# Patent

## Title
Collaborative CAx updates

## Abstract

A method, executed by at least one processor, may include storing, within a set of memory locations within a storage medium, data for a feature of an engineering object in a first client format and a collaborative server format that is different than the first client format, the first client format corresponding to a first CAx application operable by a first user, the collaborative server format corresponding to a collaborative server. The method may also include updating the data for the feature in both the first client format and the collaborative server format in response to receiving an update to the feature from, or detecting an update to the feature by, the first CAx application or the collaborative server. A corresponding system and computer readable medium are also disclosed herein.

## Background
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/011,387 entitled “MUObjects: Asynchronous Runtime CAD Feature Conversion for Multi-User Interoperability” and filed on 12 Jun. 2014. In addition, this application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/185,823 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR MULTI-USER CAX EDITING DATA CONSISTENCY” and filed on 20 Feb. 2014 and to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/243,584 entitled “SYSTEM, METHOD, AND APPARATUS FOR COLLABORATIVE CAX EDITING” and filed on 2 Apr. 2014. Each of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.


BACKGROUND
The claimed invention relates to computer aided technologies (CAx) such as computer aided design, engineering, analysis and manufacture in general and apparatus, systems, means, and methods for collaborative CAx editing in particular.
Large design and engineering projects require coordination of the efforts of many designers or engineers. Designers and engineers may have various CAx tools that they have experience with, have been trained to use, or simply prefer. Existing CAx data may have been created using still other CAx tools. Each of these CAx tools may have incompatible file formats.
Efficient collaborative CAx editing should enable designers and engineers to each use their preferred CAx applications. Existing data should be incorporated into the design of an engineering object without having to be recreated or to undergo a lengthy conversion process that may result in significant data loss.
Existing CAx systems, however, are not well-suited to collaborative design and editing. Data files cannot simply be shared among several designers without coordinating editing functions and controlling access to features of the object design, or editing conflicts may result in data loss or corruption.
Accordingly, the present invention identifies and addresses a need for additional and improved systems and methods for collaborative CAx editing of engineering objects.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method, executed by at least one processor, may include storing, within a set of memory locations within a storage medium, data for a feature of an engineering object in a first client format and a collaborative server format that is different than the first client format, the first client format corresponding to a first CAx application operable by a first user, the collaborative server format corresponding to a collaborative server. The method may also include updating the data for the feature in both the first client format and the collaborative server format in response to receiving an update to the feature from, or detecting an update to the feature by, the first CAx application or the collaborative server. A corresponding system and computer readable medium are also disclosed herein.
It should be noted that references throughout this specification to embodiment features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.
The described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.
These features and advantages will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting one example of a computing and communications infrastructure;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram depicting one example of a collaborative CAx editing system;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart diagram depicting one example of an update method for collaborative CAx editing; and
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram depicting one example of a collaborative CAx editing system.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Some of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. Others are assumed to be modules. For example, a module or similar unit of functionality may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be implemented with programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or the like.
A module or a set of modules may also be implemented (in whole or in part) as a processor configured with software to perform the specified functionality. An identified module may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.
Indeed, the executable code of a module may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
Reference to a computer readable medium may take any tangible form capable of enabling execution of a program of machine-readable instructions on a digital processing apparatus. For example, a computer readable medium may be embodied by a flash drive, compact disk, digital-video disk, a magnetic tape, a Bernoulli drive, a magnetic disk, a punch card, flash memory, integrated circuits, or other digital processing apparatus memory device. A digital processing apparatus such as a computer may store program codes, associated data, and the like on the computer readable medium that when retrieved enable the digital processing apparatus to execute the functionality specified by the modules.
Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of programming, software modules, user selections, network transactions, database queries, database structures, hardware modules, hardware circuits, hardware chips, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one example of a computing and communications infrastructure 100 that is consistent with one or more embodiments of the claimed invention. As depicted, the infrastructure 100 includes various systems, subsystems, and networks such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 110, a TDM gateway 120 connecting the PSTN to an inter-network 130, a variety of workstations 125, a data center 140 with administrative terminals 145, an inter-network gateway 150 connecting a local area network to the inter-network 130, and various servers such as application servers 170, communication servers 180, and data servers 190. The infrastructure 100 is one example of components that can be operably interconnected to provide an infrastructure for a collaborative CAx editing system that facilitates computer-aided design, computer-aided engineering, computer-aided manufacturing, and the like.
Each workstation 125 may include a separate computing device 126 and a communications device 127 or the computing device and communications device may integrated into the workstation 125. Examples of the communications device 127 include a phone, a VOIP device, an instant messaging device, a texting device, a browsing device, and the like. The computing devices 126 may enable graphical viewing, selection, and editing. The communications devices 127 may enable users to communicate with other CAx system users.
The inter-network 130 may facilitate electronic communications between the various workstations and servers. In one embodiment, the inter-network 130 is the internet. In another embodiment, the inter-network 130 is a virtual private network (VPN).
Various servers such as blade servers within the data center 140 function cooperatively to facilitate concurrent collaborative editing of CAx models by local and remote users. For example, the application servers 170 may provide one or more CAx applications to the local and remote users. Some users may have the CAx applications installed on their local computing devices 126. Examples of CAx applications include Siemens NX, MSC Nastran, Dessault Systems CATIA and Solidworks, ANSYS, and the like.
The communication servers 180 may facilitate communications between the users through various channels or services such as VOIP services, email services, instant messaging services, short message services, and text messaging services. The workstations 125 may leverage such services for user to user communications via the communication servers 180 or via other available service platforms.
The data servers 190 or the like may store CAx models within various model files or records. The data servers may replicate copies of the models for use by various users. Some users may have a local copy of a model. As described herein, instead of requiring a particular user to assume control of a model file or record, updates to the model may be coordinated by one or more CAx applications including client versions, server versions, and cloud versions of such applications.
As used herein, the phrase “engineering object” generally refers to a conceptual design produced to show the look or function of an object before it is built or made. The design may be incorporated in representations such as plans, drawings, diagrams, schematics, blueprints, sketches, maps, or models. The design may include one or more “features,” e.g., attributes of an engineering object and/or operations that receive various parameters and generate one or more geometric elements. For example, an extrude feature may operate on a 2D sketch and generate multiple geometric faces therefrom.
As used herein, the phrase “proprietary representation” generally refers to a data format associated with a CAx application. A proprietary representation of an engineering object may be vendor specific and typically cannot be directly edited by a CAx application other than those available from the vendor or licensed by the vendor. Typically, a conversion process is required for a CAx application from another vendor to edit the engineering object. The conversion process may result in the loss of data.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one example of a collaborative CAx editing system 200 that is consistent with one or more embodiments of the claimed invention. As depicted, and as will be explained in greater detail below, the collaborative CAx editing system 200 includes one or more CAx clients 240 with at least one processor configured to execute a proprietary CAx application 245 and enable editing of a model of an engineering object by a user. The model of the engineering object may be encoded in a proprietary format on each client 240 and reside in the proprietary object file 255. The proprietary CAx application 245 and the associated proprietary format of the object file 255 may be different on each client 240.
The collaborative CAx editing system 200 may also include a collaborative CAx server 210 that stores a model of the engineering object within a collaborative data store 215 using a collaborative server format. In one embodiment, the collaborative server format is essentially an operations log. In the depicted embodiment, the collaborative data store 215 is a database. A synchronization module 250 may detect creation of a proprietary feature 260 of the engineering object within the proprietary CAx application 245 and insert a feature identifier 265 corresponding to the feature within the model of the engineering object encoded in the proprietary format and stored in the proprietary object file 255. The feature identifier 265 may correspond to, or be identical to, the feature reference 225. In the depicted embodiment, the synchronization module resides local with the proprietary CAx application 245. However, portions of the synchronization module 250 may reside on the CAx server 210.
The model of the engineering object managed by the CAx server 210 may include references to features within the various proprietary representations of the engineering object. For example, as depicted in FIG. 2, the feature definition 220, corresponding to the proprietary feature 260 and to the feature identifier 265, may have an associated feature reference 225 associating the feature definition 220 with the proprietary feature 260. In some embodiments, the feature identifier 265, corresponds directly to the feature reference 225. In one embodiment, the feature identifier 265 and the feature reference 225 are identical. The synchronization module 250 may use feature reference 225 to identify the corresponding proprietary feature 260 within the proprietary object file 255 via the feature identifier 265. In one embodiment, the feature reference 225 is a globally-unique identifier (GUID) associated with the proprietary feature 260.
The proprietary object file 255 and the collaborative data store 215 may reside on a single storage device or may be distributed across multiple storage devices. The storage devices may, or may not be proximate to the CAx client(s) 240 and the CAx server 210. For example, the collaborative data store 215 may represent portions of the computing and communications infrastructure 100 in FIG. 1. Furthermore, each of the depicted modules such as the CAx application 245 and the synchronization module 250 may reside on a single computing device (i.e. node) or be collaboratively partitioned onto multiple devices or nodes.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart diagram of an update method 300 for collaborative CAx editing. As depicted, the update method 300 includes providing (310) a collaborative server and clients, storing (320) data for a feature, receiving (330) a feature update, updating (340) the feature, initiating (350) corresponding updates, and conducting (360) corresponding updates on other clients. The update method 300 may be conducted largely by the synchronization module 250 in conjunction with the CAx application 245 and the CAx server 210.
Providing (310) a collaborative server and clients may include providing the collaborative CAx editing system 200 or the like that provides users working at various client devices the ability to use various (user preferred) proprietary CAx applications. Collaborative use of the proprietary CAx applications may be enabled by the subsequent operations of the update method 300.
Storing (320) data for a feature, may include storing data for a feature of an engineering object within a set of memory locations within a storage medium accessible by the synchronization module 250. The data may be stored in the proprietary (i.e., client) format used by CAx application 245. The data may be managed by the synchronization module 250. The data may also be stored in a collaborative server format that used by the CAx server 210. The collaborative server format may be different than the client format. In many embodiments, the collaborative server format is neutral parametric canonical format that provides mathematical definitions of various engineering geometries in a neutral form that is sufficiently fundamental to enable translation to a wide variety of client formats.
Receiving (330) a feature update may include receiving notification of an update to a feature by the CAx application 245. Receiving (330) a feature update may also include receiving an update message from the CAx server 210 that references the feature.
In response to receiving (330) a feature update, the method continues by updating (340) the feature within the set of memory locations within the storage medium accessible by the synchronization module 250. Both the proprietary (i.e., client) representation used by the CAx application 245 and the collaborative server representation used by the collaborative server 210 may be updated with the storage medium accessible by the synchronization module 250. Updating both representations enables synchronization of the CAx server 210 and the CAx application 245.
Initiating (350) corresponding updates, may include updating the party that was not the source of the feature update. For example, if the update was received from the CAx server 210, the corresponding update to the CAx application 245 may be initiated. In one embodiment, the feature is updated on the CAx application 245 via an API provided by the CAx application 245. The API may be leveraged by the synchronization module 250 to find the feature using a feature identifier and then update the feature. Conversely, if the feature update was received from the CAx application 245, the corresponding update to the CAx server 210 may be initiated by sending a feature update request to the CAx server. The CAx server 210 may update and save the feature for subsequent use.
Conducting (360) corresponding updates on other clients may include the CAx server 210 sending update messages to other clients that are editing the model of the engineering object. The other clients may have CAx applications 245 with various client formats including proprietary formats.
As used herein, the phrase “feature identifier” generally refers to a data item that relates a proprietary feature in a proprietary object file to a feature definition in a collaborative database. In one embodiment, the feature identifier is the index of the feature definition record in the collaborative database.
In one embodiment, the feature identifier is stored in a parameter for the feature within the proprietary representation of the engineering object. By storing the feature identifier within the proprietary representation of the engineering object, the relationship between the proprietary feature and the corresponding feature definition within the CAx server 210 is persistent between editing sessions on the CAx client. The feature identifier may be a globally unique identifier. In some embodiments, the feature identifier is represented in a text format to facilitate storage and retrieval within various CAx applications.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of one example of a collaborative CAx editing system 400 that is consistent with one or more embodiments of the claimed invention. In addition to the internetwork 130 of the computing and communications infrastructure 100 of FIG. 1 and modules of the collaborative CAx editing system 200 of FIG. 2, collaborative CAx editing system 400 includes a second CAx client. Corresponding modules of the two CAx clients 240 are appended with reference letters ‘a’ and ‘b.’
In one embodiment, the client representation(s) and the collaborative server representations may be cached by the collaborative CAx server. For example, as part of collaborative CAx editing system 400 in FIG. 4, CAx server 210 may cache the proprietary representation of the engineering object in proprietary object cache 410. Regenerating a proprietary representation of an engineering object from the CAx server may be a relatively computationally-intensive and time-consuming process. Caching the client representation(s) of the engineering object on the CAx server with the collaborative server representation may accelerate the loading of the engineering object on a CAx client on which the proprietary representation is usable by the CAx client and has not yet been loaded into memory (such as following a system crash of the CAx client, or when a new CAx client is added to the collaborative editing system).
In one embodiment, a client representation of the engineering object may be provided to another (a second) CAx client. When the second CAx client adds or changes a feature in the client representation, an instance of the synchronization module corresponding to the second client may communicate the feature identifier and a corresponding feature definition to the CAx server. The synchronization module (associated with the first CAx client) may then receive a feature identifier and the feature definition corresponding to the feature created on the second CAx client and create a corresponding local feature. For example, as part of collaborative CAx editing system 400, synchronization module 250b on CAx client 240b may create feature definition 220 in collaborative database 215 on CAx server 210. CAx server 210 may notify synchronization module 250a on CAx client 240a of the new feature in the collaborative database 215. Synchronization module 250a may then create synchronized feature 440 based on a corresponding identifier 445 in proprietary object file 255a on CAx client 240a as a proprietary feature 420 with a corresponding identifier 425, corresponding to feature 440 in proprietary object file 255b on CAx client 240b. 
In some embodiments, the CAx synchronization module may initiate insertion of a placeholder feature and corresponding feature reference within the collaborative server representation of the engineering object for features not directly supported by the collaborative server representation of the engineering object. For example, as depicted in collaborative editing system 400 in FIG. 4, proprietary feature 420 may be created in proprietary object file 255a on CAx client 240a. Synchronization module 250a may initiate creation of placeholder feature 430 and associated placeholder reference 435 in collaborative database 215 on CAx server 210. Features represented by a placeholder may not be editable by another CAx application, but the placeholder reference 435 maintains an association between the database record for placeholder feature 430 and the proprietary representation of the data in the proprietary object file 255a. Placeholder features may be referenced by other features. For example, a sheet body that could not be created or edited in collaborative database 215 may be represented by a placeholder feature and referenced by a split body feature.
As explained above, the collaborative CAx system may associate features in a proprietary (i.e., client) representation of an engineering object with corresponding feature definitions in a collaborative server representation of the engineering object. A synchronization module, which may be a plug-in to a CAx application executing on a CAx client, may synchronize features between the proprietary and collaborative server representations of the engineering object. For example, as new features are created and edited on one CAx client and synchronized to a vendor-neutral database, synchronization modules on other CAx clients may synchronize the features from the vendor-neutral database to local copies of the model of the engineering object. The local copies of the model may be encoded in the same proprietary format or a different proprietary format.
The collaborative CAx editing system may maintain identifiers (such as identifiers 265, 425, and 445) and references associating the proprietary and collaborative server representations of features of the engineering object in non-transitory storage, to prevent the loss of data in the event of system failure of either a CAx client or the CAx server. The feature identifiers (such as identifiers 265, 425, and 445) help maintain data consistency within the various instances of the model of the engineering object. In some embodiments, additional or other data consistency techniques such as geometry identifiers or geometry identification may be applied such as those disclosed in commonly assigned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/185,823 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR MULTI-USER CAX EDITING DATA CONSISTENCY” and filed on 20 Feb. 2014, which application is incorporated herein by reference.
The various elements of the collaborative CAx system, method, and apparatus function cooperatively to facilitate productive collaborative CAx editing. The preceding depiction of the collaborative CAx system and other inventive elements described herein are intended to be illustrative rather than definitive. Similarly, the claimed invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

## Claims

1. A system comprising:
a collaborative data store configured to store a model of an engineering object, wherein the model comprises a plurality of features, and wherein the model is encoded in a collaborative server format;
a collaborative server configured to manage the collaborative data store;
a first computer aided technology (CAx) client comprising at least one processor and configured to execute a first CAx application and enable the first user to edit the model of the engineering object encoded in a first client format that is different than the collaborative server format;
wherein a synchronization module associated with the first CAx client or the collaborative server is configured to store within a set of memory locations within a storage medium, data for a feature of the engineering object in the first client format proprietary to the first CAx client and the collaborative server format having a neutral parametric canonical format that is not proprietary to the first CAx client, wherein the first client format and the collaborative server format are both maintained and stored in the storage medium in an updated state; and
the synchronization module further configured to update the data for the feature in both the first client format and the collaborative server format in response to receiving an update to the feature from, or detecting an update to the feature by, the first CAx application or the collaborative server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module is further configured to associate a globally unique identifier with the feature.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module is further configured to initiate an update to the feature on the collaborative server in response to receiving an update to the feature from, or detecting an update to the feature by, the first CAx application.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein initiating the update comprises identifying the feature with a globally unique identifier.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module is further configured to initiate an update to the feature within the first CAx application in response to receiving an update to the feature from, or detecting an update to the feature by, the collaborative server.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the feature is a geometric element or a geometric operation.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of memory locations are memory locations allocated to a software object managed by the synchronization module.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the software object comprises an interface for communicating with the collaborative server.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the software object comprises an interface for communicating with the first CAx application.

10. A method, executed by at least one processor, the method comprising:
storing, within a set of memory locations within a storage medium, data for a feature of an engineering object in a first client format proprietary to a first client and a collaborative server format that is different than the first client format and comprises a neutral parametric canonical format that is not proprietary to the first CAx client, the first client format corresponding to a first computer aided technology (CAx) application operable by a first user, the collaborative server format corresponding to a collaborative server; and
updating the data for the feature in both the first client format and the collaborative server format in response to receiving an update to the feature from, or detecting an update to the feature by, the first CAx application or the collaborative server, wherein the first client format and the collaborative server format are both maintained and stored in the storage medium in an updated state.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising associating a globally unique identifier with the feature.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising initiating an update to the feature on the collaborative server in response to receiving an update to the feature from, or detecting an update to the feature by, the first CAx application.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein initiating the update comprises identifying the feature with a globally unique identifier.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising initiating an update to the feature in the first CAx application in response to receiving an update to the feature from, or detecting an update to the feature by, the collaborative server.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the feature is a geometric element or a geometric operation.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the set of memory locations are memory locations allocated to a software object.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the software object comprises an interface for communicating with the collaborative server.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the software object comprises an interface for communicating with the first CAx application.

19. A computer-readable medium having one or more computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to:
store, within a set of memory locations within a storage medium, data for a feature of an engineering object in a first client format proprietary to a first client and a collaborative server format that is different than the first client format and comprises a neutral parametric canonical format that is not proprietary to the first CAx client, the first client format corresponding to a first computer aided technology (CAx) application operable by a first user, the collaborative server format corresponding to a collaborative server; and
update the data for the feature in both the first client format and the collaborative server format in response to receiving an update to the feature from, or detecting an update to the feature by, the first CAx application or the collaborative server, wherein the first client format and the collaborative server format are both maintained and stored in the storage medium in an updated state.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the set of memory locations are memory locations allocated to a software object.