RENDERING AND MODIFYING CAD DESIGN ENTITIES IN OBJECT-ORIENTED APPLICATIONS

• US 20100268513A1
• Filed: 02/13/2009
• Published: 10/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Armstrong Word Industries Incorporated, Armstrong World Industries Incorporated, Dirtt Environmental Solutions
• Original Assignee: Dirtt Environmental Solutions
• Inventors: Loberg, Barrie A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,762,941 B2
• 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

An object-oriented design program provides is configured to instantly render in a three-dimensional interface user CAD designs received as CAD-based design elements (e.g., CAD blocks or lines). The object-oriented program renders the user CAD designs regardless of whether the user designs are practical, or use finishes or colors that are in-stock for the selected design elements. In addition, the object-oriented program can also create intelligent software objects for the CAD-based elements at a later time, upon request by the user. The intelligent software objects can be configured to automatically resolve themselves in view of one or more system limitations and rules in related components, and to replicate any such resolution back to the CAD-based blocks if desired. Thus, a user can have the benefits of instant 3D rendering of CAD drawings with or without the automatic resolution provided by intelligent software objects, depending on the situation.

Claims

1. At an object-oriented design application in a computerized environment comprising a computer-aided design (or CAD)-based application programs that implements user design choices with corresponding CAD design elements in a record or linear-based database, a computer-implemented method of using the object-oriented design program to instantly render user designs made in the CAD program, comprising the acts of:

identifying one or more user requests to render in a three-dimensional user interface one or more design elements created in a separate CAD user interface;

receiving one or more CAD design elements that represent one or more CAD block or line design elements created by the user in the CAD user interface;

receiving one or more files that identify features of the design elements that the user selected in the CAD user interface; and

automatically displaying the CAD design elements as three-dimensional design elements in the three-dimensional user interface using previously-generated rendering instructions.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the acts of:

receiving one or more user instructions to manipulate at least one design element in the three-dimensional user interface; and

displaying the user-directed change to the at least one design element using other previously-generated rendering instructions.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein user-directed change comprises a change in color or finish selection for the at least one design element.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein user-directed change comprises a change in material for the at least one design element.

5. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the object-oriented program further comprises one or more reference libraries that indicates available features for particular design elements.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein:

the user-directed change comprises a change in material for the at least one design element; and

the one or more reference libraries comprise one or more values that indicate that the user-directed feature change does not correlate with what is available for the at least one design element.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising an act of rendering the user-directed change in material along with the rendering of the at least one design element in spite of the non-correlation per the one or more reference libraries.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

receiving one or more requests to create one or more object-oriented intelligent objects corresponding to the received one or more CAD design elements; and

generating the one or more object-oriented intelligent objects, wherein the one or more object-oriented intelligent objects comprise automatically resolving software instructions that correlate with the one or more reference libraries and with one or more other object-oriented objects.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of generating the one or more object-oriented intelligent objects further comprises converting one or more object-oriented unintelligent objects corresponding to the one or more CAD design elements.

10. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

the newly generated one or more object-oriented objects automatically communicating with the one or more reference libraries; and

the newly generated one or more object-oriented objects identifying that the user-directed change in features is unavailable for the at least one design element.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising automatically correcting the view of the at least one design element in the three-dimensional user interface so that the user-directed feature change is no longer displayed.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising sending one or more updates to the CAD program that change one or more CAD design elements corresponding to the at least one design element, wherein the one or more updates correspond to the automatic correction.

13. At a object-oriented design application in a computerized environment comprising a computer-aided design (or CAD)-based application programs that implements user design choices with corresponding CAD design elements in a record or linear-based database, a computer-implemented method of using the object-oriented design program to instantly render user designs made in the CAD program, comprising the acts of:

identifying one or more user requests to render in a three-dimensional user interface one or more design elements created in a separate CAD user interface, wherein the one or more user requests further indicate that no intelligent objects are to be created;

importing from the CAD program into the object-oriented program one or more CAD design elements that represent one or more CAD block or line design elements created by the user in the CAD user interface;

importing a separate feature file comprising user-selected features corresponding to the one or more design elements in the one or CAD design elements;

automatically displaying the CAD design elements as three-dimensional design elements in the three-dimensional user interface using previously-generated rendering instructions; and

displaying in the three-dimensional user interface at least one of the user-selected features from the feature file as being non-modifiable, and another of the user-selected features from the feature file as being modifiable.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein:

the feature displayed as being non-modifiable comprises dimension information; and

the feature displayed as being modifiable comprises information related to color, finish, or material of the one or more design elements.

15. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising:

receiving one or more user requests to generate one or more object-oriented intelligent objects corresponding to the received one or more CAD design elements represented in the three-dimensional display; and

displaying all of the user-selected features as being modifiable.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising:

identifying that the one or more design elements corresponding to the one or more CAD design elements have been updated in the CAD interface;

automatically determining through the generated objects that the updates in the CAD interface are possible; and

automatically using additional rendering information that was previously generated to render the updates in the three-dimensional interface.

17. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein:

the one or more user requests comprise a request to create an intelligent object corresponding to one or more groupings of CAD design elements represented in the three-dimensional display; and

the one or more groupings are designated as a typical grouping.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, further comprising:

saving one or more intelligent objects corresponding to the typical grouping; and

providing one or more selectable options in a subsequent view of three-dimensional display that provide access to the typical grouping.

19. The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

receiving one or more subsequent requests through the three-dimensional display for the typical grouping; and

accessing one or more design elements and one or more features corresponding to the typical grouping from the saved one or more intelligent objects corresponding to the typical grouping.

20. At an object-oriented design application in a computerized environment comprising a computer-aided design (or CAD)-based application programs that implements user design choices with corresponding CAD design elements in a record or linear-based database, a computer-program storage product having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform method comprising:

identifying one or more user requests to render in a three-dimensional user interface one or more design elements created in a separate CAD user interface;

receiving one or more CAD design elements that represent one or more CAD block or line design elements created by the user in the CAD user interface;

receiving one or more files that identify features of the design elements that the user selected in the CAD user interface; and

automatically displaying the CAD design elements as three-dimensional design elements in the three-dimensional user interface using previously-generated rendering instructions.