Patent · US Expired

Method for controlling the level of detail displayed in a computer generated screen display of a complex structure

US5825998A · kind A · utility

12Cited by
10References
18Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJul 9, 1996
Grant dateOct 20, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 9, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T15/00
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method for controlling the level of detail displayed in a computer generated screen display of a complex structure in which the structure is modeled as a root volume bounding all of the parts of the structure, with the individual parts comprising sub-objects bounded in sub-volumes. The method begins by selecting the root volume (202) and then enters the step of determining whether or not all sub objects within the selected volume are turned off (204). If they are, the entire display is culled. If they are not, the system then computes the screen coordinates of the selected volume (208). The method proceeds to the step of determining whether or not the selected volume is on the screen or off. If it is off the screen, the entire volume is culled. If it is on screen, however, a determination is made as to whether or not all sub-objects are turned on (214). If all sub-objects are turned on, the number of screen pixels for the selected volume is computed (216). This screen size is compared to a user defined threshold (218) and if its smaller than the threshold, the object is drawn as a bounding volume (220). If the selected object is larger than the threshold, a determination is made …

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