U.S. patent application number 09/760073 was filed with the patent office on 2002-07-18 for refrigerator art jewelry.
Invention is credited to Zieverink, Robert M..
Application Number | 20020092322 09/760073 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25058009 |
Filed Date | 2002-07-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020092322 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Zieverink, Robert M. |
July 18, 2002 |
Refrigerator art jewelry
Abstract
A method and machine for making personalized jewelry. A picture
or drawing, preferably one with sentimental value, is scanned or
digitally imported into a computer and saved as image data. The
image data is manipulated by the computer's software and is used
along with parameter information input by an operator to create
numerical milling controls that are sent to a milling machine. The
control instructions are executed by the milling machine and the
result is that a replica of the scanned picture or drawing is
milled into a piece of precious metal that is held by the machine.
The piece of precious metal with the replicated image can be
adapted to be worn as a pendant, a charm, earrings or as other
types of jewelry. The method can be used to turn a whimsical piece
of "refrigerator art" into a long lasting and treasured piece of
"refrigerator art jewelry", for example. Coloring agents can
optionally be applied to milled areas of the metal to reproduce
color drawings or pictures.
Inventors: |
Zieverink, Robert M.; (Wake
Forest, NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Seto Patents
617 Tinkerbell Rd.
Chapel Hill
NC
27514
US
|
Family ID: |
25058009 |
Appl. No.: |
09/760073 |
Filed: |
January 16, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
63/33 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A44C 25/00 20130101;
A44C 27/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
63/33 |
International
Class: |
A44C 025/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A method for making a personalized piece of jewelry comprising
the steps of: digitally capturing a picture or drawing in a
computer; storing the captured picture or drawing as image data;
manipulating the image data with computer software to produce a
numerical milling command; replicating the picture or drawing on a
piece of metal by executing the numerical milling command on a
computer controlled milling machine; and adapting the piece of
metal so it can be worn as a piece of jewelry.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein, the picture or drawing is in
color and the step of replicating includes adding color to the
piece of metal so that a color replica is produced.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein, the drawing comprises a child's
drawing, a professional's drawing, or a handwritten message.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein, the step of digitally capturing
comprises scanning or taking a digital picture of the picture or
drawing.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein, the step of digitally capturing
comprises importing a picture or drawing that is already in a
digital form into the system.
6. A computerized milling machine for making a personalized piece
of jewelry, comprising: a digital capturing device for importing a
picture or drawing; a memory for storing a digital representation
of the picture or drawing; a computer controlled milling machine;
and, processing circuitry for reading the memory, creating milling
machine instructions, and controlling the milling machine in a
manner that results in the picture or drawing being replicated on a
piece of metal by the milling machine.
7. The milling machine of claim 6 wherein, coloring agents are
added to the piece of metal after milling so that a color picture
or drawing is replicated.
8. The milling machine of claim 6 wherein, the drawing comprises a
child's drawing, a professional's drawing, or a handwritten
message.
9. The milling machine of claim 6 wherein, the digital capturing
device is a scanner or a digital camera.
10. The milling machine of claim 6 wherein the picture or drawing
is already in a digital form and the digital capturing device
merely facilitates importing the digital form into the machine.
11. An article of jewelry comprising a precious metal with an image
milled into a surface of the metal by a computer controlled milling
machine wherein the image is a replication of a painting or drawing
that was scanned or otherwise digitally captured by the computer
controlled milling machine.
12. The article of claim 11 wherein, the image that is replicated
on the metal is in color.
13. The article of claim 11 wherein, the image is a child's
drawing, a professional's drawing, or a handwritten message.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to the field of
jewelry design and manufacturing, and more specifically to a method
for turning pictures and drawings into pendants and other
jewelry.
[0002] Jewelry holds an important place in history and continues to
play an integral role in society. The giving and receiving of
precious metals, rare stones and other forms of jewelry has been
the universal sign of love, gratuity and loyalty. Such gifts allow
the poorest of recipients to temporarily feel like royalty. Rare
stones, such as rubies and emeralds, can be cut and polished to
accent light that shines through the stone and subsequently mounted
on a ring or worn as a pendant. Precious metals, such as gold and
silver, can also be worn as rings and pendants but have the
additional characteristic of being malleable. This characteristic
allows these metals to be shaped into many different forms, thus
giving jewelry making many more possibilities. Precious metals can
also be engraved with a name, initials or a short message, to
personalize the gift. Personalizing gifts and otherwise making
gifts unique gives an additional quality to the gift.
[0003] A novel way of personalizing a piece of jewelry for a parent
is to turn a drawing made by their child into a piece of jewelry.
For example, a drawing that had hung in the kitchen on the
refrigerator for a period of time could be memorialized as a gold
pendent that contained a replication of the family's "refrigerator
art". The present method involves digitally capturing a picture or
drawing in a computer. The picture is then manipulated so as to
produce milled and unmilled areas. Numerical codes are then
produced and downloaded to a milling machine and a picture or
drawing is replicated on the piece of metal in a 3 axis or 2
dimension cutting or a 4 axis or 3 dimension cutting by the
computerized milling machine. Computer aided drawings as well as
scanned in pictures are manipulated by the computer as to size,
shape, and distortion. A milling numerical code is then produced by
software and stored in memory. The milling numerical code is
downloaded to the milling machine software and milling takes place.
The piece of metal to be milled is held by a portion of the milling
hardware during the milling process. Upon completion of the present
method, the resulting piece of jewelry provides a permanent
reminder of the picture or drawing that was imported into the
computerized milling machine.
[0004] During the early part of the 20th century, machine tools
were enlarged and accuracy improved. After 1920 they became more
specialized in their applications. From about 1930 to 1950 more
powerful and rigid machine tools were built to effectively utilize
the improved cutting materials that had become available. These
specialized machine tools made it possible to manufacture
standardized products economically. The machines, however, lacked
flexibility and they were not adaptable to a variety of products or
to variations in manufacturing standards. As a result, in the past
three decades engineers have developed highly versatile and
accurate machine tools that have been adapted to computer control,
making possible the economical manufacture of products of complex
design.
[0005] Optical scanners are computer input devices that use
light-sensing equipment to scan paper or another medium,
translating the pattern of light and dark (or color) into a digital
signal that can be manipulated by either optical character
recognition software or graphics software. A frequently encountered
type of scanner is "flatbed," meaning that the scanning device
moves across or reads across a stationary document. On a flatbed
scanner such as the common office copier, such objects are placed
face down on a flat piece of glass and scanned by a mechanism that
passes under them. Another type of flatbed scanner uses a scanning
element placed in a stationary housing above the document. Other
scanners work by pulling in sheets of paper, which are scanned as
they pass over a stationary scanning mechanism, as in the common
office fax machine. Some specialized scanners work with a standard
video camera, translating the video signal into a digital signal
for processing by computer software. A popular type of scanner is
the hand-held scanner, so called because the user holds the scanner
in his or her hand and moves it over the document to be scanned.
Hand-held scanners have the advantage of relatively low cost.
[0006] Regarding the milling process, there are many different
methods for removing selected areas from a piece of metal. In a
milling machine, a workpiece is fed against a circular device with
a series of cutting edges on its circumference. The workpiece is
held on a table that controls the feed against the cutter. The
table conventionally has three possible movements: longitudinal,
horizontal, and vertical; in some cases it can also rotate. Milling
machines are the most versatile of all machine tools. Flat or
contoured surfaces may be machined with excellent finish and
accuracy. Angles, slots, gear teeth, and recess cuts can be made by
using various cutters.
[0007] Grinding is the removal of metal by a rotating abrasive
wheel; the action is similar to that of a milling cutter. The wheel
is composed of many small grains of abrasive, bonded together, with
each grain acting as a miniature cutting tool. The process produces
extremely smooth and accurate finishes. Because only a small amount
of material is removed at each pass of the wheel, grinding machines
require fine wheel regulation. The pressure of the wheel against
the workpiece can be made very slight, so that grinding can be
carried out on fragile materials that cannot be machined by other
conventional devices.
[0008] Unconventional machine tools include plasma-arc, laser-beam,
electrodischarge, electrochemical, ultrasonic, and electron-beam
machines. These machine tools were developed primarily to shape the
ultrahard alloys used in heavy industry and in aerospace
applications and to shape and etch the ultrathin materials used in
such electronic devices as microprocessors.
[0009] Plasma-arc machining (PAM) employs a high-velocity jet of
high-temperature gas to melt and displace material in its path. The
materials cut by PAM are generally those that are difficult to cut
by any other means, such as stainless steels and aluminum
alloys.
[0010] Laser-beam machining (LBM) is accomplished by precisely
manipulating a beam of coherent light (or laser) to vaporize
unwanted material. LBM is particularly suited to making accurately
placed holes. The LBM process can make holes in refractory metals
and ceramics and in very thin materials without warping the
workpiece. Extremely fine wires can also be welded using LBM
equipment.
[0011] Electrodischarge machining (EDM), also known as spark
erosion, employs electrical energy to remove metal from the
workpiece without touching it. A pulsating high-frequency electric
current is applied between the tool point and the workpiece,
causing sparks to jump the gap and vaporize small areas of the
workpiece. Because no cutting forces are involved, light, delicate
operations can be performed on thin workpieces. EDM can produce
shapes unobtainable by any conventional machining process.
[0012] Electrochemical machining (ECM) also uses electrical energy
to remove material. An electrolytic cell is created in an
electrolyte medium, with the tool as the cathode and the workpiece
as the anode. A high-amperage, low-voltage current is used to
dissolve the metal and to remove it from the workpiece, which must
be electrically conductive. A wide variety of operations can be
performed by ECM; these operations include etching, marking, hole
making, and milling.
[0013] Ultrasonic machining (USM) employs high-frequency,
low-amplitude vibrations to create holes and other cavities. A
relatively soft tool is shaped as desired and vibrated against the
workpiece while a mixture of fine abrasive and water flows between
them. The friction of the abrasive particles gradually cuts the
workpiece. Materials such as hardened steel, carbides, rubies,
quartz, diamonds, and glass can easily be machined by USM.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] A method and machine that replicates a picture or drawing
onto a piece of precious metal which can subsequently be worn as
jewelry. The method comprises the steps of capturing a digital
representation of the picture or drawing through digital devices
such as scanners and digital cameras, integrating the digital
representation into instructions that control a computerized
milling machine, and using the machine to reproduce the picture or
drawing on a piece of precious metal wherein the precious metal can
subsequently be worn as jewelry. The picture or drawing can be any
scannable picture or drawing or digitally captured picture or
drawing created by a novice or professional and preferable has some
sentimental value to the wearer of the jewelry. The present system
also allows for replication of color pictures and drawings. The
system may comprise separate modules that are electrically
connected or one integrated unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The invention of the present application will now be
described in more detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings, given only by way of example, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the present system;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the steps of the present
method;
[0018] FIG. 3(a) is an example of a child's drawing;
[0019] FIG. 3(b) is an example a piece of jewelry made with the
present method;
[0020] FIG. 4(a) is an example of a professional drawing;
[0021] FIG. 4(b) is an example of a piece of jewelry made with the
present method; and,
[0022] FIG. 5 is another example of a piece of jewelry made using
the present method.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] FIG. 1 shows the main components of the present jewelry
making system. Digital capturing device 1 is used to import an
image contained in a picture or drawing into the memory of computer
2. Digital capturing device 1 can be a scanner, a digital camera or
other similar device. The imported image can be from any picture or
drawing, with the idea being that the founder the person is of the
picture or drawing, the founder they will be of the resulting piece
of jewelry. Alternatively, if the image to be captured is already
in digital form, such as a computer assisted drawing or an e-mail,
then the image can be imported directly to computer 2. The captured
image is stored as a digital representation of the imported picture
or drawing. This "image data" is processed by computer 2 and a set
of machine instructions are produced. The machine instructions are
sent to computer controlled milling machine 3 and are used to
control the actions of machine 3. During the milling process, the
picture or drawing is milled into a piece of metal, such as gold,
by computer controlled milling machine 3. Machine 3 has the ability
to reproduce intricate details of the imported drawing. Coloring
agents such as colored resins or enamels can be added into milled
areas to produce a final colored product.
[0024] The main components are shown in FIG. 1 as three separate
modules that are electrically connected to each other. However in
physical embodiments, the system may comprise separate modules or
the modules can be combined into one integrated unit. In all
embodiments, the system provides a user interface, such as a
keyboard and display unit, for input by the operator.
[0025] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the main steps involved in the
present method of personalized jewelry making. In step 4, a
picture, drawing or other image is digitally captured and imported
into the system. One of the first drawings used by the present
system was a young child's drawing that had previously been hung on
the family's refrigerator door. The whimsical drawing was turned
into a personalized pendant that serves as a lasting reminder to
the family of a special time. Of course if the image is already in
digital form, then step 4 can be skipped. The picture or drawing
can be by a child, a novice, or a professional artist. Further, the
image to be imported can also simply be handwriting, wherein a
handwritten message, for example, would then be reproduced on the
piece of metal. In step 5, a digital representation of the picture
or drawing is stored in the system's memory as image data. In step
6, the image data is processed by the system to create a set of
instructions that when executed by the milling machine will
reproduce the imported image on a piece of metal. The present
method works very well on gold and silver, but is not limited to
these two precious metals, and may be used on other appropriate
materials as well. In most cases, the imported image will be
reduced in size when it is replicated on the metal. Also in step 6,
an operator of the machine inputs parameters such as the type of
metal to be milled and the desired size of the milled image. These
"type" and "size" parameters are used in step 6 to create the set
of machine instructions. In step 7, the machine instructions are
sent to and executed by the milling machine. As a result of
executing the instructions created in step 6, a replica of the
captured image from step 4 is milled into the piece of metal.
Optionally following step 7, color can be added by filling milled
areas with coloring agents so that color images can also be
replicated.
[0026] FIG. 3(a) is a sample child's drawing 8 that is typically
brought home by the child that made it, given to the parents and
hung on the family refrigerator as "refrigerator art". These
drawings can hold a special place in the hearts of the parents and
many parents never forget certain pieces of their family's
"refrigerator art". In FIG. 3(b), the drawing has been turned into
a piece of "refrigerator art jewelry". Necklace 9 holds the piece
refrigerator art jewelry, pendant 10, which is a reproduction of
drawing 8 in FIG. 3(a). Enhancement 11 shows the enlarged image
that has been milled into pedant 10. The image on pendant 10 is a
duplicate of the image in drawing 8.
[0027] FIGS. 4(a) & (b) are similar to FIGS. 3(a) & (b),
respectively, except that this time a professional drawing 12 has
been used as the image to be scanned or imported. Professional
drawing 12 is scanned by or imported to the present system, a set
of machine instructions is created and executed, and the resulting
piece of jewelry is shown in FIG. 4(b) as pendant 14, which hangs
on necklace 13. Again, enhancement 15 is an enlarged view of the
image that has been milled into pendant 14. The image milled into
pendant 14 is a replica of the image in professional drawing
12.
[0028] FIG. 5 shows bracelet 16 with jewelry pieces of many
different shapes hanging therefrom. FIG. 5 is intended to show that
jewelry produced by the present method can come in many different
shapes. Further, the produced jewelry pieces do not have to be
pendants, as shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 4(b). Jewelry produced by the
present method can also be charms worn on a bracelet, as is shown
in FIG. 5. The produced jewelry can also be adapted to be worn as
earrings, broaches, bracelets without charms, and even rings. For
band type bracelets and rings, the image can be milled directly
into the bracelet or ring, or the milled piece can be mounted on or
inserted into the bracelet or ring.
[0029] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will
so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others
can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for
various applications such specific embodiments without departing
from the generic concept. Therefore, such adaptations and
modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the
meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It
is to be understood that the phraseology of terminology employed
herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
* * * * *