Patent ID: 7268780
Filing Date: 2007-09-11
Classification: H05B

Abstract:
1. A simulation method for creating a virtual three-dimensional scene illuminated with at least one lighting fixture, said method comprising the steps of: a) obtaining an object data with regard to a three-dimensional object to be illuminated with said lighting fixture; b) specifying said lighting fixture and determining a position of said lighting fixture within a space of said three-dimensional object, in order to obtain output characteristic data as well as positional data of said lighting fixture; c) transforming said object data into an array of discrete elements and obtaining object color component values inherent to each discrete element, said object color component values being assigned to respective color components in a predetermined color space for designating the color of each discrete element; d) processing said object data, and said output characteristic data as well as said positional data of said lighting fixture in order to obtain lamp color component values given to each of said discrete elements, said lamp component values being assigned to the respective color components in said color space for designating the color of said lighting fixture illuminating each destined one of the discrete elements, e) providing a plurality of lamp-by-element tables each associated with each of said discrete elements, each of said lamp-by-element table storing the lamp color component values; f) varying at least one of said output characteristic data and said positional data of said lighting fixture; g) determining the discrete elements to be illuminated by said lighting fixture; h) referring to said lamp-by-element tables only associated with thus determined discrete elements and modifying the lamp color component value stored in the referred lamp-by-element tables as a function of said output characteristic data and said positional data being varied; i) allocating said modified color component values to each of the corresponding discrete elements and combining the modified color component values to said object color component values of each discrete element to realize an updated color distribution over the entire array of said discrete elements; and j) processing said updated color distribution for rendering a view of three-dimensional illuminated scene of said object; and wherein two or more lighting fixtures are selected and specified with respect to said output-characteristic data as well as said positional data, said method including the steps of: (i) selecting two or more lighting fixture as variable components, and varying at least one of said output characteristic data and said positional data of said lighting fixtures to determined the discrete elements to be illuminated by said lighting fixtures selected as the variable components; (ii) referring to said lamp-by-element tables only associated with thus determined discrete elements and modifying the lamp color component values stored in the referred lamp-by-elements tables for said lighting fixtures; (iii) summing the lamp color component values in each of the referred lamp-by-element table to give summed lamp color components values associated with each said discrete element, and allocating the summed lamp color component values to said discrete elements, thereby realizing the updated color distribution over the array of the discrete elements.