SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ESTIMATION OF BUILDING WALL AREA AND PRODUCING A WALL ESTIMATION REPORT

• US 20130226515A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EagleView Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: EagleView Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Pershing, Chris, Rydell, Michael, Jiang, Jianguo, Pringle, Arlen
• Granted Patent: US 10,663,294 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/156
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 21/28 for measuring areas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/08 Construction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate

Abstract

A wall area estimation system generates an estimated wall area measurement report of a building. Included in the wall area measurement estimate report are multiple line drawings of a building having a roof. Two of the multiple line drawings are perspective views from an angle of view above the building. A first of the perspective views is substantially centered on a first substantially vertical exterior corner of the house that is approximately opposite of a second substantially vertical exterior corner of the house on which a second of the perspective views is substantially centered. The first and second of the perspective views include a line drawing of the roof that is transparent or translucent to show interior surfaces of the walls of the building in the first and second of the perspective views. The walls of the interior surfaces shown are shaded darker than the walls of the exterior.

Claims

1. A method in a system for generating a wall area measurement estimate report including a computer processor and a memory coupled to the computer processor, the method comprising:

including in the wall area measurement estimate report, by the system for generating the wall area measurement estimate report, multiple line drawings of a building having a roof, each of the multiple line drawings showing a different angle of view of the building, wherein at least two of the multiple line drawings are perspective views from an angle of view above the building, a first of the perspective views being substantially centered on a first substantially vertical exterior outer corner of the house that joins a first exterior wall of the building to a second exterior wall of the building that is approximately perpendicular to the first exterior wall of the building, and a second of the perspective views being substantially centered on a second substantially vertical exterior outer corner of the house that joins a third exterior wall that is approximately parallel to the first exterior wall with a wall that is approximately parallel to the second exterior wall; and

including in the first and second of the perspective views, by the system for generating the wall area measurement estimate report, a line drawing of the roof that is transparent or translucent to show interior surfaces of the walls of the building in the first and second of the perspective views.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the second of the perspective views is obtained by:

rotating a three-dimensional model of the building to an elevation view of the first substantially vertical exterior outer corner;

rotating the three-dimensional model of the building approximately ninety degrees in the elevational view; and

rotating the three-dimensional model of the building to approximately the same angle of view above the building.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the angle of view above the building is dependent on a height of the building, the angle of view above the building increasing as the height of the building increases.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the angle of view above the building is dependent on a height to depth ratio of the building, the angle of view above the building increasing as the height of the building increases.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

providing shading on interior surfaces of walls that are shown in the perspective views that is darker than shading provided on exterior surfaces of walls shown in the perspective views.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

providing shading of the surfaces of the walls such that no two connected walls are of a same shade.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

providing shading of outlines of the walls such that no two connected outlines of walls are of a same shade.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising providing a number of different shades of for the walls in each perspective view proportional to a total number of walls shown in the perspective view.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

labeling each corresponding wall in at least one of the line drawings with a designated corresponding character or combination of characters; and

labeling each hole in the corresponding wall with the corresponding character or combination of characters with which the corresponding wall is labeled followed by one or more additional character or combination of characters to designate the hole is a hole of the corresponding wall.

10. A method in a system for generating a wall area measurement estimate report including a computer processor and a memory coupled to the computer processor, the method comprising:

including in the wall area measurement estimate report, multiple line drawings of a building having a roof, each of the multiple line drawings from a different corresponding angle of view of the building, wherein at least four of the multiple line drawings are elevation views of different sides of the building from a corresponding first, second, third and fourth angle of view of the building, respectively, and wherein the first and third angles of view are of exterior walls of the building facing substantially opposite each other and wherein the second and fourth angles of view are of exterior walls of the building facing substantially opposite each other; and

including in one or more of the elevation views of the building, a shading of an edge of a wall to designate that the edge of the wall is behind another wall in a corresponding view of the one or more of the elevation views of the building.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the shading of the edge of a wall to designate the edge of the wall is behind another wall in a corresponding view of the one or more of the elevation views of the building is a lighter shade than that in the one or more of the elevation views of the building of wall edges which are not behind other walls in the corresponding view.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

showing in each of the elevation views of the building, only walls which are designated as facing a viewer in the corresponding a first, second and fourth angle of view of the elevation views.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the showing in each of the elevation views of the building, only walls which are designated as facing the viewer in the corresponding a first, second and fourth angle of view of the elevation views includes:

designating, for each of first, second and fourth angle of view, which walls are facing the viewer for the angle of view based on a difference in the angle of the walls with respect to the angle of view.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the designating includes designating a wall as facing the viewer for the angle of view if a difference in the angle of the wall with respect to the angle of view is below a defined threshold difference.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

showing labels of walls shown in a first one of the elevation views of the building, but not labels of holes in the walls of the first one of the elevation views; and

showing labels of holes in walls shown in a second one of the elevation views of the building, but not labels of the walls shown in the second one of the elevation views.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

determining the corresponding first, second, third and fourth angle of view of the building for the corresponding elevation view by;

determining angles of substantially all vertical walls of the building relative to a reference vertical plane;

grouping angles of substantially all vertical walls of the building into corresponding groups of walls which have similar orientation angles relative to an orientation of a reference vertical plane within a defined threshold difference between each other in the orientation angles;

selecting a corresponding group of walls resulting from the grouping that has the most walls having similar orientation angles within a defined threshold difference between each other in the orientation angles; and

determining the first angle of view based on the selected corresponding group of walls such that the first angle of view is substantially facing the corresponding group of walls.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

determining the second angle of view to be approximately a difference of 90 degrees from the first angle of view;

determining the third angle of view to be approximately 90 degrees opposite of the first angle of view; and

determining the fourth angle of view to be approximately 90 degrees opposite of the second angle of view.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

detecting if two walls are overlapping in any one of the corresponding first, second, third and fourth angles of view of the building for the corresponding elevation views; and

if two walls are overlapping in any one of the corresponding first, second, third and fourth angles of view of the building, showing in the corresponding first, second, third or fourth angles of view only a wall of the overlapping walls that is in front of another wall of the overlapping walls.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

for any rectangular walls and any rectangular holes in walls on the corresponding first, second, third and fourth angles of view of the building, labeling on the corresponding first, second, third and fourth angles of view of the building, only one height and one width of the rectangular walls and one height and one width of the rectangular holes in the walls.

20. A wall area measurement estimate report comprising:

multiple line drawings of a building having the roof, each of the multiple line drawings from a different angle of view of the building, wherein at least two of the multiple line drawings are perspective views from an angle of view above the building, a first of the perspective views being substantially centered on a first substantially vertical exterior corner of the house that is approximately opposite of a second substantially vertical exterior corner of the house on which a second of the perspective views is substantially centered; and

in the first and second of the perspective views, a line drawing of the roof that is transparent or translucent to show interior surfaces of the walls of the building in the first and second of the perspective views.

21. The wall area measurement estimate report of claim 20 wherein the angle of view above the building is dependent on a height of the building, the angle of view above the building increasing as the height of the building increases.

22. The wall area measurement estimate report of claim 21 wherein the angle of view above the building is dependent on a height to depth ratio of the building, the angle of view above the building increasing as the height of the building increases.

23. The wall area measurement estimate report of claim 21 wherein shading is provided on interior surfaces of walls that are shown in the perspective views that is darker than shading provided on exterior surfaces of walls shown in the perspective views.

24. The wall area measurement estimate report of claim 23 wherein shading is provided on the report of the surfaces of the walls such that no two connected walls are of a same shade.