Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for the management of textile processes.

Background Art

With reference to the textile field, various methods are known for the management of textile processes widely used by manufacturing companies with the aim of creating a broad variety of fabrics characterized by different technical and aesthetic characteristics dictated, depending on the needs, by the requirements of customers.

In fact, the methods known to be used require that the customer interested in purchasing a particular fabric communicate in detail to the manufacturing company the specific technical and aesthetic characteristics which the commissioned product must have.

In particular, the customer must send the manufacturing company reference material, in the form of a small sample of a fabric that has the desired technical- aesthetic characteristics.

This way, the manufacturing company catalogues such reference material and by means of its dyeing laboratory carries out an analysis of the reference material, using special equipment, and creates a textile substrate with the technical-aesthetic characteristics of the reference material supplied by the customer.

The dyeing laboratory of the textile company then produces a so-called“lab- dip”, i.e. a small sample of fabric of predetermined size having such technical- aesthetic characteristics.

Finally, the manufacturing company sends the“lab-dip” thus obtained to the customer, which assesses the result and, if necessary, confirms the production of the fabric.

However, the methods of this type do have a number of drawbacks related to the time required to perform the method itself and the faithfulness of reproduction of the characteristics of the reference material supplied by the customer.

In fact, the reference material supplied by the customer in many cases, in addition to being difficult to find or make, may undergo colorimetric alterations far from negligible during shipment, thus altering the correspondence between the end product and the product requested by the customer.

Moreover, the delivery times of the reference material and of the“lab-dip” do have a negative influence on the time required to perform the known methods, significantly delaying the delivery deadlines of the end product by the company. Moreover, such known methodology requires the use and management of material archives which are difficult to refer to and have high maintenance costs both for the customer and for the manufacturing company.

In addition, the color produced by the manufacturing company is generally the Pantone color nearest to that of the reference material.

As a result, the color produced in this way is very frequently different from that of the reference material.

For these reasons, the known methods are characterized by a rather limited faithfulness of reproduction of the technical and aesthetic characteristics of the reference material, and by particularly long and complex phases of performance of the method itself.

In fact, it is clear that a manufacturer which is able to supply in just a short time a product that faithfully reflects the technical and aesthetic characteristics sought by the customer obtains a significant competitive edge over its competitors.

Description of the Invention

With reference to the textile field, various methods are known for the management of textile processes widely used by manufacturing companies with the aim of creating a broad variety of fabrics characterized by different technical and aesthetic characteristics dictated, depending on the needs, by the requirements of customers.

In fact, the methods known to be used require that the customer interested in purchasing a particular fabric communicate in detail to the manufacturing company the specific technical and aesthetic characteristics which the commissioned product must have.

In particular, the customer must send the manufacturing company reference addition to being difficult to find or make, may undergo colorimetric alterations far from negligible during shipment, thus altering the correspondence between the end product and the product requested by the customer.

Moreover, the delivery times of the reference material and of the“lab-dip” do have a negative influence on the time required to perform the known methods, significantly delaying the delivery deadlines of the end product by the company. Moreover, such known methodology requires the use and management of material archives which are difficult to refer to and have high maintenance costs both for the customer and for the manufacturing company.

In addition, the color produced by the manufacturing company is generally the Pantone color nearest to that of the reference material.

As a result, the color produced in this way is very frequently different from that of the reference material.

For these reasons, the known methods are characterized by a rather limited faithfulness of reproduction of the technical and aesthetic characteristics of the reference material, and by particularly long and complex phases of performance of the method itself.

In fact, it is clear that a manufacturer which is able to supply in just a short time a product that faithfully reflects the technical and aesthetic characteristics sought by the customer obtains a significant competitive edge over its competitors.

Description of the Invention

The main aim of the present invention is to devise a method for the management of textile processes which allows ensuring or at least considerably promoting the perfect correspondence between the end product and the product requested by the customer.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a method for the management of textile processes which allows considerably simplifying the realization of the reference material and the communication thereof to the manufacturing company.

One additional object of the present invention is to devise a method for the management of textile processes which allows simplifying the management of

INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (RULE 20.6) material, in the form of a small sample of a fabric that has the desired technical- aesthetic characteristics.

This way, the manufacturing company catalogues such reference material and by means of its dyeing laboratory carries out an analysis of the reference material, using special equipment, and creates a textile substrate with the technical-aesthetic characteristics of the reference material supplied by the customer.

The dyeing laboratory of the textile company then produces a so-called“lab- dip”, i.e. a small sample of fabric of predetermined size having such technical- aesthetic characteristics.

Finally, the manufacturing company sends the“lab-dip” thus obtained to the customer, which assesses the result and, if necessary, confirms the production of the fabric.

However, the methods of this type do have a number of drawbacks related to the time required to perform the method itself and the faithfulness of reproduction of the characteristics of the reference material supplied by the customer.

In fact, the reference material supplied by the customer in many cases, in addition to being difficult to find or make, may undergo colorimetric alterations far from negligible during shipment, thus altering the correspondence between the end product and the product requested by the customer.

Moreover, the delivery times of the reference material and of the“lab-dip” do have a negative influence on the time required to perform the known methods, significantly delaying the delivery deadlines of the end product by the company. Moreover, such known methodology requires the use and management of material archives which are difficult to refer to and have high maintenance costs both for the customer and for the manufacturing company.

In addition, the color produced by the manufacturing company is generally the Pantone color nearest to that of the reference material.

As a result, the color produced in this way is very frequently different from that of the reference material.

For these reasons, the known methods are characterized by a rather limited faithfulness of reproduction of the technical and aesthetic characteristics of the color archives, both for the customer and for the textile company.

Yet another object of the present invention is to devise a method for the management of textile processes which allows a specific color cataloging for the textile field and represents a cutting-edge tool for every type of dyeing, able to define a customization standard of industrial level.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a method for the management of textile processes which allows overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art in the context of a simple, rational, easy, effective to use and low cost solution.

The objects set forth above are achieved by the present method for the management of textile processes according to the characteristics described in claim 1.

INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (RULE 20.6) reference material, and by particularly long and complex phases of performance of the method itself.

In fact, it is clear that a manufacturer which is able to supply in just a short time a product that faithfully reflects the technical and aesthetic characteristics sought by the customer obtains a significant competitive edge over its competitors.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further characteristics and the advantages of the present invention will emerge from the description of several preferred, but not exclusive embodiments of a method for the management of textile processes, given by way of an indicative yet non-limiting example, with reference to the attached illustrations, wherein Figure 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the method for the management of textile processes according to the invention.

Embodiments of the Invention

With particular reference to these illustrations, reference numeral 1 globally indicates a method for the management of textile processes.

The method 1 for the management of textile processes comprises at least the steps of:

acquisition 2 of at least one textile parameter comprising at least one chromatic datum defining at least one chromatic characteristic to be reproduced on a fabric; and

transmission 4 of the textile parameter to processing means.

Furthermore, the method 1 comprises at least one step of automatic supply 17 of at least one recipe based on the acquired textile parameter.

In particular, such recipe is digitally supplied by the processing means and is adapted to make on the fabric at least the chromatic characteristic defined by the chromatic datum.

In the remainder of the following treatise, the term recipe is used to indicate one or more steps which, when carried out in a predefined sequence using appropriate means, generally of a type known to an expert in the field, produce a fabric with the characteristics described by the textile parameter.

Preferably, the acquisition 2 of the textile parameter is performed by a customer interested in reproducing on a fabric the characteristics defined by the same acquired textile parameter, in this case by the chromatic datum.

Such chromatic datum can in fact be acquired by entering numerical codes, e.g., of the digital type, corresponding to one or more chromatic characteristics or, alternatively, by extrapolating these characteristics from real elements or objects, such as other fabrics rather than from natural landscapes, etc.

In actual facts, the acquisition 2 conveniently comprises at least the steps of: obtaining 5 at least one image having at least one chromatic characteristic described by the chromatic datum; and

extrapolation 6 of the chromatic datum from the obtained image.

Preferably, image obtaining 5 is done by image acquisition means, such as a smartphone.

This way, the chromatic datum is extrapolated from any element the chromatic characteristics of which can be digitally acquired through the image acquisition means.

In particular, in the case where the acquisition means are for example a smartphone or a camera, the chromatic datum is extrapolated from any image acquired by the user, in this case by the customer.

Moreover, the obtaining 5 can comprise at least one step of selection of a portion of the image having a chromatic characteristic of specific interest to the customer and from which the corresponding chromatic datum can be extrapolated.

This way, the customer can select from among the chromatic characteristics of the image obtained the one it wishes to reproduce on the fabric.

In fact, the image obtained by means of the acquisition means could have a plurality of chromatic characteristics defined by a corresponding chromatic datum.

For example, if the obtained image represents a flower garden, the customer can select the portion of the image corresponding to a flower with a particular color which the customer itself wishes to reproduce on a fabric.

Furthermore, the acquisition 2 comprises at least one processing step 7 of the chromatic datum. This way, once the chromatic datum has been extrapolated, for example from an image obtained as described above, the customer can vary such datum to obtain a different chromatic characteristic.

In other words, the customer can directly change the value of the acquired datum or even change the parameters of the obtained image, such as saturation and/or color tone and the like, with the aim of indirectly changing the extrapolated chromatic datum.

Furthermore, such operations can be performed by means of the acquisition means, which, for example in the case of smartphones, to date have hardware and software characteristics able to perform various image processing operations.

Nevertheless, the customer is generally interested in realizing the chromatic characteristic described by the corresponding chromatic datum acquired on a specific type of fabric.

In actual facts, the method 1 comprises at least one step of indication 8 of at least one technical datum defining at least one technical characteristic of the fabric on which the chromatic characteristic defined by the chromatic datum has to be reproduced, the textile parameter comprising the technical datum.

Advantageously, the indication 8 of the technical datum comprises at least one step of signaling at least one of a technical indication characteristic of the fabric, e.g., such as data corresponding to the impermeability and/or the heat exchange coefficient and the like, and a nomenclative indication characteristic of the fabric, e.g., such as the trade name of the fabric or the name of the material or materials of which it is made.

Preferably, the indication 8 is made by means of the image acquisition means, which, for example in the case of the smartphone, permit indicating the technical datum, e.g., by checking the technical indications and/or the nomenclative indications from a predefined list.

This way, the supply 17 of the recipe is not only carried out according to the chromatic characteristics of the fabric to be colored, but also according to the technical characteristics of the fabric itself.

Preferably, the transmission 4 is also performed using image acquisition means, which, for example in the case of the smartphone, transmit the textile parameter to the processing means via a communication network, e.g., such as the telephone network or the Internet network.

On the other hand, the processing means are preferably of the programmable type, e.g., such as a computer, and adapted to automatically process one or more textile parameters received through the transmission 4.

Advantageously, the supply 17 comprises at least one individuation step 16 of the recipe to be supplied among a plurality of predefined recipes based on the acquired textile parameter.

In particular, each of the predefined recipes is stored inside at least one storage memory unit and is univocally associated with a different textile parameter.

In other words, each of the recipes stored inside the memory unit allows, when executed, the realization of a fabric having different technical and chromatic characteristics depending on the textile parameter with which this recipe is associated.

The individuation step 16 in fact comprises at least the steps of:

comparison 9 of the acquired textile parameter with each of the predefined textile parameters of the plurality of predefined recipes; and

choice 10 of the recipe to be supplied among the plurality of predefined recipes, the chosen recipe being univocally associated with the predefined textile parameter coinciding with the compared textile parameter.

In particular, the predefined textile parameter and the acquired textile parameter are considered coinciding when all the data included in the latter coincide.

More in detail, in order for the predefined textile parameter and the acquired textile parameter to be considered coinciding, the predefined technical data and the indicated technical data, when present, are also to coincide with each other. Furthermore, the same coincidence criteria remain unchanged with reference to the case wherein the predefined technical data and the indicated technical data comprise the respective technical and nomenclative information.

Moreover, the method 1 comprises at least one automatic determination step 11 of the recipe to be supplied which step is carried out when the acquired textile parameter does not coincide with any of the predefined textile parameters of the plurality of predefined recipes, the automatically determined recipe being univocally associated with a predefined textile parameter coinciding with the acquired textile parameter and being stored inside the storage memory unit.

In other words, when the recipe adapted to realize a fabric having the characteristics indicated by the acquired textile parameter is not stored inside the storage memory unit, the method 1 automatically determines a new recipe comprising one or more steps which, when performed, permit creating a fabric having characteristics indicated by the acquired textile parameter.

Furthermore, each new recipe determined this way is stored inside the storage memory unit in order to create a constantly- growing archive.

Conveniently, the method 1 comprises at least one step of comparison 18 of the predefined textile parameter of the determined recipe with the acquired textile parameter.

In particular, when the comparison 18 shows that the predefined textile parameter of the determined recipe coincides with the acquired textile parameter, such recipe is chosen as the recipe to be supplied to the customer. Advantageously, the method 1 comprises at least one selection step 12 of the recipe to be supplied among the plurality of predefined recipes which is carried out when the acquired textile parameter does not coincide with any of the predefined textile parameters of the plurality of predefined recipes, the selected recipe being univocally associated with the predefined textile parameter which numerically minimizes the difference with the acquired textile parameter.

Preferably, the selection 12 is performed in the event of the predefined textile parameter of the determined recipe as described above not coinciding with the acquired textile parameter, or also in the event of such determination 11 not being provided for by the method 1.

More specifically, in the event of the method 1 providing for the execution of the determination 11, the selection 12 is performed when the comparison 18 shows that the predefined textile parameter of the determined recipe does not coincide with the acquired textile parameter.

Nevertheless, generally speaking, the selection 12 permits identifying from among the recipes stored inside the storage memory unit, among which is also the determined recipe, the one that, when performed, permits creating a fabric with textile characteristics, in this case chromatic and technical characteristics, which better approximate the technical and chromatic characteristics described by the acquired textile parameter.

In fact, it can be assumed that the determined recipe is not always able to provide a predefined textile parameter coinciding with the acquired textile parameter.

Preferably, the selection 12 is made in the light of the results of the comparison 9 of the acquired textile parameter with each of the predefined textile parameters of the plurality of predefined recipes, in this case such comparison 9 allows identifying the difference between the acquired textile parameter and the predefined textile parameters of the recipes stored in the storage memory unit. Moreover, the comparison 9 permits identifying the difference between the acquired chromatic and technical data and the predefined chromatic and technical data.

This way, the selection 12 permits selecting the recipe uni vocally associated with the predefined textile parameter which minimizes such difference.

In fact, the chromatic and technical data, both acquired and predefined, are preferably numerical data of the digital type susceptible to logical-mathematical processing operations, for example such as the comparison made in order to supply the recipe univocally associated with the predefined textile parameter which coincides or which better approximates the acquired textile parameter. Usefully, the supply 17 comprises at least one sending step 13 of the individuated recipe to at least one requesting subject.

In particular, once the recipe sent using the method 1 has been obtained, the applicant, in this case a customer, uses the appropriate means to carry out the steps described by the recipe itself with the aim of creating at least one fabric having coinciding chromatic and technical characteristics or which better approximate the chromatic and technical characteristics described by the acquired textile parameter.

Preferably, the sending 13 is of the digital type and is done using electronic means of transmission, for example through the Internet. Conveniently, the method 1 comprises at least one virtual representation step 14 of the fabric which can be realized through the execution of the individuated recipe.

Preferably, the virtual representation 14 is a digital image, for example such as a photo of the fabric made by the execution of a corresponding recipe or such as a graphic printout of such fabric.

Furthermore, the method 1 comprises at least one transfer step 15 of the virtual representation 14 to the requesting subject.

This way, the requesting subject is able to assess the result which is expected to be obtained through the execution of the recipe supplied or which may be supplied to it.

An alternative embodiment of the method 1 not shown in the figures is as follows.

In particular, this embodiment differs from the previous one in that it does not comprise the sending step 13 of the individuated recipe and in that it comprises at least one realization step of the fabric through the execution of the individuated recipe.

Moreover, this embodiment comprises at least one step for delivering the fabric made through the execution of the individuated recipe to the requesting subject. This way, the company which performs the method 1 can directly supply the fabric made to the requesting subject or to the customer which does not have the means to perform the supplied recipe.

In this case, the requesting subject can assess in advance the characteristics of the fabric made through the execution of the individuated recipe through the virtual representation 14 and, if necessary, request the production of the fabric by the manufacturing company.

Alternative embodiments cannot however be ruled out wherein the method 1 comprises both the sending 13 of the individuated recipe and the realization of the fabric and its delivery to the requesting subject.

Conveniently, the methods 1 described above can be performed through a system for the management of textile processes comprising:

acquisition means for acquiring the textile parameter configured to detect at least one chromatic datum defining at least one chromatic characteristic to be reproduced on a fabric, this textile parameter comprising the chromatic datum;

processing means for processing the textile parameter which are configured to automatically supply a recipe adapted to realize the chromatic characteristic defined by the chromatic datum on the fabric; transmission means for transmitting the textile parameter which are configured to transmit the textile parameter from the acquisition means to the processing means.

In addition, the methods 1 described above can be performed by means of a textile process management software when the latter is performed by means of the textile process management system.

It has in practice been ascertained that the described invention achieves the intended objects.

In particular, the acquisition and transmission of the textile parameter permit speeding up and simplifying the communication of the reference material by the customer to the manufacturer.

In the same way, the graphic representation of the fabric which can be made and the transfer of such representation permit speeding up and simplifying the communication of the“lab-dip” by the manufacturer to the customer.

Moreover, the identification of the recipe among a plurality of predefined recipes permits further speeding up and simplifying the execution of the method according to the invention.

More specifically, the determination permits automatically supplying the customer with a recipe determined according to the aesthetic and technical characteristics which the fabric commissioned by the customer must have, significantly improving the correspondence between the characteristics of the product commissioned by the customer and the characteristics of the product made from the recipe identified by the manufacturer.

Moreover, the determination permits realizing an archive in continuous expansion able to supply in an increasingly more effective way the recipe suitable to satisfy the customer’s needs. The realization also makes it possible to supply, according to the customer’s needs, both the recipe which enables it to create the commissioned fabric and the finished fabric.