Composing shapes and data series in geometries

• US 8,866,818 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2009
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Rubin, Darryl E., Mital, Vijay, Green, David G., Beckman, Brian C.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHOW, JEFFREY J
• Application Number:
  US12/488,300
• Publication Number:
  US 20100321391A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,950 Days
• Field of Search: 345/440, 345/441
• US Class Current: 345/441
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/20 Drawing from basic elements, e.g. lines or circles
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• 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 2219/012 Dimensioning, tolerancing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2012 Colour editing, changing, or manipulating; Use of colour codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2021 Shape modification
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting

Abstract

A renderable geometry the may be populated with shapes and data series. The geometry defines a set of dimensions to be applied to the shapes. The geometry further defines and enforces a construction of the shapes around the set of dimensions, and applies the data series to the plurality of shapes against at least one of the set of dimensions. The formulate of the geometry may be recursively performed. For instance, the geometry may be provided as a shape in a set of shapes provided to yet another geometry with another data series. The data series might be reversibly applied to one of the dimensions, allowing for complex geometries to be created with data represented in very flexibly ways.

Claims

1. A physical computer program product comprising one or more physical storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, cause the computing system to perform a method of formulating a render-able geometry in memory, the method comprising:

an act of accessing a plurality of shapes;

an act of requesting portion of a data series from a data stream object, the portion of the data series corresponding with a particular zoom level of data within a data stream, the data stream object comprising a wrapper on the data stream and being configured to enumerate and return only the portion of the data stream that is requested;

based on the request, an act of receiving the requested portion of the data series corresponding with the particular zoom level of data within the data stream from the data stream object;

an act of accessing a geometry that defines a set of dimensions to be applied to the plurality of shapes, the geometry including;

a description of one or more visual elements of a container and a layout of the container, which is mapped to the set of dimensions and in which the portion of the data series is to be visualized using the plurality of shapes, and

one or more binder-arrangers that define (i) how to generate a shape instance series by applying the portion of the data series to the plurality of shapes, (ii) how to map an axis set to a coordinate system of and the one or more visual elements of the container, and (iii) how to lay out the shape instance onto the set of dimensions as mapped to the container; and

an act of populating the plurality of shapes and the portion of the data series into the geometry, wherein the geometry defines and enforces a construction of the plurality of shapes around the set of dimensions, and applies the portion of the data series to the plurality of shapes against at least one of the set of dimensions using the container and the one or more binder-arrangers.

2. The physical computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the set of dimensions includes one or more Euclidean dimensions as well as one or more non-Euclidean dimensions.

3. The physical computer program product in accordance with claim 2, wherein one of the one or more non-Euclidean dimensions comprises a shape color.

4. The physical computer program product in accordance with claim 2, wherein one or more one or more non-Euclidean dimensions comprises a shape animation.

5. The physical computer program product in accordance with claim 2, wherein one or more of the non-Euclidean dimensions comprises a shape texture.

6. The physical computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the method is recursive such that at least one of the plurality of shapes is itself a geometry.

7. The physical computer program product in accordance with claim 6, wherein each of the at least one of the plurality of shapes that is itself a geometry was also formulated in the same manner as the recited method.

8. The physical computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least some of the plurality of shapes further includes metadata that is preserved after the shape is used to populate into the geometry.

9. The physical computer program product in accordance with claim 8, wherein the shape is later used to populate another geometry with the included metadata of the shape being preserved for the application of the shape into the other geometry.

10. The physical computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the geometry reversible applies the data series to one of the set of dimensions such that the data series may be later applied to a different one of the set of dimensions.

11. The physical computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the data series is applied to a non-Euclidean dimension of the set of dimensions.

12. A computer system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more physical storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to perform a method of formulating a render-able geometry in memory, the method comprising;

an act of accessing a plurality of shapes;

an act of requesting portion of a data series from a data stream object, the portion of the data series corresponding with a particular zoom level of data within a data stream, the data stream object comprising a wrapper on the data stream and being configured to enumerate and return only the portion of the data stream that is requested;

based on the request, an act of receiving the requested portion of the data series corresponding with the particular zoom level of data within the data stream from the data stream object;

an act of accessing a geometry that defines a set of dimensions to be applied to the plurality of shapes, the geometry including;

a description of one or more visual elements of a container and a layout of the container, which is mapped to the set of dimensions and in which the portion of the data series is to be visualized using the plurality of shapes, and

one or more binder-arrangers that define (i) how to generate a shape instance series by applying the portion of the data series to the plurality of shapes, (ii) how to map an axis set to a coordinate system of and the one or more visual elements of the container, and (iii) how to lay out the shape instance onto the set of dimensions as mapped to the container; and

an act of populating the plurality of shapes and the portion of the data series into the geometry, wherein the geometry defines and enforces a construction of the plurality of shapes around the set of dimensions, and applies the portion of the data series to the plurality of shapes against at least one of the set of dimensions using the container and the one or more binder-arrangers.

13. The computer system in accordance with claim 12, wherein the set of dimensions includes one or more Euclidean dimensions as well as one or more non-Euclidean dimensions.

14. The computer system in accordance with claim 13, wherein one of the one or more non-Euclidean dimensions comprises a shape color.

15. The computer system in accordance with claim 13, wherein one or more one or more non-Euclidean dimensions comprises a shape animation.

16. The computer system in accordance with claim 13, wherein one or more of the non-Euclidean dimensions comprises a shape texture.

17. The computer system in accordance with claim 12, wherein the method is recursive such that at least one of the plurality of shapes is itself a geometry.

18. The computer system in accordance with claim 17, wherein each of the at least one of the plurality of shapes that is itself a geometry was also formulated in the same manner as the recited method.

19. The computer system in accordance with claim 12, wherein at least some of the plurality of shapes further includes metadata that is preserved after the shape is used to populate into the geometry.

20. A method of formulating a render-able geometry in memory, the method comprising:

an act of a computer system, which includes one or more processors, accessing a plurality of shapes;

an act of the computer system requesting portion of a data series from a data stream object, the portion of the data series corresponding with a particular zoom level of data within a data stream, the data stream object comprising a wrapper on the data stream and being configured to enumerate and return only the portion of the data stream that is requested;

based on the request, an act of the computer system receiving the requested portion of the data series corresponding with the particular zoom level of data within the data stream from the data stream object;

an act of the computer system accessing a geometry that defines a set of dimensions to be applied to the plurality of shapes, the geometry including;

a description of one or more visual elements of a container and a layout of the container, which is mapped to the set of dimensions and in which the portion of the data series is to be visualized using the plurality of shapes, and

one or more binder-arrangers that define (i) how to generate a shape instance series by applying the portion of the data series to the plurality of shapes, (ii) how to map an axis set to a coordinate system of and the one or more visual elements of the container, and (iii) how to lay out the shape instance onto the set of dimensions as mapped to the container; and

an act of the computer system populating the plurality of shapes and the portion of the data series into the geometry, wherein the geometry defines and enforces a construction of the plurality of shapes around the set of dimensions, and applies the portion of the data series to the plurality of shapes against at least one of the set of dimensions using the container and the one or more binder-arrangers.