Patent Document ID: 9245064
Application ID: 13510912
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. In a computerized environment including a computer system and a design software application, a computer program storage device having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, that, when executed, cause one or more processors in the computer system to perform a method for separately capturing and rendering a design to thereby provide secure, remote three-dimensional viewing access of a design while prohibiting end-user editing thereof, the method comprising: identifying one or more geometric computer model files corresponding to a three-dimensional computer model created by a design software application and stored within a database associated with the design software application; receiving one or more user requests through a user interface to capture and distribute the three-dimensional computer model over a network; identifying minimum geometry data and graphical aspect data of the three-dimensional computer model in the one or more geometric computer model files; extracting those portions of geometry data and graphical aspect data relevant to outer or otherwise viewable surfaces of the three-dimensional computer model from the one or more files corresponding to the three-dimensional computer model to create one or more separate files that represent less than all of the content of the identified one or more files, wherein extracting the identified geometry data and graphical aspect data comprises: identifying components and surfaces of the three-dimensional computer model that are not be viewable when rendered in the three-dimensional model including recognizing geometry data associated with at least one interior component, and excluding data associated with the at least one interior component and other identified components and surfaces from the identified geometry data and graphical aspect data, such that data for components and surfaces that would not be viewable when rendered in the three-dimensional model is not stored in the one or more separate files; storing the created one or more separate files in a read-only format separately from the design software application; receiving one or more request for the one or more geometric computer model files from a second remote client computer system; sending the one or more geometric computer model files and one or more temporary viewer application files from the wed server to a second remote client computer system, based on the created read-only one or more separated files of excluded data; wherein: the one or more temporary viewer application files are configured to launch a temporary viewer application on the second remote client computer system; and the temporary viewer application is configured to display the geometry data and graphical aspect data of the one or more geometric computer model files, without receiving or incorporating at the web server or the first remote client computer system any changes to the sent one or more geometric computer model files or the three-dimensional computer model from a user of the temporary viewer application; and providing a three-dimensional view of the geometry and graphical aspects of the three-dimensional computer model at the second remote client computer's display device through a capture and render software application unassociated with the design software application, such that the user is able to navigate each provided view at the second remote client computer system location without applying any changes to the provided view or the three-dimensional computer model, and wherein the capture and render software application is configured to delete the created one or more separate files from the second remote client display device upon the closing of the capture and render software application, and such that the software application unassociated with the design software application automatically installs and removes the one or more temporary viewer application within the second remote client computer system.