Occlusion reducing transformations for three-dimensional detail-in-context viewing

• US 6,798,412 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2001
• Issued: 09/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mind Fusion, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: IDELIX Software Inc. (Lat49 Media Inc.)
• Inventors: Cowperthwaite, David
• Primary Examiner(s): MANCUSO, HUEDUNG XUAN CAO
• Application Number:
  US09/946,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20020122038A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• Field of Search: 345/419, 345/424, 345/428, 345/420, 345/421, 345/422, 345/427, 345/619, 345/625, 345/628, 345/672, 345/682
• US Class Current: 345/428
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/40 Hidden part removal
• 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 2219/2004 Aligning objects, relative positioning of parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2016 Rotation, translation, scaling

Abstract

In a data processing system that executes a program of instructions, a method for generating a detail-in-context presentation of a three-dimensional information representation comprising the steps of selecting a object-of-interest in the information representation; selecting a viewpoint; selecting a path from the viewpoint to the object-of-interest; and, displacing objects in the information representation away from the path to locations within the information representation where the objects remain visible when viewed from the viewpoint yet do not occlude the object-of-interest when viewed from the viewpoint to thereby generate the detail in context view.

Claims

1. A method for generating a presentation of a region-of-interest in a three-dimensional information representation for display on a display screen comprising:

establishing a viewpoint for said region-of-interest;

establishing a path between said viewpoint and said region-of-interest; and

, displacing regions in said information representation away from said path according to a transformation function to locations within said information representation where substantially all of said regions displaced remain visible and do not occlude said region-of-interest when viewed from said viewpoint, wherein said transformation function is constrained by a shaping function to control displacement of said regions.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein, for each of said regions, said displacing includes:

calculating a direction vector between a region and a nearest point on said path, said direction vector having a direction and a magnitude;

calculating a displacement vector having said direction and having a displacement vector magnitude given by said magnitude, said transformation function, and said shaping function; and

, displacing said region in said direction a distance given by said displacement vector magnitude.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said displacement vector magnitude is defined by a distance metric.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said distance metric is Euclidean.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said distance metric is Lp.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein said distance metric is super-quadratic.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein said distance metric is user-defined.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein said transformation function displaces said regions proximate said path further than said regions distal said path, wherein said displacement vector magnitude decreases smoothly from said proximate regions to said distal regions, and wherein said distal regions furthest from said path are not displaced.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said transformation function includes a detail-in-context distortion function.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said region-of-interest is a focus of said detail-in-context distortion function.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein said detail-in-context distortion function is linear.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein said detail-in-context distortion function is Gaussian.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein said detail-in-context distortion function is hemispherical.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein said detail-in-context distortion function is inverse hemispherical.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein said detail-in-context distortion function is trigonometric.

16. The method of claim 9 wherein said detail-in-context distortion function is user defined.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein said path is a line.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein said path is a plane.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said plane is parallel to a plane containing a vector from said viewpoint to said region-of-interest.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein said plane is perpendicular to a plane containing a vector from said viewpoint to said region-of-interest.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein said plane is rotated with respect to a plane containing a vector from said viewpoint to said region-of-interest.

22. The method of claim 18 wherein said transformation function has a distribution across a plane perpendicular to a vector from said viewpoint to said region-of-interest that is constrained by said shaping function.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein said shaping function is a non-continuous function for spatially constraining said transformation function.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein said shaping function is a continuous function for continuously constraining said transformation function and wherein said continuous function is a constant function.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein said continuous function is a Gaussian function.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein said continuous function is a linear function.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein said continuous function is a user-defined curve.

28. The method of claim 1 wherein said transformation function has a distribution along said path defined by a distribution function, said shaping function including said distribution function.

29. The method of claim 23 wherein said distribution function is a z-axis distribution function.

30. The method of claim 28 wherein said distribution function is constant.

31. The method of claim 28 wherein said distribution function is linear.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein said linear distribution function continues through said three-dimensional data representation thereby isolating said region-of-interest.

33. The method of claim 28 wherein said distribution function is short linear.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein one end of said short linear distribution function terminates at said region-of-interest.

35. The method of claim 28 wherein said distribution function is truncated.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein said distribution function is truncated at said region-of-interest.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein said truncated distribution function includes a cap around said region-of-interest.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein said cap is hemispherical.

39. The method of claim 28 wherein said distribution function is a user-defined curve.

40. The method of claim 1 wherein said region-of-interest includes a plurality of regions-of-interest and wherein said region-of-interest includes an object-of-interest.

41. A data processing system including an input device, a central processing unit, memory, and a display, said data processing system having stored therein data representing sequences of instructions which when executed cause the method any of claims 1 through 40 to be performed.

42. A computer software product including sequences of instructions which when executed cause the method any of claims 1 through 40 to be performed.

43. An integrated circuit product including sequences of instructions which when executed cause the method any of claims 1 through 40 to be performed.

44. The use of the method of claim 1 to obtain a non-occluded presentation of a stored object in a representation of contents of a warehouse.

45. The use of claim 44 wherein said stored object is an inventory item.

46. The method of claim 1 wherein said display screen is an electronic display screen.

47. The method of claim 1 wherein said display screen is a print-out.

48. The use of claim 44 wherein said warehouse is a shipping vessel.

49. The use of the method of claim 1 to obtain a non-occluded presentation of a person in a representation of a group of people.

50. The method of claim 1 wherein said display screen is a television screen.

51. The method of claim 1 wherein said display screen is a projection screen.

52. The use of the method of claim 1 to obtain a non-occluded presentation of a component within a three-dimensional drawing representation.

53. The use of claim 52 wherein said drawing is a mechanical design drawing.

54. The use of claim 52 wherein said drawing is an engineering drawing.

55. The use of claim 52 wherein said drawing is a drawing of an automobile engine.

56. The use of the method of claim 1 to obtain a non-occluded presentation of a node in a three-dimensional network topology representation.

57. The use of claim 56 wherein said network topology is a computer network.

58. The method of claim 1 wherein said three-dimensional information representation includes a two-dimensional information representation and a multi-dimensional information representation.