Patent ID: 8717350

Claim:
An information processing apparatus that displays a shape of an object on a display device by using numerical values on a coordinate axis, the apparatus comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor executes a process comprising: calculating for each component constituting the object, a rectangular parallelepiped by using numerical values indicative of a shape of the component, each calculated rectangular parallelpiped being a minimum rectangular parallelpiped including corresponding component entirely, respectively; replacing each component constituting the object with each rectangular parallelepiped calculated and calculating numerical values indicative of an outer shape of an object formed by collecting every replaced rectangular parallelpiped into one; determining for each component whether the component makes contact with the outer shape based on the numerical values indicative of the outer shape and the numerical values indicative of the shape of the component, by determining whether a normal vector of the outer shape and a normal vector of a side of the component match each other and whether the outer shape and the side of the component interfere with each other; and displaying on the display device an object composed of only components determined as making contact by the determining unit, wherein the determining includes determining for each component whether the component makes contact with the outer shape based on the numerical values indicative of the outer shape and the numerical values indicative of the shape of the component, by: selecting a side of the component, determining whether a normal vector of the outer shape and a normal vector of the selected side of the component match each other and whether the outer shape and the selected side of the component interfere with each other, wherein when it is determined that the normal vectors match each other and the outer shape and the selected side of the component interfere with each other, determining that the component makes contact, when it is determined that the normal vectors do not match each other or the outer shape and the selected side of the component do not interfere with each other, determining whether all sides of the component are selected, when it is determined that all sides of the component are selected, determining that the component does not make contact, and when it is determined that all sides of the component are not selected, selecting one of the other sides which is not selected.