Methods and apparatuses for placing a flexible drop in a CAD drawing
The present invention is directed to methods, systems, and apparatuses for automatically placing flexible drops in a computer automated design application, and more particularly to automatically placing and drawing flexible connections between sprinkler heads and sprinkler system pipes within a CAD drawing. The present invention allows a user to automatically place and draw flexible drops from numerous sprinkler heads to sprinkler system piping simultaneously based upon a set of user-chosen flex drop parameters. The present invention may also be utilized in other applications, such as automatically placing and drawing flexible electrical connections or flexible piping connections in non-sprinkler applications.
1. A method for determining and drawing a flexible drop for connecting a sprinkler head to a sprinkler system pipe within a CAD drawing of a sprinkler system, comprising the steps of:
receiving from a user a location for the sprinkler head;
receiving from the user one or more parameters for determining the flexible drop, the one or more parameters including a connection type between the sprinkler head and the sprinkler system pipe, the connection type including a flexible drop configuration and a hard-pipe-to-flexible-drop configuration;
determining a connection point on the sprinkler system pipe for connecting the flexible drop based on the location for the sprinkler head, a location for the sprinkler system pipe, and the one or more parameters;
if the connection type is the flexible drop configuration, drawing the flexible drop within the CAD drawing from the connection point to the location for the sprinkler head; and
if the connection type is the hard-pipe-to-flexible-drop configuration, drawing a hard pipe within the CAD drawing from the connection point to a pipe-drop-to-sprinkler distance, and drawing the flexible drop within the CAD drawing from the pipe-drop-to-sprinkler distance to the location for the sprinkler head.
2. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters further include a length of the flexible drop.
3. The method as in claim 2 , wherein the length is selected by the user from a predetermined list of allowable lengths.
4. The method as in claim 2 , wherein the length is a desired length input by the user.
5. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters further include the pipe-drop-to-sprinkler distance.
6. The method as in claim 5 , wherein the pipe-drop-to-sprinkler distance is selected by the user from a predetermined list of allowable lengths.
7. The method as in claim 5 , wherein the pipe-drop-to-sprinkler distance is a desired length input by the user.
8. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include a list of types of the flexible drop from which the user may choose.
9. The method as in claim 8 , wherein the list of types includes stainless steel and aluminum.
10. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include a list of connectors from which the user may choose.
11. The method as in claim 10 , wherein the list of connectors includes a male connector and a female connector.
12. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include a list of manufacturers from which the user may choose.
13. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include a list of finishes for the flexible drop from which the user may choose.
14. The method as in claim 13 , wherein the list of finishes includes polished and none.
15. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include a list of sizes from which the user may choose.
16. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include a desired hydraulic equivalent length.
17. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising the step of determining if the flexible drop is drawn between the location and the connection point with a gap between the flexible drop and the connection point.
18. The method as in claim 17 , wherein if the gap exists, further comprising the step of communicating an existence of the gap to the user.
19. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising the step of determining if the flexible drop is drawn between the location and the connection point with a gap between the flexible drop and the location.
20. The method as in claim 19 , wherein if the gap exists, further comprising the step of communicating an existence of the gap to the user.
21. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising the step of communicating to the user a set of coordinates indicating a location of the flexible drop within the CAD drawing.
22. The method as in claim 21 , wherein the set of coordinates includes an X, a Y, and a Z coordinate for each of a plurality of vertexes.
23. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising the step of hydraulically simulating the flexible drop within the CAD drawing.
24. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising the step of altering a curve of the flexible drop drawn within the CAD drawing in response to a manipulation by the user of the flexible drop within the CAD drawing.
25. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising the step of altering an orientation of the flexible drop drawn within the CAD drawing in response to a manipulation by the user of the flexible drop within the CAD drawing.
26. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising the step of altering an appearance of the flexible drop drawn within the CAD drawing in response to a manipulation by the user of the flexible drop within the CAD drawing.
27. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising the step of integrating the flexible drop into the CAD drawing so as to enable a hydraulic calculation of the sprinkler system.
28. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising the step of integrating the flexible drop into the CAD drawing so as to enable a hydraulic simulation of the sprinkler system.