Automated application of cut thermal adhesive films

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11565437-B2
Application number	US-202117244068-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 29, 2021
Priority date	Mar 16, 2015
Publication date	Jan 31, 2023
Grant date	Jan 31, 2023

Abstract

Method of manufacturing a substrate with a cut thermal film comprises obtaining an input digital image of a design to be transferred to the substrate; storing the input image in memory; rendering design elements of the design as a single output image; based upon a bleed size value, a maximum number of negative areas, a maximum number of positive areas, and attribute values: resizing the image to include a border for bleed; filling transparent areas of the image with the substrate attribute values; creating a cutting path; creating a mask image; inverting the mask image; modifying the mask image to adjust fill areas around details, to limit negative areas to be less than the maximum number of negative areas, and to limit positive areas to be less than the maximum number of positive areas; creating cutting path data in memory as a vector path outlining the mask image.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-based system for manufacturing a custom product by applying, to a product,
a decorative design imprinted in an adhesive film, the computer-based system comprising:
a service provider computer that is configured to:
automatically determine, in an adhesive film, one or more regions that collectively depict a decorative design printed on the adhesive film and to be used to generate a custom product;
wherein the service provider computer is further configured to:
automatically generate cutting instructions that describe how to cut registration means in the adhesive film;
wherein the registration means defines a path that encloses the one or more regions that collectively depict the decorative design included in the adhesive film;

wherein the service provider computer is further configured to:
provide the cutting instructions to a registration device to cause the registration device to automatically cut the registration means in the adhesive film according to the cutting instructions;
cause a cutting device to optically detect the registration means in the adhesive film and to generate a cut-out-shape by cutting the adhesive film along the path.

2. The computer-based system of claim 1 , wherein the registration means includes one or more of: lines, dots, or holes; wherein the path is larger by an offset than a border enclosing the one or more regions;
wherein the cut-out-shape corresponds to the decorative design and is to be used to generate the custom product; wherein the decorative design is printed on the adhesive film using an inkjet printing technique;
wherein the service provider computer is further configured to cause: a manufacturing device to use a substrate color of the custom product to print edges around the decorative design in addition to edges of the decorative design rendered based on the cut-out-shape cut from the adhesive film;
wherein the substrate color is selected from a visible color range.

3. The computer-based system of claim 1 , wherein the service provider computer is further configured to cause: a manufacturing device to use a substrate texture of the custom product to print edges around the decorative design in addition to edges of the decorative design rendered based on the cut-out-shape cut from the adhesive film; wherein the substrate texture is selected from a visible texture range.

4. The computer-based system of claim 2 , wherein the offset by which the path defined by the registration means is larger than the border enclosing the one or more regions is larger than a smallest size of one or more of: a printable line or a printable dot.

5. The computer-based system of claim 2 , wherein a count of one or more of: lines, dots, or holes, that are included in the registration means does not exceed a limit value.

6. The computer-based system of claim 1 , wherein the service provider computer is further configured to automatically determine which portions of the decorative design are to be rendered based on the cut-out-shape and which portions of the decorative design are to be rendered using a printing method.

7. The computer-based system of claim 1 , wherein the service provider computer is further configured to:
generate and transmit one or more manufacturing instructions comprising a cut film manufacturing means for generating the custom product;
generate and transmit one or more printing instructions comprising a printing manufacturing means for printing a design on the custom product.

8. A computer-based system for manufacturing a custom product comprising:
a service provider computer that is configured to:
obtain an input digital image of a design that is to be transferred to a tangible substrate and store the input digital image in electronic digital memory of a computer;
render a plurality of design elements of the design as an output image;
based upon the output image, a bleed size value, a maximum number of negative areas, a maximum number of positive areas, and one or more substrate attribute values: resize the output image to include a border for bleed; filling all transparent areas of the output image with the one or more substrate attribute values; creating and storing a cutting path;
create and storing a mask image;
digitally invert the mask image in the electronic digital memory;
modify the mask image to adjust one or more fill areas around one or more details, to limit negative areas to be less than the maximum number of negative areas, and to limit positive areas to be less than the maximum number of positive areas, resulting in a modified mask image;
generate and store cutting path data comprising a vector path on an outline of the mask image;
create and store cutting path data in the electronic digital memory, comprising a vector path on an outline of the mask image.

9. The computer-based system of claim 8 , wherein the service provider computer is further configured to:
store the cutting path data in the electronic digital memory, comprising the vector path on the outline of the mask image;
transmit the cutting path data over a computer network to a manufacture computer;
wherein the output image includes alpha channel data, and wherein creating and storing a mask image comprises copying the alpha channel data to a one-channel image having a same size as the output image.

10. The computer-based system of claim 8 , wherein the service provider computer is further configured to:
preprocess the plurality of design elements of the input digital image by one or more of: creating alpha channel data for the input digital image when the input digital image lacks alpha channel data; for each of one or more text elements in the input digital image, creating a background balloon having a color, texture or pattern that corresponds to a corresponding substrate.

11. The computer-based system of claim 8 , wherein the service provider computer is further configured to:
copy the mask image from the electronic digital memory to create a one-channel fill image of a same size as the mask image;
based on a fill size value and a pixels-per-inch value, shrink a fill image size of the fill image by a product of the fill size value and pixels-per-inch value, and grow the fill image size of the fill image by a product of the fill size value and pixels-per-inch value;
set each pixel in the mask image to a lesser value of a mask image pixel value and a fill image pixel value, resulting in modified mask image data for an opaque region that covers all the design including fine details.

12. The computer-based system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more substrate attribute values comprise any one or more of color, texture, and pattern of a corresponding substrate.

13. The computer-based system of claim 8 , wherein the service provider computer is further configured to:
using the cutting path data, drive a cutting machine to cut a thermal transfer film;
remove selected image area from the thermal transfer film;
heat-transfer the thermal transfer film to a corresponding substrate.

14. The computer-based system of claim 8 , wherein the service provider computer is further configured to:
using the cutting path data, drive a cutting machine to cut a film on a backing sheet to describe a decorative design and to provide a registration means;
attach a film portion corresponding to unused portions of the design to a receiving sheet using the registration means and an attachment means;
remove the film portion corresponding to the unused portions of the design from the backing sheet using the receiving sheet;
attach a second film portion correspondin

Assignees

• Zazzle Inc

Inventors

• Harvill Young

Classifications

• G05B19/4097 Primary

  characterised by using design data to control NC machines, e.g. CAD/CAM (G05B19/4093 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B26D5/00

  Arrangements for operating and controlling machines or devices for cutting, cutting-out, stamping-out, punching, perforating, or severing by means other than cutting · CPC title

• B26F1/00

  Perforating; Punching; Cutting-out; Stamping-out; Apparatus therefor (perforating by laser beam B23K26/00; subjecting the grinding tools or the abrading medium to vibration, e.g. grinding with ultrasonic frequency, B24B1/04; perforating by sand-blasting B24C; punching cards or tapes for statistical and record purposes G06K1/00) · CPC title

• B26D3/085 Primary

  On sheet material · CPC title

• B44C1/162

  Decalcomanias with a transfer layer comprising indicia with definite outlines such as letters and with means facilitating the desired fitting to the permanent base · CPC title