Drawing management device having ability to retrieve and display a desired amount of data within a desired display time

• US RE42,414 E1
• Filed: 09/25/1997
• Issued: 05/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Fukushima, Manabu, Yoda, Mikio, Tsutsui, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Yang; Ryan R
• Application Number:
  US08/937,439
• Time in Patent Office: 4,996 Days
• Field of Search: 345/418, 345/419, 345/433, 345/434, 345/435, 345/436, 345/437, 345/438, 345/439, 345/629
• US Class Current: 715/807
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/42 characterised by the display of patterns using a display memory without fixed position correspondence between the display memory contents and the display position on the screen
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/964 CAD or CAM, e.g. interactive design tools
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/976 3-D Icon

Abstract

A drawing management device for managing the drawing of an entire facility, such as a water supply facility, as digital information. This device includes a unit for storing drawings with priorities obtained by separating the entire facility drawing into sub-facility drawings located at plural levels, a selective display designating unit for displaying a desired sub-facility drawing obtained by selecting the number of levels considering the priority from the storing unit, and a display unit for displaying the desired sub-facility drawing in response to the signal from the selective display designating unit. By suitably selecting a desired level considering the priority, only a necessary and sufficient facility drawing can be displayed swiftly.

Claims

1. A drawing management and display device for displaying digital information of a system drawing, showing an entire system having a plurality of information items, within a desired display time, said drawing management and display device comprising:

a means for referencinga reference unit configured to;

reference a total display time required for displaying said system drawing, for determiningdetermine a plurality of different display time priority levels each having a different display time which is shorter than said total display time, and for storingstore said system drawing as a plurality of sub-drawings each representing the same area of said system drawing and having a different number of said plurality of information items which make up said entire system such that display of each of said sub-drawings can be accomplished within a different said different display time, said sub-drawings being stored with respective priorities each of which represents an ability to display the sub-drawing within a different said different display time;

a selective display designating means for automatically selecting unit configured to automatically select one of said sub-drawings stored in the storing means on the on a basis of the priority thereof in order to accomplish display within said desired display time; and

a means for displayinga display unit configured to display selected said sub-drawings within said desired display time in response to said selecting operation of said selective display designating meansdesignating unit.

2. A drawing management and display device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said sub-drawings includes all of the information items which make up said same area of said system drawing.

3. A drawing management and display device according to claim 1, wherein all of said sub-drawings show said information items with the same magnification.

4. A drawing management and display device according to claim 1, wherein each of the sub-drawings shows information items of a different type from the information items shown on all sub-drawings of a lower priority.

5. A drawing management and display device according to claim 4, wherein the ability to display a sub-drawing within a desired display time is determined by the number and type of information items included in the sub-drawing.

6. A drawing management and display device according to claim 1, wherein said entire system is a gas/water supply pipe-laying system gas supply pipe-laying system, a water supply pipe-laying system, or a gas and water supply pipe-laying system.

7. A drawing management and display device according to claim 1, wherein said entire system is an electric power/telephone wiring system electric power wiring system, a telephone wiring system, or an electric power and telephone wiring system.

8. A drawing management and display device according to claim 1, wherein said entire system is a machine designating system.

9. A drawing management and display device according to claim 1, wherein said entire system is a road traffic information map.

10. A drawing management and display device according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of sub-drawings which represent the same area of said system drawing include at least three sub-drawings.

11. A drawing management and display device according to claim 1, wherein said displaying means includes a means for displaying a three-dimensional retrieval icon for respective sub-drawings, the amount of data in a respective subdrawing being indicated by a dimension of each respective displayed retrieval icon.

12. A drawing management and display device according to claim 1, wherein said selective display designating means includes a means for storing unit is configured to:

store a table of values including indicators of respective areas of said system drawing and a priority designated for each respective area, and further including a means responsive to an indicator of an area of said system drawing for selecting select a sub-drawing of that area designated by the priority in said table of values, responsive to an indicator of an area of said system drawing.

13. A drawing management and display device according to claim 12, further including a input means for an input unit configured to allow editing said table of values to change the priority designated for a respective area of said system drawing.

14. A drawing management and display device for managing divided facility drawings having the same magnification of an entire facility as digital information, said drawing management and display device comprising:

a first means for referencinga reference unit configured to;

reference a total display time for displaying said system drawing, for determiningdetermine a plurality of different display time priority levels each having a different display time which is shorter than said total display time, and for storingstore divided facility drawings with respective priorities each of which represents an ability to display a desired facility drawing within a different said different display time when combining at least selected ones of features of said divided facility drawings;

a drawing inputting means for unit configured to allow editing of said divided facility drawings stored in said first means reference unit;

a data inputting means for unit configured to allow inputting attribute information to be stored in the first means said reference unit;

a second means fora temporary store unit configured to;

temporarily storingstore said divided facility drawings stored in said first meansreference unit and temporarily storingstore said divided facility drawings given from said drawing inputting meansunit; and

a means for displayinga display unit configured to display both said divided facility drawings stored in said second meanstemporary store unit, and said attribute information.

15. An image data display method comprising:

displaying on a display screen, a respective predetermined three-dimensional shape to represent each image of a drawing to be displayed such that a data amount of said image is represented by a length in a predetermined one-dimensional direction of said three-dimensional shape, wherein images belonging to a same predetermined group are each displayed on the display screen in the form of the predetermined three-dimensional shape and in a form of an icon in such a manner that an accumulated data amount of said images belonging to the same predetermined group is represented by an accumulated length in the predetermined one-dimensional direction.

16. An image data display method according to claim 15, wherein the three-dimensional shape is a rectangular parallelepiped or a cube.

17. An image data display method according to claim 15, wherein the predetermined one-dimensional direction of said predetermined three-dimensional shape is a direction at least partially in a depth of the display.

18. An image data display method according to claim 15, wherein the icon is more particularly an icon for retrieving the images belong to the same predetermined group.

19. An image display method comprising:

displaying on a display screen, a respective predetermined three-dimensional shape and icon to represent images belonging to different predetermined groups of a drawing to be displayed, such that an accumulated data amount of said images belonging to a same predetermined group is represented by an accumulated length in a predetermined one-dimensional direction of said three-dimensional shape associated with said same predetermined group, and such that the respective predetermined three-dimensional shapes and icons for said different predetermined groups are displayed separately on said display screen.

20. An image data display method according to claim 19, wherein the respective predetermined three-dimensional shapes and icons for said different predetermined groups are more specifically displayed separately in a second one-dimensional direction which is different from said predetermined one-dimensional direction.

21. An image data display apparatus comprising:

an image data amount calculation unit which obtains an accumulated data amount for images belonging to a same predetermined group; and

an icon three-dimensional display processing unit which displays on a display screen, a respective predetermined three-dimensional shape to represent each image of a drawing to be displayed such that a data amount of said image is represented by a length in a predetermined one-dimensional direction of said three-dimensional shape, wherein images belonging to the same predetermined group are each displayed on the display screen in the form of the predetermined three-dimensional shape and in a form of an icon in such a manner that an accumulated data amount of said images belonging to the same predetermined group is represented by an accumulated length in the predetermined one-dimensional direction.

22. An image data display apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said icon three-dimensional display processing unit displays the icon in a shape of a rectangular parallelepiped or a cube.

23. An image data display apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the predetermined one-dimensional direction of said predetermined three-dimensional shape is a direction at least partially in a depth of the display.

24. An image data display apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the icon is more particularly an icon for retrieving the images belong to the same predetermined group.

25. A drawing management and display device for displaying digital information of a system drawing, showing an entire system having a plurality of information items, within a desired display time, said drawing management and display device comprising:

a reference unit configured to;

reference a total display time required for displaying said system drawing, determine a plurality of different display time priority levels each having a different display time which is shorter than said total display time, and store said system drawing as a plurality of sub-drawings each representing the same area of said system drawing and having a different number of said plurality of information items which make up said entire system such that display of each of said sub-drawings is accomplished within a different said different display time, said sub-drawings being stored with respective priorities each of which represents an ability to display the sub-drawing within a different said different display;

a selective display designating unit configured to automatically select one of said sub-drawings stored on a basis of the priority thereof in order to accomplish display within said desired display time; and

a display unit configured to display selected said sub-drawings within said desired display time in response to said selecting operation of said selective display designation unit;

wherein said display unit is further configured to display a three-dimensional retrieval icon for respective sub-drawings, the amount of data in a respective sub-drawing being indicated by a dimension of each respective displayed retrieval icon.