Patent Document ID: 8305376
Application ID: 11734688
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A computer-readable data storage medium tangibly embodying instructions for updating a three-dimensional model by causing a computer to: generate a three-dimensional model comprised of a plurality of components, wherein the plurality of components includes features of a feature-based model, said features comprising topological entities with supporting geometric entities; modify one of the plurality of components in the three-dimensional model during an interactive modeling design session at an end-user computer; determine which other ones of the plurality of components have a possible changing effect on the three-dimensional model as a result of said modifying the one of the plurality of components, wherein determining is by analyzing relationships existing among and between the modified one of the plurality of components and other ones of the plurality of components, and said analyzing resulting in identifying said other ones of the plurality of components having relationships with the modified one of the plurality of components; during the interactive modeling design session at the end-user computer, construct a modified version of the three-dimensional model by regenerating the geometric entities of the features of the modified one of the plurality of components and of the determined other ones of the plurality of components having the possible changing effect on the three-dimensional model and identified as having relationships with the modified one of the plurality of components while not regenerating the geometric entities of features of remaining ones of the plurality of components not having the possible changing effect on the three-dimensional model and not identified as having relationships with the modified one of the plurality of components, wherein said constructing the modified version achieves a same result as revising the three-dimensional model by regenerating each of the plurality of components.