US3892174A - Electrically controlled apparatus for marking objects - Google Patents

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Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F17/00—Printing apparatus or machines of special types or for particular purposes, not otherwise provided for
  • B41F17/24—Printing apparatus or machines of special types or for particular purposes, not otherwise provided for for printing on flat surfaces of polyhedral articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
  • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
  • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
  • B41J2/01—Ink jet
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
  • B41J3/00—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed
  • B41J3/28—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed for printing downwardly on flat surfaces, e.g. of books, drawings, boxes, envelopes, e.g. flat-bed ink-jet printers
  • B41J3/286—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed for printing downwardly on flat surfaces, e.g. of books, drawings, boxes, envelopes, e.g. flat-bed ink-jet printers on boxes
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
  • B41J3/00—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed
  • B41J3/407—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed for marking on special material
  • B41J3/4073—Printing on three-dimensional objects not being in sheet or web form, e.g. spherical or cubic objects
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
  • B44B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR TOOLS FOR ARTISTIC WORK, e.g. FOR SCULPTURING, GUILLOCHING, CARVING, BRANDING, INLAYING
  • B44B5/00—Machines or apparatus for embossing decorations or marks, e.g. embossing coins
  • B44B5/0076—Machines or apparatus for embossing decorations or marks, e.g. embossing coins having a series of embossing tools each of which can be brought into working position
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
  • B44B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR TOOLS FOR ARTISTIC WORK, e.g. FOR SCULPTURING, GUILLOCHING, CARVING, BRANDING, INLAYING
  • B44B5/00—Machines or apparatus for embossing decorations or marks, e.g. embossing coins
  • B44B5/0095—Machines or apparatus for embossing decorations or marks, e.g. embossing coins using computer control means

Definitions

• ABSTRACT An electrically controlled apparatus for marking an object traveling along a conveyer with characters such as letters and/or figures wherein code signals corresponding to the characters which are punched in by a keyboard are stored.
• the presence of the object along the conveyer and the speed of travel thereof are sensed by sensing means and read-out of the the stor age signals is controlled by the sensed rate of travel of the object and marking devices are activated in accordance with the read-out signals.
• the marking devices may be arranged in a single row of five marking devices.
• the present invention relates to electrically controlled apparatus for marking objects, such as plate-n box-shaped objects, travelling along a conveyor.
• objects are usually provided with code characters or symbols which are necessary for the further treatment of the objects and for their subsequent end position.
• the coding may be effected after the objects have been conveyed through a paint or other treatment plant.
• the invention consists in electrically controlled apparatus for marking an object travelling along a conveyor, comprising a selectively operable marking mechanism for marking the object with a code consisting of selected characters, code selection means connected to a storage register comprising read-in means for storing code characters selected by the selection means and read-out means for receiving the stored characters and for supplying to the marking mechanism actuating signals corresponding to said characters, and control means for controlling the read-out means connected to sensing means for detecting the object on the conveyor, said control means being responsive to the sensing means detecting the object to initiate read-out of the actuating signals and controlling the rate of readout of said actuating signals in accordance with the speed of travel of the object along the conveyor so as to cause the selected code characters to be marked on the object.
• the read-in may be performed manually or automatically, for example in a fixed sequence determined by the sequence of use of the objects or the sequence of travel of the objects on the conveyor, after which the read-out means may be manually activated for automatic transfer of the previously read-in code characters to the marking mechanism as the objects are advanced by the conveyor, the control means and sensing means being arranged to activate the marking mechanism dependent upon the periodic advancement of the objects.
• the marking mechanism may comprise a plurality of rows of marking devices extending substantially at right angles to the direction of travel of the object. Alternatively, it may consist of a single row of marking devices extending substantially at right angles to the direction of travel of the object. In either event, the marking devices may comprise electromagnetically or pneumatically operable marking nozzles or pistons, each of which is adapted to produce a mark on the surface of the object.
• the selected characters may be produced in simple manner by selected combinations of the marking devices, the combinations being predetermined by the input in the read-in means and represented by the read-out signals from the read-out means.
• the number of marking devices may be reduced to consist of, for example, seven of the said nozzles or pistons, which means a substantial simplification of the marking mechanism, and the apparatus may therefore be manufactured at a lower cost and be less liable to have faults such as failing electric contacts and defective marking devices.
• the marking devices may be connected to the readout means by electronic or electromagnetic devices, such as thyristors, transistors or relays, which control magnetic coils of the marking devices or magnetic valves for the pneumatic pressure-producing cylinders of the marking devices.
• electronic or electromagnetic devices such as thyristors, transistors or relays, which control magnetic coils of the marking devices or magnetic valves for the pneumatic pressure-producing cylinders of the marking devices.
• the read-out means has coupling means for the read-out of combinations of selected characters both in the same and in the reverse sequence to that stored in the read-in means. Consequently, the sequence of the characters produced by the marking devices may be adjusted according to the direction of travel of the objects, for example whether the said direction is from the right to the left of the operator who is to check or read the code, in which case the first character of the code is the first to be marked on an object, or whether it is from the left to the right of the said operator, in which case the last character of the code is to be the first to be marked on the object.
• Each marking device may be adapted to produce a mark consisting of a marking material containing permanently magnetisable substance, such as Fe O or a radioactive substance.
• a marking material containing permanently magnetisable substance, such as Fe O or a radioactive substance.
• the marking may be read by a magnetic field detector, for example if the finish coating is provided with a thin layer of iron filings which will adhere to the finish coating when the magnetisable marking material has been subjected to permanent energization in advance, or by means of radioactive sensing means.
• a lamp tableau may be connected in parallel with the read-in means, the lamps of said tableau indicating the combination of selected code characters stored in the read-in means.
• a lamp tableau may also be connected in parallel with the control means, the lamps of said tableau indicating the code character available for read-out from the read-out means at each stage.
• the ope rator watching the marking of the objects may, prior to the marking mechanism being activated, visually check whether a code character is the correct one and, if not, be able to stop and read-out before the code character is marked on the object.
• the marking mechanism may be displaceable in the direction of travel of the object and is mechanically or magnetically coupled to the object during actuation of the marking mechanism, and be restored to its initial position upon completion of a marking operation by the action ofa spring.
• the code selection means may comprise a manually operable keyboard. Alternatively, it may be operable by data carriers either directly or through a computer, said data carriers bearing information on which characters are to be selected by the code selection means.
• FIG. 1 a and b is a block diagram of an apparatus for marking objects according to the invention.
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a convenient embodiment of same in which the object to be marked consists of a sheet-formed blank.
• FIG. 3 shows the prefered arrangement of the spraynozzels.
• a manually operable key-board comprising push-buttons representing each of those characters that possibly may be applied if wanted, to an upper surface of an object which is to be marked.
• Reference No. 2 designates a marking device mounted on a conveyor 3 (FIG. 2) which is associated with a painting plant 4.
• the object with this marking device 2 is to mark preferably sheet-shaped blanks 5, which have been treated in advance in said painting plant 4, with identification characters 6 either in the form of figures or letters or combinations of those.
• These characters or symbols may be composed as a five by seven dot matrix well known in the art, each of said dots 7 being a color spot. Each dot 7 may also be represented by an impact mark.
• said marking device 2 could include 35 spray-guns arranged in five arrays, each array comprising seven guns and extending substantially at right angles to the direction of travel of the objects. This is indicated on the drawing by means of dotted lines.
• a single array comprising seven spray-guns and extending substantially at right angles to the direction of travel of the object, which is indicated on the drawings by means of completed lines, and then compose the single character sequentially in five steps.
• the usage of only seven guns situated in one single array means a substantial simplification of the marking mechanism, and the apparatus mey therefore me manufactured at a lower cost and be less liable to have falls such as failing electric contacts and defective nozzels.
• spray-guns even though the usage of other marking means than spray-guns falls within the scope of the present invention.
• the metering of paint from such a spray-gun is controlled or may be controlled by means of an electromagnetic valve as is well known by those skilled in the art. Said control of the metering may be accomplished by means of an electric impulse with a sufficient level. Such control pulses are provided by means of a circuit described in details below.
• Each push-button of said key-board l is through a conductor 8 connected to a read-in unit comprising a read-only memory 9 e.g., in the form of a diode matrix comprising thirty-six input terminals and six output terminals 10 of the read-only memory in form of a binary 6-bit standard code, which is well known to those skilled in the art.
• the read-only memory unit is of a well known standard type available on the market and it is therefore unnecessary to describe this memory in further details.
• the associated one of those 36 conductors 8 is applied at a voltage so that the selected character becomes represented on the six output terminals 10 of said read-only memory in the form of a binary 6-bit character.
• This information is transferred to a shiftregister II which, as an example, may store 10 6-bit words in the case the need for the number of characters to be marked on said sheet-shaped blank is equal to 10.
• the shift-register 11 may comprise six arrays of flipflops. each array containing an arbitrary number of flip-flops and be adapted to store an arbitrary number of 6-bit words.
• the information on the putput terminals of the read-only memory 9 is also transferred via six conductors, which are designated in common by reference numeral 12, to a decoder 13 comprising 36 output terminals which in common are designated by a reference numeral 14.
• Said decoder 13 may be designed in a similar way as the read-only memory 9 as a diode matrix so that a signal can only be present at a single one of the output tenninals 14 for each combination of logic conditions on the input terminals 12 of said decoder 13.
• Such decoders are available as standard circuits and are well known to a person skilled in the art, and a particular description of such a decoder is therefore not necessary.
• the 36 output terminals of the decoder 13 are each connected to one lamp in a lamp tableau 15, which is able to visualize the thirty-six characters which can be selcted by means of the keyboard 1. Consequently, by depressing a push-button on the key-board, one will instantly have a check by said lamp tableau 15 on that character which presently is read-in in the shift-register 11. In the event a wrong character has been read-in in the register, all six cells of the first position of said register are resetted by means of a reset switch 16 followed by a new read-in of the right character by depressing the right push-button on the key-board 1.
• the read-only memory 9 has been provided with an extra output terminal 17, which delivers an impulse to a counter 18 each time a push-button in the key-board l is depressed, thereby initiating a read-in in the shiftregister 11 of a new 6-bit word.
• Said counter is advantageously provided with a digit display.
• said register contains all the characters which are used to mark one single object.
• the number of positions in the shift-register 11 can be extended and it is of course possible to choose a counter 18 with a greater counting capacity.
• the information stored in the shift-register is now transferred via six output conductors, which are designated in common by reference numeral 19 to a greater store 20, which is designed in a similar way as the register 1 l, but has a greater storing capacity.
• This store 20 has preferably a capacity great enough to store a number of characters which will be used in order to mark at least 5-10 objects, depending on how many characters that are used to mark a single object.
• the transfer of information from the shift register 11 to the subsequent store 20 is accomplished by forwarding to all the clock-input terminals of the flip-flops, which constitute these two shift-registers, a clockimpulse which is delivered from a clock-impulse generator 21, which can be actuated by means of a switch 22 in a well known manner.
• a clockimpulse which is delivered from a clock-impulse generator 21, which can be actuated by means of a switch 22 in a well known manner.
• delivery of 10 clockimpulses is sufficient to transfer the entire information stored in the shift-register to the store 20, which also is built up as a shift-register in a similar way as the first mentioned shift-register. it should be recognized that the read-in and the read-out of information is performed in parallel.
• the six output terminals 23 of the store 20 is connected to a third read-only memory 24.
• This memory is further provided with three input terminals 25, and seven output terminals 26, and is of a standard type, well known to those skilled in the art. It is also called a character generator. This unit delivers at its output tenninals 26, 7-bit marking data when an address comprising 6+3 bits is present on the input terminals which is designated in common by the reference numerals 23 and 25.
• the output terminals 26 are connected to a time-unit 27 which in turn, via conductors 28, is connected to a group of amplifiers 29, the output terminals 30 of which are connected individually to a solenoid valve in the spray-guns which form the marking mechanism 2.
• the time-unit 27 includes seven monostable multivibrators, which have to determine the length of a timeinterval in which the solenoid valves have to be actuated, while the amplifiers 29 of course will amplify the amplitudes of these impulses to the necessary level.
• the pulse duration for said monostable multivibrators 27 is so short that a particular circuitry to coordinate the possible displacement of this marking mechanism with the movement of the sheet which is being marked, is rendered superflous.
• the marking mechanism is fixedly mounted on the frame of the conveyor, and the marking procedure takes place while the objects are moved forwardly by the conveyor. This has no influence on the legibility of the applied characters.
• the input terminals of the read-only memory 24 are connected to a counter 31 which is so disposed that it sets, in a 3-bit code, which of the steps 1-5 that are actual at the present moment during the sequential elaboration of that character which is represented by the six logical conditions on the input terminals 23.
• the counter 31 further delivers, via a conductor 32, clock-impulses to the shift-register 20.
• the counter receives counting impulses from a timing-mechanism 33, and may be started by means of a sensing device 34 which delivers to the counter 31 a starting impulse via a conductor 35 by detecting of an object 5 which is to be marked.
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the apparatus for marking sheet-shaped blanks according to the invention disposed in conjunction with the conveyor and painting plant 3,4 in which the sheet-shaped blank 5 is moved in a direction indicated by an arrow 40 by means of conveyor rollers 36 which are carried by shafts 37, supported in the girders 38 of the plant and in driven connection with each other for example through chain drive and chain wheels (not shown).
• the sensing means 34 senses the front edge 41 of the sheetshaped blanks to determine the moment of introduction of the blank into the active field of the marking mechanism and thereby starting the counting cycle of a counter 31, the counting speed of which is determined by the timing-unit 33.
• This timing-unit 33 includes, as indicated in FIG.
• the number of spray-guns has been reduced to five, thus saving yet another two spray-guns.
• a electrically controlled apparatus for marking an object travelling at a speed which may vary along a conveyer having a selectively operable marking mechanism for marking the object with a code consisting of selected characters such as letters and/or figures, code selection means connected to a storage register through read-in means for storing code characters selected by said selection means and read-out means for reading out the stored characters from said storage register and for supplying to the marking mechanism actuating signals corresponding to said characters, first sensing means for sensing the presence of said object along said conveyer, second sensing means for sensing the speed of travel of said object along said conveyer, and control means connected to said first and second sensing means and to said storage register, said control means being responsive to the presence of said object along said conveyer as detected by said first sensing means for causing said actuating signals to begin to read out from said storage register, said control means further including means for controlling the rate of readout of said actuating signals in accordance with the variable speed of travel of the object along the conveyer as sensed by second sensing means so that said characters
• control means comprises a counter having clock pulses inputted thereto, the rate of occurrence of said clock pulses being controlled by said second sensing means in accordance with the detected speed of travel of said object.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Printing Methods (AREA)
• Details Or Accessories Of Spraying Plant Or Apparatus (AREA)

Abstract

Description

Claims (5)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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ID=27255323

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Cited By (15)

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Citations (8)

• 1970
  • 1970-02-25 GB GB917570A patent/GB1305965A/en not_active Expired
• 1972
  • 1972-12-11 US US313723A patent/US3892174A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (8)

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