Patent ID: 7636096

Claim:
A method for attaching balloons to anchor points. comprising: performing the following operations using a computing device: receiving a set of balloons arranged along a substantially straight line: receiving a set of anchors points positioned on either or both sides of the substantially straight line: iterating through the balloons in the set of balloons, selecting an outermost balloon for a first iteration and progressively selecting a next adjacent balloon for each successive iteration until all balloons in the set of balloons have been iterated through. and for each balloon: iterating through the anchor points that are not already attached to a balloon by a leader, and for each such anchor point calculating a value of an angle formed by an intersection of a line extending between the balloon and the anchor point and the substantially straight line: comparing the calculated values for each such anchor point: and attaching the balloon to an anchor point using a leader based on the comparison of the calculated values: wherein upon completion of one iteration through the balloons no two leaders intersect, and wherein: calculating the value of an angle comprises calculating a non-reflex angle formed between a segment connecting the balloon to the anchor point and a ray that originates at the balloon and extends along the straight line in a direction away from a second outermost balloon situated on the substantially straight line; comparing the calculated values for each such anchor point comprises determining the smallest non-reflex angle; and attaching the balloon to an anchor point based on the comparison of the calculated values comprises attaching the balloon to an anchor point corresponding to the smallest non-reflex angle.