Patent US6492993B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6492993B1
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Method and system for generating railing objects
Assignee: Autodesk Inc
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Filing: 1999-05-12
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Granted: 2002-12-10
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Expires: 2019-05-12
Abstract
Abstract A method and system are described for generating railing objects that model railing structures, such as fences. According to the method, a railing object is generated along a path within a design layout. As rendered, the railing object includes posts and railings, with the option of using filling material between the posts. According to one variation, the railing object substantially follows an existing path. The railing object may comprise an increasing number of segments to better follow the curvature of the path. Any modification applied to the path is automatically applied to the railing object after the railing object is applied to the path. That is, every railing object component (e.g. post, railing, fencing) will be repositioned along the new position of the path. A mechanism is provided for automatically applying the modifications to the geometric dimensions of a single component instance of a railing object to every instance of that component on the railing object. A mechanism is also provided for positioning corners in the railing object to match corners on the path.
Inventors
- 👤 Martin Livesey
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 02:25
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T17/00; G06F; G06F30/00; G06F30/10; G06F30/13; G06T19/00; G06T19/20; G06T2219/00; G06T2219/20; G06T2219/2004; G06T2219/2016
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 32
Claim 1
Independent Claim
121 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and a plurality of rail components, wherein the plurality of rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein between each pair of adjacent post components of the plurality of post components the plurality of rail components are vertically spaced relative to each other; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; and automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
121 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and a plurality of rail components, wherein the plurality of rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein between each pair of adjacent post components of the plurality of post components the plurality of rail components are vertically spaced relative to each other; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; and automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
139 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; receiving input that redefines the path for said railing object; and in response to redefining the path, reapplying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
139 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; receiving input that redefines the path for said railing object; and in response to redefining the path, reapplying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
146 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein the step of receiving input that defines the path comprises the steps of: receiving a first set of coordinates that define a first location; receiving a second set of coordinates that define a second location; and determining a two or more dimensional path based on said first and second locations.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
146 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein the step of receiving input that defines the path comprises the steps of: receiving a first set of coordinates that define a first location; receiving a second set of coordinates that define a second location; and determining a two or more dimensional path based on said first and second locations.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
166 words
A method for generating an object, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a path for said object; generating a plurality of post components for said object, wherein the plurality of post components are substantially perpendicular to said path; generating one or more rail components for said object, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein the intersection forms an angle that is substantially ninety degrees; automatically applying said object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to the path; wherein the step of generating the one or more rail components includes the steps of: determining one or more attributes for each of the one or more rail components; and establishing attribute values for the one or more attributes, wherein the attribute values determine the dimensions of each of the one or more rail components.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
166 words
A method for generating an object, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a path for said object; generating a plurality of post components for said object, wherein the plurality of post components are substantially perpendicular to said path; generating one or more rail components for said object, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein the intersection forms an angle that is substantially ninety degrees; automatically applying said object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to the path; wherein the step of generating the one or more rail components includes the steps of: determining one or more attributes for each of the one or more rail components; and establishing attribute values for the one or more attributes, wherein the attribute values determine the dimensions of each of the one or more rail components.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
159 words
A method for generating an object, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a path for said object; generating a plurality of post components for said object, wherein the plurality of post components are substantially perpendicular to said path; generating one or more rail components for said object, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein the intersection forms an angle that is substantially ninety degrees; automatically applying said object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to the path; wherein the step of generating the plurality of post components includes the steps of: determining one or more attributes for each of the post components; and establishing attribute values for the one or more attributes, wherein the attribute values determine the dimensions of each of the post components.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
159 words
A method for generating an object, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a path for said object; generating a plurality of post components for said object, wherein the plurality of post components are substantially perpendicular to said path; generating one or more rail components for said object, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein the intersection forms an angle that is substantially ninety degrees; automatically applying said object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to the path; wherein the step of generating the plurality of post components includes the steps of: determining one or more attributes for each of the post components; and establishing attribute values for the one or more attributes, wherein the attribute values determine the dimensions of each of the post components.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
164 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein: the railing object is a fence object; the one or more rail components include one or more rail objects; the plurality of post components include a plurality of post objects; and the step of receiving input that defines a railing object includes the step of generating the railing object by associating the one or more rail objects with the plurality of post objects to generate the fence object.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
164 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein: the railing object is a fence object; the one or more rail components include one or more rail objects; the plurality of post components include a plurality of post objects; and the step of receiving input that defines a railing object includes the step of generating the railing object by associating the one or more rail objects with the plurality of post objects to generate the fence object.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
132 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; receiving update information that modifies the path definition; and in response to receiving the update information, generating the one or more parallel components and the plurality of perpendicular components for said object based on said update information.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
132 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; receiving update information that modifies the path definition; and in response to receiving the update information, generating the one or more parallel components and the plurality of perpendicular components for said object based on said update information.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
157 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein the step of applying said railing object to said path includes the steps of: identifying a location on said path for placing each of the post components; and causing each of the plurality of post components to be substantially perpendicular to said path by placing the post components perpendicular to a tangent of said path at each of the identified locations.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
157 words
A method for generating railing objects, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein the step of applying said railing object to said path includes the steps of: identifying a location on said path for placing each of the post components; and causing each of the plurality of post components to be substantially perpendicular to said path by placing the post components perpendicular to a tangent of said path at each of the identified locations.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
147 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and a plurality of rail components, wherein the plurality of rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein between each pair of adjacent post components of the plurality of post components the plurality of rail components are vertically spaced relative to each other; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; and automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
147 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and a plurality of rail components, wherein the plurality of rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein between each pair of adjacent post components of the plurality of post components the plurality of rail components are vertically spaced relative to each other; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; and automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
165 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; receiving input that redefines the path for said railing object; and in response to redefining the path, reapplying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
165 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; receiving input that redefines the path for said railing object; and in response to redefining the path, reapplying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
192 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein the instructions for receiving input that defines the path further comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of: receiving a first set of coordinates that define a first location; receiving a second set of coordinates that define a second location; and determining a two or more dimensional path based on said first and second locations.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
192 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein the instructions for receiving input that defines the path further comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of: receiving a first set of coordinates that define a first location; receiving a second set of coordinates that define a second location; and determining a two or more dimensional path based on said first and second locations.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
211 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein: the railing object is a fence object; the one or more rail components include one or more rail objects; the plurality of post components include a plurality of post objects; and wherein the instructions for receiving input that defines a railing object further comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the step of generating the railing object by associating the one or more rail objects with the plurality of post objects to generate the fence object.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
211 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein: the railing object is a fence object; the one or more rail components include one or more rail objects; the plurality of post components include a plurality of post objects; and wherein the instructions for receiving input that defines a railing object further comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the step of generating the railing object by associating the one or more rail objects with the plurality of post objects to generate the fence object.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
158 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; receiving update information that modifies the path definition; and in response to receiving the update information, generating the one or more parallel components and the plurality of perpendicular components for said object based on said update information.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
158 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; receiving update information that modifies the path definition; and in response to receiving the update information, generating the one or more parallel components and the plurality of perpendicular components for said object based on said update information.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
203 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein the instructions for applying said railing object to said path further comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of: identifying a location on said path for placing each of the post components; and causing each of the plurality of post components to be substantially perpendicular to said path by placing the post components perpendicular to a tangent of said path at each of the identified locations.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
203 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating railing objects, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a railing object, wherein the railing object includes a plurality of post components and one or more rail components, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place; receiving input that defines a path for said railing object; automatically applying said railing object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to said path; wherein the instructions for applying said railing object to said path further comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of: identifying a location on said path for placing each of the post components; and causing each of the plurality of post components to be substantially perpendicular to said path by placing the post components perpendicular to a tangent of said path at each of the identified locations.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
212 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating an object, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a path for said object; generating a plurality of post components for said object, wherein the plurality of post components are substantially perpendicular to said path; generating one or more rail components for said object, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein the intersection forms an angle that is substantially ninety degrees; automatically applying said object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to the path; wherein the instructions for generating the one or more rail components further comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of: determining one or more attributes for each of the one or more rail components; and establishing attribute values for the one or more attributes, wherein the attribute values determine the dimensions of each of the one or more rail components.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
212 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating an object, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a path for said object; generating a plurality of post components for said object, wherein the plurality of post components are substantially perpendicular to said path; generating one or more rail components for said object, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein the intersection forms an angle that is substantially ninety degrees; automatically applying said object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to the path; wherein the instructions for generating the one or more rail components further comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of: determining one or more attributes for each of the one or more rail components; and establishing attribute values for the one or more attributes, wherein the attribute values determine the dimensions of each of the one or more rail components.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
205 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating an object, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a path for said object; generating a plurality of post components for said object, wherein the plurality of post components are substantially perpendicular to said path; generating one or more rail components for said object, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein the intersection forms an angle that is substantially ninety degrees; automatically applying said object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to the path; wherein the instructions for generating the plurality of post components further comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of: determining one or more attributes for each of the post components; and establishing attribute values for the one or more attributes, wherein the attribute values determine the dimensions of each of the post components.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
205 words
A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating an object, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving input that defines a path for said object; generating a plurality of post components for said object, wherein the plurality of post components are substantially perpendicular to said path; generating one or more rail components for said object, wherein the one or more rail components intersect each of the plurality of post components in at least one place, wherein the intersection forms an angle that is substantially ninety degrees; automatically applying said object to said path by causing at least one end of each of the plurality of post components to begin adjacent to the path; wherein the instructions for generating the plurality of post components further comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of: determining one or more attributes for each of the post components; and establishing attribute values for the one or more attributes, wherein the attribute values determine the dimensions of each of the post components.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
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| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-12-09 | 2010-06-10 | 2010-12-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-12-09 | 2014-06-10 | 2014-12-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |