Computer-aided design multi-user design negotiation system and method thereof

• US 9,734,266 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2013
• Issued: 08/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ironcad, LLC (IronNet, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Ironcad, LLC (IronNet, Inc.)
• Inventors: Han, Tao-Yang, Li, Yawei, O'Connor, Cary
• Primary Examiner(s): Gebresilassie, Kibrom K
• Application Number:
  US14/063,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20140278275A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,390 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/02 CAD in a network environment, e.g. collaborative CAD or distributed simulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/13 Architectural design, e.g. computer-aided architectural design [CAAD] related to design of buildings, bridges, landscapes, production plants or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/10 Constructive solid geometry [CSG] using solid primitives, e.g. cylinders, cubes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics

Abstract

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of performing multi-user design negotiation on a computer-aided design (CAD) software is disclosed. The method includes: receiving, from a first user, a design change to the geometric shape design, and obtaining information of the design change implementable on a CAD model of the geometric shape design through the CAD software; storing the information of the design change as a design change suggestion (DCS) object; transmitting the DCS object, together with the CAD model, to a second user; and receiving, from the second user, an instruction to the DCS object, and performing an operation corresponding to the instruction to the DCS object. In response to a what-if instruction, the operation is a what-if operation to the geometric shape design with the design change according to the DCS object. In response to an accepting or rejection instruction, the operation includes accepting or rejecting the design change.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of performing multi-user design negotiation on a computer-aided design (CAD) software, the method comprising:

(a) receiving, from a first user of the CAD software, a design change to a geometric shape design, and obtaining information of the design change implementable on a CAD model of the geometric shape design through the CAD software, wherein the information of the design change comprises shape geometry change of the design change and shape attributes change of the design change;

(b) storing the information of the design change as a first design change suggestion (DCS) object;

(c) transmitting the first DCS object, together with the CAD model, to a second user of the CAD software;

(d) receiving, from the second user, a plurality of first instructions to the first DCS object; and

(e) performing a plurality of first operations to the geometric shape design corresponding to the first instructions to the first DCS object, comprising;

(i) retrieving the information of the design change in the first DCS object; and

(ii) determining whether the first instructions comprise an accepting instruction; and

(iii) in response to determining that the first instructions comprise the accepting instruction, incorporating the design change to the geometric shape design according to the information of the design change; and

(iv) determining whether the first instructions comprise a rejecting instruction; and

(v) in response to determining that the first instructions comprise the rejecting instruction, deleting the first DCS object; and

(vi) determining whether the first instructions comprise a display change instruction; and

(vii) in response to determining that the first instructions comprise the display change instruction, displaying the design change according to the information of the design change; and

(viii) determining whether the first instructions comprise a preview instruction; and

(ix) in response to determining that the first instructions comprise the preview instruction, displaying the geometric shape design with the design change applied according to the information of the design change; and

(x) determining whether the first instructions comprise a property query instruction; and

(xi) in response to determining that the first instructions comprise the property query instruction, displaying inquired properties of the geometric shape design having the design change applied according to the information of the design change; and

(xii) determining whether the first instructions comprise a comparison instruction; and

(xiii) in response to determining that the first instructions comprise the comparison instruction, displaying geometry and property comparison between the geometric shape design with and without the design change applied according to the information of the design change; and

(xiv) determining whether the first instructions comprise an adjustment modification instruction; and

(xv) in response to determining that the first instructions comprise the adjustment modification instruction, adjusting the information of the design change; and

(xvi) determining whether the first instructions comprise a replacement modification instruction; and

(xvii) a in response to determining that the first instructions comprise the replacement modification instruction, creating a replacement design change to the design change; and

(xviii) determining whether the first instructions comprise a sequential modification instruction; and

(xix) in response to determining that the first instructions comprise the sequential modification instruction, creating a sequential design change following the design change such that the design change and the sequential design change form a sequential design change group.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the design change and the replacement design change respectively comprise at least one of:

adding a new design feature;

deleting an existing design feature;

replacing the existing design feature by the new design feature;

modifying topology and geometry of the CAD model through direct modeling;

changing one or more design properties of the existing design feature;

changing one or more design attributes of the geometric shape design; and

adding a design-related document to the geometric shape design.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the design properties of the existing design feature comprise a position of the existing design feature, an orientation of the existing design feature, and a dimension of the existing design feature.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the design attributes of the geometric shape design comprise material, appearance, and manufacturing details of the geometric shape design.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step (b) comprises:

receiving, from the first user through a standard user interface of the CAD software, an action to implement the design change directly on the geometric shape design; and

capturing the action to implement the design change to obtain the information of the design change.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step (b) comprises:

receiving, from the first user through a predetermined design change template, a selection of a design change option of the predetermined design change template as the design change;

retrieving template information of the selected design change option from the predetermined design change template; and

converting the template information to the information of the design change.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step (c) comprises:

notifying the second user about the first DCS object.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step (iii) further comprises:

in response to the accepting instruction, automatically incorporating the design change to the geometric shape design according to the information of the design change without further user interaction.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step (xi) further comprises:

sending inquiries of the properties to a database;

retrieving, from the database, the inquired properties of the geometric shape design having the design change applied according to the information of the design change; and

displaying the inquired properties.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the database is a company database, a database of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system of a supplier, or a back office database.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the inquired properties of the geometric shape design comprise physical properties of the geometric shape design and procurement properties of the geometric shape design.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the procurement properties of the geometric shape design comprise inventory availability, manufacturing and shipping prices, and time schedule.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step (xvii) further comprises:

obtaining information of the replacement design change implementable on the CAD model of the geometric shape design through the CAD software, wherein the information of the replacement design change comprises shape geometry change of the replacement design change and shape attributes change of the replacement design change;

storing the information of the replacement design change as a second DCS object;

transmitting the second DCS object, together with the CAD model, to the first user; and

receiving, from the first user, a plurality of second instructions to the second DCS object, and performing a plurality of second operations to the geometric shape design corresponding to the second instructions to the second DCS object.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the second operations comprise:

(1) retrieving the information of the replacement design change in the second DCS object;

(2) when the second instructions comprise the accepting instruction, incorporating the replacement design change to the geometric shape design according to the information of the replacement design change;

(3) when the second instructions comprise the rejecting instruction, deleting the second DCS object;

(4) when the second instructions comprise the display change instruction, displaying the replacement design change according to the information of the replacement design change;

(5) when the second instructions comprise the preview instruction, displaying the geometric shape design with the design change applied according to the information of the replacement design change;

(6) when the second instructions comprise the property query instruction, displaying the inquired properties of the geometric shape design having the design change applied according to the information of the replacement design change;

(7) when the second instructions comprise the comparison instruction, displaying geometry and property comparison between the geometric shape design with and without the replacement design change applied according to the information of the replacement design change;

(8) when the second instructions comprise the adjustment modification instruction, adjusting information of the replacement design change; and

(9) when the second instructions comprise the sequential modification instruction, creating a sequential design change following the replacement design change such that the replacement design change and the sequential design change form a sequential design change group.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the step (2) comprises:

when the second instructions comprise the accepting instruction, automatically incorporating the replacement design change to the geometric shape design according to the information of the replacement design change without further user interaction.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step (xix) further comprises:

obtaining information of the sequential design change implementable following the design change through the CAD software, wherein the information of the sequential design change comprises shape geometry change of the sequential design change and shape attributes change of the sequential design change;

storing the information of the sequential design change as a third DCS object;

transmitting the third DCS object, together with the CAD model, to the first user; and

receiving, from the first user, a plurality of third instructions to the third DCS object, and performing a plurality of third operations to the geometric shape design corresponding to the third instructions to the third DCS object.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the third operations comprise:

(A) retrieving the information of the design change in the first DCS object and the information of the sequential design change in the third DCS object;

(B) when the third instructions comprise the accepting instruction, incorporating the design change and the sequential design change to the geometric shape design according to the information of the design change and the information of the sequential design change;

(C) when the third instructions comprise the rejecting instruction, deleting the first DCS object and the third DCS object;

(D) when the third instructions comprise the display change instruction, displaying the sequential design change according to the information of the sequential design change;

(E) when the third instructions comprise the preview instruction, displaying the geometric shape design with the design change and the sequential design change both applied according to the information of the design change and the information of the sequential design change;

(F) when the third instructions comprise the property query instruction, displaying the inquired properties of the geometric shape design having the design change and the sequential design change both applied according to the information of the design change and the information of the sequential design change;

(G) when the third instructions comprise the comparison instruction, displaying geometry and property comparison between the geometric shape design with and without the design change and the sequential design change both applied according to the information of the design change and the information of the sequential design change; and

(H) when the third instructions comprise the adjustment modification instruction, adjusting information of the sequential design change.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the step (B) comprises:

in response to the accepting instruction, automatically incorporating the design change and the sequential design change to the geometric shape design according to the information of the design change and the information of the sequential design change without further user interaction.

19. A computer-implemented method of performing multi-user design negotiation on a computer-aided design (CAD) software, the method comprising:

(a) receiving, from a first user of the CAD software, a design change to a geometric shape design, and obtaining information of the design change implementable on a CAD model of the geometric shape design through the CAD software, wherein the information of the design change comprises shape geometry change of the design change and shape attributes change of the design change;

(b) storing the information of the design change as a design change suggestion (DCS) object;

(c) transmitting the DCS object, together with the CAD model, to a second user of the CAD software, and notifying the second user about the DCS object;

(d) receiving, from the second user, a plurality of instructions; and

(e) performing a plurality of operations to the geometric shape design corresponding to the instructions, wherein the operations comprise;

(i) retrieving the information of the design change in the DCS object; and

(ii) determining whether the instructions comprise an accepting instruction; and

(iii) in response to determining that the instructions comprise the accepting instruction, incorporating the design change to the geometric shape design according to the information of the design change; and

(iv) determining whether the instructions comprise a rejecting instruction; and

(v) in response to determining that the instructions comprise the rejecting instruction, deleting the DCS object; and

(vi) determining whether the instructions comprise a display change instruction; and

(vii) in response to determining that the instructions comprise the display change instruction, displaying the design change according to the information of the design change; and

(viii) determining whether the instructions comprise a preview instruction; and

(ix) in response to determining that the instructions comprise the preview instruction, displaying the geometric shape design with the design change applied according to the information of the design change; and

(x) determining whether the instructions comprise a property query instruction; and

(xi) in response to determining that the instructions comprise the property query instruction, displaying inquired properties of the geometric shape design having the design change applied according to the information of the design change; and

(xii) determining whether the instructions comprise a comparison instruction; and

(xiii) in response to determining that the instructions comprise the comparison instruction, displaying geometry and property comparison between the geometric shape design with and without the design change applied according to the information of the design change; and

(xiv) determining whether the instructions comprise an adjustment modification instruction; and

(xv) in response to determining that the instructions comprise the adjustment modification instruction, adjusting the information of the design change; and

(xvi) determining whether the instructions comprise a replacement modification instruction; and

(xvii) in response to determining that the instructions comprise the replacement modification instruction, creating a replacement design change to the design change; and

(xviii) determining whether the instructions comprise a sequential modification instruction; and

(xix) in response to determining that the instructions comprise the sequential modification instruction, creating a sequential design change following the design change such that the design change and the sequential design change form a sequential design change group.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the design change comprises at least one of:

adding a new design feature to the geometric shape design;

deleting an existing design feature of the geometric shape design;

replacing the existing design feature of the geometric shape design by the new design feature;

modifying topology and geometry of the CAD model of the geometry shape design through direct modeling;

changing one or more design properties of the existing design feature of the geometric shape design;

changing one or more design attributes of the geometric shape design; and

adding a design-related document to the geometric shape design.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 20, wherein the design properties of the existing design feature comprise a position of the existing design feature, an orientation of the existing design feature, and a dimension of the existing design feature.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 20, wherein the design attributes of the geometric shape design comprise material, appearance, and manufacturing details of the geometric shape design.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the step (b) comprises:

receiving, from the first user through a standard user interface of the CAD software, an action to implement the design change directly on the geometric shape design; and

capturing the action to implement the design change to obtain the information of the design change.

24. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the step (b) comprises:

receiving, from the first user through a predetermined design change template, a selection of a design change option of the predetermined design change template as the design change;

retrieving template information of the selected design change option from the predetermined design change template; and

converting the template information to the information of the design change.

25. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the replacement design change comprises at least one of:

adding a new design feature to the geometric shape design;

deleting an existing design feature of the geometric shape design;

replacing the existing design feature of the geometric shape design by the new design feature;

modifying topology and geometry of the CAD model of the geometry shape design through direct modeling;

changing one or more design properties of the existing design feature of the geometric shape design;

changing one or more design attributes of the geometric shape design; and

adding a design-related document to the geometric shape design.

26. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the sequential design change comprises at least one of:

adding a new design feature following the design change;

deleting an existing design feature following the design change;

replacing the existing design feature following the design change by the new design feature;

modifying topology and geometry of the CAD model through direct modeling following the design change;

changing one or more design properties of the existing design feature following the design change;

changing one or more design attributes of the geometric shape design; and

adding a design-related document to the geometric shape design following the design change.

27. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the step (xi) further comprises:

sending inquiries of the properties to a database;

retrieving, from the database, the inquired properties of the geometric shape design having the design change applied according to the information of the design change; and

displaying the inquired properties.

28. The computer-implemented method of claim 27, wherein the database is a company database, a database of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system of a supplier, or a back office database.

29. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the inquired properties of the geometric shape design comprise physical properties of the geometric shape design and procurement properties of the geometric shape design.

30. The computer-implemented method of claim 29, wherein the procurement properties of the geometric shape design comprise inventory availability, manufacturing and shipping prices, and time schedule.

31. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the step of accepting the design change comprises:

retrieving the information of the design change in the DCS object; and

automatically incorporating the design change to the geometric shape design according to the information of the design change without further user interaction.

32. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the step of rejecting the design change comprises deleting the DCS object.

33. A computer-aided design (CAD) multi-user design negotiation system, comprising:

at least one computing device;

a CAD software executable by the at least one computing device, configured to implement a geometric shape design;

a design change generating module executable by the at least one computing device, for receiving a design change to the geometric shape design, obtaining information of the design change, and storing the information of the design change in as a design change suggestion (DCS) object, wherein the information of the design change comprises shape geometry change of the design change and shape attributes change of the design change; and

a DCS implementing module executable by the at least one computing device, for performing-a plurality of operations to the geometric shape design with the design change according to the DCS object, wherein the operations comprise;

(i) retrieving the information of the design change in the DCS object; and

(ii) determining whether an accepting instruction is received, and incorporating the design change to the geometric shape design according to the information of the design change in response to the accepting instruction; and

(iii) determining whether a rejecting instruction is received, and deleting the DCS object in response to the rejecting instruction; and

(iv) determining whether a display change instruction is received, and displaying the design change according to the information of the design change in response to a display change instruction; and

(v) determining whether a preview instruction is received, and displaying the geometric shape design with the design change applied according to the information of the design change in response to the preview instruction; and

(vi) determining whether a property query instruction is received, and displaying inquired properties of the geometric shape design having the design change applied according to the information of the design change in response to the property query instruction; and

(vii) determining whether an comparison instruction is received, and displaying geometry and property comparison between the geometric shape design with and without the design change applied according to the information of the design change in response to the comparison instruction; and

(viii) determining whether an adjustment modification instruction is received, and adjusting the information of the design change in response to the adjustment modification instruction; and

(ix) determining whether a replacement modification instruction is received, and creating a replacement design change to the design change in response to the replacement modification instruction; and

(x) determining whether a sequential modification instruction is received, and creating a sequential design change following the design change in response to the sequential modification instruction such that the design change and the sequential design change form a sequential design change group.

34. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 33, wherein the design change and the replacement design change respectively comprise at least one of:

adding a new design feature;

deleting an existing design feature;

replacing the existing design feature by the new design feature;

modifying topology and geometry of the CAD model through direct modeling;

changing one or more design properties of the existing design feature;

changing one or more design attributes of the geometric shape design; and

adding a design-related document to the geometric shape design.

35. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 34, wherein the design properties of the existing design feature comprise a position of the existing design feature, an orientation of the existing design feature, and a dimension of the existing design feature.

36. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 34, wherein the design attributes of the geometric shape design comprise material, appearance, and manufacturing details of the geometric shape design.

37. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 33, wherein the sequential design change comprises at least one of:

adding a new design feature following the design change;

deleting an existing design feature following the design change;

replacing the existing design feature following the design change by the new design feature;

modifying topology and geometry of the CAD model through direct modeling following the design change;

changing one or more design properties of the existing design feature following the design change;

changing one or more design attributes of the geometric shape design; and

adding a design-related document to the geometric shape design following the design change.

38. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 37, wherein the design properties of the existing design feature comprise a position of the existing design feature, an orientation of the existing design feature, and a dimension of the existing design feature.

39. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 37, wherein the design attributes of the geometric shape design comprise material, appearance, and manufacturing details of the geometric shape design.

40. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 33, wherein the design change generating module is configured to:

receive, through a standard user interface of the CAD software, an action to implement the design change directly on the geometric shape design; and

capture the action to implement the design change to obtain the information of the design change.

41. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 33, wherein the design change generating module comprises a predetermined design change template.

42. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 41, wherein the design change generating module is configured to:

receive a selection of a design change option of the predetermined design change template as the design change;

retrieve template information of the selected design change option from the predetermined design change template; and

convert the template information to the information of the design change.

43. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 33, wherein the step (vi) further comprises:

sending inquiries of the properties to a database;

retrieving, from the database, the inquired properties of the geometric shape design having the design change applied according to the information of the design change; and

displaying the inquired properties.

44. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 43, wherein the database is a company database, a database of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system of a supplier, or a back office database.

45. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 33, wherein the inquired properties of the geometric shape design comprise physical properties of the geometric shape design and procurement properties of the geometric shape design.

46. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 45, wherein the procurement properties of the geometric shape design comprise inventory availability, manufacturing and shipping prices, and time schedule.

47. The CAD multi-user design negotiation system of claim 33, wherein the at least one computing device is a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet device, or a mobile device.