Patent ID: 8160744
Filing Date: 2012-04-17
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
1. A contact shape computing apparatus, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing computer readable code accessible by the processor for detecting contact between a plurality of three-dimensional solid models and computing a contact shape between two solid bodies in contact with each other, the computer readable code comprising: a collision detector configured to detect a collision or contact between the two solid bodies, wherein the collision detector is further configured to detect a pair of collision representative points including the closest points or the most penetrating points of the two solid bodies in collision or in contact with each other; a contact plane setting unit configured to define a contact plane that passes through a common region of the two solid bodies, wherein the contact plane setting unit is further configured to define a contact plane that passes through the midpoint of the pair of collision representative points and that has the direction of a line segment connecting the pair of collision representative points as a normal vector; a contact problem solving unit configured to individually solve contact states of the solid bodies with the contact plane as half-contact problems, wherein each body has a separate solution to its associated half-contact problem, and the contact problem solving unit is further configured to compute as the solutions of the half-contact problems, half-contact polygons describing the contact shapes between the solid bodies and the contact plane; a contact shape computing unit configured to compute the contact shape between the two solid bodies by uniting the separate solutions of the half-contact problems for the associated solid bodies, the solutions being obtained by the contact problem solving unit; and a solid body expanding unit configured for generating expanded solid bodies by expanding the plurality of three-dimensional solid models by a predetermined offset amount, wherein wherein