Method and system for capturing and supporting 3-D contour

1. A three-dimensional (3-D) capture system comprising:

a 3-D contour capture device for capturing a surface contour of an object;

a contoured support device for placing between said surface and said 3-D contour capture device that provides additional support to at least a portion of said surface, wherein a first contour captured by said 3-D contour capture device is modified based on a second contour captured with said contoured support device placed between said surface and said 3-D contour capture device to provide a resultant 3-D contour.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein said 3-D capture device is selected from the group consisting of: a pin digitizer, an optical digitizer, and a mechanical trace duplicator.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein said contoured support device comprises a convex surface for contacting said surface of said object.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein said contoured support device has a resilient surface for supporting said surface of said object.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein said contoured support device matingly interfaces with said 3-D capture device.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein said contoured support device facilitates the acquisition of said second contour capture.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein said contoured support device supports said surface placed thereon, and applied with a predetermined, known range of force, in a first support position.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein said contoured support device supports said surface placed thereon, and applied with a force greater than said predetermined, known range of force, in a second support position.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein said contoured support device can be varied in size to accommodate a plurility of objects having a plurality of surface sizes.

10. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an auxiliary support device for providing support, in addition to the additional support provided by said contoured support device.

11. A method for capturing a 3-D (three-dimensional) contour comprising:

placing an object on a 3-D contour capture device;

acquiring a first contour of a surface of said object;

placing a contoured support device between said surface and said 3-D contour capture device;

supporting at least a portion of said surface on said contoured support device, said contoured support device providing additional support to said at least a portion of said surface;

acquiring a second contour of said surface of said object with said contoured support device placed between said surface and said 3-D contour capture device; and

providing a resultant 3-D contour of said surface based on said second contour modifying said first contour.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said 3-D capture device is selected from the group consisting of: a pin digitizer, an optical digitizer, and a mechanical trace duplicator.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising saving said first contour for modification using a mechanical device, a memory device, or a combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising selecting said contoured support device having a desired combination of shape, size, and resiliency.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein said contoured support device comprises a convex surface for contacting said surface of said object.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein said contoured support device has a resilient surface for supporting said surface of said object.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein said contoured support device supports said surface placed thereon, and applied with a predetermined, known range of force, in a first support position.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein said contoured support device supports said surface placed thereon, and applied with a force greater than said predetermined, known range of force, in a second support position.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein said first contour, said second contour, and said resultant contour are saved to a memory device, said memory device selected from the group consisting of: mechanical, electro-mechanical, and electronic memory devices.

20. The method of claim 11 , further comprising placing an auxiliary support device between said contoured support device and said 3-D contour capture device, said auxiliary support device providing support, in addition to said additional support provided by said contoured support device.