Method and Apparatus for Generating Customized Furniture Documentation

Abstract

Preferred embodiments include a method and apparatus for generating customized product documentation for a furniture item having a plurality of surface material options. A computer receives a plurality of images of surface materials which may be applied to a furniture item and stores the images into a computer database. Label information describing each of the plurality of images and the furniture item is also received into the database. Surface material images are electronically displayed and an image is selected for application to the furniture item. The computer maps the selected surface material onto an image depicting the furniture item. An electronic document is generated which includes an image of the furniture item having the selected surface material mapped thereon and the label information associated with the selected surface material and the furniture item.

1 . A computer implemented method comprising:
 storing design data defining a plurality of visual surface schemes of furnishing surface materials;   associating varied elements of the design data with at least one of a plurality of furnishing supply chain members;   receiving one or more requests identifying (i) at least one of the plurality of supply chain members and (ii) at least one furnishing to which a visual surface scheme can be applied;   responsive to the request(s), selecting at least one of the elements of the design data associated with the identified supply chain member and mapping at least a portion of the selected design data onto a base image or model of the identified furnishing to generate an image of the furnishing having characteristics of the selected design data; and   transmitting the generated image to an entity from which the request(s) were received.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the design data includes visual fabric data. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the design data includes visual solid surface data. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the design data includes visual color data. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a supply chain member-defined subset of the design data is associated with at least one supply chain member as a design scheme. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein a request for a plurality of furnishings to which a visual surface scheme can be applied results in transmission of generated images having been generated by selecting and mapping design data from the design scheme. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request(s) further includes a request for a catalog of furnishings associated with the supply chain member, and wherein the selecting and mapping further includes selecting and mapping elements of the design data from a defined design scheme to generate a plurality of images of furnishings associated with the identified supply chain member, each image representing at least one element of the design scheme. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein different supply chain members have differing design schemes associated therewith. 
     
     
         9 . A computer system comprising one or more computers configured to:
 store design data defining a plurality of visual surface schemes of various furnishing surface materials;   associate varied elements of the design data with at least one of a plurality of supply chain members;   receive one or more requests identifying (i) at least one of the plurality of supply chain members and (ii) at least one furnishing to which a visual surface scheme can be applied;   responsive to the request(s), select at least one of the elements of the design data associated with the identified supply chain member and map the selected design data onto a base image or model of the identified furnishing to generate an image of the furnishing having characteristics of the selected design data; and   transmit the generated image to an entity from which the request(s) were received.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the design data includes visual fabric data. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the design data includes visual solid surface data. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the design data includes visual color data. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein a supply chain member-defined subset of the design data is associated with at least one supply chain member as a design scheme. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein a request for a plurality of furnishings to which a visual surface scheme can be applied results in transmission of generated images having been generated by selecting and mapping design data from the design scheme. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the request(s) further includes a request for a catalog of furnishings associated with a supply chain member, and wherein the selecting and mapping further includes selecting and mapping elements of the design data from a defined design scheme to generate a plurality of images of furnishings associated with the identified supply chain member, each image representing at least one element of the design scheme. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein different supply chain members have differing design schemes associated therewith.