Patent ID: 7337096

Claim:
A calculation method for packing a plurality of wires constituting a wire harness, in which sectional shapes of the plurality of wires are regarded as a plurality of circles having diameters corresponding to the respective outer shapes of the wires, the calculation method, comprising the steps of: removing a first circle, which is smaller than a predetermined value, from the plurality of circles in accordance with a predetermined reference; forming a primary inclusive circle as small as possible in which a plurality of second circles, which are rest circles removed the first circle from the plurality of circles, are included in the primary inclusive circle so as not to be overlapped with each other; calculating first position information regarding a position of the primary inclusive circle and the second circles included in the primary inclusive circle; forming a final inclusive circle as small as possible in which the first circle is arranged in the primary inclusive circle while the second circles are fixed in the primary inclusive circle in accordance with the first position information such that the first circle and the second circles are not overlapped with each other; calculating second position information regarding a position of the final inclusive circle; and outputting the second position information, wherein: the primary inclusive circle forming step and the final inclusive circle forming step respectively includes the steps of: supposing an inclusive circle which includes the plurality of circles arranged such that the plural circles are not overlapped with each other on a plane; defining a target circle which has the same center as that of the inclusive circle, the target circle being smaller than the inclusive circle, and at least one of the circles being deviated from the target circle; seeking a position where the plurality of circles other than an insertion trail circle are arranged as far as possible from the insertion trial circle within the target circle without being overlapped with each other, while the circle deviated from the target circle is defined as the insertion trial circle; inserting the insertion trial circle into a space within the target circle, the space being generated by changing the arrangement of the plural circles based on a seek result of the seeking step; defining a new target circle which is slightly smaller than the target circle and contains the insertion trial circle when an entire portion of the insertion trial circle is inserted within the target circle, and returning to the seeking step; and repeating the target circle defining step, the seeking step, the inserting step, and the new target circle defining step for gradually decreasing the inclusive circle.