Method for producing unique and highly contoured wall panels
AssigneeInterlam, Inc.
InventorDavid Gerald Greene
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Decorative wall panels are produced by providing mathematical formulae which define a contoured surface, and then cutting a portion of the defined surface into a board or boards. By defining a surface which has little or no repeats in the patterns defined in the surface (which can be done even for repeating functions by incorporating random number generators and/or conditional statements into the formulae defining the surface), and by cutting panels in accordance with different sections of the defined surface, panels may be produced which have little or no repeats and thereby have a highly customized and attractive appearance. Additionally, changes in panel designs may be accommodated without the need to generate new molds or dies.
Claims22
A method of producing decorative panels using a computer-driven machining tool having a tool bed and a cutting head, the method comprising:
- a. affixing a board formed of machinable material to the tool bed, the board having:
- (1) an X width dimension bounded by opposing right and left surfaces, and
- (2) a Y height dimension bounded by opposing top and bottom surfaces,
- (3) a Z depth dimension bounded by opposing front and rear surfaces;
- b. providing a mathematical formula which defines a surface in the XYZ domain, the surface having a Z depth which varies across the XY plane;
- c. driving at least one of the cutting head and tool bed to cut the front surface of the board in accordance with at least a portion of the defined surface;
- and
- d. installing the rear surface of the board on a wall.
A method of producing decorative panels using a computer-driven machining tool having a tool bed and a cutting head, the method comprising:
- a. affixing a board formed of machinable material to the tool bed, the board having:
- (1) a rear surface, and
- (2) an opposing front surface with an X width dimension, a Y height dimension, and a Z depth dimension;
- b. providing a mathematical formula which defines a surface in the XYZ domain, the surface having a nonuniform Z depth across the XY plane;
- c. generating a first pointset from the mathematical formula, the first pointset having:
- (1) spaced X and Y point pairs distributed across the X width and Y height dimensions of the board, and
- (2) corresponding Z depths defined by the mathematical formula in accordance with the X and Y point pairs;
- d. driving at least one of the cutting head and tool bed to move the cutting head along the front surface of the board between the spaced points in the first pointset, thereby machining the board to have a front surface substantially corresponding to the surface defined by the mathematical formula.
A method of producing decorative panels using a computer-driven machining tool having a tool bed and a cutting head, the method comprising:
- a. providing a mathematical formula which defines a surface in the XYZ domain, the surface having a varying Z depth across the XY plane;
- b. generating two or more board pointsets from the mathematical formula, each board pointset having:
- (1) spaced X and Y point pairs distributed across the X width and Y height dimensions of the board, and
- (2) Z depths defined by the mathematical formula in accordance with the X and Y point pairs,
- and wherein the board pointsets have little or no overlap in X and Y point pairs;
- c. machining two or more boards, each board having:
- (1) a rear surface, and
- (2) an opposing front surface with an X width dimension, a Y height dimension, and a Z depth dimension,
- wherein each board is machined by moving the cutting head relative to the front surface of the board in accordance with a respective one of the board pointsets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.