US 6,859,768 B1 · Computer-implemented automated building design and modeling and project cost estimation and scheduling system

Abstract

A computer-implemented automated building design and modeling and construction project cost estimating and scheduling system (“DMES system”) is described. The DMES system provides a central source for all of the design and construction information for a construction project in a coordinated two-dimensional and three-dimensional spatial database that is freely accessible by all of the members of an interdisciplinary construction project team as a means to produce automatically coordinated design development and construction document information. The DMES system acquires and stores all of the appropriate design, engineering, and construction expertise and information available for any building type for use in automatically assembling and coordinating the design, cost-estimating, and scheduling for a construction project. In one embodiment, the DMES system consists of a plurality of objects, comprising elements and massing elements arranged in an assembly hierarchy. Each of the objects includes programming code that defines an interface and discrete internal functions that define its behavior. When instantiated in the database, the objects automatically create further instances of other objects in the hierarchy, which in turn do the same, thus assembling a complete building model automatically from the initial manually-placed instance. The building model enables automatic generation of drawings and cost and scheduling information. By running automatic iterations of the building model, multiple designs may be evaluated to determine the optimum design.

Claims28

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented automated building design and modeling system comprising:

a spatial database;
means for defining parametric objects wherein each of the parametric objects represents a construction component of a building being modeled and together the parametric objects describe information sufficient for assembly of a complete building model for the building's construction as constrained by the input of selected client requirements, and further wherein each of the parametric objects includes an interface through which the parametric object communicates information with other parametric objects;
a user interface for user input of selected client requirements to specify a configuration of the building model;
and
means for initiating automatic assembly of the building model utilizing the defined parametric objects, whereby the parametric objects for the building model are created in the spatial database and customized based upon the client requirements entered via the user interface;
and whereby the parametric objects communicate information via their interfaces to assemble the building model,
wherein said objects comprise ordinary elements and massing elements, said massing elements being capable of placing instances of other objects into the spatial database and subsequently passing data thereto and receiving data therefrom.

4 more elements

A method of implementing a computer-implemented automated building design and modeling system, the method comprising:

defining parametric objects wherein each of the parametric objects represents a construction component of a building being modeled and together the parametric objects describe information sufficient for assembly of a complete building model for the building's construction as constrained by the input of selected client requirements, and further wherein each of the parametric objects includes an interface through which the parametric object communicates information with other parametric objects;
inputting selected client requirements to specify a configuration of the building model;
and
automatically assembling the building model utilizing the defined parametric objects, whereby the parametric objects for the building model are created in a spatial database and customized based upon the inputted client requirements;
and whereby the parametric objects communicate information via their interfaces to assemble the building model,
wherein said objects comprise ordinary elements and massing elements, the method further comprising said massing elements placing instances of other objects into the spatial database and subsequently passing data thereto and receiving data therefrom.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Computer-implemented automated building design and modeling and project cost estimation and scheduling system

Life of this patent

Computer-implemented automated building design and modeling and project cost estimation and scheduling system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims28