Granted Patent B2

US 7,856,285 · App. 12/016,881 · Granted Dec 21, 2010

Abstract

Claims (35)

1. A method of creating a triangulated surface for engraving an item, the method comprising:

selecting text;

placing the text;

spacing the text or symbols, wherein spacing the text is performed on the basis of the selected text;

mapping the text between first and second curves, wherein mapping includes determining maximum and minimum expansion factors for the text and mapping based on these expansion factors;

generating triangulated surfaces from the mapped text;

identifying areas for clean up and generating clean up lines; and

converting the triangulated surfaces, including the clean-up lines, into machine readable instructions for the generation of a tool path.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting text further comprises selecting at least one divider and wherein spacing the text further comprises placing the at least one divider and mapping the text comprises mapping the at least one divider.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying areas for clean up and generating clean-up lines.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein clean-up comprises the elimination of sharp edges and burrs.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first curve has a shape different from the second curve.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second curves from a bezel.

7. A method for creating a triangulated surface convertible to a series a machine readable instructions, the method comprising:

defining a shape for placement of text;

defining the text for placement on the shape;

placing the text on the shape as triangulated surfaces, wherein placing the text is performed on the basis of the defined text;

mapping the text on the shape, wherein mapping includes determining maximum and minimum expansion factors for the text and mapping based on these expansion factors; and

converting the triangulated surfaces to machine readable instruction for generation of a customized item.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the shape comprises an upper and lower closed curve.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the text comprises one or more lines of text.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein placing the text comprises spacing the text within the upper and lower closed curves.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the placed text are mapped between the upper and lower close curves.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the triangulated surfaces are generated from the mapped text.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein the triangulated surfaces are converted to machine readable instructions for the generation of a tool path.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising identifying areas for clean up and generating clean-up lines.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein the triangulated surfaces are converted to machine readable instructions for the generation of a photorealistic image.

16. The method of claim 7 , wherein the triangulated surfaces are converted to machine readable instructions for the generation of a rapid prototyping model.

17. A computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program code for creating a triangulated surface convertible to a series of machine readable instructions, the program code causing a computer to execute a method comprising:

defining a shape for placement of text;

defining the text for placement on the shape;

placing the text on the shape as triangulated surfaces, wherein placing the text is performed on the basis of the defined text;

mapping the text on the shape, wherein mapping includes determining maximum and minimum expansion factors for the text and mapping based on these expansion factors; and

converting the triangulated surfaces to machine readable instructions for generation of a desired output.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the triangulated surfaces are converted to machine readable instructions for the generation of a tool path.

Assignments (12)