JP2001101259A - System for supporting spatial element arrangement design - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a design support system for examining a new design plan by permitting an examiner who are experiencing a virtual space to extract required spatial elements from a database and arrange them in the virtual space. SOLUTION: The system is provided with a display means 1 for displaying in the virtual space a design object which is constituted by arranging >=1 spatial elements, a three-dimensional shape database DB1 storing three-dimensional shape data of the spatial elements, an attribute database DB2 for storing the attribute data of the elements, an operating means 7 provided at least with a function to designate the positions in the virtual space, a retrieving means 10 for extracting the spatial elements from DB1 and an editing means 5 for positioning the extracted spatial elements at the designated positions in the virtual space with attribute data as a restricting condition.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a space element layout design support system for providing design support using virtual reality technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, when designing a property such as a building, civil engineering work, a landscape, or the like, design support using drawings or perspectives has been provided for paper-based objects. Further, in the case of using a computer, a CAD system is generally widespread. However, in this case, a user who cannot read a drawing cannot perform a design study, and as a result, cannot participate in the design. As a system for solving the problem, there has been proposed a device which constructs a virtual space that does not actually exist on a computer so that a non-expert user can participate in a design operation (Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-192066).

[0003]

However, in the conventional apparatus, since the user only experiences the data set prepared in advance, the versatility in data manipulation, such as the ability to respond to a design change, is poor. As a problem had arisen.

An object of the present invention is to enable an examiner who is experiencing a virtual space on a network including the Internet to extract necessary space elements from a database and arrange them in the virtual space. An object of the present invention is to provide a space element layout design support system that can consider a new design plan.
Further, the present invention provides a design support system in which an examiner is provided with a function for interactively setting various conditions in a landscape simulation such as a walk-through speed, lighting, and a viewing angle, and is capable of examining a landscape under various conditions. It is. Further, in the present invention, it is possible to realize a simple design editing operation in a virtual space and to improve the design editing function.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, to solve the above problems, as shown in FIG.
A display unit 1 for displaying a design object configured by arranging one or more space elements in a virtual space, a three-dimensional shape database DB1 storing three-dimensional shape data of the space elements, and attributes of the space elements Attribute database DB2 that stores data
An operation unit 7 having at least a function of designating a position in the virtual space; a search unit 10 for extracting a space element from the three-dimensional shape database DB1; Editing means 5 for arranging the data at a designated position in the virtual space as a constraint condition.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, a means 9 for changing the viewing angle of the virtual space displayed by the first display means 1 is provided. It is. According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described configuration, a function of saving the design plan edited by the editing means 5 in a file is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, there is provided means for interactively changing a speed at which the virtual space displayed by the display means 1 is walked through. It is. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, a means for interactively changing the light source in the virtual space displayed by the display means 1 is provided.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, there is provided means for displaying the specific attribute contents of the attribute database DB2 storing attribute data of the spatial element. It is assumed that. According to the invention of claim 7, in addition to the above configuration, there is provided means for calculating and displaying the total amount of the design plan according to the price and the arrangement status of the space element arranged in the virtual space. Is what you do.

Further, according to the invention of claim 8, in addition to the above configuration, a display in which the spatial elements arranged in the virtual space are arranged and displayed at appropriate positions in consideration of the current viewpoint position. A means is provided. Heretofore, it has been located at a fixed location such as the origin, so that it has been difficult for the user to confirm where the spatial element is located in the large virtual space. The user can easily confirm the position by taking the current viewpoint position into consideration and arranging it at an appropriate position.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, a means for performing a rotating operation is provided on a space element arranged in the virtual space. . According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, for a spatial element arranged in the virtual space, changeable color information is extracted from an attribute database storing attribute data of the spatial element, A means for performing a color changing operation is provided.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described configuration, a texture that can be changed from an attribute database storing attribute data of a spatial element for a spatial element arranged in a virtual space. The present invention is characterized in that there is provided means capable of extracting pattern information and performing a texture (pattern) changing operation. According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, a means for interactively changing and operating an alternative registered in the database in advance is provided.

[0012]

FIG. 2 shows an example of an outline of a screen display of the system of the present invention. In the figure, 11 is a virtual space display unit, 12 is an operation button group, 13 is a viewing angle change operation unit, 14 is a plan view display unit, 15 is a mouse mode setting unit, and 16 is a space element search unit.

First, a configuration for arranging spatial elements, which is the gist of the present invention, will be described. The virtual space display section 11 displays an apartment and a park as an example of a design target. There are several trees in the park, and in the center there is a bench as a place for recreation, a tent like an object covering the bench, and a floodlight for lighting up. In the present invention, a space element refers to a part arranged in space, such as a tree, a bench, or a tent.

The space element search unit 16 at the lower right of the screen in FIG. 2 specifies a category, a type, and a size.
A desired spatial element can be selected from a database. For example, if a tree category is selected, various tree types can be selected. For example, if a pine type is selected from the tree types and a size can be specified, a height is specified (for example, 7 m). , The three-dimensional shape data of the pine tree is read. When the list display button of the search unit 16 is operated (for example, clicked with a mouse), a pine tree design as shown is displayed in a list. When you select your favorite design from the list, it is displayed in a bold frame.

The mouse mode setting unit 15 sets the mouse mode to the parts editing mode, and the plan view display unit 14
(For example, point X on the plan view) is plotted on the plan view (the top view of the examination target displayed on the virtual space display unit 11 is displayed). Then, the selected part is displayed on the virtual space display unit 11. If you plot multiple points one after another, you can place multiple trees. Also, by dragging the points plotted on the plan view with the mouse, the parts displayed in the virtual space can be moved, and the parts displayed in the virtual space display unit 11 can be moved with the mouse or the operation button. The operation of moving, rotating, or tilting the group 12 is possible. The operation button group 12 is used for moving, rotating, and tilting the selected / displayed part when the mouse mode is the part edit mode, and is used by the user when the mouse mode is the viewpoint edit mode. It shall be used to move the viewpoint or change the direction on the spot. When returning a moved part or a removed part to its original position, UndoMove or Und at the center of the right end of the screen
A button labeled oDelete is used.

Next, the mouse mode setting unit 15
The case where the mouse mode is set to the viewpoint editing mode and the viewpoint position of the user is changed will be described. In order to change the viewpoint position, the user operates the operation button group 12 to walk through the front, rear, left and right in the virtual space, and inputs the viewpoint position on the plan view display unit 14 to instantly change the viewpoint position. There is a way to move. That is, if the user clicks an arbitrary point on the plan view display unit 14 with the mouse cursor after selecting the viewpoint editing mode, the viewpoint position of the user is instantaneously moved to the position of the mouse cursor.
This function of instantly moving the viewpoint position is particularly useful when moving a long distance in a virtual space. Plan view display unit 1
4 is provided with an operation unit for vertical scrolling on the right side and an operation unit for left and right scrolling on the lower side. You can instantly display the virtual space you saw.

Here, the mark P on the plan view display section 14 indicates the position of the user's viewpoint, and the arrow C indicates the direction of the user's point of gaze. A solid line R indicates the right end of the visual field, and a solid line L indicates the left end of the visual field. The solid lines R and L express the viewing angle.

Next, in order to change the direction of the user's point of gaze, the user operates the operation button group 12 to change the direction in the virtual space. There is a method of dragging. Thereby, the image of the virtual space displayed on the virtual space display unit 11 is rotated (scrolled to the left and right), and the directions of the arrows C and the viewing angle display lines R and L of the plan view display unit 14 are simultaneously changed. Since it rotates, if you look at the arrow C in the plan view, you can easily grasp which direction you are looking at now. Since the scale (0 to 40 m in the illustrated example) is displayed on the plan view display section 14, the size can be easily grasped.

The viewing angle changing operation unit 13 indicates that the current viewing angle is equivalent to the viewing angle of a standard lens having a focal length of 35 mm. When the wide-angle lens expression is selected by shortening the focal length by operating the viewing angle changing operation unit 13, the angle between the solid lines R and L of the plan view display unit 14 increases, and the virtual space display unit 11 Is displayed as viewed at a viewing angle of about 150 to 160 degrees for adults. When the telephoto lens expression is selected by increasing the focal length, the angle formed by the solid lines R and L in the plan view display unit 14 becomes small, and the virtual space display unit 11 looks like a telephoto lens expressing perspective. Display. Thus, the design can be examined while grasping the scale of the object to be examined.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a functional block diagram of a software configuration for arranging space elements in a virtual space. The category, type, and height (size) are selected from the database storing the spatial elements, and the candidate elements are displayed and selected, whereby the spatial elements are extracted. By determining the arrangement position on the plan view display unit, the position where the space element is arranged and the shape data of the space element are transmitted to the virtual space display unit, and the space element is displayed. If you edit the displayed space element in virtual space or plan view,
The result is updated and displayed simultaneously in the virtual space and the plan view.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram functionally showing a software configuration for changing the viewing angle displayed in the virtual space in real time. The viewing angle changing operation unit has, for example, a virtual lens exchange function for selecting a viewing angle corresponding to a standard lens, a wide-angle lens, and a telephoto lens, or a virtual zoom lens function for continuously changing a focal length. When the viewing angle is set by the angle changing function, the drawing program that displays the virtual space acquires the viewing angle information, and displays the virtual space at the set viewing angle.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration when the system of the present invention is realized on a personal computer. The virtual space display means 1 is a drawing program for displaying a virtual space displayed on the virtual space display unit 11,
The plan view display means 2 is a drawing program for displaying a plan view displayed on the plan view display unit 14. The display unit 3 includes a monitor and a graphic board. The viewpoint information display means 4 is a means for realizing a function of displaying viewpoint information (a viewpoint position, a gazing point direction, a viewing angle, etc.) in a virtual space in real time on a plan view. The editing unit 5 is a unit for realizing an editing function of moving or removing a part (for example, the tree in FIG. 2) in the virtual space in the above-described part editing mode. The viewpoint information setting means 6 is a means for realizing a function of reflecting the viewpoint information specified on the plan view on the display of the virtual space in real time. The operation unit 7 is an input device having at least a function of designating and inputting a position on the screen drawn on the display unit 3, and is realized by, for example, a mouse body, a mouse port of a computer, and a mouse driver. The switching unit 8 is a unit for switching the mouse mode between the viewpoint editing mode and the parts editing mode. The viewing angle changing means 9 is a means for implementing a function of changing the viewing angle displayed in the virtual space (see FIG. 4). The search means 10 is a means for realizing a function of designating a category, a type, and a size of a space element and extracting a desired space element from a database. The search means 10 includes the search unit 16 in FIG. 2, the viewing angle changing means 9 includes the viewing angle changing unit 13 in FIG. 2, and the switching means 8 includes the mouse mode setting unit 15 in FIG. This is a program module including a function of displaying, and obtains operation information of a mouse from a mouse driver constituting the operation unit 7 and realizes operations of searching, changing a viewing angle, and switching a mouse mode. DB
Reference numeral 1 denotes a three-dimensional shape database in which three-dimensional shape data of each space element is stored. DB2 is an attribute database, which stores data of attributes (whether or not rotation and inclination are possible) of each spatial element.

Referring to FIG. 1, a description will be given of a function which is a main part of the system of the present invention. First, the search unit 10 searches the three-dimensional shape database DB1 by specifying a category, a type, and a size, and when a desired space element is selected, the virtual space display unit 1 displays the virtual space displayed on the display unit 3 by the virtual space display unit 1. The selected spatial element is image-combined and pasted. When the mouse mode is set to the parts editing mode by the switching means 8 and a position on the plan view is designated by the operating means 7, the editing means 5 acquires the mouse cursor coordinates from the plan view display means 2, and displays the coordinates on the virtual space display means 1. Give the part coordinates. This allows editing of the virtual space (arrangement of space elements). In addition, the editing unit 5 has an attribute for each spatial element (for example, a tree can be rotated but a slope is prohibited).
Is read from the attribute database DB2, it is possible to prevent irrational editing against the attribute of the spatial element from being performed.

Next, when the mouse mode is set to the viewpoint edit mode by the switching means 8 and an operation for moving in the virtual space is performed by the operation means 7, the display of the virtual space is performed in real time by the virtual space display means 1. Updated, at the same time,
The viewpoint information display unit 4 transmits the viewpoint information to the plan view display unit 2, and the viewpoint information is overwritten on the plan view. Further, when the position on the plan view is designated by the operating means 7,
The viewpoint information setting means 6 acquires the mouse cursor coordinates from the plan view display means 2 and gives the virtual space display means 1 new viewpoint coordinates. Thereby, the viewpoint of the virtual space displayed by the virtual space display means 1 can be instantaneously moved. Further, when the viewing angle is changed by the viewing angle changing means 9, the virtual space display means 1 displays the virtual space with the changed viewing angle. When the viewpoint and the viewing angle of the virtual space display unit 1 are changed by the viewpoint information setting unit 6 and the viewing angle changing unit 9,
Since the viewpoint information (viewpoint, gazing point direction, viewing angle) is always transmitted to the plan view display unit 2 by the viewpoint information display unit 4, the viewpoint display position on the plan view and the angle of the viewing angle display line are simultaneously updated. You.

Thus, according to the system of the present invention,
The category, type, and size can be selected from the spatial element database, the selected spatial element can be newly placed in the virtual space, and the placed spatial element can be moved or rotated. While you can consider. As a result, the user examines the prepared virtual space (design plan) while walking through it, and when it is necessary to change the design, the user can use this system to comfortably edit and design the virtual space. It can be carried out. The user can also use the system of the present invention via a network.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of editing on a network. In the figure, reference numeral A denotes a database-equipped terminal, which is equipped with a database DB storing data of properties to be examined, and has the system described with reference to FIGS. Customers a1 and a2 operating the database-equipped terminal A can use the present system at that location. Further, a customer b or a customer c operating another terminal B or C at a remote place can connect to the database-installed terminal A via the network N and use the present system at a remote place. That is, the customer b and the customer c use the database at the terminal A equipped with the database through the network N.
This is performed at the local terminals B and C. Further, in the present system, a function of bidirectional transmission and reception via the network N so that the same data can be shared between arbitrary customers, for example, between the customers b and c, and opinions can be exchanged with each other. Also have. Each of the terminals A to C can be realized by a general personal computer. The network N may include the Internet in addition to the in-house network.

FIG. 6 shows another example of the outline of the screen display of the system of the present invention. In this example, a lighting setting unit 17 for setting lighting necessary for a landscape simulation study and a speed setting unit 18 for setting a walk-through speed are provided, and the examiner sets various environmental conditions. The design can be considered. For example, a design plan considered in the daytime sun position may fail at the evening sun position due to the shadow of the building. Therefore, the lighting setting unit 17 is operated to simulate the position of the sun according to the time zone,
You can study the landscape in the morning, daytime, and evening. Also,
The impression felt when walking through the virtual space at the speed of a pedestrian, the impression felt when passing by bicycle, and the impression felt when passing by car are considered to be different. Therefore, by operating the speed setting unit 18, it is possible to examine the impression received when walking through the pedestrian, the bicycle, and the car at respective speeds. In the example shown,
The setting is for examining the scenery when passing by a car (50 km / h) in the daytime (2 PM).

Also, in this example, a save button 19 for saving the result of the design editing is provided, and a new design plan generated as a result of the design editing in the virtual space and stored in the memory is provided. Can be saved to a file. As a result, the stored file can be used secondarily, and can be linked with, for example, existing CAD software.

Further, in this embodiment, a function for displaying the specific contents of the attribute data of the space element is provided. FIG.
In the space element search unit 16 at the lower right of the screen,
By specifying the type and size, a desired spatial element can be selected from the database. For example, if you select a category of lighting poles, you can select various types of lighting poles, and from among them,
For example, when the type of the middle pole is selected and the height is designated (for example, 7 m) when the size can be designated, the three-dimensional shape data of the middle pole is read from the database.
When a button of the list display of the search unit 16 is operated (for example, clicked with a mouse), the design of the middle pole as shown is displayed in a list. When you select your favorite design from the list, it is displayed in a bold frame. In the present system, a screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the monitor by designating (for example, double-clicking with a mouse) the portion surrounded by the thick frame. Here, detailed information of the designated lighting pole is displayed. The screen shown in FIG. 7 is partially overlapped with the screen shown in FIG. 6 by a well-known multi-window system. The screen can be erased by clicking the X mark at the upper right of the screen shown in FIG. 7 with a mouse. Can be. If a plurality of designs displayed in a list are selected one after another from the screen of FIG. 6, a screen for displaying the specific contents of the attribute data of the spatial element as shown in FIG. You can also compare.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the software configuration for realizing the above functions in a functionally block diagram. In the figure, DB1 is a database storing three-dimensional shape data of space elements, DB2 is a database storing information attached to data, and DB3 is a database storing prices and construction costs of space elements. These databases DB1 to DB3 can be searched by the database display / search unit, and the data of the space element searched from the database DB1 is arranged and displayed in the virtual space unit. The additional information retrieved from the database DB2 is displayed by an additional information (detailed data) display function as shown in FIG. Further, the price information retrieved from the database DB3 is displayed as the price of the design plan by the price calculation / display function. This price calculation and display function may be used to link data to existing estimate creation software, and list the price and construction cost of the space element selected in the design proposal, and display the total cost Alternatively, it can be printed out. The lighting setting function for setting the necessary lighting in the virtual space and the speed setting function for setting the walk-through speed correspond to the functions of the setting operation units 17 and 18 in FIG. The design editing saving function for saving the result corresponds to the function of the save button 19 in FIG.

FIG. 9 shows another example of the outline of the screen display of the system of the present invention. In this example, a landscape centered on the sidewalk is displayed on the virtual space display unit 11,
A street light arranged on the sidewalk is selected from the space element search unit 16 as a space element arranged in the virtual space, arranged at an appropriate position in consideration of the current viewpoint position, and displayed. is there. The button 16A on the screen in FIG. 9 is a button for selecting “street light” as the category of the space element. By clicking the button 16A with the mouse, various street lights are selected in the space element search unit 16. Listed as possible. Here, as the types of street lights, two types of “mall light modern” and “mall light basic” can be selected by the type designation button 16B. In the illustrated example, the former is selected and the high is selected. Light is displayed. From the types of street lights displayed in the list, a street light having a design that matches the landscape centered on the sidewalk displayed on the virtual space display unit 11 is selected. The detailed attribute data of the selected space element is displayed on a screen 21 that displays the specific contents of the attribute data of the space element. Here, a product code, a price, a size, the number of pages of a catalog, a comment, and the like are displayed. This screen 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a window for simply displaying the attached information (detailed data) display described with reference to FIG. 7 on the same screen as the virtual space element search unit 16. The selected space element can be pasted at an appropriate position on the virtual space display unit 11 by, for example, a drag and drop operation of a mouse. As a result, a screen as shown in FIG. 9 is created. The created screen is saved as a file by a save button 19, and the saved file can be opened by a call button 20.

FIG. 10 shows an outline of a screen display of the system of the present invention as another example. In this example, the direction of the street light is changed in the screen display shown in FIG.
By operating the button 22 for rotating the space element with a mouse, the streetlight displayed on the virtual space display unit 11 can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise when viewed from directly above. A delete button 23 is provided on the right side of the rotation button 22. This is used when selecting and deleting a space element displayed on the virtual space display unit 11. Further, a color editing operation unit 24 is provided on the right side of the delete button 23. This color editing operation unit 24
May be a palette in which the user can freely edit a favorite color, or a menu format in which the user can select a desired color from predetermined selectable colors. good. For example, in the screen display shown in FIG. 10, when silver can be selected in addition to black being displayed as the color of the street light, and the user operates the color editing operation unit 24 to select silver, the screen shown in FIG. The screen display is as shown. Therefore, the user first selects a street light as a spatial element with the category button 16A, further selects a type of the street light with the type designation button 16B, selects an appropriate product while viewing the list display, and obtains detailed data. Is displayed on the screen 21 and arranged in the scenery of the virtual space display section 11 while referring to the price and catalog information, and examined while changing the direction and the color. You can easily edit the design by fixing it and saving it to a file if you like.

FIG. 12 shows another example of the outline of the screen display of the system of the present invention. In this example, the virtual space display section 11 displays a historical scenery (the torii gate and approach to the shrine) and a scene of a modern building surrounding it.
Here, a case will be described in which how the overall landscape changes by changing the pattern (texture) of the pavement on the sidewalk is described. Button 16 on the screen of FIG.
C is a button for designing and editing a cobblestone pattern on the sidewalk. By clicking this button 16C with a mouse, various cobblestone patterns are displayed in a selectable list on the space element search unit 16. . The pattern selected from these is displayed, for example, by a mouse drag and drop operation as shown by an arrow S in FIG.
On the sidewalk. This allows
You can freely change the pattern of the space element displayed in the virtual space,
You can examine how the landscape changes before and after. The button 16 for editing the street light design
Between A and a button 16C for selecting a cobblestone pattern, a button for designing and editing a tree to be arranged on the sidewalk is further provided. This is the same as the contents already described with reference to FIG. Since they overlap, detailed description is omitted.

FIG. 13 shows another example of the outline of the screen display of the system of the present invention. In this example, the function of the alternative selection operation unit 25 provided at the lower left of the screen will be described. The virtual space display section 11 displays the historical landscape (the torii gate and approach to the shrine) and the landscape of the modern building surrounding it, but the historical landscape is buried in the modern building. FIG. 13 shows an alternative example 1 in which a part of a modern building is demolished and the historical landscape is pushed out to the front in contrast to the present situation in FIG. The user operates buttons such as “current situation”, “alternative plan 1”, “alternative plan 2”, and “alternative plan 3” of the alternative plan selecting operation unit 25 with a mouse to switch between the prepared alternative plans. We can consider. If such a system is made public on the Internet, it will be possible to create a city that reflects the opinions of many people.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the software configuration for realizing the above functions in a functionally block diagram. In the figure, DB1 is a database storing three-dimensional shape data of a spatial element, and DB2 is a database storing information attached to data and a price. These databases DB1 and DB2 can be searched by the database display / search unit, and the data of the space element searched from the database DB1 is arranged and displayed in the virtual space unit. Further, the accessory information retrieved from the database DB2 is sent to the rotation angle, color, and texture change candidate display function unit, and is used for changing the rotation angle, color, and texture of the space element displayed in the virtual space unit. Here, the rotation angle changing function is the operation unit 22 and the color changing function is the operation unit 2.
4. The texture change function corresponds to the operation unit 16C. The alternative change function unit that sets alternatives for the current situation displayed in the virtual space corresponds to the operation unit 25.

[0036]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the examiner experiencing the virtual space can extract necessary space elements from the database, and can extract the extracted data in the virtual space. Since they can be arranged, a new design plan can be considered. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the examiner can make a design study while grasping the sense of scale. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the means for saving a new design plan edited by the editing means arranged at the designated position in the virtual space in a file is provided, so that the cooperation with the CAD system is facilitated. .

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the means for interactively changing the speed at which the virtual space displayed by the display means is walked through is provided, so that the examiner can view the scenery viewed from the pedestrian and the view from the bicycle. It is possible to design and examine in detail the scenery seen from the car and the scenery seen from the car. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the means for interactively changing the light source of the virtual space displayed by the display means is provided, it is possible to individually design and study the daytime landscape, the evening landscape, and the like individually.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the display means for displaying the specific attribute contents of the attribute database storing the attribute data of the spatial element is provided, so that the user can search for materials, and can monitor the product catalog and the monitor. The inconvenience of comparing and comparing can be saved, and a large number of design plans can be examined in detail in a short time. According to the invention of claim 7, since the total amount of the design plan is calculated and displayed based on the price of the space element displayed in the virtual space and its arrangement status, the degree of improvement of the scenery is required cost. Can be considered in contrast to

According to the invention of claim 8, the display means for arranging and displaying the space elements arranged in the virtual space at an appropriate position in consideration of the current viewpoint position is provided. It has become easier for the user to check where is located. Furthermore, according to the inventions of claims 9 to 12, since rotation, color, texture change, and change to an alternative of a space element arranged in the virtual space can be realized, further simple design editing operation and design can be realized. The editing function can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration when a system of the present invention is realized on a personal computer.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display on a display unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a space element arranging function according to claim 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a viewing angle changing function according to claim 2;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration when the system of the present invention is used by a computer on a network.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the screen display on the display unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a detailed information display screen according to claim 6;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the functions of claims 3 to 7;

9 is a diagram showing another example of the screen display on the display unit in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing still another example of the screen display on the display unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing still another example of the screen display on the display unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing still another example of the screen display on the display unit in FIG. 1;

13 is a diagram showing still another example of the screen display on the display unit in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the functions of claims 8 to 12;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Virtual space display means 2 Plan view display means 3 Display part (monitor) 4 Viewpoint information display means 5 Editing means 6 Viewpoint information setting means 7 Operation means (mouse) 8 Switching means 9 Viewing angle change means 10 Search means DB1 Three-dimensional shape Database DB2 Attribute database

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B046 AA03 CA06 GA01 GA09 HA04 HA05 HA09 KA05 5B050 BA09 BA11 CA07 EA26 FA02 FA06 FA12 FA13 FA17

Claims (12)

[Claims] A display means for displaying a design object configured by arranging one or more spatial elements in a virtual space; a three-dimensional shape database storing three-dimensional shape data of the spatial elements; An attribute database storing attribute data of elements, an operation unit having at least a function of designating a position in a virtual space, a search unit for extracting a space element from a three-dimensional shape database, and a search unit Editing means for arranging the extracted space element at a designated position in the virtual space using the attribute data as a constraint condition. 2. The space element layout design support system according to claim 1, further comprising means for changing a viewing angle of the virtual space displayed by the display means. 3. The space element layout design support system according to claim 1, further comprising a function of saving the design plan edited by the editing means in a file. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A space element layout design support system comprising means for interactively changing a speed at which a virtual space displayed by a display means is walked through. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A space element layout design support system, comprising means for interactively changing a light source of a virtual space displayed by a display means. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A space element layout design support system characterized by comprising display means for displaying specific attribute contents of an attribute database storing attribute data of space elements. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A space element layout design support system, comprising: display means for calculating and displaying the total amount of a design plan in accordance with the price and layout status of space elements arranged in a virtual space. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A space element layout design support system, comprising: display means for arranging and displaying a space element arranged in a virtual space at an appropriate position in consideration of a current viewpoint position. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A space element layout design support system, wherein a means for performing a rotation operation is provided for a space element arranged in a virtual space. 10. A color element according to claim 1, wherein, for a space element arranged in a virtual space, color information that can be changed is extracted from an attribute database storing attribute data of the space element. A space element layout design support system, characterized in that a means for performing a change operation is provided. 11. A pattern according to claim 1, wherein, for the space element arranged in the virtual space, changeable pattern information is extracted from an attribute database storing attribute data of the space element. A space element layout design support system, characterized in that a means for performing a change operation is provided. 12. A spatial element layout design support system according to claim 1, further comprising means for interactively changing an alternative registered in the database.