Construction of elements for three-dimensional objects

An apparatus for constructing elements for a three-dimensional object having a plurality of flat polygonal surfaces, said apparatus comprising:

• visual model specifying means for specifying a visual model of the object;
• processing means including:
• constructing means for constructing a graph from the visual model, said graph comprising a plurality of nodes connected by lines, each node representing one of the polygonal surfaces and each line connecting the nodes corresponding to an edge of the visual model located between corresponding polygonal surfaces;
• selecting means for selecting one of said nodes;
• and
• traversing means for traversing the graph beginning at the node selected by said selecting means, said traversing means traversing the graph by successively traveling from previously selected nodes to previously unselected nodes along said lines without processing any node more than once;
• and
• printing means for creating elements of the three-dimensional object on a page by drawing a corresponding polygon for each node as the nodes are visited.

A method of constructing elements for a three-dimensional object having a plurality of flat polygonal surfaces, said method comprising:

• providing a visual model of the object;
• constructing a graph from the visual model, said graph comprising a plurality of nodes connected by lines, each node representing one of the polygonal surfaces and each line connecting the nodes corresponding to an edge of the visual model located between corresponding polygonal surfaces;
• selecting one of said nodes and traversing the graph beginning at the selected node, said traversing comprising successively traveling from previously selected nodes to previously unselected nodes along said lines without processing any node more than once;
• and
• creating elements of the three-dimensional object on a page by drawing a corresponding polygon for each node as the nodes are visited to form a two-dimensional unfolded pattern.

An apparatus for constructing elements for a three-dimensional object having a plurality of flat polygonal surfaces, said apparatus comprising:

• visual model specifying means for specifying a visual model of the object;
• processing means including:
• constructing means for constructing a graph from the visual model, said graph comprising a plurality of nodes connected by lines, each node representing one of the polygonal surfaces and each line connecting the nodes corresponding to an edge of the visual model located between corresponding polygonal surfaces;
• selecting means for selecting one of said nodes;
• and
• traversing means for traversing the graph beginning at the node selected by said selecting means, said traversing means traversing the graph by successively traveling from previously selected nodes to previously unselected nodes along said lines without processing any node more than once;
• and
• printing means for creating elements of the three-dimensional object on a page by drawing a corresponding polygon for each node as the nodes are visited to form a two-dimensional unfolded pattern.