Method for making a product

• US 7,701,446 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2005
• Issued: 04/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Anoto Group AB
• Original Assignee: Anoto Group AB
• Inventors: Sahlberg, Bjorn, Gustavsson, Johan, Sandstrom, Martin, .ANG.strom, Roger, Andersson, Jan B., Fransson, Bjorn, .ANG.sbrink, Danevert, Ericson, Petter
• Primary Examiner(s): Liang; Regina
• Application Number:
  US11/183,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20050253743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,736 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 178 1801- 1809, 382187-189, 382/209, 382/217
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/17 using hand-held instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/19 by sensing codes defining pattern positions
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/00 Advertising or display means not otherwise provided for

Abstract

A method and a computer program are described for developing a product (110), and services associated with the product, which product has at least one activation area (308) which is provided with a position code (403) that codes at least one position on an imaginary surface (601), which position causes a device (710) that detects the position code (403) to initiate an operation that utilizes information recorded by the device (710). A digital representation of at least part of the product comprising image points is produced, each image point in the digital representation of the activation area (308) corresponding to a position on the imaginary surface (601). A digital template that can be used for making the digital representation of the product is also described.

Claims

1. A method for developing a tangible product that has at least one code area provided with a position code that codes a set of positions on a reference surface, a position in said set of positions causing a code reader that detects the corresponding position code to initiate a given operation, said method comprising:

accessing a digital product development template, said digital product development template being associated with a plurality of positions on the reference surface;

designing a product layout using the digital product development template by selecting at least one subset of the plurality of positions associated with the digital product development template to be encoded in said at least one code area, said product layout including at least one position-coding area and supporting graphics, wherein said at least one position-coding area corresponds to said at least one code area of the tangible product, and said supporting graphics correspond to visual indications on the tangible product; and

producing a digital representation of at least part of the product layout;

wherein said position code comprises a plurality of grid points, and a plurality of marks which are located relative to the grid points to encode a grid point value of each grid point;

each position in said set of positions being coded by a respective combination of said grid point values; and

wherein each one of said plurality of grid points is defined by an intersection of at least two grid lines of a virtual grid.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating the tangible product by means of the digital representation of the product layout.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

testing the tangible product by comparing the generated product and the digital representation of the product layout.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said testing comprises:

recording an image of a part of said at least one code area on the generated product;

converting the thus-recorded image into a recorded position; and

comparing the recorded position with a co-located position in the digital representation of the product layout.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

testing the tangible product by means of the digital representation of the product layout.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said digital representation comprises image points which correspond to positions on the reference surface.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said testing further comprises:

selecting at least one image point within said position-coding area; and

deriving a selected position on the reference surface based on the thus-selected image point.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

initiating the operation by use of the selected position on the reference surface.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

displaying the digital representation on a display, with several pixels, each pixel being representative of at least one image point; and

when a pixel is selected, converting the thus-selected pixel into at least one selected image point and deriving a selected position on the reference surface based on the selected image point.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

initiating the operation by use of the selected position on the reference surface.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital product development template further defines a plurality of activation areas on the reference surface, each activation area being associated with a predetermined operation to be initiated by the code reader, said designing comprising:

selecting at least a portion of an activation area in the digital product development template.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital product development template further defines at least one writing area on the reference surface.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the writing area is associated with an operation causing the code reader to record positions representing its movement within the writing area.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the writing area is further associated with an operation causing the code reader to convert the thus-recorded movement to machine characters.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

selecting a portion of the writing area;

associating an application operation with the thus-selected portion; and

providing an instruction set that corresponds to the application operation to an application server which is arranged to communicate with the code reader for receiving positions recorded from the tangible product, wherein a position within the selected portion of the writing area causes the application server to initiate the application operation.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the application operation operates on positions recorded within the selected portion of the writing area.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein a first and a second position in said set of positions are coded by first and second combinations, respectively, of said grid point values, the second combination containing a portion of the grid points of the first combination.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein information corresponding to the digital product development template is stored in the code reader, so as to associate said position in said set of positions with said given operation.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

reproducing the digital product development template on a screen, wherein said product layout is designed based on the thus-reproduced digital product development template.

20. A method for developing a tangible product that has at least one code area provided with a position code that codes a set of positions on a reference surface, a position in said set of positions causing a code reader that detects the corresponding position code to initiate a given operation, said method comprising:

accessing a digital product development template, said digital product development template being associated with a plurality of positions on the reference surface;

designing a product layout using the digital product development template by selecting at least one subset of the plurality of positions associated with the digital product development template to be encoded in said at least one code area, said product layout including at least one position-coding area and supporting graphics, wherein said at least one position-coding area corresponds to said at least one code area of the tangible product, and said supporting graphics correspond to visual indications on the tangible product; and

producing a digital representation of at least part of the product layout;

wherein said position code comprises a plurality of grid points, and a plurality of marks which are located relative to the grid points to encode a grid point value of each grid point;

each position in said set of positions being coded by a respective combination of said grid point values; and

wherein the marks are displaced from the grid points to encode said grid point values; and

each one of said plurality of grid points has a single associated mark to encode a grid point value; and

wherein each said single associated mark is displaced in one of four predetermined directions from the grid point to encode the grid point value.

21. A device for developing a tangible product provided with a position code that codes at least one position on a reference surface, wherein said position, when detected on the tangible product by a code reader and transmitted to an application program, causes the application program to initiate a predetermined application operation;

said device comprising;

an interface module which derives a digital representation of the tangible product, wherein the digital representation comprises image points corresponding to said at least one position on the reference surface;

a displaying module which reproduces the digital representation on a display, with several pixels, each pixel being representative of at least one image point; and

an emulator module which, when a pixel is selected on said display, converts the thus-selected pixel into at least one selected image point and derives a selected position on the reference surface based on the selected image point.

22. The device of claim 21, further comprising an output module which provides the selected position to the application program.

23. The device of claim 22, wherein the output module operates according to a code reader communication protocol to mimic said code reader in providing the selected position to the application program.