GB2523789A

GB2523789A - Sign

Info

Publication number: GB2523789A
Application number: GB1403874.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Southern
Original assignee: FOURDOT CREATIVE Ltd
Current assignee: FOURDOT CREATIVE Ltd
Priority date: 2014-03-05
Filing date: 2014-03-05
Publication date: 2015-09-09
Also published as: GB201403874D0

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a sign, such as a vehicle registration plate, comprises the steps of: predetermining the thickness and path of a plurality of sets of lines 3 (also 6-8 figure 2), each set having different line thickness to other sets and each following generally the same path; receiving user input to vary the colour and opacity of the lines within the sets; and producing a design document, such as a computer design file, for manufacture of the registration plate which includes data defining the line path, thickness and, colour and opacity of the said plurality of sets of lines. The path may be located at the edge of the plate or at the edge of a reflective area (figure 10). The lines may have thicknesses which vary with distance from the edge or reflective area. Also disclosed is the computer implementation of the method.

Description

SIGN

This invention relates to a tool for creating an edge marking near the periphery of a sign, such as a vehicle registration plate or near an abrupt design transition within the sign.

The design of the boundary of a sign is important as when the sign is mounted, it will be adjacent the mounting surface. It thus creates a visual transition zone between the sign and its mounting suiface. When creating bespoke and one-off designs, this pail of the design effort can be disproportionately time consuming and yet to the uninformed consumer, may appear to add little value to the completed product. Similarly, abrupt transitions within a sign design such as the edge of a statutory reflective area in a vehicle registration plate, may also need similar careful design treatment.

Accordingly, to make the production of bespoke signs cost-effective, it is important to make the design of this area of the sign occur as efficiently as possible. An object of this invention therefore, is to provide a tool to improve the efficiency of design of these parts of a vehicle registration plate.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a sign such as a vehicle registration plate comprising the steps of predetermining the thickness and path of a plurality of sets of lines, each set having different line thickness to other sets and each following generally the same path, receiving user input to vary the colour and opacity of the lines within the sets, and producing a design document, such as a computer design file, for manufacture of the registration plate which includes data defining the line path, thickness and, colour and opacity of the said plurality of sets of lines.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a sign manufactured according to the method of the first aspect.

In a third aspect, the invention provides a design tool for a sign including a processor, memory, a visual display device, an output device such as a modem or writeable optical drive, and user input device and arranged to store in the memoly, predetermined thicknesses and paths of a plurality of sets of lines, each set having different line thickness to other sets and each following generally the same path, to receive user input via the user input device to vary the colour and opacity of the lines within the sets and store these variations in the memory, and using the processor to produce a computer design file, for manufacture of the registration plate which includes data defining the line path, thickness and, colour and opacity of the said plurality of sets of lines, the tool being further arranged to output the computer design file via the output device.

In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a computer readable medium carrying a computer program which when executed on suitable hardware is arranged to carry out the method of the first aspect.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, and with reference to the drawings in which:-Figure 1 is a plan view of a vehicle registration plate; Figure 2 is an enlargement of an outer trim area of the plate of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlargement of an inner trim area of the plate of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a plan view of a vehicle registration plate with an enlarged view of a fade in outer trim treatment; Figure 5 is a plan view of a vehicle registration plate with an enlarged view of a fade out outer trim treatment; Figure 6 is a plan view of a vehicle registration plate with an enlarged view of a multi-line outer trim treatment; Figure 7 is a plan view of a vehicle registration plate with an enlarged view of a solid outer trim treatment; Figure 8 is a plan view of a vehicle registration plate with an enlarged view of a fade in inner trim treatment; Figure 9 is a plan view of a vehicle registration plate with an enlarged view of a fade out inner trim treatment; Figure 10 is a plan view of a vehicle registration plate with an enlarged view of a multi-line inner trim treatment; and Figure 11 is a plan view of a vehicle registration plate with an enlarged view of a solid inner trim treatment.

With reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the design of a vehicle registration plate 2 is largely made up from 20 graphical elements such as a reflective area 4 containing a reflective backing and alphanumeric characters which denote the registration number of the vehicle which will receive the plate, and a transparent area 1 around the edge of the plate to allow effective blending of the plate with the vehicle body work, when mounted.

An important element of these graphical elements is the elements that enhance the outer shape of the plate 2, or frame the reflective area 4 of the plate 2 and which can be customised to suit an individual's tastes and graphical preferences. The elements are known as "trims", and in this embodiment consist of 11 grouped, parallel lines that have predetermined thickness but can be varied in colour and opacity.

In the preferred embodiment, the grouped lines that enhance the shape, and sit within the transparent area 1 of the plate 2 are known as outer trims 3, and the grouped lines that frame the reflective area 4 of the plate 2 are known as inner trims 5. In both cases, the trims are made up of 11 grouped lines, nine at 0.5mm 6, one at 0.4mm 7 and one at 0.1mm 8, with a combined width of 5mm.

For both outer and inner trims, each of the 11 grouped lines can be varied to be any colour, and any level of opacity.

Outer trims 3 (see Figure 2) With the ability to change colour and opacity, a huge number of graphical effects can be achieved. These effects are broken down in to the following categories: * Fade In (see Figure 4) These 11 trims are all the same colour, however, from the outside line inwards, the opacity of each line is increased from 0 percent up to visible opacities, so to create a graphical gradient from the outside in.

* Fade Out (see Figure 5) These 11 trims are all the same colour, however, from the inside line outwards, the opacity of each line is increased from 0 percent up to visible opacities, so to create a graphical gradient from the inside out.

* Multi-Line (see Figure 6) Each of these 11 trims can be any colour, or the same, however, specific lines have 0 percentage opacity (effectively invisible), creating a multiple trim effect.

Solid (see Figure 7) All or some of these 11 trims have either 0 percent or 100 percent opacity, creating a solid block of colour within the trims.

Inner trims 5 (see Figure 3) With the ability to change colour and opacity, a huge number of graphical effects can be achieved. These effects are broken down in to the following categories: * Fade In (see Figure 8) These 11 trims are all the same colour, however, from the outside line inwards, the opacity of each line is increased from 0 percent up to visible opacities, so to create a graphical gradient from the outside in.

* Fade Out (see Figure 9) These 11 trims are all the same colour, however, from the inside line outwards, the opacity of each line is increased from 0 percent up to visible opacities, so to create a graphical gradient from the inside out.

* Multi-Line (see Figure 10) Each of these 11 trims can be any colour, or the same, however, specific lines have 0 percentage opacity (effectively invisible), creating a multiple trim effect.

* Solid (see Figure 11) All or some of these 11 trims have either 0 percent or 100 percent opacity, creating a solid block of colour within the trims.

Typically, the design of the plate 2 will be carried out using a software tool via a graphical user interface. The shape and thickness of the different sets of lines forming the trims are predetermined in the tool so that a designer can rapidly produce high quality results with a reduced time input, by varying only colour and opacity in this "template". Furthermore, the predetermined sets of lines for the trims are pre-selected to take account of the printing technology used to convert the design file into the finished registration plate. The dimensions and colour choices may thus be selected to produce a predictable quality in the finally manufactured product. By reducing the degrees of design freedom in this way, the predictability and quality of the registration plate which is produced is greatly improved with little impact on the design cost. Thus the creation of this tool allows a designer to produce a better quality registration plate product at a cost which is acceptable to the end user.

The skilled person will appreciate that the techniques described above aie not just limited to the 4 categories listed above, but any number of graphical effects can be created with the ability to change each line's colour and opacity. Furthermore, the number of lines, their path and their pre-determined thicknesses may also be varied from those described above.

The approach could be used for 3D or 2D signs.

References to a computer readable medium should also be understood to include the possibility of downloading software rather than delivery just on hard media such as a CD-ROM.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method of manufacturing a sign such as a vehicle registration plate comprising the steps of:-predetermining the thickness and path of a plurality of sets of lines, each set having different line thickness to other sets and each following generally the same path, receiving user input to vary the colour and opacity of the lines within the sets, and producing a design document, such as a computer design file, for manufacture of the registration plate which includes data defining the line path, thickness and, colour and opacity of the said plurality of sets of lines.
2. A method according to claim 1, including the step of locating the path along an abrupt design boundary such as the edge of the plate or the edge of a statutory reflective area within the plate and including this data in the design document.
3. A method according to claim 2, including the step of predetermining that the sets of lines have thicknesses which increase with distance from the abrupt design boundary and including this data in the design document.
4. A method according to any preceding claim including the step of leaving a transparent, unprinted border around the edge of the plate and including this data in the design document.
5. A method according to any preceding claim, including passing the design document to a printing machine for manufacture of the registration plate.
6. A method according to any preceding claim, including manufacturing the plate according to the design document.
7. A sign such as a vehicle registration plate manufactured according to the method of any preceding claim.
8. A design tool for a sign such as a vehicle registration plate including a processor, memory, a visual display device, an output device such as a modem or writeable optical drive, and user input device and arranged to store in the memory, predetermined thicknesses and paths of a plurality of sets of lines, each set having different line thickness to other sets and each following generally the same path, to receive user input via the user input device to vary the colour and opacity of the lines within the sets and store these variations in the memory, and using the processor to produce a computer design file, for manufacture of the registration plate which includes data defining the line path, thickness and, colour and opacity of the said plurality of sets of lines, the tool being further arranged to output the computer design file via the output device.
9. A computer readable medium carrying a computer program which when executed on suitable hardware is arranged to carry out the method steps of any of claims ito 6.