Patent Publication Number: US-2018043582-A1

Title: Method for displaying scenery on a floor mat or floor liner

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of and claims priority to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/208,246, filed on Jul. 12, 2016 and titled “Method for Displaying Scenery on a Floor Mat or Floor Liner,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Disclosure 
     The present invention relates to floor mats or floor liners and, more particularly, to floor mats or floor liners that depict scenery. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Rubber and plastic floor mats or floor liners have become a nearly ubiquitous automotive accessory and a multi-million dollar industry. The appearance of the mats, however, has remained stagnant—an unchanging slew of mats with little or no design beyond a generic pattern continue to flood the market. Indeed, there has been little progress in developing or changing the appearance of the mat. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method for forming a scene into the floor mat or floor liner in relief. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, various embodiments described herein are directed to a method for forming a scene into a floor mat or floor liner in relief. 
     In an aspect, a method for forming a scene into a floor mat or floor liner comprises the steps of: receiving a digital image comprised of a plurality of pixels, each pixel having an initial pixel value and a relative position in the digital image; assigning either a first value or a second value to each pixel according to the initial pixel value of each pixel; creating a mold having a surface with a plurality of raised portions, wherein the relative shape, dimension, and position of each raised portion, with respect to each other raised portion, is defined by the relative position, within the digital image, of at least one pixel having the assigned first value. 
     In another aspect, a floor mat or floor liner depicting a scene may comprise a surface having a plurality of raised portions, wherein the relative shape, dimension, and position of each raised portion, with respect to each other raised portion, is defined by the position and value of at least one pixel within a digital image, such that the plurality of raised portions depict at least a portion the digital image in relief. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of floor mat depicting a scene in relief, according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a close up of the raised portions of a floor mat depicting a scene in relief, according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a method for forming a scene into a floor mat or floor liner, according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in  FIG. 1 , a floor mat  100  depicting a scene. (In an alternate embodiment, the floor mat  100  may be a floor liner.) The floor mat  100  may have at least one surface  102 , having a plurality of raised portions  104 . A close-up, three-dimensional view of the raised portions  104  and surface  102  may be scene in  FIG. 2 . The scene displayed by the floor mat  100  (or floor liner) may correspond to digital image depicting the same or a similar scene. For example, the scene depicted in  FIG. 1  of a several race cars may correspond to a digital image similarly depicting the race cars. Thus, the relative shape, dimension, and position of each raised portion  104 , with respect to each other raised portion, may defined by the position and value of at least one pixel within a digital image, such that the plurality of raised portions  104  depict at least a portion the digital image in relief. For example, the raised portions  104  that depict the grill of one race car may correspond to a plurality of pixels of a digital image that depict the grill of the same race car. Thus, the shape, dimension, and position of the raised portion(s)  104  that depict the grill of the race car, with respect to the remaining raised portions  104  defining the scene, is/are defined by the position of the pixels, within the digital image, that define the grill of the race car. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 3  there is shown a method for forming a scene into a floor mat  100  or floor liner in relief. In step  302 , an image is received. The image (with at least respect to the process described in conjunction with  FIG. 3 ) may be drawn or otherwise created by an artist, such as with drawing software, or captured with film or digital photography. The image may depict a scene, such as a race car scene as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The image may be received as a digital file, or converted into a digital file. The digital file may be comprised of a plurality of pixels, each pixel having an initial pixel value and a relative position in the digital image. For example, the digital file may be an array of values, each value corresponding to a color or lightness or darkness of a pixel, and the location of the pixel with respect to the other pixels, when image is displayed. One of ordinary skill will appreciate (in conjunction with a review of this disclosure) that there are a myriad of ways of storing such data, and that any file format may be used that conveys the value of a pixel and its location within the image. 
     In step  304 , a first value or second value may be assigned to each pixel according to the initial pixel value. In this way, each pixel may be organized into a first category or a second category according to the value of the pixel. For example, if the value of the pixel is above a predetermined lightness threshold, the pixel may be assigned the first value (i.e. organized into a first category). Whereas if the value of the pixel is below the predetermined lightness threshold, the pixel may be assigned the second value (i.e. organized into the second category). Thus if the pixel represents a dark gray, the pixel may be assigned the second value. Alternately, if the ratio of color represented by the pixel (i.e. the ratio of cyan, magenta, and yellow) is light, it may be assigned the first value. Thus a light red (such as a bright pink) may be assigned the first value, whereas a dark red (such as a deep burgundy) may be assigned the second value. Of course, one of ordinary skill will appreciate (in conjunction with a review of this disclosure) the threshold may be varied such that most shades of colors will fall into the first category or the second category. In an alternate embodiment, the pixels may be organized according to other values, such as color, saturation, etc. One of ordinary skill will also appreciate (in conjunction with a review of this disclosure) that the first value may be assigned to the pixels value below a threshold (instead of above). Which category a particular pixel falls may be varied considering the image received and the desired appearance of the final mat. 
     Furthermore, in an embodiment, the pixels may be assigned their value according to the value of adjacent pixels. For example, if a pixel is a light value (and would be assigned the first value) but all neighboring pixels are a dark value, the pixel may be assigned the second value. Thus, the first or second value may be assigned to each pixel within a region according to an average value or dominant value of the pixels within the particular region. In alternate or additional embodiments, if a group of pixels of one value does not exceed a particular number (with respect to the value of the surrounding pixels) or if the group of pixels does not exceed a particular number in a particular dimension, the pixels may be assigned the value of the surrounding pixels. For example, if, in the middle of a large group pixels having the first value, there exists a group of two pixels of the second value, the pixels may be assigned the second value because the group is not large enough. Also, if, in the middle of group of pixels having the second value, there exists a line of pixels of the first value, only one pixel wide, the pixels may again be assigned the second value because there are not enough pixels in a particular dimension. In this way, small groups of pixels having one value may be removed in favor of larger groups of pixels. This may serve to make the resulting categorization more uniform. 
     In step  306 , a mold may be created having a plurality of raised portions  104 . The mold may be created through machining, pouring, etching, or additive manufacturing such as 3D printing. One of ordinary skill appreciate (in conjunction with a review of this disclosure) that a mold may be a dye, form, tool, or any other suitable means for forming a floor mat as described in this disclosure, as is known in the art. In an embodiment, the relative shape, dimension, and position of each raised portion, with respect to each other raised portion, is defined according to the relative position of at least one pixel having the second value. Thus, the resulting mold may have at least one raised portion or portions that convey the image depicted in the original image. In other words, the floor mat  100  or floor liner may depict, in relief (via the raised portions  104 ), a version of the image depicted in the image received in step  302 . Of course, because the pixels have been grouped into at least two categories, the image depicted in relief may be a simplified version of the image received in step  302 . 
     In order to depict the image, the raised portions  104  may map to the pixels of a particular value (i.e. the first or second value). Thus, for example, if the pixels having the first assigned value are grouped into two regions—the regions accordingly having a shape and dimension and position within the image—the raised portions  104  may, proportionally, have the same or a similar shape and dimension relative to the floor mat  100  or floor liner. In this way, the raised portions  104 , when viewed against the non-raised portions of the mat  100 , may depict the image in relief. 
     This may be accomplished in one of several ways. For example, the floor mat  100  or floor liner may be divided into a grid (or other coordinate system) wherein each point on the grid may correspond to a pixel or a group of pixels in a particular location on the image. Thus, if the pixel or pixels on that point in the image have the first value (or, alternately, the second value), that grid-point would be raised (or alternately, lowered). This may be accomplished with an etching, 3D printing, or machining device as are known in the art. For example, a CNC device—in an embodiment equipped with an interface for converting the data received from a computer to signals directing the movement of the CNC device—may be employed to machine the lower the portions and form the raised portions  104  of the floor mat  100  or floor liner. 
     In step  308 , the mold created in step  306  may be used to create a floor mat  100  or floor liner. The floor mat  100  or floor liner may be created from a substrate as are known in the art. 
     In an alternate embodiment, it will be appreciated (in conjunction with a review of this disclosure) that the mold created in step  308  may be a master that would be used to create other molds. To accomplish this, the pixel value that the raised portions  104  are keyed to may be reversed. Thus, if the raised portions  104  are keyed to the pixels having the first assigned value to make a mold, they may instead be keyed to the pixels having the second assigned value. Alternately, what values form the first and second values may be reversed, so that the light values are assigned the second value instead of the first. 
     In an embodiment, the above steps may be automated and completed by a processor programmed to perform the steps as an algorithm. Thus, in an embodiment, a nontransitory storage medium, together with a mold-machining device (or other mold-making device) may be programmed with an algorithm to perform the steps of: receiving a digital image comprised of a plurality of pixels, each pixel having an initial pixel value and a relative position in the digital image; assigning either a first value or a second value to each pixel according to the initial pixel value of each pixel; and creating a mold having a surface  102  with a plurality of raised portions  104 , wherein the relative shape, dimension, and position of each raised portion, with respect to each other raised portion, is defined by the relative position, within the digital image, of at least one pixel having the assigned first value. 
     The flowcharts/block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts/block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be performed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be performed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.