System and method for virtually matching or comparing previously worn clothing with currently worn clothing

• US 7,356,489 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2003
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services GmbH (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Berglund, David, Kaldor, Jonathan, Illsley, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith; Jeffrey A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dunham; Jason B.
• Application Number:
  US10/457,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20040078301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,765 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/26.64
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 2007/195 Virtual display of clothes on the wearer by means of a mirror, screen or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0629 for generating comparisons

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for reproducing a preceding picture of a user wearing clothes or analog, comprising: a screen (4) to display at least a pre-registered picture of the user; a clothes type detector (8) to automatically identify the kind of clothes currently worn by the user; and a search unit (14) to extract automatically, from at least one central remote database (13), at least one pre-registered picture in which the user wears at least one article of clothing similar to or matchable with the current one.

Claims

1. A system for reproducing a preceding picture of a user wearing clothes or other articles, comprising:

input means to receive at least one pre-registered picture of a user actually wearing at least one previous article of clothing;

a storage element to store the at least one pre-registered picture along with an identification of a kind of the at least one previous article previously actually worn by the user as shown in the at least one pre-registered picture;

a screen to display the at least one pre-registered picture of the user;

a clothes type detector to automatically identify the kind of articles currently worn by the user;

a selecting tool for the user to select between a first and a second type of search to perform upon a plurality of pre-registered pictures of the user stored in at least one central database, the first and second type of searches being based upon (1) a stored identification of a kind of article actually being worn by the user as shown in each of the plurality of pre-registered pictures and (2) a current identification of a kind of article of a current article actually worn by the user,

and (a) the first type of search facilitates a comparison of the current article actually worn by the user with at least one first article previously actually being worn by the user as shown in a first one of the plurality of pre-registered pictures, the current article and the at least one first article being of a same kind of article of clothing, and (b) the second type of search facilitates a matching of the current article actually worn by the user with at least one second article previously actually being worn by the user as shown in a second one of the plurality of pre-registered pictures, the current article and the at least one second article being of a different kind of article of clothing; and

a search unit to extract automatically, from the at least one central database and in accordance with first or second type of search selected, the at least one pre-registered picture in which the user is previously actually wearing the at least one previous article similar to or capable of being matched with the current article actually worn by the user.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a mirror for reproducing the current appearance of the user for comparison with at least one previous appearance of the user, the previous appearance being associated with a previous location different from a current location of the user.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a camera to take a picture of the user actually wearing articles.

4. The system of claim 1, comprising a card read for identifying the user to be used in combination with a selection device for selecting pictures of the user actually wearing different types of articles at a previous location based upon article type.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the central database comprises a table with dressing rules, the dressing rules include rules associated with pattern matching.

6. The system of claim 1, also comprising a link to a central remote system permitting remote searching of said central database over a communications network.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a trying-on room.

8. A method of reproducing a preceding picture of a user wearing clothes or other articles, the method comprising:

identifying a person at a first location;

acquiring images of the person at the first location showing articles as previously actually worn on the person;

storing each of the images along with (1) the identification of the person and (2) an identification of at least one first kind of article previously actually worn on the person as shown in a respective one of the images in a database accessible from a second location;

identifying the person at a second location;

determining a second kind of a second article currently worn by the identified person at the second location;

selecting between a comparison type of search and a match type of search to perform on the images at the second location;

searching the database based upon the type of search selected such that

(a) if the comparison type of search is selected, then images are retrieved from the database in which the at least one first kind of article previously actually worn on the person shown is of a same kind as the second kind of the second article currently worn, and

(b) if the match type of search is selected, then images are retrieved from the database in which the at least one first kind of article previously actually worn on the person shown is of a different kind than the second kind of the second article currently worn; and

displaying images retrieved from the database based upon the type of search selected on a display located at the second location.

9. The method of claim 8, the method comprising using dressing rules during the match type of search to facilitate identifying different kinds of articles that may be worn together.

10. The method of claim 8, the method comprising transmitting the images showing the articles as previously actually worn by the person to a personal computing device.

11. The method of claim 8, the method comprising acquiring a plurality of images of the first person at the first location showing the person wearing various combinations of articles of merchandise for sale from the first location.

12. The method of claim 8, the method comprising:

displaying each of the images identified by the type of search selected on the display at the second location by scrolling through each of the images identified by the type of search selected.

13. The method of claim 8, the method comprising:

displaying more than one of the images identified by the type of search selected on the display at the second location simultaneously.