Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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BACKGROUND OF T~E l~ V ~ ON
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of producing a
painting pattern for the so called "painting by numbers" system
in which the pattern is divided into contoured fields or areas
and these fields are provided with identifications, wherein each
identification corresponds to a certain color and/or gray
shading.
The present invention also relates to an apparatus for
carrying out the method described above and to a painting pattern
produced by the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Painting patterns of the above-described type are known.
They are supplied to the user or purchaser together with color
cups, wherein the color cups have the numbers of the
identifications of the fields. The overall picture is obtained
after the fields are painted in with the colors corresponding to
the identifications. If it is intended to produce a black and
white picture, the pattern can be divided into different gray
shadings or brightness values. This method has proved successful
in practice.
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SUMMARY OF THE lNV~. ~lON
It is the object of the present invention to make it
possible to use the system of painting by numbers for producing
from any pictorial representation a pattern to be painted in
later by the user.
In accordance with the present invention, the method of
producing a painting pattern for painting by numbers includes an
electronic acquisition of the different gray shadings or shades
of color of a pictorial representation. These different gray
shadings or shades of color are then mechanically divided into a
limited number of categories and each field with a gray shading
or shade of color is provided with a border and an identification
characterizing the category. Finally, the resulting painting
pattern is printed out.
Contrary to the prior art discussed above, in which the
patterns have the character of paintings, the teaching of the
present invention makes possible the acquisition of any pictorial
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representation. This may be a landscape, a building or
especially a photograph of a face.
However, while in conventional telecopying methods, copying
methods or the like, a division as fine as possible of the
individual shades of gray or shades of color is desired, the
present invention goes into a different direction by providing
intentionally only a limited small number of categories of shades
of gray or shades of color. This results in such a number of
shades of gray or shades of color that, after the resulting
pattern has been painted in, an appealing picture is created, on
the one hand, while the gradations are not too many because too
many gradations could not be reproduced in a pattern, on the
other hand. This is because, in that case, the very small fields
of the individual shades of gray or shades of color could not be
delimited from each other and then painted in by the user.
Accordingly, contrary to, for example, copying devices or telefax
devices, a coarse gradation is provided. Nevertheless, the
method according to the present invention produces a pattern
which corresponds very well to the original after being painted
in by the user.
When the pictorial representation is a photograph,
particularly a photograph of a face, a preferred development of
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the present invention provides that a scanner is used for the
acquisition of the shades of gray or shades of color of the
photograph (so called separation of shades), that these different
shades of gray or shades of color are mechanically divided into a
limited number of categories and each field with a shade of gray
or shade of color of a certain category is provided with a
border, and that each field is provided with an identification
characterizing the category.
The acquisition of images, shades of color, shades of gray,
etc., with the use of a scanner is carried out in the known
manner by scanning the respective picture, drawing, document or
another representation with a light-sensitive material, for
example, a diode, and further processing the scanned
representation in a computer-ready manner, i.e., converting the
representation into digital signals. As already mentioned above,
even though the pattern has the coarse gradation discussed above,
the picture produced by the user by filling in the fields
identified in accordance with the colors or gray shading
corresponds very well to the original on the photograph. It is a
special experience for a person when, by filling or painting in
the pattern made available in the above-described manner, the
face of a person who may be close to the user is formed until
finally the entire face is created by the user.
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In accordance with another preferred development of the
present invention, the acquisition of a pictorial representation
is carried by means of a video camera or an electronic camera and
the video camera or electronic camera converts the pictorial
representation into digital signals and these signals are made
available for mechanical further processing, including the
printing of a pattern. Consequently, in accordance with this
embodiment of the invention, not only photographs may be used as
a basis for the final painting pattern, but any pictorial
representation which exists, for example, in the form of a
landscape, a building, a face, etc. and which can be recorded
directly by means of a video camera or an electronic camera.
Video cameras and electronic cameras carry out the acquisition
and transmission of optical impressions much more quickly than a
scanner. While video cameras and electronic cameras are capable
of recording the representation from a photograph, they are not
limited to photographs, but they can carry out a mechanical
acquisition of any representation in nature, as already
mentioned, and transmit the representation to the production of
the desired pattern.
In accordance with another advantageous development of the
present invention, the lines forming the borders of the fields
are flattened. The fields of a certain shade of color or shade
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of gray, which are formed by the acquisition of the original
representation by the scanner or video camera or electronic
camera have zig-zag shaped or meandering borders on the
photographic representation or any other representation.
However, such fields are not suitable to be painted in later by
the user because the areas between fine indentations cannot be
filled out precisely with color. This problem is eliminated by
flattening the lines which form the borders of the fields. This
flattening can be carried out automatically by appropriately
programming the computer without the user having to participate.
Accordingly, this method is also different from the methods of
measures used in photocopying or the like.
It has already been mentioned above that only a limited
number of categories of shades of color or shades of gray are to
be provided. In this regard, another preferred embodiment of the
invention provides that approximately 12 - 25, preferably 16,
categories of shades of gray or shades of color are provided;
however, the invention is not limited to these numbers.
When the acquisition is carried out by means of a scanner,
another feature of the present invention provides that the
photograph forming the pictorial representation is diffused prior
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to the acquisition to the scanner. This results in a "soft"
presentation of the pattern.
The present invention also relates to an apparatus for
carrying out the above-discussed method. The aforementioned
scanning of the pictorial representation or the acquisition of
the pictorial representation by means of a video camera or an
electronic camera facilitates the computer-ready further
processing.
The method steps described in detail above can be carried
out automatically in an appropriate computer-controlled device
when the device is programmed accordingly. This refers primarily
to the acquisition of the individual shades of color and shades
of gray in the predetermined limited number of color categories
or brightness categories, the borders of the individual fields or
areas and finally the imprint of an identification number which
corresponds to the respective category of color or brightness
value. These identification numbers can be placed in order in
accordance with a certain caption of the computer.
The various features of novelty which characterize the
invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims
annexed to and forming a part of the disclosure. For a better
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understanding of the invention, its operating advantages,
specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to
the drawing and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated
and described preferred embodiments of the invention.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the drawing:
Fig. 1 is a photograph constituting the original pictorial
representation;
Fig. 2 is a view of the pictorial representation of Fig. 1
provided with fields of different brightness values in a coarse
gradation;
Fig. 3 shows the borders of the fields of different
brightness values of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is the same illustration as Fig. 3 with
identification numbers added to the fields; and
Fig. 5 is the finished picture after the fields have been
painted in.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Fig. 1 of the drawing shows the original pictorial
representation in the form of a photograph. In this embodiment,
the method according to the present invention is carried out by
converting a pictorial representation in the form of a photograph
into a painting pattern. A diffusion step may be carried out
during the acquisition. After the diffusion step, a separation
into areas with different shades of gray or areas with different
shades of color is carried out.
The representation of Fig. 1 has different brightness values
which are shown in Fig. 2 in the coarse gradation explained
above. After the acquisition, carried out by a scanner in this
embodiment, and the subsequent conversion of the acquired values
in a computer-controlled device, not shown, connected to the
scanner, the individual fields are provided with borders by the
apparatus as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 shows the shapes of the
borders, but without the identification numbers of Fig. 4.
Fig. 4 shows the identification numbers, which are 0 - 9 in
the illustrated embodiment, and which are printed out by the
computer or the device in the same manner as the borders and
correspond to the different categories of the individual
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brightness values or shades of gray. In the case of color
representations, the identification numbers correspond to the
categories of different shades of color. For a better
understanding, some of the numbers of Fig. 4 are also shown in
Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 shows the painting pattern which is made available to
the user. In practice, the user may be furnished with a package
containing all necessary painting utensils, including one or more
coupons intended to be sent in to the manufacturer together with
the photograph or photographs to be converted into paintings.
The manufacturer produces on its apparatus the pattern according
to Fig. 4 and sends it back to the user. The finished picture
shown in Fig. S is produced after the user has painted in the
fields of the pattern.
The terms "painting" and "painting pattern" used above are
intended to refer to the insertion of different shades of gray in
accordance with the identification numbers O - 9 of the
illustrated embodiment, or, in the case of a color photograph as
the pictorial representation, the filling in of the fields 1, 2,
etc. with the colors corresponding to the respective
identification. The result is a painting which is similar to the
photograph, but has a painting-like character, so that it can be
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called a painted portrait. It is important to mention in this
connection that this can be done by any unskilled layman, while
usually the free-hand painting of a portrait requires artistic
talent and training.
In principle, the method described above can be carried out
in the same manner with another electronic acquisition of the
pictorial representation, for example, by means of a video camera
or an electronic camera. Also in this case, a computer-ready
further processing of the digital signals of the camera is
carried out by a computer-controlled device which is programmed
accordingly and is suitable for recording the above-described
digital signals. This computer-controlled device also includes
means for acquiring and ordering the shades of gray or shades of
color of the original pictorial representation, and for printing
out the final pattern. As already mentioned above, this
embodiment of the invention utilizing a video camera or an
electronic camera is not only capable of converting a photograph
into a pattern, but any pictorial representation which can be
recorded by the camera.
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Finally, the present invention also relates to a painting
pattern produced by the method and apparatus described above, for
example, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown
and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles,
it will be understood that the invention may be embodied
otherwise without departing from such principles.
