Fig. 5.1 The initial, main display of the [Prediction Module]
5. Various methods for improving the user's system
(Prediction Module: Part 2. Method tree)
Let us go ahead further towards more
concrete methods useful for solving our own
prolems. Next is the function
for assisting the users to improve their own object systems;
it is implemented in the [Prediction
Module] of the [TechOptimizer Pro]. Though not
described in Section 2, the principal
function of [Prediction Module] is to guide users to
consider applying a large number
of alternative "standard means" for improving their own
problems. For this purpose,
it has a database of typical examples of applying standard
means of problem solving, and shows
them to the users. The implementation of this
function is also much sophisticated.
Let us first examine the contents of the database,
and then discuss the ways of information
retrieval of the database.
5.1 List of standard
means for system improvement and
the database of application examples
The [Prediction Module] has a database
containing 248 cases of problem solving by using
"standard means". Each case
is composed of a display of the old design of the system
(text with an illustration) and
another display of the new design (text with an illustration)
after solving the problem.
The method applied to the problem solving is characterized
and illustrated with a simple scheme
of objects and functions. Such "standard means"
(which corresponds to the 76 "standard
means" of the TRIZ methodology) are listed in
the [Prediction tree] window of
the [Prediction Module].
[Operation:
When the [Prediction Module] is opened, the display appears like the one
shown in Fig.
5.1. The module expects that the user
inputs, in the [Initial model]
window at
the middle left of the display, the description of the object system user
wants
to improve
and of a candidate method for improving it. You may leave columns
of the
system description
blank, but have to click either one in the [Define required change of
action] window
(click any, othewise the [Database] menue cannot be opened in the next
step).
In response to these inputs, a message containing "IM recommends ..." is
shown
in the upper
right of the display; but you may discard it at moment for going to the
next
step.
You should open the [Database] menue in the menue bar and click the [Prediction
tree] command.
The [Prediction tree] window is now open to show the standard means
of system
improvement in a hierarchical way. The [Prediction tree] is actually
composed
of two parts;
they can be switched to the other by clicking either [Transform] button
or
[Measure]
button in the [Lines] window at the left end of the display. ]
Fig. 5.1
The initial, main display of the [Prediction Module]
In the [Prediction tree], standard
elementary means for problem solving are represented
in a simplified scheme of the object
system (or its component system), as shown below in
Fig. 5.2.
Fig. 5.2
Simplified object system to be handled in the [Prediction tree]
In such a simplified scheme, [TechOptimizer
Pro] proposes 67 elementary methods as
TRIZ's standard means of problem
improvement. The standard means are classified
hierarchically as shown in Table
5.1. The means at the top levels are classified as:
method of problem solving
--
methods of transformation
--- by use of interaction with additives
--- by use of boosted interactions
--- by use of trimmed interactions
--- by use of multiplied interactions
--
methods of measuring
--- methods of using marks
--- methods of roundabout
Table 5.1
Standard means of problem solving:
[Prediction tree] in the [Prediction Module]
| Transform: | ||
| Interaction
with
additives: |
Using new substances: | in obj1, in obj2, between obj1 and
obj2,
on obj1, on obj2, around obj1,2, instead of obj1, instead of obj2 |
| Using modified substances: | in obj1, in obj2, between obj1 and
obj2,
on obj1, on obj2, around obj1,2, instead of obj1, instead of obj2 |
|
| Using voids: | in obj1, obj2, between obj1 and obj2 | |
| Using fields, forces, : | in obj1, in obj2, around obj1,2 | |
| Boosted
interactions: |
Segmenting: | obj1 into parts, obj1 down to particles,
obj1 into porous obj, obj2 into parts, obj2 down to particles, obj2 into porous obj |
| Dynamization of : | obj1 by making hinged, obj1 by making
flexible,
obj1 by phase transitions, obj2 by making hinged, ovj2 by making flexible, obj2 by phase transitions, action by making pulsed |
|
| Structurization of : | obj1, obj2, action | |
| Coordinating Rhythm of : | obj1 and action, obj2 and action,
different actions, action's pauses |
|
| Trimmed
interactions: |
Combining obj1 and obj2 | |
| Removing obj1 (obj2) | ||
| Self-serving obj1 (obj2) | ||
| Multiplied
interactions: |
Multiplying: | obj1, obj2 |
| Multiplying and connecting: | obj1, obj2 | |
| Multiplying and differing: | obj1, obj2 | |
| Multiplying and combining: | obj1, obj2 | |
| Redistributing features : | obj1, obj2 | |
| Measure: | ||
| Using marks: | Using new substances: | in obj, on obj, around obj |
| Using modified substances: | in obj, on obj, around obj | |
| Roundabout: | Roundabout: | |
| Discrete detecting | ||
| Indirect measuring | ||
| Measuring derivatives | ||
[Prediction Module] has a database
of application examples for demonstrating these
standard means. (Note that
this database is different from the [Example] database of the
[Effects Module].)
[Operation: Click a method
in the [Prediction tree] window, and then click an example in
the list of examples shown in the
[Examples] window at the lower right of the display.
The display now appears as [Examples
of Current Concept] and shows the [new design]
of the system after improvement.
By clicking the [Show old design] button at the lower
right of the dispaly, you should
better read first the [old design] of the system before
improvement. ]
These examples of system improvement
(or problem solving) are very illustrative and
useful. In total, 248 cases
are installed. You should read the [old design] first; it
describes the purpose and structure
(with an illustration) of the present system and the
problem to be solved. You
shoud challenge to think of any possible solution of the
problem for a while by yourself;
and then read the [new design] as an answer. This
serves you as a good self-training.
Since these application cases are classified with the
TRIZ's standard means, they form
a good textbook to understand the standard means.
An example of system improvement
is demonstrated in Figs. 5.3 and 5.4.
"We want to
form a very thin film on the surface
of a substrate, and to examine the film after
removing from the substrate.
To protect the thin film from any damadge during the
separation, what can we do?"
The solution of this problem is shown: "Before forming
the thin film, let the substrate
absorb halogen gas to the saturation. After the film is
formed, warm the substrate; then,
together with the halogen gas coming out, the thin film
will be separated from the substrate
without damage". (It is not clear in the description
what kinds of substrate and films
this case actually handles. The present author is not
familiar how practical this method
is and how widely this technique can be applied.)
Fig. 5.3
Example of the display of [Example to current concept] of the [Prediction
Module]:
Method of separating a thin film (old design)
Fig. 5.4
Example of the display of [Example to current concept] of the [Prediction
Module]:
Method of separating a thin film (new design)
The present author has read all the
248 cases. They cover the areas of science and
technology similar to those the
database of the [Effect Module] covers. The cases,
however, are mostly very old.
Moreover, the present author feels that a considerable
number of them show just the ideas
for improvement and not yet actually used in the real
applications. Most of such
examples are taken from "patents" of the former USSR in the
old days of 1950s and 1960s.
The "patent" of USSR in those days were simply new ideas
registered after reviewing but not
well examined from the technical effectiveness. In the
recently published textbook "An
Introduction to TRIZ" (Hatamura et al; Nikkan Kogyo
Shimbun, 1997, in Japanese), Professor
Hatamura of the University of Tokyo made this
sort of criticisms in detail; the
present author agrees in them. In this point, it is very
much desirable to modernize the
contents of [TechOptimizer Pro].
5.2 Thinking-experiments with the TRIZ' standard methods for improvement
The TRIZ methodology recommends to
consider to apply the standard means discussed
above one by one to your own problem.
[TechOprimizer Pro] offers this function in the
[Prediction Module] as the module's
main feature by using the following mechanism:
[Operation:
In the main display of the [Prediction Module] (see Fig.
5.1), you need to
input a simplified
description of your current object system in the middle left windows.
(Let us assume
your object system is composed of "Obj1", "Action P", and "Obj2".)
Next, in the
[Define required change of action] window at the lower left of the display,
you must select
a verb for showing the direction of improvement on the action. The
alternatives
of the verb are "generate", "separte", "make pulsed" etc. (Here for
the
explanation
we take a general verb "modify", even though it is not in the list.)
Then, the
software shows,
in the [Current concept] window at the upper right of the display, a
statement
saying "IM recommends ..." together with a schematic diagram, and in the
lower right
of the display a list of examples selected from the database. Thus,
as
explained
in the previous subsection, you should think over whether and how the IM's
recommendation
and the displayed examples can be applied to your own problem.
Note that the
statement and the list depend on your choice of the standard means
specified
in the [Prediction tree]. You can specify your choiceof the standard
means in
the way as
described in Section 5.1 or by clicking the downward/upward arrow at the
bottom right
of the [Current Concept] window. ]
When you input a brief scheme of
your system and the direction of improvement on the
action, the software tool outputs
the statement "IM recommends ..." as explained in the
above operation note. This
very likely makes you think that the software must have high
intelligence with some AI logic
and is recommending a thoughtful suggestion.
However, this is not the case.
Actually, [TechOptimizer Pro] outputs the statement and
the list of examples just mechanically
with the following mechanism:
[Current Concept]
"IM recommends:
You may 'modify' 'Action
P'
(1) (2)
by 'introducing new substance' 'between' 'obj1' 'and'
'obj2'. "
(3)
(4) (5)
(4) (6)
(1)
<= The verb you have specified in the [Define required change
of action] window
(2)
<= The interaction you have specified in the [Action] window for
the description of
the system components
(3)
<= The standard means you have specified in the [Prediction tree]
window; its
upper-level part representing the main function.
(4)
<= The standard means you have specified in the [Prediction tree]
window; its
lower-level part representing the target object or location on which the
standard
means is applied.
(5)
<= The object you have specified in the [Object 1] window for
the system
description
(6)
<= The object you have specified in the [Object 2] window for
the system
description
[Schematic]
<= The schematic diagram representing the standard means you have
specified in the [Prediction tree] window
[List
of examples] <= The list of examples for the standard
means you have specified
in the [Prediction tree] window
This mechanism is simple but so well
formulated that the statement of "IM recommends
..." may look likely and attractive
for you. However, the software assumes that you try
the standard means in the [Prediction
tree] one by one on your problem, and it simply
repeats the information you have
specified, as shown above. The examples are also
displayed corresponding simply to
the standard means you have specified in the
[Prediction tree] and with no relation
to your system description.
At the bottom right of the [Current
Concept] window, there may appear the following 4
buttons depending on the means
specified in the [Prediction tree]:
[Substance] button:
a list of various states of substance
[Modified substance] button:
a list of various modified states of substance
[Void] button: a list
of various forms of void/empty/hole
[Field] button: a list
of various types of field/forces/interactions
By clicking one of these buttons,
you can see a detailed list of substances or "Fields"
containing information similar to
Figs.
2.2 and 2.3. If you click a substance or Field in
the list, a part of the recommendation
statement in the [Current Concept] is replaced and
made more specific; for instance,
the phrase 'new substance' may be replaced with 'porous
substance'.
For searching the example database
of the [Prediction Module], you may also use the
keyword search. In the main
display of the module, open the [Database] menue in the
menue bar, and click the [Find]
command. Then by inputting the keyword you can
retrieve the relevant examples.
For example, by using the keyword of "'joint' or 'hinge'",
a list of 7 examples are obtained.
In order to use this software function
in real porblem solving, it shoud be important to
understand the mechanism of this
function as described here and to try to examine only
the cases worthy of consideration.
Otherwise, you will be either impressed by the
function to think it great without
understanding its nature, or exhausted and tired of
examining so many cases of alternative
possible means.
6.
To learn the "40 Principles of Invention"
(Principles Module: Part1. Principles and Examples)
Let us master the [Principles Module]
next. This module contains the core part of the
TRIZ methodology. In the manner
similar to the preceeding sections, let us examine the
databases and then learn how to
use them. In the database of this module, the "40
Principles of Invention" and their
application examples, i.e. 210 cases in total, are
implemented. For using the
database, in addition to the keyword search, the method
using the "Contradiction Solving
Matrix" is most important and uniquely sophisticated in
the TRIZ methodology.
[Operation:
In the main display of the [Principle Module], open the [Database] menue
in
the menue
bar and then click the [Principles list] command. Thus the display
appears as
shown in Fig.
6.1. In the [Principles] window at the
lower part of the display, the "40
Principles
of Invention" are listed in its standard order of numbering. When
you click a
Principle
in the list, explanation of the principle appears at the upper right of
the display.
The explanation
includes schematic figure(s) and concise description in at-most several
lines.
By clicking the [Examples] button at the upper right of the display, you
can read
several (usually
from 3 to 8) examples of applying the principle, each illustrated
with a
figure.
]
The "40 Principles of Invention"
were established by Altshuller, the Founder of TRIZ, by
extracting essences of inventions
from a huge number of patents world-wide and
condensing them into practical guiding
principles for solving difficult, inventive
problems. In the TRIZ textbooks
written by Altshuller, these principles of invention are
explained one by one with illustrative
application examples. If you fully understand
these principles and are able to
readily use them in appropriate situations, you may say
you have mastered the essence of
the TRIZ methodology. Most of the functions in
TechOptimizer Pro serve the users
to let them understand and utilize these principles of
invention.
A table of the 40 Principles of Invention
is very useful; you should have one at hand for
ready reference. In Table
6.1, the 40 principles are listed as written in the [Principles
Module]. (For reading them
in Japanese, one should refer to a textbook, such as the one
published by Nikkei BP in Dec. 1997.
(The quality of translation into Japanese in this
textbook was improved from that
in the article appeared in Nikkei Mechanical in 1996.)
Table 6.1
Table of the "40 Princioles of Invention"
| 1. Segmentation | Divide
object;
Disassemble; Divide into smallest possible parts |
21. Skipping | Skip harmful actions |
| 2. Taking out | Take out harmful part;
Single out useful part |
22. 'Blessing in
disguise' |
Rearrange harmful actions
to get a useful result; Compensate two harmful actions |
| 3. Local Quality | Make object non-uniform | 23. Feedback | Use feedback loop;
Regulate feedback loop |
| 4. Asymmetry | Make object asymmetric | 24. 'Intermediary' | Control action using an
intermediary |
| 5. Merging | Merge objects | 25. Self-service | Use self-performed
actions |
| 6. Universality | Make object universal | 26. Copying | Make copy of the object;
Optical copies; Invisible copies |
| 7. 'Nested doll' | Place many in one;
Move one inside another |
27. Cheap
short-living |
Use less-costly disposable
objects |
| 8. Anti-weight | Compensate weight using
another object; Using a medium |
28. Mechanics
substitution |
Replace mechanical
devices with physical fields |
| 9. Preliminary
anti-action |
Perform anti-action in
advance |
29. Pneumatics and
hydraulics |
Make part of object
gaseous or liquid |
| 10. Preliminary
action |
Perform partial action in
advance |
30. Flexible shells
and thin films |
Make part of object out
of shells; Isolate using shells |
| 11. Beforehand
cushioning |
Use protective and curative
measures |
31. Porous materials | Make object porous;
Fill pores |
| 12. Equipotentiality | Eliminate the need to
elevate object |
32. Color changes | Change object's color;
Make object transparent |
| 13. 'The other way
around' |
Replace the action eith its
converse; Invert movement/position |
33. Homogeneity | Use similar features for
contiguous objects |
| 14. Spheroidality | Use no-flat shapes;
Rollers; Rotation |
34. Discarding and
recovering |
Eject used parts;
Rebuild object during action |
| 15. Dynamics | Optimize object's
parameters Movable parts; Adaptive parts |
35. Parameter
changes |
Use different phases;
Consistency; Flexibility; Temperature |
| 16. Partial or
excessive actions |
Make action excessive;
Make action 'deficient' |
36. Phase
transitions |
Use phase transitions |
| 17. Another
dimension |
Move object in 3 dimensions;
Use 'multistories' and 'back sides' |
37. Thermal
expansion |
Use thermal expansion
and contraction; Use poly-expansion |
| 18. Mechanical
vibration |
Shake object ...;
using ultrasonic, el-magn. fields; using resonance |
38. Strong oxidants | Use strong oxidants |
| 19. Periodic
action |
Make action pulsatory;
Change period; Use pauses |
39. Inert
atmosphere |
Use an inert medium;
Use inert parts |
| 20. Continuity of
useful action |
Continuously perform same
action |
40. Composite
material |
Use 'armature' |
To understand the nature and philosophy
of the 40 Principles of Invention, let us read the
Principle No. 1 "Segmentation" as
the most important example. The display of the
principle is shown in Fig.
6.1. This principle is the concept of "to segment an object
into
smaller ones". It says that
the segmented parts should better be made as independent as
possible with each other.
Segmentation so as to easy to assemble/disassemble is also
useful. It is also advised
to segment an object into much smaller ones. (It should be
noted that the same idea is also
emphasized in the trends of technical evolution as
discussed in Section 2. The
trends No. 1 through No. 4 are related with the segmentation
principle and discuss about segmentation
of tools, working parts, surface, and space,
respectively. )
Fig. 6.1
Example display of the Principles of Invention in the [Principles] window
of the
[Principles
Module]
One of the application examples of
Principle No. 1 is shown in Fig. 6.2. Similarly to the
example displays in other modules,
the display is composed of a illustaration and concise
text. The text for explanation
is organized systematically with the following items:
Principle of Invention:
Brief statement in one line.
Title of the example:
Purpose of application.
Problem to solve in this
example: Explanation of the current system and its problems.
Names of principles of invention
applied in this example: multiple principles are often
used in one invention
Concrete description of the
technology which solves the problem: new idea/design
which is proposed here
Effects, advantages and improved
points of the new technology:
It should be noted that new problems and tasks associated with the new
technology are not described.
source of reference:
Patent number, handbooks, paper references, etc.
Fig. 6.2
Demonstration of an application example in the [Examples] display of the
[Principles
Module]
The database of these application
examples contains 210 cases in total, and covers
essentially the same areas as the
databases in other modules. For each Principle of
Invention, around 5 (usually from
3 to 8) examples are demonstarted; such examples do
not overlap among multiple principles
of invention.
This application-example database can be searched with the keyword indexing, as well.
[Operation:
In the main display of the [Principles Module], open the [Database] menue
in the menue
bar, and click the [Find] command. Then input the keyword for searching
with, and
click the [Find] button for start searching. ]
For instance, when the database was
searched with the keyword "Segment" (i.e. the word
stem of "Segmentation"), 14 examples
were retrieved. In addition to the 5 examples
assigned to the Principle No. 1
(i.e. "Segmantation"), there are 9 examples which are
assigned to other principles but
include the keyword "Segment(ation)" in its text. In the
displays of examples found with
the keyword searching, the matched words are shown in
blue fonts.
7. To obtain suggestions of Principles of Invention for solving
user's contradiction (Principle Module)
The typical and maker-expected usage
of the [Principles Module] proceeds in the
following three steps:
(1) First, you clarify your
own problem which you want to solve and input the
description of the difficulty or
contradiction of the problem.
(2) Then, the software tool
shows you a few "Principles of Invention" which were used
in former inventions having similar
contradiction problem, and also shows application
examples of such principles.
(3) Finally, you are expected
to solveyour own problem by using such displayed
information as the hints.
In Step (2), the software uses the
"Contradiction Solving Matrix", the core knowhow of
the TRIZ methodology, as the internal
logic.
7.1 Express the problem and its contradiction
Now let us examine the main display
of the [Principles Module] shown in Fig. 6.1
in the
preceeding section. At the
top of this main display, [TechOptimizer Pro] requests you to
describe your own problem briefly.
What
do you want to do?
What
kind of method/means are you going to use?
What
is the problem in the process?
These descriptions are requested
to input in the top three lines of the display. However,
they are asked simply for helping
you make your thought clearer by the software tool and
are never used in its internal processing
logic.
Then TRIZ further requests yu to
think over your problem more deeply and to clearly
find the "contradictions" in your
problem. It requests you to describe which feature (or
aspect, attribute, parameter) of
the system you want to improve for your target and which
other feature of the system gets
worse because of such improvement and consequently
forms a contradiction. These
features are requested to be specified in the [Improving
feature] window (at the upper left
of the display) and in the [Worsening feature] windows
(at the lower left of the display),
by selecting fom a list.
The TRIZ methodology is unique at
the point that it does not allow you to describe these
features freely but enforces you
to select the features among the preset 39 alternatives.
Both the improving feature and the
worsening feature are to be selected from the same set
of features. The list of the
39 features is shown in Table 7.1.
Table 7.1
The 39 Features (or aspects, attributes) for describing the "Contradiction
Solving Matrix"
| 1. weight of moving object
2. weight of stationary object 3. length of moving object 4. length of stationary object 5. area of moving object 6. area of stationary object 7. volume of moving object 8. volume of stationary object 9. speed 10. force (intensity) 11. stress or pressure 12. shape 13. stability of object's composition 14. strength 15. duration of action of moving object 16. duration of action of stationary object 17. temperature 18. illumination intensity 19. use of energy by moving object 20. use of energy by stationary object |
21. power
22. loss of energy 23. loss of substance 24. loss of information 25. loss of time 26. quantity of substance 27. reliability 28. measurement accuracy 29. manufacturing precision 30. object-affected harmful factors 31. object-generated harmful factors 32. ease of manufacture 33. ease of operation 34. ease of repair 35. adaptability or versatility 36. device complexity 37. difficulty of detecting and measuring 38. extent of automation 39. productivity |
[Operation:
Usually, first select the [Improving Feature] in the list shown in the
upper
left window
and click it. Then, select the [Worsening Feature] in the lower left
window.
If you watch
the tool's behabior carefully, you may recognize that the order of the
[Worsening
Feature] changes in responce to the selection of the [Improving Feature].
The software
tool apparently uses the knowledge of frequency of these features learned
from analyses
of former examples of problems, such as patents.
If appropriate, you may select the
[Worsening Feature] first. For this purpose, you
should click the small button at
the left of the [Worsening feature] and select a feature in
the window. ]
7.2 Obtain "Principles of Invention" as the hints
When you specify the [Improving Feature]
and the [Worsening Feature] as described
above, the software tool shows you,
in the [Principles] window at the upper right of the
display, the recommendation with
the heading "IM recommends:" and up-to-four
recommended "Principles of Invention".
At the lower right of the display, a list of
examples of applying the selected
Principle of Invention are also shown. You are
advised to read the Principles of
Invention one by one, and to read the corresponding
application examples carefully.
Here the software tool [TechOptimizer]
is saying "IM recommends: ..." on the basis of
the valuable knowhow in the TRIZ
methodology. (Note that this point is quite different
from the similar statements of "IM
recommends ..." in the [Prediction Module] as
discussed in Section 5.2.)
The TRIZ methodology have analyzed a huge number of
patents; it has described the problems
in the framework of the 39 Improved Features
against the 39 Worsening Features,
and has found which Principles of Invention are
frequently used in innovative patents.
By the accumulation of such analyses, TRIZ has
recorded the top four Principles
of Invention for each element of the 39 x 39 matrix,
which is called "Contradiction Solving
Matrix" (or "Contradiction Matrix"). The table of
the matrix has been published in
the textbooks, e.g. in Japanese, the Introduction of
TRIZ, Nikkei BP. The advantage
of software tool like [TechOptimizer Pro] is its
convenience in reading the TRIZ
recommended Principles of Invention without referring
the large table with numbered principles.
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Last updated
on Feb. 25, 1999. Access point: Editor: nakagawa@utc.osaka-gu.ac.jp