WO2003032205A1

WO2003032205A1 - Method of window treatment visualization

Info

Publication number: WO2003032205A1
Application number: PCT/US2002/031978
Authority: WO
Inventors: Babak Oreyzi
Original assignee: Envisions L.L.C.
Priority date: 2001-10-09
Filing date: 2002-10-08
Publication date: 2003-04-17

Abstract

A method of visualizing building interior treatments associate with building interior features such as windows. An image of a building interior design feature, and an image of a treatment, are harmonized in scale and assigned dimensions corresponding to those of the feature.

Description

METHOD OF WINDOW TREATMENT VISUALIZATION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention is in the field of interior design visualization and marketing.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Treatments, or decorations, are manufactured and sold for application to interior structure features, such as windows. Windows may include rectangular, square, patio, arch, bay, circular, corner, hexagon, curved, tapered, triangular, oval, octagon, movable arch, French door, and skylight window. For windows, treatments include horizontal blinds, vertical blinds, shades, pleated shades, cellular shades, wood blinds, sheer horizontal blinds, Roman shades, shutters, roller shades, sheer vertical blinds, woven woods, curtains and toppers.

In connection with the marketing of window treatments, it is common for sales persons to enter a customer's building or dwelling to perform window measurements and configurations on site. If the measured window belongs to one of the types mentioned above, the sales person determines window type, then conducts type-specific measurements. The sales person then demonstrates to the customer the selection of treatment samples he carries. Samples can be of different type (horizontal, vertical, cellular, etc.) and may have different texture or color or both. Different window treatment types are demonstrated to the customer by showing pictures of windows with treatment of that type applied. Textures and colors are demonstrated by placing treatment samples against the wall and allowing the customer to see how well they appear with the color and texture of the wall. For each window, the sales person provides the customer with a price estimate, based on window size, treatment type, treatment texture, and options. Upon completion of all configurations, the sales person may compose a quote including, but not limited to: quote date; quote number; the sales person's number; customer data, such name, address, phone number, and payment information; and configuration of all treatments being ordered, including type, texture, color, and options; and exact pricing for each treatment (if available) and total price. Upon submission, orders may be forwarded to the manufacturer.

There are many deficiencies in the foregoing procedure. Visualization of a window treatment on a customer's window, being the customer's main criteria for selecting an offered treatment, is a poorly assisted process. It is difficult for many customers to envision how a particular treatment will appear when applied to a window, in its own setting, based on a generic picture of a treatment view and sample of the treatment. In many cases sales may be lost simply because the customer cannot imagine how a treatment offered would look in his window, and he chooses not to buy the treatment to avoid the risk of investing in something about which he is not completely sure. Further, the sales persons are required to carry a collection of treatment samples, which sometimes may be quite bulky and limit the selection they may carry. Finally, order generation is a manual process, which may be time consuming.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial modular diagram of a method illustrative of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a depiction of vectorized window shapes.

FIG. 3 is a depiction of vectorized window shapes.

FIG. 4 is a depiction of vectorized window shapes.

FIG. 5 is a depiction of vectorized window shapes.

FIG. 6 is a modular diagram of treatment configuration dependencies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The method of the present invention may be illustrated by the operation of computer hardware and software. Fig. 1 is a partial modular diagram of such an illustration.

First, an image from a building interior feature, in this illustration a window, may be acquired using a digital camera and saved on a computer hard drive as a graphical file in JPG format. This step becomes optional in the event images in the camera can be accessed directly by a treatment software as files on a "removable" drive. This is the case with most of many digital cameras, using storage media, like Sony® Memory Stick®, Compact Flash®, and IBM® MicroDrive®. Also, images can be accessed directly using specialized flash memory readers available in the market.

Second, the window image is imported by computer into a window treatment visualization software ("WTVS"). Third, customer data is entered into the WTVS, namely the customer's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and any other identifying information such as business codes and referral information.

Fourth, the window image is displayed on a computer monitor and configured. Configuration is effected by selecting from a digital library of window types the type of window captured in the image. This selection is made from icons corresponding to such window types, which selection generates a vectorized window shape to be superimposed onto the window image. The vectorized window shapes may have three dimensions. The vectorized window shapes, illustrated in Fig. 2-5, include defining points, or verteces. A corresponding toolbar is displayed with the vectorized window selected. Tools allow the user to perform the following operations on the vectorized window: moving the entire vectorized window onto the image; stretching and squeezing the vectorized shape in three dimensions by selecting and moving the verteces as necessary to scale the vectorized window shape to the image of the window; and entering the actual window measurements that correspond to the shape of the vectorized window. The selection of measurements may vary for different window types. The window measurements are taken manually by the sales person from the actual window. In this manner, the vectorized window shape, and hence the imaged window, can be assigned the real-world dimensions of the window. The window configuration procedure can be repeated an arbitrary number of times for multiple windows of various types within the same image.

In some instances, the window image may be partially occluded by an objection in front of it, for instance, by a piece of furniture. This will cause the generated treatment image to cover the occluding object when being superimposed onto the window image. Such phenomena will produce non-natural and visually unattractive effect and thus is highly undesirable. The WTVS includes an occluding tool, using which the user can identify the occluded area on the image by outlining it. For instance, the user can "paint," or remove, the part of a chair which covers the window. This removed area is then stored in buffer to be superimposed over the final window treatment image.

Fifth, a treatment image is selected from a library of treatments. The treatment, consisting of a particular type, texture, and color, is scaled by the WTVS as a function of the treatment construction geometry, treatment parameters, and the window's geometry as determined from the window image configuration. The selected window treatment is then superimposed onto the window image on a computer monitor. Dependencies in treatment configuration are illustrated by Fig. 6.

The treatments of the treatments library, as a function of their specified dimensions, type, texture, and color, may correspond to prices in a library of prices. The prices corresponding to a particular selected treatment may be selected by the WTVS and displayed in conjunction with such treatment, and may be used to generate orders and invoices in connection with the customer's purchase of such treatment.

Various viewing tools may be utilized to present the configured treatment to a customer. Both the initial and the treatment generated images can be presented to a customer simultaneously for better presentation effect. The price of the configured treatment may be presented once the treatment is configured. In the case of multiple windows, individual window and total prices may be presented. A "quote" view may generate and display quotes, including the customer's and the sales person's information, invoice number, window image(s), applied treatment(s), and price(s). An "invoice" view may generate and display an company-specified invoice, retrieving applicable information from the WTVS database(s) and treatment configuration parameters. Treatment configuration and displaying procedure may be repeated multiple times per window, allowing superimposition of different treatments over each other. The subsequent treatment image may be displayed as overlaying the previous treatment. Such procedure can be used, for example, to configure and display valence or curtains over an already configured blind. Operation of treatments, such as the opening and closing of curtains, may be simulated. The treatments can, with three-dimension simulation, be rotated in three dimensions to illustrate various views.

The method of the present invention may include a client-server architecture with the client being an individual sales person's laptop computer, and the server being located on a vendor company's site. The client may include a database of customer information, prices, treatments, and other business information. The server may include a master database of customer information, prices, and other business information. The client and server may be frequently synchronized, whereby information collected by a salesman and recorded with the client may update the server database, and the new information on the server (such as available treatments and prices) may update the client. Alternatively, the client-server architecture may be organized such that the client must access the server remotely during a sales presentation in order to access vectorized shapes, treatments, or prices. The advantage of the latter architecture would be increased security of potentially sensitive business information.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method of visualizing building interior design treatments comprising the steps of: creating an image of a building interior feature; selecting a feature treatment from a library of feature treatments; harmonizing scales of the feature and the selected feature treatment; and superimposing the treatment onto feature.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the treatment is a window treatment.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the image of the treatment is rescaled to a scale of the feature.

4. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of assigning to . the image the dimensions of the feature.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of computing a price based on the selected window treatment.

6. The method of claim 1 in which the harmonizing of scales is effected by rescalmg a vectorized shape to the scale of the image, and assigning to the vectorized shape measurements of the feature.