Patent ID: 8454871

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a receiver configured to receive image information of an image, wherein the image information specifies different brightness values for each one of a plurality of areas of the image, including a first image area having a first specified brightness value, a second image area having a second specified brightness value, a third image area having a third specified brightness value and a fourth image area having a fourth specified brightness value; variables in the apparatus configured to hold a first specified illumination direction and a first specified viewing direction; a calculator operatively coupled to obtain the image information from the receiver and to obtain the first specified illumination direction and the first specified viewing direction from the variables and configured to calculate groove-direction information that specifies grooves to be formed into a plurality of surface portions on a grooved article, the plurality of surface portions on the grooved article including a first, a second, a third, and a fourth surface portion corresponding to the first, the second, the third, and the fourth area of the image, respectively, wherein the calculated groove-direction information is based, at least in part, on the brightness values of the image information, the first illumination direction and the first viewing direction, wherein the groove-direction information includes a plurality of groove directions including a first groove direction for the first surface portion corresponding to the first brightness value of the first image area, a second groove direction for the second surface portion corresponding to the second brightness value of the second image area, a third groove direction for the third surface portion corresponding to the third brightness value of the third image area, and a fourth groove direction for the fourth surface portion corresponding to the fourth brightness value of the fourth image area, wherein the first, second, third and fourth groove directions are all different from one another, and wherein the calculator is configured to use a groove-direction-calculation mathematical formula that includes a vector cross product of illumination vector direction and a viewing-vector direction; and an output module operatively coupled to the calculator and configured to output into a formatted file the groove-direction information for the first, the second, the third, and the fourth surface portion, wherein the outputted groove-direction information in the formatted file is readable by a CNC machine to control tool paths of the CNC machine used to form the grooves into the plurality of surface portions to make the grooved article.