Digitized cutting

Abstract

Method for producing a surface covering comprising the steps of: - Providing individual, ready-to-install covering elements with a decorative surface and edge profiles for connecting the individual covering elements to one another, - Creating virtual covering elements by capturing the properties of each covering element, namely the decorative surface, - wherein the covering elements are finished or pre-coated to such an extent that they have their final color at the time of capture, - Creating a virtual installation area by capturing an area to be covered with the covering elements, - Arranging the virtual covering elements on the virtual installation area, - Providing the covering elements corresponding to the selected virtual covering elements, - Generating and applying a position marker to the respective covering elements.- Creating a surface covering by laying the covering elements in the positions on the laying surface corresponding to the position indicator.

Description

The invention relates to a method for producing a surface coating according to claim 1. Commonly known surface coverings include laminate, parquet, panels, and planks, all of which have a standardized shape and size. These are used to cover walls, ceilings, floors, and stairs. The covering elements used to create a surface covering are typically joined together to form a seamless surface using profiles arranged along their edges. The individual flooring elements have a decorative surface that is visible from the room side. The flooring elements consist either of solid wood, which also forms the decorative surface, or they have at least a core layer and a decorative layer bonded to the core layer, forming the visible decorative surface. A final protective and / or sealing layer may also be present above the decorative layer. For example, DE 600 09 556 T2 shows a flooring element designed as a laminate, in which the decor is taken from an original made of a natural material and then printed directly onto the substrate and coated with a wear layer. The covering elements are usually provided in packages, so that the person installing the surface covering lays the individual covering elements one after the other. The decorative surfaces of individual flooring elements are often not identical, even within the same type of decorative surface, but vary in their color and / or texture. For example, decorative surfaces made from natural materials or those that mimic natural materials can differ on each element, even within the same type of wood. With conventional installation methods, this often results in surface coverings where individual elements do not visually blend well into the overall appearance. Visual pre-sorting of the individual flooring elements during installation is either impossible or only possible to a limited extent. A geometrically very special floor covering is known from DE 20 2006 002 021 U1, in which blanks made of solid wood are recorded and the geometric outer contour of the covering element to be produced from the blank is adapted to the growth structure of the wood of the blank and to the respective adjacent, already adapted covering elements. To give the buyer of the surface covering a better impression of the expected installation area, software solutions are known in which the room dimensions to be covered are roughly specified in order to virtually display the installation area with the selected surface covering on a display device. However, only a decorative surface representative of the selected decor can be displayed, which is not identical to the final surface covering. Such a method is known, for example, from DE 20 2014 06 594 U1. Another problem with standardized paving elements is that they must be precisely cut to fit the exact dimensions of the surface being laid. Adjusting individual paving elements, especially at the edges of the area or when creating cutouts in the surface covering, requires a high level of skill from the installer. Besides generating a large amount of waste, cutting the paving elements also creates significant mess. The invention is therefore based on the objective of providing a method for producing an individually designed and visually appealing surface covering that can be laid particularly easily on a laying surface. The invention solves the problem by providing a method for producing a surface coating with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims. All described features, individually or in any combination, are fundamentally the subject matter of the invention, irrespective of their grouping in the claims or their cross-references. The inventive method for producing a surface covering comprises the following steps: • Providing individual, ready-to-install covering elements with a decorative surface, • Creating virtual covering elements by capturing the properties of the covering elements, in particular the decorative surface, • Creating a virtual laying area by capturing a laying area to be covered with the covering elements, • Arranging the virtual covering elements on the virtual laying area, • Providing the covering elements corresponding to the selected virtual covering elements, • Generating and applying a position marker to the respective covering elements, • Creating a surface covering by laying the covering elements in the positions on the laying area corresponding to the position markers. One of the fundamental ideas behind the invention is to allow the end user to preview the final surface covering on their installation area before the actual surface covering is produced and to customize its appearance. The inventive method enables the end user to view the desired installation area as expected before the actual surface covering is created, since the individual available virtual covering elements can be freely positioned on the virtual installation area. Furthermore, the inventive method allows all forming operations to be predefined and performed on the actual covering elements at the factory, so that the installer no longer needs to adjust the shape of the covering elements during installation. This significantly simplifies and speeds up the installation of the surface covering. A surface covering within the meaning of the invention is understood to be a surface coating that, when the room is subsequently used, has a decorative surface visible from within the room. Surface coverings according to the invention are, for example, arranged above a subfloor, such as a screed or a corresponding subfloor, e.g., a wooden floor. The surface covering can also be intended for covering a ceiling or wall. A decorative surface features a colored and, if applicable, a textured pattern. A decorative surface can, for example, depict natural materials such as a wood or stone surface, or artificially created surfaces such as a tile surface or other decorative surfaces used in floor, wall, and ceiling coverings. Floor covering elements can include planks, parquet, laminate, and tiles. Accessories for the surface covering, in particular moldings such as skirting boards, baseboards, corner moldings for wall coverings, or stucco moldings, which also have a decorative finish and are visible from the room when in use, can also be considered floor covering elements. Coating fabrics, such as fabric or paper coverings like wallpaper, are not included in the invention. The decking elements can be manufactured as single pieces, for example, as decking elements made of solid wood or solid stone, where the decorative surface is a surface of the decking element itself. However, most decking elements have at least one core layer with at least one surface coating that encompasses the decorative surface and is bonded to the core layer. The core layer consists, for example, of wood, wood-based material, plastic, or a composite material thereof (e.g., WPC). In particular, plywood, particleboard, fiberboard, OSB, or solid wood elements such as wooden rods, sticks, strips, or solid wood panels can be used as the core layer. The decorative surface can also be individually designed. As already mentioned, when using solid materials such as solid wood or stone as flooring elements, the surface visible after installation can be the finished surface of the material. This naturally features a color and, if applicable, a textured finish. Alternatively, the decorative surface can also be a coating applied to the core layer. This coating can consist of wood (veneer, etc.), stone, or plastic (such as PVC). The coating can also be a lacquer coating, a synthetic resin coating, and / or a laminate coating with one or more layers of paper. In any case, the coating includes a mostly multi-colored decorative pattern, forming a color design, and may optionally include a textured design in addition to the color design. A textured design is understood to be a tactile surface with indentations and raised areas. The textured design may also include visible structures, which are preferably incorporated into the design. Naturally, the flooring elements can include further layers such as a backing layer, impact sound insulation, or a layer supplementing the core layer. "Ready to install" means that the flooring elements are at least sufficiently finished to be laid on the installation surface and joined together to form a finished floor. This means, for example, that the ready-to-install flooring elements have an outer shape that allows the individual elements to be connected to one another. Edge profiles, such as tongue and groove, are therefore already in place. Furthermore, the decorative surface is naturally present and bonded to the core layer. "Ready to install" also includes flooring elements that, after installation, will receive a protective and / or sealing layer, such as a transparent layer, as is often the case with parquet or plank flooring with a solid wood surface. When recording the properties, the decorative surface of each flooring element is specifically recorded. This means that at least the features of the decorative surface that are visually perceptible to a human are recorded. These preferably include not only the individual colors but also the color distribution across the surface and, where applicable, the visible structures and their distribution across the surface. In order to enable the most identical possible visual impression of the virtual surface covering to be created, the ready-to-install covering elements are preferably already finished when captured or at least pre-coated to such an extent that the covering elements already have the final coloring when captured. The data is captured, for example, using an optical scanner or camera that digitally records and, if necessary, digitally stores all visible features. This device can, for example, be high-resolution. The more detailed the optically visible features of the decorative surface are captured, the better the virtual representation of the respective flooring elements and the more optimized the arrangement of the virtual flooring elements on the virtual installation area can be. Using the digitally captured and stored features, a virtual surface element is created for each captured (real) surface element; that is, a surface element that can be displayed, for example, on a playback device. Each virtual surface element thus corresponds in its visual appearance to one of the scanned real surface elements. Therefore, each virtual surface element is visually almost identical to a captured real surface element. The term "laying area" refers to the surface of a room or area onto which the surface covering is to be installed. Its dimensions are recorded, which can be done digitally, resulting in a digital data set for the laying area. Laying areas can include, in particular, the surfaces of stair treads, floors, walls, and / or ceilings. During the recording process, the entire geometry of the area to be covered is captured, especially all corners and edges that define the area and all necessary sections that will not be covered by the flooring elements. Arranging refers to placing the available virtual covering elements on the virtual installation area. The virtual covering elements can be freely moved within this area. In particular, if the covering elements have an identical external shape, such as a standardized size, all covering elements are interchangeable. Different decorative surfaces and / or size groups of covering elements can also be combined to create a surface covering. For example, a primary type of covering elements, all of which have a uniform size and belong to a specific decorative surface type, can be laid together with a secondary type of covering elements. The secondary type of covering elements belongs to a specific decorative surface type (wood type, tile, etc.).) and all have a uniform size, which is either identical to or different from the size of the main type. For example, it is possible to insert flooring elements with a secondary decorative surface (e.g., another type of wood or a tile pattern) into a specific main decor, such as a wood decor. This inventive method makes it possible to imitate inlay work in surface coverings, such as those known from historical floors, ceilings and walls, in a particularly simple way. Due to the largely identical visual appearance of the virtual and real paving elements, it is possible to arrange the paving elements optimally for the end customer on the virtual installation area. This allows paving elements with special color and / or structural characteristics, such as elements with knots or a distinctive grain pattern, to be placed in areas of the installation area preferred by the end customer or to be completely excluded from the selection of paving elements. The arrangement can be done manually by one person. This is preferably done using a display device. Alternatively, however, it is also possible to define arrangement parameters so that an automatic, e.g., computer-controlled, arrangement of the virtual covering elements on the virtual laying area takes place and is displayed, for example, on a display device. In addition to optimal visual arrangement, the virtual arrangement of the paving elements on the virtual laying area allows you to determine which real paving elements may need to be cut to which shape in order to optimally cover the real laying area. Furthermore, it is particularly easy to virtually pre-plan necessary expansion joints or similar sections that need to be kept clear or excluded from the laying area. After defining the position of the virtual paving elements on the virtual installation area, the corresponding (real) paving elements can be provided. Simultaneously or subsequently, the paving elements are marked with a position indicator, which is generated based on the virtual arrangement of the virtual paving elements on the virtual installation area. In addition to the position on the installation area, the position indicators can also define the sequence in which the real paving elements are to be laid. Accordingly, a surface covering is then created from the real covering elements, which are marked with a position indicator, by laying the covering elements in the positions and / or sequence corresponding to the position indicators on the laying surface. The individual process steps can generally be carried out in the listed order. It is also understood that the virtual paving elements can only be created once the paving elements themselves have been made available. Creating the virtual laying area can be done before, simultaneously with, or after creating the virtual paving elements. Similarly, arranging the virtual paving elements naturally only takes place after both the virtual paving elements and the virtual laying area have been created. The generation of the position indicators only takes place after the virtual paving elements have been arranged, but for example before, simultaneously or after the provision of the real paving elements corresponding to the selected virtual paving elements. According to a further development of the invention, the ready-to-install flooring elements have connecting elements on their side edges, which are provided for joining the flooring elements to form a surface covering. In particular, locking profiles such as click profiles, pivot profiles and / or pivot-click profiles can be arranged. Providing flooring elements with locking profiles ensures particularly easy and error-free installation of the flooring elements. In order to achieve a particularly optimal optical arrangement, a further development of the invention provides that when capturing the decorative surface, the colors, color distribution, structures and / or structure distributions of the decorative surface are captured. Preferably, the covering elements have a regular size, such as a rectangular or square shape, and in particular, a plurality or all covering elements have a regular, uniform size. To enable, in particular, the combination of different sizes of covering elements, a further development of the invention provides that, in addition to the decorative surfaces, the dimensions of each covering element are also recorded. This can be done, for example, simultaneously with recording the properties or separately. According to a further development of the invention, it is also provided that the virtual covering elements and / or the virtual laying area are stored as a digital data set. In addition to improving user-friendliness, the digital storage of the virtual covering elements and the virtual laying area also enables, for example, the easy replacement of individual covering elements. Thus, if individual laid covering elements are damaged, a replacement covering element can first be searched for virtually in order to then replace the damaged covering element in the real surface covering. As mentioned above, individual virtual flooring elements are often reshaped and adapted to the dimensions of the virtual installation area during the arrangement process. This means that the virtual flooring elements are modified in their dimensions / shape. This is particularly common for flooring elements located in cutouts or at the edges of the installation area. For example, flooring elements bordering walls can be virtually trimmed, or cutouts such as heating pipes can be virtually fitted into the flooring elements. This allows the installation area to be virtually replicated as accurately as possible, and the customer receives a virtually identical view of their finished installation. To facilitate the installation of the paving elements and, in particular, to prevent contamination of the installation site, the actual paving elements corresponding to the transformed virtual paving elements are preferably adapted to the dimensions and shapes of the virtual paving elements at the factory. This can be done, for example, by cutting and / or milling the ready-to-install paving elements. To make laying the covering elements particularly easy, the marked covering elements are preferably packaged in such a way that the person installing them can take the covering elements out of the respective packages one after the other and arrange them on the laying surface. The invention will now be described in more detail using an exemplary embodiment. Figure 1 shows a flowchart for the production of a surface coating. To create a surface covering, ready-to-install covering elements, such as panels, planks, laminates, or tiles, are provided first. These covering elements can be of a uniform size and are designed to interlock. The visible surface of each flooring element (decorative surface) when installed is captured using an optical scanner or camera. A virtual version of each captured flooring element is then created, which corresponds to the real flooring element in its external shape and has a largely identical decorative surface. Next, a virtual installation area is created. This is done by recording the dimensions of the actual installation area. This recording can be done either by scanning the installation area on-site or, for example, by measuring the installation area and entering the respective dimensions into a computer. The creation of the virtual installation area can be carried out before, simultaneously with, or after the provision of ready-to-install flooring elements and the creation of the virtual flooring elements. Once the virtual installation area and the virtual flooring elements are available, the virtual flooring elements are laid out on the virtual installation area. Due to the uniform shape of the flooring elements, they can be freely moved on the virtual installation area until the user achieves an optimal visual impression of the installation area. After the virtual surface covering has been created, corresponding position markers are generated that indicate the respective subsequent position of the real covering element on the real laying surface and / or the sequence in which the real covering elements must be laid. Following the creation of the virtual surface covering, the corresponding real covering elements are provided and the position markers are applied to them. After or simultaneously with the marking of the covering elements with the position indicators, the covering elements are packaged in the order to be laid. The actual flooring elements can then be unpacked at the installation site according to the position markings and placed one after the other onto the actual installation area. The individual flooring elements can, for example, be laid floating on the installation area or glued to the installation area. If it is necessary to cut individual paving elements, for example, those to be placed at the edge of the installation area, this can be done during the creation of the virtual surface covering on the virtual paving elements. After the individual paving elements have been provided, they are processed; that is, the real paving elements, which need to be adapted in shape, are reshaped according to the virtual paving elements, for example by cutting or milling shapes.

Claims

Method for producing a surface covering comprising the steps of: - Providing individual, ready-to-install covering elements with a decorative surface and edge profiles for connecting the individual covering elements to one another, - Creating virtual covering elements by capturing the properties of each covering element, namely the decorative surface, - wherein the covering elements are finished or pre-coated to such an extent that they have their final color at the time of capture, - Creating a virtual installation area by capturing an area to be covered with the covering elements, - Arranging the virtual covering elements on the virtual installation area, - Providing the covering elements corresponding to the selected virtual covering elements, - Generating and applying a position marker to the respective covering elements.- Creating a surface covering by laying the covering elements in the positions on the laying surface corresponding to the position indicator. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the covering elements have connecting profiles on the side edges for connecting the covering elements to form a surface covering, wherein in particular click profiles, swivel profiles and / or swivel-click profiles are arranged. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that when capturing the decorative surface, the colors, color distribution, structures and / or structure distribution of the decorative surface are captured. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dimensions of the covering elements are recorded. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the virtual covering elements are stored as digital data sets. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the virtual laying area is stored as a digital data set. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that when arranging the virtual covering elements on the virtual laying surface, the virtual covering elements are virtually reshaped, in particular in the area of ​​recesses or in the edge area of ​​the virtual laying surface. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that individual coating elements are formed at the factory according to the virtual forming of the corresponding virtual coating elements. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the characterized covering elements are sorted and packaged in a laying sequence.

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