Online Ordering Tool with 3D Preview

Abstract

A computer system of a finishing center, such as a mobile finishing center, includes a tool that allows a customer to preview or create new designs for apparel before purchase and before laser finishing. Software and lasers are used in finishing apparel to produce a desired wear pattern or other design. Based on a laser input file with a pattern, a laser will burn or ablate the pattern onto apparel. With the tool, the customer will be able to preview, create, make changes, and view images of a design, in real time, before purchase and burning or ablation by a laser. Input to the tool can include fabric template images, laser input files, and damage input. In an implementation, the customer or another user can also move, rotate, scale, and warp the image input.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a client computer comprising a display, wherein a first ordering screen on the client computer comprises:   a three-dimensional preview rendering of a garment, wherein an appearance of the three-dimensional preview rendering is as if the garment is being worn by a person, a user can rotate the preview rendering to view the garment at an angle selectable between 0 and 360 degrees, and the preview rendering comprises a three-dimensional model upon which a shadow neutral texture is mapped onto the three-dimensional model;   a plurality of ordering options, selectable by a user displayed along with the three-dimensional preview of the garment;   a first ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprises selectable shades of a material of the garment; and   a second ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprises selectable patterns of the garment.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the selectable patterns are to be lasered by a laser onto the garment using laser pattern files for the patterns. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  comprising:
 a third ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprises selectable damage of the garment, wherein the damage is to be lasered by the laser using laser damage files for the selectable damages, wherein the laser pattern files and the laser damage files are different files, wherein after one or more of the first, second, or third ordering options are selected, the three-dimensional preview of the garment is updated in the first order screen in real time to display the three-dimensional preview of the garment with one or more of a selected shade of the material, a selected pattern, or a selected damage. 
 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the first ordering option includes images of fabric shade that can be selected by the user. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4  wherein the second ordering option includes images of patterns that can be selected by the user, to be used in conjunction with the fabric shade selected by the user. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 3  wherein the third ordering option includes images of damage types that be selected by the user, to be used in conjunction with the pattern selected by the user. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the first ordering screen on the client computer comprises a third ordering option of the plurality of ordering options and comprises selectable tint of the garment, wherein the three-dimensional preview of the garment is updated in the first order screen to display the three-dimensional preview of the garment with one or more of a selected shade of the material, a selected pattern, or a selected tint for the garment. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1  wherein a second ordering screen on the client computer comprises a third ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprising selectable rotation of the three-dimensional preview of the garment, wherein the three-dimensional preview of the garment is rotated when the selectable rotations is selected. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8  wherein a second ordering screen on the client computer comprises a fourth ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprising selectable enlargement of the three-dimensional preview of the garment, wherein the three-dimensional preview of the garment is enlarged in real time when the selectable enlargement is selected. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9  wherein a second ordering screen on the client computer comprises a fifth ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprising selectable shrink of the three-dimensional preview of the garment, wherein the three-dimensional preview of the garment is shrunken when the selectable shrink is selected. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the three-dimensional preview is rendered by the client computer. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the three-dimensional preview that is rendered by the client computer and is not a photograph. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the three-dimensional preview that is rendered by the client computer is not a real-time camera view or a video feed from a camera. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1  wherein to generate the three-dimensional preview rendering, the client computer selects a shadow neutral texture corresponding to the selected shade and applies the shadow neutral texture to a three-dimensional model. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1  wherein to generate the three-dimensional preview rendering, the client computer selects a shadow neutral texture corresponding to the selected shade and selected pattern and applies the shadow neutral texture to a three-dimensional model. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 7  wherein to generate the three-dimensional preview rendering, the client computer selects a shadow neutral texture corresponding to the selected shade, selected pattern, and selected tint and applies the shadow neutral texture to a three-dimensional model. 
     
     
         17 . A system comprising:
 a client device comprising display, wherein a first ordering screen on the client device comprises:   a three-dimensional preview rendering of a garment;   a plurality of ordering options, selectable by a user displayed along with the three-dimensional preview of the garment;   a first ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprises selectable shades of a material of the garment;   a second ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprises selectable patterns of the garment; and   a third ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprises selectable tint of the garment, wherein after one or more of the first, second, or third ordering options are selected, the three-dimensional preview of the garment is updated in the first order screen in real time to display the three-dimensional preview of the garment with one or more of a selected shade of the material, a selected pattern, or a selected tint.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17  wherein the selectable patterns are to be lasered by a laser onto the garment using laser pattern files for the patterns. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17  wherein the first ordering option includes color swatches of the selectable shades, the second ordering option includes pattern swatches of the selectable patterns, and the third ordering option includes damage swatches of the selectable tint. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19  wherein the first ordering screen on the client device comprises a fourth ordering option of the plurality of ordering options and comprises selectable damage of the garment, wherein the three-dimensional preview of the garment is updated in the first order screen in real time to display the three-dimensional preview of the garment with one or more of a selected shade of the material, a selected pattern, a selected damage, or a selected tint for the garment. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 17  wherein a second ordering screen on the client device comprises a fourth ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprising selectable rotation of the three-dimensional preview of the garment, wherein the three-dimensional preview of the garment is rotated in real time when the selectable rotations is selected. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 20  wherein a second ordering screen on the client device comprises a fifth ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprising selectable enlargement of the three-dimensional preview of the garment, wherein the three-dimensional preview of the garment is enlarged in real time when the selectable enlargement is selected; and a sixth ordering option of the plurality of ordering options comprising selectable shrink of the three-dimensional preview of the garment, wherein the three-dimensional preview of the garment is shrunken in real time when the selectable shrink is selected.