U.S. patent application number 11/337259 was filed with the patent office on 2007-07-26 for painting process color compensator.
Invention is credited to Thomas Henry Barnes, John W. Dunsmoir, Sheryl S. Kinstler, Mei Yang Selvage, Abigail Alice Tittizer, Carol Sue Robertson Walton.
Application Number | 20070172115 11/337259 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38285617 |
Filed Date | 2007-07-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070172115 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Barnes; Thomas Henry ; et
al. |
July 26, 2007 |
Painting process color compensator
Abstract
A method and implementing computer system are provided for
enabling a user to paint a surface a desired final color while
using a paint, the color of which appears in raw form different
from the desired final color for the painted surface. In an
exemplary embodiment, a tile painting application is illustrated
and includes a camera arranged to take an image of a bisque tile.
When a user applies a glaze to the tile, the camera-computer system
analyzes the glaze color among other factors affecting the painting
process and an image showing a final color of the tile after firing
is presented on the display of the computer system such that by
looking at the computer screen, the user is able to see the actual
final color of the tile after firing while applying the initial
glaze to the bisque tile before firing.
Inventors: |
Barnes; Thomas Henry;
(Austin, TX) ; Dunsmoir; John W.; (Round Rock,
TX) ; Kinstler; Sheryl S.; (Dripping Springs, TX)
; Selvage; Mei Yang; (Pocatello, ID) ; Tittizer;
Abigail Alice; (Austin, TX) ; Walton; Carol Sue
Robertson; (Austin, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
IBM CORPORATION (RVW)
C/O ROBERT V. WILDER, ATTORNEY AT LAW
4235 KINGSBURG DRIVE
ROUND ROCK
TX
78681
US
|
Family ID: |
38285617 |
Appl. No.: |
11/337259 |
Filed: |
January 20, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
382/162 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01N 21/25 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
382/162 |
International
Class: |
G06K 9/00 20060101
G06K009/00 |
Claims
1. A method for determining a color of a first surface of an object
after said first surface has been painted with a coating substance
of a first color and subjected to a painting-related process
operable to effect a change from said first color to a second
color, said method comprising: using a camera to take a picture of
said coating substance applied to said object before said object is
subjected to said painting-related process; determining said first
color from said picture; enabling a user to input paint process
information concerning said painting-related process into a
computer system coupled to said camera; and processing said paint
process information and said first color by said computer system to
determine said second color.
2. The method as set forth in claim 1 and further including:
defining relationship information between said first color, said
second color and said paint process information; and saving said
relationship information in a process color change file accessible
by said computer system.
3. The method as set forth in claim 2 and further including
accessing said process color change file after said saving.
4. The method as set forth in claim 1 and further including
displaying said second color on a display device of said computer
system.
5. The method as set forth in claim 4 wherein said object is a tile
to be painted, said coating substance is a glaze and said
painting-related process is the firing of said tile in a kiln after
said first surface has been painted with said coating substance,
and wherein said processing by said computer system includes using
said information input by said user to access a database and
retrieve said second color from said database corresponding to said
first color and said information input by said user.
6. The method as set forth in claim 5 wherein said database
includes information related to a designated temperature at which
said kiln is maintained.
7. The method as set forth in claim 5 wherein said database
includes information related to a designated time period during
which said object remains in said kiln.
8. The method as set forth in claim 5 wherein said database
includes information related to a manufacturer of said object.
9. The method as set forth in claim 5 wherein said database
includes information related to an identification of said coating
substance.
10. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said method is
embodied in a programmed product, said programmed product being
selectively effective when installed on a computer system for:
prompting a user to take a picture of said coating substance
applied to said object before said object is subjected to said
painting-related process, said picture including making a
determination of said first color; enabling a user to input
information concerning said painting-related process into a
computer system coupled to said camera; processing said information
by said computer system to determine said second color; and
displaying said second color on a display device of said computer
system.
11. A method for creating a database for a painting system in which
a bisque tile having a first color on a first surface is painted
with a coating substance and subjected to a firing process operable
to effect a change from said first color to a second color, said
method comprising: using a camera to take a picture of said coating
substance applied to said first surface of said bisque tile, said
picture including making a determination of said first color;
firing said bisque tile in a kiln for a predetermined time and
predetermined temperature to produce a fired tile, wherein said
first color of said bisque tile changes to a second color on said
first surface of said fired tile during said firing; using a camera
to take a picture of said first surface of said fired tile, said
picture including making a determination of said second color; and
relating said first color to said second color in a database, said
database being stored in a computer system coupled to said
camera.
12. A computer system for determining a color of a first surface of
an object after said first surface has been painted with a coating
substance of a first color and subjected to a painting-related
process operable to effect a change from said first color to a
second color, said computer system comprising: a system bus; a CPU
device connected to said system bus; an input device connected to
said system bus, said input device being arranged to enable user
input to said computer system; a display device connected to said
system bus; means arranged for coupling said computer system to a
camera device, said camera being selectively operable to take a
picture of said coating substance applied to said object before
said object is subjected to said painting-related process, said
picture including making a determination of said first color, said
system being further operable for enabling a user to input
information concerning said painting-related process into said
computer system, said computer system being operable for processing
said information to determine said second color, said display
device being operable for displaying said second color to said
user.
13. The computer system as set forth in claim 12 and further
including means for defining relationship information between said
first color, said second color and said paint process information,
and means for saving said relationship information in a process
color change file accessible by said computer system.
14. The computer system as set forth in claim 13 and further
including means for accessing said process color change file after
said saving.
15. The computer system as set forth in claim 12 and further
including displaying said second color on said display device of
said computer system.
16. The computer system as set forth in claim 15 wherein said
object is a tile to be painted, said coating substance is a glaze
and said painting-related process is the firing of said tile in a
kiln after said first surface has been painted with said coating
substance, and wherein said processing by said computer system
includes using said information input by said user to access a
database and retrieve said second color from said database
corresponding to said first color and said information input by
said user.
17. The computer system as set forth in claim 16 wherein said
database includes information related to a designated temperature
at which said kiln is maintained.
18. The computer system as set forth in claim 16 wherein said
database includes information related to a designated time period
during which said object remains in said kiln.
19. The computer system as set forth in claim 16 wherein said
database includes information related to a manufacturer of said
object.
20. The computer system as set forth in claim 16 wherein said
database includes information related to an identification of said
coating substance.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to information
processing systems and more particularly to a methodology and
implementation for determining painting process color changes.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0002] Subject matter disclosed but not claimed herein is disclosed
and claimed in co-pending application 05-0947.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Currently, when tiles are painted, the color of the glaze
used bears almost no resemblance to the final color after the tile
is fired in a kiln or furnace. It is very difficult for the painter
to imagine the final product and get consistency from one tile to
the next. Consequently, this process is extremely expensive
today.
[0004] Many different factors affect the color of glaze after it is
fired. First, the glazes are made of materials that significantly
alter color when fired. For example, gold looks brown when it is
painted on as a glaze. There are many factors that affect how the
color will change. Such factors include glaze manufacturer,
substrate color, temperature and length of firing, position in the
kiln. All of these factors must be taken into account when deciding
what compensation to make in order to arrive at a desired final or
finished color of a tile after firing. In addition, glazes can be
overlapped, applied several times, or applied unevenly in order to
obtain a variation in the final color.
[0005] Thus, there is a need for an improved methodology and system
for enabling consistent and repeatable determining of a final color
for painting processes in which there is a color change from a
starting color to a finished color.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A method and implementing computer system are provided for
enabling a user to paint a surface a desired final color while
using a paint, the color of which appears, in initial form,
different from the desired final color for the painted surface. In
an exemplary embodiment, a tile painting application is illustrated
and includes a camera arranged to take an image of a bisque tile.
When a user applies a glaze to the tile, the camera-computer system
analyzes the glaze color among other factors affecting the painting
process and an image showing a final color of the tile after firing
is presented on the display of the computer system such that by
looking at the computer screen, the user is able to see the actual
final color of the tile after firing while applying the initial
glaze to the bisque tile before firing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] A better understanding of the present invention can be
obtained when the following detailed description of a preferred
embodiment is considered in conjunction with the following
drawings, in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an overall system in which the
present invention may be implemented;
[0009] FIG. 2 is an illustration showing a specific implementation
of an exemplary embodiment;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing several of the major
components of a computer system shown in FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary sequence of
actions which may be used in painting a tile;
[0012] FIG. 4 is an illustration showing an exemplary database
which may be used in practicing the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a methodology for
obtaining a color relationship between a starting tile color and a
fired tile color;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a calibration technique
used in association with the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a parameter feed-back
technique which may be used in connection with the present
invention;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary methodology
for recreating a tile or producing a tile from a scanned image;
[0017] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a methodology for
creating a database correlating actual glaze colors with actual
fired colors for given tiles;
[0018] FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a methodology for
displaying a fired tile color to a user for a given tile glaze
combination; and
[0019] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a methodology for
creating combination color files and/or displaying fired tile color
for user specified glaze combination information.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] It is noted that circuits and devices which are shown in
block form in the drawings are generally known to those skilled in
the art, and are not specified to any greater extent than that
considered necessary as illustrated, for the understanding and
appreciation of the underlying concepts of the present invention
and in order not to obfuscate or distract from the teachings of the
present invention.
[0021] With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown an overall tile
firing processing system in which the present invention may be
implemented. As shown, a glazed starting or bisque tile 101 is
shown as having a first color C1. That glazed bisque tile 101 is
placed in a firing unit 103 under specified known firing conditions
including temperature, firing time, etc., and after the firing
process has been completed, the tile is removed from the process
and shown as fired tile 105. After firing, the tile 105 exhibits a
second color C2 which is different from the pre-fired glaze color
C1. The firing process may be computer-controlled to insure
compliance with a given set of firing conditions.
[0022] In one implementation, a digital color camera 107 is placed
to selectively obtain a color image of the glazed bisque tile 101
before firing. The image of the glazed tile, including the color
C1, is transmitted to a computer system 109 for processing. The
initial color image is saved within a database (DB) 110 along with
other information relating to the tile, the glaze and the firing
process. All of only a portion of the database may be stored within
the computer system or stored within a remote computer system
accessible through an interconnection network. In one example,
similar information including the color C2 of the fired tile 105
may also be obtained by a digital color camera 113 and transmitted
to the computer system 109 for storage in the DB 110 and/or
processing of the relevant information as is hereinafter explained.
The system illustrated in FIG. 1 may also be used to obtain actual
colors of pre-fired tiles using camera 107, and after-fired tiles
using camera 105, and then saving the relationship between the
pre-fired color C1 and the post-fired color C2 in a database DB 110
for access by subsequent users.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the various methods discussed herein may
be implemented within a specific system or network including a
camera workstation 201 coupled to a computer device 211 which, in
turn, is coupled through an interconnection network 213 such as the
Internet, to a server 215. A camera 203 is arranged to be supported
205 in order to have a viewing angle as illustrated to view a tile
209 placed on a work table or surface 207. Images are selectively
taken by the camera 203 and processed by the computer 211 along
with additional information which may be downloaded from a remote
server 115. As is hereinafter discussed, the camera workstation 201
also includes a motion detection system (not shown) which is used
to determine when there is motion under the camera such as will
occur as a painter moves a brush to paint the tile 209. Such motion
detection is useful in determining the number of coats or layers of
paint are being applied to a tile 209 during a painting
process.
[0024] Several of the major components of the computer terminal 211
are illustrated in FIG. 3. A processor circuit 303 is connected to
a system bus 301. It is noted that the processing methodology
disclosed herein will apply to many different bus and/or network
configurations. A system memory 305 and a storage unit 307 are also
connected to the bus 301. An input interface 309 is also shown
connected to the main bus 301. The input interface 309 enables a
user or artist to input, by keyboard or menu-driven pointing
device, certain information into the computer during a painting
process. A network interface 311 enables the computer 211 to be
coupled to a remote server 215 or any other information source
which may be available on the World Wide Web using the Internet or
other interconnection network. The computer 211 also includes a
display system for displaying colors and other process related
information, such as selection menus, to the user. In the present
disclosure, the term "artist" is used on occasion and refers to a
user who is operating the computer 211 in conjunction with painting
a tile 209 or other painting surface.
[0025] An exemplary painting color database (DB) is shown in FIG.
4. As shown, a comprehensive database 110 (FIG. 1) is stored in the
computer 211 or is accessible by accessing the server 215. The
painting database includes various parameters of the painting
process such as the name of the manufacturer 401 of the glazes used
for painting, the glaze name 403, an identification number (ID) 405
for the particular glazes, the starting or raw glaze colors 407, a
firing temperature 409 for which the specified color changes would
be valid, the firing time 411 or the time that the tile remains in
the kiln, the fired or finished tile/glaze color 413, and other
variables 415 which may be accessed and/or retrieved from the
database in connection with the painting process. Typically, the
glaze information is available from the manufacturer and the final
colors for the painted surfaces are determined by the disclosed
process, related to the other information regarding the process
used and stored in the database column 413 for future referral
and/or access and retrieval. As noted above, the painting database
may be kept in storage in the computer 211, the server 215 or any
other computer system accessible through an interconnection network
213.
[0026] Bisque tiles are tiles that have been fired but not glazed.
Consequently they are rough and porous. This is the normal surface
when painting tiles. The gloss seen on finished tiles is a
transparent layer applied after the painting has been completed and
before the tile is fired. As shown in FIG. 5, when the tile is
placed 501 under the camera 203, the computer detects the edges of
the tile and then displays the tile on the computer screen rotated
so that its edges always appear parallel to the edges of the
screen. In this manner, a normalized image of the tile is produced
503 using edge detection techniques. The normalized image is stored
as a 1024.times.1024 pixel image in RGB format (Red Green Blue
format). This has 256 shades each of red, green and blue and gives
approximately 24 million different colors. This image is reduced in
size for display purposes if the screen cannot display that many
pixels. Good quality expensive screens can display that many
pixels. Alongside an image of the tile on the display screen of the
computer 211, a vertical display of glazes by manufacturer is
presented (not shown). These will show the "before and after"
colors, i.e. before the tile is fired and after the tile is fired.
The user will select 505 which manufacturer and which glaze is to
be used. The artist may also select custom glazes. The artist may
also select custom profiles for color correction rather than rely
on the manufacturer's specification for "before and after" colors.
These custom profiles and custom colors are entered into the
computer in a later part of the process. Glaze is then put on the
painter's brush 507 and the brush is moved to a position within the
camera viewing angle as shown in FIG. 2. If the camera does not see
the color it expects 509, then the artist will get a warning 511
that there may be a mistake. The warning may be a displayed warning
and/or an audible signal. Either the artist has put the wrong glaze
on the brush, or the artist has selected the wrong glaze on the
display screen. The artist will only look at the screen while
applying glaze 513. The artist will actually see the finished color
on the screen, i.e. the actual color of the tile after firing
rather than the actual color of the glaze being painted on the
tile. The computer will detect thinly and thickly applied glazes
and will display the appropriate final color and effect (such as
texture). The computer will also detect overlapping glazes and will
show the final color and effect of the combination. Once the
painting is complete 515, the tile is fired 517.
[0027] Various calibrations on the manufacturer's colors can be
accomplished by a user. As shown in FIG. 6, templates can either be
produced by the manufacturer, or they can be made by the artist
from the artist's own custom colors. A template may be placed 601
under the camera 203 and the displayed image shows several glazes
and glaze colors. There is a display of the "before" and "after"
color of each glaze and the manufacturer's number for the glaze.
The artist can also produce templates for custom colors. These
colors are then displayed on a palette 603 that is used by the
artist to select a glaze when painting. The artist may wish to
adjust the standard "before" and "after" colors 605 displayed by
the manufacturer's templates. This can be done on the display
screen through the input interface 309 by using the keyboard and/or
pointing device. When adjustments are made, the artist can save
these adjustments 607 as a profile for later use when painting
tiles.
[0028] Another feature of the present disclosure enables a user to
adjust parameters using feedback from the camera system shown in
FIG. 1 or FIG. 2. When a tile is fired, it may look a little
different from the expected result. As shown in FIG. 7, in one
example of using color feedback in changing color parameters, a
test tile is fired 701 and the fired test tile is placed 703 under
the camera 203 and a side by side image is produced 705 showing
what the tile actually looks like compared with the computer
prediction. The computer will calculate what adjustment needs to be
made to each glaze and will display these adjustments. The artist
can now either accept the computer changes or make the user's own
changes 707 and save the results 709 as a profile for use in future
tile painting projects.
[0029] This methodology may also be implemented for determining a
starting glaze color for a tile from analysis of a fired glaze
color of a tile. The method includes obtaining an image, including
color, of a fired glaze color on a fired tile 105 by using, for
example, a color digital camera 113, and then accessing a database
DB 110 in a computer system 109 to determine information
descriptive of the starting tile glaze color, e.g. C1, and related
fired tile glaze color, e.g. C2, for glazes before and after being
fired in a kiln, respectively. The starting glaze color C1 can
thereby be determined by taking a picture of a fired tile color C2
and matching the fired tile color C2 with a fired tile color in a
color database DB 110, and then retrieving the initial glaze color
C1 identified in the database as corresponding to the fired tile
color C2 as captured by the camera 105. Using this methodology, it
may be determined that different glazes from different
manufacturers may be used to obtain the same final or fired color
for a given tile.
[0030] Another feature of the disclosed system enables a user to
recreate a tile or produce a painted tile from a scanned image.
There are several reasons why an artist may wish to recreate a
tile. For example, the artist may make a mistake and wish to
reproduce the tile quickly up to the point where the mistake was
made. In another instance, the artist may not like the colors once
the tile has been fired and wishes to reproduce the tile with
slightly different glaze colors. Or, the artist may simply want to
produce several hand painted replicas of a tile. The computer is
able to produce an image of the tile with outlines and glaze
numbers so that the artist can quickly reproduce the tile with a
simple "painted by the numbers" type of approach. Alternatively,
the artist may wish to paint an existing picture. An exemplary
process is illustrated in FIG. 8. The picture to be painted on the
tile must exist in digital form either by scanning the picture or
taking an existing digital picture such as a photograph. This
should be edited as required 801 before starting the process using
any of many available color graphics applications. The computer
will then split the picture into tile size pieces 803 and will
calculate a "paint by the numbers" image for each tile using the
profile of glazes that the artist selects. The image is displayed
805 and is ready for the artist to paint. Before starting, the
artist can make any desired adjustments 807. For example, the
artist can try "what if" experiments with glazes other than those
selected by the computer and can see the predicted effect. The user
then proceeds to place the tile 809 under the camera 107, paint the
blank tile bisque 811 and fire the painted tile 813.
[0031] In the disclosed example, each pixel in the 1024.times.1024
internal image carries its own entire history. Each pixel will
carry several parameters. For example, each pixel will be
associated with a reference to the base color and texture of the
underlying bisque, a reference to each layer of glaze that is used,
a parameter indicating the thickness of each glaze layer and/or the
current RGB value calculation for the finished, fired pixel. The
tile image will also carry references to the profiles that should
be used in color correction. The image is calculated from scratch
and refreshed from scratch frequently. The RGB value is refreshed
frequently. When glaze is applied, the computer detects where the
glaze has been applied to the tile and recalculates and displays
those pixels in real time. This eliminates any delay between what
the artist sees on the screen, and what has actually happened to
the tile. If glazes are white or almost white in color when first
applied, the bisque can be painted or dipped in a dye that will be
eliminated when the tile is fired. This can ensure there is a
contrast between any glaze color and the tile background. The
computer screen will always show the finished tile with the
background dye removed.
[0032] FIG. 9 shows an exemplary sequence for a program executing
the methodology disclosed herein. As shown, initially a prompt is
displayed 901 to a user to place a bisque tile 209 on the camera
workstation 201. When it is detected that the user has placed the
tile on the camera-viewable work surface, an image of the tile with
the starting or initial glaze color is taken 905. A file is then
created for the start color or color combination 907. As
hereinbefore noted, the file includes user input information
concerning the specific tile, firing characteristics etc., as well
as the RGB color of the bisque tile which is provided by the camera
203. The start color is then stored 909. The user is then prompted
911 to place the fired tile (i.e. the glazed tile after it has been
fired) under the camera. The user then places the fired tile under
the camera 913 and the camera obtains an image and creates a fired
or final color file 915. The system may determine that the fired
tile has been placed under the camera either through user input to
the computer or through a weight-detection or other automatic
presence-detection device. The final color is then stored 917 in
the database for the appropriate tile and process parameters, and
the process is then repeated 919 for subsequent tiles.
[0033] FIG. 10 shows an exemplary operational sequence for
displaying a final tile color to a user. As shown, the user is
prompted to place a bisque tile 1001 and when the tile is placed
1003 an image of the glazed bisque tile is obtained 1005. The color
detected by the camera is compared 1007 to the start color library
or database, and if there is no match, i.e. the color has not been
previously processed, the user is prompted to create a color file
1011. If the color of the glaze can be matched to a starting color
in the database 1009, then the fired color for the detected start
color is retrieved 1013 and displayed to the user 1015. This
display may also include all or a portion of the other data items
in the database which are related to the working tile. The process
will repeat 1017 for additional tiles for which the user wishes to
view the finished color. If the user wishes to add another glaze to
the tile 1019, the program executes a multi-glaze routine as shown
in FIG. 11.
[0034] In FIG. 11, a multi-glaze feature initially prompts a user
to input glaze combination database information 1103. After all of
the fields have been entered by the user 1105, a comparison is made
to a glaze combination database 1107 and if the particular glaze
combination has been processed and recorded before 1109, the final
color for the combination glaze is retrieved and displayed 1113 to
the user. If there is no match 1109 the user is prompted to create
a combination color file 1111 by taking a picture of the initial
combination glaze, firing the tile and recording the final color in
relationship or association to the beginning combination color.
This process may be repeated for additional glazes 1115 which may
be added to the tile.
[0035] Although the examples presented herein refer to a tile
painting process, it is understood that the concepts presented may
also be applied to any painting process wherein the initial
painting color undergoes a change in color during a process used to
produce a final or finished product. For example, the color
processing methodology disclosed herein may also be applied to
surface painting in general to enable a painter to see a finished
color or result by inputting painting variables such as paint
manufacturer, name of the paint color being used, surface type,
surface temperature, primer information, number of coats etc., to a
computer and viewing the final color that will be produced on the
surface being painted.
[0036] The method and apparatus of the present invention has been
described in connection with a preferred embodiment as disclosed
herein. The disclosed methodology may be implemented in a wide
range of sequences, menus and screen designs to accomplish the
desired results as herein illustrated. Although an embodiment of
the present invention has been shown and described in detail
herein, along with certain variants thereof, many other varied
embodiments that incorporate the teachings of the invention may be
easily constructed by those skilled in the art, and even included
or integrated into a processor or CPU or other larger system
integrated circuit or chip. The disclosed methodology may also be
implemented solely or partially in a programmed product or program
code stored on a CD, disk or diskette (portable or fixed), or other
memory device, from which it may be loaded into memory and executed
to achieve the beneficial results as described herein. Accordingly,
the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific
form set forth herein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover
such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as can be
reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the
invention.
* * * * *