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Automatic alignment of objects in two-dimensional and three-dimensional display space using an alignment field gradient
| Details |
Inventors: Venolia, Daniel S.;
Assignee: Apple Computer, Inc. (Cupertino, CA)
Primary Examiner: Jankus; Almis R.
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Gard; V. Randall
A method and apparatus for automatic alignment of manipulated objects in two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphic space. The present invention provides an alignment field gradient which emanates from objects surrounding the manipulated object(s). As a user manipulates an object, the present invention attracts the manipulated object into an aligned position and orientation with another object(s) in the displayed three-dimensional display space. The present invention provides alignment of all combinations of vertices, edges and planar faces for three-dimensional polyhedral objects and for all combinations of vertices and edges for two-dimensional polygonal objects. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, a representative hardware environment for the present invention is depicted in FIG.
1, which illustrates a suitable hardware configuration of a computer system 1640 in accordance with the present invention.
The computer system 1640 comprises a central processing unit 1610, such as a conventional microprocessor, and a number of other devices interconnected via a computer system bus 1612.
The computer system 1640 further comprises a random access memory (RAM) 1614, a read only memory (ROM) 1616, an input/output (I/O) adapter 1618 for connecting peripheral devices such as nonvolatile memory devices such as disk units 1620 to bus 1612, a user interface adapter 1622 for connecting a keyboard 1624, a graphic object controller 1626 such as a mouse, a speaker 1628, a microphone 1632, and/or other user interface devices (not illustrated) to the bus 1612.
The computer system 1640 may also comprise a communications adapter 1634 for connecting the bus 1612 to a data processing network 1630 (not illustrated) and a display adapter 1636 for converting the display information from the bus 1612 to video information to drive a display device 1638.
In a preferred embodiment, a Macintosh Quadra 950 computer manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc.
of Cupertino, Calif.
, may be utilized.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a three-axis mouse as the graphical object controller for use with the graphical user interface.
The present invention utilizes the Macintosh computer system and the mouse to enable a user to manipulate and automatically align objects appearing on the computer display screen.
The manipulated objects appear as objects in 2D and 3D display space which may be compiled into an aggregation of objects viewed together as a display scene.
Users can utilize the 3D mouse to move objects to their approximate desired positions after which the present invention provides assistance in order to attain more exact object positioning (orientation and alignment)
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Graphic Cards 
