Granted Patent B2

US 9,916,401 · App. 14/714,634 · Granted Mar 13, 2018

Abstract

Claims (107)

1. A method of creating a three-dimensional package, comprising:

by a processor, creating one or more package design files comprising a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional structure having a plurality of facets by:

identifying a set of cut line instructions, each of which comprises a set of parameters pursuant to which a package generation system will impart a cut line on a substrate set;

identifying a set of fold line instructions, each of which comprises a set of parameters pursuant to which the package generation system will impart a crease on the substrate set;

determining that the substrate set should include a plurality of substrates;

selecting a fold line from the set of fold line instructions that should be converted to a seam;

converting the selected fold line to a seam by:

creating a set of cut line instructions for the selected fold line and replacing the fold line instructions for the selected fold line with the created cut line instructions,

imparting a first set of one or more functional elements on a first side of the selected fold line, and

imparting a second set of one or more functional elements on a second side of the selected fold line so that the first set of one or more functional elements and the second set of one or more functional elements will form a functional connection when the three-dimensional structure is formed;

determining that a first group of facets of the three-dimensional structure on the first side of the seam will be applied to a first substrate of the substrate set;

determining that a second group of facets of the three-dimensional structure on the second side of the seam will be applied to a second substrate of the substrate set; and

saving, to a non-transitory computer readable medium as the one or more package design files, the cut line instructions, the fold line instructions, instructions corresponding to the functional elements, instructions for application of the first group of facets to the first substrate, and instructions for application of the second group of facets to the second substrate; and

by the package generation system, imparting cut lines and fold lines on the first and second substrates according to the instructions in the one or more package design files.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the substrate set should include a plurality of substrates comprises determining that the three dimensional structure has a dimension that is too large to fit on any available substrate.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the substrate set should include a plurality of substrates comprises:

determining whether the three dimensional structure has a first lateral dimension that corresponds to a first available substrate size and a second available substrate size, wherein the second available substrate size is larger than the first available substrate size;

determining whether the three dimensional structure has a second lateral dimension that corresponds to the second available substrate size but not to the first available substrate size; and

determining that an amount of wasted substrate that will result if the three dimensional structure is applied to the plurality of substrates of the first available substrate size is less than an amount of wasted substrate that will result if the three dimensional structure is applied to a single substrate of the second available substrate size.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the fold line that should be converted to a seam comprises:

identifying a plurality of candidate fold lines;

determining whether each of the candidate fold lines, if converted to a seam, will adversely affect a functional connection of the three-dimensional structure; and

only selecting a candidate fold line as the fold line that should be converted to a seam if the selected candidate fold line will not adversely affect a functional connection of the three-dimensional structure if converted to a seam.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the fold line that should be converted to a seam comprises:

identifying a plurality of candidate fold lines;

determining whether each of the candidate fold lines, if converted to a seam, will adversely affect ease of assembly of the three-dimensional structure; and

only selecting a candidate fold line as the fold line that should be converted to a seam if the selected candidate fold line will not adversely affect ease of assembly of the three-dimensional structure.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the fold line that should be converted to a seam comprises:

identifying a plurality of candidate fold lines;

for each of the candidate fold lines, determining a first area for a package flat portion that corresponds to a first side of the candidate fold line and determining a second area for a package flat portion that corresponds to a second side of the candidate fold line; and

only selecting a candidate fold line as the fold line that should be converted to a seam if the selected candidate fold line's first area and second area do not differ by more than a threshold.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the fold line that should be converted to a seam comprises:

identifying a plurality of candidate fold lines;

for each of the candidate fold lines, determining whether conversion of the candidate fold line to a seam will result in a seam connecting to a top facet or a front facet of the three-dimensional structure; and

only selecting a candidate fold line as the fold line that should be converted to a seam if conversion of the candidate fold line to a seam will not result in a seam connecting to a top facet or a front facet of the three-dimensional structure.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein imparting the cut lines and the fold lines on the first and second substrates comprises, by the package generation system:

using a cutting device and a creasing device of the package generation system to impart cut lines and fold lines for the first group of facets on the first substrate;

using the cutting device and the creasing device to impart cut lines and fold lines for the second group of facets on the second substrate.

9. A method of creating a three-dimensional package, comprising:

by a processor, creating one or more package design files comprising rules for a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional structure having a plurality of facets by:

identifying parameters pursuant to which a package generation system will impart cut lines and fold lines on a substrate set to form the three-dimensional structure;

determining that the substrate set will include a plurality of substrates;

identifying a split location;

imparting a seam at the split location so that:

a first group of the facets of the three-dimensional structure corresponding to a first side of the seam will be imparted on a first substrate, and

a second group of the facets of the three-dimensional structure corresponding to a second side of the seam will be imparted on a second substrate; and

saving, to a non-transitory computer readable medium as the one or more package design files, parameters for application of the first group of facets to the first substrate and parameters for application of the second group of facets to the second substrate; and

by the package generation device, imparting cut lines and fold lines on the first and second substrates according to the instructions in the one or more package design files.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein identifying the split location comprises:

identifying a plurality of candidate split locations;

determining, for each of the candidate split locations, if a seam imparted at the split location would adversely affect a functional connection of the three-dimensional structure; and

only selecting a candidate split location as the split location at which the seam will be imparted if the seam will not adversely affect a functional connection of the three-dimensional structure.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein identifying the split location comprises:

identifying a plurality of candidate split locations;

determining, for each of the candidate split locations, if a seam imparted at the split location would adversely affect ease of assembly of the three-dimensional structure; and

only selecting a candidate split location as the split location at which the seam will be imparted if the seam will not adversely affect ease of assembly of the three-dimensional structure.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein identifying the split location comprises:

identifying a plurality of candidate split locations;

for each of the candidate split locations, determining a first area for a package flat portion that corresponds to a first side of the candidate split location and determining a second area for a package flat portion that corresponds to a second side of the candidate split location; and

only selecting a candidate split location as the split location at which the seam will be imparted if the selected candidate split location's first area and second area do not differ by more than a threshold.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein identifying the split location comprises:

identifying a plurality of candidate split locations;

determining, for each of the candidate split locations, if a seam imparted at the split location would result in the seam connecting to a top facet or a front facet of the three-dimensional structure; and

only selecting a candidate split location as the split location at which the seam will be imparted if the seam will not connect to a top facet or a front facet of the three-dimensional structure.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein imparting the cut lines and the fold lines on the first and second substrates comprises, by a processor, executing the one or more package design files by:

causing a cutting device and a creasing device of the package generation system to impart cut lines and fold lines for the first group of facets on the first substrate; and

causing the cutting device and the creasing device to impart cut lines and fold lines for the second group of facets on the second substrate.

15. A system for generating one or more packages from package design files, comprising:

a processor;

a package generation system comprising a cutting device and a creasing device; and

a data storage facility containing instructions for creating one or more package design files comprising rules for creating a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional structure having a plurality of facets, in which the instructions are configured to cause the processor to:

identify a set of cut line instructions, each of which comprises a set of parameters pursuant to which the cutting device will impart a cut line on a substrate set,

identify a set of fold line instructions, each of which comprises a set of parameters pursuant to which the creasing device will impart a crease on the substrate set,

determine that the substrate set should include a plurality of substrates,

select a fold line from the set of fold line instructions that should be converted to a seam,

convert the selected fold line to a seam by:

creating a set of cut line instructions for the selected fold line and replacing the fold line instructions for the selected fold line with the created cut line instructions,

imparting a first set of one or more functional elements on a first side of the selected fold line, and

imparting a second set of one or more functional elements on a second side of the selected fold line so that the first set of one or more functional elements and the second set of one or more functional elements will form a functional connection when the three-dimensional structure is formed;

determine that a first group of facets of the three-dimensional structure on the first side of the seam will be applied to a first substrate of the substrate set,

determine that a second group of facets of the three-dimensional structure on the second side of the seam will be applied to a second substrate of the substrate set,

save, to a non-transitory computer readable medium as the one or more package design files, the cut line instructions, the fold line instructions, instructions corresponding to the functional elements, instructions for application of the first group of facets to the first substrate, and instructions for application of the second group of facets to the second substrate; and

cause the cutting device to impart cut lines and the creasing device to impart fold lines on the first and second substrates or substrate regions according to the instructions in the one or more package design files.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the data storage facility contains additional instructions that are configured to:

cause the cutting device to impart cut lines for the first group of facets on the first substrate, and to impart cut lines for the second group of facets on the second substrate, and

cause the creasing device to impart fold lines for the first group of facets on the first substrate, and to impart fold lines for the second group of facets on the second substrate.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions for determining that the substrate set should include a plurality of substrates comprise instructions to determine that the substrate set should include a plurality of substrates if the three dimensional structure has a dimension that is too large to fit on any available substrate.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions for determining that the substrate set should include a plurality of substrates comprise instructions to:

determine whether the three dimensional structure has a first lateral dimension that corresponds to a first available substrate size and a second available substrate size, wherein the second available substrate size is larger than the first available substrate size;

determine whether the three dimensional structure has a second lateral dimension that corresponds to the second available substrate size but not to the first available substrate size; and

determine that an amount of wasted substrate that will result if the three dimensional structure is applied to the plurality of substrates of the first available substrate size is less than an amount of wasted substrate that will result if the three dimensional structure is applied to a single substrate of the second available substrate size.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions for selecting the fold line that should be converted to a seam comprise instructions to:

identify a plurality of candidate fold lines;

determine whether each of the candidate fold lines, if converted to a seam, will adversely affect a functional connection of the three-dimensional structure; and

only select a candidate fold line as the fold line that should be converted to a seam if the selected candidate fold line will not adversely affect a functional connection of the three-dimensional structure if converted to a seam.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions for selecting the fold line that should be converted to a seam comprise instructions to:

identify a plurality of candidate fold lines;

determine whether each of the candidate fold lines, if converted to a seam, will adversely affect ease of assembly of the three-dimensional structure; and

only select a candidate fold line as the fold line that should be converted to a seam if the selected candidate fold line will not adversely affect ease of assembly of the three-dimensional structure.

21. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions for selecting the fold line that should be converted to a seam comprise instructions to:

identify a plurality of candidate fold lines;

for each of the candidate fold lines, determine a first area for a package flat portion that corresponds to a first side of the candidate fold line and determine a second area for a package flat portion that corresponds to a second side of the candidate fold line; and

only select a candidate fold line as the fold line that should be converted to a seam if the selected candidate fold line's first area and second area do not differ by more than a threshold.

22. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions for selecting the fold line that should be converted to a seam comprise instructions to:

identify a plurality of candidate fold lines;

for each of the candidate fold lines, determine whether conversion of the candidate fold line to a seam will result in a seam connecting to a top facet or a front facet of the three-dimensional structure; and

only select a candidate fold line as the fold line that should be converted to a seam if conversion of the candidate fold line to a seam will not result in a seam connecting to a top facet or a front facet of the three-dimensional structure.

Assignments (10)