How to export a block object's blueprint

Abstract

To provide a method for facilitating a user composing a block object using block parts.SOLUTION: In a method for outputting a design drawing of a composable block object which is composed of multiple types of block parts, the method being executed by a processing unit of a server terminal connected to a user terminal over a network, the processing unit of the server terminal acquires information on the block object from the user terminals, determines, based on design drawing information of the block object, whether the block object can be composed only of basic block parts included in block parts information stored in a storage unit of the server terminal, generates, when special block parts are determined, information on the shape, color and quantity of the special block parts, and displays the information for purchasing the special block parts.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for outputting a design drawing of a block object. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Toys that allow users to assemble block object models such as animals, buildings, vehicles, etc. using block parts such as Lego bricks are becoming popular.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for improving the efficiency of designing block parts that make up a block object. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5665872 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, while the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 above makes it possible to improve the efficiency and visualization of block part design, it does not disclose a method for visualizing the image of assembling block objects from a user's perspective.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method that makes it easy for a user to assemble block objects using block parts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for outputting a design drawing of a block object that is composed of multiple types of block parts and that can be assembled, the method being executed by a processing unit of a server terminal connected to a user terminal via a network, in which the processing unit of the server terminal acquires information about the block parts from the user terminal, determines block objects that can be assembled based on the information about the block parts, displays design drawing information about the block objects and information about the block parts, updates the design drawing information about the block objects, updates information about the block parts based on the updated design drawing information, and displays information about the updated block parts. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method that makes it easy for a user to assemble a block object using block parts. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for providing a method for recommending block objects according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the server terminal 100 of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the user terminal 200 of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of object model information stored in the server 100. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of block part information stored in the server 100. [Figure 6] 10 is an example of a flowchart showing details of a method for outputting a design drawing of a block object according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 10 is an example of a block object displayed on a user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a basic block part according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating an example of a special block part according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of determination of a special block part according to the first embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below do not unduly limit the content of the present invention described in the claims. Furthermore, not all of the components shown in the embodiments are necessarily essential components of the present invention.

[0011] <Configuration> 1 is a block diagram showing a system for providing a method for recommending block objects according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The system 1 includes a server terminal 100 that generates design drawing information for block objects based on coordinate information of block parts acquired from a user terminal 200 or a sensor device 300, and user terminals 200A and 200B associated with each user who assembles the block objects. For ease of explanation, the user terminals 200A and 200B will be collectively referred to as user terminal 200 below.

[0012] Here, in this embodiment, an animal object will be described as an example of a block object made up of multiple block parts, but other examples include people, robots, vehicles, buildings, etc., and the block object is not limited to this one example.

[0013] The server terminal 100 and the user terminal 200 are connected to each other via a network NW. The network NW is configured by the Internet, an intranet, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the like.

[0014] The server terminal 100 may be, for example, a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or a personal computer, or may be logically realized by cloud computing. In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, one server terminal is illustrated as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this and multiple server terminals may be used.

[0015] The user terminal 200 is, for example, an information processing device such as a personal computer or a tablet terminal, but may also be configured as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a PDA, or the like.

[0016] In this embodiment, the system 1 is described as having a server terminal 100 and a user terminal 200, and a user uses the user terminal 200 to perform operations on the server terminal 100; however, the server terminal 100 may be configured as a standalone unit, and the server terminal itself may have the function of allowing each user to perform operations directly.

[0017] Fig. 2 is a functional block configuration diagram of the server terminal 100 of Fig. 1. The server terminal 100 includes a communication unit 110, a storage unit 120, and a control unit .

[0018] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for communicating with the user terminal 200 via the network NW, and communication is performed according to a communication protocol such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol).

[0019] The storage unit 120 stores input data, programs for executing various control processes and functions in the control unit 130, and is composed of RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The storage unit 120 also has an object model information storage unit 121 that stores information related to object models, and a block part information storage unit 122 that stores information on block parts generated based on the object models, etc. A database (not shown) that stores various data may be constructed outside the storage unit 120 or the server terminal 100.

[0020] The control unit 130 controls the overall operation of the server terminal 100 by executing programs stored in the storage unit 120, and is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc. Functions of the control unit 130 include an information receiving unit 131 that receives information such as instructions from the user terminal 200, an object model information processing unit 132 that refers to and processes various information related to object models, a block part information processing unit 133 that refers to and processes various information related to block parts, and an output processing unit 134 that processes design drawing information related to block objects to be output to the user terminal. The information receiving unit 131, the object model information processing unit 132, the block part information processing unit 133, and the output processing unit 134 are activated by programs stored in the storage unit 120 and executed by the server terminal 100, which is a computer (electronic calculator).

[0021] The information receiving unit 131 receives information from the user terminal 200 when the user makes a specified request (by entering text, pressing an icon, etc.) via a user interface such as a screen provided by the server terminal 100 and displayed on the user terminal 200 via a web browser or application, or receives coordinate information of block parts generated by the sensor device 300 via the user terminal 200 and the communication unit 110.

[0022] The object model processing unit 132 stores information related to the object model in the object model information storage unit 121 and performs processing to refer to the stored object model information.

[0023] The block parts information processing unit 133 stores information related to block parts in the block parts information storage unit 122 and performs processing to refer to the stored block parts information.

[0024] The output processing unit 134 performs processing to transmit necessary information to the user terminal 200 in order to display blueprint information and the like related to block objects on the user terminal 200. In this case, the output processing unit 134 uses the image and text data stored in the storage unit 120 as material and arranges various images and text in predetermined areas of the user interface based on predetermined layout rules, thereby generating screen information necessary to be displayed on the interface of the user terminal 200. This screen information generation processing can also be executed by a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).

[0025] Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the user terminal 200 of Fig. 1. The user terminal 200 includes a communication unit 210, a display operation unit 220, a storage unit 230, and a control unit 240.

[0026] The communication unit 210 is a communication interface for communicating with the server terminal 100 via the network NW, and communication is performed according to a communication protocol such as TCP / IP. The communication unit 210 can also include a communication interface for communicating with the sensor device 300 via short-range wireless communication or the like.

[0027] Display operation unit 220 is a user interface used for inputting instructions by the user and displaying text, images, etc. in accordance with input data from control unit 240, and is composed of a display, keyboard, and mouse when user terminal 200 is configured as a personal computer, and is composed of a touch panel, etc. when user terminal 200 is configured as a smartphone or tablet terminal. This display operation unit 220 is started up by a control program stored in storage unit 230 and executed by user terminal 200, which is a computer (electronic calculator).

[0028] The storage unit 230 stores input data, programs for executing various control processes and functions in the control unit 240, and is composed of RAM, ROM, etc. The storage unit 230 also temporarily stores the contents of communication with the server terminal 100.

[0029] The control unit 240 controls the overall operation of the user terminal 200 by executing the programs stored in the storage unit 230, and is composed of a CPU, a GPU, and the like.

[0030] The server terminal 100 may be configured to have the function of a display operation unit, in which case the user terminal 200 may not be included.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of object model information stored in the server 100. As shown in FIG.

[0032] The object model information 1000 shown in FIG. 4 stores information related to an object model generated by a service operator associated with the server terminal 100 or a user associated with the user terminal 200. For ease of explanation, FIG. 4 shows an example of one object model (a user identified by object ID "10001"), but information on multiple object models can be stored. Various data related to the object model can include 3D model data of the object model, cross-sectional data of the object model, data related to one or more types and quantities of block parts required to assemble the object model, and design drawing information related to block parts arranged on each layer of the cross section. The 3D model data can also be stored as 2D model data converted into a 3D model through a predetermined process.

[0033] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of block part information stored in the server 100. As shown in FIG.

[0034] The block part information 2000 shown in FIG. 5 stores information related to the shape, size, color, and weight of a block part. For ease of explanation, FIG. 5 shows an example of one block part (a block part identified by ID "20001"), but information related to multiple block parts can be stored. Examples of various data related to block parts include data related to block parts that correspond to components used to assemble a block object (such as the shape, size, and color of the block part, and the number of each block part). Here, each of the multiple types of block parts can be associated with a unique color, but this is not limited to this.

[0035] FIG. 6 is an example of a flowchart showing a method for outputting a design drawing of a block object according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] As a preliminary process, the user accesses the server terminal 100 using a web browser on the user terminal 200 or an application (if an application is installed). A predetermined screen is displayed on the user interface via the website or application. The user has basic block parts (described later) in hand in advance, and information about the basic block parts is stored in the block part information storage unit 122 of the memory unit 120 of the server terminal 100.

[0037] Then, in the process of step S101, the information receiving unit 131 of the control unit 130 of the server terminal 100 receives information about the block object that the user wants to assemble from the user terminal 200 via the network and the communication unit 110. Here, the user can select a desired block object from among multiple block objects on a user interface screen displayed on the user terminal 200. In this example, the user wants to assemble a frog block object as shown in FIG. 7, and performs an input operation to assemble the frog block object on the user interface screen displayed on the user terminal 200. The server terminal 100 receives information about the block object corresponding to the frog.

[0038] Next, in step S102, the object model information processing unit 132 and the block part information processing unit 133 of the control unit 130 of the server terminal 100 refer to the object model information storage unit 121 and the block part information storage unit 122 of the memory unit 120, respectively, based on the received information about the block object model, and refer to the design drawing information and the block part information about the block object selected by the user. In this example, the object model information processing unit 132 refers to the design drawing data about the object model corresponding to the frog in the object model information 1000, and the block part information processing unit 133 refers to the data about the basic block parts in the block part information 2000. For example, FIG. 10 shows an example of design drawing data for a frog object model. The design drawing data indicates, by color, the placement areas of the block parts required to configure the object model on each layer, along with their coordinate information.

[0039] Next, in step S103, the block part information processing unit 133 of the control unit 130 of the server terminal 100 determines whether or not there is a special block part. First, in step S102, the object model information processing unit 132 determines the block parts constituting the object model based on the design drawing data and the block part data. For example, when focusing on the block part surrounded by a red frame among the block parts constituting the frog block object in FIG. 9(a), as shown in FIG. 9(b), in the coordinates of each layer of the block object in the design drawing data, the area where the block part marked with "1" in the first layer is placed overlaps with the area where the block part marked with "1" in the second layer is placed. Since the overlapping portion is one block part unit (a unit defined by "1x1" in coordinates), it is determined that the first layer cannot be combined with the block part in the second layer without a reverse-convex block part in the first layer. Next, the block part information processing unit 132 references information about basic block parts applicable to assembling multiple block objects, as shown in Figure 8, and determines that there are no inverted convex block parts after referencing the shapes of each basic block part. In this way, block parts not included in the information about basic block parts (in this example, inverted convex block parts) are determined to be special block parts that users do not normally own. Alternatively, special block part data can be stored in advance as information separate from the basic block part data, and the block part information processing unit 132 can determine special block parts by referencing the special block part data.

[0040] Next, in step S104, the output processing unit 134 of the control unit 130 of the server terminal 100 generates and outputs information about the shape, color, number, etc. of the block parts in order to display the information about the special block parts determined in the previous step on the user terminal 200. In this example, information about the inverted convex block parts is displayed on the user terminal 200.

[0041] Next, in step S105, the output processing unit 134 of the control unit 130 of the server terminal 100 can cause the user terminal 200 to display information for purchasing a special block part, as necessary, and can execute the purchase process for the special block part in response to the user's purchase request. When the user purchases a special block part (in this example, an inverted convex block part), the block part information processing unit 133 can store information about the corresponding block part in the block part information storage unit 122 as block part information 2000.

[0042] As described above, according to this embodiment, when a user assembles a block object, it is possible to automatically determine whether or not there are any special block parts that the user does not possess but that are necessary for assembling the block object, allowing the user to easily assemble the block object.

[0043] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, they can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made. These embodiments, modifications, and omissions, substitutions, and modifications are included in the technical scope of the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1 System 100 Server terminal, 110 Communication unit, 120 Storage unit, 130 Control unit, 200 User terminal, NW network

Claims

1. A method for outputting a design drawing of an assemblable block object made up of multiple types of block parts, the method being executed by a processing unit of a server terminal connected to a user terminal via a network, the method comprising: The processing unit of the server terminal Obtaining information about block objects from the user terminal; a method for determining, based on design drawing information of the block object, whether the block object can be assembled using basic block parts included in block part information stored in a storage unit of the server terminal;

2. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein block parts other than basic block parts included in said block part information are displayed as special block parts.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein whether or not an assembly can be performed using only the basic block parts is determined based on information about arrangement areas of the block parts in the design drawing information.

4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising the step of purchasing the special block part.

5. A program executed by a computer and executed by a processing unit of a server terminal connected to a user terminal via a network, for outputting a design drawing of an assembleable block object composed of multiple types of block parts, Acquire information about block objects from the user terminal; a program for determining, based on design drawing information of the block object, whether the block object can be assembled using basic block parts included in block part information stored in a storage unit of the server terminal;

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