Patent · US Expired

System and method for displaying different portions of an object in different levels of detail

US6348921B1 · kind B1 · utility

42Cited by
13References
24Claims
0Family size

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 1, 1998
Grant dateFeb 19, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 1, 2018

Classification

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

Abstract

A data structure provides a framework for relating the levels of detail (LOD) of an object having multiple LODs. A designer is provided the flexibility to display different portions of an object in multiple LODs. An object is stored in different LODs. Each LOD includes one or more polygons, with each polygon representing a portion of the object. An example tree data structure includes nodes which correspond to portions of the object. All nodes at a particular level together represent an object at a corresponding LOD. A function is provided for each edge of a geometrical entity in each node. The functions are weighted according to several factors/attributes. The functions are evaluated dynamically to determine whether to replace a polygon with polygons at a finer LOD. By a proper choice of the functions in different nodes, different portions of the object may be displayed at different LODs.

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