IT201800003977A1 - METHOD OF MARKING - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION OF INDUSTRIAL INVENTION.

DESCRIPTION of industrial invention having as title: Marking method.

FIELD OF TECHNIQUE.

The present industrial invention concerns the technical field of metal marking and in particular the marking, by turning, of a coding of information useful for the identification and traceability of shafts and gear wheels used in propulsion and transmission of motion, as well as the identification and traceability of the metals used for their construction.

CURRENT STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE.

To date, various methods and techniques have been claimed for marking coded information on the surfaces of metal components having circumferential shapes.

US 4822987, in: "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING FUEL ROD IDENTIFICATION TO PERMIT TRACEABILITY DURING MANUFACTURE AND USE," the same with the laser marking technique by removing the material by localized melting or vaporization on the circumferential surface of said tubes.

The detection of the information contained in the barcode marked with this laser marking technique for engraving takes place by exploiting the optical reflection of the marked surfaces.

Again, US20070278192, in: “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LASER-ENCODING INFORMATION ON HIDRAULIC RODS”, claims the marking of a coding of information, similar to a barcode, around the circumferential surfaces of hydraulic rods.

With this method the marking technique by laser annealing of the surface of said hydraulic rods is used.

Finally, EP0817108, in: "METHOD FOR PRINTING BAR-CODES", also claims the marking of an information coding, such as a barcode, using the laser annealing marking technique of the circumferential surface of fuel lining pipes nuclear.

With said two laser annealing marking techniques on the surfaces of components having circumferential shapes claimed by: US20070278192 and by EP0817108, the energy of the laser beam heats the surface of the components to temperatures that cause thermal degradation of the material leaving an oxide layer and by modifying the reflection characteristics of the heated surface portion.

The detection of the information contained in said coding marked with said laser annealing technique takes place by exploiting the optical reflection caused by the oxide layers which are formed following the heating temperatures of the surface layer.

It is clear that the components on which the coding claimed by the aforementioned laser marking methods is marked undergo a different transformation process from that to which shafts and gear wheels are subjected such as those covered by this method.

In fact, the transformation of the components claimed by US4822987, US20070278192 and EP0817108, starts from slabs of raw material that will be melted at high temperatures and subsequently laminated making components already finished and ready for use where to mark coded information, such as for example , those claimed by U4822987, such as the serial number of the nuclear fuel rod and the quality of the contents loaded within it.

Said codified information, however, is not marked along the transformation process of said tubes, but along the assembly process of the same, ie at their end user.

In fact, to confirm this, US4822987 claims two phases of the process in which the marking of the information takes place.

The first phase is performed before the rod is loaded with nuclear fuel, while the second phase occurs after the rod has been loaded with nuclear fuel.

It is evident that neither US4822987, nor US20070278192 and even less EP0817108 claim and will never be able to claim the marking of information regarding the characteristics of said pipes and rods used by them, such as those of the metals used for their construction, as they they are not marked within the production process where their transformation takes place, but along the process where their assembly takes place.

Precisely for this reason, the aforementioned laser marking techniques represent a limit for marking said information encodings on the surfaces of said shafts and toothed wheels, as they undergo a different transformation process than that to which the components claimed by said laser marking techniques.

In fact, said shafts and toothed wheels during the various operations of their transformation cycle which will transform them from raw components into finished components are also subjected to a heat treatment cycle.

Therefore, if said information were marked using the aforementioned laser marking methods before they are subjected to the heat treatment cycle, the same phases of carbonitriding, cementation, quenching, tempering and shot blasting, typical of said heat treatment cycle, would cover both the optical reflections produced by the surface incisions made with the laser marking technique for engraving and the oxide layers caused by the marking technique by laser annealing making their detection impossible.

On the other hand, if the marking of coded information marked with the aforementioned methods were performed after said shafts and gear wheels have been subjected to said heat treatment cycle, the traceability of the metals would be invalidated as the information would be marked on components. semi-finished products in points of the production process downstream from the one where the first operation of their transformation from raw components into turned components is performed, i.e. turning.

In addition to the product and process limits described above, the safety of said laser marking stations must also be taken into account, including the costs of its management.

The laser equipment used for marking metals produces intense electromagnetic radiation, as also described by US20070278192.

Said electromagnetic radiation can present biological and collateral risks.

These risks depend on some factors, such as: the wavelength of the emitted radiation, the energy power of the beam and the duration of its emission.

The eye is the most vulnerable organ and any type of damage due to the reflection of the laser beam on the cornea and retina must be prevented.

If the laser power is high enough, exposure to the beam can also cause skin damage.

Precisely for this reason, laser safety is covered by the standard (EN) 60825 which requires their classification according to the characteristics of the beam.

This regulation is essential for all laser users and for manufacturers of objects using laser sources.

Therefore, by the users of said laser marking stations, precautions must be taken, such as: the laser should only be used in a controlled area and by qualified personnel, at the entrances of the areas where said laser marking stations are located, signals should be posted laser warning, the eye must be protected if there is any possibility of direct observation or a specular reflection of the beam, the laser beam should be terminated at the end of its useful path to ensure that the danger of the beam is minimized .

One of the collateral dangers, on the other hand, concerns the dispersion of the vaporized material into the air, of noxious fumes and vapors, for which adequate suction systems must be provided.

Further process limits relating to the aforementioned laser marking techniques of coded information if they were applied to identify and trace, as mentioned, the metals used for the construction of said shafts and toothed wheels, concern the allocation of said marking stations within the production processes where their transformation takes place which always sees them downstream of the first phase of the same, that is, after the turning operation, when the semi-finished components are already anonymously present along the processing line.

This limit, even more accentuated within automated production processes having several processing lines for differentiated product mixes, each of which comprising several variants of the same and which use several types of raw materials with different melt castings, multiple production batches for each of them and several suppliers of the same, making it impossible to immediately and simultaneously mark on each type of component the information concerning the metals used for their construction, information that is exclusive only for that type of product and at that particular moment.

Furthermore, a failure of said laser marking stations causes not only the production stop of the process downstream of the same, but also an upstream line block which can only be avoided with an inter-operational manual storage of semi-finished products.

The resulting activity undermines even more the traceability process which is already uncertain in itself, as the unloading and subsequent reloading of said semi-finished products in line generates a logistical confusion such as to infect the little traceability that the current known techniques of sector offer.

Finally, another limitation is given by their specialization, in fact each new product, or any significant variation of the marking position on the component surfaces involves the use of dedicated marking stations each with its own specificities, as claimed in US4822987 and in US20070278192 and as described in EP0817108.

Differently from what is claimed by the aforementioned known laser marking methods of coded information, US20160042261 claims in its "STRUCTURALLY ENCODED COMPONENT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING STRUCTURALLY ENCODED COMPONENT" a generic method with which to mark a coding of information on the surfaces of various components, without however making it explicit .

Unfortunately, in all the claims of US20160042261 there is no written evidence of the type of processing method performed to which the above claim can be referred, except for a generic printing method with which to mark voids on the surfaces of said components.

Now, the technique is also expressed through the use of precise technical terms and the term printing in the known technique normally identifies a printing marking that is poorly combined with a turning process with which to engrave hard metal surfaces.

However, US20160042261 discloses, but does not claim, that said barcode-like information encoding can be marked around the circumferential surface of a rod also by known manufacturing methods such as the use of a lathe, by turning around its surface. a series of notches.

Here too, the use of appropriate technical terms would have been useful, such as: turned engravings or turned grooves instead of printing notches and voids.

Now, even if we did not want to take into consideration what US20160042261 actually claims, but considered only and exclusively a sentence of its description, it is however evident to the known art that a person skilled in the art is able to turn simple notches around the circumferential surfaces of finished components ready for use as rods, but as previously written, US20160042261 does not explicitly nor does it claim a method that brings novelty to the known technique as taking a rod or other finished component and turning around its circumferential surface of the simple notches it is established that this does not present any inventive step.

Contrary to the present invention in which a new turning method is explicitly claimed with which to turn a coding of information around the circumferential surfaces of said shafts and toothed wheels and to do it simultaneously at the same stage of their turning thanks to the programming of a machine program turning machine for CNC lathe which combines, as never before, turning instructions and coding information data, conditioning them in such a way as to simultaneously integrate, in a single turning cycle, the productivity and traceability processes in a way that accurate, repeatable, fast and reliable.

Furthermore, the turning method described in a single sentence by US20160042261, but in any case not claimed by the same, is not able to turn an information encoding simultaneously to the same transformation phase of said rod since its method suffers from the same limitations of product and process of US4822987, US20070278192, EP0817108, described above.

Therefore, in US20160042261 the scope of protection claimed is not clear because, contrary to what is explicitly claimed in US4822987, US20070278192 and EP0817108, the same does not claim any turning method or machine that can suggest a turning process with which turning a coding of information, claims, these, necessary to place its invention within a well-defined and circumscribed sector in order to be able to evaluate its actual inventive activity and the innovative scope of its method of turning coded information that could invalidate the inventive step of the present invention.

Finally, even the methods of detecting marked information claimed by US20160042261 are not suitable for detecting and decoding marked information with a mechanical turning process.

In fact, X-rays, fluoroscopy, computational tomography, electromagnetic radiation, ultrasound, positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance images are normally used in the medical field, while ultrasound also in the industrial field, but for non-destructive surveys aimed at research and '' identification of defects in the structure of the materials.

Contrary to the invention in which said detection and decoding takes place with optical industrial vision instruments known for non-contact measurements normally used in the production processes of the metalworking industries.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.

Said product and process limits set forth above are overcome with the present method by returning, simultaneously to the same turning phase of said shafts and toothed wheels used in propulsion motion and motion transmission, a coding of information.

Said coding comprises a plurality of engravings turned 360 ° around their circumferential surfaces, each of which interspersed with a space.

Said incisions and said spaces have variable dimensions.

An alphanumeric code according to a predetermined information coding model is associated with each variable dimension of each of said turned engravings and with each variable dimension of each of said spaces between them.

Said coding of information identifies and traces said shafts and said toothed wheels as well as the information relating to the raw materials used for their construction, such as those of their casting, information useful for their identification and traceability during and after the various phases of processing, assembly, logistics and use that from the raw state will transform them into finished components.

This involves programming a turning machine program, for CNC lathe, with which a plurality of instructions useful for turning the alternating succession of said coded engravings and said coded spaces are programmed.

Thereafter, each of said instructions is labeled with an alphanumeric code corresponding to the alphanumeric code previously associated with each of said engravings to be turned and each of said spaces to be inserted thereto.

Subsequently, conditional program jumps are programmed to said labeled instructions, conditioning them to logical conditions whose values are constituted by alphanumeric codes corresponding to the identifying ones of said labeled instructions which in turn correspond to those previously associated to said engravings and to said spaces. .

Furthermore, settable parameters are programmed where to enter the alphanumeric codes of the conditions of said logic conditions.

Therefore, according to the alphanumeric codes entered within the aforementioned settable parameters, said turning program will perform the conditioned program jumps to the instructions labeled with the alphanumeric codes corresponding to those entered in said settable parameters, returning said alternating succession of coded engravings and spaces coded in accordance with the previously set information coding model.

Said turning machine program is loaded into the turning machine program already used by said CNC lathe to turn said shafts and toothed wheels.

So that, with a single turning cycle, the blanks are turned and at the same time said 360 ° information encoding around their circumferential turned surfaces is turned.

Said coded information, turned around the circumferential surfaces of said shafts and toothed wheels, is detected and decoded by means of optical industrial vision instruments for non-contact measurements arranged along the production process.

These phases will be described in detail in the course of the following: "DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE OF PREFERRED REALIZATION" of said marking method, by turning, according to the invention.

Said information coding is turned 360 ° around the circumferential surfaces of said shafts and toothed wheels, therefore it is uniformly visible in the same way in every point of their circumference in such a way that it can be easily detected with said optical industrial vision instruments.

The main objective of the present invention is to ensure the immediate identification and traceability of said shafts and toothed wheels as well as that of the metals used for their construction already during the first operation of the production process of their transformation, i.e. turning, so to increase the level of product quality and the efficiency of the processes of the entire production chain in the metalworking sector, overcoming the limits of the current known marking methods.

There are many advantages that the invention brings to the known art.

The first, in order of importance, is to be able to turn, simultaneously with the same turning phase of said shafts and toothed wheels, a coding of information around their circumferential surfaces and to do so during the first operation of the production process of their transformation, where the same from the raw state are transformed into turned components ready for the other phases of the production process.

Therefore, thanks to the invention, by carrying out a single turning cycle, said shafts and toothed wheels are turned and simultaneously coded so as to be immediately identified and traced.

Still, a further advantage that this invention brings is the certainty of being able to accurately assess the value of the rejects and stocks of semi-finished and finished products still present in the company at the end of the year.

In fact, thanks to the invention, since it is possible to turn around the surfaces of said shafts and toothed wheels the information concerning the metals used, including the dates of introduction of said raw materials in the production cycle, it is possible to trace back precisely the date of their purchase by evaluating their actual economic value including the purchase cost and the manufacturing cost at the time when the inventory count is carried out.

Another advantage, deriving from the invention, is that of being able to monitor the quality of the supplies of the steel industries after they have been transformed, being able to identify their suppliers at any time.

Finally, the further advantage that this invention offers to the metalworking industries is that of being practically at no cost, since the marking, by turning, of said information coding is performed with the use of the same CNC lathes used in the normal process of production of said shafts and toothed wheels and with almost unchanged machine times.

The method, according to the invention, is however easily and validly applicable also in the software programming of new CNC lathes and for the construction of new types of components without having to purchase dedicated marking stations.

Therefore, thanks to the method, according to the invention, the metalworking industries will not be forced to equip themselves with marking stations, thus achieving a considerable saving in costs that can be found in the substantial reduction of the technological and management costs currently incurred to trace, albeit with effects limited, their products.

Said marking method, by turning, claimed in the present invention, respects the requirements of novelty and inventiveness, resulting new and not included in the state of the art so far made accessible to the public, differentiating itself in a qualified way from what is contained in the same, overcoming its normal prospects for evolution. as some operations that are part of a known manufacturing process and reproducible by any person skilled in the art, and a person skilled in the art means a person possessing particular skills of the known art similar to the product created, have been combined in a way new and with new ones like never before.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.

TABLE 1, Fig. 1, illustrates the upper face of a finished turning gear (10) marked with an information coding (14) turned 360 ° around (11) its circumference, comprising an alternating succession of coded engravings ( 12) and coded spaces (13).

TABLE 1, Fig. 2, illustrates the lower face (20) of the same finished turning gear illustrated in Fig. 1, marked with an information code (24) turned 360 ° around (21) its circumference, including a alternating succession of coded engravings (22) and coded spaces (23).

TABLE 2, Fig. 3, illustrates the side view of a finished turning drive shaft (30) marked with an information coding (34) turned 360 ° around (31) its circumference, comprising an alternating succession of coded engravings (32) and coded spaces (33).

DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT.

The aims and advantages of the present method of marking, by means of turning, according to the invention, will become clear from the following description of a preferred but not exclusive type of embodiment, illustrated purely by way of non-limiting example, carried out on the upper face of a gear ( 10), as illustrated in TABLE 1, Fig. 1.

In accordance with the aforementioned attached table, the references of which are provided in bold type in round brackets, said marking method, by turning, includes the programming of a CNC lathe turning machine program with which to turn, simultaneously with the same turning phase of said gear (10) employed within a gearbox, a 360 ° information encoding (14) around (11) the turned circumferential surface of its upper face (10).

Said coding of information (14) includes a plurality of incisions (12) of variable dimensions turned 360 ° around 11 the circumferential surface of said gear 10, intercalating each of the same 12 with a space (13) also of variable dimensions.

To each variable dimension of each of said incisions to be turned (12) and to each variable dimension of each of said spaces (13) an alphanumeric code is associated according to a predetermined information coding model.

Said coding (14) will identify and trace said gear (10), as well as the information regarding the raw material used for its construction.

For this preferred but non-limiting embodiment, the programming of said turning machine program includes the programming of a plurality of instructions useful for turning each variable dimension of each of said engravings (12) to be turned and of each variable dimension of each of said spaces (13) to be interspersed with each of them (12).

After which each of said instructions will be labeled with an alphanumeric code corresponding to the alphanumeric code previously associated with each of said engravings (12) to be turned and with each of said spaces (13).

Subsequently, conditional program jumps will be programmed to said labeled instructions, conditioning them to logical conditions whose values consist of alphanumeric codes corresponding to the alphanumeric identification codes of said labeled instructions corresponding in turn to those previously associated with said engravings (12) and to said spaces (13).

Furthermore, settable parameters will be programmed where to enter the alphanumeric codes of the conditions of said logic conditions.

Therefore, according to the alphanumeric codes that will be entered within the aforementioned settable parameters, said turning program will perform the conditioned program jumps to the instructions labeled with the alphanumeric codes coinciding with those entered in said settable parameters, returning the alternating succession of said incisions coded (12) and said coded spaces (13) in accordance with the previously set information coding model.

In this preferred, non-limiting embodiment, the programming construct ISO: CASE-OF will be used for programming said conditional program jumps to said marked instructions.

For example: the syntax that will be used is the following:

CASE [logical condition] OF [val…] GOTOF [label…].

Therefore: if the condition of the logical condition contained within the CASE and OF construct assumes, for example, the [value n], a GOTOF jump is performed to the program instruction labeled as [label n].

Therefore, according to the alphanumeric codes that will be entered within the aforementioned settable parameters, said turning program will perform the conditioned program jumps to the instructions labeled with the alphanumeric codes coinciding with those entered in said settable parameters, returning the alternating succession of coded engravings (12) and coded spaces (13) in accordance with the previously set information coding pattern.

Below, a non-limiting example of the first two conditions for the logical conditions to be entered in the first two settable work parameters corresponding to the first two alphanumeric codes, for example 3 and 5, part components will be briefly described, purely by way of example. of the information (14) to be turned 360 ° around (11) the circumferential surfaces of said gears (10), which will be followed by two conditional program jumps to the two instructions labeled with codes 3 and 5 to turn the first coded engraving (12 ) by interleaving it with a coded space (13) which will separate the second incision that will follow, in accordance with the set coding model.

To allow the reader to understand the description of the following example, square brackets have been inserted inside which are contained the program instructions and curly brackets which contain brief explanations.

During the finishing phase of the turning of the gears (10) involved in the turning of said information coding (14) and after the X and Z axes have positioned themselves at the starting point of the turning of the same (14):

[CASE parameter n1] [OF val 3] {if the value of the condition entered in the first parameter assumes the value 3} [GOTOF label 3] {conditioned jump to the instruction with label 3 corresponding to the turning of the first coded engraving (12) associated with the first alphanumeric code whose geometric coordinates of movement refer to the [X ...] [Z ...] to turn said incision (12)}, then [G01] {linear interpolation command} [X ...] {diameter value referred to the its (12) depth} [Z ...] {final height value of the width of its (12) internal profile}, then [G01] {linear interpolation command} [X ...] {diametrical value for returning to the initial surface height} [Z ..] {final dimension value of the width of said incision (12)}, then [CASE parameter n2] [OF 5] {if the value of the condition entered in the second parameter assumes the value 5} [GOTOF label 5] { conditional jump to instruction with label 5 corresponding to the size of the spa uncle (13) which intersperses the first incision (12) from the next and which is associated with the second alphanumeric code whose movement instructions refer to the [X ...] [Z ...] dimensions for its (13) execution}, therefore [ G00] {rapid advance command} [X…] {surface diameter value} [Z…] {final height value of said space (13)}.

The program will continue with the same modus operandi until the end of the turning of said coding (14) around (11) to the circumferential surfaces of said gears (10).

Subsequently, said turning machine program of said coding 14 is loaded into the turning machine program already used by said CNC lathe for turning said gears (10).

Therefore, with a single turning cycle the raw gears are turned and simultaneously the alternating succession of coded engravings (12) and coded spaces (13) around (11) their circumferential turned surfaces (10) are turned.

Then, you enter the new turning program of said gears (10) and of said information coding (14) and positioning yourself in the part of the program dedicated to its turning (14) you enter the sequence of alphanumeric codes within the settable parameters identifying the information to be encoded according to said predetermined coding model, such as values of the conditions for the logical conditions for the execution of the conditioned program jumps to the turning instructions whose labels are associated with the corresponding alphanumeric codes of said engravings (12) encoded by turning and said coded spaces (13) to be inserted with them.

Once the data has been entered into said settable parameters and their confirmation, the machining cycle is carried out, returning the blank and simultaneously returning the information encoding (14) at 360 ° around (11) its ( 10) circumferential surface turned, performing a single turning operation, according to the method of the invention.

At the end of the turning cycle, the turned and coded gear (10) is removed and the coding (14) turned 360 ° around (11) its (10) turned circumferential surface is scanned using an optical machine vision instrument for non-contact measurements, which measures the depths and widths of the turned incisions (12), as well as the widths of the spaces (13) interspersed with them and decodes the meaning of the conventionally associated information by means of the decoding software whose instructions have been programmed in accordance with the previously set information coding pattern.

In another preferred, but not limiting, embodiment of said marking method, an information coding (24) has been turned 360 ° around (21) the turned circumferential surface of the lower face (20) of said gear, as well as illustrated in TABLE 1, Fig. 2.

Said turned coding (24) includes a plurality of coded engravings (22), turned 360 ° around (21) its surface, each of which interspersed with a space (23) also coded.

Still, in another preferred, but not limiting, embodiment of said marking method, an information coding (34) has been turned 360 ° around (31) the turned circumferential surface of a drive shaft (30) used at the inside of a gearbox, as illustrated in TABLE 2, Fig. 3.

Said turned coding (34) includes a plurality of coded engravings (32), turned 360 ° around (31) its surface, each of which interspersed with a space (33) also coded.

The method, according to the invention, is susceptible of modifications and variations all falling within the inventive concept expressed in the attached claims.

The invention has been described with particular reference to the attached tables, used to improve the intelligence of the invention and do not constitute any limitation to the scope of protection claimed.

Claims (11)

CLAIMS. CLAIMS of industrial invention entitled: Marking method. 1. Marking method for the identification and traceability of shafts and gear wheels used in propulsion and motion transmission, as well as for the identification and traceability of the metals used for their construction, characterized by a turning process with to turn a coding of information, comprising a plurality of coded engravings, turned 360 ° around their circumferential surfaces, each of which interspersed with a space which is also coded. Said method includes the programming of a turning machine program, for CNC lathe, containing a plurality of instructions useful for executing the turning cycle of the alternating succession of said coded engravings and said coded spaces, loading the same inside the turning machine program already used by said CNC lathe to turn said shafts and toothed wheels, so that with a single turning cycle the blanks are turned and at the same time said coding of information at 360 ° around their circumferential turned surfaces is turned. 2. A marking method according to claim 1, wherein said turned engravings and said spaces interleaved therewith are of variable dimensions. 3. Marking method according to claim 2, in which an alphanumeric code according to a predetermined coding model is associated with each variable dimension of said incisions to be turned and with each variable dimension of said spaces to be inserted therewith. 4. A marking method according to claim 1, wherein the alternating succession of said coded engravings and said coded spaces identifies the information contained in said turned coding. 5. Marking method according to claim 1, in which said turning instructions of said program are labeled with alphanumeric codes coinciding with those associated with the corresponding engravings to be turned and with the corresponding spaces to be inserted thereto. 6. A marking method according to claim 5, wherein said turning machine program includes a plurality of conditioned program jumps to said turning instructions labeled with said alphanumeric codes. 7. Marking method according to claim 6, wherein said conditioned program jumps to said labeled turning instructions are conditioned by a plurality of logical conditions whose values consist of alphanumeric codes corresponding to those of the labels of said turning instructions . 8. Marking method according to claim 7, wherein said turning machine program includes a plurality of settable parameters within which to enter the alphanumeric codes constituting the values of said logical conditions. 9. Marking method according to claims 7 and 8, in which said logical conditions include the following conditions: according to the alphanumeric codes entered within said settable parameters, said turning program will perform conditioned program jumps to the labeled turning instructions with the alphanumeric codes corresponding to those entered within said settable parameters. 10. Marking method according to claim 9, in which the alternating succession of coded engravings and coded spaces corresponding to the coded information to be marked will be turned according to the alphanumeric codes entered within said settable parameters. 11. Marking method according to claim 10, wherein the detection and decoding of said alternating succession of said coded engravings and said coded spaces is performed with optical machine vision instruments for non-contact measurements.