Patent · US Expired

Deformation of a graphic object to emphasize effects of motion

US5731819A · kind A · utility

107Cited by
3References
33Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 18, 1995
Grant dateMar 24, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 18, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T17/20
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A three-dimensional graphic object appearing in an animation is deformed to simulate the effects of motion on the object. A user can selectively apply a stretch, yield, or flex deformation effect to the control vertices of the object, to change the shape of the object as a function of any of a linear velocity, angular velocity, linear acceleration, or angular acceleration of the object. Various other parameters for each of these deformation effects can also be selected and set by the user, including a sensitivity to the motion in generating the deformation and a maximum deformation. The flex deformation can selectively be set to either a linear or curved profile, simulating the effect of friction applied by the environment on one or more surfaces of the object. The stretch deformation can selectively be set to either a constant or a free volume to simulate the effect of inertia, causing a body to elongate or shrink in the direction of the movement. The yield deformation can be set either a linear or curved profile, simulating the displacement of an object's internal matter toward one end that occurs, relative to the direction of the object's motion, i.e., causing one end to bulge. …

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.