Shape generating/creating system for computer aided design, computer aided manufacturing, computer aided engineering and computer applied technology

• US 4,864,520 A
• Filed: 07/20/1987
• Issued: 09/05/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RYOZO SETOGUCHI, 50, MINAMISOMESHIMACHI, SENDAI-SHI, MIYAGI, JAPAN
• Original Assignee: Ryozo Setoguchi
• Inventors: Nakamura, Yoshiaki, Setoguchi, Ryozo
• Primary Examiner(s): Lall, Parshotam S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dixon, Joseph L.
• Application Number:
  US07/077,088
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• Field of Search: 364/141, 364/142, 364/188, 364/189, 364/518, 364/520, 364/522, 364/560, 364/719, 340/729, 340/734, 340/736, 340/747
• US Class Current: 345/420
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/36372 Light, magnetic pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation

Abstract

A form creating system providing a free access to a form to be created through the whole process from its first or design step to its final or manufacturing step. In this system, the position of a third point and the direction of a third straight line are first decided in accordance with the positions of first and second points as well as the directions of the first and second lines, and then such third points are connected successively to create a desired form.

Claims

1. A shape generating system for computer aided design, computer aided manufacturing, computer aided engineering and computer applied technology comprising:

a first and second point setting means for setting each position of both a first point and a second point at an arbitrary but different position in a formative space with the help of position pointing devices, and said position pointing operation is performed for determining said points, which satisfy a constructive point of a boundary shape of a forming solid or figure and determine the span of the boundary shape of said solid or figure, to be used as a starting point;

a first and second straight line setting means for setting each line passing separately through said first point and said second point in an arbitrary direction of said space, but not parallel to each other, with the help of direction pointing devices, and a direction indicating operation is performed for determining said straight lines, which are enveloped over the boundary shape of said solid or figure, and determine the constructing region of a solid or figure, to be used as a starting line;

a polygon-like form setting means for setting a polygon-like form of a wire frame-like form, which is formed by the constructive procedure and set-up relations in accordance with both the position of said second point and the direction of said second line as well as the position of said first point and the direction of said first line, by means of calculating devices;

a basic controlling quantity setting means for setting characteristic quantity, which is calculated from said polygon-like form set by said polygon-like form setting means and required for generating the boundary shape of said solid or figure, by means of said calculating devices;

a third point/third straight line decision means for determining the position of the third point, which satisfies the boundary shape of said solid, and the direction of the third straight line passing through said third point, which is enveloped over the boundary shape of said solid or figure, in accordance with the characteristic quantity from said basic controlling quantity setting means, means of calculating devices with an input means for setting and shape control parameters, said third point/third straight line decision means comprising;

an input means for inputting said shape control parameters; and

said calculating devices, said calculating devices for determining said third point and said direction of said third line in response to said shape control parameters and said characteristic quantity; and

an iteratively controlling means for controlling repetitively each of said polygon-like form setting, basic control quantity setting and third point/third straight line decision means and for inserting the determined position and direction of the straight line relevant to said third point in each set of the previously set position and direction of the straight line relevant to said first point and second point fixed by said first and second point setting ments, and further for adding each set of the position and direction of straight lines through the points, which are newly determined by repetitively controlling each of said means, to each previously determined set of the position and direction of straight lines through the points until a range of accuracy or limitation in performance for such solid or figure for generating the boundary shape of said solid or figure between said first point and said second point is achieved.

2. A shape generating system according to claim 1, wherein:

said polygon-like form setting means further comprises;

a fundamental triangle constructing means for determining a fundamental triangle enclosed by a straight line between said first point and said second point, which is a third edge, said first straight line or alternative line projected on a control plane of said polygon-like form for said first line, which is a first edge, and said second straight line or alternative line projected on said plane, which is a second edge; and

an isosceles triangle constructing means for determining an isosceles triangle having equilateral edges equal to a length of a shorter side edge of said fundamental triangle between said first edge and said second edge, which is made by putting the vertex of the longer side edge of said fundamental triangle between said first edge and said second edge and taking said shorter side edge as a common edge included between said fundamental triangle and said isosceles triangle; and

said third point/third straight line decision means further comprises a third point setting operation means for calculating the position of said third point and a third straight line setting operation means for calculating a direction of a straight line passing through said third point in accordance with said basic controlling quantity reduced as the difference between said fundamental triangle and said isosceles triangle.

3. A shape generating system according to claim 2, wherein said basic controlling quantity setting means further comprises:

an internal center position operating means for calculating both a position of an internal center of said fundamental triangle and a position of the internal center of said isosceles triangle;

a first triangle area operating means for calculating an area of a first triangle enclosed by a set of three lines, one of said three lines is the shorter side edge of said fundamental triangle, another line is a line crossing between said internal center of said fundamental triangle and the longer side vertex but not the intersection of said first straight line and said second straight line, and a last line is perpendicular to the line segment between said internal center of said isosceles triangle and the shorter side vertex but not said intersection and passes through a point dividing a length of said line segment into two halves; and

a second triangle area operating means for calculating the area of a second triangle which is constructed at the opposite side of said first triangle according to the opposite operation corresponding to the disposing relation used by said first triangle.

4. A shape generating system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said third point/third straight line decision means further comprising:

a calculation means for calculating and controlling both the position of said third point and the direction of said straight line at said third point which sets both the position of said third point as a distance from the internal center of said fundamental triangle and the direction of said third straight line as an angle apart from a mean angle equal to a direction of the bisector between a line passing through both said first point and said third point and a line passing through both said second point and said third point corresponding to the difference between the areas of said first and second triangle according to the shape control parameters, which are respectively defined as control variables for the main control process on generating the boundary shape of said solid.

5. A shape generating/creating system according to claim 4, wherein said calculation means also calculates and controls the position of said third point and the direction of the straight line passing through said third point by means of such input devices as an image scanner, digitizer, pointing mouse, joy-stick and keyboard, calculating devices, controlling devices with buffering memory and such output devices as a video display terminal, image drafting machine, image plotter, shape forming machine, robot, pattern discriminator, eye-visual machine or image-visual simulator.