Patent ID: 9248682
Filing Date: 2016-02-02
CPC Classification: B41F,B41L,B41M,B44C,H04N

Claim Text:
1. A method of making a bas relief from a two-dimensional image, the method comprising: converting a two-dimensional image to a gray-scale image that comprises a plurality of shades of gray, wherein each shade of gray corresponds to a respective elevation of a three dimensional representation of the two-dimensional image; converting the gray-scale image to a half-tone bitmap image that comprises a plurality of dark dots on a light background, wherein each dark dot represents a respective pixel in the gray-scale image, and wherein each dark dot has a size that corresponds to a respective one of the shades of gray in which the respective pixel is located; etching the half-tone bitmap image onto a print screen stencil such that the print screen stencil has open mesh areas that correspond with the plurality of dark dots and closed mesh areas that correspond with the light background of the half-tone bitmap image; forcing meltable powder through the open mesh areas of the print screen stencil to form a three-dimensional pattern of powder on a substrate positioned beneath the print screen stencil in spaced-apart relationship therewith, wherein the three-dimensional pattern of the powder corresponds to the three-dimensional representation of the two-dimensional image; heating the three-dimensional pattern of powder to fuse the powder together to form a bas relief; and printing, in accurate registration, the two-dimensional image onto the bas relief to produce a three-dimensional version of the two-dimensional image.