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US 11,697,903 B2Granted
Online ordering and just-in-time manufacturing of laser-finished garments
AssigneeLevi Strauss & Co.
InventorsJennifer Schultz, Benjamin Bell, Debdulal Mahanty, Ozgur Taylan Kuzucu, Christopher Schultz, James Barton Sights
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An on-demand manufacturing of apparel system includes online customization and ordering of garments, previewing of the garments, manufacturing including laser finishing of garments, and delivery to the customer. Laser finishing of apparel products reduces finishing cost, lowers carrying costs, increases productivity, shortens time to market, be more reactive to trends, reduces product constraints, reduces lost sales and dilution, and more. Fabric templates can be used to produce a multitude of laser finishes. Operational efficiency is improved.
Claims30
A system comprising:
- a plurality of first garments of a first base template, wherein each of the first garments is an assembled garment made from fabric panels of a woven material that are sewn together using thread, and the assembled garment is washed according to a first base wash to obtain a first base finish;
- a plurality of second garments of a second base template, wherein each of the second garments is an assembled garment made from fabric panels of a woven material that are sewn together using thread, the assembled garment is washed according to a second base wash to obtain a second base finish, and the second base finish is different from the first base finish;
- an ordering tool, accessible to a user via a Web browser, comprising a digital design tool, wherein inputs to the digital design tool comprise a selected base template from a plurality of base templates comprising the first base template and the second base template, and a selected finishing pattern from a plurality of finishing patterns based on laser input files, an output of the digital design tool comprises a preview tool that displays a preview image of the selected finishing pattern on the selected base template, the ordering tool generates a user order corresponding to the selected finishing pattern on the selected base template, and the preview image is generated by a method comprising
- generating an adjusted base image from the selected base template without the selected finishing pattern,
- generating a pattern mask based on a laser input file associated with the selected finishing pattern,
- for a pixel at a pixel location of the preview image, obtaining a first contribution by combining a first value associated with a pixel of the pattern mask at a pattern mask pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image and a value of a pixel of the selected base template at a base template pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image,
- for the pixel at the pixel location of the preview image, obtaining a second contribution by combining a second value associated with the pixel of the pattern mask at the pattern mask pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image and a value of a pixel of the adjusted base image at an adjusted base image pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image, and
- combining the first contribution and second contribution to obtain a combined value for the pixel at the pixel location of the preview image, wherein when the pixel of the preview image is displayed, a color of the pixel corresponds to the combined value;
- and
- a laser finishing facility, coupled to a network, wherein an input to the laser finishing facility comprises the user order from the ordering tool received through the network, and based on a laser input file associated with the user order, a laser removes selected amounts of material from the surface of a garment of the selected base template.
7 more elements
A system comprising:
- a plurality of first jeans of a first base template, wherein each of the first jeans is an assembled jean made from fabric panels of a woven material that are sewn together using thread, and the assembled jean is washed according to a first base wash to obtain a first base finish;
- a plurality of second jeans of a second base template, wherein each of the second jeans is an assembled jean made from fabric panels of a woven material that are sewn together using thread, the assembled jean is washed according to a second base wash to obtain a second base finish, and the second base finish is different from the first base finish;
- an ordering tool, accessible to a user via a mobile device, comprising a digital design tool, wherein inputs to the digital design tool comprise a selected base template from a plurality of base templates comprising the first base template and the second base template, a selected finishing pattern from a plurality of finishing patterns based on laser input files, and a sizing of a garment desired by the user, an output of the digital design tool comprises a preview tool that displays a preview image of the selected finishing pattern on the selected base template, the ordering tool generates a user order corresponding to the selected finishing pattern on the selected base template, and the preview image is generated by a method comprising
- generating an adjusted base image from the selected base template without the selected finishing pattern,
- generating a pattern mask based on a laser input file associated with the selected finishing pattern,
- for a pixel at a pixel location of the preview image, obtaining a first contribution by combining a first value associated with a pixel of the pattern mask at a pattern mask pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image and a value of a pixel of the selected base template at a base template pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image,
- for the pixel at the pixel location of the preview image, obtaining a second contribution by combining a second value associated with the pixel of the pattern mask at the pattern mask pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image and a value of a pixel of the adjusted base image at an adjusted base image pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image, and
- combining the first contribution and second contribution to obtain a combined value for the pixel at the pixel location of the preview image, wherein when the pixel of the preview image is displayed, a color of the pixel corresponds to the combined value;
- and
- a laser finishing facility, coupled to a network, wherein an input to the laser finishing facility comprises the user order from the ordering tool received through the network, and based on a laser input file associated with the user order, a laser removes selected amounts of material from the surface of a pair of jeans of the selected base template in the sizing specified in user order.
7 more elements
A system comprising:
- a plurality of first garments of a first base template, wherein each of the first garments is an assembled garment made from fabric panels of a woven material that are sewn together using thread, and the assembled garment is washed according to a first base wash to obtain a first base finish;
- a plurality of second garments of a second base template, wherein each of the second garments is an assembled garment made from fabric panels of a woven material that are sewn together using thread, the assembled garment is washed according to a second base wash to obtain a second base finish, and the second base finish is different from the first base finish;
- an ordering tool, accessible to a user via a network, comprising a digital design tool, wherein inputs to the digital design tool comprise a selected base template from a plurality of base templates comprising the first base template and the second base template, and a selected finishing pattern from a plurality of finishing patterns based on laser input files, an output of the digital design tool comprises a preview tool that displays a preview image of the selected finishing pattern on the selected base template, the ordering tool generates a user order corresponding to the selected finishing pattern on the selected base template, and the preview image is generated by a method comprising
- generating an adjusted base image from the selected base template without the selected finishing pattern,
- generating a pattern mask based on a laser input file associated with the selected finishing pattern,
- for a pixel at a pixel location of the preview image, obtaining a first contribution by combining a first value associated with a pixel of the pattern mask at a pattern mask pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image and a value of a pixel of the selected base template at a base template pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image,
- for the pixel at the pixel location of the preview image, obtaining a second contribution by combining a second value associated with the pixel of the pattern mask at the pattern mask pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image and a value of a pixel of the adjusted base image at an adjusted base image pixel location that corresponds to the pixel location of the preview image, and
- combining the first contribution and second contribution to obtain a combined value for the pixel at the pixel location of the preview image, wherein when the pixel of the preview image is displayed, a color of the pixel corresponds to the combined value;
- and
- a laser finishing facility, coupled to the network, wherein an input to the laser finishing facility comprises the user order from the ordering tool received through the network, and based on a laser input file associated with the user order, a laser removes selected amounts of material from the surface of a garment of the selected base template.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.