Method of describing a building structure
First Claim
1. A method of describing a building structure and producing data indicative of areas of surfaces and volumes of spaces of said building structure, comprising:
- a) selecting a core structural information template from a plurality of possible core structural information templates wherein said core structural information template includes a member of the group selected from a predefined geometric form, a predefined orientation for said geometric form, labels assigned to one or more discrete surfaces, vectors and vertices of said geometric form, or a combination thereof, and wherein said core structural information template facilitates the input of data to generate a core structure representative of the geometric form, dimensions and orientation of all or part of said building structure;
b) specifying an orientation of said core structure;
c) specifying dimensions of said core structure;
d) selecting one or more addition structural information templates from a plurality of possible addition structural information templates representing addition structures wherein said addition structures are additions to said core structure or to other addition structures, wherein said addition structural information templates include a member of the group selected from a predefined geometric form, a predefined orientation for said geometric form, labels assigned to one or more discrete surfaces, vectors and vertices of said geometric form, predefined constraints on the type of structures to which said addition structures may be added, predefined constraints on the locations of said addition structures, a predefined method for specifying the location of said addition structures, or a combination thereof, and wherein said addition structural information templates facilitate the input of data to generate one of said addition structures representative of the geometric form, dimensions, orientation and relative location of some part of said building structure;
e) specifying an orientation of each of said addition structures;
f) specifying dimensions of each of said addition structures;
g) specifying a location of each of said addition structures relative to said core structure or relative to others of said addition structures; and
h) calculating data indicative of areas of surfaces and volumes of spaces of said building structure using structural information generated by steps a) to g) inclusive.
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Abstract
A method of describing the structure of a building which includes first selecting a core structural information template, determining the orientation of the core structure, determining dimensions for the core, and reviewing and adjusting default dimensions for the core. Second, addition structural information templates are selected if the building has a composite structure, with the additional structures being additions to the core or to other additions. Third, for each addition, the orientation of the structure is determined, dimensions are determined, default dimensions are reviewed and adjusted, and the position of attachment to the core or to other additions is determined. Finally, the predefined core and addition structural information templates are used to process the collected information from the foregoing steps for the purpose of calculating areas of surfaces and volumes of spaces.
105 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A method of describing a building structure and producing data indicative of areas of surfaces and volumes of spaces of said building structure, comprising:
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a) selecting a core structural information template from a plurality of possible core structural information templates wherein said core structural information template includes a member of the group selected from a predefined geometric form, a predefined orientation for said geometric form, labels assigned to one or more discrete surfaces, vectors and vertices of said geometric form, or a combination thereof, and wherein said core structural information template facilitates the input of data to generate a core structure representative of the geometric form, dimensions and orientation of all or part of said building structure; b) specifying an orientation of said core structure; c) specifying dimensions of said core structure; d) selecting one or more addition structural information templates from a plurality of possible addition structural information templates representing addition structures wherein said addition structures are additions to said core structure or to other addition structures, wherein said addition structural information templates include a member of the group selected from a predefined geometric form, a predefined orientation for said geometric form, labels assigned to one or more discrete surfaces, vectors and vertices of said geometric form, predefined constraints on the type of structures to which said addition structures may be added, predefined constraints on the locations of said addition structures, a predefined method for specifying the location of said addition structures, or a combination thereof, and wherein said addition structural information templates facilitate the input of data to generate one of said addition structures representative of the geometric form, dimensions, orientation and relative location of some part of said building structure; e) specifying an orientation of each of said addition structures; f) specifying dimensions of each of said addition structures; g) specifying a location of each of said addition structures relative to said core structure or relative to others of said addition structures; and h) calculating data indicative of areas of surfaces and volumes of spaces of said building structure using structural information generated by steps a) to g) inclusive. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A process for conducting an energy audit on a building structure:
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a) determining the heated envelope of said building structure; b) selecting a core structural information template from a plurality of possible core structural information templates wherein said core structural information template includes a member of the group selected from a predefined geometric form, a predefined orientation for said geometric form, labels assigned to one or more discrete surfaces, vectors and vertices of said geometric form, or a combination thereof, and wherein said core structural information template facilitates the input of data to generate a core structure representative of the geometric form, dimensions and orientation of all or part of said building structure; c) specifying an orientation of said core structure; d) specifying dimensions of said core structure; e) specifying the location of ground with respect to said core structure and specifying construction details of said core structure; f) selecting one or more addition structural information templates from a plurality of possible addition structural information templates if said building structure has a composite structure, wherein said addition structures are addition to said core structure or to other addition structures, wherein said addition structural information templates include a member of the group selected from a predefined geometric form a predefined orientation for said geometric form, labels assigned to one or more discrete surfaces, vectors and vertices of said geometric Form, predefined constraints on the type of structures to which said addition structures may be added, predefined constraints on the locations of said addition structures, a predefined method for specifying the location of said addition structures, or a combination thereof, and wherein said addition structural information templates facilitate the input of data to generate one of said addition structures representative of the geometric form, dimensions, orientation and relative location of some part of said building structure; g) specifying an orientation of each of said addition structures; h) specifying dimensions of each of said addition structures; i) specifying a location of each of said addition structures relative to said core structure or relative to others of said addition structures; j) specifying the location of the ground with respect to said addition structures and specifying construction details of each of said addition structures; k) calculating data indicative of areas of surfaces and volumes of spaces of said building structure using structural information generated by steps a) to j) inclusive; and l) applying structural information generated by steps a) to j) inclusive and said data indicative of areas of surfaces and volumes of spaces to an energy simulation program to determine heat losses and gains of and through various components of said building structure.
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Specification