Patent ID: 7215334

Claim:
A method of supporting a user in mechanically analyzing a performance of an object, using an input device, a display device having a screen for display, and a computer connected to the input device and the display device, the method comprising: graphically displaying on the screen a generalized model which is constructed as a numerical analysis model for the object such that the generalized model has been generalized with respect to at least configuration of a configuration, a structure, and a mechanism, of the object, and has been specialized with respect to a function of the object; data-entry displaying on the screen an item for letting the user enter data using the input device in order to define a specialized model which is constructed as a numerical analysis model for the object by specializing the displayed generalized model with respect to the at least configuration thereof, and mechanically analyzing the performance of the object, on the basis of the specialized model defined by the data entered by the user in association with the displayed item, a numerical analysis approach predetermined in accordance with the function of the object, and a numerical analysis condition determined by the user or predetermined as a standard condition, wherein the object is a subject one of a plurality of components of a single product, which subject component has been selected by the user, wherein the generalized model is a subject generalized-model corresponding to the subject component, wherein the subject genrealized-model is one of a plurality of numberical analysis models respectively for the plurality of components, wherein each numberical analysis model has been generalized with respect to at least one of a configuration, a structure, and a mechanism, of each component of the object, wherein each numberical analysis model has been specialized with respect to a function of each component of the object, wherein the graphically displaying comprises displaying the plurality of components distinguishably from each other on the screen, displaying an indication on the screen for letting the user select as the subject component one of the plurality of components, and graphically displaying on the screen one of the plurality of generalized models which corresponds to the subject component which has been selected by the user in response to the indication, and wherein the mechanically analyzing comprises mechanically analyzing a performance of the subject component, on the basis of the specialized model defined by data which have been entered by the user in association with the displayed item on the screen, the numerical analysis approach predetermined in accordance with the function of the subject component, and the numerical analysis condition.