Systems and methods for generating permit sets

Abstract

A rules engine can traverse various requirements of a rules data structure in conjunction with rule settings that define permitting rules in effect for a particular jurisdiction to determine a value for each requirement. Document objects may then be created by combining project inputs with the determined values. A composing engine can receive the document objects and populate one or more page templates with the document objects to create a permit set.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computing device for automatically generating jurisdictionally-compliant permit sets for a project, the computer device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory comprising:
 a rules engine configured to:
 receive and store in the memory a rules data structure comprising a set of jurisdiction-specific permit requirements; 
 receive and store in the memory project inputs comprising project data; and 
 cause the processor to traverse the rules data structure and generate at least one document object based on the project inputs and the set of jurisdiction-specific permit requirements; and 
   a composing engine configured to:
 receive the at least one document object; 
 receive and store in the memory at least one page template comprising regions corresponding to the at least one document object; and 
 cause the processor to populate the regions with the at least one document object. 
   
     
     
         2 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the rules data structure is organized as an acyclic directed graph. 
     
     
         3 . The computing device of  claim 2 , wherein the rules engine traverses the rules data structure unambiguously in a single pass. 
     
     
         4 . The computing device of  claim 2 , wherein the rules data structure comprises a plurality of orthogonal categories, each orthogonal category comprising a set of requirements with values that do not affect values in any of the other orthogonal categories. 
     
     
         5 . The computing device of  claim 4 , wherein each set of requirements comprises isolated requirements and nested, dependent requirements. 
     
     
         6 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein, to generate the at least one document object based on the project inputs and the set of jurisdiction-specific permit requirements, the rules engine is configured to:
 associate at least one project input with at least one requirement;   evaluate values associated with the at least one requirement;   determine a type of document object to be generated based on the evaluated values; and   generate, using a CAD module, at least one document object of the determined type of document object based on the at least one project input associated with the at least one requirement.   
     
     
         7 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein each requirement of the set of jurisdiction-specific permit requirements comprises at least one selectable value. 
     
     
         8 . The computing device of  claim 7 , wherein the rules engine is further configured to:
 receive and store in the memory rule settings; and   based on the received rule settings, traverse the rules data structure to select at least one value of the at least one selectable value for each requirement of the set of requirements.   
     
     
         9 . The computing device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a database storing at least one of:
 data representing physical components and materials used to build a solar panel system; and 
 a library of symbols used to create document objects. 
   
     
     
         10 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one document object comprises at least one of:
 a text box;   a static image; and   audio/visual content.   
     
     
         11 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one document object comprises at least one of:
 a dynamically generated solar panel installation plan;   a schematic;   a wiring diagram.   
     
     
         12 . A computer-implemented method for generating permit sets, comprising:
 receiving, at a memory of a computing device, a rules data structure comprising a set of jurisdiction-specific permit requirements;   receiving, at the memory, a set of project inputs associated with a solar energy installation project;   generating, using a processor of the computing device, document objects based on the set of jurisdiction-specific permit requirements and the set of project inputs;   receiving, at the memory, at least one page template; and   populating, using the processor, the at least one page template with the document objects to generate at least a portion of a completed permit set.   
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 12 , wherein the rules data structure comprises an acyclic directed graph. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 13 , wherein the traversing comprises traversing the acyclic directed graph unambiguously in a single pass. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 12 , wherein generating the document objects comprises generating a static element. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 12 , wherein generating the document objects comprises dynamically linking to at least one content source. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one content source comprises at least one of a database and an Internet-accessible server. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 receiving, at the memory, a set of rule settings; and   traversing, using the processor, the rules data structure to select at least one value for each requirement based on the set of rule settings.   
     
     
         19 . A computer-implemented method for maintaining permitting data, comprising:
 enumerating, using a processor of a computing device, a set of permit requirements in effect across a plurality of jurisdictions and corresponding values for each requirement of the set of permit requirements;   organizing and storing in a memory of the computing device, using the processor, the set of permit requirements into a data structure; and   editing, using the processor, the data structure upon detecting, using the processor, at least one of:
 a new permitting requirement; 
 a new value for an existing permitting requirement; and 
 a change in a value defined for an existing permitting requirement. 
   
     
     
         20 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 dynamically linking the data structure to at least one external database over at least one communications path; and   automatically updating the data structure upon detecting a change in the at least one external database.   
     
     
         21 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 presenting, using an I/O device of the computing device, an interactive version of the data structure to a user of a computing device.   
     
     
         22 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , further comprising at least one of:
 entering a set of rules for a particular project in order to generate one or more document objects related to that project; and   entering a set of rules for a particular jurisdiction to save those values for use in a later project or projects.   
     
     
         23 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 adding at least one of requirements and values to the data structure that do not yet exist; and   storing the at least one of requirements and values in a database.   
     
     
         24 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 23 , further comprising:
 propagating the at least one of requirements and values to a rules engine stored in the memory; and   creating by the rules engine, using the processor, at least one new document object corresponding to the at least one of requirements and values.   
     
     
         25 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 24 , further comprising:
 propagating the at least one of requirements and values to a composing engine stored in the memory; and   determining by the composing engine, using the processor, where to populate the at least one new document object into a page template for a permit set.