CAx Model Node Transaction History for Undo Redo
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Solution Overview
Problem
Computer-aided design and engineering systems face challenges in balancing the time it takes to load and render models with the need for flexibility and usability features, such as undoing, redoing edits, and reverting to previous revisions, due to the increased storage requirements for transaction histories.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that store engineering objects as nodes with associated transaction histories, allowing for determining the state of selected features at specific points in time, rendering or simulating branches of hierarchical trees, and compacting the object model by removing unnecessary transaction history, while maintaining version identifiers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If transaction history is stored for each feature node to support undo/redo operations, then flexibility and usability are improved, but model loading and rendering time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the CAx model into a hierarchical structure of nodes (assembly nodes, part nodes, feature nodes) where transaction history is stored separately for each feature node. This segmentation allows the system to maintain comprehensive transaction history while enabling selective loading and rendering of only necessary model portions, thus supporting undo/redo operations without requiring the entire model to be loaded into memory simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension by storing transaction history as sequential states for each feature node. This allows the system to retrieve past states for undo/redo operations without storing complete model snapshots at each point in time. The transaction history adds a time-based dimension to the data structure, enabling historical state retrieval while maintaining efficient storage and access patterns.
2Adaptability or versatility
If complete model data is stored to support revision management, then usability features are improved, but storage requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts transaction history data from the main model structure and stores it separately as associated data for each feature node. This separation allows the system to maintain revision management capabilities while avoiding duplication of model data. When a revision is needed, only the relevant feature node states are retrieved from transaction history rather than loading complete model snapshots.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local storage of transaction history at each feature node level rather than maintaining a global copy of the entire model history. This local quality approach ensures that each feature node contains only its own state history, reducing overall storage requirements while still enabling comprehensive revision management across the entire model through the hierarchical node structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for providing CAx data may include (1) storing a model of an engineering object as a group of nodes including one or more feature nodes, (2) associating a corresponding transaction history with each feature node, the transaction history indicating one or more states for a feature over time, and (3) determining a state of a selected feature node at a selected point in time by accessing the corresponding transaction history of the selected feature node. Various other methods and systems are also disclosed.