COLOR ORDER SYSTEM

• US 3,751,829 A
• Filed: 04/28/1972
• Issued: 08/14/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Carl E. Foss
• Original Assignee: Carl E. Foss
• Inventors: Foss, Carl E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Skogquist, Harland S.
• Application Number:
  US05/248,454
• Time in Patent Office: 473 Days
• Field of Search: 35/28.3,28.5
• US Class Current: 434/98
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/52 using colour charts
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0023 Colour matching, recognition, analysis, mixture or the like

Abstract

The present invention provides a series of color charts or color order system in which the colors shown in any one of the color charts are obtained by systematic variations of the combination of three or more primary colorants, and are colors that are represented by a portion of the surface of one of a series of concentric and similarly oriented cubic volumes of the colororder space. The basic color-order space is cubic and has a coordinate system of three axes, each of which represents varying amounts of one of the primary colorants. The surface of the basic color cube or any of the series of progressively smaller concentric cubes is divided into several parts by a number of planes that intersect the surfaces of the cube in such a way that each part consists of contiguous portions of more than one face of the color cube. These colors are then represented by projection in a single two-dimensional color chart.

Claims

1. A color order system comprising a series of two-dimensional color charts in which the displayed colors are obtained by systematic variations of the combination of at least three independently variable colorants, the colors that are displayed in any one of the charts being those that are represented by contiguous portions of two or more faces of one of a series of concentric and similarly oriented cubic volumes that range in size from zero to the full volume of a basic color-order space, the color space being cubic and having a coordinate system of three axes, each of which represents varying amounts, ranging from zero to a maximally effective amount, of one of the primary colorants.

2. A color order system as in claim 1, in which each of the color charts is a two-dimensional arrangement of a range of colors that are represented by contiguous triangular halves of two faces of one of the concentric and similarly oriented cubic volumes of color space, the limits of each such chart being defined by dividing the represented cubic surfaces into six portions of equal size by the intersections of the cubic surface with three separate planes, each of which represents all of those colors for which the effective amounts of each of a particular pair of the component primary colorants are equal, each such plane passing through two different pairs of diagonally opposed corners of the cubic color space.

3. A color order system as in claim 1, in which each of the color charts is a two-dimensional arrangement of a range of colors that are represented by mutually contiguous square quarters of three faces of one of the concentric and similarly oriented cubic volumes of color space, the limits of each such chart being defined by dividing the represented cubic surface into eight portions of equal size by the intersections of the cubic surface with three separate planes, each of which represents a constant half-effective amount of one of the primary colorants, and each of which passes through the center of the color cube and is parallel to a different pair of the cube'"'"''"'"'s faces.

4. A color order system as in claim 1, in which each of the two-dimensional color charts is modified to the shape of a rhombus that is formed from two contiguous equilateral triangles, the opposite acute corners of the rhombus representing mixtures of equal amounts of the primary colorants, in minimum and maximum amounts, respectively, and the short diagonal of which represents a variation of hue.

5. A color order system as in claim 4, in which the six rhombus-shaped charts that represent the surface of a color cube are juxtaposed at their common borders to form a single and continuous two-dimensional color chart in which the center of the chart represents an equal mixxture of a minimum amount of each of the primary colorants and the outermost points represent an equal mixture of a maximum amount of eaCh of the primary colorants.

6. A color order system as in claim 4 in which the six rhombus-shaped charts that represent the surface of a color cube are juxtaposed at their common borders to form a single and continuous two-dimensional color chart in which the center of the chart represents an equal mixture of a maximum amount of each of the primary colorants and the outermost points represent an equal mixture of a minimum amount of each of the primary colorants.

7. A color order system as in claim 4, in which each of the two-dimensional rhombus-shaped color charts has been further modified to the shape of a square.

8. A color order system as in claim 1, in which each of a series of two-dimensional color charts displays colors represented by similar portions of the surfaces of a complete series of progressively smaller, concentric and similarly oriented cubic volumes of the color space, ranging from the outermost cubic surface that represents the limit colors, being the most extreme colors producible by the set of primaries, down to a cube of zero volume, said series of color charts indicating the colors obtained as a given range of limit colors is progressively modified toward the centroid color of the color space, said centroid representing an equal or neutral mixture of one-half strength of the component primary colorants.