Method of displaying geometric object surfaces

US6057849A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• GSF-Forshungszentrum für Umwelt und Gesundheit, GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Michael Haubner · Munich, DE
• Karl-Hans Englmeier · Munich, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 11, 1997
• Grant date: May 2, 2000
• Expiry date: Sep 11, 2017

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06T15/00
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Geometric surfaces of objects are displayed by a method which generates surface data of at least one object and stores this surface data in a first memory, generates data records for all surface data stored in the first memory and stores these data records in a second memory, generates additional surface data for the representation of object segments with a lower level of detail and stores this additional surface data in the first memory, generates and stores a hierarchical data structure with several data records addressable via pointer addresses to represent one part of the objects surface in the second memory, stores the pointer addresses of the data records stored in the second memory which are not referenced by any pointer addresses stored in other data records, computes in a arithmetic unit a minimum level of detail for representation of the object segment, compares the computed minimum level of detail for each data record whose address is stored in a third memory area with the level of detail stored in the data record, evaluates the results of the comparison for each data record, with the pointer addresses referencing surface data elements of the data records having a stored…