 |
Claims  |
|
|
I claim:
1. A modelling arrangement of a quantity of changeably interengageable
elements, some at least being of forms distinct from others, for selective
assembly together, a said element having a distinctive form also including
information storage means to store machine readable information
identifying the distinctive form, said elements having portions to provide
interengagements with other elements and information transfer means
effective to transfer stored information from element to element, whereby
interengaged elements provide a linked information transfer network for
the transfer of machine readable information indicating the arrangement of
the interengaged elements.
2. An arrangement according to claim 1 including a control means connected
to receive said machine readable information from said linked information
transfer network, said control means including a control, store and
display unit to record the layout of an assembly into which said elements,
in the form of arbitrary shapes such as geometric solids, have been
interconnected.
3. A modelling arrangement for providing a visual model of the form of an
actual construction and an information network indicative of the
collective physical properties of said construction, said modelling
arrangement comprising an assembled plurality of changeably
interengageable representational elements, each of said elements having a
visible form corresponding to a respective actual part of said
construction and comprising:
means for storing information pertaining to respective physical properties
of the part of said construction represented by a corresponding element;
interrogation responsive means for controllably supplying said stored
information; and
means for engaging selected other elements of said modelling arrangement
and for linking information paths therebetween, respective visual model
portions of said modelling arrangement corresponding to respective actual
portions of said construction being defined by groups of engaged elements,
and branches of said information network corresponding to respective ones
of said groups containing information pertaining to physical properties of
the corresponding respective actual portions of said construction being
thereby formed by the linkage of said information paths.
4. A modelling arrangement as in claim 3, wherein said means for storing
information comprises an information storage circuit having information
identifying a corresponding respective actual part of said construction.
5. A modelling arrangement as in claim 3, wherein said means for storing
information comprises an information storage circuit having information
identifying physical properties of a corresponding respective actual part
of said construction.
6. A modelling arrangement as in claim 4 or 5, wherein said information
storage circuit comprises manually set switches.
7. A modelling arrangement as in claim 4 or 5, wherein said information
storage circuit comprises electronically set switches.
8. A modelling arrangement as in claim 4 or 5, wherein said information
storage circuit comprises a microcircuit providing a permanent store of
information.
9. A modelling arrangement as in claim 4 or 5, wherein said information
storage circuit comprises a temporary storage circuit.
10. A modelling arrangement as in claim 3, wherein each of said elements
further includes means for displaying said information.
11. A modelling arrangement as in claim 3, wherein each of said elements
further comprises an internal information transfer path connected to said
engaging and linking means for transferring information therethrough.
12. A modelling arrangement as in claim 3, wherein a first type of said
elements further comprises means responsive to the engagement of another
element for indicating said engagement.
13. A modelling arrangement as in claim 3, wherein a first type of said
elements is a base module for insertion into a baseboard of said modelling
arrangement and a second type of said elements is a visual model module
having a visual form indicative of a corresponding actual part of said
construction, and wherein:
the information storing means of each base module includes an address
register having a unique identifying address for indicating the physical
property of location of an actual portion of said construction represented
by to a group including a corresponding base module and at least one
corresponding visual model module engaged to the corresponding base module
and defining therewith a corresponding visual model portion of said
modelling arrangement; and
the interrogation responsive means of each base module includes a
comparator-interrogator circuit for receiving an interrogation signal, for
comparing said interrogation signal with said unique identifying address,
and for providing selected information when coincidence therebetween is
detected.
14. A modelling arrangement as in claim 3, wherein:
the information storing means of each visual model module includes a
register having information indicative of the physical properties of the
actual part of said construction represented by a corresponding visual
model module; and
the interrogation responsive means of each visual model module includes an
interrogation detector for receiving a signal from the corresponding base
module and for accessing and transmitting said stored information in
response thereto.
15. A modelling arrangement as in claim 14, wherein each visual model
further includes an interrogation repeater circuit, said interrogation
detector responding to a signal from an engaged element received
subsequently to accessing and transmitting said stored information,
without again accessing and transmitting said stored information, to
signal said interrogation repeater circuit and to provide information
subsequently received from said interrogation repeater circuit in response
thereto; said interrogation repeater circuit receiving the signal from
said interrogation detector and subsequently providing information thereto
in accordance with a detected one of at least two conditions, said
conditions including the absence of another visual model module engaged
with said interrogation repeater circuit and the presence of another
visual model module engaged with said interrogation repeater circuit.
16. A modelling arrangement as in claim 15, wherein each visual model
module further includes a temporary register connected to said information
storing means for indicating that the corresponding visual model module
has been interrogated without having been subsequently repositioned.
17. A modelling arrangement as in claim 3, wherein said elements include
visual model modules, each having a visible form representing a
corresponding actual part of said construction, and wherein;
the information storing means of each visual model module includes a
register having information indicative of the physical properties of the
actual part of said construction represented by the corresponding visual
model module; and
the interrogation responsive means of each visual model module includes an
interrogation detector for receiving an interrogation signal and for
accessing and transmitting said stored information.
18. A modelling arrangement as in claim 17, wherein each visual model
module further includes an interrogation repeater circuit, said
interrogation detector responding to a signal from an engaged element
received substantially to accessing and transmitting said stored
information, without again accessing and transmitting said stored
information, to signal said interrogation repeater circuit and to provide
information subsequently received from said interrogation repeater circuit
in response thereto; said interrogation repeater circuit receiving the
signal from said interrogation detector and subsequently providing
information thereto in accordance with a detected one of at least two
conditions, said conditions including the absence of another visual model
module engaged with said interrogation repeater circuit and the presence
of another visual model module engaged with said interrogation repeater
circuit.
19. A modelling arrangement as in claim 3 further comprising a baseboard
having means for receiving selected elements of said modelling arrangement
and for linking respective information paths therebetween in an
information transfer relationship.
20. A modelling arrangement as in claim 19, wherein an element received by
said baseboard may engage at least one selected other element through said
engaging and linking means in an information transfer relationship.
21. A modelling arrangement as in claim 20, wherein said control means
further comprises means responsive to changes to said construction
specified thereto for determining the collective physical properties of a
modified construction represented by said specified changes.
22. A modelling arrangement as in claim 3 further comprising control means,
said control means being connected to said groups of engaged elements and
selectively generating respective interrogation signals to interrogate
said branches respectively, for determining the collective physical
properties of said construction represented by said visual model.
23. A modelling apparatus as in claim 22, wherein said control means
comprises signal processing means for determining, from the information
received from the respective interrogation of said groups of engaged
elements, the collective physical properties of said construction
represented by said visual model.
24. A changeably interengageable representational element having a visible
form representing a corresponding part of an actual construction for use
in a modelling arrangement for providing a visual three dimensional model
of the form of said construction and an information network indicative of
the collective physical properties of said construction, said modelling
arrangement comprising an assembled plurality of changeably
interengageable representational elements, said element comprising:
means for storing information indicative of respective physical properties
of an actual part of said construction represented by the corresponding
element;
interrogation responsive means for controllably supplying said stored
information; and
means for engaging selected other elements of said modelling arrangement
and for linking information paths therebetween, assembly of a respective
group of engaged elements to form a respective visual model portion of
said modelling arrangement representative of an actual corresponding
portion of said construction, and to form a respective branch of said
information network for providing information pertaining to physical
properties associated with the actual portion of said construction
represented by the corresponding visual model portion, being thereby
provided for.
25. An element as in claim 24, wherein said means for storing information
comprises an information storage circuit having information identifying a
corresponding respective actual part of said construction.
26. An element as in claim 24, wherein said means for storing information
comprises an information storage circuit having information identifying
physical properties of a corresponding respective actual part of said
construction.
27. An element as in claim 25 or 26, wherein said information storage
circuit comprises manually set switches.
28. An element as in claim 25 or 26, wherein said information storage
circuit comprises electronically set switches.
29. An element as in claim 25 or 26, wherein said information storage
circuit comprises a microcircuit providing a permanent store of
information.
30. An element as in claim 25 or 26, wherein said information storage and
retrieval circuit comprises a temporary storage circuit.
31. An element as in claim 24 further comprising means for displaying said
information.
32. An element as in claim 24 further comprising an internal information
transfer path connected to said engaging and linking means for
transferring information therethrough.
33. An element as in claim 24, wherein said element is a base module for
inclusion in a baseboard of said modelling arrangement, and wherein:
said information storing means includes an address register having a unique
identifying address for indicating the physical property of location of an
actual portion of said construction represented by a group including said
base module and at least one corresponding visual model module engaged to
said base module and defining therewith a corresponding visual model
portion of said modelling arrangement; and
said interrogation responsive means includes a comparator-interrogator
circuit for receiving an interrogation signal, for comparing said
interrogation signal with said unique identifying address, and for
providing selected information when coincidence therebetween is detected.
34. An element as in claim 24, wherein said element is a visual model
module having a visible form indicative of a corresponding actual part of
said construction, and wherein:
said information storing means includes a register having information
indicative of the physical properties of the actual part of said
construction represented by the corresponding visual model module; and
said interrogation responsive means includes an interrogation detector for
receiving an interrogation signal and for accessing and transmitting said
stored information.
35. An element as in claim 24, wherein said visual model module further
includes an interrogation repeater circuit, said interrogation detector
responding to a signal from an engaged element received subsequently to
accessing and transmitting said stored information, without again
accessing and transmitting said stored information, to signal said
interrogation repeater circuit and to provide information subsequently
received from said interrogation repeater circuit in response thereto;
said interrogation repeater circuit receiving the signal from said
interrogation detector and subsequently providing information thereto in
accordance with a detected one of at least two conditions, said conditions
including the absence of another visual model module engaged with said
interrogation repeater circuit and the presence of another visual model
module engaged with said interrogation repeater circuit.
36. An element as in claim 35, wherein said visual model module further
includes a temporary register connected to said information storing means
for indicating that the visual model module has been interrogated without
having been subsequently repositioned.
37. A method for providing a modelling arrangement of the form of an actual
construction and an information network indicative of the collective
physical properties of said construction, comprising the steps of:
assembling a plurality of changeably interengageable representational
elements into respective visual model portion representative of
corresponding actual portions of said construction, each of said elements
containing information pertaining to physical properties of a
corresponding actual part of said construction, and branches of an
information network corresponding to respective ones of the actual
portions of said construction being thereby formed;
interrogating said visual model portions, said visual model portions
thereby responding with information pertaining to physical properties of
the respective corresponding actual portions of said construction in
accordance with corresponding respective branches;
creating an electonic representation of the physical properties of said
construction, represented by the assembled elements, from the results of
said interrogating step; and
analyzing the performance characteristics of said construction represented
by the assembled elements.
38. A method as in claim 37 further comprising the steps of:
displaying the physical properties of said construction;
modifying the physical properties of said construction directly to obtain
physical properties of a modified construction; and
analyzing the performance characteristics of said modified construction.
39. A method as in claim 37, wherein said elements include base modules and
visual model modules, and wherein said assembling step comprises the steps
of:
selecting a base module having a predetermined position on a baseboard to
site a respective visual model portion; and
constructing a respective visual model portion above said selected base
module, respective visual model modules having a visual form indicative of
a corresponding part of said construction being thereby engaged.
40. A method as in claim 39, wherein said interrogating step comprises the
steps of:
providing a location interrogation signal, a respective one of said base
modules being responsive thereto by indicating at least one of two
conditions, said conditions being an absence of a corresponding visual
model portion constructed thereabove, and the presence of a corresponding
visual model portion constructed thereabove as indicated by at least
information pertaining to physical properties of the actual portion of
said construction represented by the corresponding visual model portion in
accordance with information stored in the corresponding branch; and
receiving the indication of at least one of two conditions. |
|
 |
|
 |
Claims |
|
|
|
Description |
|
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a modelling arrangement particularly but not
exclusively useful as a design aid to architects, consulting engineers and
other professional designers and their clients.
For many years models have been used to assist a designer and client to
decide the finished appearance of a building, ship, process plant, room
and the like. Such models are representational only and deal with the
parts of the design which appeal to the eye. One recent example of such
models is the PSSHAK system, described in Architects Journal, Oct. 12,
1977, pages 692-693, London, in which the client can model a desirable
building layout of rooms and fittings using 3-dimensional scale models.
Such systems have value and can help the designer and client to achieve a
better design. An analysis of the various aids now available is in Sorte,
G.J., Methods for presenting Planned Environments, Man-Environment systems
Vol. 5, No. 3, (1975) pp 148-154. One conclusion of this analysis is that
a 3-dimensional physical model is probably the most suitable design analog
and therefore the most useful aid at the designer/client interface.
In recent years Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) systems have
been developed. Typically in such a system floor plans are displayed on a
cathode-ray tube screen and adjusted by the designer in accordance with
the client's proposals. Such plans are two-dimensional and are not always
easy to relate to an actual construction. Usually the system can calculate
and display the performance of the design from supplied parameters. One
recent example of CAAD is the PARTIAL system described in CAD Education in
Architecture, Proc. of Int. Conf. Computer Aided Design Education (CAD ED)
IPC (1978) London.
Thus a physical 3-dimensional scale model is the easiest for the lay client
to use. However such models are the most expensive to build, slowest to
make and most difficult to alter. Also the model is not easily linked to
the calculating facility in a computer.
Furthermore the model does not in any way relate to the structure or
performance of the actual designed product, as the model is made usually
of card and wood rather than brick, glass, steel and concrete.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly there is a need for a modelling arrangement which is readily
understood by the lay client but which also provides useful information to
the professional designer in a readily usable form.
It is an object of the invention to provide a modelling arrangement which
models both the representational aspects and the physical properties of an
actual construction in accordance with the modelled form.
According to the invention there is provided a modelling arrangement of a
quantity of changeably interengageable representational elements for
selective assembly to model the visible form and related physical
properties of a building, room, ship, process plant and like construction.
Each of said elements has a distinctive form appropriate to a part of said
construction; an information store to store, for recovery by machine
reading, information linked with a physical property of said modelled
part; and element portions to provide interengagements with other
elements. The element portions also include signal transfer means to
connect the stores of several selected elements together to form a
selectively operable extensive network as a machine readable model of the
collective physical properties of the representationally modelled
construction.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a modelling
arrangement of a quantity of changeably interengageable elements, some at
least being of forms distinct from others, for selective assembly
together. Each element also including information storage means to store
machine readable information identifying its respective distinctive form.
The elements also have portions to provide interengagements with other
elements and information transfer means effective to transfer stored
information from element to element, whereby the interengaged elements
provide a linked information transfer network for the transfer of machine
readable information indicating the arrangement of the interengaged
elements.
The elements may be arbitrary shapes such as geometric solids.
The elements described above may include internal information transfer
paths whereby information supplied to one element can be passed through
said one element to another interengaged element. A first element may
include means responsive to the interengagement of a second element to
condition the first element to supply information, in reply to an external
demand made to the first element, that said second element is connected
thereto.
The information store of an element may be an electrical arrangement. The
stored information may only indicate the type of constructional part
represented by the element, such as outside wall with a single-glazed
window areas, or may record actual physical properties of the
constructional part represented by the element, such as size, weight, heat
loss, and electrical requirement. Th circuit arrangement may be
accomplished through manually set switches or a microcircuit permanently
or temporarily storing the required identity or property information. The
element may include a display of the information stored.
The arrangement may include a base onto which the element may be assembled
in a signal transfer relationship with the base and at least some
neighbours. Instead of a base, a single element can provide a connection
point for an assembly of elements.
The arrangement may include a control means providing a control, store and
display unit to record the form of an assembly, and may further include a
computer aided design system to determine the overall behaviour of the
assembly and record and/or display this behaviour and other data and
drawings. The control unit may be arranged to respond to modifications in
the assembly, which may change its appearance, to indicate the effect of
such changes on the cost, energy consumption, floor area and the like
properties of the structure modelled by the assembly. The control unit may
be connected to the base.
The structures modelled may be the whole or part of a building, plant,
ship, aircraft and the like.
Alternatively the modelling arrangement may permit the assembly of shapes
into a layout which can be recorded directly by a machine from the network
of element stores.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a schematic outline of an assembly of elements fitted on a
base board which is connected to a control and display device, in
accordance with the present invention;
FIGS. 2,3,4 and 5 show various elements features which may be put together
in combination in actual elements;
FIGS. 6 and 7 show in block diagram from the electronic circuit functions
of an element and a base board of FIG. 1 respectively; and
FIG. 8 shows a schematic of a design aid in accordance with the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
In FIG. 1 a base board 10 is provided with a plurality of similar
electrical connector-part sets 11 which also provide mechanical location.
The connector sets are connected to a wiring layout 12 providing several
parallel connector runs and extending to a multiway connector and cable
13. The multiway cable extends to a control console such as a VDU and
keyboard 20 arranged with a computer device inside it. Individual elements
such as 30, 40 are provided with plugs 31 on their underside (FIG. 2)
compatible with the connector-part sets 11 of base 10. Each set 11 has an
associated electric circuit module 14, described later, and each element
has an internal module or modules 33, 34, for example, as shown purely
symbolically in FIG. 5.
The form and appearance of the elements is chosen with reference to the
construction to be modelled so as to represent specific visual and
physical properties. For example a set of elements modelling the
multi-storey block type of building may be provided. The various elements
could then each represent a portion of the block including the visible
features of window and wall areas, roof, parapets, entrances, basements
and the like while the physical properties appropriate to each element
identity are also provided either in tabular form for computer recovery
and allocation to an element chosen to have them or actually stored in a
suitable circuit in the respective element. Another set of elements could
represent domestic buildings such as houses, flats and the like while
other sets could represent ships and process plant, all including the
appropriate physical property detail in or associated with individual
elements.
In use, the elements are assembled by plugging one into another to build a
desired constructional form as a model. The assembled elements are then
interrogated by suitable electronic control means over their plug
connections to determine the arrangement of the elements. From this
information suitably arranged calculating equipment can determine the
physical properties of the desired constructional form as a whole and
display the information for assessment by the designer and client. In one
or more of these physical properties, which include cost, ground loading,
floor area or heat loss, is unacceptable, the model form can be adjusted
and the effect of the adjustment quickly observed as a change in the
overall physical property determined by the calculating equipment.
Many ways in which the electronic circuitry and calculating equipment can
be constructed will be apparent to those skilled in the art, using devices
and techniques of integrated circuits, permanent or transient solid state
memories, magnetic tape, disc or bubble memories, and microprocessors,
data transmission and signal processing and computer aided design systems.
By way of example one way will be outlined with reference to FIGS. 1, 6, 7
and 8.
FIG. 1 shows a baseboard 10 into which elements such as 30, 40 can be
plugged to represent respectively one floor portion and one roof portion
of a multistorey building. Other elements (not shown) are added on the
base board and in upper layers to model the whole building. A wiring
layout or circuits 12 connects together the connector-part sets 11 into
which elements are plugged, and connections within the elements extend
supply lines such as V+, V- from connector sets 11 into an element via
connectors 31 and also provide connections for further elements (see FIG.
6) via connectors 32. Signal connections, such as SIG, are also provided
in circuits 12 but these are generally not continuous through the
elements, as is described later. The wiring layout 12 extends to a
connector 13 as described above.
The baseboard electric circuit module 14, in one possible form, is shown in
FIG. 7. The purpose of this module is to provide to the control console 20
an indication that an element is connected at the respective position on
the base board 10 and to form a path through which information passes to
and from such elements. The module 14 includes two main parts, an address
register ADD REG and a comparator and interrogator COMP+INT. Each module
14 has a different address held, either permanently or temporarily as is
well known, in the register ADD REG. In operation the control console 20
can be instructed by an operator to start to examine each address in turn
to determine whether or not elements are present. Thus a series of
addresses are then supplied to path SIG of circuits 12 by console 20. The
first address will reach all modules 14 connected to SIG but only one
module 14 will have the same address in its register ADD REG. The
comparator COMP+INT of this module will detect the correspondence of the
address on path SIG and the address in register ADD REG and respond to the
control console in any suitable manner, as is well known in
signal-processing techniques. The comparator is further effective to
determine whether or not an element is connected at the respective
connector. This action is via path INT. If an element is not so-connected
then path INT provides an open-circuit and the module part COMP+INT
detects this condition and signals to the control console accordingly so
that the information can be noted for the particular element arrangement
in use. If an element is present the path INT is not open-circuit and a
path to the upper element will exist. Assuming that the element is as
shown in FIG. 6 the element circuit part INT DET is connected to module
part COMP+INT and a response provided. This response enables part COMP+INT
to signal the control console that an element is present.
The exemplary element in FIG. 6 contains various electronic circuit parts.
Three main ones are the interrogation detector INT DET, the interrogation
repeated output INT OP and the parameter register PAR REG. An optional
part TEMP REG is a temporary register usable in various ways described
below.
Returning to the examination of the assembly, once the console is signalled
that an element is present at an address of a connector 11, further
signals are exchanged via parts COMP+INT and INT DET to determine the form
of element and its properties and identity. This enables the console to
determine the electronic network produced by an arrangement of elements by
a step-by-step examination of the base board. As further elements may be
connected on top of the element on the base board each element in turn can
be instructed to carry out an interrogation step similar to that of module
14, using parts INT DET and INT OP. No address comparator is needed as
this is provided in module 14. In this way the order in which elements are
assembled above a specific connector 11 on the base board can be derived
and recorded in the control console, together with their properties and
identities. Once element part INT DET of the lowest element has operated
to satisfy the control console then it is enabled to activate element part
INT OP to determine whether or not a further element is present above it
and then supply any required information. This procedure is repeated until
the top-most element is reached, when the interrogation is moved onto the
next base board position. Thus the whole arrangement of elements can be
recorded in the control console by a procedure controlled by the console
in conjunction with the element responses. When the whole element
arrangement is thus recorded, the overall physical properties of the
construction can be calculated and displayed as described above.
FIG. 8 shows in schematic form the calculation and display stage. The
physical model of elements representing the visual aspects of the desired
design have been scanned by a scanning system brought into action by the
user, e.g. via the keyboard, to create a picture file which is an
electronic representation of the network of element information stores and
therefore of the element arrangement. Thus the machine (control console)
has scanned and read the arrangement directly. The picture file is drawn
on by the calculating equipment in the console, or associated with it if a
separate computer is used, to cooperate with the properties file and
evaluation routines to generate a display of the physical characteristics
and performance of the element arrangement. If required the user can enter
changes to the properties files and evaluation routine during use of the
equipment to see whether rearrangement of the elements or alteration of
specific assigned physical properties is more likely to achieve a desired
overall design. For example, single glazing may be replaced with double
glazing.
To speed the response of the arrangement when elements are moved the
temporary register TEMP REG can be used to retain the information that the
element has been interrogated and remains in position. By arranging for
the temporary register to be erased when the supplies V+, V- are removed
on unplugging, an element rearranged and an added element can be detected,
speeding the response of the control console.
As described above one baseboard unit is used. However if required one or
more sub-baseboards may be used and these may be linked to each other or
even mounted on the main baseboard in a suitable relationship. Clearly if
required the baseboard surface can be tilted or regarded as tilted, even
being a horizontal surface modelling a vertical one.
The elements may be linked together in chains. This technique is
particularly suitable when the modelling arrangement uses elements which
represent shapes such as geometric solids rather than actual
constructional parts. The elements can be shaped and coloured in different
ways which shapes and colours are recorded in the respective element
stores. Elements of this type can be used for asessment of creative skills
and mental activity, for example as aptitude tests or rehabilitation aids
and checks. As the manner in which the elements are arranged is machine
readable, the tests can be carried out without the full-time supervision
of a skilled operator as the machine records can be examined as required.
The interaction between the modelling arrangements embodying the invention
and the user or operator can be increased in that the control console can
be caused to identify an element to be moved or used or even, with a
suitable mechanical device, caused to move such an element itself.
The store, whether electrical/electronic or or any other type, such as
optical or magnetic, in an element can be removed as a unit from the
element shell for alteration or replacement. In this way fresh elements
can be produced by a user with new shells, without the need to acquire new
stores. The stores can have information written into them before or after
insertion in an element shell. Clearly the nature of the stored
information can be varied as desired.
Another form of interrogation is now described. As mentioned above further
elements can be interrogated through a first element. If desired an
address may be associated with an element rather than a baseboard
position. The element includes an address register similar to ADD REG of
module 14 (FIGS. 1 and 7). The interrogation by the control console
establishes the address of the element at a particular baseboard position,
e.g. in XY coordinates, and thereafter uses the element address rather
than the XY coordinate position. The control means then addresses this
element to interrogate and recover the address of an element engaged with
the first element. This action is repeated until all engaged elements have
been examined. The address of an element may be formed wholly or partly by
the stored information on type or physical properties. In one form the XY
locations can be determined by the intersections of an orthogonal wire
array. Communication between elements and through elements can also be on
the element address basis.
The elements described so far have had connections only on upper and lower
opposed faces. FIG. 4 shows an example of an element with connectors on
side faces as well. These connectors are arranged to permit the elements
to be joined together in other than a rectilinear pattern as one element
can be twisted on an axis through the other. Concentric conductor rings
3132 provide contacts despite the twisting. Item 3000 is a coupling and
pivoting element which can also provide electrical connections if needed.
FIG. 3 shows an element which is held in place by magnets 35 embedded in
the faces and contact made by metal studs 36 brought together when the
faces are held together by the magnets. Clearly the various element forms
and features of FIGS. 1 to 5 can be used in various combinations in
addition to those specifically shown. The shape of elements need not be
cuboid and can even model an object such as a part of a process plant.
As described above elements were stacked one above the other with
vertically extending electrical connections. If required connections can
extend sideways to enable elements to model balconies, voids and suspended
features. To assist in identifying the resulting branches in the modelling
electrical network the temporary register TEMP REG can be used.
Alternatively dummy elements might be used to fill the voids and extend
connections from the base board without impairing the correctness of the
model.
The elements can include more complex electrical circuitry and registers to
retain more details about the modelling action of the element and provide
other facilities. Such details could include the identity of the element
in the set in use; for example when several element faces have
connections, some could be selectively switched off by suitable signals.
The electronic techniques to achieve these results are readily apparent to
or devisable by those skilled in the art from those now available.
Integrated and discrete circuits and devices readily provide the switching
devices and logic functions usable in producing such elements.
As described so far the elements are plugged into a base board provided
with circuit modules at each plug position. To increase flexibility these
modules may be omitted and the elements arranged to respond more fully for
example with individual addresses as described above. The baseboard is
wired so that the control console can address a selected board location
identified in XY or other suitable coordinates, e.g. polar for a
cylindrical structure. (In a further form one or more elements is provided
with a direct connection to the control console and the baseboard can be
omitted; FIG. 2 shows such an element with a multiway connector). The
element connected at the XY location is arranged to perform logical
mathematical or other operations on a signal received from the control
console. Conveniently such a signal may be a sequence of data bits such as
ONES and ZEROS.
The operation of an element in this way is now described by way of example
only with reference to a further embodiment.
The control unit transmits a sequence of logical ONES. In a register in the
element are stored a pattern of ONES and ZEROS which have been assigned as
the identifier of this particular element. The element includes an `AND`
gate as a logical device. The sequence of ONES transmitted by the control
unit is `ANDed` with the sequence of ONES and ZEROS in the element
register. The logical product of this operation is a sequence of ONES and
ZEROS identical to the sequence of ONES and ZEROS in the element register.
This product of the logical operation is transmitted back to the control
unit. Alternatively the control unit may transmit a sequence of clock
pulses where for example the Nth clock pulse causes the Nth bit in the
element register to be transmitted to the control unit. Other messages may
be transmitted to the element, operated on by devices within the element
and transmitted back to the control unit to test the communications
between the control unit and the element, to provide error checking on
other messages transmitted or received or to perform other functions.
The number of bits in the element register is variable and depends on the
number of different classes of elements which must be uniquely identified,
whether each member within each class of element also needs to be uniquely
identified, and whether each location feature on the element by which the
control unit may have assessed the elements identifier also needs to be
uniquely identified.
The bit pattern in the element register may be restored by the control unit
transmitting the bit pattern back to the element, by reloading the bit
pattern from other storage devices in the element or by other techniques.
Each element may have more than one set of electrical contacts and locating
features on its surface. The set of electrical contacts used by an element
to receive and transmit information from the control unit is called the
`input` to the element.
All other sets of electrical contacts on the surface of the element are
potential `outputs` of the element.
If each element register contains N bits then the control unit may transmit
N+M bits. The additional M bits are used as switching information. This
switching operation may disconnect or disable the input to this element
from its register or some of the electronic devices in the element and
instead enable or in other ways connect the input to the element with a
selected output of the element.
If there is a second element physically adjacent to this second element
such that the set of inputs to the first element is connected to the
selected output of the first element, then after the switching operation
in the first element the control unit will effectively be in communication
with the second element.
The control unit can now proceed to transmit the bit pattern to the second
element and recover its identifier.
If no inputs of other elements are connected to the selected output of an
element, then a number of alternative conventions may be used to signify
this.
These may include:
the bit pattern transmitted by the control unit is received back by the
control unit in an unmodified form;
information is transmitted by the control unit but no information is
received back by the control unit;
other special transformations are applied to or performed on the bit
pattern transmitted by the control unit.
The switches in each element may be reset by either an additional bit
pattern transmitted by the control unit, by a separate reset pulse
transmitted on a separate conductor line, or by switching the supplies for
the electronic devices in the element off and then on again.
While many of the constructional parts required for a model can be provided
to scale by suitable shaped elements, other ways of modelling parts can be
used. Scale drawings can be prepared and applied to element surfaces to
represent a building elevation. Where a modular building technique is in
use one or two detailed modules can be formed from one or more elements
while the remainder can be provided by outline modules each of which may
be the size of several elements. Such multi-element modules although
connected to the base board at several places can be arranged to be
accessed once to prevent confusion. The temporary register is useful in
such cases. For example an unusual set of physical conditions could be
written in or the characteristics of a multi element module held on one
element. A further extension is to make the element with a semi-permanent
register so that each one can be coded specifically, on an auxilliary base
board with key board input if needed, for a particular design.
If the modelling arrangement is required to represent behaviour under
changing conditions of use or environment the elements can be arranged to
respond to control signals by adjusting the values supplied by the
parameter register PAR REG or by otherwise interacting with the control
console by carrying out mathematical or logical operations with their
internal circuitry.
Techniques well known in the data-processing and computing arts may be used
to augment the modelling provided by the arrangement described. Files of
physical properties can be provided for use by the computer or calculating
devices of the control console and evaluation routines can be applied to
indicate which changes are most likely to achieve desired improvements.
The scale of the elements can be selected to suit the needs of a
particular designer. An element can represent a part of a room, a piece of
partitioning or furniture, any larger object such as a module of a modular
building. Elements can be interconnected and caused to interact in any
suitable manner.
The arrangement described above by way of example provides a designer and
his client with a most useful aid which by bringing together
representational and physical property modelling and converting the model
produced to an electrical network greatly improves communication of ideas
and requirements between designer and client, thereby ensuring that the
client is clearer about the designer's work and its relation to his needs,
while the designer can indicate to the client the effect of the client's
requirements on the cost and performance of the building or the like. This
permits the lay client and the professional designer to more quickly reach
decisions and avoid the need for costly design studies which are wasteful
of scarce skills and resources. Although described in terms of solid state
electronic techniques, clearly other techniques can b | | |
