Ontological Filtering Using Spatial Boundary of 3D Objects

• US 20100318929A1
• Filed: 06/10/2010
• Published: 12/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hexagon Technology Center GmbH (Hexagon AB)
• Original Assignee: Intergraph Technologies Company
• Inventors: Boster, Anthony D., Hilton, Douglas S.
• Granted Patent: US 9,158,441 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are provided that improve graphical software applications, by filtering the data for display according to techniques for defining and manipulating visual indicia. Data may be filtered according to multiple filters that are combined in a number of ways to form the set of data for display. Data may be filtered ontologically and geometrically according to their relationships with other data. Visual indicia that represent filters may be drag-and-dropped between input areas to facilitate ease of use. Data selected according to a filter may be displayed at the same time as non-selected data by applying visually distinctive characteristics to the selected data. A virtual environment may be shown simultaneously on several different video displays at a single workstation.

Claims

1. A method of displaying 3D model data on a video display, the data belonging to a dataset, each datum in the dataset having one or more attributes, the method comprising:

defining a plurality of data filters and a plurality of filtering levels, each data filter having a filtering level and being capable of filtering the data in the dataset as a function of at least one attribute; and

in response to receiving a first selection of at least two of the data filters, determining, for display on the video display, a subset of 3D model data in the dataset, the subset being defined by the first selected data filters.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying the subset of 3D model data on the video display.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the defined plurality of data filters comprises one of:

a hierarchical tree of data filters and a plurality of ontological data filters.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first selected data filters comprise data filters having the same filtering level only.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first selected data filters comprise data filters having different filtering levels.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the subset of displayed data is defined as the intersection of the subsets of data defined by the at least one attribute in each of data filters in the selected plurality.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the subset of displayed data is defined as the union of the subsets of data defined by the at least one attribute in each of data filters in the selected plurality.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the data defined by the at least one attribute in a given data filter is displayed in a color uniquely associated with the given data filter.

9. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

in response to receiving a second selection of a first selected data filter having a first level, indicating on the video display a plurality of data filters associated with the second selected data filter, each indicated data filter having a second level that is the same level as each of the other indicated data filters but different from the first level; and

in response to receiving a selection of an indicated data filter, causing the display on the video display of a second subset of 3D model data in the dataset, the second subset being defined by the selected indicated data filter.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the second subset of 3D model data is further defined by the data filters in the plurality of first selected data filters other than the second selected data filter.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein displaying the second subset includes displaying the data of the second subset in a user-selectable color.

12. A method according to claim 9, wherein displaying the second subset includes displaying an exploded view, a cross-sectional view, or an enlarged view of the data of the second subset.

13. A method of displaying 3D model data from a dataset, by a graphical application on a video display, the method comprising:

forming, in the graphical application, an ontology that defines a plurality of meanings, each meaning being defined by an end user of the graphical application;

associating, with at least one datum in the dataset, one or more meanings in the ontology;

displaying on the video display a graphical user interface capable of receiving a selection of a meaning in the ontology; and

in response to receiving such a selection, determining, for display on the video display, first 3D model data from the dataset, each datum in the first 3D model data being associated with the selected meaning.

14. A method according to claim 13, further comprising displaying the first 3D model data on the video display.

15. A method according to claim 13, wherein the selection includes a plurality of meanings, the method further comprising:

displaying the data in the dataset that are associated with at least one of the selected meanings.

16. A method according to claim 13, wherein displaying the first data includes displaying the first data in a user-selectable color.

17. A method according to claim 13, further comprising displaying second 3D model data, none of which are associated with the selected meaning, wherein displaying the data on the video display includes displaying the first data differently than the second data.

18. A method of displaying 3D model data from a dataset, by a graphical application on a video display, the method comprising:

displaying, on the video display, a first display region having a plurality of visual indicia, each visual indicium being associated with an attribute;

displaying on the video display a second display region, each visual indicium being capable of being drag-and-dropped between the first display region and the second display region; and

in response to a visual indicium being drag-and-dropped between the first display region and the second display region, selecting for display on the video display, 3D model data in the dataset having an attribute associated with at least one visual indicium displayed in the second display region.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein a visual indicium is drag-and-dropped from the first display region to the second display region.

20. A method according to claim 18, wherein a visual indicium is drag-and-dropped from the second display region to the first display region.

21. A method according to claim 18, wherein each visual indicium has a user-selectable display color.

22. A method according to claim 18, wherein each datum in the dataset represents an instance of a class in a plurality of classes of 3D model objects, and wherein at least one of the visual indicia is associated with a data filter capable of selecting data in the dataset having a particular class in the plurality of classes.

23. A method according to claim 18, wherein each datum in the dataset represents an instance of a class in a plurality of classes of 3D model objects, each class in the plurality of classes realizing at least one functional role in a plurality of functional roles, and wherein at least one of the visual indicia is associated with a data filter capable of selecting data in the dataset having a particular role in the plurality of functional roles.

24. A method according to claim 18, wherein each datum in the dataset represents an instance of a class in a plurality of classes of 3D model objects, each class in the plurality of classes realizing at least one functional role in a plurality of functional roles, each functional role in the plurality of functional roles having at least one attribute in a plurality of attributes, and wherein at least one of the visual indicia is associated with a data filter capable of selecting data in the dataset having a particular attribute in the plurality of attributes.

25. A method according to claim 18, further comprising:

in response to the visual indicium being drag-and-dropped between the first display region and the second display region, organizing the visual indicia displayed in the second display region.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein organizing includes organizing according to a frequency with which the visual indicia appear in the second display region.

27. A method according to claim 25, wherein organizing includes organizing according to sort criteria selectable by a user.

28. A method according to claim 18, further comprising:

displaying the selected data on the video display.

29. A method according to claim 28, further comprising:

displaying on the video display data in the dataset that is not selected, wherein displaying the selected data includes displaying the selected data according to a display mode that visually distinguishes it from the non-selected data.

30. A method according to claim 29, wherein each visual indicium has a user-selectable color, and according to the display mode, data associated with the attribute of each visual indicium are displayed in the color of that visual indicium.

31. A computer program product, for use on a computer system, for displaying 3D model data on a video display, the data belonging to a dataset, each datum in the dataset having one or more attributes, the computer program product comprising a tangible, computer-usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code comprising:

program code for defining a plurality of data filters and a plurality of filtering levels, each data filter having a filtering level and being capable of filtering the data in the dataset as a function of at least one attribute;

program code for receiving a first selection of a plurality of data filters; and

program code for causing the display on the video display of a subset of 3D model data in the dataset, the subset being defined by the first selected data filters in response to receiving the first selection.

32. A computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the defined plurality of data filters comprises a set of data filters, a hierarchical tree of data filters, or a plurality of ontological data filters.

33. A computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the first selected data filters comprise only data filters having the same filtering level.

34. A computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the first selected data filters comprise data filters having different filtering levels.

35. A computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the subset of displayed data is defined as the logical intersection of the subsets of data defined by the at least one attribute in each of data filters in the selected plurality.

36. A computer program product according to claim 31, wherein the subset of displayed data is defined as the logical union of the subsets of data defined by the at least one attribute in each of data filters in the selected plurality.

37. A computer program product according to claim 36, wherein the data defined by the at least one attribute in a given data filter is displayed in a user-selectable color that is uniquely associated with the given data filter.

38. A computer program product according to claim 31, the computer readable program code further comprising:

program code for receiving a second selection of a first selected data filter having a first level;

program code for indicating on the video display a plurality of data filters associated with the second selected data filter, each indicated data filter having a second level that is the same level as each of the other indicated data filters but different from the first level, in response to receiving the second selection;

program code for receiving a selection of an indicated data filter; and

program code for displaying on the video display a second subset of 3D model data in the dataset, the second subset being defined by the selected indicated data filter, in response to receiving the selection of an indicated data filter.

39. A computer program product according to claim 38, wherein the second subset of 3D model data is further defined by the data filters in the plurality of first selected data filters other than the second selected data filter.

40. A computer program product according to claim 38, wherein displaying the second subset includes displaying the data of the second subset in a user-selectable color.

41. A computer program product according to claim 38, wherein displaying the second subset includes displaying an exploded view, a cross-sectional view, or an enlarged view of the data of the second subset.

42. A computer program product for displaying 3D model data from a dataset on a video display, the computer program product comprising a tangible medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code comprising:

program code for forming, in the graphical application, an ontology that defines a plurality of meanings, each meaning being defined by an end user of the graphical application;

program code for associating, with at least one datum in the dataset, one or more meanings in the ontology;

program code for displaying on the video display a graphical user interface capable of receiving a selection of a meaning in the ontology; and

program code for causing the display on the video display of first 3D model data from the dataset, in response to receiving such a selection, each datum in the first 3D model data being associated with the selected meaning.

43. A computer program product according to claim 42, wherein the selection includes a plurality of meanings, the computer readable program code further comprising:

program code for displaying the data in the dataset that are associated with at least one of the selected meanings.

44. A computer program product according to claim 42, wherein displaying the first data includes displaying the first data in a user-selectable color.

45. A computer program product according to claim 42, the computer readable program code further comprising:

program code for displaying second 3D model data that are instances of classes, in the plurality of classes, none of whose roles have the selected meaning, wherein displaying the data on the video display includes displaying the first data differently than the second data.

46. An apparatus for displaying representations of three-dimensional objects on a graphics display device, the apparatus comprising:

a database configured to store a dataset of data that models the three-dimensional objects, at least one datum in the dataset having one or more ontological meanings;

a storage device configured to store a plurality of data filters, each data filter being associated with at least one of the ontological meanings;

a filtering processor, coupled to the database and the storage device, configured to receive a selection of at least one of the plurality of data filters, and filter the data in the dataset according to the meanings associated with the selected data filters to produce a display dataset; and

a display processor, coupled to the graphics display device and the filtering processor, the display processor being configured to receive the display dataset from the filtering processor, and to cause the graphics display device to display the display dataset.

47. An apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the storage device is further configured to store a plurality of ontological filters, each ontological filter being associated with one or more of the data stored in the database, and wherein the filtering processor is further configured to filter the data in the dataset according to the one or more data associated with a selected ontological filter to produce the display dataset.

48. An apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the filtering processor is further configured to receive the selection in response to a drag-and-drop event.

49. An apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the display processor is further configured to display the display dataset according to an interactively configurable data display option.

50. An apparatus according to claim 49, wherein the data display option is a color selection, a show-or-hide selection, a highlight selection, or a combination of selections.

51. An apparatus according to claim 46, further comprising:

a second graphics display device; and

a second display processor, coupled to the second graphics display device and the filtering processor, the second display processor being configured to receive a second display dataset from the filtering processor, and to display the second display dataset using the second graphics display device.

52. An apparatus according to claim 51, wherein the filtering processor is further configured to change one display dataset to reflect a change in the other display dataset, and wherein the first and second display processors are configured to display both changed display datasets substantially simultaneously.

53. An apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the filtering processor is further configured to filter the data in the dataset according to a geometric relationship.

54. A method of displaying, on a video display, a subset of data selected from a set of data, each datum in the set of data representing a three-dimensional object, the method comprising:

assigning at least one meaning to at least one datum in the set of data, the collection of all assigned meanings forming an ontology;

in a computer process;

a) determining a first subset of the set of data, each datum in the first subset having a given first meaning in the ontology,

b) determining a second subset of the set of data, each datum in the second subset having a given second meaning in the ontology, and

c) forming a third subset of the set of data, the third subset comprising each datum in the first subset that satisfies a given geometric relationship with at least one datum in the second subset; and

forwarding a signal toward the video display to cause the video display to graphically highlight the three-dimensional objects represented by the third subset.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising displaying the three-dimensional objects represented by the third subset in a graphical highlight.

56. The method of claim 54, wherein the set of data represents three-dimensional objects that are used in the design, construction, inspection, licensing, or operation of either a building or a naval vessel.

57. The method of claim 54, wherein the set of data is stored in a database, and determining the first and second subsets of the set of data are performed using a database query.

58. The method of claim 54, wherein the video display displays the three-dimensional objects in a two-dimensional view.

59. The method of claim 54, wherein the video display displays the three-dimensional objects in a three-dimensional view.

60. The method of claim 54, wherein graphically highlighting the third subset of three-dimensional objects includes displaying copies of a visual indicium at appropriate locations in the display.

61. A computer program product, for use on a computer system, for displaying, on a video display, a subset of data selected from a set of data, each datum in the set of data representing a three-dimensional object, the computer program product comprising a tangible, computer-usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code comprising:

program code for assigning at least one meaning to at least one datum in the set of data, the collection of all assigned meanings forming an ontology;

program code for determining a first subset of the set of data, each datum in the first subset having a given first meaning in the ontology;

program code for determining a second subset of the set of data, each datum in the second subset having a given second meaning in the ontology;

program code for forming a third subset of the set of data, the third subset comprising each datum in the first subset that satisfies a given geometric relationship with at least one datum in the second subset; and

program code for forwarding a signal toward the video display to cause the video display to graphically highlight the three-dimensional objects represented by the third subset.

62. The computer program product of claim 61, wherein the set of data represents three-dimensional objects that are used in the design, construction, inspection, licensing, or operation of either a building or a naval vessel.

63. The computer program product of claim 61, further comprising:

program code for storing the set of data in a database; and

program code for performing a database query to determine the first and second subsets of the set of data.

64. The computer program product of claim 61, further comprising program code for displaying the three-dimensional objects in a two-dimensional view on the video display.

65. The computer program product of claim 61, further comprising program code for displaying the three-dimensional objects in a three-dimensional view on the video display.

66. The computer program product of claim 61, further comprising program code for graphically highlighting the third subset of three-dimensional objects by displaying copies of a visual indicium at appropriate locations in the display.