Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Computer graphics processing – Graphic manipulation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-25
2004-08-24
Bella, Matthew C. (Department: 2676)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Computer graphics processing
Graphic manipulation
C345S652000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06781597
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to computerized three dimensional geometric modeling systems, and particularly to the editing of solid shapes.
2. Related Art and Other Considerations
The computer has greatly affected essentially all forms of information management, including the geometric modeling arts. Nowadays there are numerous computer program products that allow the user to create, store, and modify geometric models and their graphical renderings of various types on a display screen, and to print or otherwise output such geometric models and their renderings. Such geometric models and their graphical renderings span the gambit from simple to complex, and can vary in subject matter, e.g., artistic, industrial, etc. Some geometric modeling computer program products are two dimensional, providing only length and width dimensions of objects. The more complex three dimensional computer program products, on the other hand, provide three dimensions—length, width, and depth/thickness.
Three dimensional geometric modeling programs can generate a scene or part which can comprise one or more constituent 3D solid shapes. For example, a scene or part featuring a simple table would comprise a solid shape for each leg of the table, as well as a solid shape for a flat table top. Thus, solid parts can be formed from other solid parts. In geometric modeling terms, the building of more complicated solid shapes in hierarchical fashion from simpler solid shapes (known as “primitives”) is known as “constructed solid geometry” (“CSG”). The simpler solid shapes can be combined using various operations (e.g., Boolean operations such as “and”, “or”, “not”, etc.). The computer stores the overall (complex) solid shape as a tree, each of the “leaves” of the tree comprising a primitive solid shape.
In one example geometric modeling computer program which is object-oriented, an executable object is used to define and generate each solid shape. The object for each solid shape can have several associated components, the components being a combination of executable code and data structure. Examples of such components are a boundary representation (“B-rep”) component (having a data structure describing the geometry and topology data for the solid shape [e.g., length, width, depth, and coordinates of the solid part], a history/creation component (which includes data which indicates an order or chronological sequence of steps employed to construct the solid shape), a visual component; a physical component; a functional component; and a behavioral component. Other example components, and the employment of components generally, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,310, entitled “Intelligent Shapes For Authoring Three-Dimensional Models”, incorporated herein by reference.
One of the components described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,310 is a sizebox component. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,310, once a solid shape has been selected by a user with a mouse cursor or the like, the sizebox component for the shape is accessed. The sizebox component specifies the dimensions of the maximum extent of the corresponding selected solid shape, and thus defines a parallelpiped (e.g., a box) in space that may enclosed the selected shape. A sizebox is drawn around the selected shape. The sizebox includes handles displayed on each of the six faces of the sizebox. The user can use a drag technique to pull or move a handle to change an associated sizebox dimension, and in response the dimension of the displayed solid shape is correspondingly changed graphically as the sizebox handle is moved in one direction or the other.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,310, entitled “Three Dimensional Computing Graphics Tool Facilitating Movement of Displayed Object”, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a graphics tool, commercially known as the TriBall®, which facilitates positioning of a selected solid shape or solid part. The tool includes a displayed object reference frame which takes the form of a spherical countour line and various handles. The handles of the object reference frame include both object image handles (classified as both planar and knob handles) and frame handles. The object image handles are used to position the object for which the tool was selected, the frame handles facilitate movement of the tool relative to the displayed selected object. When a mouse pointer is near one of the handles, the mouse pointer can change its appearance, and selected geometry of the tool can be highlighted. Certain enhancements to this graphics tool are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,069, which is also incorporated herein by reference.
Solid shapes typically have one or more profiles. Profiles are two dimensional shapes that can be extruded, spun, lofted, or swept to form a three dimensional solid shape. The profile information is typically included in one of the components of the is solid shape, e.g., the profile component.
When a user designs a new solid shape, the profile shape that is used for generating the new solid shape is typically much more irregular and complex than a simple rectangular profile. When a user resizes a shape that has a rectangular profile, the sizebox handles behave very nicely and give the user what is expected. However, with solid shapes that have irregular or complex profiles, using the sizebox handles will resize the shape, but with the side effect of stretching the curves or paths of the profile such that the curves or paths more or change undesirably. Therefore, although the overall sizebox of a solid shape could be changed by manipulation of sizebox handles as described above, heretofore it has not been possible to edit the profile information without the user entering a special editing mode. In other words, previously the user had to terminate the current mode of operation and select a special button or the like for entering a two-dimensional editing mode. The two-dimensional editing mode had its own characteristic operations which facilitated editing of the profile information. Upon completion of the profile editing, the user had to perform a separate step of exiting the editing mode before continuing work on the solid shape or part in a three dimensional mode. What is desired is that users can quickly adjust the position of the underlying geometry without having to enter a two dimensional editing mode.
What is needed, therefore, and an object of the present invention, is a three dimensional computer aided geometric modeling system which effectively and efficiently allows plural editing modes in a three dimensional graphical context.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A computer program product executes in a computer workstation according to methods of the invention to provide editing handles for solid shapes. The computer program provides a graphical user interface in the preferred form of an icon which is visually associated with a selected displayed solid shape and which, when activated via a user input device, toggles or cycles through plural editing modes of the displayed shape. In the plural editing modes, other graphical user interfaces which include editing “handles” can be utilized to perform various editing functions, the handles of each editing mode having functions dependent upon the respective editing mode. The editing handles themselves are subject to novel employments and manipulations in accordance with aspects of the present invention.
The toggled or cycle graphical user interface, known as a shape editing mode icon, is used to cycle or toggle through plural editing modes of a selected displayed shape. The number and nature of the editing modes for a solid shape depend upon the type of solid shape that is selected. For example, an extruded solid shape may have a first edit mode being a sizebox edit mode (for editing dimensions of a maximum extent of the displayed shape) and a second edit mode being a profile edit mode (for editing the profile that is extruded to form the solid shape). For a bend shape such as utilized for sheet metal work, one of the editing modes c
Han Tao-Yang
Phelan David G.
Vrobel Patricia A.
Bella Matthew C.
Blackman Anthony
Ironcad, LLC.
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
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