Paint Color Projector for Surface-Aware Digital Sample Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Selecting the correct color and texture of paint for a surface is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, requiring multiple people to physically apply and compare paint samples, and existing technologies do not adequately address these challenges.
Innovation Solution
A method and system using a mobile electronic device with a graphical user interface, processor, and integrated or coupled camera and projector to select and project a color onto a surface, adjusting for the surface's color and lighting conditions, allowing users to manually input or capture the surface's color and automatically determine the necessary light projection to achieve the desired color, and enabling paint purchasing directly through the device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If physical paint samples are used for color selection, then color accuracy can be achieved, but the process becomes time-consuming and labor-intensive requiring multiple people
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a projector to create a visual copy of the paint sample color directly on the wall surface, eliminating the need for physical paint swatches. The projector displays the exact color representation digitally, allowing users to see how the paint will look on their surface without handling physical samples.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical process of physically applying and comparing paint samples with a digital projection system. The projector uses optical technology to display colors on the surface, substituting the manual mechanical approach with an automated optical system that eliminates the need for multiple people to handle samples.
2Measurement precision
If physical paint samples are used for color selection, then color comparison is possible, but physical labor and material handling are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a digital projection copy of the paint color directly on the target surface, allowing users to compare the projected color with their existing wall color without physically handling samples. This eliminates the labor of carrying, positioning, and removing physical paint swatches.
Solution Approach 2:
The projector system allows a single user to independently complete the color selection process by projecting colors and making decisions without requiring another person to hold or manage physical samples. The system serves itself by automatically displaying colors that need comparison.
3Adaptability or versatility
If hundreds or thousands of paint samples are available, then color selection options increase, but the complexity and unwieldiness of the selection process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The projector serves multiple functions: it displays individual color options, shows multiple colors sequentially or simultaneously, and can potentially display entire color palettes. This single device replaces the need for hundreds of physical samples while maintaining comprehensive color selection options.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a two-dimensional physical sample comparison to a projected visual display on the actual wall surface. By projecting colors directly onto the target surface, the system adds the dimension of spatial context, allowing users to see how colors look in the actual environment rather than on small physical swatches.
4Measurement precision
If multiple people are used for paint sample selection, then color evaluation from different perspectives is possible, but the process requires coordination and increases time consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The projector enables a single user to independently evaluate colors by projecting them on the wall and observing from various positions and angles. The system eliminates the need for a second person to hold samples while the first person observes, allowing one person to perform both functions simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The projected color display is dynamic and can be adjusted, replaced, or modified instantly without the physical constraints of fixed paint samples. Users can move around to view the projection from different angles, and the system can quickly switch between different color options, providing flexibility that physical samples cannot match.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Streamlines the paint selection process by eliminating the need for physical sample application and comparison, allowing solo operation and efficient color projection, while also facilitating direct paint purchasing, thus reducing time and effort.
Implementation Method 1
projecting, using a projector, the color of light onto the surface
Implementation Method 2
identifying a color of a surface onto which the selected color is to be projected
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for projecting a color onto a surface are provided. The method includes selecting, using an application on a mobile electronic device, a color from a list of one or more colors, identifying a color of a surface onto which the selected color is to be projected, and determining, using a processor, a color of light to be projected onto the surface such that the color of light, in conjunction with the color of the surface, produces the selected color. The method further includes projecting, using a projector, the color of light onto the surface.