Error detection/correction and fault detection/recovery – Data processing system error or fault handling – Reliability and availability
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-22
2001-12-11
Iqbal, Nadeem (Department: 2184)
Error detection/correction and fault detection/recovery
Data processing system error or fault handling
Reliability and availability
C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06330685
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), multimedia, and any other system that supports substantially concurrent viewing and manipulation of electronically captured or generated images, graphics, or text by multiple users and, more particularly, to a graphical consistency verification system for real-time on-the-fly 3-D graphical consistency among multiple applications at different workstations.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Industries that manufacture motor vehicles, airplanes and other complex mechanical equipment require designers and engineers to work concurrently on the same large complex design. The ability to work concurrently on the same design allows multiple users to collaborate on design changes in real-time, thereby reducing overall design time and improving the quality of the final product design.
Computer systems allow designers and engineers to electronically generate and manipulate multidimensional design graphics. The computer software that electronically displays and manipulates graphics displayed on a computer screen is referred to generally as an application program or application. For more than one user to view or work on the same electronically generated graphics at the same time, the application must be shared with each user workstation site. The shared application should provide consistent views or windows of the same image in real-time at each user workstation.
Existing shared applications are based on two general architectures. First, a centralized architecture contains only one instance of the shared application. Inputs to the application are sent to a single execution site. The output of the application at the execution site is then sent to each user workstation display. The centralized architecture provides identical views by transmitting the same protocol to each user display. Second, a replicated architecture executes a copy of each shared application locally at each user workstation. User inputs and outputs to and from the shared application remain localized on the user workstation.
View consistency problems typically do not occur in centralized architectures since only one copy of the application is executed. However, centralized architectures must transfer all input and output (I/O) data between each user workstation and the shared application at the execution site. The I/O data increases network traffic between user workstations. Because networks have limited bandwidths, only a limited number of users can use a centralized shared application architecture concurrently.
Replicated architectures significantly reduce network traffic and have faster response times since I/O data remains localized at the user workstation. However, replicated architectures have difficulty maintaining an on-the-fly image with automatic image checking, among multiple copies of a displayed image at separate workstations. Workstations in a network need the ability to share and communicate contents of an image in multiple applications independent of available network bandwidth.
Accordingly, a need remains for improving real-time on-the-fly graphical images with automatic checking to ensure consistency in replicated architectures while improving response time and reducing data flow on the network.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a graphical consistency verification system for a replicated architecture network providing capabilities of real-time on-the-fly verification. The system includes a graphic consistency autochecker on a central processor with multiple application encapsulators which cooperatively generate current graphic events and verify that the same graphic image is present among multiple existing applications on the remote processors. The invention checks a graphic image displayed or manipulated by the existing applications and verifies that the graphic image is consistent among the multiple existing applications using an image signature before executing subsequent input events.
The invention can be installed without relinking, or otherwise modifying existing applications on different workstations. The improved capability of graphic image replication and verification at workstations in a network can be used on a wide variety of existing design tools, for example computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM). The invention requires no special libraries, and obviates the need to compile and relink the existing application source code. The invention operates with unmodified existing applications. Thus, the invention is adaptable to any shared graphic or video multimedia application or real-time visual integration system, which can simultaneously install/update multiple copies of systems on remote sites (for example, update a password at all locations), and provide remote diagnostics with visual comparison. The graphic consistency autochecker can operate in systems with relatively small network bandwidth and can be enlarged to support a large number of users with minimal system modification.
The system includes multiple application encapsulators which encapsulate existing applications and automatically generate current graphic images at each workstation in the network and compare their respective calculated image signature to ensure graphic consistency before executing subsequent input events at each workstation. Each encapsulator includes an event tracker to process an input event (for example, a button or key press). The event tracker transmits the user-generated input events to the graphic consistency autochecker. A signature calculator, which is part of each encapsulator, calculates an image signature with minimum factors (for example, color) and transmits it to the autochecker. Each image signature from each encapsulator is compared in the graphic consistency autochecker to ensure graphic image consistency among multiple applications across the network. The graphic consistency autochecker performs global graphic verification based on the image signature transmitted from each encapsulator and ensures consistency among multiple unmodified applications at any execution instances in real-time.
The method of graphical consistency verification begins by initial processing of incoming input events from the event tracker (for example, button, keyboard, or other user specified input events). Then the autochecker requests that each application encapsulator send image signatures for comparison. The autochecker waits for all application encapsulators to send image signatures. When an application encapsulator receives the image signature request from the autochecker, each encapsulator: (a) generates a current graphic image; (b) calculates the image signature of the current graphic image; and (c) sends the generated image signature to the autochecker. After the autochecker receives the image signatures from all encapsulators, the autochecker performs a comparison of the image signatures. If there is inconsistency, the individual encapsulator is notified to correct the graphic image discrepancy. Finally, this process returns and starts the process again when initiated by another input event.
One advantage of the invention is a system and method that automatically in real-time ensures 3-D graphical consistency among multiple graphic applications by detecting inconsistent graphic image information using an image signature. If an inconsistency exists, an interruption occurs of workstation collaboration until consistency is established. Another advantage of the invention is remote site engineering design diagnostic applications. In either application, users in an engineering design network can share consistent graphic image or text information among multiple applications. Other advantages of the invention include: obviating the need to change existing window applications; ensuring consistent views for real-time sharing of 3-dimensional modeling using CAD/CAM applications; requiring low network bandwidth; and being heterogeneous and port
Goss Michael E.
Hao Ming C.
Sventek Joseph S.
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