US5761664A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Hierarchical data model for design automation
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1993-06-11
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Granted: 1998-06-02
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Expires: 2013-06-11
Abstract
Abstract A computer model for facilitating computer assisted design includes data structures which are flexibly organized by storing of information in accordance with entities or simulations thereof (including symbolic layer entities, area entities, area spec entities and area spec usage pattern entities), which are hierarchically associated both by relationships between them at a given level of abstraction of the physical entity they represent and by various attributes that correspond to different levels of abstraction in graphs. The graphs are freely mappable onto any desired fixed data structure such as a hierarchical area tree. Each hierarchical level and particularly the symbolic layer entity within the computer model provides data hiding at each lower level thereof and thus provides data hiding in the fixed data structure by virtue of the mapping function in order to reduce data processing overhead for manipulation of the fixed data structure. Further spatial restriction within one or more symbolic layers is provided by means of an applications window entity. Data compaction is provided by provision of data sharing of area spec entities by plural area entities which are otherwise uniquely maintained.
Inventors
- 👤 John Sayah
- 👤 Vinod Narayanan
- 👤 Philip Honsinger
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 23:23
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F30/00; G06F30/30; G06F30/39
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
130 words
An information model comprising a first data structure containing, at respective nodes, descriptions of physical or abstracted physical attributes of a spatially partitioned physical structure, said descriptions of physical or abstracted physical attributes being partitioned hierarchically, a second data structure containing, at respective nodes, a nested, compacted, representation of each said hierarchical partition of said physical or abstracted physical attributes and specifications of each said hierarchical partition of said physical or abstracted physical attributes, and an interface means for encapsulating said first and second data structures from inquiring applications each said node of said first data structure mapping to a node of said second data structure and each node of said second data structure mapping to at least one node at a single hierarchical level of said first data structure.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
130 words
An information model comprising a first data structure containing, at respective nodes, descriptions of physical or abstracted physical attributes of a spatially partitioned physical structure, said descriptions of physical or abstracted physical attributes being partitioned hierarchically, a second data structure containing, at respective nodes, a nested, compacted, representation of each said hierarchical partition of said physical or abstracted physical attributes and specifications of each said hierarchical partition of said physical or abstracted physical attributes, and an interface means for encapsulating said first and second data structures from inquiring applications each said node of said first data structure mapping to a node of said second data structure and each node of said second data structure mapping to at least one node at a single hierarchical level of said first data structure.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
An information model as recited in claim 1, wherein said respective nodes of said second data structures are related in a hierarchy.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
34 words
An information model as recited in claim 1, wherein said encapsulation means further includes means for accessing, interrogating or changing at least one selected node of one of said first and second data structures.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
An information model as recited in claim 1, further including scoping means for defining a spatial restriction of said physical structure within said encapsulation means and said first and second data structures encapsulated therein.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
34 words
An information model as recited in claim 4, wherein said encapsulation means further includes means for accessing, interrogating or changing at least one selected node of one of said first and second data structures.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
53 words
An information model as recited in claim 1, further including means for specifying or altering said descriptions of physical or abstracted physical attributes of a spatially partitioned physical structure and means for altering said descriptions at hierarchically higher nodes of said first data structure corresponding to said specification or alteration of said descriptions.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
48 words
An information model as recited in claim 6, further including means for simulating a specification or alteration of said descriptions of physical or abstracted physical attributes at a lower level of said hierarchical partition of said first data structure at a higher level of said first data structure.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
50 words
An information model as recited in claim 7, wherein said means for simulating a specification or alteration of said descriptions includes at least one of data processing means to produce the effect of relationships between entities, and a data structure to record or simulate existence of a relationship between entities.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
120 words
A method of performing an operation on data representing physical or abstracted physical attributes of an object including the steps of specifying said data in a first data structure in a hierarchical form, storing specification data in nodes of a second data structure, said second data structure being hierarchically partitioned, said specification data at a node of said second data structure corresponding to said data stored in at least one node at a single hierarchical level of said first data structure, mapping nodes of said first data structure to nodes of said second data structure, and forming an encapsulating layer which interfaces with said first and second data structures for accessing, interrogating and altering said first and second data structures.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
120 words
A method of performing an operation on data representing physical or abstracted physical attributes of an object including the steps of specifying said data in a first data structure in a hierarchical form, storing specification data in nodes of a second data structure, said second data structure being hierarchically partitioned, said specification data at a node of said second data structure corresponding to said data stored in at least one node at a single hierarchical level of said first data structure, mapping nodes of said first data structure to nodes of said second data structure, and forming an encapsulating layer which interfaces with said first and second data structures for accessing, interrogating and altering said first and second data structures.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method as recited in claim 9, wherein said encapsulation step includes the further step of isolating a partition of said encapsulation layer.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as recited in claim 10, wherein said partition is a spatial partition corresponding to a portion of said object.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method as recited in claim 11, wherein said spatial filter partition is defined to coincide with hierarchical differentiation criteria of a user-defined hierarchy.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method as recited in claim 10, wherein said partition is a informational filter partition.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method as recited in claim 13, wherein said informational filter partition is defined to coincide with hierarchical differentiation criteria of a user-defined hierarchy.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-06-01 | 2001-12-01 | 2002-06-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-06-01 | 2005-12-01 | 2006-06-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-06-01 | 2009-12-01 | 2010-06-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |