Patent ID: 7548650
Filing Date: 2009-06-16
Classification: G06F,G06K,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method to provide information associated with an existent geometric structure having a geometry that is similar to a geometry of a source geometric structure, the method comprising: providing a searchable data structure of stored non-invertible encoded files of geometries of existent geometric structures, each encoded file comprising a stored set of coefficients that are a non-invertible representation of a geometry of an existent geometric structure stored in a digitized three-dimensional (3D) file format; encoding a source file of the 3D file format to generate a compare set of coefficients that are a non-invertible representation of geometry of a source geometric structure stored in the source file, wherein the encoding comprises using a same encoding algorithm used to encode the encoded files of the searchable data structure, and further wherein the non-invertible representations are secure representations that prevent derivation of the geometries of the source and existent geometric structures; and searching the searchable data structure by comparing the compare set of coefficients to the stored sets of coefficients of the searchable data structure and if the compare set of coefficients matches one or more of the stored sets of coefficients according to a threshold of similarity, providing a search result that provides information related to the one or more existent geometric structures represented by the one or more stored sets of coefficients which match.