Method and system for interactively determining and displaying geometric relationship between three dimensional objects based on predetermined geometric constraints and position of an input device
First Claim
1. A method of interactively determining geometric relationships between objects in a computer-implemented graphics system, comprising:
- (a) moving a first graphics object displayed by the computer-implemented graphics system;
(b) determining if the first graphic object is moved close to a second graphic object;
(c) if the first graphic object has been moved close to the second graphic object, dynamically altering a position of the first graphic object to agree with assembly specifications with respect to the second graphic object according to predetermined geometric constraints and the position of the input device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method of interactively determining and displaying geometric relationships between three dimensional (3D) objects includes the steps of and apparatus for detecting the position of an input device, moving a selected 3D graphic object relative to a graphic pointing symbol in a 3D representation based on position of the input device, determining if the selected graphic object is moved to occlude an underlying 3D graphic object, and positioning and displaying the selected graphic object with respect to the underlying graphic object according to predetermined geometric constraints and the position of the input device. The system and method further dynamically moves and displays the selected graphic object according to movement of the input device and the predetermined geometric constraints while the selected graphic object occludes the underlying graphic object. The selected graphic object clings to the underlying graphic object, and is moved about the underlying graphic object corresponding to movement of the input device. The selected object may be a logical object, such as a logical camera or light source. For example, a camera object is placed based on a geometric element, and the display is changed to the viewpoint of the camera. The operator then interactively changes the display simply by moving the input device, where the display is automatically updated based on movement of the camera object.
83 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of interactively determining geometric relationships between objects in a computer-implemented graphics system, comprising:
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(a) moving a first graphics object displayed by the computer-implemented graphics system;
(b) determining if the first graphic object is moved close to a second graphic object;
(c) if the first graphic object has been moved close to the second graphic object, dynamically altering a position of the first graphic object to agree with assembly specifications with respect to the second graphic object according to predetermined geometric constraints and the position of the input device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer-implemented graphics system for interactively determining geometric relationships between objects, comprising:
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(a) means, performed by a processor, for moving a first graphics object displayed by the computer-implemented graphics system;
(b) means, performed by a processor, for determining if the first graphic object is moved close to a second graphic object;
(c) means, performed by a processor, for dynamically altering a position of the first graphic object to agree with assembly specifications with respect to the second graphic object according to predetermined geometric constraints and the position of the input device, if the first graphic object has been moved close to the second graphic object. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An article of manufacture storing software for execution by a processor in a computer-implemented graphics system to perform method of interactively determining geometric relationships between objects, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) moving a first graphics object displayed by the computer-implemented graphics system;
(b) determining if the first graphic object is moved close to a second graphic object;
(c) if the first graphic object has been moved close to the second graphic object, dynamically altering a position of the first graphic object to agree with assembly specifications with respect to the second graphic object according to predetermined geometric constraints and the position of the input device. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification