Conceptual design is the most creative stage in the product design process. This paper studies the idea generation process and the representation of design knowledge at the conceptual design stage and proposes an idea generation process model and a design unit model. Based on this and through analysing both conscious thought and the subconscious this paper proposes a mechanism of product idea generation, which has three types of cognition stimulation: extension stimulation, analogy stimulation, and mutation stimulation. Through exploring design methods and tools for implementing cognition stimulation, a conceptual design method is constructed, which focuses on carrying out the mechanism of idea generation. This method embodies in a systematic and effective manner the cognitive process and characteristics of the designer, incorporates product design knowledge, and assists the designer to generate a comprehensive conceptual design proposal. An example is presented to illustrate the principles of the proposed method. The process model and method proposed here should act as a basis for future research on computer-aided conceptual design.
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