CAD Annotation Scale Context Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer-aided design (CAD) systems require creating multiple versions of annotations for different view scales, which is time-consuming, prone to errors, and requires propagating changes to each version.
Innovation Solution
A method to identify and manage annotations based on their support for specific drawing scales, allowing for automatic addition or removal of annotations in a graphical view according to the current scale, with context settings for position, size, style, or rotation stored in a file.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple versions of annotations are created for different view scales, then annotations can appear in correct proportions at each scale, but the process becomes time-consuming and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
A single annotation object is made universal by associating it with multiple view scales. The annotation stores a collection of scale-context pairs, allowing it to automatically adapt its display properties across different view scales without requiring separate annotation instances for each scale.
Solution Approach 2:
The annotation's display parameters (position, size, style, rotation) are made dynamic by linking them to specific view scales. When the view scale changes, the annotation automatically retrieves and applies the appropriate context parameters stored in the data structure, eliminating manual recreation.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple versions of annotations are created for different view scales, then annotations can appear in correct proportions at each scale, but changes must be propagated to each version manually
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple annotation versions are merged into a single annotation object. Instead of maintaining separate annotation instances for different scales, the patent combines them into one object that internally manages multiple scale contexts, reducing complexity and enabling centralized editing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automatic feedback mechanisms where changes to the annotation are automatically propagated to all associated view scales. The data structure monitors modifications and triggers updates across all scale contexts, eliminating manual propagation efforts.
3Productivity
If a single annotation supports multiple scales with different contexts, then the annotation system becomes more complex, but it eliminates the need to create multiple annotation versions
Solution Approach 1:
The annotation data structure is segmented into distinct components: a collection of scale-context pairs, where each pair contains view scale information and associated annotation parameters. This modular structure manages complexity by organizing data into manageable, independent units that can be selectively applied.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary data structure that mediates between the single annotation object and multiple view scales. This intermediate layer stores and manages the scale-context associations, simplifying the interaction between the annotation and various view scales while containing the complexity within a standardized interface.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure includes systems, methods and program products for identifying a drawing scale for a graphical view of a drawing having associated annotations, each of the annotations being associated with one or more views and support at least one drawing scale; selected one or more annotations as a subset of the associated annotations by identifying the subset of annotations while excluding from the subset ones that are not associated with the graphical view or do not support the drawing scale, based at least in part on the graphical view and the drawing scale; retrieving for each of the selected annotations, associated context for the drawing scale, the context specifying one or more of: the annotation's position, style or rotation in the graphical view; and adding a graphical representation of each of the selected annotations to the graphical view according to the drawing scale and each annotation's respective context.