Computer-implemented method for constructing and manipulating a three-dimensional model of an object volume, and voxels used therein

A computer-implemented method for constructing and manipulating a three-dimensional model of an object volume, comprising the step of:

• constructing cubic voxels that cooperatively define a three-dimensional solid of the three-dimensional model of the object volume, each of the voxels having a plurality of voxel faces, each of the voxel faces being parallel to one of three axes of a rectangular coordinate system, each of the voxels having a data structure that includes an object flag portion for describing the corresponding three-dimensional solid, a face flag portion for indicating which ones of the voxel faces serve as a boundary face of the corresponding three-dimensional solid, and a set of distance-levels that represent sample points of the voxel on the three axes of the rectangular coordinate system, wherein topology and geometry of a boundary of the three-dimensional solid are represented by the face flag portions and the distance-levels of the voxels that are positioned at the boundary;
• and
• rendering an image of the three-dimensional solid through a seed and flood algorithm.

A computer-generated three-dimensional solid to represent a three-dimensional model of an object volume, comprising cubic voxels that cooperatively define the three-dimensional solid, each of said voxels having a plurality of voxel faces, each of said voxel faces being parallel to one of three axes of a rectangular coordinate system, each of said voxels having a data structure that includes an object flag portion for describing the three-dimensional solid, a face flag portion for indicating which ones of said voxel faces serve as a boundary face of the three-dimensional solid, and a set of distance-levels that represent sample points of said voxel on the three axes of the rectangular coordinate system, wherein topology and geometry of a boundary of the three-dimensional solid are represented by the face flag portions and the distance-levels of said voxels that are positioned at the boundary.