Automated Fire System Icon Placement via Text Pattern Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manual process of configuring fire system device icons on building floor plans is time-consuming and often inaccurate, as existing automation methods rely on graphical and image processing pattern matching techniques that are unreliable.
Innovation Solution
The use of regular expression pattern matching to extract text from building information models (BIMs) and match it with fire system device configurations, allowing for the accurate placement of icons on floor plans, reducing labor time and improving accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual process is used to configure fire system device icons on building floor plans, then accuracy can be maintained through human judgment, but time consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical configuration processes with an automated computer-based system that uses optical character recognition (OCR) and pattern matching to automatically locate and place fire system device icons on floor plans, eliminating manual labor while maintaining accuracy through algorithmic text matching
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service automation where the computer automatically performs the entire icon placement process without human intervention, using OCR to extract text from floor plans, match device addresses, and position icons autonomously
2Loss of time
If graphical pattern matching and image processing techniques are used to automate icon placement, then time consumption is reduced, but accuracy becomes unacceptably low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes graphical pattern matching and image processing techniques with optical character recognition (OCR) technology that reads and interprets text directly from floor plans, providing more reliable and accurate device location identification through text-based rather than image-based methods
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces text extraction and pattern matching as an intermediary step between the floor plan image and the icon placement process, using extracted text strings as a reliable mediator to accurately identify device locations without relying on direct graphical pattern recognition
3Productivity
If manual configuration process is used, then system complexity remains low, but productivity decreases due to time-consuming manual work
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces simple manual configuration operations with an automated computer-based system that integrates OCR, text extraction, pattern matching, and automatic icon placement functions, increasing productivity while managing complexity through software automation
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves multi-functionality by combining text extraction, device address matching, coordinate calculation, and icon placement capabilities into a single automated platform that can handle various floor plan formats and device types, improving productivity across diverse applications
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for automatically placing a fire system device icon on a drawing of a building floor plan are provided. Such systems and methods can include parsing a drawing file, searching the drawing file as parsed for a text string that matches known device address formats, storing the text string with coordinates corresponding to a location of the text string in the drawing file, retrieving a plurality of device addresses, matching the text string with one of the plurality of device addresses, and placing the fire system device icon for the one of the plurality of device addresses at the coordinates corresponding to the location of the text string in the drawing file.