Laser finishing design tool

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10891035-B2
Application number	US-201816177387-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2018
Priority date	Oct 31, 2017
Publication date	Jan 12, 2021
Grant date	Jan 12, 2021

Abstract

A tool allows a user to create new designs for apparel and preview these designs before manufacture. Software and lasers are used in finishing apparel to produce a desired wear pattern or other design. Based on a laser input file with a pattern, a laser will burn the pattern onto apparel. With the tool, the user will be able to create, make changes, and view images of a design, in real time, before burning by a laser. Input to the tool includes fabric template images, laser input files, and damage input. The tool allows adding of tinting and adjusting of intensity and bright point. The user can also move, rotate, scale, and warp the image input.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
providing a garment previewing tool that allows previewing on a computer screen of a jeans garment customized by a user with a finishing pattern created using a laser input file by a laser, wherein the garment previewing tool comprises
providing an option for the user to select a jeans garment base and upon the user's selection, showing a first garment preview image on the computer screen comprising a jeans base image for the selected garment base,
providing an option for the user to select a wear pattern from a menu of wear patterns, wherein each wear pattern is associated with a laser input file to be used by a laser to produce that wear pattern onto a jeans garment,
after the wear pattern is selected, showing a second garment preview image on the computer screen comprising the selected wear pattern in combination with the jeans base image, wherein the second garment preview image replaces the first garment preview image,
in the second garment preview image, allowing the user to select the wear pattern and modify a sizing of the wear pattern relative to the jeans base image, wherein as the user makes changes, the modified sizing of the wear pattern is displayed to the user in real time,
in the second garment preview image, allowing the user to select the wear pattern and modify a position of the wear pattern relative to the jeans base image, wherein as the user makes changes, the modified positioning of the wear pattern is displayed to the user in real time, and
showing a third garment preview image on the computer screen comprising the jeans base image and selected wear pattern, with modified sizing or modified positioning, or a combination;
providing a target pair of jeans corresponding to the jeans garment base selected by the user; and
based on a laser input file associated with the third garment preview image comprising the selected wear pattern with modified sizing or modified positioning, or a combination, using a laser to create a finishing pattern on an outer surface of the target jeans,
wherein the second garment preview image comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel is at a pixel location of the second garment preview image and comprises color value, and a pixel is displayed on the computer screen at its pixel location as a color, corresponding to its color value, and
the second garment preview image is generated by a method comprising
generating an adjusted base image from the jean base image without the selected wear pattern,
generating a pattern mask based on the laser input file associated with the selected wear pattern,
for each pixel in the second garment preview image, calculating a first contribution based on values from the pattern mask and the jeans base image,
for each pixel in the second garment preview image, calculating a second contribution based on values from the pattern mask and the adjusted base image,
for each pixel in the second garment preview image, combining the first contribution and second contribution to obtain a color value for each pixel of the second garment preview image.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a method of manufacturing the target pair of jeans comprises:
assembling the target jeans from fabric panels of a woven first material comprising a warp comprising indigo ring-dyed cotton yarn, wherein the fabric panels are sewn together using thread.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein based on the laser input file, the laser removes selected amounts of material from a surface of the material of the target jeans at different pixel locations of the garment, and
for lighter pixel locations of the finishing pattern, a greater amount of the indigo ring-dyed cotton warp yarn is removed, while for darker pixel locations of the finishing pattern, a lesser amount of the indigo ring-dyed cotton warp yarn is removed.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the showing a second garment preview image on the computer screen comprises
for each pixel in the second garment preview image, displaying a color corresponding to a color value obtained for a pixel in the second garment preview image from combining the first contribution and second contribution.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the third garment preview image shows the jeans garment customized by the user as the target pair of jeans would appear after a postlaser wash.

6. A method comprising:
providing a garment previewing tool that allows previewing on a computer screen of a garment customized by a user with a finishing pattern created using a laser input file by a laser, wherein the garment previewing tool comprises
providing an option for the user to select a garment base and upon the user's selection, showing a first garment preview image on the computer screen comprising a base image for the selected garment base,
providing an option for the user to select a pattern from a menu of patterns, wherein each pattern is associated with a laser input file,
after the pattern is selected, showing a second garment preview image on the computer screen comprising the selected pattern in combination with the base image, wherein the second garment preview image replaces the first garment preview image,
in the second garment preview image, allowing the user to select the pattern and alter a sizing of the pattern relative to the base image, wherein as the user makes changes, the altered sizing of the pattern is displayed to the user in real time,
in the second garment preview image, allowing the user to select the pattern and alter a position of the pattern relative to the base image, wherein as the user makes changes, the altered positioning of the pattern is displayed to the user in real time, and
showing a third garment preview image on the computer screen comprising the base image and selected pattern, with altered sizing or altered positioning, or a combination,
wherein the second garment preview image comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel is at a pixel location of the second garment preview image and comprises color value, and a pixel is displayed on the computer screen at its pixel location as a color, corresponding to its color value, and
the second garment preview image is generated by a method comprising
generating an adjusted base image from the jean base image without the selected wear pattern,
generating a pattern mask based on the laser input file associated with the selected wear pattern,
for each pixel in the second garment preview image, determining a first contribution based on values from the pattern mask and the jeans base image,
for each pixel in the second garment preview image, determining a second contribution based on values from the pattern mask and the adjusted base image,
for each pixel in the second garment preview image, combining the first contribution and second contribution to obtain a color value for each pixel of the second garment preview image.

7. The method of claim 6 comprising:
based on the third garment preview image comprising the selected pattern with altered sizing or altered positioning, or a combination, using a laser to create a finishing pattern on an outer surface of a garment that is represented by third garment preview image.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein based on the laser input file associated with the pattern used in the third garment preview image, the laser removes selected amounts of material from the surface of the first material at different pixel locations of the garment, and
for lighter pixel locations of the finishing pattern, a greater amount of the dyed cotton warp yarn is removed, while for darker pixel locations of the finishing pattern, a lesser amount of the dyed cotton warp yarn is removed.

9. T

Assignees

• Strauss Levi & Co

Inventors

• Bell Benjamin
• Schultz Christopher
• Schultz Jennifer
• Mahanty Debdulal
• Kuzucu Ozgur Taylan
• Sights James Barton

Classifications

• G06T11/10

  Texturing; Colouring; Generation of textures or colours (retouching, inpainting or scratch removal G06T5/77) · CPC title

• G06F2113/12

  Cloth · CPC title

• G06F30/00

  Computer-aided design [CAD] · CPC title

• D06B11/0096

  to get a faded look · CPC title

• G06F3/04817

  using icons (graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34) · CPC title