Data processing: structural design – modeling – simulation – and em – Structural design
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-15
2001-10-30
Teska, Kevin J. (Department: 2123)
Data processing: structural design, modeling, simulation, and em
Structural design
C703S002000, C700S098000, C446S388000, C446S488000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06311142
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the field of paper-folding. In particular, the invention relates to design and creation of pop-up greeting cards.
BACKGROUND
Manual (e.g., trial and error) paper folding techniques have been studied for hundreds of years. Recently, such techniques have been applied to the creation of greeting cards that unfold into complex shapes as the card is opened.
FIG. 1
illustrates an example of such “pop-up” greeting cards. As shown, pop-up cards have an underlying base card
100
to which is attached several pieces
102
that move as the card halves
104
,
106
are actuated (e.g., opened and closed) along a fold line
108
. Although card pieces generally operate by being placed in combination with the fold line
108
,
FIG. 1
shows that remote (from the fold line) card pieces can be actuated through use of a tab
110
that can be affixed across the fold line to transfer the effect of actuating the card halves.
A problem with creating designs such as
FIG. 1
, however, is that determining proper placement of the card pieces
102
,
110
is largely a trial and error procedure. That is, a designer generally conceives of a design, cuts out pieces, folds and glues them, waits, and then tests the resulting construction. If it doesn't look quite right, or operate correctly, the designer's only recourse is to re-cut the pieces with slightly different shapes, fold, glue, wait, and try out this second construction. Once again, if the pieces are not formed or placed correctly, the cutting and placement steps must be repeated until the design is eventually achieved (or the designer gives up). What is needed is a way to design and test a card before trying to construct it.
SUMMARY
The invention provides an interactive environment in which one can overcome the manual and inconvenient nature of traditional pop-up card design. In particular, through analysis of traditional paper-folding techniques and pop-up card designs, basic underlying designs and constraints have been identified for different classes of pop-up cards. These designs and constraints have been expressed as mathematical relationships describing the movement of different parts of pop-up cards. By expressing card designs as mathematical relationships between card parts, different designs can then be modeled with a graphical development environment.
In one such development environment, an object dependency hierarchy is used to track card parts. Card objects are instantiated as being dependent on other card objects, i.e., an object is defined relative to another object, and changes to a base object can be propagated to dependent objects. Thus, a card design can be visually animated by fixing all lowest level objects, e.g., those in contact with a virtual card surface, and then “opening” and “closing” the underlying virtual card. As the card is animated, each dependent object is redisplayed according to the state of the card. Alterations to objects propagate throughout the hierarchy.
Each pop-up card piece has a known set of limitations, such as limits on where the piece can be placed on a card, and limits on range of motion for the piece. The graphical interface enforces these restraints. An added benefit of known constraints is that the designer can allow the system to automatically determine piece placement values. For example, the designer can specify a desired presentation angle for a pop-up piece, and leave to the system to determine placement of the piece's base so that the desired presentation angle is achieved.
Once a design is approved by a designer, the card can be printed onto stock using techniques that reduce wastage. Each sheet of paper contains lines indicating where the pieces need to be cut, folded, or glued, as well as where and how the pieces are to be interconnected. The connectivity information can be color coded and/or otherwise labeled.
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Yannick L. Kergosien et al., Bending and creating virtual paper, IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications, 14:40-48, Jan. 1994.
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Klarquist & Sparkman, LLP
Microsoft Corporation
Sergent Douglas W.
Teska Kevin J.
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