Method for selecting similar colors, and associated computer system

• US 20040047503A1
• Filed: 07/07/2003
• Published: 03/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Bayer AG
• Original Assignee: Bayer AG
• Inventors: Scheper, Ulrich, Monnerjahn, Jurgen, Derr, Torsten
• Application Number:
  US10/614,707
• Publication Number:
  US 20040047503A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/165
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/46 Measurement of colour; Colour measuring devices, e.g. colorimeters measuring colour temperature G01J5/60
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/462 Computing operations in or between colour spaces; Colour management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/463 Colour matching

Abstract

A process for selecting similar colors is disclosed. The process includes the steps of (i) inputting a first color co-ordinates of a first color, and (ii) selecting a color having second color co-ordinates that are similar with respect to the first color co-ordinates, and (iii) displaying a first color area for the first color on a screen, and (iv) displaying a second color areas for the second color on the screen, and (v) selecting one of the second color areas, and (vi) shifting the selected second color area to a region of the first color area to produce a color edge. Also disclosed are a computer program product having programming means for executing the relevant steps and a computer system comprising relevant means.

Claims

1. A process for selecting similar colors comprising the steps of

(i) inputting a first color co-ordinates of a first color, and

(ii) selecting a color having second color co-ordinates that are similar with respect to the first color co-ordinates, and

(iii) displaying a first color area for the first color on a screen, and (iv) displaying a second color areas for the second color on the screen, and

(v) selecting one of the second color areas, and

(vi) shifting the selected second color area to a region of the first color area to produce a color edge.

2. The process according to claim 1 wherein the displaying of first color area is in a central region of a display window and the displaying of the second color areas is in a peripheral region around the first color area.

3. The process according to claim 1 wherein the first and second color co-ordinates belong to a first color co-ordinate system and the display of the first and second color areas on the screen is based on a second color co-ordinate system and the first and second color co-ordinates of the first color co-ordinate system are converted into corresponding first and second color co-ordinates of the second color co-ordinate system.

4. The process according to claim 3, wherein the first color co-ordinate system is the CIELAB co-ordinate system and the second color co-ordinate system is the RGB system.

5. The process according to claim 1 wherein step (ii) is made on the basis of a similarity quantity that is compared to a predetermined threshold value.

6. The process according to claim 5, wherein a Euclidean distance between the first and second color co-ordinates in the first color co-ordinate system is used as similarity quantity.

7. The process according to claim 5 wherein the similarity quantity includes product properties and interspaced color co-ordinates.

8. The process according to claim 1 wherein step (v) is carried out via a graphic user interface.

9. The process according to claim 1 wherein a color sample of a second color evaluated by the user as sufficiently similar is accessed in order to compare the color sample directly with a color sample of the first color.

10. A computer program product having programming means for executing the following steps:

(i) inputting a first color co-ordinates of a first color,

(ii) selecting a color with second color co-ordinates that are similar with respect to the first color co-ordinates,

(iii) displaying a first color area for the first color on a screen,

(iv) displaying second color areas for the second color on the screen,

(v) selecting of one of the second color areas,

(v) automatically shifting the selected second color area to a region of the first color area to produce a color edge.

11. The product according to claim 10, wherein the first color area is displayed in a central region of a display window and wherein the second color areas are displayed in a peripheral region of the first color area.

12. The product according to claim 10, further comprising the means to convert the color co-ordinates of a color from a first co-ordinate system to a second system.

13. The product according to claim 10 wherein the first color co-ordinate system is the CIELAB co-ordinate system and the second system is the RGB system.

14. The product according to claim 10 wherein step (ii) is carried out on the basis of a similarity quantity that is compared to a predetermined threshold value.

15. The product according to claim 14 wherein a Euclidean distance between the first and second color co-ordinates in the first color co-ordinate system is used as similarity quantity.

16. The product according to claim 14 wherein the similarity quantity includes product properties and interspaced color co-ordinates.

17. The product according to claim 10 wherein step (v) is carried out via a graphic user interface.

18. A computer system comprising

(i) means for inputting first color co-ordinates of a first color,

(ii) means for inputting second color co-ordinates of a second color, the second color co-ordinates being similar to the first co-ordinates,

(iii) means for displaying a first color area for the first color on a screen,

(iv) means for displaying second color areas for the second colors on the screen,

(v) means for inputting a selection of one of the second color areas,

(vi) means for automatically shifting the selected second color area to a region of the first color area to produce a color edge.

19. The computer system according to claim 18, wherein the displaying of the first color area is in a central region of a display window and the displaying of the second color areas is in a peripheral region of the first color area.

20. The computer system according to claim 18 further comprising means for converting the co-ordinates of a first color system to second system.

21. The computer system according to claim 20 wherein the first color system is the CIELAB co-ordinate system and the second system is the RGB system.

22. The computer system according to claim 18 wherein (ii) is made on the basis of a similarity quantity that is compared to a predetermined threshold value.

23. The computer system according to claim 22, wherein a Euclidean distance between the first and second color co-ordinates in the first color co-ordinate system is used as similarity quantity.

24. The computer system according to claim 22 wherein the similarity quantity includes product properties and interspaced color co-ordinates.

25. The computer system according to claim 18 wherein (v) is carried out via a graphic user interface.