CN114579649B

CN114579649B - Method and system for searching substitute product

Info

Publication number: CN114579649B
Application number: CN202011381058.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄龄仪
Original assignee: Hiwin Technologies Corp
Current assignee: Hiwin Technologies Corp
Priority date: 2020-12-01
Filing date: 2020-12-01
Publication date: 2024-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 2040-12-01
Also published as: CN114579649A

Abstract

A method and system for searching for a substitute product receives an input model of a reference product from a user interface and reference manufacturer identification information; analyzing the input model into a plurality of model compositions; searching a reference product specification and a substitute product specification of a substitute product according to at least part of model composition and the reference manufacturer identification information, wherein a plurality of reference specification items of the reference product specification and a plurality of substitute specification items of the substitute product specification at least partially correspond; providing prompt information when the corresponding reference specification item is different from the replacement specification item; and displaying the substitute product specification and the prompt information on the user interface. Thereby, the efficiency of searching and selecting the most appropriate substitute product is improved.

Description

Method and system for searching substitute product

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a service platform, and more particularly, to a method and system for searching for a substitute product.

Background

Japanese laid-open patent No. JP2005174312 discloses a data searching apparatus that provides a user interface enabling a user to input a product model of an article to be replaced as a searching condition to recommend one or more replacement articles and detailed specifications thereof for the user to select according to the searching condition. However, the searching means of the device only recommends the substitute product and its detailed specification which meet some specification items among the detailed specifications of the product to be substituted, and the practically usable substitute product is easily screened out.

Furthermore, the number of characters and rules of the product types of the various products in the market are different, so taiwan patent nos. I645351 and I579788 disclose a product substitution system, which requires users to disassemble the product types into multiple model components, and then input the model components one by one into multiple input fields provided on the user interface and corresponding to the model components respectively, and then search for a substitution product. However, this approach requires the user to have some knowledge of the rules of the product model, otherwise a disassembly error is prone to occur. In addition, the situation that the model is wrongly planted is easily caused by manually inputting the model one by one, and the efficiency is poor.

In addition, most of these prior arts list only the detailed specifications of recommended substitute products, and the users decide and choose them according to their professions, so that the users can easily choose the substitute products that are problematic in terms of actual assembly.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a method and system for searching for alternative articles that can provide assembly prompts to a user for reference.

The invention provides a method for searching for a substitute product according to an embodiment, which comprises the following steps: (A) Receiving, via a control unit, an input model from a user interface and reference vendor identification information, the input model being associated with and corresponding to a reference artifact, the reference artifact being an artifact that is considered to be replaced; (B) Analyzing the input model by a model analyzing unit to obtain a plurality of model compositions; (C) Searching a reference product specification in at least one database according to at least one part of the model compositions and the reference manufacturer identification information by the control unit, wherein the reference product specification comprises a plurality of reference specification items, and the corresponding relation information among the model compositions, the reference manufacturer identification information and the reference product specification is stored in at least one database; (D) Searching, by the control unit, at least one substitute product specification in the at least one database according to at least a portion of the model compositions, the substitute product specification being associated with a substitute product and including a plurality of substitute specification items, the substitute product being a product for replacing the reference product, the plurality of substitute specification items and at least a portion of the plurality of reference specification items corresponding to each other, correspondence information between the plurality of model compositions and the substitute product specification being stored in at least one of the databases; (E) Displaying, via the control unit, the substitute article specification on the user interface; (F) Comparing, via the control unit, the opposed reference gauge items and the substitute gauge items; and (G) providing a prompt message on the user interface through the control unit when the reference specification item is different from the corresponding substitute specification item, wherein the prompt message corresponds to the substitute specification item.

In another embodiment, the step (D) includes: (D1) Searching at least one corresponding substitute model composition in at least one database according to at least one part of the model compositions by the control unit; and (D2) searching at least one substitute product specification in at least one database according to at least one corresponding substitute model composition by the control unit, wherein the plurality of model compositions, the at least one substitute model composition and the correspondence information between the substitute product specifications are stored in at least one database.

In yet another embodiment, the step (B) of parsing the input model to obtain the plurality of model compositions includes the steps of: (B1) Selecting one of the storage units as a storage unit to be compared according to a comparison program, wherein each storage unit corresponds to a comparison item, and the comparison program is associated with the ordering of the comparison items; (B2) Capturing at least one character string to be compared from the input model, wherein the character number of the character string to be compared accords with the character number range of the storage unit to be compared; (B3) Judging whether the storage unit to be compared has a composition template conforming to the character string to be compared or not; and (B4) recording the character strings to be compared as one of the model compositions when the composition templates conforming to the character strings to be compared exist in the storage unit to be compared.

In yet another embodiment, the step (B) further includes the steps of: (B5) When the composition templates which accord with the character strings to be compared are not in the storage units to be compared, judging whether the comparison items of the storage units to be compared can be omitted or not, and storing information on whether the comparison items can be omitted or not in at least one database; (B6) When the comparison item of the storage unit to be compared is omitted, capturing another character string to be compared from the rest characters which are not captured in the input model, wherein the character number of the character string to be compared accords with the character number range of the storage unit to be compared; (B7) Judging whether the storage unit to be compared has a composition template conforming to the other character string to be compared or not; and (B8) when the composition template of the other character string to be compared is not met in the storage unit to be compared, obtaining a substitute mark in at least one database according to the comparison item of the storage unit to be compared, recording the substitute mark as one model composition, and storing the correspondence information between the substitute mark and the comparison item in at least one database.

In still another embodiment, when the number of at least one of the strings to be compared retrieved according to the current comparison item is plural, and at least two templates in the storage unit to be compared conform to at least two of the strings to be compared, the step (B) further includes the steps of: (B9) Selecting a next storage unit from the plurality of storage units as another storage unit to be compared according to the comparison program; (B10) Judging whether the characteristics of a first continuous character accords with the characteristics of a comparison character or not, and judging whether the characteristics of a second continuous character accords with the comparison character or not, wherein the first continuous character is a character which is immediately behind the character string to be compared in the input model, the second continuous character is a character which is immediately behind another character string to be compared in the input model, and the comparison character is a first character of the composition template of the another storage unit to be compared; (B11) When the characteristic of the first continuing character accords with the characteristic of the comparison character, recording the character string to be compared as the model composition; (B12) And when the characteristic of the second continuing character accords with the characteristic of the comparison character, recording the other character string to be compared as the model composition.

In yet another embodiment, the step (B) further includes the following steps, before the step of retrieving at least one of the strings to be aligned from the input model: (B13) Judging whether the storage unit to be compared has a default composition condition or not, wherein the default composition condition comprises at least one identification feature; (B14) When the storage unit to be compared has the default composition condition, extracting a predicted character string from the input model, wherein the character number of the predicted character string accords with the character number range of the storage unit to be compared; (B15) Judging whether the estimated character string accords with the default composition condition; (B16) When the estimated character string accords with the default composition condition, screening at least one character which accords with at least one identification characteristic from the estimated character string; (B17) Recording the rest characters in the estimated character string as the model composition; and (B18) when the storage unit to be compared does not have any default composition condition, executing the step of retrieving at least one character string to be compared from the input model.

In yet another embodiment, the step (B) further includes the steps of: (B19) Defining a position mark of each character of the input model; (B20) Directing a starting position to one of the position marks; and (B21) updating the initial position according to the number of characters of the character string to be compared and the position mark of the last character of the character string to be compared, wherein the capturing of at least one character string to be compared is performed according to the initial position and the range of the number of characters of the storage unit to be compared.

In yet another embodiment, when the reference gauge item is different from the corresponding substitute gauge item, the method of searching for a substitute article further comprises the steps of: (H) Searching, by the control unit, the prompt information in at least one database according to the replacement specification item, where the prompt information is related to notes of assembling the replacement product.

In yet another embodiment, the control unit also receives surrogate vendor identification information from the user interface, and the surrogate product specification can also be searched based on the surrogate vendor identification information.

In yet another embodiment, the reference article is a linear slide comprising a slider and a slide, wherein one of the reference gauge items is a total length of the slider, a width of the slider, a pitch of the slider, a bore diameter of a locking bore of the slider, a nominal thread of the locking bore of the slider, a counter bore depth of the slide, a counter bore diameter of the slide, a width of the slide, a pitch of the slide, a diameter of a through bore of the slide, a distance of a bottom of the slider from a bottom of the slide, a total height of the linear slide, a dynamic load rating of the linear slide, a static load rating of the linear slide, or an allowable static torque of the linear slide.

The invention provides a system for searching for a substitute product according to an embodiment, comprising: the system comprises a model analyzing unit, at least one database and a control unit, wherein the model analyzing unit is used for executing the method, and the control unit is in communication connection with the model analyzing unit and the at least one database; and the display is in communication connection with the control unit and is used for displaying the user interface.

Therefore, after the specification of the substitute product is searched, the method and the system for searching the substitute product of the linear slide rail can provide prompt information corresponding to the substitute specification item different from the reference specification item for a user to refer to by comparing the difference between the substitute specification item of the substitute product specification and the reference specification item of the reference product specification, so that the user can determine whether to adopt the substitute product corresponding to the substitute product specification according to the prompt information.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a system for searching for an alternate product according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for searching for an alternative product according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user interface drawn according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4A-4D present flowcharts of a method of parsing an input model drawn in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a schematic view of a linear guide in a guide axial direction according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of a linear guide on a side of the guide according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram of a linear guide according to an embodiment of the present invention for showing the direction of the allowable static torque; and

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a linear guide according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The reference symbols in the drawings indicate:

10 System

11 Control unit

12 Display device

121 User interface

13 Storage device

131 Program database

132 Model composition database

133 Specification database

134 Prompt information database

14 Model analysis unit

141 Comparison program section

142 Position recording part

143 Character string capturing part

144 Record to be collated

145 Unconditioned recording section

146 Contrast portion

147 Comparison result recording part

1211 Input field

1212 Input field

1213 Model composition field

1214, Conversion result area

1215 Prompt area

50:Linear slide rail

81 Mounting platform

82 Mounting bed

D diameter of through hole of slide rail

H, countersunk hole depth of the slide rail

B, pitch of holes on one side of the slide block

C1 pitch of holes on the other side of the slider

D, countersunk hole diameter of slide rail

H, total height of linear slide rail

H1 distance between the bottom of the sliding block and the bottom of the sliding rail

L is the total length of the sliding block

M is the aperture of the locking hole of the sliding block

Ms: nominal thread of locking hole of slider

MR-allowable static moment

MP allowable static moment

MY allowable static moment

P is the pitch of holes on the other side face of the slide rail

Width of slide block

WB hole spacing on one side of the slide rail

WR width of slide rail

Detailed Description

The following description of the present invention will be made clearly and fully, and it is apparent that the embodiments described are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, a system 10 for searching for an alternative product according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 11, a display 12, a storage device 13, and a model analysis unit 14. The control unit 11 communicates with the display 12, the storage device 13 and the model resolution unit 14 to search for alternative products. The type of product may be, for example, a linear slide (Guideway) including a slide and a slider, and in other embodiments, the type of product may also be a Ball screw (Ballscrew) or a Ball Spline (Ball Spline). The various components of the system 10 and the method of performing the search for alternate products are each illustrated below, and for convenience Chen Mingben, the linear guide will be described below as an example.

At least one database may be established in the storage device 13 when the system 10 is set up. As shown in fig. 1, the at least one database may include a model composition database 132, a specification database 133, and a reminder database 134.

The specification database 133 includes one or more storage units. Each storage unit corresponds to manufacturer identification information and is used for storing the product specification of at least one product corresponding to the manufacturer identification information in advance. The vendor identification information may be, for example, a vendor name or a vendor code. Each product specification may contain a plurality of specification items. The article considered to be replaced is hereinafter referred to as a reference article, and the article used to replace the reference article is hereinafter referred to as a replacement article. Similarly, the product specification of the reference product is hereinafter referred to as reference product specification, the specification item is hereinafter referred to as reference specification item, and the manufacturer identification information corresponding to the reference product is hereinafter referred to as reference manufacturer identification information; the product specification of the substitute product is hereinafter referred to as a substitute product specification, the specification item thereof is hereinafter referred to as a substitute specification item, and the manufacturer identification information corresponding to the substitute product is hereinafter referred to as substitute manufacturer identification information. One reference article specification may, for example, correspond to one or more alternative article specifications, i.e., the reference article of the reference article specification may be replaced with an alternative article that meets the alternative article specification. The one or more storage units of the specification database 133 may be used to search one or more alternative product specifications corresponding to the reference product specifications in the form of one or more data tables or lookup tables, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Thus, when the user wants to search for the substitute product, the reference manufacturer identification information "YYY" of the reference product can be input in the input field 1211 of the user interface 121 on the display 12 shown in fig. 3, and the product model "GGW25 x2pl0+120rp-2" can be input as the input model in the input field 1212, at which time the control unit 11 receives the input model from the user interface 121 and the reference manufacturer identification information, as shown in step S1. The user interface 121 is a display that the control unit 11 displays to the user for viewing and operation through the display 12. The display 12 may be, for example, a display of a remote electronic device (e.g., a client computer) or a display of a near-end electronic device (e.g., a computer at a service provider). Thus, a user may enter reference vendor identification information "YYY" and an input model number "GGW25x2pl0+1200RP-2" on the user interface 121 via an input device (e.g., keyboard, touch screen, etc.) of the remote or near-end electronic apparatus.

Next, the control unit 11 provides the received input model "GGW X2PL0+1200RP-2" to the model parsing unit 14, so that the model parsing unit 14 parses the input model "GGW X2PL0+1200RP-2" to obtain a plurality of model compositions "GGW", "25", "X", "2", "no self-lubricating fitting", "no dust fitting", "PL0", "1200", "P", "no tooth connection" and "2", as shown in step S2, and the model parsing unit 14 also returns the parsing result to the control unit 11.

At this time, the control unit 11 may search the reference product specification from the specification database 133 according to the reference manufacturer identification information and at least some of the model compositions, as shown in step S3. In detail, the correspondence information among the model composition, the manufacturer identification information and the product specification may be recorded and stored in the specification database 133 in the form of one or more data tables, for example, corresponding to the specification data table referring to the manufacturer identification information "YYY" as shown in table one. The specification data table includes at least one reference product specification (for example, the product specifications with specification numbers "GGW X", "GGW XM" and "GGW X"), each of which may include 18 reference specification items, namely, an overall height H of the linear slide 50, a width W of the slide 52, an overall length L of the slide 52, a hole spacing B on one side of the slide 52, a hole spacing C1 on the other side of the slide 52, a hole diameter M of a locking hole of the slide 52, a screw thread nominal Ms of the locking hole of the slide 52, a distance H1 between a bottom of the slide 52 and a bottom of the slide 51, a width WR of the slide 51, a hole spacing WB on one side of the slide 51, a hole spacing P on the other side of the slide 51, a through hole diameter D of the slide 51, a countersunk hole depth H of the slide 51, a dynamic rated load C, a static rated load C0, a allowable static torque MP, an allowable static torque MY, an allowable static torque MR, and the like. The dynamic rated load C is the maximum load with the rated life of the linear guide rail of 50km or 100km under the condition that the direction and the size of the load are unchanged, and the rated life of the selected linear guide rail can be estimated in advance through the value. The static rated load C0 refers to the static load when the direction and the size of the load are unchanged, and the total permanent deformation of the steel ball and the surface of the bead channel is just one ten thousandth of the diameter of the steel ball at the contact surface subjected to the maximum stress. The allowable static moment MP is an allowable static moment in the left-right rotation direction of the linear guide when facing the lateral direction of the guide. The allowable static moment MY is an allowable static moment in the left-right yaw direction of the linear rail when the linear rail is facing in the top view direction. The allowable static torque MR is an allowable static torque in the left-right rotation direction of the linear guide when facing the axial direction of the guide. For the definition of these specification items, please refer to the corresponding symbols on the linear guide 50 shown in fig. 5A to 5C. Further, since the model compositions each have their representative items, the control unit 11 may select at least part of the model compositions as or composition search conditions according to the representative items of the model compositions, for example, select the model composition "GGW" representing the series of the items, the model composition "25" representing the size of the item, and the model composition "X" representing the slider form to make up a specification number "GGW X" as search conditions, and find a product specification meeting the specification number "GGW X" from table one as a reference product specification.

Next, the control unit 11 searches the specification database 133 for at least one substitute product specification and manufacturer identification information (i.e. substitute manufacturer identification information) corresponding to the substitute product specification according to the reference product specification, as shown in step S4. In detail, the specification database 133 also stores the corresponding relationship information of the model compositions or the model composition combinations of the product models of different manufacturers, for example, in the form of one or more look-up tables. For example, the lookup table shown in table two contains the relationship of the model composition combination "GGW25X" of vendor identification information "YYY" (refer to vendor identification information) corresponding to the model composition combination "HGW-CB" of vendor identification information "HIWIN" (substitute vendor identification information), the model composition combination "GGW X" is composed of the model composition "GGW" (i.e., GGW series, refer to model composition), the model composition "25" (i.e., product size, refer to model composition) and the model composition "X" (i.e., slider form X, refer to model composition), the model composition combination "HGW-CB" is composed of the model composition "HGH" (substitute model composition) and the model composition "CB" (substitute model composition).

For another example, the comparison table shown in table three contains the relationship of the model composition combination "GGW-PL0" of vendor identification information "YYY" (refer to vendor identification information) corresponding to the model composition "ZB" of vendor identification information "HIWIN" (refer to vendor identification information), that is, the pre-compaction is ZB, and the replacement model composition, and the model composition combination "GGW-PL0" is composed of the model composition "GGW" (refer to model composition) and the model composition "PL0" (that is, the pre-compaction is PL0, refer to model composition).

For another example, the lookup table shown in table four contains a relationship of a model composition "25" (i.e., a size of 25, a reference model composition) of vendor identification information "YYY" (reference vendor identification information) to a model composition "25" (i.e., a size of 25, a substitute model composition) of vendor identification information "HIWIN" (substitute vendor identification information).

From the second to fourth tables, the control unit 11 may learn the substitute manufacturer identification information "HIWIN" corresponding to the input model "GGW25x2pl0+1200rp-2", and compose the specification serial number "HGW25CB" of the substitute manufacturer identification information "HIWIN" as the search condition, and then search the corresponding product specification as the substitute product specification from the specification data table corresponding to the substitute manufacturer identification information "HIWIN" as shown in the fifth table in the specification database 133 according to the specification serial number "HGW25 CB". The specification data table in table five contains at least one product specification (such as the product specifications of specification numbers "HGW15CB", "HGW25CB" and "HGW35 HB"), each product specification may contain 18 specification items, and the definition of these 18 specification items may refer to the definition of the specification item listed in table one, and will not be repeated here.

Although the data tables or (and) the lookup table listed above are provided in a separate form, the present invention is not limited thereto, and in this embodiment or other embodiments, some or all of the data tables or (and) the lookup table may be integrated into one lookup table to accelerate the efficiency of the lookup.

After obtaining the reference specification item of the reference product specification and the substitute specification item of the substitute product specification, since at least some of the reference product specification and the substitute product specification correspond to each other, the control unit 11 may further compare the corresponding reference specification item with the substitute specification item, respectively, as shown in step S5. Then, the control unit 11 provides one or more prompt messages according to the comparison result, as shown in step S6.

The prompt information corresponds to a factor that will affect whether the product is successfully assembled, i.e., the corresponding replacement specification item will affect whether the product can be successfully assembled. Specifically, when the distance H1, dynamic rated load amount C, static rated load amount C0, allowable static moment MR, MP, MY, or countersink depth H in the substitute product specification is smaller than the distance H1, dynamic rated load amount C, static rated load amount C0, allowable static moment MR, MP, MY, countersink depth H in the reference product specification, when the total length L in the substitute product specification is larger than the total length L in the reference product specification, or when the total H, width W, hole distance B, hole distance WB, hole distance C1, hole diameter M, thread nominal Ms, hole distance P, width WR, through hole diameter D, or countersink diameter D in the substitute product specification and the reference product specification are not equal, this substitute specification item is one of important factors affecting whether or not the assembly can be successfully performed. The prompt information can have various forms, such as frame marks, font thickening, character color change, icon marks, flashing marks, text descriptions, and the like. For the example of a text description, the reminder is associated with a notice of the assembly of the alternate article. In this regard, the reminder database 134 is configured to pre-store data required for providing one or more reminders. For example, the prompt database 134 stores a plurality of text templates, each corresponding to a specification item. In the example of implementing the hint information database 134 with a hint data table, the hint data table shown in table six includes at least one specification item and its corresponding validation item (i.e., hint information). In the case where the reference product specification with specification number "GGW X" is corresponding to the input model "GGW25x2pl0+1200rp-2", and the substitute product specification with specification number "HIWIN" and specification number "HGW25CB" is found, it is clear from tables one and five that the total length L of the specification number "GGW X" is 83.1 and the total length L of the specification number "HGW25CB" is 84, and the substitute specification item is larger than the reference specification item, the control unit 11 selects the confirmation item corresponding to the total length L from table six as the presentation information. Fig. 6 shows the arrangement of the mounting platform 81, the mounting bed 82, and the linear guide 50.

Finally, the control unit 11 presents the analysis result of the input model, the identification information of the substitute manufacturer, at least one substitute product specification and one or more prompt messages on the user interface 121 for reference by the user, as shown in step S7. For the example of the user interface 121 shown in fig. 3, the control unit 11 presents a plurality of model compositions obtained by parsing the input model "GGW X2PL0+1200RP-2" in a plurality of model composition fields 1213, a substitute vendor identification information "HIWIN" and its substitute product specification in the conversion result area 1214, and a hint information in the hint area 1215, respectively. Therefore, not only can excessive screening be avoided, but also the user can effectively select the most suitable substitute product according to the prompt information.

On the other hand, in order to make the product models with different columns, character numbers and composition rules of all manufacturers applicable to the system and method of the present invention, the present invention also provides a mechanism for analyzing the product models.

For this purpose, referring to fig. 1, the model composition database 132 may include a plurality of storage units. Because the composition of the product models designed by each manufacturer is different, the storage units can be established, grouped and ordered in advance according to the number of searchable manufacturers and the composition rules of the product models of each manufacturer. For example, the manufacturer identification information that can be searched by the system 10 includes the manufacturer identification information "HIWIN" and the manufacturer identification information "YYY", the product model of the manufacturer identification information "HIWIN" is generally composed of 17 model components according to a specific order, and the product model of the manufacturer identification information "YYY" is generally composed of 11 model components according to a specific order, so that the number and grouping status of the storage units in the model component database 132 can be planned according to the number of the two manufacturer identification information and the model components thereof, i.e., the model component database 132 includes the storage units of 17 model components corresponding to the manufacturer identification information "HIWIN" respectively and the storage units of 11 model components corresponding to the manufacturer identification information "yyyy" respectively. Each model component of the product model of each manufacturer identification information corresponds to one comparison item, so that each storage unit corresponding to each model component also corresponds to the same comparison item. In this or other embodiments, these storage units may be implemented, for example, in the form of one or more data tables.

In addition, each storage unit in the model composition database 132 is used to store at least one composition template in advance. Each composition template may include one or more characters, which may be, for example, numbers, letters, or symbols. For example, a composition template may be a character string composed of a letter, a character string composed of a plurality of numerals, or a character string composed of a plurality of symbols and numerals, etc., however, the present invention is not limited to the above-listed examples. Since the numbers of characters constituting the templates are different, each storage unit has a corresponding range of numbers of characters. For example, if a storage unit includes a composition template consisting of 2 characters and a composition template consisting of 3 characters, the number of characters in the storage unit ranges from 2 to 3. The data of the character number range of the storage units can be stored in the model composition database 132 or the storage units themselves in advance, for example, in the form of one or more data tables for direct searching when searching for the substitute product. Or the character number range of the storage units can be directly interpreted in a scanning way.

The model analysis unit 14 may include a collation program section 141, a position recording section 142, a character string retrieving section 143, a to-be-collated recording section 144, an unconditioned recording section 145, a collating section 146, and a collating result recording section 147. The comparison program portion 141 is configured to store a comparison program corresponding to each manufacturer identification information in advance, wherein the comparison program is associated with the ordering of a plurality of comparison items corresponding to a plurality of storage units of the manufacturer identification information, and the ordering of the comparison items can be defined according to the composition rule of the product model of the manufacturer. Therefore, the model analyzing unit 14 can analyze the input models one by one according to the comparison program corresponding to the identification information of each manufacturer. For example, a plurality of comparison items corresponding to the reference manufacturer identification information "YYY" include and are ordered into a product series, a product size, a slider form, the number of sliders of a single slide rail, a lubrication device, a dust fitting, a preload, a slide rail length, an accuracy, a tooth attachment, the number of co-planar slide rails, and the like.

Referring to fig. 4A to 4D, a method for resolving the model by the model resolving unit 14 in fig. 1 together with the model composition database 132 will be described.

When the product model is to be parsed, the position recording portion 142 first defines a position indication of each character of the input model "GGW25 x2pl0+120rp-2" as shown in step S201, and designates a start position at which the capturing of characters is to be started as shown in step S202. For example, the first character of the input model "GGW25 X2PL0+120RP-2" is "G", the position of this first character is "0", the second character is "G", the position of this second character is "1", and so on. The position recording section 142 sets the start position to the first character "G" pointing to the input model "GGW25 x2pl0+120rp-2", indicating that the character string retrieving section 143 is to retrieve a character from the first character "G" of the input model "GGW x2pl0+120rp-2".

Next, the comparing unit 146 may select one of the storage units corresponding to the reference manufacturer identification information "YYY" as the storage unit to be compared according to the above-mentioned comparison procedure, and obtain the character number range of the storage unit to be compared, as shown in step S203. For example, the comparing unit 146 may select the storage unit corresponding to the first comparison item (i.e. the product series) as the storage unit to be compared, wherein the storage unit to be compared stores at least one code number (i.e. the composition template) of the product series, such as "GGW", "AW", etc., and the number of characters of the storage unit to be compared ranges from 2 to 3.

The comparing portion 146 then determines whether the comparison item of the storage unit to be compared has a default composition condition, as shown in step S204. Such default composition conditions may include, for example, whether there are specific characters (e.g., identifiers as identifying features), character characteristics, character ordering, etc. in the character strings in such composition templates. Character characteristics means that the character is a letter, a symbol, or a number. The identifying feature may, for example, refer to a character used to identify a start position, an end position, or both, of the character string that makes up the template. For the example of the comparison item of the current storage unit to be compared being the track length and having a default composition condition, the default composition condition includes a start position identifier "+", an end position identifier "R", and a character between the start position identifier "+" and the end position identifier "R" must be a number.

In step S204, when the comparison item of the storage unit to be compared has a default composition condition, the character string retrieving portion 143 retrieves continuous character strings in the input model "GGW25 x2pl0+120rp-2" as estimated character strings, and the number of characters of the estimated character strings matches the range of the number of characters of the storage unit to be compared, as shown in step S220. At this time, the string retrieving portion 143 records (or temporarily stores) the retrieved estimated string in the to-be-checked recording portion 144, and records (or temporarily stores) the remaining strings in the unconditional recording portion 145. For the example of the track length of the currently executed comparison item, the number of characters ranges from 3 to 6, and if the initial position points to the "+" character of the input model "GGW25 x2pl0+120rp-2", the character string capturing portion 143 may capture a plurality of estimated character strings "+12", "+120", "+1200" and "+120r". In this case, the predicted character string "+12" is recorded in the to-be-collated recording section 144, and the corresponding remaining characters "00RP-2" are recorded in the non-collated recording section 145; the predicted character string "+120" is recorded in the to-be-collated recording portion 144, and the corresponding remaining characters "0RP-2" are recorded in the non-collated recording portion 145; the predicted character string "+1200" is recorded in the to-be-collated recording portion 144, and the corresponding remaining characters "RP-2" are recorded in the non-collated recording portion 145; the estimated character string "+1200r" is recorded in the to-be-collated recording portion 144, and the corresponding remaining characters "P-2" are recorded in the non-collated recording portion 145.

Next, the comparing unit 146 determines whether the estimated character string meets the default composition condition, as shown in step S222. Under the condition that only one estimated character string is captured, when the estimated character string does not meet the default composition condition, the analysis operation of the current comparison item is shown to be incorrect or the input model is a special model, and the comparison part 146 informs the control unit 11 to output an alarm message in step S213; conversely, when the estimated character string meets the default composition condition, the character string extracting portion 143 extracts the principal component character string from the estimated character string, that is, screens out the characters meeting the recognition feature from the estimated character string, and retains the remaining characters, as shown in step S224. When a plurality of estimated character strings are captured, each estimated character string is processed in steps S222 and 224 one by one, if the current estimated character string does not meet the default composition condition, it indicates that the current estimated character string is not the correct estimated character string, and the comparison unit 146 ignores the estimated character string; if the current estimated character string meets the default composition condition, the comparison unit 146 will screen out the characters meeting the recognition characteristics from the estimated character string in step 224, and keep the remaining characters, and the comparison unit 146 will inform the comparison result recording unit 147 to record the remaining characters into a forming number composition, as shown in step S208; if all the extracted estimated character strings do not meet the default composition condition, the comparison unit 146 notifies the control unit 11 to output an alert message in step S213. For the example of the track length of the currently executed comparison item, the first characters of the extracted estimated character strings "+12", "+120", and "+1200" are "+", the middle characters are also digital, but the last character is not the end position identifier "R", so that the comparison unit 146 determines that the estimated character strings do not meet the default composition condition and ignores the estimated character strings; the first character of the extracted estimated string "+1200r" is "+", the last character is "R", and the attributes of the middle characters "1", "2", "0" and "0" are numerals, so the comparison unit 146 determines that the estimated string "+120r" meets the default composition condition, and only the middle string "1200" is reserved to record the model composition "1200" corresponding to the comparison item being the length of the slide rail.

In step S204, when the current comparison item has no default composition condition, the string retrieving portion 143 retrieves the continuous strings in the input model "GGW25 x2pl0+120rp-2" as the strings to be compared, and the number of the strings to be compared matches the range of the number of the strings of the storage unit to be compared, as shown in step S205. At this time, the string retrieving portion 143 records (or temporarily stores) the retrieved string to be compared in the record to be compared portion 144, and records (or temporarily stores) the remaining characters in the record to be compared portion 145. For the present example, in which the comparison item is a lubrication device and the number of characters in the corresponding storage unit ranges from 2 to 3, the string retrieving portion 143 retrieves two comparison strings "PL" and "PL0" from the input model "GGW25 x2pl0+120rp2", and the two comparison strings "PL" and "PL0" are recorded in the comparison recording portion 144, while the remaining characters "0+1200RP-2" and "+1200RP-2" corresponding to the two comparison strings "PL" and "PL0" are recorded in the non-comparison recording portion 145.

Then, the comparing part 146 searches for whether there is a composition template corresponding to the character string to be compared from the storage unit to be compared, as shown in step S206. That is, when the character composition, the character sequence, the character number of a composition template are the same as the character composition, the character sequence, the character number of the extracted character string in the storage unit to be compared, the composition template is indicated to be in accordance with the extracted character string.

When the comparing unit 146 does not find any of the component templates in the storage unit to be compared in step S206 to match the character string to be compared, the comparing unit 146 determines whether the current comparison item can be omitted or not, as shown in step S230. For example, the omitting code may be stored in advance in the storage unit corresponding to the omitted comparison item, and when the comparing unit 146 searches the storage unit for the omitting code, it indicates that the comparison item corresponding to the storage unit is omitted. Or the data table in the model composition database 132 may be used to record in advance the relevant data that can be omitted for searching the comparison items corresponding to the storage units in the model composition database 132.

When the current comparison item is not omitted in step S230, the comparison unit 146 notifies the control unit 11 of executing step S213 to output the warning message, indicating that the analysis operation of the current comparison item is wrong or that the input model is a special model.

When the current comparison item is omitted in step S230, the comparing portion 146 determines whether there are any remaining characters in the unconditioned recording portion 145, as shown in step S232.

When the remaining characters in the recording unit 145 are not checked in step S232, the checking unit 146 determines whether the remaining characters can find the composition template in the current storage unit to be checked, as shown in step S234. In detail, the string retrieving portion 143 retrieves another string to be compared from the remaining characters not retrieved in the input model (i.e. the remaining characters of the un-comparing recording portion 145), and the number of the other string to be compared matches the number of characters range of the storage unit to be compared of the current comparison item, and then the comparing portion 146 determines whether there is a composition template matching the other string to be compared in the current storage unit to be compared. With the present comparison item as a lubrication device and omitted, the number of characters ranges from 2 to 3, and the example of obtaining the present comparison strings as "PL" and "PL0", the string retrieving portion 143 may retrieve the other two comparison strings "0+" and "0+1" from the corresponding remaining characters "0+1200RP-2", and the other two comparison strings "+1" and "+12" from the corresponding remaining characters "+1200RP-2", and then the comparing portion 146 determines whether the four comparison strings can find a matching composition template in the comparison storage unit corresponding to the present comparison item as the lubrication device.

When any one of the four character strings to be compared "0+", "0+1", "+1", and "+12" in step S234 finds a matching component template, the comparing portion 146 notifies the control unit 11 to execute step S213 to output an alarm message. In contrast, when the matching component templates are not found in the four strings to be compared "0+", "0+1", "+1", and "+12" in step S234, the above steps are repeated to continue to retrieve the next string to be compared, and the number of the next string to be compared matches the range of the number of characters in the storage unit to be compared of the lubrication device, and determine whether the current storage unit to be compared has the component template matching the next string to be compared, until the remaining characters in the non-comparison record 145 can find the component template in the current storage unit to be compared, or the remaining characters in the non-comparison record 145 are compared. When all the remaining characters in the unconfirmed recording portion 145 are judged in step S234 and the remaining characters in the unconfirmed recording portion 145 fail to find the composition template in the current unit to be compared, the comparing portion 146 notifies the comparing result recording portion 147 to record the meaning of omitting the code number (substitution mark) as the model composition of the current comparison item, as shown in step S236.

When the remaining characters are not already present in the unconditional recording unit 145 in step S232, the collation unit 146 directly notifies the collation result recording unit 147 of the meaning of omitting the code as a model composition, as shown in step S236.

The correspondence between the meaning of the comparison item and the omitting code number may be stored in advance in a data table in the model composition database 132, as shown in table seven, for searching. For the example of the present comparison item as the lubrication device, the comparison unit 146 may find the corresponding reference number of the lubrication device from the table seven as "no self-lubricating fitting" and record the reference number as a model composition.

In step S206, when the comparing portion 146 can find the composition template corresponding to the character string to be compared from the storage unit to be compared, the comparing portion 146 determines whether only one of the currently captured character strings to be compared can find the composition template in the storage unit to be compared, as shown in step S207. When only one of the currently captured strings to be compared can find the composition template in the storage unit to be compared, the comparing unit 146 notifies the comparing result recording unit 147 to record the string to be compared as a model composition, as shown in step S208. When there are a plurality of strings to be compared in the current strings to be compared, the comparing portion 146 determines whether there is a next comparison item, as shown in step S240.

When the comparing unit 146 determines in step S240 that there is a next comparison item according to the comparison procedure, the comparing unit 146 reads the first character (continuation character) of the remaining characters corresponding to each of the character strings to be compared in the un-compared recording unit 145, that is, the first character immediately after each of the character strings to be compared in the input model, and also reads the first character (comparison character) of any one of the templates in the storage units corresponding to the next comparison item, as shown in step S242. Next, the comparing section 146 determines whether the characteristics of the continuous characters match the characteristics of the contrast characters, as shown in step S244. If so, the comparison unit 146 will keep the correct character string to be compared, which indicates that the corresponding character string to be compared of the corresponding continued character is correct, as shown in step S246. Otherwise, the comparison unit 146 ignores the erroneous comparison string corresponding to the non-conforming character, as shown in step S247. Then, the comparing part 146 determines whether the character string to be compared is still not yet determined to be correct, as shown in step S248. If the strings to be compared are not yet determined, the process returns to step S242 and repeats steps S242 to S248 until all the strings to be compared are determined. If no character string to be compared needs to be determined, the comparing unit 146 notifies the comparing result recording unit 147 of recording the reserved character string to be compared with the forming number, as shown in step S208. The following test examples are presented for illustration.

Assuming that the current comparison item is a product series, the currently extracted character strings to be compared are "GGW" and "GG", and the remaining characters (remaining characters recorded in the unconditional recording portion 145) subsequent to the two character strings to be compared are "25x2pl0+1200RP-2" and "w25x2pl0+1200RP-2", respectively, so that the first characters readable by the comparing portion 146 from the two remaining characters are "2" (first consecutive characters) and "W" (second consecutive characters), respectively. In this case, if the next comparison item is the product size and one of the constituent templates in the corresponding storage unit is "30", the comparison portion 146 may read the first character "3" (comparison character) from this constituent template "30". Since the character "3" is a number and the character "2" is a number, which indicates that the currently extracted string to be compared "GGW" is correct, the comparison portion 146 retains the correct string to be compared "GGW"; conversely, the character "R" is characterized by a word indicating that the currently captured string "GG" is incorrect, and therefore the comparison unit 146 ignores the incorrect string "GG". Therefore, the collation result recording section 147 records the character string to be collated "GGW" as a model composition "GGW".

In contrast, when there is no next comparison item in step S240 (i.e. the current comparison item is the last comparison item), the strings to be compared are recorded as model components, as shown in step S208.

Next, the comparing portion 146 determines whether there are more comparison items to be executed according to the comparing procedure, i.e. whether there are other storage units in the model composition database 132 that are not yet searched, as shown in step S209. When the comparison item still remains to be executed in step S209, it indicates that the input model is not yet parsed, and therefore the comparing unit 146 notifies the position recording unit 142 to update the start position according to the current start position and the number of characters of the currently captured character string, as shown in step S211. Then, the comparing section 146 returns to step S203 to select the next storage unit in the model composition database 132 as the next storage unit to be compared according to the comparison procedure, so as to perform the model composition analysis operation of the next comparison item. For the example of the input model "GGW25 x2pl0+120rp-2", when the current start position is the first character "G" pointing to the input model and the number of characters of the extracted character string "GGW" is 3, the position recording portion 142 adds the position mark (i.e., "0") of the first character "G" to the number of characters of the extracted character string "GGW" (i.e., 3), a new start position pointing to the position mark "3" (i.e., pointing to the character "2") can be obtained, so that the model composition analysis operation of the next comparison item will start to extract the character string from the character "2".

When the next comparison item is not present in the comparison program in step S209, the comparison unit 146 further determines whether there are any unresolved characters in the input model according to the record of the unresolved record unit 145, as shown in step S212. When the unconditional recording unit 145 has no character, indicating that the input model is completely parsed, the collation unit 146 notifies the collation result recording unit 147 of outputting the parsing result, i.e., the parsed model compositions, to the control unit 11, as shown in step S214. The control unit 11 can then search for alternative product specifications based on these model compositions. In contrast, when there are still characters in the unconditional recording portion 145, it indicates that the analysis operation of the current comparison item is wrong or the input model is a special model, so the comparison portion 146 notifies the control unit 11 to output the warning message for presentation on the user interface 121, as shown in step S213. Thus, the user simply inputs the product model of the reference product, and the system 10 can automatically analyze the model composition of the product model, so as to save time and avoid human operation loss.

Although the manufacturer identification information of the substitute product found in the above embodiments is unexpected or unspecified, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments of the present invention, the user may specify the substitute manufacturer identification information while providing the input model and the reference manufacturer identification information on the user interface, so that the user can search directly from one or more storage units corresponding to the substitute manufacturer identification information when searching for the substitute product later, thereby improving the searching efficiency.

In summary, the above embodiments are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of searching for an alternative article, comprising the steps of:

(A) Receiving, via a control unit, an input model from a user interface and reference vendor identification information, the input model being associated with and corresponding to a reference artifact, the reference artifact being an artifact that is considered to be replaced;

(B) Analyzing the input model by a model analyzing unit to obtain a plurality of model compositions;

(C) Searching a reference product specification in at least one database according to at least one part of the model compositions and the reference manufacturer identification information by the control unit, wherein the reference product specification comprises a plurality of reference specification items, and the corresponding relation information among the model compositions, the reference manufacturer identification information and the reference product specification is stored in at least one database;

(D) Searching at least one substitute product specification in at least one database according to at least one part of the model compositions by the control unit, wherein the substitute product specification is associated with a substitute product and comprises a plurality of substitute specification items, the substitute product is used for replacing the reference product, the plurality of substitute specification items and at least one part of the reference specification items correspond to each other, and the corresponding relation information among the model compositions, at least one model composition of the product model of the substitute product and the substitute product specification is stored in at least one database;

(E) Displaying, via the control unit, the substitute article specification on the user interface;

(F) Comparing, via the control unit, the opposed reference gauge items and the substitute gauge items; and

(G) Providing prompt information corresponding to the replacement specification item on the user interface through the control unit when the reference specification item is different from the corresponding replacement specification item;

Wherein at least one of the databases includes a plurality of storage units, each of the storage units corresponds to the reference manufacturer identification information, includes at least one composition template and has a character number range, and the step (B) of analyzing the input model by the model analyzing unit to obtain the composition of the plurality of models includes the steps of:

(B1) Selecting one storage unit from the plurality of storage units as a storage unit to be compared according to a comparison program, wherein each storage unit corresponds to a comparison item, and the comparison program is associated with the ordering of the comparison items;

(B2) Capturing at least one character string to be compared from the input model, wherein the character number of the character string to be compared accords with the character number range of the storage unit to be compared;

(B3) Judging whether the storage unit to be compared has a composition template conforming to the character string to be compared or not; and

(B4) When the composition templates conforming to the character strings to be compared exist in the storage unit to be compared, the character strings to be compared are recorded to be used as one of the model compositions.

2. The method of searching for an alternative product according to claim 1, wherein said step (B) of parsing said input model via said model parsing unit to obtain said plurality of model compositions further comprises the steps of:

(B5) When the composition templates which accord with the character strings to be compared are not in the storage units to be compared, judging whether the comparison items of the storage units to be compared can be omitted or not, and storing information on whether the comparison items can be omitted or not in at least one database;

(B6) When the comparison item of the storage unit to be compared is omitted, capturing another character string to be compared from the rest characters which are not captured in the input model, wherein the character number of the character string to be compared accords with the character number range of the storage unit to be compared;

(B7) Judging whether the storage unit to be compared has a composition template conforming to the other character string to be compared or not; and

(B8) When the composition templates of the other character string to be compared are not met in the storage unit to be compared, a substitute mark is obtained in at least one database according to the comparison item of the storage unit to be compared, the substitute mark is recorded as one of the model compositions, and the correspondence information between the substitute mark and the comparison item is stored in at least one database.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the number of at least one of the strings to be aligned is plural and at least two templates in the storage unit to be aligned matches at least two of the strings to be aligned, the step (B) of parsing the input model by the model parsing unit to obtain the plurality of model components further comprises the steps of:

(B9) Selecting a next storage unit from the plurality of storage units as another storage unit to be compared according to the comparison program;

(B10) Judging whether the characteristics of a first continuous character accords with the characteristics of a comparison character or not, and judging whether the characteristics of a second continuous character accords with the comparison character or not, wherein the first continuous character is a character which is immediately behind the character string to be compared in the input model, the second continuous character is a character which is immediately behind another character string to be compared in the input model, and the comparison character is a first character of the composition template of the another storage unit to be compared;

(B11) When the characteristic of the first continuing character accords with the characteristic of the comparison character, recording the character string to be compared as the model composition;

(B12) And when the characteristic of the second continuing character accords with the characteristic of the comparison character, recording the other character string to be compared as the model composition.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the step of retrieving at least one of the strings to be aligned from the input model, the step (B) of parsing the input model via the model parsing unit to obtain the plurality of model components further comprises the steps of:

(B13) Judging whether the storage unit to be compared has a default composition condition or not, wherein the default composition condition comprises at least one identification feature;

(B14) When the storage unit to be compared has the default composition condition, extracting a predicted character string from the input model, wherein the character number of the predicted character string accords with the character number range of the storage unit to be compared;

(B15) Judging whether the estimated character string accords with the default composition condition;

(B16) When the estimated character string accords with the default composition condition, screening at least one character which accords with at least one identification characteristic from the estimated character string;

(B17) Recording the rest characters in the estimated character string as the model composition; and

(B18) And when the storage unit to be compared does not have any default composition condition, executing the step of capturing at least one character string to be compared from the input model.

5. The method of searching for an alternative product according to claim 1, wherein said step (B) of parsing said input model via said model parsing unit to obtain said plurality of model compositions further comprises the steps of:

(B19) Defining a position mark of each character of the input model;

(B20) Directing a starting position to one of the position marks; and

(B21) And updating the initial position according to the character number of the character string to be compared and the position mark of the last character of the character string to be compared, wherein the capturing of at least one character string to be compared is performed according to the initial position and the character number range of the storage unit to be compared.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein when the reference specification item is different from the corresponding substitute specification item, the method further comprises the steps of:

(H) Searching, by the control unit, the prompt information in at least one database according to the replacement specification item, where the prompt information is related to notes of assembling the replacement product.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference article is a linear slide comprising a slider and a slide, wherein one of the reference gauge items is an overall length of the slider, a width of the slider, a pitch of the slider, a bore diameter of a locking bore of the slider, a threaded nominal of the locking bore of the slider, a counterbore depth of the slide, a counterbore diameter of the slide, a width of the slide, a pitch of the slide, a diameter of a through hole of the slide, a distance between a bottom of the slider and a bottom of the slide, an overall height of the linear slide, a dynamic rated load of the linear slide, a static rated load of the linear slide, or an allowable torque of the linear slide.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein at least one of the databases comprises a model composition database, a specification database, and a hint database, the model composition database comprising the plurality of storage units; the specification database stores the correspondence information between the plurality of model compositions, the reference manufacturer identification information, and the reference product specification, and stores the correspondence information between the plurality of model compositions, at least one of the model compositions of the product model of the substitute product, and the substitute product specification; the prompt information database stores the prompt information.

9. A system for searching for alternative articles, comprising:

The display is used for displaying a user interface, inputting a model and reference manufacturer identification information, wherein the input model corresponds to a reference product and corresponds to the reference manufacturer identification information, and the reference product is regarded as a product to be replaced;

The model analyzing unit is in communication connection with the display and is used for analyzing the input model to obtain a plurality of model compositions;

At least one database comprising a plurality of storage units corresponding to the reference manufacturer identification information for storing a reference product specification and at least one substitute product specification, each storage unit comprising at least one composition template and having a character number range, the reference product specification comprising a plurality of reference product specification items, the substitute product specification being associated with a substitute product and comprising a plurality of substitute product specification items, the substitute product being a product for replacing the reference product, the plurality of substitute product specification items and at least part of the plurality of reference product specification items corresponding; and

The control unit is in communication connection with the display, the model analysis unit and at least one database and is used for controlling the display to display the model

Searching the reference product specification in at least one database according to at least one part of the plurality of model components and the reference manufacturer identification information, wherein corresponding relation information among at least one part of the plurality of model components, the reference product specification and the reference manufacturer identification information is stored in at least one database;

Searching the specification of the substitute product in at least one database according to at least one part of the model compositions, wherein at least one part of the model compositions, at least one model composition of the product model of the substitute product and the specification of the substitute product are stored in at least one database;

displaying the substitute article specification on the user interface;

Comparing the opposed reference specification item to the alternate specification item; and

Providing prompt information on the user interface when the reference specification item is different from the corresponding replacement specification item, wherein the prompt information corresponds to the replacement specification item;

The model analyzing unit selects one of the storage units from the plurality of storage units as a storage unit to be compared according to a comparison program, each storage unit corresponds to a comparison item, and the comparison program is associated with the ordering of the comparison items; the model analyzing unit extracts at least one character string to be compared from the input model, and the character number of the character string to be compared accords with the character number range of the storage unit to be compared; the model analysis unit judges whether the storage unit to be compared has a composition template conforming to the character string to be compared; and the model analysis unit records the character strings to be compared as one model composition when the composition templates conforming to the character strings to be compared exist in the storage unit to be compared.