Methods and apparatuses for proposing resolutions to conflicts in a CAD drawing with reflections

• US 8,773,425 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2010
• Issued: 07/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: M.E.P. Cad, Incorporated
• Original Assignee: M.E.P. Cad, Incorporated
• Inventors: Reghetti, Joseph P., Schaeffer, Phillip M., Hoeft, Shane
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KIMBINH T
• Application Number:
  US12/718,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20100223032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,586 Days
• Field of Search: 345419-423, 345/427, 345/442, 345/443, 345/581, 345/428, 345/619, 703/1, 382/218
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]
• 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 2210/21 Collision detection, intersection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2016 Rotation, translation, scaling

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, systems, and software for proposing a resolution to a position conflict between a graphic object within a drawing sharing a portion of, up to all of, the one or more locations of other graphic objects, comprising the steps of: identifying a proposed new location of the graphic object within the drawing that will resolve the conflict; creating a reflection of the graphic object depicting the graphic object as it would appear at the proposed new location without moving the graphic object from its location; and determining whether the proposed new location will clear the conflict by not sharing a portion of the one or more locations, including embodiments directed to the use of reflections, alert/conflict bubbles, modeless drawing windows, and clipping planes.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on a computing device, cause the computing device to at least:

identify a visual conflict between a first three-dimensional graphic object having a first visual location displayed within a drawing within a display of a computer system and one or more other three-dimensional graphic objects having one or more second visual locations displayed within the drawing, the visual conflict resulting from the first visual location sharing a portion of, up to all of, the one or more second visual locations;

identify a proposed new visual location of the first three-dimensional graphic object, the proposed new visual location being within the drawing and resolving the visual conflict between the first three-dimensional graphic object and the one or more other three-dimensional graphic objects;

create a copy of the first three-dimensional graphic object, the copy being within the drawing and depicting the first three-dimensional graphic object as the first three-dimensional graphic object appears at the proposed new visual location without moving the first three-dimensional graphic object from the first visual location;

determine whether the proposed new visual location clears the visual conflict by not sharing a portion of the one or more second visual locations; and

in the event the proposed new visual location clears the visual conflict, move the first three-dimensional graphic object from the first visual location to the proposed new visual location and delete the copy.

2. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the copy is an exact, translucent depiction of at least the first three-dimensional graphic object.

3. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the copy is an altered, translucent depiction of at least the first three-dimensional graphic object.

4. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 3, wherein the altered, translucent depiction provides a modified dimension or shape compared to an original dimension or shape of at least the first three-dimensional graphic object, and where the proposed new visual location is based on the modified dimension or shape.

5. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least:

create a three-dimensional resolution graphic object at a visual conflict location in the drawing, the visual conflict location being near where the first visual location shares the portion of, up to all of, the one or more second visual locations; and

deleted the three-dimensional resolution graphic object when the proposed new visual location is determined not to share a portion of the one or more second visual locations.

6. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least:

create a three-dimensional resolution graphic object at a visual conflict location in the drawing, the visual conflict location being near where the first visual location shares the portion of, up to all of, the one or more second visual locations, where the three-dimensional resolution graphic object is a translucent bubble having a first color;

move the three-dimensional resolution graphic object from the visual conflict location to a non-conflict visual location near the proposed new visual location when the proposed new visual location is determined to clear the conflict; and

change the first color of the translucent bubble to a second color.

7. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least:

create a three-dimensional resolution graphic object at a visual conflict location in the drawing, the visual conflict location being near where the first visual location shares the portion of, up to all of, the one or more second visual locations, wherein the three-dimensional resolution graphic object is a translucent bubble having a first color; and

change the first color of the translucent bubble to a second color if the proposed new visual location is determined to clear the conflict.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the instruction to identify a proposed new visual location includes an instruction to receive from a user one or more objective distances for moving the copy of the first three-dimensional graphic object from the first visual location to the new visual location.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the one or more objective distances include a first distance to resolve the visual conflict and a first additional distance along a first axis, a second distance to resolve the visual conflict and a second additional distance along a second axis, and a third distance to resolve the visual conflict and a third additional distance along a third axis, wherein the instruction to receive includes an instruction to display to the user within the display a targeting screen including a movement controller and a targeting diagram, the movement controller providing the user with manual inputs for setting the first distance, the first additional distance, the second distance, the second additional distance, the third distance and the third additional distance, the targeting diagram providing a visual illustration of the manual inputs along the first axis, the second axis and the third axis.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 9, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least display an alert bubble within the drawing at the proposed new location that indicates the one or more objective distances.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 10, wherein the first three dimensional graphic object has a visual conflict location in the drawing near where the first visual location shares the portion of, up to all of, the one or more second visual locations, further comprising the step of displaying a line from the visual conflict location to the alert bubble.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least provide a modeless drawing window within the display that depicts an exact replica of an area of the drawing around the visual conflict, wherein the area around the visual conflict depicted within the modeless drawing window can be viewed and moved by a user within the modeless drawing window independent of the drawing.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 12, wherein the user can change a magnification of the area around the visual conflict depicted within the modeless drawing window independent of the drawing.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 12, wherein the instruction to identify a proposed new visual location includes an instruction to receive from a user one or more objective distances for moving the first three-dimensional graphic object from the first visual location to the new visual location, and wherein the one or more objective distances include a first distance to resolve the visual conflict and a first additional distance along a first axis, a second distance to resolve the visual conflict and a second additional distance along a second axis, and a third distance to resolve the visual conflict and a third additional distance along a third axis, wherein the step of receiving includes the step of displaying to the user a targeting screen within the display including a movement controller and a targeting diagram, the movement controller providing the user with manual inputs for setting the first distance, the first additional distance, the second distance, the second additional distance, the third distance and the third additional distance, the targeting diagram providing a visual illustration of the manual inputs along the first axis, the second axis and the third axis.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least provide a modeless drawing within the display that represents at least a portion of an area surrounding the first three-dimensional graphic object and the one or more other three-dimensional graphic objects, wherein the modeless drawing can be viewed from one or more angles and at one or more magnifications.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least move a representation of at least the first three-dimensional graphic object depicted within the modeless drawing from the first visual location to the proposed new visual location according to one or more objective distances along one or more axes provided by a user.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the drawing includes a plurality of three-dimensional graphic objects, further comprising the step of providing a clipping plane within the drawing that allows a user to select a bounded area within the drawing to view and edit one or more three-dimensional graphic objects among the plurality of three-dimensional graphic objects within the bounded area, wherein only the one or more three-dimensional graphic objects visible within the bounded area can be edited by the user and no edit made within the bounded area affects any three-dimensional graphic objects among the plurality of three-dimensional graphic objects not visible within the bounded area.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least:

select a point of interest within the drawing;

place the bounded area around the point of interest;

contract and expand the bounded area around the point of interest until the bounded area contains only a set of one or more three-dimensional graphic objects among the plurality of three-dimensional graphic objects that the user wants to edit; and

edit the set of one or more three-dimensional graphic objects.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least contract and expand includes the step of providing the user with a click on and drag slider.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least place includes the step of centering the bounded area on the point of interest.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least center the drawing visible to the user on the point of interest.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 20, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least lock a position of the point of interest.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least identify a proposed new visual location includes an instruction to provide one or more remote users with access to the drawing and permit the one or more remote users to collaboratively determine the proposed new visual location.

24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least identify a proposed new visual location further includes the step of receiving one or more objective distances provided by the one or more remote users and using the one or more objective distances to determine the proposed new visual location, and wherein the one or more objective distances include a first distance to resolve the visual conflict and a first additional distance along a first axis, a second distance to resolve the visual conflict and a second additional distance along a second axis, and a third distance to resolve the visual conflict and a third additional distance along a third axis, wherein the step of receiving includes the step of displaying to the one or more remote users a targeting screen within the display including a movement controller and a targeting diagram, the movement controller providing the one or more remote users with manual inputs for setting the first distance, the first additional distance, the second distance, the second additional distance, the third distance and the third additional distance, the targeting diagram providing a visual illustration of the manual inputs along the first axis, the second axis and the third axis.

25. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions for proposing a resolution to a graphical position conflict between a first three-dimensional graphic object and a second three-dimensional graphic object displayed within a drawing within a display of a computer system, the instructions when executed on the computer system, cause the computer system to perform the steps of:

identifying a set of coordinates for a proposed new graphical location of either the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object, the proposed new graphical location resolving the graphical position conflict between the first three-dimensional graphic object and the second three-dimensional graphic, including the steps of receiving one or more objective distances provided by a user and using the one or more objective distances to determine the proposed new graphical location; and

creating a replica of either the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object at the proposed new graphical location without moving the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object, the replica being within the drawing and illustrating how the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object looks at the proposed new graphical location.

26. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 25, further comprising instructions that, when executed on the computer system, cause the computer system to further perform the steps of:

creating an alert bubble within the drawing near an area of the graphical position conflict; and

associating a label with the alert bubble indicating the one or more objective distances.

27. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 26, further comprising instructions that, when executed on the computer system, cause the computer system to further perform the step of creating a line in the drawing from the graphical position conflict to the alert bubble.

28. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 25, wherein the one or more objective distances include a first distance to resolve the graphical position conflict and a first additional distance along a first axis, a second distance to resolve the graphical position conflict and a second additional distance along a second axis, and a third distance to resolve the graphical position conflict and a third additional distance along a third axis, wherein the step of receiving includes the step of displaying to the user a targeting screen within the drawing including a movement controller and a targeting diagram, the movement controller providing the user with manual inputs for setting the first distance, the first additional distance, the second distance, the second additional distance, the third distance and the third additional distance, the targeting diagram providing a visual illustration of the manual inputs along the first axis, the second axis and the third axis.

29. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 28, further comprising instructions that, when executed on the computer system, cause the computer system to further perform the step of providing a modeless drawing window within the display that depicts an exact replica of an area around the graphical position conflict, wherein the area around the graphical position conflict depicted within the modeless drawing can be viewed and moved by the user within the modeless drawing window independent of the drawing.

30. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 29, wherein the user can change a magnification of the area around the graphical position conflict depicted within the modeless drawing window independent of the drawing.

31. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 29, wherein the modeless drawing includes at least a portion of the first three-dimensional graphic object and at least a portion of the second three-dimensional graphic object, and wherein the first three-dimensional graphic object or second three-dimensional graphic object depicted in the modeless drawing window is moved based on the one or more objective distances to illustrate how the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object would appear in the proposed new graphical location.

32. A computing device comprising a memory bearing instructions configured for proposing a resolution to a graphical position conflict between a first three-dimensional graphic object and a second three-dimensional graphic object displayed within a drawing within a display of a computer system, the instructions when executed on the computing device, cause the computing device to at least perform the steps of:

identifying a set of coordinates for a proposed new graphical location of either the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object, the proposed new graphical location being within the drawing and resolving the graphical position conflict between the first three-dimensional graphic object and the second three-dimensional graphic object, including the steps of receiving one or more objective values provided by a user and necessary to resolve the graphical position conflict and using the one or more objective values to determine the proposed new graphical location;

providing a modeless drawing within the display that represents an area around the graphical position conflict and includes at least a portion of the first three-dimensional graphic object and at least a portion of the second three-dimensional graphic object, wherein the modeless drawing is viewed from one or more angles and at one or more magnifications; and

creating and displaying in the modeless drawing a replica of either the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object at the proposed new graphical location without moving the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object, the replica illustrating how the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object looks at the proposed new graphical location.

33. The computing device as recited in claim 32, wherein the instructions, when executed on the computing device, further cause the computing device to perform the step of moving the first three-dimensional graphic object depicted within the modeless drawing from an existing graphical location to the proposed new graphical location according to one or more objective values.

34. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions for proposing a resolution to a graphical position conflict between a first three-dimensional graphic object and a second three-dimensional graphic object displayed within a drawing within a display of a computer system that, when executed on a computing device, cause the computing device to at least:

identify a set of coordinates for a proposed new graphical location of either the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object, the proposed new graphical location being within the drawing and resolving the graphical position conflict between the first three-dimensional graphic object and the second three-dimensional graphic object, including the steps of receiving one or more objective values provided by a user and using the one or more objective values to determine the proposed new graphical location;

provide a clipping plane within the display that allows the user to select a bounded area within the drawing to view an area of the drawing around the graphical position conflict without editing any graphic object displayed in the drawing not depicted within the area; and

create and display in a modeless drawing a replica displayed within the display of either the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object at the proposed new graphical location without moving the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object, the replica illustrating how the first three-dimensional graphic object or the second three-dimensional graphic object looks at the proposed new graphical location.

35. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 34, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least:

select a point of interest within the area;

place and center the bounded area on and around the point of interest;

contract and expand the bounded area around the point of interest in response to a user initiated movement of a slider displayed to the user until the bounded area contains only one or more desired graphic objects that the user wants to edit; and

edit the one or more desired objects.