Method for the production of printed items of clothing made from textile material

• US 9,961,951 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2014
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Owayo GmbH
• Original Assignee: Owayo GmbH
• Inventors: Schindler, Bastian, Sanchez, Francisco Jose Gennes, Marek, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kira
• Application Number:
  US14/486,832
• Publication Number:
  US 20150208746A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• Field of Search: 705 265, 700131, 700235
• CPC Class Codes: A41H 3/007 Methods of drafting or marking-out patterns using computers computer-aided design G06F30/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

Example methods and apparatus including a method of making a printed article of clothing of fabric are described herein. A customer computer is connected for data exchange with a production computer, wherein the customer sets the design of a desired article of clothing via the computer connection by setting design parameters for a respective selection target from several possible selection targets. Based on the design setting, several print parts are printed on a printing medium by means of a printer, said printing medium being either directly a fabric panel, or an intermediate medium the print of which is transferred to fabric later. Fabric pieces are cut out from a fabric panel. The fabric panel either originates from direct printing, or from the print transfer from the intermediate medium. Otherwise, the fabric panel is unprinted and the cut fabric pieces are subjected to the print transfer later. Finally, the fabric pieces are sewn together to form the article of clothing.

Claims

1. A method of making a set of printed fabric pieces with fabric piece dimensions confined by respective cutting lines for use in an article of clothing to be made in a desired basic design and a desired size, wherein the printed fabric pieces each are provided with a print having a print-size corresponding, or nearly corresponding to one of (i) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece, and (ii) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece minus seam allowance, wherein at least some of said printed fabric pieces having said print sizes each are provided with a multi color print composed of a plurality of color areas, and wherein the set of printed fabric pieces comprises at least two fabric pieces provided with different multi color prints having different arrangements of color areas, the method comprising:

transmitting data, by a producer computer having a data memory storing, for each of the fabric pieces of a basic design, a plurality of initial graphics files each associated with one of a plurality of standard sizes, wherein said data enables a customer to set a plurality of design parameters of a design of the article of clothing, wherein the data transmitted by the producer computer includes data to enable the customer to visualize a plurality of possible basic designs for the article of clothing, the basic designs having different configurations for the boundaries of the color areas within said multi color prints, wherein the data transmitted by the producer computer further enables the customer to set a basic design by selecting from the plurality of possible basic designs, and wherein the data transmitted by the producer computer further enables the customer to set colors for said prints, including colors for the color areas of said multi color prints by selecting from a plurality of possible colors;

receiving by the producer computer data representing the plurality of design parameters selected by the customer, including data representing the selected basic design and data representing the selected colors associated with said prints including colors associated with the color areas of said multi color prints;

generating at least one graphics file based, in part, on the data representing the plurality of design parameters selected by the customer and at least one initial graphics file from the plurality of initial graphics files, the at least one initial graphics file associated with the selected basic design in the desired size of the article of clothing;

printing, based on the at least one graphics file, a set of prints for the set of printed fabric pieces on a printing medium, the printing being effected with the selected colors, including the selected colors for the color areas of said multi color prints, the printing being further effected to produce the print sizes corresponding, or nearly corresponding to one of (i) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, and (ii) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece minus seam allowance for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, and the printing being further effected to produce the at least two different multi color prints having different arrangements of color areas, wherein the printing medium is one of (i) fabric, and (ii) an intermediate medium, from which the prints are then transferred to fabric; and

cutting out fabric pieces for the set of printed fabric pieces either before or after the fabric pieces have been provided with the prints.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising sewing at least some of the printed fabric pieces together to form the article of clothing.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the printing medium comprises the fabric pieces to be sewn together to form the article of clothing.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting data to further enable the customer to visualize the plurality of possible colors, and/or to visualize, for at least one further design parameter, a plurality of setting options on a display.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting data to further enable, for the colors and/or at least one further design parameter, a graphical representation to the customer on a display, the graphical representation corresponding to what the article of clothing looks like with the respective selection for the colors and/or at least one further design parameter.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the design parameters further comprise at least one of:

dimensions;

cut;

shape of neck opening;

type of collar;

wristband;

script object;

placement of script object;

typeface of script object;

logo;

placement of logo;

size of the article of clothing; and

type of fabric.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the set of printed fabric pieces includes a plurality of sets of printed fabric pieces, each set for use in a respective one article of clothing, the method further comprising:

transmitting data, by the producer computer, to enable the customer to make, concerning at least one design parameter, a selection that is the same for all sets of printed fabric pieces, and to make, concerning at least one further design parameter, selections that are different for each set from the plurality of sets of printed fabric pieces.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the printing medium is paper and the print is transferred to each fabric piece by sublimation.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the producer computer is further configured to receive an order by the customer.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the customer'"'"'s design setting is transmitted to the customer to allow the latter to order in confirmation of this design setting.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein cutting out the fabric pieces comprises cutting out the fabric pieces by an automated cutter.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the automated cutter is controlled by data from the producer computer.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the automated cutter is optically controlled on the basis of the outline of the respective print on the fabric.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein printing is electronically controlled with respect to the prints.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein printing is performed using an ink jet printer.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the article of clothing comprises the printed fabric pieces of said set of printed fabric pieces and further comprises at least one additional fabric piece.

17. A system for making a set of printed fabric pieces with fabric piece dimensions confined by respective cutting lines for use in an article of clothing to be made in a desired basic design and a desired size, wherein the printed fabric pieces each are provided with a print having a print size corresponding, or nearly corresponding to one of (i) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece, and (ii) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece minus seam allowance, wherein at least some of said printed fabric pieces having said print sizes each are provided with a multi color print composed of a plurality of color areas, and wherein the set of printed fabric pieces comprises at least two fabric pieces provided with different multi color prints having different arrangements of color areas, the system comprising:

a producer computer, having a data memory storing, for each of the fabric pieces of a basic design, a plurality of initial graphics files each associated with one of a plurality of standard sizes, operable to exchange data with a customer computer, the producer computer configured to transmit data that enable the customer to set a plurality of design parameters of a design of the article of clothing and wherein the producer computer is further configured to receive data representing the plurality of design parameters selected by the customer, wherein the producer computer is further configured to transmit data to enable the customer to visualize a plurality of possible basic designs for the article of clothing, the basic designs having different configurations for the boundaries of the color areas within said multi color prints, wherein the producer computer is further configured to transmit data that further enable the customer to set a basic design by selecting the basic design from the plurality of possible basic designs, and wherein the producer computer is further configured to transmit data that further enable the customer to set colors for said prints, including colors for each of the plurality of color areas of said multi color prints by selecting from a plurality of possible colors, wherein the producer computer is configured to generate at least one graphics file based, in part, on at least one initial graphics file from the plurality of initial graphics files stored in the data memory of the producer computer, wherein the at least one initial graphics file is associated with the selected basic design in the desired size of the article of clothing, and further based, in part, on the data representing the plurality of design parameters selected by the customer;

a printing device coupled to the producer computer, the printing device configured to print, based on the graphics file, a set of prints for the set of printed fabric pieces on a printing medium, printing being effected with the selected colors, including the selected colors for the color areas of said multi color prints, the printing being further effected to produce the print sizes corresponding, or nearly corresponding to one of (i) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, and (ii) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece minus seam allowance for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, and the printing being further effected to produce the at least two different multi color prints having different arrangements of color areas, wherein the printing medium is one of (i) fabric, and (ii) an intermediate medium, from which said prints are then transferred to fabric; and

a cutter configured to cut out fabric pieces for the set of printed fabric pieces either before or after the fabric pieces have been provided with said prints.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the printing medium is the intermediate medium, and wherein the system further comprises a station for print transfer from the intermediate medium to fabric.

19. The system according to claim 17, further comprising a station for sewing together a plurality of printed fabric pieces so as to form the article of clothing.

20. The system according to claim 17, wherein the cutter is an automated cutter.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein the automated cutter is controlled by data from the producer computer.

22. The system according to claim 20, wherein the automated cutter is optically controlled on the basis of the outline of the respective print on the fabric.

23. The system according to claim 17, wherein the printing device is electronically controlled with respect to the prints.

24. The system according to claim 17, wherein the printing device is an ink jet printer.

25. The system according to claim 17, wherein the article of clothing comprises the printed fabric pieces of said set of printed fabric pieces and further comprises at least one additional fabric piece.

26. The system according to claim 17, wherein the design parameters further comprise at least one of:

dimensions;

cut;

shape of neck opening;

type of collar;

wristband;

script object;

placement of script object;

typeface of script object;

logo;

placement of logo;

size of the article of clothing; and

type of fabric.

27. A computer system for making a set of printed fabric pieces with fabric piece dimensions confined by respective cutting lines, for use in an article of clothing to be made in a desired basic design and a desired size, wherein the printed fabric pieces each are provided with a print having a print size corresponding, or nearly corresponding to one of (i) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece, and (ii) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece minus seam allowance, wherein at least some of said printed fabric pieces having said print sizes each are provided with a multi color print composed of a plurality of printed color areas, and wherein the set of printed fabric pieces comprises at least two fabric pieces provided with different multi color prints having different arrangements of color areas, the computer system comprising:

a producer computer, having a data memory storing, for each of the fabric pieces of a basic design, a plurality of initial graphics files each associated with one of a plurality of standard sizes, configured to exchange data with a customer computer, the producer computer configured to transmit data that enable the customer to set a plurality of design parameters of a design of the article of clothing, wherein the producer computer is further configured to receive data representing the plurality of design parameters selected by the customer, wherein the producer computer is further configured to transmit data to enable the customer to visualize a plurality of possible basic designs for the article of clothing, the basic designs having different configurations for the boundaries of the color areas within said multi color prints, wherein the producer computer is further configured to transmit data that further enable the customer to set a basic design by selecting the basic design from the plurality of possible basic designs, wherein the producer computer is further configured to receive data representing the basic design selected by the customer, wherein the producer computer is further configured to transmit data that further enable the customer to set colors for said prints, including colors for each of the plurality of color areas of said multi color prints by selecting from a plurality of possible colors, wherein the producer computer is further configured to receive data representing the selected colors for said prints, including respective colors associated with the plurality of color areas of said multi color prints, wherein the producer computer is further configured to generate, for use in printing said prints, at least one graphics file based, in part, on at least one initial graphics file from the plurality of initial graphics files stored in the data memory of the producer computer, wherein the at least one initial graphics file is associated with the selected basic design in the desired size of the article of clothing, and further based, in part, on the data representing the plurality of design parameters selected by the customer, the printing being effected with the selected colors, including the selected colors for the color areas of said multi color prints, the printing being further effected to produce the print sizes corresponding, or nearly corresponding to one of (i) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, and (ii) the respective printed fabric piece minus seam allowance for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, and the printing being further effected to produce the at least two different multi color prints having different arrangements of color areas, wherein the printing medium is one of (i) fabric, and (ii) an intermediate medium, from which the prints are then transferred to fabric.

28. The computer system according to claim 27, wherein the computer system is further configured to allow, for at least one additional design parameter beyond the basic design, the setting of a selection target with the aid of a graphical representation of several possible selection targets on a display.

29. The computer system according to claim 27, wherein the design parameters further comprise at least one of:

dimensions;

cut;

shape of neck opening;

type of collar;

wristband;

script object;

placement of script object;

typeface of script object;

logo;

placement of logo;

size of the article of clothing; and

type of fabric.

30. The computer system according to claim 27, further configured to utilize a space-saving arrangement of the set of prints on the printing medium.

31. The computer system according to claim 27, further comprising a cutting device coupled to the producer computer, the cutting device configured to cut out the fabric pieces for the set of fabric pieces from a fabric, the fabric being in one of the states before or after the set of prints have been printed on the fabric or transferred to the fabric.

32. The computer system according to claim 31, wherein the cutting device is an automated cutter.

33. The computer system of claim 32, wherein the automated cutter is optically controlled on the basis of the outline of the respective print on the fabric.

34. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the article of clothing comprises the printed fabric pieces of said set of printed fabric pieces and further comprises at least one additional fabric piece.

35. A method of making a set of printed fabric pieces with fabric piece dimensions confined by respective cutting lines for use in an article of clothing to be made in a desired basic design and a desired size, wherein the printed fabric pieces each are provided with a print having a print size corresponding, or nearly corresponding to one of (i) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece, and (ii) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece minus seam allowance, wherein at least some of said printed fabric pieces having said print sizes each are provided with a multi color print composed of a plurality of printed color areas, and wherein the set of printed fabric pieces comprises at least two fabric pieces provided with different multi color prints having different arrangements of color areas, the method comprising:

providing a producer computer, the producer computer having a data memory storing, for each of the fabric pieces of a basic design, a plurality of initial graphics files each associated with one of a plurality of standard sizes, and a customer computer, wherein the producer computer and the customer computer are connected and configured to exchange data;

transmitting data, by the producer computer, wherein said data enables a customer to set a plurality of design parameters of a design of the article of clothing, wherein setting a plurality of design parameters includes setting a basic design by selecting from the plurality of possible basic designs provided on a display device, the possible basic designs having different configurations for the boundaries of the color areas within said multi color prints, and wherein setting a plurality of design parameters further includes setting colors for said prints, including colors for each of the plurality of color areas of said multi color prints by selecting from a plurality of possible colors and associating the selected colors to said prints, including said multi color prints;

generating at least one graphics file based, in part, on at least one initial graphics file from the plurality of initial graphics files stored in the data memory of the producer computer, wherein the at least one initial graphics file is associated with the selected basic design in the desired size of the article of clothing, and further based, in part, on the data received by the producer computer that represents the plurality of design parameters selected by the customer;

providing a printer and producing the set of printed fabric pieces by controlling the printer on the basis of the graphics file, to print a set of prints for the set of printed fabric pieces on a printing medium, wherein producing the set of printed fabric pieces includes printing with the selected colors, the printing being further effected to produce the print sizes corresponding, or nearly corresponding to one of (i) the dimensions of the respective printed fabric piece for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, and (ii) the dimensions of the fabric piece minus seam allowance for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, the printing being further effected to produce the at least two different multi color prints having different arrangements of color areas, and wherein the printing medium is one of (i) fabric, and (ii) an intermediate medium, from which the prints are then transferred to the fabric; and

cutting out the fabric pieces for the set of fabric pieces either before or after the fabric pieces have been provided with said prints.

36. The method according to claim 35, further comprising sewing at least some of the fabric pieces together to form the article of clothing.

37. The method according to claim 35, wherein the printing medium is the fabric pieces to be sewn together to form the article of clothing.

38. The method according to claim 35, further comprising transmitting data to further enable, for at least one design parameter, a graphical representation to the customer on a display corresponding to what the article of clothing looks like with the respective selection for the at least one design parameter.

39. The method according to claim 35, wherein the design parameters further comprise at least one of:

dimensions;

cut;

shape of neck opening;

type of collar;

wristband;

script object;

placement of script object;

typeface of script object;

logo;

placement of logo;

size of the article of clothing; and

type of fabric.

40. The method according to claim 35, wherein the act of providing a computer of a producer for exchanging data with a computer of a customer further comprises placing an order by the customer is effected via an internet connection.

41. The method according to claim 35, wherein the customer'"'"'s design setting is transmitted to the customer to allow the latter to order in confirmation of this design setting.

42. The method according to claim 35, wherein the printer is electronically controlled with respect to the prints.

43. The method according to claim 35, wherein the printer is an ink jet printer.

44. The method of claim 35, wherein the article of clothing comprises the printed fabric pieces of said set of printed fabric pieces and further comprises at least one additional fabric piece.

45. The method of claim 35, wherein the cutting is performed by an automated cutter that is controlled by data from the producer computer.

46. The method of claim 35, wherein the cutting is performed by an automated cutter that is optically controlled on the basis of the outline of the respective print on the fabric.

47. A method comprising:

enabling, using a computer comprising a data memory storing, for each fabric piece of a plurality of possible basic designs for an article of clothing, a plurality of initial graphics files each associated with one of a plurality of standard sizes, a customer to visualize a selected one of the plurality of possible basic designs for the article of clothing, wherein the plurality of basic designs have different configurations for boundaries of color areas within a plurality of multi color prints;

generating data representing a plurality of design parameters selected by the customer, including both a selected basic design and selected colors associated with a plurality of prints, wherein the selected colors further include a set of selected colors associated with color areas of the plurality of multi color prints;

generating at least one graphics file based, in part, on the data and also based, in part, on at least one initial graphics file stored in the data memory of the computer, wherein the at least one initial graphics file is associated with the selected basic design;

printing, based on the graphics file, a set of prints for a set of printed fabric pieces on a printing medium, the printing being effected with the selected colors, including the set of selected colors for the color areas of the plurality of multi color prints, wherein the print sizes correspond, or nearly correspond, to one of (i) dimensions of a respective printed fabric piece for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, and (ii) dimensions of a respective printed fabric piece minus seam allowance for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, and wherein the printing produces at least two different multi color prints having different arrangements of color areas.

48. The method according to claim 47, further comprising cutting out fabric pieces for the set of printed fabric pieces either before or after the fabric pieces have been provided with the prints.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein cutting out the fabric pieces comprises cutting out the fabric pieces by an automated cutter.

50. The method according to claim 49, wherein the automated cutter is optically controlled on the basis of the outline of the respective print on the fabric.

51. The method according to claim 47, further comprising sewing at least some of the printed fabric pieces together to form the article of clothing.

52. The method according to claim 47, wherein the printing medium is one of (i) fabric, and (ii) and intermediate medium, from which the prints are then transferred to fabric.

53. The method according to claim 47, wherein the plurality of design parameters further comprise at least one of:

dimensions;

cut;

shape of neck opening;

type of collar;

wristband;

script object;

placement of script object;

typeface of script object;

logo;

placement of logo;

size of the article of clothing; and

type of fabric.

54. The method according to claim 47, wherein the set of printed fabric pieces includes a plurality of sets of printed fabric pieces, each set for use in a respective one article of clothing, the method further comprising:

generating further data selected by a customer concerning at least one design parameter that is the same for all sets of printed fabric pieces, and concerning at least one further design parameter that is different for each set from the plurality of sets of printed fabric pieces.

55. The method according to claim 47, wherein the printing medium is paper and the print is transferred to each fabric piece by sublimation.

56. The method according to claim 47, wherein printing is electronically controlled with respect to the prints.

57. The method according to claim 47, wherein printing is performed using an ink jet printer.

58. The method according to claim 47, wherein the article of clothing comprises the printed fabric pieces of said set of printed fabric pieces and at least one additional fabric piece.

59. A system comprising:

a first computer configured to enable a customer to visualize a plurality of possible basic designs for an article of clothing, wherein the plurality of basic designs have different configurations for boundaries of color areas within a plurality of multi color prints, and wherein the first computer is configured to allow a customer to select a plurality of design parameters, wherein the first computer is operatively associated with a memory storing, for each fabric piece of the plurality of possible basic designs for the article of clothing, a plurality of initial graphics files each associated with one of a plurality of standard sizes;

a second computer, operatively associated with the memory, configured to exchange data with the first computer and further configured to generate data representing the plurality of design parameters selected by the customer, including both a selected basic design and selected colors associated with a plurality of prints, wherein the selected colors further include a set of selected colors associated with color areas of the plurality of multi color prints, wherein the second computer is further configured to generate at least one graphics file based, in part, on the data and also based, in part, on at least one initial graphics file from the plurality of initial graphics files stored in the memory, wherein the at least one initial graphics file is associated with the selected basic design;

a printing device coupled to the second computer, the printing device configured to print, based on the graphics file, a set of prints for a set of printed fabric pieces on a printing medium, wherein the printing is effected with the selected colors, including the set of selected colors associated with the color areas of the plurality of multi color prints, wherein the printing is further effected to produce the print sizes corresponding, or nearly corresponding to one of (i) dimensions of a respective printed fabric piece for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, and (ii) dimensions of a respective printed fabric piece minus seam allowance for the respective standard size of the article of clothing, wherein the printing is further effected to produce the plurality of multi color prints having different arrangements of color areas.

60. The system of claim 59, further comprising a cutter configured to cut out fabric pieces for the set of fabric pieces either before or after the fabric pieces have been provided with said prints.

61. The system according to claim 60, wherein the cutter is an automated cutter.

62. The system according to claim 61, wherein the automated cutter is controlled by data from the second computer.

63. The system according to claim 61, wherein the automated cutter is optically controlled on the basis of the outline of the respective print on the fabric.

64. The system of claim 59, wherein the printing medium is one of (i) fabric, and (ii) an intermediate medium, from which the prints are then transferred to fabric.

65. The system according to claim 59, wherein the printing medium is an intermediate medium, and wherein the system further comprises a station for print transfer from the intermediate medium to fabric.

66. The system according to claim 59, further comprising a station for sewing together a plurality of printed fabric pieces so as to form the article of clothing.

67. The system according to claim 59, wherein the printing device is electronically controlled with respect to the prints.

68. The system according to claim 59, Wherein the printing device is an ink jet printer.

69. The system according to claim 59, wherein the article of clothing comprises the printed fabric pieces of said set of printed fabric pieces and further comprises at least one additional fabric piece.

70. The system according to claim 59, wherein the design parameters further comprise at least one of:

dimensions;

cut;

shape of neck opening;

type of collar;

wristband;

script object;

placement of script object;

typeface of script object;

logo;

placement of logo;

size of the article of clothing; and

type of fabric.