in  FIG.  6    is displayed on a display as an output device  96 . The screen  190  is displayed by software achieving a function of inputting and verifying the design information in the manufacturing system design verification device  1 . 
     A design file as design information stored in the design information DB is listed and displayed in a “design information list” area  191  in the screen  190 . When the screen  190  is displayed, a design file is selected on a file selection dialog displayed upon pressing a “design information input” button  192 , thus design information as a selected design file can be additionally stored in the design information storage part  14  in accordance with a flow of a process illustrated in  FIG.  3   . When the display  190  is displayed, a “verification” button  193  is pressed, thus the design information stored in the design information storage part  14  can be verified in accordance with a flow of a process illustrated in  FIG.  4   . A result of the verification is displayed in a “verification result list” area  194 . A result of the verification is displayed for each verification item corresponding to one verification logic  130  in the “verification result list” area  194 . The result of each verification is provided by “True” or “False”. When the result of the verification is provided by “False”, a difference of the execution result from the expected result is indicated as a cause thereof. 
     The design information verification part  15  can perform verification at an optional timing on verification logic  130  stored in the verification logic storage part  13  and the design information stored in the design information storage part  14 . For example, the design information verification part  15  can perform verification when a user presses the “verification” button  193 , and can also perform verification when the design information is updated, thus can perform verification when the verification logic  130  is updated in accordance with the update of the design information model  10 . 
     A user can freely select the verification item verified by the manufacturing system design verification device  1 . Accordingly, the verification can also be performed only on an optional number of verification logics  130  selected by the user from the verification logic  130  stored in the verification logic storage part  13 . As a method of making the user select the verification item, for example, it is also applicable to display a setting dialog and make the user select the verification item by the displayed setting dialog. 
     A method of outputting the verification result  21  is not limited. For example, the verification result  21  can be displayed for the user via a graphical user interface (GUI). The user can be notified of the verification result  21  by E-mail. 
     Embodiment 2 
       FIG.  7    is a block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of a manufacturing system design verification device according to an embodiment 2. 
     Described hereinafter is a point that a manufacturing system design verification device  2  according to the embodiment 2 in  FIG.  7    is different from the manufacturing system design verification device  1  according to the embodiment 1 in  FIG.  1   . With regard to the point not described hereinafter, a configuration similar to that adopted in the manufacturing system design verification device  1  is also adopted in the manufacturing system design verification device  2 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  7   , the manufacturing system design verification device  2  further includes a verification logic generation part  11 . 
     A verification item template  40  is inputted to the verification logic generation part  11 . The verification logic generation part  11  generates the verification logic  130  based on the inputted verification item template  40 . 
     The verification item template  40  includes an input column for at least one of an external specification  401  and an internal specification  402 . Thus, the user inputs at least one of the external specification  401  and the internal specification  402  in the input column, thereby being able to describe at least one of the external specification  401  and the internal specification  402  in the verification item template  40 . A specification described in the verification item template  40  is an item to be verified. 
     The external specification  401  indicates a specification value of a manufacturing system. The specification value of the manufacturing system is a size of a manufacturing system, a weight of a manufacturing system, a consumption power of a whole manufacturing system, and a thermal capacity of a whole manufacturing system, for example. 
       FIG.  8    is a diagram illustrating an example of a verification item template inputted to the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 2. 
     The verification item template  40  illustrated in  FIG.  8    includes an input column for the weight of the manufacturing system, the size of the manufacturing system, and the consumption power of the whole manufacturing system as the input column for the external specification  401 . 
     The internal specification  402  indicates internal design information of the manufacturing system used at a time of designing the manufacturing system. The internal design information of the manufacturing system is a connection relationship table indicating a connection relationship between a programmable logic controller (PLC) and a contact point of each apparatus or a component table as a list of commercial products used for constituting the manufacturing system, for example. 
       FIG.  9    is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal specification inputted to the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 2. 
     The internal specification  402  illustrated in  FIG.  9    is the connection relationship table described above. The connection relationship table indicates that “sensor A” is connected to a PLC side contact point having a PLC side contact point number of “X100”. When the connection relationship table is described in the verification item template  40 , each item of the connection relationship table serves as the input column. 
       FIG.  10    is a flow chart illustrating a flow of a process relating to an input of a verification item template and generation and storage of a verification logic performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 2. 
     The verification logic generation part  11  executes Steps S 101  to S 103  illustrated in  FIG.  10   . 
     The verification item template  40  is inputted to the verification logic generation part  11  in Step S 101 . A least one of the external specification  401  and the internal specification  402  is inputted to the input column of the inputted verification item template  40 . Thus, at least one of the external specification  401  and the internal specification  402  is described in the inputted verification item template  40  by the user. 
     The verification logic generation part  11  generates the verification logic  130  from the inputted verification item template  40  in subsequent Step S 102 . The generated verification logic  130  includes a group of the query  1300  and the expected result  1301  in the manner similar to the embodiment 1. The query  1300  obtains a value included in the design information and presence or absence of a relationship included in the design information. The expected result  1301  is a function comparing the value inputted to the input column of the verification item template  40  with the execution result of the query  1300 . The query  1300  corresponding to each input column of the verification item template  40  is basically prepared when the verification logic  130  is generated, and the value in the function as the expected result  1301  changes in accordance with each input column. 
     In Step S 103 , the verification logic generation part  11  stores the generated verification logic  130  in the verification item DB constituted by the verification logic storage part  13 . 
     According to the embodiment 2, the item which the user would like to verify is described in the verification item template  40 , thus the design can be verified for the plurality of verification items regarding the external specification  401  and the internal specification  402 , for example. 
       FIG.  11    is a diagram illustrating an example of a verification relating to an external specification performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 2. 
     In the example described by  FIG.  11   , it is verified whether or not a weight of the manufacturing system is equal to or smaller than that of the manufacturing system inputted to the input column of the verification item template  40 . In the example described by  FIG.  11   , the design information resource  140  expresses a weight of a device constituting the manufacturing system using hasWeight relationship. The external specification  401  inputted to the input column of the verification item template  40  is inputted to the verification logic generation part  11 . 
     The verification logic generation part  11  generates the verification logic  130  from the inputted external specification  401  in accordance with the flow of the processes illustrated in  FIG.  10   . The query  1300  included in the generated verification logic  130  is prepared for each input column of the verification item template  40 . In the example described by  FIG.  11   , the query  1300  obtains the weight of the device constituting the manufacturing system. The expected result  1301  included in the verification logic  130  is generated as a function comparing whether or not the execution result of the query  1300 , that is to say, a total weight of the device constituting the manufacturing system is smaller than the weight of the manufacturing system inputted to the input column for the external specification  401 . Accordingly, the verification logic generation part  11  can generate the verification logic  130  from the external specification  401 . 
     In the similar manner, the verification logic generation part  11  can also generate the verification logic  130  from the internal specification  402 . When the verification logic  130  is generated from the internal specification  402 , for example, it is verified whether or not a wiring is performed in the design information in accordance with the connection relationship table inputted to the input column regarding the internal specification  402  of the verification item template  40 . In this case, a query obtaining a contact point of an apparatus to which each PLC terminal included in the manufacturing system is connected can be considered as the query  1300  included in the verification logic  130 . A function having a process of comparing the execution result of the query  1300  and the connection relationship table can be considered as the expected result  1301  included in the verification logic  130 . 
     In the flow of the process illustrated in  FIG.  10   , the verification logic  130  generated from the verification item template  40  is additionally stored in the verification logic storage part  13 . However, the verification logic  130  already stored in the verification logic storage part  13  based on the verification item template  40  can be corrected or deleted. 
     Embodiment 3 
       FIG.  12    is a block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of a manufacturing system design verification device according to an embodiment 3. 
     Described hereinafter is a point that a manufacturing system design verification device  3  according to the embodiment 3 in  FIG.  12    is different from the manufacturing system design verification device  1  according to the embodiment 1 in  FIG.  1   . With regard to the point not described hereinafter, a configuration similar to that adopted in the manufacturing system design verification device  1  is also adopted in the manufacturing system design verification device  3 . 
     The manufacturing system design verification device  3  can perform verification described above, and can also perform verification different from the verification described above when the manufacturing system design information  20  includes a control program  201 . When the manufacturing system design information  20  includes the control program  201 , the control program  201  is inputted to the design information input part  12 . The control program  201  is generated in a control design included in a design of the manufacturing system. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  12   , the manufacturing system design verification device  3  further includes a verification logic generation part  11 . 
     A verification item template  40  is inputted to the verification logic generation part  11 . 
     The verification item template  40  includes the input column for an operation specification  403 . A user inputs the operation specification  403  to the input column, thereby being able to describe the operation specification  403  in the verification item template  40 . The operation specification  403  described in the verification item template  40  is an item to be verified. 
     The operation specification  403  expresses an operation of a manufacturing system. The operation specification  403  is a device constituting a manufacturing system or a timing chart in which an operation timing of an apparatus is described, for example. 
       FIG.  13    is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation specification inputted to the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 3. 
     The operation specification  403  illustrated in  FIG.  13    is a timing chart. The timing chart expresses a time change of values of an input contact point having a PLC side contact point number starting from “X” of the PLC and an output contact point having a PLC side contact point number starting from “Y” thereof. In the operation specification  403  illustrated in  FIG.  13   , the value changes between two values of an ON value corresponding to “ON” and an OFF value corresponding to “OFF” The value can change between three values. The value may be an analog value. When the operation specification  403  is a timing chart, the timing chart is inputted to the input column of the verification item template  40 . 
     The verification logic generation part  11  sets the operation specification  403  to the verification logic  130  stored in the verification logic storage part  13 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  12   , the design information verification part  15  includes a simulation execution environment  152 . When the control program  201  is input to the design information input part  12 , the simulation execution environment  152  simulatively executes the control program  201  using information included in the operation specification  403 , and outputs an execution result. When the operation specification  403  is a timing chart as illustrated in  FIG.  13   , the simulation execution environment  152  reads in a combination of a time change of the value of the input contact point and the control program  201  included in the timing chart, and simulatively executes the control program  201  using the combination of the time change of the value of the input contact point which has been read to return the combination of the time change of the value of the output contact point. 
     The comparison engine  151  compares the outputted execution result with the expected result included in the operation specification  403 , and returns the verification result. 
       FIG.  14    is a flow chart illustrating a flow of a process relating to a verification of a control program using the operation specification performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 3. 
     The design information verification part  15  executes Steps S 201  to S 205  illustrated in  FIG.  14   . 
     When the execution from Steps S 201  to S 205  is started, the timing chart as the verification logic  130  is assumed to be already stored in the verification logic storage part  13 . The control program  201  as the design information of the control design is assumed to be already stored in the design information storage part  14 . 
     In Step S 201 , the design information verification part  15  reads in the control program  201  as the design information from the design information DB constituted by the design information storage part  14 . 
     In subsequent Step S 202 , the design information verification part  15  reads in the timing chart as the verification logic  130  from the verification item DB constituted by the verification logic storage part  13 . 
     In subsequent Step S 203 , the simulation execution environment  152  simulatively executes the control program  201  to obtain the execution result based on the control program  201  and the timing chart which have been read. The obtained execution result includes a time change of the value of the output contact point of the PLC. 
     In subsequent Step S 204 , the comparison engine  151  compares the time change of the value of the output contact point of the PLC included in the obtained execution result with the time change of the value of the output contact point of the PLC included in the obtained timing chart to return the verification result. 
     In Step S 205 , the design information verification part  15  outputs the verification result  21 . The outputted verification result  21  includes the verification result returned in Step S 204 . 
     According to the embodiment 3, it can be mechanically verified whether or not the operation achieved by the control program  201  coincides with the operation expressed by the timing chart as the operation specification  403 . 
       FIG.  15    is a diagram illustrating an example of a verification performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 3. 
     In the example described in  FIG.  15   , a timing chart  154  is inputted to the input column for the operation specification  403  of the verification item template  40  by the user. The time change of the value of the input contact point of the PLC included in the timing chart  154  serves as input data inputted to the simulation execution environment  152 . The time change of the value of the output contact point of the PLC included in the timing chart  154  serves as the expected result  1301  inputted to the comparison engine  151 . 
     The time change of the value of the input contact point of the PLC is inputted to the simulation execution environment  152 . The simulation execution environment  152  outputs the time change of the value of the output contact point of the PLC as the execution result. The time change of the value of the output contact point of the outputted PLC is inputted to the comparison engine  151 . The comparison engine  151  compares the time change of the value of the output contact point of the PLC inputted from the simulation execution environment  152  with the time change of the value of the output contact point of the PLC as the expected result  1301  to return the verification result. At that time, the comparison engine  151  determines that the verification result is “No” by reason that the time change of the value of the output contact point having the PLC side contact point number of “Y102” is different from the time change of the value of the output contact point having the same PLC side contact point number as the PLC side contact point number. 
     The verification result obtained in this manner includes information of the time change of the value of the output contact point of the PLC. Thus, the verification result can be illustrated on the GUI as the timing chart. Accordingly, the user can easily compare the time change of the values of the output contact point of the PLC. 
     Embodiment 4 
       FIG.  16    is a block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of a part of a manufacturing system design verification device according to an embodiment 4. 
     Described hereinafter is a point that a manufacturing system design verification device  4  according to the embodiment 4 in  FIG.  16    is different from the manufacturing system design verification device  1  according to the embodiment 1 in  FIG.  1   . With regard to the point not described hereinafter, a configuration similar to that adopted in the manufacturing system design verification device  1  is also adopted in the manufacturing system design verification device  4 . 
     In the manufacturing system design verification device  4 , the design information storage part  14  can accumulate a plural pieces of design information relating to the manufacturing system. The design information storage part  14  stores the design information inputted to the design information input part  12  and includes it in the accumulated design information. Accordingly, the design information storage part  14  can accumulate the design information with the design information of a past design. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  16   , the manufacturing system design verification device  4  further includes a design index learning part  17 . 
     The design index learning part  17  learns a design index from the plural pieces of design information accumulated in the design information storage part  14 . The learned design index indicates a preferable design. The design index indicates a relationship of two design items included in design information in the manufacturing system design information  20 . The two design items are two design items in which when a value of one of the two design items is determined, a value of the other one of the two design items is determined. The two design items are the number of contact points of the PLC and a size of a control board, for example. When the number of contact points of the PLC is determined, the size of the control board is determined, thus the number of contact points of the PLC and the size of the control board can be the two design items. 
     The verification logic generation part  11  generates the verification logic  130  from the learned design index. 
       FIG.  17    is a flow chart illustrating a flow of a process relating to acquirement of the design index and generation of the verification logic performed by the manufacturing system design verification device according to the embodiment 4. 
     The verification logic generation part  11  and the design index learning part  17  execute Steps S 301  to S 303  illustrated in  FIG.  17   . 
     In Step S 301 , the design index learning part  17  reads in the design information from the design information DB constituted by the design information storage part  14 . 
     In subsequent Step S 302 , the design index learning part  17  derives the design index from the design information which has been read. The design index is expressed by a function in which a value of the other design item is returned when a value of a certain design item is inputted. For example, when a design index relating to two design items A and B are expressed by a function f, the function f returns a value f(a) of the design item B when a value a of the design item A is inputted. The returned value f(a) is a recommended value of the design item B. The function can be obtained by a statistical method of inputting a value of a design item included in known design information or a mechanical learning, for example. 
     In subsequent Step S 303 , the verification logic generation part  11  generates the verification logic  130  from the design index, and stores the generated verification logic  130  in the verification item DB constituted by the verification logic storage part  13 . The stored verification logic  130  is a group of the query  1300  and the expected result  1301  in the manner similar to the embodiment 1. The query  1300  obtains values of certain two design items from the design information. The expected result  1301  is a function of comparing the execution result of the query  1300  with the design index. 
     According to the embodiment 4, the design index is learned from the accumulated design information, and the verification logic  130  is generated from the learned design index. The design information is verified based on the generated verification logic  130 . Accordingly, it can be verified whether or not the design information is design information deviating from the design information of the other plurality of designs. 
     Each embodiment can be arbitrarily combined, or each embodiment can be appropriately varied or omitted. 
     Although the present disclosure is described in detail, the foregoing description is in all aspects illustrative and does not restrict the disclosure. It is therefore understood that numerous modification examples not illustrated can be devised. 
     EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE SIGNS 
       1  Manufacturing system design verification device,  2  manufacturing system design verification device,  3  manufacturing system design verification device,  4  manufacturing system design verification device,  10  design information model,  11  verification logic generation part,  12  design information input part,  13  verification logic storage part,  14  design information storage part,  15  design information verification part,  17  design index learning part,  150  query execution engine,  151  comparison engine,  152  simulation execution environment.