Multi-User Decomposition of Design Space Models

• US 20130239011A1
• Filed: 03/08/2013
• Published: 09/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Collab Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Brigham Young University (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)
• Inventors: Red, Walter Edward, Jensen, Charles Gregory, Marshall, Felicia, Weerakoon, Prasad, Moncur, Rob
• Granted Patent: US 10,242,430 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/743
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/00 Image enhancement or restoration

Abstract

A method for collaborative CAx editing may include enabling a user to define a partitioning constraint for a design space and partitioning the design space into editing regions according to the partitioning constraint and assigning users to specific editing regions. The method may also include displaying a feature tree, enabling a user to select and lock a selected feature for editing by a specified user, enabling the specified user to edit the selected feature and blocking access from other users to the selected feature. An apparatus corresponding to the above method is also disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for collaborative editing of an electronic model of an engineering object within a design space, the method comprising:

enabling a user to define a partitioning constraint for the design space;

partitioning the design space into a plurality of editing regions according to the partitioning constraint;

enabling the user to reserve a selected editing region of the plurality of editing regions for editing by a specified user;

enabling the specified user to edit features associated with the selected editing region; and

blocking access from other users to features associated with the selected editing region.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the partitioning constraint is selected from the group consisting of an equation, a geometry list, a feature selection filter and a partitioning surface.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the partitioning surface is selected from the group consisting of a planar surface, a curved surface, an open surface, a closed surface, and at least a portion of a three dimensional shape selected from the group consisting of a block, a cylinder, a cone, a conical frustum and an ellipsoid.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the partitioning surface is substantially closed and wherein the selected editing region is inside of, or outside of, the partitioning surface.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling a user to specify the selected geometries comprises presenting a list of geometries.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling a user to specify the selected geometries comprises providing a selection filter interface.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling a user to specify the selected geometries comprises responding to a mouse event.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling a user to specify a specified user comprises presenting a list of users.

5. A method for collaborative editing of an electronic model of an engineering object within a design space, the method comprising:

enabling a user to specify one or more selected geometries from a plurality of geometries associated with an engineering object;

enabling the user to assign a specified user for the selected geometries;

enabling the specified user to edit the selected geometries and features associated therewith; and

blocking access from other users to the selected geometries and features associated therewith.

10. A method for collaborative editing of an electronic model of an engineering object within a design space, the method comprising:

displaying a feature tree for an engineering object, the feature tree comprising a plurality of nodes that correspond to editable features of the engineering object;

enabling a user to select and lock a selected feature, for editing by a specified user, via the feature tree;

enabling the specified user to edit the selected feature; and

blocking access from other users to the selected feature.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein enabling a user to select and lock a selected feature comprises displaying a locking icon adjacent to a node in the feature tree that corresponds to the selected feature.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising enabling the user or the specified user to release the selected feature.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising enabling a user to select and reserve a selected feature of the feature tree for editing by a specified user.

14. The method of claim 10, enabling a user to associate a specified constraint with the selected feature via the feature tree.

15. A method for collaborative editing of an electronic model of an engineering object within a design space, the method comprising:

displaying a feature tree for an engineering object, the feature tree comprising a plurality of nodes that correspond to an editable feature of the engineering object;

enabling a user to associate a specified constraint with a selected feature via the feature tree; and

constraining editing of the selected feature by users according to the specified constraint.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the specified constraint comprises a numerical limit.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the specified constraint comprises a function.

18. The method of claim 15, enabling a user to select and lock the selected feature, for editing by a specified user, via the feature tree.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising enabling the user or the specified user to release the selected feature.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein enabling a user to select and lock a selected feature comprises displaying a locking icon adjacent to a node in the feature tree that corresponds to the selected feature.