Exterior fence design support device and program

Abstract

To provide an exterior fence design support device that can easily design an exterior fence considering a forming method of the exterior fence.SOLUTION: An exterior fence design support device (10) is to support the design of an exterior fence to be installed on the outdoor side of a target area in an outer peripheral part of a structure, and the design support device comprises: pattern calculation means (162) that, for each of a plurality of virtual blocks constituting the exterior fence, sets layer lines dividing the virtual block into a plurality of layers in a thickness direction, and changes hole boundary positions on the layer lines to calculate a plurality of hole shape patterns representing the shapes of through holes; and pattern determination means (165) that determines, for each of the virtual blocks, one of the plurality of hole shape patterns as one settled pattern.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a design support device and program for exterior fences. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to block views from outside, exterior fences are sometimes installed around the perimeter of a building. Exterior fences are placed outside the area to be concealed (target area), such as windows, gardens, and terraces.

[0003] If an exterior fence is made of a normal block wall, it will not be possible to ensure lighting and ventilation, so louvered exterior fences with multiple bars arranged at regular intervals have traditionally existed.In addition, as disclosed in Patent No. 5151491 (Patent Document 1), an exterior fence has also been proposed in which the attachment position of the vertical members for privacy can be changed, making it easy to change the opening ratio. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5151491 (JP 2009-167623) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] With the recent advancement of 3D printing technology, the degree of freedom in the design of exterior fences has increased. However, it is not easy to design an exterior fence while taking into account its molding method.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a design support device for exterior fences that can easily design exterior fences while taking into account the construction method of the exterior fence. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A design support device for exterior fences according to one aspect of the present invention is a design support device that supports the design of exterior fences to be installed on the outdoor side of a target area on the periphery of a building, and is equipped with a pattern calculation means that sets layer lines that divide the virtual blocks into multiple layers in the thickness direction for each of a plurality of virtual blocks that make up the exterior fence, and calculates a plurality of hole shape patterns that represent the shapes of through holes by changing the hole boundary positions on the layer lines, and a pattern determination means that determines one of the plurality of hole shape patterns as a confirmed pattern for each virtual block.

[0008] Preferably, the pattern calculation means calculates a plurality of hole shape patterns by respectively changing the combination of two hole boundary lines that are positioned differently in the vertical direction and the combination of two hole boundary lines that are positioned differently in the horizontal direction.

[0009] Preferably, the exterior fence design support device further comprises an extraction means for extracting, for each virtual block, a candidate pattern whose light transmittance satisfies a target standard from among the plurality of hole shape patterns. In this case, it is desirable that the pattern determination means determine a final pattern from the candidate patterns extracted by the extraction means based on a selection instruction from the user.

[0010] Preferably, the design support device for an exterior fence further includes a method determination means for determining, based on the determined pattern, the method for forming the exterior fence by the forming device as either a full-layer forming method in which multiple layers are formed all at once, or a layer-division forming method in which multiple layers are formed layer by layer.

[0011] More preferably, the method determination means determines whether the exterior wall is within a range that can be formed by the forming device, and if it is outside the range that can be formed, determines that the forming method is to form the exterior wall in area units or virtual block units that include at least one virtual block.

[0012] Another design support program for exterior fences conforming to curved surfaces of the present invention is a design support program that supports the design of exterior fences to be installed on the outdoor side of a target area on the periphery of a building, and causes a computer to execute the steps of setting layer lines that divide the virtual blocks into multiple layers in the thickness direction for each of the multiple virtual blocks that make up the exterior fence, and calculating multiple hole shape patterns that represent the shapes of through holes by changing the hole boundary positions on the layer lines, and determining one of the multiple hole shape patterns as a confirmed pattern for each virtual block. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, an exterior fence can be easily designed by taking into consideration the construction method of the exterior fence. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an exterior structure fence formation system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration and a functional configuration of a design support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a line-of-sight vector that is set based on line-of-sight environmental conditions in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1A to 1C are diagrams schematically illustrating examples of shapes of virtual blocks according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 3 is a flowchart showing a shape design process executed by the design support apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating a method for calculating a hole shape according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically showing examples of hole shape patterns that can be extracted as candidate patterns depending on the direction of the line of sight vector in the embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 8](A) is a diagram showing an example of the shape and dimension settings of the through holes in an exterior fence formed by a forming device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a diagram showing a schematic view of the overall shape of the exterior fence formed by a forming device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing a method determination process executed by the design support apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 1A to 1C are diagrams schematically illustrating a modeling area and a modeling shape that can be formed by a modeling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 1A to 1C are diagrams schematically showing types of exterior fence molding methods using a molding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an exterior structure wall created by an exterior structure wall creating system according to an embodiment of the present invention in comparison with a conventional exterior structure wall. FIG. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart showing a hole shape calculation process executed by a design support device according to a modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the light collection vector according to the solar altitude and the light transmittance due to different hole shape patterns in a modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a method for setting a lighting coefficient in a modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a method for extracting final candidate patterns in a modified example of the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

[0016] <Outline of the exterior wall construction system> An outline of an exterior structure fence formation system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 1. Figure 1(A) is a diagram showing the general configuration of the exterior structure fence formation system 1, and (B) is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of an exterior structure fence 9 formed by the exterior structure fence formation system 1.

[0017] The exterior structure fence creation system 1 includes a design support device 10 and a creation device 30. The creation device 30 is a known 3D printer, and an exterior structure fence 9 is created by the creation device 30. The exterior structure fence 9 is placed on the outdoor side (front) of a target area on the periphery of a building, such as a house, to conceal the target area. The target area is a specific part or space located on the periphery of the building, such as an opening (window, entrance, etc.) of the building itself, or a garden or terrace adjacent to the building.

[0018] The exterior fence 9 of this embodiment has through holes 90 of various shapes and sizes to ensure that light enters the target area while blocking views from outside into the target area. The design support device 10 is a device that supports the design of such exterior fences 9, and has the function of calculating an optimal hole shape pattern for the through holes 90 based on the environmental conditions around the target area (including at least the line-of-sight environmental conditions) and designing the overall shape of the exterior fence 9, and the function of determining the molding method for the exterior fence 9 by the molding device 30 based on the calculated hole shape pattern.

[0019] <Configuration of the design support system> The design support device 10 is typically an information processing device that generates design data of a three-dimensional model such as BIM (Building Information Modeling) data.

[0020] 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware and functional configurations of design support device 10. The hardware configuration of design support device 10 includes a processor 11 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes various arithmetic operations, a memory unit 12 that stores various data and programs, an operation unit 13 that accepts instructions from a user, a display unit 14 that displays various information, and a communication I / F (interface) 15 that communicates with other information processing devices via a network. The memory unit 12 includes, for example, a volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and a non-volatile memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory). The operation unit 13 includes, for example, a keyboard or a mouse. The display unit 14 includes, for example, a display such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).

[0021] The design support device 10 includes, as its functional configuration, a setting processing unit 161, a pattern calculation unit 162, a pattern extraction unit 163, an output processing unit 164, a pattern determination unit 165, and a method determination unit 166. These functional units 161 to 166 are typically implemented by the processor 11 executing software. Note that at least one of these functional units 161 to 166 may be implemented by hardware.

[0022] The setting processing unit 161 sets at least a part of the multiple virtual blocks that make up the exterior fence 9 as a line-of-sight blocking range based on the line-of-sight environment conditions around the target area. The line-of-sight environment conditions will be described with reference to Fig. 3. If the target area to be concealed is opening B of a building shown in Fig. 3(A), the position of opening A of the opposing building, etc., is included in the line-of-sight environment conditions.

[0023] The virtual blocks that make up the exterior fence 9 have polygonal shapes such as triangles, rectangles, and hexagons when viewed from the front. The shape of the virtual blocks may be predetermined, or may be selectable from a variety of shapes. Figure 4(A) shows examples of a triangular virtual block BR ​​and a quadrangular (square) virtual block BR. The virtual blocks BR are arranged so as to be aligned in the vertical and horizontal directions. The virtual blocks BR extend cylindrically along the thickness direction of the exterior fence 9.

[0024] 3A, line-of-sight blocking range 91 is set at a position through which a line-of-sight vector passing from opening A to opening B passes. The line-of-sight vector is a directed line segment extending from opening A to opening B.

[0025] The pattern calculation unit 162 calculates a plurality of hole shape patterns representing the shapes of the through holes 90 for each virtual block BR ​​included in the line-of-sight blocking range 91. The calculation of the hole shape patterns is performed by dividing each virtual block BR ​​into a plurality of layers in the thickness direction and changing the hole shape of each layer. That is, as shown in FIG. 4(B), the pattern calculation unit 162 sets a layer line (intermediate layer line) rm that divides the virtual block BR ​​into a plurality of layers in the thickness direction and calculates a plurality of hole shape patterns by changing the hole boundary positions on the layer line rm.

[0026] The left diagram of FIG. 4(B) is an example in which the virtual block BR ​​is divided into two layers, and one intermediate layer line rm1 is set between the starting layer line rs and the ending layer line re. The right diagram of FIG. 4(B) is an example in which the virtual block BR ​​is divided into three layers, and two intermediate layer lines rm1 and rm2 are set between the starting layer line rs and the ending layer line re. The number of intermediate layer lines may be one, but it is preferable that there are multiple. The number of intermediate layer lines may be predetermined or may be set by the user. A specific method for calculating the hole shape pattern will be described later.

[0027] The pattern extraction unit 163 extracts, for each virtual block BR, a candidate pattern that can suppress the line of sight toward the target area from among a plurality of hole shape patterns. Specifically, the pattern extraction unit 163 extracts, as a candidate pattern, a hole shape pattern in which the amount of light emitted from the through hole 90 is smaller than the amount of light incident on the through hole 90. The extraction conditions for the candidate pattern by the pattern extraction unit 163 may include the volume of the shielding portion 93 other than the through hole 90.

[0028] The output processing unit 164 executes a process (output process) of displaying the candidate patterns extracted by the pattern extraction unit 163 on the display unit 14. The display unit 14 functions as a candidate output means, and displays candidate shapes of the through-hole 90.

[0029] The pattern determination unit 165 determines, for each virtual block BR, a pattern (hereinafter referred to as a "determined pattern") to be adopted as the shape of the through-hole 90 from among a plurality of candidate patterns, in response to a selection instruction from the user via the operation unit 13. Pattern information including the determined pattern determined by the pattern determination unit 165 is stored in the design information storage unit 18. The design information storage unit 18 also stores basic information such as the overall size of the exterior fence 9.

[0030] The pattern information stored in the design information storage unit 18 includes information on hole shape patterns (determined patterns) for all virtual blocks BR that make up the exterior fence 9. Specifically, shape data that specifies the hole shape pattern (determined pattern) is stored in association with the identification ID of each virtual block BR. The design information storage unit 18 may be a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk, or may be realized by a cloud server.

[0031] The method determination unit 166 determines the modeling method of the exterior fence 9 to be used by the modeling device 30, based on the final pattern determined by the pattern determination unit 165. Specifically, the modeling method is determined based on the basic information and pattern information stored in the design information storage unit 18. The modeling methods include an all-layer modeling method in which multiple layers are modeled all at once, and a layer-division modeling method in which multiple layers are modeled layer by layer.

[0032] Note that, when at least one of the model of the modeling device 30 and the material to be used can be selected, the method determination unit 166 may determine whether the exterior fence 9 is within a range that can be modeled by the modeling device 30 based on the basic information about the exterior fence 9, and may subdivide the above-mentioned modeling method. The range that can be modeled will be described later.

[0033] <Operation of the design support device> (shape design processing) The shape design process executed by the design support device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5(A) is a flowchart of the main routine of the shape design process. The process shown in Fig. 5(A) is realized by the processor 11 reading and executing a program stored in the storage unit 12.

[0034] First, the surrounding environment conditions of the target area to be concealed (for example, opening B of the building shown in FIG. 3(A)) are set (step S1) based on the operation signal from the operation unit 13. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3(A), the position of opening A of another building located around the target area is set as the surrounding environment condition.

[0035] Once the surrounding environmental conditions have been set, the setting processing unit 161 of the processor 11 plans to install the exterior fence 9 in a location that can block the line-of-sight vector from opening A (step S3). The method for setting the line-of-sight vector will be described with reference to FIG. 3(B). As shown in FIG. 3(B), opening B and opening A are each divided into grid-like areas, and directed line segments extending radially from the center point of each area of ​​opening A toward the center points of all areas of opening B are set as line-of-sight vectors. As shown in FIG. 3(C), the line-of-sight vector may be set not only from opening A in front of opening B, but also from openings in multiple surrounding buildings as viewpoints.

[0036] The setting processing unit 161 may display an image of the exterior fence 9 on the display unit 14 together with an input image of the line-of-sight vector as shown in Figure 3(C). This allows the designer to set the optimal placement position and size of the exterior fence 9 via the operation unit 13.

[0037] Next, the setting processing unit 161 determines, as the line-of-sight blocked range 91, the virtual blocks BR through which the line-of-sight vector passes, among the multiple (large number) virtual blocks BR that make up the exterior fence 9 (step S5).

[0038] Once the line-of-sight blocking range 91 is set, the pattern calculation unit 162 calculates the shape of the through-holes 90 in the virtual blocks BR included in the line-of-sight blocking range 91, i.e., the hole shape pattern (step S7). The method for calculating the hole shape pattern will be described with reference to Figs. 5(B) and 6(A).

[0039] FIG. 5(B) is a flowchart showing the hole shape calculation process. FIG. 6(A) is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of one virtual block BR, showing the maximum shape of the through hole 90. In the example shown in FIG. 6(A), the virtual block BR ​​is divided into three layers in the front-to-back direction. Therefore, two intermediate layer lines rm1 and rm2 are set between the starting layer line rs and the ending layer line re. In addition, for example, four hole boundary heights are set on each layer line of the virtual block BR. In this case, four points Pa1 to Pa4 are set on the starting layer line rs, four points Pb1 to Pb4 on the first intermediate layer line rm1, four points Pc1 to Pc4 on the second intermediate layer line rm2, and four points Pd1 to Pd4 on the ending layer line re. The hole boundary heights, including the upper end height and the lower end height, are typically set at equal intervals. The hole boundary heights may be predetermined or may be set by the user.

[0040] 6A, the hole shape pattern of the maximum-shaped through hole 90 is such that the upper hole boundary line L1 is represented by a line passing straight through the upper end points Pa1, . . . , Pd1, and the lower hole boundary line L2 is represented by a line passing straight through the lower end points Pa4, . . . , Pd4. In this case, the portion surrounding the through hole 90, i.e., the shape of the shielding portion 93, is a rectangular frame. It is preferable to set multiple hole boundary heights on each layer line excluding the upper and lower end points, but it is also possible to set only one point.

[0041] For a virtual block BR ​​included in the line-of-sight blocking range 91, the pattern calculation unit 162 calculates multiple hole shape patterns by changing the point positions (hole boundary positions) on the layer line through which the hole boundary lines L1 and L2 pass (step S21). As shown in FIG. 6(B), multiple hole shape patterns are calculated so that the hole boundary lines L1 and L2 do not intersect with each other. Each hole boundary line L1 and L2 is formed by connecting points on adjacent layer lines with a straight line (line segment). By changing the combination pattern of the hole boundary lines L1 and L2, the shape of the through hole 90 and the shape of the shielding portion 93 change.

[0042] The pattern extraction unit 163 calculates, from among all the hole shape patterns, a hole shape pattern in which the amount of outgoing light from the line of sight vector is smaller than the amount of incoming light from the line of sight vector, by line of sight simulation (step S23).

[0043] In the case of hole boundary lines L1 and L2 in Figure 6(B), the line of sight vector V1 intersects with the hole boundary line L1, so the line of sight vector V1 can be blocked. On the other hand, the line of sight vector V2 does not intersect with either hole boundary line L1 or L2, so the line of sight vector V2 passes through without being blocked. Note that Figure 6(B) shows an example in which the hole boundary heights on each layer line of the virtual block BR ​​are set at five points (three points excluding the top and bottom end points).

[0044] The pattern extraction unit 163 may extract the hole shape pattern that has the lowest emission amount in each virtual block BR ​​as a candidate pattern as is, or may determine the hole shape pattern taking into consideration the volume of the blocking portion 93 of the virtual block BR. Figures 7(A) to (C) show examples of hole shape patterns that can block the line of sight vector (examples of temporary candidate patterns).

[0045] When the volume of the occluding portion 93 of the virtual block BR ​​is taken into consideration when making the determination, the pattern extraction unit 163 may, for example, calculate the volume of the occluding portion 93 each time it calculates a hole shape pattern (step S25) and determine whether target values ​​have been obtained for both the emission amount of the line-of-sight vector and the volume of the occluding portion 93 (step S27). The target value for the volume of the occluding portion is, for example, a minimum level. In this case, the calculation of the hole shape pattern by the pattern calculation unit 162 and the line-of-sight simulation and volume calculation by the pattern extraction unit 163 are repeated until the target values ​​are obtained (NO in step S27).

[0046] Alternatively, the pattern extraction unit 163 may extract, from all hole shape patterns, hole shape patterns in which the outgoing amount is smaller than the incoming amount of the line-of-sight vector as tentative candidate patterns, and extract, from the tentative candidate patterns, patterns in which the volume of the occluding portion 93 is equal to or smaller than a target value as final candidate patterns. That is, the pattern extraction unit 163 may extract, from a plurality of hole shape patterns, patterns in which the outgoing amount is smaller than the incoming amount of the line-of-sight vector and the volume of the occluding portion 93 is equal to or smaller than a target value as the (final) candidate pattern.

[0047] In this way, by adding the condition that the volume of the shielding portion 93 is equal to or less than a target value to the extraction conditions for candidate patterns, the through-hole 90 can be enlarged while blocking or suppressing views from outside, preventing the target area from becoming dark. Also, since less material is required to form the exterior fence 9 using the forming device 30, the manufacturing cost of the exterior fence 9 can be reduced. Furthermore, the exterior fence 9 can be made lighter.

[0048] 5 again, when the candidate patterns are extracted by the pattern extraction unit 163, the output processing unit 164 outputs the candidate patterns (step S9). Specifically, for example, at least one candidate pattern is displayed for each virtual block BR ​​on the display unit 14.

[0049] Thereafter, the pattern determination unit 165 determines a fixed pattern for each virtual block BR ​​in response to instructions from the user via the operation unit 13. This determines the overall shape of the exterior fence 9, and information on the fixed pattern (pattern information) for each virtual block BR ​​is stored in the design information storage unit 18 (step S11). This completes the shape design process for the exterior fence 9.

[0050] 6 and 7 show a vertical cross section of a virtual block BR, with multiple hole boundary heights set on each layer line. However, the virtual block BR ​​also has multiple hole boundary positions set on each layer line in the horizontal direction. In other words, the pattern calculation unit 162 calculates multiple hole shape patterns by varying the combination of two hole boundary lines L1, L2 that are positioned differently in the vertical direction, and the combination of two hole boundary lines (not shown) that are positioned differently in the horizontal direction. This results in the hole shapes of the exterior fence 9 becoming complex, three-dimensional shapes like those shown in the upper diagram of FIG. 8(A).

[0051] Therefore, the pattern information stored in the design information storage unit 18 includes, as dimensional information for each virtual block BR, the height and width of the through hole 90 on each layer line and the height and width of the shielding portion 93 on each layer line. The pattern information or basic information may also include the thickness of each layer. The bottom diagram in FIG. 8A shows an example of the dimensional information set for the through hole 90 shown in the top diagram in FIG. 8A.

[0052] Figure 8(B) shows a schematic diagram of an exterior fence 9 with through-holes 90 of various shapes. Note that for areas other than the line-of-sight blocking area 91, a maximum hole shape pattern such as that shown in Figure 6(A) may be set. Alternatively, any hole shape pattern may be set. This makes it easy to design an exterior fence 9 that can block views from outside while still allowing in natural light.

[0053] (Method determination processing) 9 is a flowchart showing a method determination process executed by the design support device 10 according to this embodiment. This process may be executed following the shape design process shown in FIG. 5, or may be executed independently of the shape design process.

[0054] The method determination unit 166 of the processor 11 first accepts the selection of the model of the modeling device 30 (the equipment to be used) via the operation unit 13 (step S31). It also accepts the selection of the material to be used in modeling the exterior fence 9 (step S33). The model of the modeling device 30 can be selected from multiple types, including, for example, a gantry type, a crane type, and a robot arm type. The material can be selected from multiple types, including, for example, mortar, resin, iron, wood, etc. The model and material of the modeling device 30 may be determined in advance.

[0055] Once the model of the modeling device 30 and the materials to be used are set in this manner, the method determination unit 166 executes a printable range determination (Step S35). Specifically, the method determination unit 166 determines whether the exterior structure fence 9 is within a range that can be printed by the modeling device 30 in one go, based on the model of the modeling device 30 set in Step S31 and basic information about the exterior structure fence 9 (such as the overall size). If it is determined that the entire exterior structure fence 9 can be physically printed by the modeling device 30 in one go, the process proceeds to Step S37. On the other hand, if it is determined that the entire exterior structure fence 9 cannot be physically printed by the modeling device 30 in one go, the process proceeds to Step S43. FIG. 10(A) illustrates an image of printable range determination.

[0056] In steps S37 and S43, the method determination unit 166 determines whether the shape can be formed. Specifically, the method determination unit 166 determines whether the shape can be formed by the modeling device 30 in the thickness direction of each virtual block BR ​​at once, based on the type of material used set in step S33 and the pattern information of each virtual block BR ​​of the exterior fence 9. For example, as shown in Fig. 10(B), if the tilt of the model is too large, the model may be crushed, and therefore the model is determined to be NG.

[0057] Depending on the combination of the results of determining the printable range and the results of determining the printable shape, one of the following methods is determined: a "full-layer printing method" in which the entire exterior fence 9 is output at once (without dividing it in the planar or thickness direction) as shown in Figure 11(A); a "layer-division printing method" in which the entire exterior fence 9 is divided into multiple layers and output as shown in Figure 11(B); a "region-based all-layer printing method" in which the entire exterior fence 9 is divided into multiple regions in the planar direction (without dividing it in the thickness direction) and output as shown in the left diagram of Figure 11(C); or a "region-based layer-division printing method" in which the entire exterior fence 9 is divided into multiple regions in the planar direction and then divided into multiple layers and output.

[0058] Specifically, if both the printable area and the printable shape are OK, the method is determined to be the "all-layer printing method" (Step S39), and if the printable area is OK but the printable shape is NG, the method is determined to be the "layer-division printing method" (Step S41). Also, if the printable area is NG but the printable shape is OK, the method is determined to be the "area-based all-layer printing method" (Step S45), and if both the printable area and the printable shape are NG, the method is determined to be the "area-based layer-division printing method" (Step S47).

[0059] Furthermore, if it is determined that the design is an area-based modeling method as shown in the left diagram of Figure 11(C), a design judgment is performed (steps S49, S53), and if it is not within the acceptable range from a design perspective, it may be determined that the design is a block-based modeling method corresponding to the virtual block BR ​​as shown in the right diagram of Figure 11(C) (steps S51, S55).

[0060] This is the end of the method determination process. The method determination unit 166 stores, in the design information storage unit 18, modeling method information for specifying the determined modeling method.

[0061] The modeling device 30 models the exterior fence 9 based on the pattern information and modeling method information stored in the design information storage unit 18. The various information stored in the design information storage unit 18 may be sent to a control device (not shown) of the modeling device 30, for example, via the communication I / F 15. If the modeling method is the "layer division modeling method," the exterior fence 9 is modeled by joining adjacent layers together. In this case, to increase the bonding strength between the layers, convex portions 81 or concave portions 82 may be provided on the bonding surfaces of adjacent layers, and the layers may be joined by fitting the convex portions 81 and concave portions 82 together, as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 11(B).

[0062] With the exterior structure fence construction system 1 described above, the exterior structure fence 9 can effectively conceal only the building opening (target area), as shown in Figure 12(C), compared to when a conventional louvered fence 901 or block wall 902 as shown in Figures 12(A) and (B) is placed in front of the building opening (target area). In other words, the exterior structure fence 9 can block views of the target area from the outside while ensuring lighting and ventilation. It also offers improved design compared to the louvered fence 901 or block wall 902.

[0063] <Modification> In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the design support device 10 calculates and extracts candidate patterns for the hole shapes of the virtual blocks BR included in the line-of-sight blocking range 91 of the exterior fence 9 in accordance with the line-of-sight environment conditions (line-of-sight vector), but for locations outside the line-of-sight blocking range 91, candidate patterns for the hole shapes of the virtual blocks BR may also be calculated and extracted in accordance with the lighting conditions. In other words, the hole shapes of the virtual blocks BR of the exterior fence 9 may be set taking into consideration both the line-of-sight environment conditions and the lighting conditions.

[0064] The hole shape calculation process based on the lighting conditions is shown in Fig. 13. In this modification, after the pattern calculation unit 162 calculates a plurality of hole shape patterns (step S21A) in the same manner as in step S21 in Fig. 5, the pattern extraction unit 163 executes a lighting simulation for each hole shape pattern according to, for example, the solar altitude (step S23A). The solar altitude is set in the setting process of the surrounding environment conditions by the setting processing unit 161 (step S1 in Fig. 5).

[0065] The lighting simulation uses a lighting vector calculated according to the solar altitude. The lighting vector is a directed line segment with the solar altitude as the inclination angle. The pattern extraction unit 163 extracts a hole shape pattern whose passing amount (light transmittance) of the lighting vector satisfies the target standard as a candidate pattern (tentative candidate pattern). Figure 14 illustrates the relationship between the lighting vector according to the solar altitude and the light transmittance due to differences in hole shape patterns. Note that the target standard for light transmittance may differ depending on the position of the virtual block BR. The target standard for light transmittance can be determined, for example, by setting a lighting coefficient in advance.

[0066] The daylighting coefficient will be explained with reference to FIG. 15. As shown in FIG. 15(A), depending on the solar altitude and solar radiation levels throughout the day, the exterior fence 9 has areas that are shaded at all times of the day and areas that are exposed to sunlight at certain times of the day. Therefore, the setting processor 161 may set a daylighting coefficient for each virtual block BR ​​based on the solar altitude and solar radiation levels obtained from weather data, for example. The daylighting coefficient is determined, for example, within the range of 0.1 to 0.9, depending on the degree of daylighting required. In the image diagram of FIG. 15(B), a virtual block with a daylighting coefficient of 0.1 (a location where less daylighting is acceptable) is indicated by "A," and a virtual block with a daylighting coefficient of 0.8 (a location where more daylighting is required) is indicated by "H."

[0067] 13, the pattern extraction unit 163 may extract a final candidate pattern by further considering at least one of the volume of the shading portion 93 and the indirect light in addition to the light transmittance (step S25A). For example, as shown in FIG. 16(A), an optimal solution is searched for for each virtual block BR ​​using the volume size and the amount of indirect light as objective functions. As shown in FIG. 16(B), when the light transmittance is set to a constant (e.g., 0.2), a hole shape pattern with a minimum level of volume and a minimum amount of indirect light (e.g., 0) may be extracted as a candidate pattern (step S27A).

[0068] As in this modified example, for areas other than the line-of-sight blocking area 91, the shape of the through-hole 90 in the exterior fence 9 can be optimized by extracting candidate hole shape patterns taking into account lighting conditions. Note that candidate hole shape patterns may also be extracted within the line-of-sight blocking area 91, taking lighting conditions into account. In other words, the extraction conditions for candidate patterns may include both line-of-sight transmittance and light transmittance. In this case, for virtual blocks BR within the line-of-sight blocking area 91, it is desirable to prioritize line-of-sight transmittance and then select based on light transmittance.

[0069] <Other variations> In this embodiment, the overall shape of the exterior fence 9 is a flat plate, but this is not limited to this example and the fence may have a curved surface that is curved vertically or horizontally. Also, while the thickness D of the exterior fence 9 is constant, this is not limited to this example and the fence may have different thicknesses in parts.

[0070] Furthermore, although the hole boundary lines L1, L2 of the through-hole 90 are shown as broken lines, they may also be smoothly curved. In other words, the three-dimensional shape of the through-hole 90 may be a deformed cylindrical shape without corners. This makes the inner circumferential surface of the shielding portion 93 a curved surface, which is expected to improve maintainability and ventilation. Furthermore, the shape of the imaginary block BR ​​itself is not limited to a polygonal shape, and may be, for example, a circle or a polygon with rounded corners.

[0071] In addition, in this embodiment, the pattern extraction unit 163 extracts candidate patterns from the plurality of hole shape patterns calculated by the pattern calculation unit 162 based on surrounding environmental conditions including at least one of line-of-sight environmental conditions and lighting conditions, but this is not limited to this example. For example, a target standard for light transmittance may be arbitrarily set without considering lighting conditions (surrounding environment) such as solar altitude, and the pattern extraction unit 163 may extract candidate patterns from the plurality of hole shape patterns whose light transmittance satisfies the target standard. Alternatively, without processing by the pattern extraction unit 163, the pattern determination unit 165 may determine one as a confirmed pattern for each virtual block BR ​​in response to a selection instruction from the user via the operation unit 13.

[0072] That is, regardless of the surrounding environmental conditions, any fixed pattern may be selected, for example, to improve the design of the exterior fence 9. The pattern calculation unit 162 of this embodiment calculates the hole shape pattern taking into account the modeling method used by the modeling device 30, so even in this case, it is possible to easily design an exterior fence 9 that is suited to the modeling method, and also to improve the design of the exterior fence 9.

[0073] In addition, in this embodiment, one information processing device constituting the design support device 10 executes both the shape design process and the method determination process, but both processes may be executed by different information processing devices.

[0074] The design support method (shape design processing and method determination processing) executed by the design support device 10 for the exterior fence 9 according to this embodiment can also be provided as a program. Such a program can be provided by being recorded on an optical medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-ROM) or a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium such as a memory card. The program can also be provided by downloading it over a network.

[0075] The program according to the present invention may execute processing by calling necessary modules in a predetermined sequence at a predetermined timing among program modules provided as part of a computer's operating system (OS). In this case, the program itself does not include the modules, and executes processing in cooperation with the OS. Programs that do not include such modules may also be included in the program according to the present invention.

[0076] Furthermore, the program according to the present invention may be provided as a part of another program. In this case, the program itself does not include the modules included in the other program, and executes processing in cooperation with the other program. Such a program incorporated in another program may also be included in the program according to the present invention.

[0077] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 1 Exterior structural fence formation system, 9 Exterior structural fence, 10 Design support device, 30 Forming device, 91 Line of sight blocking range, 93 Shielding unit, 161 Setting processing unit, 162 Pattern calculation unit, 163 Pattern extraction unit, 164 Output processing unit, 165 Pattern determination unit, 166 Method determination unit, BR virtual block, L1, L2 hole boundary line.

Claims

1. A design support device that supports the design of an exterior fence to be installed on the outdoor side of a target area on the periphery of a building, a pattern calculation means for setting layer lines for dividing each of the plurality of virtual blocks constituting the exterior fence into a plurality of layers in the thickness direction, and for calculating a plurality of hole shape patterns representing the shapes of through holes by changing hole boundary positions on the layer lines; and a pattern determination means for determining one of the plurality of hole shape patterns as a confirmed pattern for each of the virtual blocks.

2. 2. The exterior fence design support device according to claim 1, wherein the pattern calculation means calculates the plurality of hole shape patterns by respectively changing the combination of two hole boundary lines that are positioned differently in the vertical direction and the combination of two hole boundary lines that are positioned differently in the horizontal direction.

3. an extraction unit for extracting, for each virtual block, a candidate pattern whose light transmittance satisfies a target standard from among the plurality of hole shape patterns; 3. The design support device for an exterior fence according to claim 1, wherein the pattern determination means determines the final pattern from the candidate patterns extracted by the extraction means based on a selection instruction from a user.

4. 3. The design support device for an exterior fence according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a method determination means for determining, based on the determined pattern, the method for forming the exterior fence by the forming device as either an all-layer forming method in which the multiple layers are formed all at once, or a layer-division forming method in which the multiple layers are formed layer by layer.

5. 5. The design support device for exterior fences according to claim 4, wherein the method determination means determines whether the exterior fence is within a range that can be formed by the forming device, and if it is outside the range that can be formed, determines the method as a method for forming the exterior fence in units of areas that include at least one of the virtual blocks or in units of the virtual blocks.

6. A design support program that supports the design of an exterior fence to be installed on the outdoor side of a target area on the periphery of a building, a step of setting layer lines for dividing each of a plurality of virtual blocks constituting the exterior fence into a plurality of layers in the thickness direction, and calculating a plurality of hole shape patterns representing the shapes of through holes by changing hole boundary positions on the layer lines; and determining one of the plurality of hole shape patterns as a confirmed pattern for each of the virtual blocks.

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