System and method for visualizing vehicles with accessories
US6339763B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 5, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jan 15, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 5, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q30/0643
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A visualization system for enabling a user to select a vehicle and to overlay images of various user-selected accessories onto an image of the vehicle to cause a computer to display an image of the desired combination includes a database that stores digitized images of various vehicles and accessories. The accessories can be photographed separately from the vehicle, so that it is not necessary to photograph an accessorized vehicle for each one of the potentially thousands of vehicle/accessory combinations. The database correlates accessories and colors, with prices and other data, to the relevant vehicles. An Internet user can access the database over the Internet to select a vehicle with user-defined accessories, and then a composite image of the vehicle with accessories is presented to the user. Or, a salesperson in a dealership can access a local database of vehicles/accessories to display, on a monitor in the showroom, a composite photograph of a vehicle with a buyer-defined suite of accessories, such that the buyer can visualize the desired vehicle/accessory combination even if an actual vehicle with the desired accessory suite is not on the lot.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.