Architectural structure design methods, architectural structure design apparatuses and articles of manufacture

• US 20070179757A1
• Filed: 01/13/2006
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Chief Architect Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Chief Architect Incorporated
• Inventors: Simpson, Jack
• Application Number:
  US11/332,048
• Publication Number:
  US 20070179757A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/13 Architectural design, e.g. computer-aided architectural design [CAAD] related to design of buildings, bridges, landscapes, production plants or roads

Abstract

Architectural structure design methods, apparatuses and articles of manufacture are described according to some aspects of the disclosure. In one aspect, an architectural structure design apparatus includes accessing a design of an architectural structure, accessing information regarding a location of the design of the architectural structure, designing an object using the information regarding the location, modifying the design of the architectural structure to include the object, and after the modifying, displaying the design of the architectural structure comprising the object.

Claims

1. An architectural structure design method comprising:

accessing a design of an architectural structure;

accessing information regarding a location of the design of the architectural structure;

designing an object using the information regarding the location;

modifying the design of the architectural structure to include the object; and

after the modifying, displaying the design of the architectural structure comprising the object.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising selecting the location of the design of the architectural structure for placement of the object responsive to user input and wherein the accessing the information is responsive to the selecting.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising displaying the design at an initial moment in time before the selecting, and wherein the selecting comprises selecting responsive to user input interacting with the displayed design.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the modifying comprises integrating the object into the design of the architectural structure at the location.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the designing comprises automatically designing the object without user input controlling the designing.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the modifying comprises automatically modifying the design without user input controlling the modifying.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the object comprises a dormer.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the dormer comprises a floating dormer.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the accessing comprises accessing information regarding a pitch of a roof of the design of the architectural structure corresponding to the location and the designing comprises designing the object using the pitch of the roof.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the accessing comprises accessing information regarding an interior portion of the design of the architectural structure.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the modifying comprises modifying an interior portion of the design of the architectural structure corresponding to the object.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the modifying comprises modifying an exterior portion of the design of the architectural structure corresponding to the object.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the modifying comprises identifying portions of the design of the architectural structure which are affected by the modification from other portions of the design of the architectural structured which are not affected by the modification.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the object comprises a plurality of subcomponents assembled according to a predefined arrangement.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing a library comprising information regarding a plurality of objects, wherein individual ones of the objects include a plurality of predefined subcomponents; and

using the library, selecting the object for integration into the design of the architectural structure.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising changing one of the predefined subcomponents of the selected object responsive to user input before the modifying.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting an error condition with respect to the modifying; and

indicating the error condition to a user responsive to the detecting.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising accessing stored information regarding the object and wherein the designing comprises designing using the stored information.

19. An architectural structure design apparatus comprising:

a display configured to depict a design of an architectural structure;

a user interface configured to receive user input; and

processing circuitry coupled with the display and the user interface, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the display to depict the design of the architectural structure at a first moment in time, to access one of the user inputs indicative of a desire of the user to insert a dormer into the design of the architectural structure at a second moment in time after the first moment in time, to access information regarding the dormer and information regarding the design of the architectural structure responsive to the accessing the one of the user inputs, to modify the design of the architectural structure to include the dormer, and to control the display to depict the design of the architectural structure including the dormer at a third moment in time after the first and second moments in time.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to design the dormer using the information regarding the design of the architectural structure.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to identify a location of a roof of the design of the architectural structure for placement of the dormer, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to access the information regarding the design pertinent to the location of the roof.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to identify the location of the roof responsive to user input.

23. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to automatically design the dormer in the absence of user input controlling the design of the dormer.

24. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to automatically modify the design of the architectural structure in the absence of user input controlling modifications made to the design.

25. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to access the information regarding an interior portion of the design of the architectural structure and to design the dormer using the information regarding the interior portion.

26. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to identify portions of the design of the architectural structure which are affected by the modification from other portions of the design of the architectural structured which are not affected by the modification.

27. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to modify an interior portion of the design of the architectural structure corresponding to the dormer.

28. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to modify an exterior portion of the design of the architectural structure corresponding to the dormer.

29. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the dormer comprises a floating dormer.

30. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising storage circuitry configured to store information regarding a plurality of subcomponents assembled in a predefined arrangement corresponding to the dormer.

31. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to modify information regarding one of the subcomponents responsive to user input prior to modification of the design of the architectural structure to include the dormer.

32. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to detect an error condition with respect to modification:

of the design of the architectural structure to include the dormer, and to convey the error condition to a user responsive to the detection.

33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to automatically resolve the error condition in the absence of user input instructing the processing circuitry to perform the resolution.

34. An article of manufacture comprising:

media comprising programming configured to cause processing circuitry to perform processing comprising;

controlling a display to depict a design of an architectural structure at a first moment in time;

accessing user input identifying a location of the design of the architectural structure for placement of a dormer;

accessing information regarding the dormer;

identifying portions of the architectural structure to be modified using the location and the information regarding the dormer;

modifying the portions of the design of the architectural structure to integrate the dormer with the design of the architectural structure; and

controlling the display to depict the design of the architectural structure having the dormer at a second moment in time after the first moment in time.

35. The article of claim 34 wherein the media further comprises programming configured to cause processing circuitry to perform processing comprising:

accessing information regarding the design of the architectural structure corresponding to the location; and

designing the dormer using the information regarding the design of the architectural structure.

36. The article of claim 35 wherein the media further comprises programming configured to cause processing circuitry to perform processing comprising accessing information regarding a construction of the dormer and wherein the designing comprises designing using the information regarding the construction of the dormer.

37. The article of claim 34 wherein the identifying comprises identifying using the information regarding the dormer.

38. The article of claim 34 wherein the media further comprises programming configured to cause processing circuitry to perform processing comprising automatically performing the modifying of the portions of the design of the architectural structure in the absence of user input specifying the modifications to be made.