Patent Document ID: 4791583
Application ID: 07045653
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for generating a set of blended surfaces for a computer representation of a solid model having a set of curvilinear surfaces, comprising the steps of: offsetting the curved surfaces of the solid model; generating an octree representation of the solid model; generating a complementary octree representation of the volume outside the solid model; assigning blend radius values to each individual cell of the octree; defining a plurality of rays substantially normal to and intersecting the solid model surface; repetitively solving a convolution integral in an iterative manner at a plurality of locations along each ray, wherein the convolution integral includes a gaussian sphere blending factor with a size responsive to the blend radius assigned to the octree cell; storing the location on each ray at which the solution of the convolution integral is equal to a preselected value, said stored locations defining the set of blended surfaces of the solid model.