METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR INFORMATION MODELING

• US 20070033204A1
• Filed: 07/26/2006
• Published: 02/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Callahan, Sean
• Granted Patent: US 8,275,799 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/06 Power analysis or power optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for information modeling, such as product modeling, are described. In one specific embodiment, a system for capturing product information includes a plurality of product trees and a plurality of configuration trees. Each configuration tree is associated with one of the plurality of product trees. At least two of the configuration trees share at least one usage configuration node, and the at least two configuration trees are associated with a same product tree. The at least two configuration trees share at least one occurrence configuration node.

Claims

1. A system for capturing product information, comprising:

a plurality of product trees;

a plurality of configuration trees, each said configuration tree associated with one of said plurality of product trees;

at least two of said configuration trees sharing at least one usage configuration node, said at least two configuration trees associated with a same product tree; and

said at least two configuration trees sharing at least one occurrence configuration node.

2. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said shared usage configuration node comprises a configuration of a usage that is a child component of a root definition of said one product tree.

3. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said shared occurrence configuration node is one of a direct child and an indirect child of said usage configuration node.

4. A system for capturing product information, comprising:

a plurality of product trees;

a plurality of configuration trees, each said configuration tree associated with one of said product trees;

at least two of said configuration trees sharing at least one usage configuration and sharing at least one in-place definition configuration, said at least two configuration trees associated with a same product tree.

5. A system in accordance with claim 4 wherein said shared usage configuration node comprises a configuration of a usage that is a child component of a root definition of said one product tree.

6. A system in accordance with claim 4 wherein said shared in-place definition configuration comprises a configuration of an in-place definition that is a child component of a root definition of said one product tree.

7. A system for capturing product information, comprising:

a plurality of product trees;

a first product tree comprising at least one in-place definition child node and at least one usage child node;

a second product tree comprising a usage of a root definition node of said first product tree, said second product tree further comprising an occurrence of said in-place definition child node and an occurrence of said usage child node.

8. A system for capturing product information, comprising a primary product tree comprising a root reusable primary definition node, a plurality of child, primary in-place definition nodes, a plurality of child, primary usage nodes, and a plurality of child, primary occurrence nodes representing primary characteristics of a design domain captured by said tree, said primary product tree further comprising a plurality of secondary in-place definition nodes, a plurality of secondary usage nodes, and a plurality of secondary occurrence nodes representing secondary characteristics of said domain captured by said tree.

9. A system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said secondary nodes are one of children of a primary node and children of another secondary node.

10. A system in accordance with claim 9 comprising a plurality of configurations of the primary product tree.

11. A system in accordance with claim 10 wherein at least one of said secondary nodes represents a hierarchical port product tree.

12. A system in accordance with claim 11 wherein said plurality of configurations shares at least one common node.

13. A system in accordance with claim 12 wherein at least one of said secondary nodes represent port connection product tree configurations that share common nodes.

14. A system in accordance with claims 11 comprising a plurality of trees, and wherein said secondary port nodes and said secondary connection nodes enable said trees to share common connectivity information.

15. A method of creating a model of interrelated tree structures comprising the steps of:

creating a first tree structure by defining a first-reusable-definition object having multiple child components,

creating a second tree structure by defining a second-reusable-definition object;

creating a first-tree usage object to represent an assembly instance of the second-reusable definition object, the usage object being a child component of the first-reusable-definition object and having a reference to the second-reusable-definition object; and

creating at lease one first-tree in-place definition object as a child component of the first-reusable-definition object.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first-reusable-definition object has at least one first-reusable-definition configuration object.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the second-reusable-definition object has at least one second-reusable-definition configuration object.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first-tree usage object has at least one first-tree usage configuration object, which is an assembly instance of the second-reusable-definition configuration object.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein each first-tree in-place definition object is represented by at least one first-tree in-place definition configuration object.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein each first-tree usage configuration object and each in-place definition configuration object is a child component of at least one first-tree definition configuration object.

21. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of creating a third tree structure by defining a third-reusable-definition object.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the step of creating a second-tree usage object, as a child component of the second-reusable-definition object, to represent an assembly instance of the third-reusable definition object.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising the step of creating a derived assembly instance of the second-tree usage object as a child component of the first-tree usage object.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the derived assembly instance is represented by a first-tree occurrence object that is a child component of the first-tree usage object, and has a reference to the second-tree usage object.

25. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of creating at least one second-tree in-place definition object, each as a child component of the second reusable definition object.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising the step of creating a derived assembly instance of each second-tree in-place definition object as a child component of the first-tree usage object.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the derived assembly instance is represented by a first-tree occurrence object that is a child component of the first-tree usage object, and has a reference to one second-tree in-place definition object.