Method and apparatus for providing three-dimensional model associativity

• US 6,308,144 B1
• Filed: 09/26/1996
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: PTC Inc.
• Original Assignee: Computervision Corp. (PTC Inc.)
• Inventors: Haran, Girish, Bronfeld, Jason P., Doyle, Serena Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US08/719,679
• Time in Patent Office: 1,853 Days
• Field of Search: 707/501, 707/502, 345/139, 345/150, 345/157, 345/121, 345/433, 345/214, 345/427, 345/348, 345/419, 345/418, 345/436, 345/438, 345/213, 345/965, 364/468.04, 382/154, 703/2, 703/22, 703/1
• US Class Current: 703/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2016 Rotation, translation, scaling

Abstract

A CAD/CAM system provides a positive indication to a user that the user has located a cursor so that an object on a two-dimensional sketcher plane has been aligned with a point of interest within three-dimensional model geometry, even though the point of interest may not be within the two-dimensional sketcher plane. The object may be snapped to a projection of the point of interest onto a corresponding location on the two-dimensional sketcher plane. Additionally, an association may be defined so that further manipulation of the point of interest on the model within three dimensions will automatically result in corresponding re-location of the object on the two-dimensional sketcher plane. Additionally, to maintain an appropriate relationship among historical data of the CAD/CAM system, interim geometry, which was generated as a result of user actions performed since the user operated on a particular sketch, is removed prior to the user subsequently operating again on the particular sketch. The interim data is replaced with new data generated as a result of the subsequent sketch session.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium encoded with a program that, when executed on a computer aided design (CAD) system having a display, performs a method for operating the CAD system, the method comprising the steps of:

(A) displaying a representation of a three-dimensional geometry in a two-dimensional display plane on a display;

(B) responsive to the user sketching an object in a two-dimensional sketch plane that is not parallel to the two-dimensional display plane, displaying a representation of the object in the sketch plane on the display;

(C) displaying a representation of a cursor on the display; and

(D) responsive to the user selecting the object and moving the cursor in the display plane, translating movement of the cursor in the display plane into movement of the object in the two-dimensional sketch plane.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising a step of displaying a representation of a hotspot of the object, and wherein step (D) is responsive to the user moving the cursor across the display to correspondingly move the hotspot.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 2, wherein:

step (D) is responsive to the user moving a cursor within a predetermined proximity to a point of interest on the representation of the three-dimensional geometry; and

step (D) includes creating an association between the hotspot and the point of interest.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 3, further comprising a step, responsive to the user moving the point of interest within the three-dimensional geometry, of correspondingly moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional sketch plane so that the hotspot remains aligned with the point of interest.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 4, wherein the step of correspondingly moving the hotspot and the object within the two dimensional sketch plane includes moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional sketch plane so that the hotspot is positioned at a point on the two-dimensional sketch plane that represents a projection, perpendicular to the two-dimensional sketch plane, that intersects the point of interest.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 3, wherein the display includes pixels, and wherein step (D) is responsive to the user moving the cursor to a location on the display that is within a predetermined number of pixels of the point of interest.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein an area on the display that is a predetermined number of pixels defines a proximity area of the point of interest, the method further comprising the step of changing a magnification of the display while the predetermined number of pixels remains constant, to adjust a size of the proximity area in relation to the three-dimensional geometry.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 3, wherein the point of interest includes at least one of a midpoint of an arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an endpoint of an arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an entire arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, a midpoint of a line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an endpoint of a line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, and an entire line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein:

step (D) is responsive to the user moving the cursor within a predetermined proximity to a point of interest on the representation of the three-dimensional geometry; and

step (D) includes moving the object to a location that represents a projection of the point of interest onto the two-dimensional sketch plane, in response to the cursor being within the predetermined proximity of the point of interest.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the step of moving the object to a location that represents of projection of the point of interest includes moving the object away from a location defined by a location of the cursor on the display.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the display includes pixels, and wherein step (D) is responsive to the user moving the cursor to a location on the display that is within a predetermined number of pixels of the point of interest.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein an area on the display that is a predetermined number of pixels defines a proximity area of the point of interest, the method further comprising the step of changing a magnification of the display while the predetermined number of pixels remains constant, to adjust a size of the proximity area in relation to the three-dimensional geometry.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the point of interest includes at least one of a midpoint of an arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an endpoint of an arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an entire arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, a midpoint of a line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an endpoint of a line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, and an entire line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein:

step (D) includes creating an association between the hotspot and a point of interest of the three-dimensional geometry; and

the method further comprises a step, responsive to the user moving the point of interest within the three-dimensional geometry, of correspondingly moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional sketch plane so that the hotspot remains aligned with the point of interest.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the step of correspondingly moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional sketch plane includes moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional sketch plane so that the hotspot is positioned at a point on the two-dimensional sketch plane that represents a projection, perpendicular to the two-dimensional sketch plane, that intersects the point of interest.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein step (D) includes providing an indication to the user that a potential association between the hotspot and a point of interest of the three-dimensional geometry exists.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the step of providing an indication to the user includes changing a display color of the point of interest.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the point of interest includes at least one of a midpoint of an arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an endpoint of an arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an entire arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, a midpoint of a line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an endpoint of a line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, and an entire line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein:

step (D) includes creating an association between the hotspot and a point of interest of the three-dimensional geometry; and

the method further comprises a step, responsive to the user moving the point of interest within the three-dimensional geometry, of correspondingly moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional sketch plane so that the hotspot remains aligned with the point of interest.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the step of correspondingly moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional sketch plane includes moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional sketch plane so that the hotspot is positioned at a point on the two-dimensional sketch plane that represents a projection, perpendicular to the two-dimensional sketch plane, that intersects the point of interest.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

creating an association between the hotspot and the point of interest in response to user input; and

moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional sketch plane so that the hotspot remains aligned with the point of interest, responsive to the user moving the point of interest within the three-dimensional geometry.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein steps (A), (B), (C), and (D) are performed concurrently.

23. A computer readable medium encoded with a program that, when executed on a computer aided design (CAD) system having a cursor that is controlled by a user to manipulate elements of a two-dimensional geometry in a two-dimensional sketch plane, the elements being concurrently displayed with elements of a three-dimensional geometry displayed in a two-dimensional display plane, performs a method for interpreting a position of the cursor, comprising the steps of:

(A) positioning an element of the two-dimensional geometry in response to a first position of the cursor, wherein the two-dimensional geometry is sketched by a user in the two-dimensional sketch plane, and wherein the two-dimensional sketch plane is not parallel to the two-dimensional display plane; and

(B) in response to the cursor being moved to a second position to reposition the element, providing, to the user, an indication of alignment of an element of the three-dimensional geometry with the cursor.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein:

step (A) is responsive to the user controlling an input device to move the cursor from an initial position to the first position; and

step (B) is responsive to the user controlling the input device to move the cursor from the first position to the second position.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 24, wherein the second position of the cursor represents an extension of a path from the first position to the second position.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein:

step (A) is responsive to the user controlling an input device to move the cursor from an initial position to the first position by beginning a movement of the input device; and

step (B) is responsive to the user controlling the input device to move the cursor from the first position to the second position by completing the movement of the input device.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein:

the two-dimensional geometry is disposed on a two-dimensional plane that is different from a display plane upon which the two-dimensional geometry and three-dimensional geometry is displayed; and

step (A) includes positioning the element based upon a transformation from the cursor position with respect to the display plane to a position on a two-dimensional plane.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein step (B) includes changing a color of a point of interest on the three-dimensional geometry.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein step (B) includes creating an association between the element of the two-dimensional geometry and a point of interest on the three dimensional geometry.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein step (B) includes automatically relocating the element of the two-dimensional geometry away from the second position of the cursor.

31. The computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein the display includes pixels, and wherein step (B) is responsive to the second position of the cursor being within a predetermined number of pixels of a point of interest on the three-dimensional geometry.

32. The computer readable medium of claim 31, wherein an area on the display that is a predetermined number of pixels defines a proximity area of the point of interest, the method further comprising the step of changing a magnification of the display while the predetermined number of pixels remains constant, to adjust a size of the proximity area in relation to the three-dimensional geometry.

33. A CAD/CAM interface system comprising:

a display interface having an output that provides to a display, having a two-dimensional display plane, a representation of a three-dimensional geometry, a representation of an object sketched by a user in a two-dimensional sketch plane that is not parallel to the two-dimensional display plane, and a representation of a cursor on the display; and

means, responsive to a user selecting the object and moving the cursor, for translating movement of the cursor in the display plane into movement of the object in the two-dimensional sketch plane.

34. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 33, wherein the display interface includes means for displaying a representation of a hotspot of the object and wherein the means for translating is responsive to the user moving a cursor across the display to correspondingly move the hotspot.

35. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 33, wherein:

the means for translating is responsive to the user moving a cursor within a predetermined proximity to a point of interest on the representation of the three-dimensional geometry; and

the means for translating includes means for moving the object to a location that represents a projection of the point of interest onto the two-dimensional plane, in response to the cursor being within the predetermined proximity of the point of interest.

36. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 35, wherein the means for of moving the object to a location that represents of projection of the point of interest includes means for moving the object away from a location defined by a location of the cursor on the display.

37. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 35, wherein the display includes pixels, and wherein the means for translating is responsive to the user moving the cursor to a location on the display that is within a predetermined number of pixels of the point of interest.

38. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 37, wherein an area on the display that is a predetermined number of pixels defines a proximity area of the point of interest, the CAD/CAM interface system further comprising means for changing a magnification of the display while the predetermined number of pixels remains constant, to adjust a size of the proximity area in relation to the three-dimensional geometry.

39. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 35, wherein the point of interest includes at least one of a midpoint of an arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an endpoint of an arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an entire arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, a midpoint of a line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an endpoint of a line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, and an entire line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry.

40. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 33, wherein:

the means for translating is responsive to the user moving a cursor within a predetermined proximity to a point of interest on the representation of the three-dimensional geometry; and

the means for translating includes means for creating an association between the hotspot and the point of interest.

41. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 40, further comprising means, responsive to the user moving the point of interest within the three-dimensional geometry, for correspondingly moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional plane so that the hotspot remains aligned with the point of interest.

42. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 41, wherein the means for correspondingly moving the hotspot and the object within the two dimensional plane includes means for moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional plane so that the hotspot is positioned at a point on the two-dimensional plane that represents a projection, perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane, that intersects the point of interest.

43. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 40, wherein the point of interest includes at least one of a midpoint of an arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an endpoint of an arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an entire arc that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, a midpoint of a line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, an endpoint of a line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry, and an entire line that is located in the three-dimensional geometry.

44. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 33, wherein the display includes pixels, and wherein the means for translating is responsive to the user moving the cursor to a location on the display that is within a predetermined number of pixels of the point of interest.

45. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 44, wherein an area on the display that is a predetermined number of pixels defines a proximity area of the point of interest, the CAD/CAM interface system further comprising means for changing a magnification of the display while the predetermined number of pixels remains constant, to adjust a size of the proximity area in relation to the three-dimensional geometry.

46. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 33, wherein:

the means for translating includes means for creating an association between the hotspot and a point of interest of the three-dimensional geometry; and

the CAD/CAM interface system further comprises means, responsive to the user moving the point of interest within the three-dimensional geometry, for correspondingly moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional plane so that the hotspot remains aligned with the point of interest.

47. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 46, wherein the means for correspondingly moving the hotspot and the object within the two dimensional plane includes means for moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional plane so that the hotspot is positioned at a point on the two-dimensional plane that represents a projection, perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane, that intersects the point of interest.

48. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 33, wherein the means for translating includes means for providing an indication to the user that a potential association between the hotspot and a point of interest of the three-dimensional geometry exists.

49. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 48, wherein the means for providing an indication to the user includes means for changing a display color of the point of interest.

50. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 48, further comprising:

means for creating an association between the hotspot and the point of interest in response to user input; and

means, responsive to the user moving the point of interest within the three-dimensional geometry, for moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional plane so that the hotspot remains aligned with the point of interest.

51. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 33, wherein the means for translating includes means for providing an indication to the user that a potential association exists between the hotspot and a first one of a plurality of points of interest of the three-dimensional geometry.

52. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 51, further comprising means, responsive to input by the user, for providing an indication to the user that a potential association exists between the hotspot and a second one of the plurality of points of interest of the three-dimensional geometry.

53. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 52, further comprising:

means for creating an association between the hotspot and the second one of the plurality of points of interest in response to user input; and

means, responsive to the user moving the point of interest within the three-dimensional geometry, for moving the hotspot and the object within the two-dimensional plane so that the hotspot remains aligned with the point of interest.

54. The CAD/CAM interface system of claim 33, wherein the means for translating includes means for moving the object while the display concurrently displays the representation of three-dimensional geometry, the representation of the object, and the representation of the hotspot.

55. In a CAD/CAM system having a cursor that is controlled by a user to manipulate elements of a two-dimensional geometry in a two-dimensional sketch plane, the elements being concurrently displayed with elements of a three-dimensional geometry displayed in a two-dimensional display plane, an apparatus for interpreting a position of the cursor, the apparatus comprising:

means for positioning an element of the two-dimensional geometry in response to a first position of the cursor, wherein the two-dimensional geometry is sketched by a user in the two-dimensional sketch plane, and wherein the two-dimensional sketch plane is not parallel to the two-dimensional display plane; and

means for providing, to a user, an indication of alignment of an element of the three-dimensional geometry with the cursor, in response to the cursor being moved to a second position to reposition the element.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein:

the means for repositioning is responsive to the user controlling an input device to move the cursor from an initial position to the first position; and

the means for providing is responsive to the user controlling the input device to move the cursor from the first position to the second position.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the second position of the cursor represents an extension of a path from the first position to the second position.

58. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein:

the means for positioning is responsive to the user controlling an input device to move the cursor from an initial position to the first position by beginning a movement of the input device; and

the means for providing is responsive to the user controlling the input device to move the cursor from the first position to the second position by completing the movement of the input device.

59. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein:

the two-dimensional geometry is disposed on a two-dimensional plane that is different from a display plane upon which the two-dimensional geometry and three-dimensional geometry is displayed; and

the means for positioning includes means for repositioning the element based upon a transformation from the cursor position with respect to the display plane to a position on a two-dimensional plane.

60. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the means for providing includes means for changing a color of a point of interest on the three-dimensional geometry.

61. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the means for providing includes means for creating an association between the element of the two-dimensional geometry and a point of interest on the three dimensional geometry.

62. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the means for providing includes means for automatically relocating the element of the two-dimensional geometry away from the second position of the cursor.

63. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the display includes pixels, and wherein the means for providing is responsive to the second position of the cursor being within a predetermined number of pixels of a point of interest on the three-dimensional geometry.

64. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein an area on the display that is a predetermined number of pixels defines a proximity area of the point of interest, the apparatus further comprising means for changing a magnification of the display while the predetermined number of pixels remains constant, to adjust a size of the proximity area in relation to the three-dimensional geometry.