Patents by Inventor Valentin R. Koch
Valentin R. Koch has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 12277650Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a terrain surface. A triangular surface mesh representative of an existing surface is obtained and consists of triangles that are connected by vertices and edges. A drain intention is specified for the terrain surface through a geometry that is a point or line. The drain intention defines a drainage flow that influences a shape of the terrain surface. The mesh is modified to prevent a drain conflict between mesh triangles. A drain direction is autonomously determined for each of the mesh triangles based on the drain intention. The determination generates a drain pattern that is used to shape the terrain surface.Type: GrantFiled: May 22, 2024Date of Patent: April 15, 2025Assignee: AUTODESK, INC.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Weiwei Hu
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Publication number: 20240312139Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a terrain surface. A triangular surface mesh representative of an existing surface is obtained and consists of triangles that are connected by vertices and edges. A drain intention is specified for the terrain surface through a geometry that is a point or line. The drain intention defines a drainage flow that influences a shape of the terrain surface. The mesh is modified to prevent a drain conflict between mesh triangles. A drain direction is autonomously determined for each of the mesh triangles based on the drain intention. The determination generates a drain pattern that is used to shape the terrain surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 22, 2024Publication date: September 19, 2024Applicant: Autodesk, Inc.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Weiwei Hu
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Patent number: 12008715Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a terrain surface. A triangular surface mesh representative of an existing surface is obtained and consists of triangles that are connected by vertices and edges. A drain intention is specified for the terrain surface through a geometry that is a point or line. The drain intention defines a drainage flow that influences a shape of the terrain surface. The mesh is modified using a Voronoi diagram that prevents a drain conflict between mesh triangles. A drain direction is autonomously determined a for each of the mesh triangles based on the drain intention. The determination generates a drain pattern that is used to shape the terrain surface.Type: GrantFiled: February 28, 2022Date of Patent: June 11, 2024Assignee: AUTODESK, INC.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Weiwei Hu
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Publication number: 20240061968Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a terrain surface. A triangular surface mesh in three-dimensions representative of an existing surface is obtained. One or more constraints to control the triangular surface mesh are specified. The specifying includes defining multiple basic grading element constraints that are constraints on surface points of the existing surface, and combining such constraints into a complex grading element constraint that matches a real world grading behavior. Drainage for the triangular surface mesh is automatically determined based on the complex grading element constraint.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 16, 2023Publication date: February 22, 2024Applicant: Autodesk, Inc.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Patrick A. Bergeron, Nicholas James Zeeben, Qing Xue, Weiwei Hu
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Patent number: 11816396Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a terrain surface. A triangular surface mesh representative of an existing surface is obtained. One or more constraints to control the triangular surface mesh are specified. Drainage for the triangular surface mesh is automatically determined based on the constraints. The triangular surface mesh is optimized based on the drainage and one or more design options. The optimizing modifies the triangular surface mesh to define drainage flow for the drainage.Type: GrantFiled: November 12, 2020Date of Patent: November 14, 2023Assignee: AUTODESK, INC.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Patrick A. Bergeron, Nicholas James Zeeben, Qing Xue, Weiwei Hu
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Publication number: 20230274501Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a terrain surface. A triangular surface mesh representative of an existing surface is obtained and consists of triangles that are connected by vertices and edges. A drain intention is specified for the terrain surface through a geometry that is a point or line. The drain intention defines a drainage flow that influences a shape of the terrain surface. The mesh is modified using a Voronoi diagram that prevents a drain conflict between mesh triangles. A drain direction is autonomously determined a for each of the mesh triangles based on the drain intention. The determination generates a drain pattern that is used to shape the terrain surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 28, 2022Publication date: August 31, 2023Applicant: Autodesk, Inc.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Weiwei Hu
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Patent number: 11308251Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a surface. An existing triangular surface mesh representative of an existing surface is obtained. A modification to the mesh in compliance with design constraints is received. A volume level set or a volume minimization set, for the modified mesh, is obtained in Euclidean space. A volume subgradient set based on the volume level set, is obtained. A scalar is determined and used to scale heights between vertices of a triangle. A projection is computed and may be scaled. The projection may then be removed from the triangle's vertices. The removing changes the triangular surface mesh into a converged triangular surface mesh that minimizes an objective function. The objective function computes an absolute earthwork volume and/or an absolute value of a net volume representing the difference between a fill and cut of earthwork material.Type: GrantFiled: June 19, 2020Date of Patent: April 19, 2022Assignee: AUTODESK, INC.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Hung M. Phan
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Publication number: 20210141966Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a terrain surface. A triangular surface mesh representative of an existing surface is obtained. One or more constraints to control the triangular surface mesh are specified. Drainage for the triangular surface mesh is automatically determined based on the constraints. The triangular surface mesh is optimized based on the drainage and one or more design options. The optimizing modifies the triangular surface mesh to define drainage flow for the drainage.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 12, 2020Publication date: May 13, 2021Applicant: Autodesk, Inc.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Patrick A. Bergeron, Nicholas James Zeeben, Qing Xue, Weiwei Hu
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Patent number: 10915670Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a (land) surface. A triangular surface mesh representative of an existing surface is obtained. The mesh includes triangles that are connected by vertices and edges. Design constraint sets are determined based design constraints. The design constraints include a maximum slope constraint for a first triangle of the two or more triangles in the triangular surface mesh. The maximum slope constraint is a maximum angle between a normal vector of the first triangle and a reference vector. Heights of the vertices of the first triangle are projected onto the design constraint sets such that the normal vector satisfies all of the design constraints. The projecting includes modifying the heights by a minimum Euclidian distance. A design of the surface represented by the triangular surface mesh is generated based on the projecting.Type: GrantFiled: September 14, 2017Date of Patent: February 9, 2021Assignee: AUTODESK, INC.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Hung M. Phan
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Publication number: 20200401741Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a surface. An existing triangular surface mesh representative of an existing surface is obtained. A modification to the mesh in compliance with design constraints is received. A volume level set or a volume minimization set, for the modified mesh, is obtained in Euclidean space. A volume subgradient set based on the volume level set, is obtained. A scalar is determined and used to scale heights between vertices of a triangle. A projection is computed and may be scaled. The projection may then be removed from the triangle's vertices. The removing changes the triangular surface mesh into a converged triangular surface mesh that minimizes an objective function. The objective function computes an absolute earthwork volume and/or an absolute value of a net volume representing the difference between a fill and cut of earthwork material.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 19, 2020Publication date: December 24, 2020Applicant: Autodesk, Inc.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Hung M. Phan
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Patent number: 10606962Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, article of manufacture, and computer program product provide the ability to optimize a transport alignment. Terrain data, constraint data, and cost data are read. Terrain pixels having elevation values are organized and stored in a first grid structure with rows and columns that enable efficient access to each terrain pixel. One or more raster layers of a same dimension and orientation as the first grid structure are created. A starting alignment is obtained. The starting alignment is then optimized using the one or more raster layers.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2014Date of Patent: March 31, 2020Assignee: AUTODESK, INC.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Song Liu
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Publication number: 20180075169Abstract: A method and system provide the ability to design a (land) surface. A triangular surface mesh representative of an existing surface is obtained. The mesh includes triangles that are connected by vertices and edges. Design constraint sets are determined based design constraints. The design constraints include a maximum slope constraint for a first triangle of the two or more triangles in the triangular surface mesh. The maximum slope constraint is a maximum angle between a normal vector of the first triangle and a reference vector. Heights of the vertices of the first triangle are projected onto the design constraint sets such that the normal vector satisfies all of the design constraints. The projecting includes modifying the heights by a minimum Euclidian distance. A design of the surface represented by the triangular surface mesh is generated based on the projecting.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 14, 2017Publication date: March 15, 2018Applicant: Autodesk, Inc.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Hung M. Phan
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Patent number: 9886527Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and computer program product provide the ability to modify a spline (e.g., a civil engineering spline). The spline, defined by a set of connected points, is obtained/acquired. A design constraint set is determined and may include an interpolation constraint (specifying a fixed elevation for a connected point), a slope constraint (specifying a bound on a slope between two of the connected points), and a curvature constraint (specifying; a maximum slope difference of a first slope and a second slope between three connected points). The spline is projected onto the design constraint set thereby modifying the spline by changing elevations of the connected points. The modified spline is then projected onto the design constraint set iteratively until the spline satisfies all constraints in the design constraint set.Type: GrantFiled: January 16, 2014Date of Patent: February 6, 2018Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.Inventors: Heinz H. Bauschke, Valentin R. Koch
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Patent number: 9477789Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, article of manufacture, and computer readable storage medium provide the ability to optimize a design for a vertical road profile. A ground surface profile is obtained. From the ground surface profile, an initial set of points of vertical intersection (PVIs) are obtained. An optimized earthwork cost for the PVIs is determined. The PVIs and curve configurations are then modified to reduce the earth work cost.Type: GrantFiled: September 25, 2012Date of Patent: October 25, 2016Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.Inventor: Valentin R. Koch
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Publication number: 20150154323Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, article of manufacture, and computer program product provide the ability to optimize a transport alignment. Terrain data, constraint data, and cost data are read. Terrain pixels having elevation values are organized and stored in a first grid structure with rows and columns that enable efficient access to each terrain pixel. One or more raster layers of a same dimension and orientation as the first grid structure are created. A starting alignment is obtained. The starting alignment is then optimized using the one or more raster layers.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 31, 2014Publication date: June 4, 2015Applicant: AUTODESK, INC.Inventors: Valentin R. Koch, Song Liu
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Publication number: 20140200864Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and computer program product provide the ability to modify a spline (e.g., a civil engineering spline). The spline, defined by a set of connected points, is obtained/acquired. A design constraint set is determined and may include an interpolation constraint (specifying a fixed elevation for a connected point), a slope constraint (specifying a bound on a slope between two of the connected points), and a curvature constraint (specifying; a maximum slope difference of a first slope and a second slope between three connected points). The spline is projected onto the design constraint set thereby modifying the spline by changing elevations of the connected points The modified spline is then projected onto the design constraint set iteratively until the spline satisfies all constraints in the design constraint set.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 16, 2014Publication date: July 17, 2014Applicant: AUTODESK, INC.Inventors: Heinz H. Bauschke, Valentin R. Koch