Abstract:
A method for editing a position of a selected design element in a constraint network. The method includes receiving a selection of a design element in a geometric model from a user. The method also includes searching a database for a positioning group related to the selected design element. The method then includes displaying the positioning group related to the selected design element to the user. The method further includes receiving an updated positioning group from the user. The method finally includes storing the updated positioning group to the database.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application shares some subject matter with commonly-assigned, concurrently filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ for “Intelligent Constraint Selection for Positioning Tasks” (Attorney Docket 2014P09179US), which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
       TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure is directed, in general, to computer-aided design (“CAD”), visualization, and manufacturing systems, product lifecycle management (“PLM”) systems, and similar systems, that manage data for products and other items (collectively, “Product Data Management” systems or PDM systems). 
       BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0003]    PDM systems manage PLM and other data. Improved systems are desirable. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0004]    Various disclosed embodiments include methods for editing a position of a selected design element in a constraint network. The method includes receiving a selection of a design element in a geometric model from a user. The method also includes searching a database for a positioning group related to the selected design element. The method then includes displaying the positioning group related to the selected design element to the user. The method further includes receiving an updated positioning group from the user. The method finally includes storing the updated positioning group to the database. 
         [0005]    The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description that follows. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that they may readily use the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosure in its broadest form. 
         [0006]    Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words or phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, whether such a device is implemented in hardware, firmware, software or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, and those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that such definitions apply in many, if not most, instances to prior as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases. While some terms may include a wide variety of embodiments, the appended claims may expressly limit these terms to specific embodiments. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers designate like objects, and in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  depicts a block diagram of a data processing system in which an embodiment can be implemented; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  illustrates a relationship between two design elements in accordance with the present disclosure; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  illustrates position groups in a constraint network in accordance with the present disclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  illustrates a method for dividing a constraint network in accordance with the present disclosure; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates a method for editing a constraint network in accordance with the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]      FIGS. 1 through 5 , discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged device. The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with reference to exemplary non-limiting embodiments. 
         [0014]    Millions of parts could be constrained in a single constraint network in a product, increasing the amount of memory required to load the model and restricting suitable hardware. To increase work productivity and efficiency, the system automatically breaks up the constraint network into smaller pieces without interaction from the user. The smaller pieces allow users to only download the design element or elements that the user is currently editing which requires less memory. Having the user only download the positioning constraints needed for specific design elements also allows multiple users to edit a single assembly or subassembly without locking each other out or overwriting each other&#39;s work. 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  depicts a block diagram of a data processing system in which an embodiment can be implemented, for example, as a PDM system particularly configured by software or otherwise to perform the processes as described herein, and in particular as each one of a plurality of interconnected and communicating systems as described herein. The data processing system depicted includes a processor  102  connected to a level two cache/bridge  104 , which is connected in turn to a local system bus  106 . Local system bus  106  may be, for example, a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) architecture bus. Also connected to local system bus in the depicted example are a main memory  108  and a graphics adapter  110 . The graphics adapter  110  may be connected to display  111 . 
         [0016]    Other peripherals, such as local area network (LAN)/Wide Area Network/Wireless (e.g. WiFi) adapter  112 , may also be connected to local system bus  106 . Expansion bus interface  114  connects local system bus  106  to input/output (I/O) bus  116 . I/O bus  116  is connected to keyboard/mouse adapter  118 , disk controller  120 , and I/O adapter  122 . Disk controller  120  can be connected to a storage  126 , which can be any suitable machine usable or machine readable storage medium, including but not limited to nonvolatile, hard-coded type mediums such as read only memories (ROMs) or erasable, electrically programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic tape storage, and user-recordable type mediums such as floppy disks, hard disk drives and compact disk read only memories (CD-ROMs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs), and other known optical, electrical, or magnetic storage devices. The storage  126  stores the database  150  and the geometric model  152 , and so on, which are described below. 
         [0017]    Also connected to I/O bus  116  in the example shown is audio adapter  124 , to which speakers (not shown) may be connected for playing sounds. Keyboard/mouse adapter  118  provides a connection for a pointing device (not shown), such as a mouse, trackball, trackpointer, touchscreen, etc. 
         [0018]    Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware depicted in  FIG. 1  may vary for particular implementations. For example, other peripheral devices, such as an optical disk drive and the like, also may be used in addition or in place of the hardware depicted. The depicted example is provided for the purpose of explanation only and is not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the present disclosure. 
         [0019]    A data processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an operating system employing a graphical user interface. The operating system permits multiple display windows to be presented in the graphical user interface simultaneously, with each display window providing an interface to a different application or to a different instance of the same application. A cursor in the graphical user interface may be manipulated by a user through the pointing device. The position of the cursor may be changed and/or an event, such as clicking a mouse button, generated to actuate a desired response. 
         [0020]    One of various commercial operating systems, such as a version of Microsoft Windows™, a product of Microsoft Corporation located in Redmond, Wash. may be employed if suitably modified. The operating system is modified or created in accordance with the present disclosure as described. 
         [0021]    LAN/WAN/Wireless adapter  112  can be connected to a network  130  (not a part of data processing system  100 ), which can be any public or private data processing system network or combination of networks, as known to those of skill in the art, including the Internet. Data processing system  100  can communicate over network  130  with server system  140 , which is also not part of data processing system  100 , but can be implemented, for example, as a separate data processing system  100 . 
         [0022]    Disclosed embodiments provide systems and methods that manage constraints between design elements in a PDM system. In particular, disclosed techniques can apply rules to manage interactions between rigid constraints and other constraints. 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  illustrates a relationship between two design elements in accordance with the present disclosure. Sets of positioning constraints  230  are relationships between two design elements  200 . The design elements, which can be implemented as or function the same as occurrences in an assembly structure, can also be any type of object including parts, subassemblies, assemblies, and sketches. The positioning constraints can be any functional relationship between two design elements including mating geometries, aligning geometries, parallel geometries, perpendicular geometries, coincident geometries, concentric geometries, tangent geometries, distance between geometries, angle between geometries, or any other positioning constraint. The sets of positioning constraints  230  shows only one line in the figures, but may represent one constraint or multiple constraints between the two design elements which the line connects. 
         [0024]    In  FIG. 2 , the set of positioning constraint  230  represents a relationship between design element A  210  and design element B  220 . The relationship is bidirectional. From the viewpoint of design element A  210 , the set of positioning constraint  230  could indicate that the right side of design element A  210  touches the left side of design element B  220 . Alternatively from the viewpoint of design element B  220 , the set of positioning constraint  230  could indicate that the left side of design element B  200  touches the right side of design element A  210 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 3  illustrates position groups in a constraint network in accordance with the present disclosure. A constraint network contains a plurality of positioning constraints concerning a plurality of design elements. The depicted constraint network  300  contains seven design elements (design element C  330 , design element D  340 , design element E  350 , design element F  360 , design element G  370 , design element H  380 , and design element J  390 ) and eight sets of positioning constraints  230  (positioning constraints  305 , positioning constraints  315 , positioning constraints  325 , and positioning constraints  335 , positioning constraints  345 , positioning constraints  355 , positioning constraints  365 , and positioning constraints  375 ), but a constraint network may contain any number of design elements and sets of positioning constraints  230 . While the highest amount of positioning constraints on a design element shown in  FIG. 3  is three sets of constraints, a design element may contain any amount of set of positioning constraints  230 . Every design element contains at least one set of positioning constraints  230 . 
         [0026]    A positioning group, also referred to herein as a geometric constraint collection, is composed of a group of design elements, also known as foreground design elements, and the sets of positioning constraints  230  that define the positions of the design elements in the positioning group. The positioning group also contains references to the design elements, also known as background design elements, that are outside the positioning group but are needed for the sets of positioning constraints  230  contained within the positioning group. In one embodiment, a design element or a constraint is in the foreground of only one positioning group. In another embodiment, design elements and positioning constraints may be contained in multiple positioning groups. In certain embodiments, some design elements may not be included in any positioning group. 
         [0027]    Suitable methods of dividing the constraint network into positioning groups include dividing by minimal number of positioning groups, by smallest positioning groups, ownership of the positioning groups, or by dependencies of the design element. 
         [0028]      FIG. 3  illustrates an example of two positioning groups, positioning group  310  and positioning group  320 , from constraint network  300 . The positioning group  310  is created for the positioning of design element C  330 , design element D  340 , and design element E  350 . The positioning constraints  305 , positioning constraints  315 , positioning constraints  325 , positioning constraints  335 , and positioning constraints  375  are all used to position the design elements contained in positioning group  310  and are also included in positioning group  310 . When positioning group  310  is selected, the positioning constraints references to the background design elements including design element F  360  and design element E  390  and these design elements are included as background design elements in positioning group  310 . 
         [0029]    The positioning group  320  is created for the positioning of design element F  360 , design element G  370 , and design element H  380 . The positioning constraints  335 , positioning constraints  345 , positioning constraints  355 , and positioning constraints  365  are all used to position the design elements contained in positioning group  310  and are also included in positioning group  310 . When positioning group  320  is selected, the positioning constraints references design element D  340  and is included as a background design element in positioning group  320 . 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  illustrates a method for dividing a constraint network  400 . 
         [0031]    In step  410 , the system receives a constraint network a number of design elements and the constraints between the design elements are created or added into a constraint network from a user. 
         [0032]    In step  420 , the constraint network is saved by the system. Once the user saves the constraint network, the process to divide the constraint network into positioning groups starts. 
         [0033]    In another embodiment, the constraint network is loaded to the system for the purpose of dividing the constraint network into positioning groups. 
         [0034]    In step  430 , the constraint network is automatically divided into positioning groups relating to a plurality of design elements by the system. Constraint networks are divided into different positioning groups to more efficiently access and edit individual design elements of the constraint network. The positioning groups allow the constraint network to be accessed by multiple users when the design elements are not being accessed or referenced by another user. The automatically defined positioning group will typically contain references to the constraints of a single design element and will be invisible to the user. 
         [0035]    In an alternative embodiment, the user can define sets of design elements. The constraints between these design elements are all in a single positioning group, which is referred to as a user defined group. These groups and their design elements behave like sub constraint networks. 
         [0036]    In step  440 , the positioning groups based on the plurality of design elements are stored to a database  150 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  illustrates a method for editing a constraint network  500 . 
         [0038]    In step  510 , the system loads a geometric model  152 . The user then selects a design element and the system receives the user selection of the design element. 
         [0039]    In certain embodiments, the system determines if the user has write access to the selected design element or other design element in the positioning group. If the user does not have write access to a design element in the positioning group, the system can lock the constraints for that single design element or lock the user from changing any constraints in the positioning group. 
         [0040]    In one embodiment, the system then searches the database ( 150 ) for positioning groups that reference the selected design element. The positioning groups may also reference design elements other than the selected design element. The data management system provides mechanisms to navigate the constraint network in a configured way in either a precise or imprecise fashion. Navigation in a precise fashion means that the specific revisions of occurrences referenced by the as-saved state will be returned. Navigation in an imprecise fashion means that the application or user supplied configuration criteria will be applied to all sibling revisions of the occurrences referenced by the as-saved state. The revisions which configures will be returned. Foreground occurrences get an additional level of filtering applied to eliminate sibling revisions which do not reference any as-saved state of the positioning group, meaning their positions are not impacted by (and therefore not members of) the positioning group. The data management system supports traversal of positioning groups as part of its occurrence search process. 
         [0041]    In certain embodiments, the system attempts to determine the best possible as-saved state to use when loading constraints into CAD. The best possible as-saved is determined by finding the latest as-saved state of the positioning group which last impacted one of the configured members of the group. To find the configured members of a geometric constraint collection, the data management system must first search across all foreground members referenced by each as-saved state of the geometric constraint collection. The system then finds the sibling revisions of each possible member which configures. The system will automatically eliminate sibling revisions which are not impacted by the geometric constraint collection. The occurrence revisions are considered non-impacted when they have no reference to any as-saved state of the geometric constraint collection. Next, the system selects the latest as-saved state of the geometric constraint collection referenced by any of the configured occurrences of the sibling revisions found. 
         [0042]    In step  520 , the system determines if the selected design element is currently selected or referenced by another user. To determine if the selected design element is currently selected the system checks the database ( 150 ) to see if the selected design element is currently marked as selected or referenced in the positioning group selected by another user. 
         [0043]    In another embodiment, when the positioning group contains other design elements than only the selected design element, the system also determines if the other design elements are marked as selected or referenced in the positioning group selected by another user. 
         [0044]    In step  530 , if the system determines that the selected design element or other design elements are not currently marked selected or referenced by another user, the system allows the user to load the positioning group and displays the positioning group related to the selected design element to the user. The system loads just enough information to edit the selected design element, not requiring a download of a full constraint network. 
         [0045]    In step  540 , the system marks the selected design element, the other design elements, and the design elements being referenced in the positioning group as selected by the user in the database ( 150 ). 
         [0046]    In step  550 , the user edits the positioning constraints and saves the updated positioning group to the database ( 150 ). The system receives the updated positioning group from the user and stores the update positioning group to the database ( 150 ). 
         [0047]    In step  560 , the system unmarks the selected design element, the other design elements, and the design elements being referenced in the positioning group in the database ( 150 ). 
         [0048]    Of course, those of skill in the art will recognize that, unless specifically indicated or required by the sequence of operations, certain steps in the processes described above may be omitted, performed concurrently or sequentially, or performed in a different order. 
         [0049]    Those skilled in the art will recognize that, for simplicity and clarity, the full structure and operation of all data processing systems suitable for use with the present disclosure is not being depicted or described herein. Instead, only so much of a data processing system as is unique to the present disclosure or necessary for an understanding of the present disclosure is depicted and described. The remainder of the construction and operation of data processing system  100  may conform to any of the various current implementations and practices known in the art. 
         [0050]    It is important to note that while the disclosure includes a description in the context of a fully functional system, those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least portions of the mechanism of the present disclosure are capable of being distributed in the form of instructions contained within a machine-usable, computer-usable, or computer-readable medium in any of a variety of forms, and that the present disclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of instruction or signal bearing medium or storage medium utilized to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of machine usable/readable or computer usable/readable mediums include: nonvolatile, hard-coded type mediums such as read only memories (ROMs) or erasable, electrically programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), and user-recordable type mediums such as floppy disks, hard disk drives and compact disk read only memories (CD-ROMs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs). 
         [0051]    Although an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, substitutions, variations, and improvements disclosed herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure in its broadest form. 
         [0052]    None of the description in the present application should be read as implying that any particular element, step, or function is an essential element which must be included in the claim scope: the scope of patented subject matter is defined only by the allowed claims. Moreover, none of these claims are intended to invoke paragraph six of 35 USC §112 unless the exact words “means for” are followed by a participle.