# US 10,307,971 B2 · Support structures design device and method, program, structure forming apparatus, and structure manufacturing method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,307,971 B2 - Document ID: US10307971B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/283,596 - Filed: 2016-10-03 - Published: 2017-05-18 - Granted: 2019-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2015-11-18 - Assignees: FUJIFILM Corporation - Applicants: FUJIFILM Corporation - Inventors: Masafumi Sagawa - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10307971B2 ## CPC - B29C 64/40: Structures for supporting 3D objects during manufacture and intended to be sacrificed after completion thereof - B29C 64/393: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes - B33Y 30/00: Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor - B33Y 50/00: Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing - G09B 23/30: Anatomical models {(G09B23/281 - G09B23/288 take precedence)} - B33Y 80/00: Products made by additive manufacturing - B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00) - B33Y: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING - G09B: EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS (devices for psychotechnics or for testing reaction times A61B5/16; games, sports, amusements A63; projectors, projector screens G03B) ## Abstract There are provided a support structures design device and method, a non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing a program, a structure forming apparatus, and a structure manufacturing method capable of appropriately adding the data of a support structures to the three-dimensional data of a luminal structure. The up-and-down direction of a luminal structure is determined, the core line of the luminal structure is extracted, a lowermost point of a cross section of the luminal structure by a plane perpendicular to a tangential direction at a point, which corresponds to each of a plurality of points on the core line, on a projected core line is extracted as a support point, and three-dimensional data is generated by adding the data of a support structures for supporting the support point to three-dimensional data. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A support structures design device, comprising: a computer processor configured to: acquire three-dimensional data of a luminal structure of a human organ to be printed by lamination using a three-dimensional printer; determine an up-and-down direction of the luminal structure in case of performing printing in the three-dimensional printer; extract a luminal structure included in the three-dimensional data and thin out the luminal structure to extract a core line of the luminal structure; extract a lowermost point of a cross section of the luminal structure by a plane perpendicular to a tangential direction at a point, which corresponds to each of a plurality of points on the core line, on a projected core line obtained by projecting the core line in the up-and-down direction, as a support point, for each of the plurality of points on the core line; and generate three-dimensional data by adding data of a support structures for supporting the support point to the three-dimensional data. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The support structures design device according to claim 1, wherein the computer processor extracts the support point for points of all voxels on the core line. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The support structures design device according to claim 1, the computer processor further configured to: determine whether or not the support structures for the extracted support point is required based on an angle between the core line and the up-and-down direction, wherein the computer processor adds the data of the support structures for the support point for which it is determined that the support structures is required. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The support structures design device according to claim 2, the computer processor further configured to: determine whether or not the support structures for the extracted support point is required based on an angle between the core line and the up-and-down direction, wherein the computer processor adds the data of the support structures for the support point for which it is determined that the support structures is required. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The support structures design device according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where a minimum point other than the lowermost point is present on the cross section, the computer processor extracts the minimum point as a support point. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The support structures design device according to claim 2, wherein, in a case where a minimum point other than the lowermost point is present on the cross section, the computer processor extracts the minimum point as a support point. ### Claim 7 (depends on 3) The support structures design device according to claim 3, wherein, in a case where a minimum point other than the lowermost point is present on the cross section, the computer processor extracts the minimum point as a support point. ### Claim 8 (depends on 4) The support structures design device according to claim 4, wherein, in a case where a minimum point other than the lowermost point is present on the cross section, the computer processor extracts the minimum point as a support point. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The support structures design device according to claim 5, wherein, in a case where a distance between the lowermost point and the minimum point is equal to or greater than a threshold distance, the computer processor extracts the minimum point as the support point. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The support structures design device according to claim 6, wherein, in a case where a distance between the lowermost point and the minimum point is equal to or greater than a threshold distance, the computer processor extracts the minimum point as the support point. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The support structures design device according to claim 7, wherein, in a case where a distance between the lowermost point and the minimum point is equal to or greater than a threshold distance, the computer processor extracts the minimum point as the support point. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The support structures design device according to claim 8, wherein, in a case where a distance between the lowermost point and the minimum point is equal to or greater than a threshold distance, the computer processor extracts the minimum point as the support point. ### Claim 13 (depends on 5) The support structures design device according to claim 5, wherein, in a case where a maximum point is present between the lowermost point and the minimum point, the computer processor extracts the minimum point as the support point. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The support structures design device according to claim 9, wherein, in a case where a maximum point is present between the lowermost point and the minimum point, the computer processor extracts the minimum point as the support point. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The support structures design device according to claim 1, wherein the support structures is a member having a structure in which at least a part thereof is laminated in the up-and-down direction. ### Claim 16 A structure forming apparatus, comprising: a computer processor configured to: acquire three-dimensional data of a luminal structure to be printed by lamination using a three-dimensional printer; determine an up-and-down direction of the luminal structure in case of performing printing in the three-dimensional printer; extract a luminal structure included in the three-dimensional data and thin out the luminal structure to extract a core line of the luminal structure; extract a lowermost point of a cross section of the luminal structure by a plane perpendicular to a tangential direction at a point, which corresponds to each of a plurality of points on the core line, on a projected core line obtained by projecting the core line in the up-and-down direction, as a support point, for each of the plurality of points on the core line; and generate three-dimensional data by adding data of a support structures for supporting the support point to the three-dimensional data; and a three-dimensional printer that performs printing by laminating a composition material based on the generated three-dimensional data. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The structure forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the three-dimensional printer prints the support structures and a structure corresponding to the luminal structure by laminating the same composition material. ### Claim 18 A support structures design method, comprising: a data acquisition step of acquiring three-dimensional data of a luminal structure to be printed by lamination using a three-dimensional printer; an up-and-down direction determination step of determining an up-and-down direction of the luminal structure in case of performing printing in the three-dimensional printer; a core line extraction step of extracting a luminal structure included in the three-dimensional data and thin out the luminal structure to extract a core line of the luminal structure; a support point extraction step of extracting a lowermost point of a cross section of the luminal structure by a plane perpendicular to a tangential direction at a point, which corresponds to each of a plurality of points on the core line, on a projected core line obtained by projecting the core line in the up-and-down direction, as a support point, for each of the plurality of points on the core line; and a data generation step of generating three-dimensional data by adding data of a support structures for supporting the support point to the three-dimensional data. ### Claim 19 A structure manufacturing method, comprising: a data acquisition step of acquiring three-dimensional data of a luminal structure to be printed by lamination using a three-dimensional printer; an up-and-down direction determination step of determining an up-and-down direction of the luminal structure in case of performing printing in the three-dimensional printer; a core line extraction step of extracting a luminal structure included in the three-dimensional data and thin out the luminal structure to extract a core line of the luminal structure; a support point extraction step of extracting a lowermost point of a cross section of the luminal structure by a plane perpendicular to a tangential direction at a point, which corresponds to each of a plurality of points on the core line, on a projected core line obtained by projecting the core line in the up-and-down direction, as a support point, for each of the plurality of points on the core line; a data generation step of generating three-dimensional data by adding data of a support structures for supporting the support point to the three-dimensional data; and a printing step of performing printing by laminating a composition material based on the generated three-dimensional data. ### Claim 20 A non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing a program causing a computer to realize: a data acquisition function of acquiring three-dimensional data of a luminal structure to be printed by lamination using a three-dimensional printer; an up-and-down direction determination function of determining an up-and-down direction of the luminal structure in case of performing printing in the three-dimensional printer; a core line extraction function of extracting a luminal structure included in the three-dimensional data and thin out the luminal structure to extract a core line of the luminal structure; a support point extraction function of extracting a lowermost point of a cross section of the luminal structure by a plane perpendicular to a tangential direction at a point, which corresponds to each of a plurality of points on the core line, on a projected core line obtained by projecting the core line in the up-and-down direction, as a support point, for each of the plurality of points on the core line; and a data generation function of generating three-dimensional data by adding data of a support structures for supporting the support point to the three-dimensional data.