Designing multi-domain physical system

Abstract

The invention provides a method executed by a computer system and used for designing a multi-domain physical system. The method comprises the steps of: displaying (S10) a block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system, the block diagram representation comprising frames each corresponding to a respective subsystem of the multi-domain physical system and links between the frames, the links corresponding to multi-domain physical connections between the respective subsystems; and displaying (S30) a preview characterized by the block diagram of the at least one respective subsystem when the zoom command is sent by the user, the display of the preview being controlled by the detection of the zoom command by the computer system. Such a method improves the design of a 3D modeled object.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application "Design of Multi-Domain Physical Systems" with application date of December 22, 2015 and application number 201510971359.8. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of industrial design, and in particular to a method, a program and a computer system for designing a multi-domain physical system. Background Art

[0003] A variety of computer systems and programs are available on the market for the design, engineering and manufacturing of objects. CAD is an abbreviation for "Computer Aided Design", for example, and it relates to software solutions for designing objects. CAE is an abbreviation for "Computer Aided Engineering", for example, and it relates to software solutions for simulating the physical behavior of future products. CAM is an abbreviation for "Computer Aided Manufacturing", for example, and it relates to software solutions for specifying manufacturing processes and operations. In such computer-aided design computer systems, graphical user interfaces play an important role in the efficiency of the technology. These technologies can be embedded in product lifecycle management (PLM) computer systems. PLM refers to a business strategy centered around the concept of an "extended enterprise" that helps companies share product data, apply common processes, and enhance corporate knowledge for the development of products from concept to the end of the product's life.

[0004] The PLM solution provided by DASSAULT SYSTEMES (trademarks CATIA, ENOVIA and DELMIA) provides: an engineering hub that organizes product engineering knowledge; a manufacturing hub that manages manufacturing engineering knowledge; and an enterprise hub that enables the integration and connection of enterprises into both the engineering hub and the manufacturing hub. In summary, the solution provides an open object model that links products, processes, and resources to achieve dynamic, knowledge-based product innovation and decision support, which drives the optimization of product definition, manufacturing preparation, production, and service.

[0005] Many computer systems allow block diagrams to be used for modeling and displaying multi-domain physical systems, which are now very popular. Block diagrams provide a schematic and easy-to-understand representation of the subdivision of a multi-domain physical global system into its subsystems and the multi-domain physical connections between the subsystems. Known solutions include various tools that enable navigation in complex multi-level block diagrams (e.g. SysML-based tools such as IBM Rhapsody, Atego Studio, and Sparx Enterprise Architect or Mathworks Simulink, all registered trademarks), which in particular propose a simple double-click to browse lower levels and the user's intention to switch back to a higher level.

[0006] In this context, there remains a need for improved solutions for designing multi-domain physical systems. Of note, improving the ergonomics of existing block diagram design solutions is of particular interest. Summary of the invention

[0007] Therefore, a method for designing a multi-domain physical system performed by a computer system is provided. The method includes the steps of displaying a block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system. The block diagram representation includes blocks each corresponding to a corresponding subsystem of the multi-domain physical system, and links between blocks corresponding to multi-domain physical connections between the corresponding subsystems. The method also includes the steps of displaying a preview of the block diagram representation of at least one corresponding subsystem when a zoom command is sent by a user. Display of the preview is controlled by detection of the zoom command by the computer system.

[0008] The method may include one or more of the following:

[0009] - display a preview inside the box representing the corresponding subsystem;

[0010] - sending a zoom command using a pointing device, the zoom focus position being specified by the position pointed to by the pointing device, and the display of the preview being controlled by the computer system detecting a correspondence between the zoom focus position and the interior of a box representing the corresponding subsystem;

[0011] - Repeating a predetermined action with a pointing device so that the intensity of the zoom is continuously increased, and the preview is progressively displayed as the intensity of the zoom is increased;

[0012] - the method further comprises: the step of displaying a block diagram representation of the subsystem, and the step of stopping the display of the block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system when the intensity of the zoom reaches a corresponding predetermined threshold value detected by the computer system;

[0013] - displaying the block diagram representation includes loading corresponding graphical data in a graphics processing unit of the computer system, and ceasing to display the block diagram representation includes unloading corresponding graphical data from the graphics processing unit;

[0014] - The transparency of the block diagram representation of multi-domain physical systems increases as the intensity of the zoom increases;

[0015] - when the intensity of the zoom reaches a threshold corresponding to stopping the display of the block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system, re-centering the display to the block diagram representation of the corresponding subsystem;

[0016] - the method further comprising editing the corresponding subsystem while displaying the block diagram representation of the corresponding subsystem;

[0017] - the transparency of the preview gradually decreases as the zoom strength increases; and / or

[0018] - The display of the preview is also controlled by the computer system detecting that the intensity of the zoom reaches a corresponding threshold.

[0019] A computer program is also provided, comprising instructions for performing the method.

[0020] There is also provided a computer-readable storage medium on which the computer program has been recorded.

[0021] A computer system is also provided, comprising: a memory on which the computer program has been recorded; a graphical user interface; a pointing device; and a processor coupled to the memory, the graphical user interface, and the pointing device, and configured to execute the method.

[0022] An industrial product is also provided, corresponding to the multi-domain physical system designed by the method.

[0023] A method for manufacturing an industrial product is also provided, comprising the steps of designing a multi-domain physical system corresponding to the industrial product according to the above-mentioned design method, and then manufacturing the industrial product based on the designed multi-domain physical system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of non-limiting examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0025] Figure 1 A flow chart showing an example of the method is shown.

[0026] Figure 2 An example of a graphical user interface for the computer system is shown.

[0027] Figure 3 An example of the computer system is shown; and

[0028] Figures 4 to 7 The method is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Figure 1 A flow chart showing an example of a method for designing a multi-domain physical system (via a computerized modeling object representing the multi-domain physical system). The data forming the modeling object includes: a hierarchical (e.g., tree) representation of the modeling object, a root node (i.e., first layer / level) representing the multi-domain physical system, and other nodes (i.e., lower layers / levels) representing corresponding subsystems (it should be understood that each sub-layer can be considered its own starting layer); and data associated with a block diagram representation of (e.g., all) nodes / layers. As shown in Figure 1 As indicated above, the method includes a step S10 of displaying a block diagram representation of a multi-domain physical system (thus, a block diagram representation of a root node). The method also includes a step S30 of displaying a preview of a block diagram representation of at least one corresponding subsystem of the multi-domain physical system (thus, a subnode of the root node) when a zoom (zoom-in) command is sent by a user (the user requests to zoom in on the block diagram displayed at S10). The display of the preview is controlled by detecting the zoom (zoom-in) command by the computer system. Such a method improves the design of the multi-domain physical system.

[0030] It is noteworthy that the method first provides all the known advantages about the use of block diagram representations, especially for the design and display of multi-domain physical systems: flexibility, simplicity, convenience, ergonomic improvement, easy-to-understand representation, particularly good adaptability to the designed object. As mentioned above, block diagram representations have been popular for many years, and experts in block diagram design have emerged, and now experts in block diagram design are frequently involved in industrial processes. Therefore, software solutions dedicated to this particular kind of design are used and developed, and the method exists in this particular software technology. Thus, the method provides users of such software with a very attractive functional feature, namely, the display of a preview of the block diagram representation of at least one corresponding subsystem at S30. The information conveyed by the preview is very useful for the user, who can immediately understand the subsystems in the multi-domain physical system (thanks to the preview visualization displayed at S30) directly from the context of the global system (i.e., the multi-domain physical system displayed at S10), where the display S10 and the display S30 are (at least at some moments) performed simultaneously. Such information is conveyed to the user at a relatively low cost (preview relative to the full view). In addition, the user obtains such information via a particularly simple, intuitive and ergonomic user-machine interaction. In fact, the method establishes a connection between a zoom command sent by a user to a computer system and the display of a preview at S30, wherein the display S30 is controlled by the detection of the zoom command by the computer system. The specific use of the zoom command to trigger the display S30 of the preview is particularly suitable (well-adapted). In fact, for all designers who design based on a graphical representation of their own design (in the current case, a block diagram representation of a multi-domain physical system is displayed), when they want to see more visual details in the content being displayed, the zoom command is used. The inventor has used this feature of user-machine interaction in the context of graphic design to associate additional functions with the same zoom command, and the additional functions are not arbitrary functions, but a function that tests have shown to be particularly suitable (i.e., the display of the preview).

[0031] The method is computer-implemented. In fact, the steps of the method are performed by a computer system, and the computer system includes at least one computer or any similar hardware. Therefore, the steps of the method can be performed fully automatically or semi-automatically. In the example, the triggering of at least part of the steps of the method can be performed by user-computer interaction. The degree required for user-computer interaction can depend on the degree of automatism foreseen and is balanced with the need to realize the user's wishes. In the example, the degree can be user-defined and / or predefined. In any case, the display at S30 involves user-computer interaction because the zoom is commanded by the user, as explained above. However, in addition to being controlled by the zoom command sent by the user, the display S30 of the preview can be performed fully automatically (that is, the user does not perform any action except sending the zoom command).

[0032] The computer system may include a processor coupled to a memory, a graphical user interface (GUI) (the GUI includes hardware and / or software), and a pointing device (for example, the pointing device can be considered as part of the GUI), and a computer program including instructions for performing the method has been recorded on the memory. The pointing device is any input / tactile interface provided by the GUI with the following characteristics: the user-machine interaction provided by such a device means that during the user-machine interaction, there is always at least one location on the graphical interface that is pointed to (i.e., the computer system continuously performs calculations of such locations based on how the pointing device is used). When the device is a cursor controller (such as a mouse), the location can be the cursor location; but when the device is a touch pad or touch screen, the location can also be the midpoint of the location touched by two fingers. In the case where the device is a touch pad or touch screen, the set of pointed locations includes not only the locations of the two fingers, but also the midpoint of the two finger locations, because the computer continuously calculates the midpoint when the touch pad is touched by the two fingers (at least when the two fingers are moving - for example during zooming). The memory may also store a database. The database may have entries corresponding to industrial data, in particular specifications of multi-domain physical systems (including, for example, block diagram representation specifications for performing the method). The memory is any hardware suitable for such storage, possibly including multiple physically separate components (e.g., one for the program and one possibly for the database). Thus, the computer system may be configured in this way to perform the method.

[0033] The method generally processes computerized data (computerized data specifying / defining a multi-domain physical system) that includes all specifications related to the multi-domain physical system and allows the execution of the method, the computerized data including: a block diagram representation of S10, and data that enables displaying a preview at S30 (e.g., a complete block diagram representation of a subsystem for which a preview is displayed). By extension, the expression "multi-domain physical system" refers to the data (or "modeling object") itself.

[0034] Depending on the type of computer system, the multi-domain physical system can be further defined by different types of data. The computer system can actually be any combination of a CAD computer system, a CAE computer system, a CAM computer system, a PDM computer system and / or a PLM computer system. In those different computer systems, the modeling object is defined by the corresponding data. CAD objects, PLM objects, PDM objects, CAE objects, CAM objects, CAD data, PLM data, PDM data, CAM data, CAE data may be mentioned accordingly. However, these computer systems are not mutually exclusive, because the modeling object can be defined by data corresponding to any combination of these computer systems. Therefore, as can be understood from the definition of such a computer system provided below, the computer system is likely to be both a CAD computer system and a PLM computer system.

[0035] By CAD computer system, it is meant any computer system (e.g., CATIA) that is at least suitable for designing modeled objects based on a (e.g., 3D) graphical representation of the modeled objects. In this case, the data defining the modeled objects include data that implement the representation of the modeled objects. The CAD computer system may, for example, use edges or lines (in some cases faces or surfaces) to provide a representation of the CAD modeled objects. Lines, edges or surfaces may be represented in various ways, such as non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS). In particular, CAD files contain specifications from which geometric shapes may be generated, which in turn allow the generation of representations. The specifications for the modeled objects may be stored in a single CAD file or in multiple CAD files. The typical size of files that represent the modeled objects in a CAD computer system is in the range of one megabyte per component. And the modeled objects may typically be assemblies having thousands of components.

[0036] By PLM computer system is meant any computer system suitable for managing modeled objects representing physically manufactured products. Thus, in a PLM computer system, modeled objects are defined by data applicable to the manufacture of physical objects. These data may typically be dimensional values ​​and / or tolerance values. In order to manufacture the object correctly, it is indeed desirable to have such values.

[0037] PDM stands for Product Data Management. By PDM solution it is meant any solution (software or hardware) suitable for managing all types of data related to a specific product. PDM solutions can be used by all actors involved in the product life cycle: primarily engineers, but also project managers, finance personnel, sales personnel and buyers. PDM solutions are usually based on product-oriented databases. They allow actors to share consistent data about their products and thereby prevent actors from using divergent data. Such PDM solutions were developed by Dassault Systèmes under the trademark PDM. To provide.

[0038] CAM stands for Computer Aided Manufacturing. By CAM solution it is meant any solution (software or hardware) suitable for managing the manufacturing data of a product. Manufacturing data generally comprises data about the product to be manufactured, the manufacturing process and the resources required. CAM solutions are used to plan and optimize the entire manufacturing process of a product. For example, it can provide the CAM user with information about the feasibility, the duration of a manufacturing process, or the number of resources (such as a dedicated robot) that can be used in a specific step of the manufacturing process; and thereby allow decisions to be made regarding management or the required investment. CAM is a subsequent process after the CAD process and possibly the CAE process. Such CAM solutions are marketed by Dassault Systèmes under the trademark CAM. To provide.

[0039] CAE stands for Computer Aided Engineering. By CAE solution it is meant any solution (software or hardware) suitable for analyzing the physical behavior of a modeled object. A well-known and widely used CAE technique is the Finite Element Method (FEM), which generally involves subdividing the modeled object into multiple elements whose physical behavior can be calculated and simulated by equations. Such CAE solutions are produced by Dassault Systèmes under the trademark Another emerging CAE technology involves the modeling and analysis of complex systems consisting of multiple components from different physical fields without the need for CAD geometry data. CAE solutions allow the simulation of products to be manufactured and thus allow them to be optimized, improved and verified. Such CAE solutions are produced by Dassault Systèmes under the trademark The multi-domain physical system may be modeled in particular as a CAE object, e.g. having, in its data / specification, simulation and / or analysis scripts and / or functions and / or tools / components associated with block diagrams representing the corresponding subsystems, the simulation and / or analysis scripts and / or functions and / or tools / components operating on (i.e. serving as input to) the block diagram representation / model to simulate / analyze the behavior of the multi-domain physical system.

[0040] Figure 2 An example of a GUI for the computer system is shown, where the computer system is a CAE computer system.

[0041] The GUI 210 may be a typical CAD-like interface with a standard menu bar 2110, 2150. As is known in the art, such a menu bar and toolbar contain a set of icons selectable by the user, each icon being associated with one or more operations or functions. Some of these icons are associated with software tools suitable for operating the 2D modeled object 2100 (in the GUI 2010) displayed in the GUI 2010. Figure 2 The GUI may be used to edit and / or process a 2D modeled object 2100 (e.g., an electrical system in the example of S10), the displayed 2D modeled object 2100 being, for example, the result of S10. The software tools may be organized into workbenches. In operation, the designer may, for example, pre-select a portion of the object 2100, and then initiate an operation (e.g., change size, color, etc.) or edit geometric constraints by selecting an appropriate icon. If the displayed box 2000 (representing the Light Manager system of a sedan in this example) is selected, the GUI may display, for example, data 2500 associated with the box 2000. Figure 2 In the example of FIG. 26 , the data 2500 and its 2D representation 2000 displayed as a "feature tree" belongs to the model of a box 2000 representing a vehicle light manager. The GUI may further show detailed properties 2510 of the selected box. According to an example of the method, when the selected box is zoomed, the underlying structure of the box progressively appears, showing more and more details, as shown in view 2600. The cursor may be controlled by a tactile device to allow the user to interact with the graphical tool. Alternatively, a sensitive screen may be provided.

[0042] Figure 3 An example of the computer system is shown, wherein the computer system is a client computer system, such as a user's workstation.

[0043] The client computer system in this example includes a central processing unit (CPU) 1010 connected to an internal communication bus (BUS) 1000, to which a random access memory (RAM) 1070 is also connected. The client computer is also provided with a graphics processing unit (GPU) 1110, which is associated with a video random access memory 1100 connected to the BUS. The video RAM 1100 is also referred to as a frame buffer in the art. A mass storage device controller 1020 manages access to a mass storage device, such as a hard disk drive 1030. Mass storage devices suitable for tangibly implementing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including, for example: semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM disks 1040. Any of the foregoing may be supplemented by, or incorporated into, a specially designed ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). A network adapter 1050 manages access to a network 1060. The client computer may also include a tactile device 1090 (such as a cursor control device, keyboard or the like), including the pointing device mentioned above. The pointing device may be a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse) provided with a (physical) scroll wheel (e.g., in the context of the method, as is very typical in the field of computer science, scrolling (e.g., up or down) sends a "zoom in" command to the computer system, while, for example, scrolling in the other direction sends a "zoom out" command). The cursor control device may be used in the client computer to allow the user to selectively position the cursor at any desired location on the display 1080. In addition, the cursor control device allows the user to select various commands, as well as input control signals. The cursor control device includes a plurality of signal generating devices for inputting control signals to the computer system. Typically, the cursor control device may be a mouse, the buttons of which are used to generate the signals. The pointing device may alternatively or additionally (since the pointing device may include different hardware, this may be equivalently considered that the computer system has multiple pointing devices) be a touchpad and / or a touch screen (for example, a touch gesture, in the context of the method, as is very classical in the field of computer science, such as a gesture of spreading or re-gathering two fingers or two groups of substantially close fingers, sends a "zoom in" command to the computer system, while another action - "re-gathering" or "spreading" - sends a "zoom out" command, for example). The touch screen may be the display 1080, and the architecture shown in the figure is only schematic.

[0044] The computer program may include instructions executable by a computer, the instructions including units for causing the above-mentioned computer system to perform the method. The program can be recorded on any data storage medium, including the memory of the computer system. The program may be implemented, for example, in a digital electronic circuit, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. The program may be implemented as a computer system, such as a product tangibly implemented in a machine-readable storage device so as to be executed by a programmable processor. The method steps may be performed by a programmable processor that executes a program of instructions for completing the functions of the method by operating on input data and generating output. Therefore, the processor may be programmable and coupled to receive data and instructions from a data storage computer system, at least one input device, and at least one output device, and to send data and instructions to a data storage computer system, at least one input device, and at least one output device. The application may be implemented in a high-level procedural programming language or an object-oriented programming language, or in an assembly language or a machine language if necessary. In any case, the language may be a compiled language or an interpreted language. The program may be a complete installation program or an update program. In any case, the application of the program on the computer system causes the instructions to perform the method.

[0045] "Designing a multi-domain physical system" refers to any action or series of actions that is at least part of a process of formulating a multi-domain physical system. Thus, the method may include creating a specification for the multi-domain physical system from scratch. Alternatively, the method may include providing a previously created specification and then simply visualizing and / or modifying the specification. Computer-aided design of a multi-domain physical system is highly enhanced by the use of block diagram representations. The computer system captures the design intent in such a way that changes to the design can be generalized throughout the subsystems, whereby the entire model can be automatically updated.

[0046] The multi-domain physical system may correspond to an industrial product to be manufactured in the real world after its virtual design is completed, such as a (e.g., mechanical) component or an assembly consisting of multiple components, or more generally, any rigid body assembly (e.g., a moving mechanism). CAD and / or CAE software solutions allow the design of products in an unlimited number of different industrial fields, including: aerospace, architecture, construction, consumer products, high-tech equipment, industrial equipment, transportation, maritime and / or offshore industry or shipping. Therefore, the multi-domain physical system designed by the method can represent industrial products, which can be: part or all of ground transportation vehicles (for example, including: cars and light truck equipment, racing cars, motorcycles, trucks and motor equipment, trucks and buses, trains), part or all of air transportation vehicles (for example, including fuselage equipment, aerospace equipment, propulsion equipment, defense products, airline equipment, space equipment), part or all of marine transportation vehicles (for example, including naval equipment, commercial ships, offshore equipment, yachts and workboats, water equipment), mechanical parts (for example, including industrial manufacturing machinery, heavy mobile machinery or equipment, installation equipment, industrial equipment products, fabricated metal products, tire manufacturing products), electromechanical or electronic components (for example, including consumer electronics, safety and / or control and / or instrument products, computing and communication equipment, semiconductors, medical devices and equipment), consumer products (for example, including furniture, home and garden products, leisure products, fashion products, products of durable goods retailers, products of non-durable goods retailers), packaging (for example, including food, beverage and tobacco packaging, beauty and personal care packaging, household product packaging).

[0047] A multi-domain physical system in the meaning of the present invention is, in a broader sense, any physical system whose behavior can be simulated via at least one (but usually multiple) physical model (a system of equations with one or more equations), such as a mechanical model, an electrical model, a hydraulic model, a control model and / or a chemical model. A multi-domain physical system generally has subsystems, which are themselves multi-domain physical systems, and the subsystems are connected together by physical or logical relationships. Therefore, a multi-domain physical system is a model used to characterize any physical entity (e.g., an electrical mechanical product or a hydraulic mechanical product) by dividing the physical entity into sub-entities (subsystems) associated together by physical or logical relationships, such as: mechanical relationships (e.g., corresponding to connections for conducting forces or motions), electrical relationships (e.g., corresponding to electrical connections, such as in an electrical circuit), hydraulic relationships (e.g., corresponding to conductors for conducting flows), logical relationships (e.g., corresponding to information flows) and / or chemical relationships. The system is called "multi-domain physics" because the physical or logical relationships of a multi-domain physical system can belong to multiple physical domains (although this is not necessarily the case).

[0048] Due to the structure of multi-domain physical systems, multi-domain physical systems can be efficiently and intuitively characterized / modeled by block diagram representation. As known, block diagram representation is associated with a (e.g., 2D) graphical representation of a system, wherein the boxes / blocks (e.g., rectangles, squares, and / or circles) each correspond to the corresponding subsystems of the multi-domain physical system, and, between the boxes, the links (e.g., lines / grid lines) correspond to the multi-domain physical connections / relationships mentioned above between the corresponding subsystems (thus associated with the equations mentioned above). Each box of the block diagram represents a subsystem (e.g., a phenomenon (phenomena) or component of the system), which itself can be modeled (as mentioned above) by a block diagram representation, and the block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system can indicate the entire hierarchical structure of the block diagrams of all subsystems of the multi-domain physical system. Block diagrams are usually available to users in the form of large physical domain libraries. Therefore, the boxes of the block diagram can be represented by two-dimensional shapes, and are usually provided with connectors (e.g., graphically represented as ports, solid points (bullets), or solid squares) to connect the boxes using the links mentioned above. Blocks can be linked to other blocks by links connecting connectors. Links are represented by the shape of lines / grid lines (not necessarily straight). The block diagram graphical representation allows the simulation of mathematical models representing the system and allows the analysis of the response of complex systems (e.g. in multidisciplinary fields).

[0049] Figure 7 Show the pair Figure 2 Examples of block diagram representations of different multi-domain physical systems, namely Figure 7 As shown, the vehicle system is characterized as having: an engine 72 subsystem, a brake 74 subsystem, a chassis 76 subsystem, a transmission 78 subsystem, and a driveline 80 subsystem. Connections 82 are drawn in white, and these connections show that the chassis 76 occupies a central position in the system (and thus in the block diagram representation).

[0050] like Figure 1As shown, the method starts with displaying such a block diagram representation on a display device (which can be a screen or any other display device) of a computer system at S10. First, the specification of the block diagram representation is provided to the computer system for display S10 in any manner known in the field of computer science. The specification can be part of the specification of the multi-domain physical system accessed in the database as previously discussed. Display S10 can always be performed as a background process in the method, except for stopping the display in the examples discussed later. Therefore, except in those examples where such a display is explicitly stopped, the block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system can be continuously displayed in the design scene of the workspace of the user of the computer (however, it will be explained later that when zooming excludes some components from the scene, at least a part of the block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system, as well as the modeling data and possible graphics data are still loaded).

[0051] exist Figure 1 In the example of , while display S10 is executed by the computer system, the user sends a "zoom in" command (the separate term "zoom" is referred to as "zoom in" hereinafter), i.e., the user requests that a zoom be applied to a specific area of ​​the display, in particular to a specific area of ​​the block diagram graphical representation (i.e., the "focus position" of the zoom). The zoom command can be sent in any manner known per se, such as using a scroll wheel of a tactile device and / or a finger gesture with an inductive tactile device (e.g., a touch screen or a touchpad) as explained above, or even by a classical interaction with a widget (e.g., a slider or a scroll bar) provided in the display. Provided that the user specifies the focus position of the zoom (in a manner known per se), for example, on a specific box or link of the block diagram representation, the zooming in can obviously be performed based on this focus position. If this is not the case, the zooming in can be performed with a default focus position (e.g., the center of the block diagram representation or the center of the graphical design scene).

[0052] The zoom command is continuously detected by the computer system, which thereby performs a zoom-in and thereby updates the display S10. In the method, this detection also controls the display of other information: the display of a preview of a block diagram representation of at least one corresponding subsystem is performed at S30. By "control", it is meant that the display S30 is performed according to a control loop in a program running on the computer system for performing the method, which takes the detection as an input / condition for outputting the display S30, as is known per se from the fields of computer science and / or robotics and / or control systems. The display S30 may be performed when a zoom is detected, or even if such a detection occurs but still based on the fulfillment of another condition (e.g. in the examples discussed later).

[0053] At S30, a preview of a block diagram representation of at least one corresponding subsystem is displayed. As mentioned above, the subsystems of the multi-domain physical system are themselves multi-domain physical systems, so that the subsystems can also be graphically represented by block diagrams, and a preview of the block diagram can be displayed at S30 for one or more (possibly all) subsystems (e.g., belonging to the currently displayed layer). Therefore, the block diagram representation of the subsystem is also stored in the memory, and the block diagram representation of the subsystem or its preview can be retrieved for the purpose of executing S30. In a computer system that allows the design of a multi-domain physical system based on a block diagram representation, it is well known that the tree-like hierarchy of the subsystems of the multi-domain physical system is always maintained and can be browsed / viewed by the user who performs the design through a successive block diagram display. The subsystem is accessed by double-clicking on the box in the block diagram representation, or the tree-like representation set in the browser / explorer outside the graphical design scene is double-clicked to perform browsing in a classic manner. The method is in this environment, and displaying S30 can facilitate such browsing because it allows the user to preview the content in the subsystem before initiating the processing cost / RAM cost of accessing the subsystem.

[0054] Now discuss the preview of the block diagram representation, and the difference between displaying the block diagram representation (e.g., at S10) and displaying the preview of the block diagram representation (e.g., at S30). As mentioned above, the block diagram representation can be displayed with a graphical element, which includes: rectangles, lines, circles, solid points, ports, solid squares and / or grid lines (and optionally text and / or images). When the preview is displayed, the preview includes graphical elements of the same nature and related to the block diagram whose preview is displayed. Therefore, in addition to the graphical elements of the main block diagram displayed since S10, the graphical elements of the preview are also displayed at S30. In fact, display S30 is executed while display S10 is still being executed.

[0055] Whether it is a block diagram representation displayed at S10 or a preview of a block diagram representation displayed at S30, these data are displayed thanks to their association with (e.g., retrievable or computable) graphical data (e.g., including the graphical elements mentioned above), which are loaded into the RAM of a computer system, such as the RAM of a GPU of the computer system, for display purposes. The previewed graphical data may be the same as the graphical data of the block diagram representation, or it may be smaller (in terms of the number of data fields, e.g., containing less details). In any case, when the block diagram representation is fully displayed (e.g., at S10), the block diagram representation is associated with data other than the graphical data, referred to herein as "modeling data", which are loaded into the RAM of the computer system, such as the RAM of the CPU. This modeling data allows different actions to be performed on the representation, including, for example, the previously mentioned simulation and / or analysis, and / or editing of the block diagram representation (and thereby, editing / design of the multi-domain physical system represented by the block diagram representation). The editing may include: adding / deleting / modifying blocks, and / or adding / deleting / modifying / rerouting links, and / or adding / deleting / modifying the previously mentioned connectors (i.e., connectors / ports provided at blocks for connecting blocks with links). The editing may be performed by user interaction (usually graphical interaction). This is well known in the art of block diagram modeling.

[0056] When the block diagram representation is fully displayed (which means, for example, that both the graphical data and the modeling data are loaded in RAM), for example at S10, the block diagram representation can be edited as described above. When only a preview of the block diagram representation is displayed (which means that at least a portion of the graphical data is loaded in RAM, but at least a portion (possibly all) of the modeling data is not loaded in RAM), for example at S30, such editing is not directly / immediately possible (unless the corresponding data is loaded). Therefore, the method allows a refinement of the browsing of the block diagram representation allowed in the prior art, because the method allows the user to visualize the subsystem before deciding to load the corresponding modeling data in order to perform the editing. In one example, the method includes repeatedly performing display S10, display S30, loading of modeling data of the subsystem, and editing of the subsystem in any order, it being understood that the reference multi-domain physical system used for the repetition can be a subsystem that has been previewed and whose modeling data has been loaded in a previous repetition. Thus, the method allows for user-friendly block diagram design through efficient management of processing and RAM resources as user-machine interaction proceeds.

[0057] Reference now Figures 4 to 6 To discuss example options of the method for improving ergonomics using specific user-machine interaction features, Figures 4 to 6 4 shows a block diagram (40, 60) displayed in a scene according to an example operation of the method (the same scale is used for all three figures).

[0058] In the examples described, the method is specifically applied to 2D block diagrams. These diagrams are hierarchical, with no limit to the number of hierarchical levels (corresponding to the decomposition into subsystems), which may also be referred to as "layers" hereinafter. Each layer consists of an arbitrary number of objects linked together to represent various relationships, which are captured by grid lines / lines (46, 48) and boxes / blocks (42, 44) in the format detailed above. Each box / block (42, 44) is either terminal (meaning that no detailed information is provided in the graphical model about the contents of the box), or non-terminal (meaning that the block itself includes another diagram). A terminal box may not be associated with any block diagram representation at all, or may be associated with the simplest form of the block diagram (i.e., just a single box). A non-terminal box usually corresponds to a related subsystem, and is usually associated with a relatively complex block diagram representation, so it can have a meaningful preview and its browsing is meaningful to the user. Lines (46, 48) can connect two or more boxes (for line 48, it is set to connect a third box, although it is not illustrated). Examples of the method are applicable to any level and are recursive. One level that can be called the "upper level" and corresponds to the upper level is arbitrarily selected and adopted in the figures. Figure 1 The only assumption is that the central block 42 is non-terminal. The contents of the central block 42 are called the "lower layer" and correspond to Figure 1 The purpose of this method is to facilitate access to the lower layers. The user will want to access the lower layers usually to understand the details of the implementation of the central box 42 of the upper layer. In the example in the figure, the blocks (42, 44) are rectangular, but the boxes can generally be of any shape. Similarly, in the figure, the grid lines are elbow-shaped, but the lines can generally be of any shape.

[0059] The example options now proposed solve the navigation in complex multi-level block diagrams to enable smooth transitions between levels. The complex multi-level block diagram browsers of the prior art make the following assumptions: the user has a good understanding of the global architecture, and in particular knows what can be found in the lower layer at a given level. This is problematic when viewing very large architectures, and is particularly problematic when the construction of these complex block diagrams is a collaborative task performed by multiple people (a possible option for the method). The method in these examples solves this problem. The effect of the method grows with the complexity of the block diagram being browsed: the speed increases, because if the structure is only briefly browsed and the details are introspected (introspect), the user does not have to go to the second threshold (mentioned later); and the efficiency is greatly increased, because the user can confirm by a simple preview that the lower layer he / she wants to browse is indeed the one he / she wants before completely displaying the lower layer in a way that does not display the upper layer.

[0060] like Figure 4 As shown, the user starts with a display S10 of a block diagram representation 40 of a multi-domain physical system. In this example, the user sends a zoom command, which is detected and executed by the computer system, and the computer system thus displays the zoom command in the Figure 4 The display shown above is updated to Figure 5 . As can be seen, the preview 50 of the subsystem, corresponding to the central box 42 representing the corresponding subsystem, is the only one displayed at S30, and it is displayed inside the central box 42 (in the case of this example, it corresponds to the dotted-line caption in the block diagram). This option of this example allows efficient use of the space occupied by the entire graphic data displayed by the computer system. In fact, in the block diagram representation, the user wants to effectively distinguish between the box and the grid lines. Displaying the information inside the box increases the sense of compactness. In addition, from S10 onwards, the box is related to the subsystem. Displaying the preview 50 inside the block diagram corresponding to the represented subsystem at S30 allows the user to keep the focus of the eyes at one point of the display (e.g., screen).

[0061] It is worth noting that, as explained above, the zoom command may be sent with a pointing device, and the focus position of the zoom may be specified by the position pointed by the pointing device. In such a case, the display of the preview at S30 may be further controlled by the detection by the computer system of a correspondence between the focus position of the zoom and the interior of the frame 42 representing the corresponding subsystem (whose preview 50 is displayed at S30) (the focus position matches the position of the interior / interior area of ​​the frame, for example, as defined in the 2D plane of the screen). That is, the computer system not only detects the zoom command sent by the user, but also detects where the zoom is required (i.e., the focus of the zoom, corresponding to the position of the pointing device when the command "zoom in" is given). In addition, the computer system maintains a mapping of the interiors of the frames (42, 44) of the block diagram representation 40 (such interiors and / or the correspondence / matching mentioned above are determined in any classical manner, such as by pixel operations, such as corresponding to the graphical interiors of the frames), so that the computer system can recognize / detect whether the zoom command is related to a specific frame. If the zoom command is related to a specific frame, then only the preview corresponding to the frame is displayed at S30. Figure 5 In the example of FIG. 4 , a preview 50 of a frame 42 is displayed at S30. This allows efficient management of resources by displaying only the desired previews. Furthermore, the user interaction provided to the user is intuitive, the user focuses his / her eyes on the point at which the interaction is performed, which is also the point where the information (preview) is to be displayed and where the subsystem (as a frame) related to the information has been displayed since S10.

[0062] Now, as explained above, once the user issues a zoom command with focus inside the frame 42, a preview 50 can be displayed. However, since the intensity (i.e., degree, strength) of the focus can be (substantially) continuously increased by (continuously) repeating a predetermined action with a pointing device (e.g., repeatedly rolling a wheel, or repeatedly stretching two fingers apart), the preview can be displayed progressively accordingly as the intensity of the zoom increases. This increases the flexibility of the user interaction and increases the convenience of the system. As is known from the field of user-computer interaction, zooming in can be performed by continuous and repeated actions. Here, the term "repeated" does not mean that this action is repeated discretely from the user's perspective. In fact, in the case of stretching two fingers away from each other, the action is substantially continuously enhanced from the user's perspective (rather than being repeated). However, due to the fact that the computer system only processes numerical signals (for the case of stretching the fingers apart, the "repeated" is usually at the pixel level), there is indeed a repetition of calculations from the computer system's perspective. This concept, which is well known in the zoom command, is included in the expression "repetition of a predetermined action" in this article. Thus, as the intensity of the zoom is progressively increased, the preview 50 is progressively displayed, meaning that it is not displayed all at once at the beginning of the zoom. The term "progressively" refers to the fact that there is a gradual process in the display when a zoom command is detected, rather than simply performing the entire display once a zoom command is detected.

[0063] It is worth noting that the method may use a predetermined threshold to achieve a gradual relationship between display S30 and magnification enhancement.

[0064] A first predetermined threshold for starting the display S30 of the preview 50 can be implemented. When the user sends a zoom command, the computer system continuously monitors the requested zoom intensity. When the user reaches the first threshold, the computer system detects the reaching, and only at this time (once such a detection result is obtained) the computer system starts the display S30 of the preview 50. In other words, as the intensity of the zoom increases, the transparency of the preview decreases progressively. The transparency of the element to be displayed is a value associated with the element in any computer-implemented manner, and the value can be binary (completely transparent, that is, not displayed at all; or completely opaque, that is, fully displayed), or alternatively, the value can be continuously / gradually reduced from completely transparent to completely opaque. The term "gradually" refers to taking at least one value other than "completely opaque" and "completely transparent" in the gradual process of transparency. The transparency of the preview S50 decreases from its maximum value to its minimum value, and once the intensity of the zoom is initially equal to the first threshold, the transparency of the preview S50 increases until the intensity of the zoom is equal to the second threshold (thus corresponding to the minimum transparency of the preview). As in Figure 5In the example above, the preview 50 may be displayed with dashed lines that may be continuously / gradually enhanced as the zoom strength increases (e.g., less empty space between points). Other ways of displaying the preview 50, such as shading or coloring, may be implemented and may also be applied in a binary manner or gradually (increasingly shaded, increasingly colored) in a similar style.

[0065] Now, when the user commands "zoom in", the computer system may detect at some point that a second predetermined threshold (thus higher than the first threshold) is reached, and this second threshold may be the one mentioned previously. At such a detection, and once such a detection result is obtained, the computer system stops displaying S10 the block diagram representation 40 of the system (i.e., the corresponding graphics data is thus unloaded from the RAM of, for example, the GPU, and the related modeling data is also unloaded from the RAM of the computer system (e.g., the CPU)). According to the above definition of transparency, it can be said that as the intensity of the zoom increases, the transparency of the block diagram representation 40 of the multi-domain physical system increases progressively (when the second threshold is reached, it is completely transparent). The gradual process of transparency (increasing transparency in the current case) can be binary, or gradual in terms of the transparency of the preview (in that case reducing transparency).

[0066] like Figure 6 As shown, substantially synchronously, the computer system displays a block diagram representation 60 of the subsystem corresponding to the preview 50. Graphical data associated with the representation 60 is loaded, and modeling data associated with the representation 60 is also loaded, whereby the method allows for user-friendly, flexible and ergonomic browsing of multi-domain physical systems, wherein the Figure 6 The subsystems shown above can be edited.

[0067] like Figure 6 As shown, the display in one example of the method is immediately refocused on the block diagram representation 60 of the corresponding subsystem. In addition, the display can be resized. In this way, the user has the same Figure 4 This method can then be repeated to visualize the multi-domain physical system as in Figure 6 In addition, through special commands or using the traditional browser tree (not shown), the user can return to Figure 4 The upper layer of .

[0068] The zoom out command may cancel the display of the preview S30 and increase the transparency of the preview, and thus play the opposite role of the zoom in command, even if the first threshold has been reached. However, when the second threshold has been reached and the display is as shown in FIG. Figure 6As shown above, for the sake of consistency of the computer system and its use, it is returned to Figure 4 In such cases, it may not be feasible to use a dedicated command, such as a button. However, this is not mandatory.

Claims

1. A method for designing a multi-domain physical system performed by a computer system, wherein: The method comprises the following steps: loading the following items into a random access memory RAM of the computer system: a block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system, and for each corresponding subsystem of a given layer in the block diagram representation, a preview (50) of the block diagram representation (42) of the corresponding subsystem, the loading comprising loading modeling data and graphical data of the block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system into the random access memory RAM, and loading at least a portion of the graphical data of the block diagram representation (42) of the corresponding subsystem into the random access memory RAM, wherein at least a portion of the modeling data of the block diagram representation (42) of the corresponding subsystem is not loaded into the random access memory RAM; Perform the following operations simultaneously: displaying (S10) the block diagram representation (40) of the multi-domain physical system, the block diagram representation (40) comprising boxes (42, 44) each corresponding to a respective subsystem of the multi-domain physical system, and links (46, 48) between the boxes, the links corresponding to the multi-domain physical connections between the respective subsystems; and receiving a zoom command from a user, the zoom command having a focus position within a graphical component of a displayed box representing a corresponding subsystem; In real time and while the block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system is displayed: detecting the zoom command and the focus position; displaying (S30) the loaded preview (50), the display of the preview being controlled by detecting the zoom command and the focus position, Therein, the preview is displayed within the graphical component of the displayed frame representing the corresponding subsystem.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The zoom command is sent by using a pointing device, the focus position of the zoom is specified by the position pointed by the pointing device, and the display of the preview is further controlled by the computer system DSY.00169.CN2 by detecting the correspondence between the focus position of the zoom and the inside of the box representing the corresponding subsystem.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The intensity of the zoom is continuously increased by repeating a predetermined action using the pointing device, and the preview is progressively displayed as the intensity of the zoom increases.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The method further comprises the steps of displaying the block diagram representation of the subsystem and stopping the display of the block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system when the computer system detects that the intensity of the zoom reaches a corresponding predetermined threshold.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The displaying of the block diagram representation includes loading corresponding graphics data in a graphics processing unit of the computer system, and the stopping of the displaying of the block diagram representation includes unloading corresponding graphics data from the graphics processing unit.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein: As the strength of the zoom increases, the transparency of the block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system gradually increases.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein: When the intensity of the zoom reaches a threshold corresponding to ceasing display of the block diagram representation of the multi-domain physical system, the display is re-centered on the block diagram representation of the corresponding subsystem, as detected by the computer system.

8. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein: The method also includes editing the corresponding subsystem while displaying the block diagram representation of the corresponding subsystem.

9. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein: As the intensity of the zoom increases, the transparency of the preview gradually decreases.

10. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein: The display of the preview is further controlled by the computer system detecting that the intensity of the zoom reaches a corresponding threshold.

11. A computer program product which, when loaded into a memory of a computer and executed by at least one processor of the computer, performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A computer system comprising: a memory on which a computer program according to claim 11 has been recorded; a graphical user interface; pointing device; and a processor coupled to the memory, the graphical user interface and the pointing device, and configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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