JPH0497881A - Marking apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To certainly apply marking to an object to be searched with high reliability by taking the image of the character or mark marked on the object to be searched by a marking apparatus and applying image processing thereto to confirm the character or mark and performing re-marking by a correction marking apparatus in the case of inferior quality. CONSTITUTION:In a marking apparatus printing a character or mark such as a manufacturing code or date on an article, an operation apparatus 4 selects the printing character to a marking object, for example, a hot coil 10 and a marker 3 prints the character or mark on the surface of the hot coil on the basis of the printing command signal from the operation apparatus 4 according to an ink jet system. A camera 5 takes the image of the printed character and an image processing circuit 6 extracts a character from the taken image to confirm the same. When the quality of the printed character is not predetermined one, a correction command is issued. A marker 7 again carries out printing on the basis of the command. A host computer 1 controls respective machineries inclusive of a conveyor line 2 and holds a printing character code.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention is applicable to the manufacturing code, date of manufacture, etc.
This invention relates to a marking device that prints symbols and the like.

[Prior Art] Many devices for marking articles, including automatic marking devices, have been put into practical use in the manufacturing industry in general.

In the case of conventional marking devices, there is a device that objectively and quantitatively evaluates whether the marked characters are in accordance with the work instructions and adjusts the marking device, as well as markings for correction. No equipment exists.

Even when used as an automated machine, the reality is that it requires regular monitoring and confirmation by workers, and marking corrections are performed manually.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventionally, marking of searched objects was done by humans constantly monitoring and checking the marking status, and if the markings were not accurate, corrections were made manually. The marking quality was uncertain and unreliable, and the marking work required simple visual inspection.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and provides a reliable and reliable marking device.
The purpose is to reduce the workload.

[Means to solve the problem]

As described above, the above purpose is to install a camera that photographs the marked characters, symbols, etc. after the marking device on the searched object, and to install an image processing circuit that recognizes the marked characters, symbols, etc., and to record the marking results. This is accomplished by providing a corrective marking device that is activated in the event of a defective crystalloid.

[Effect]

On the conveyance path of the object to be searched, the first marking device writes character codes such as the product number and date of manufacture on the object based on the work instructions sent from the computer, and the camera records the characters and symbols. A photograph is taken, the signal is sent to an image processing device, character recognition is performed, it is compared with the character code sent from the higher level, character quality is inspected, and the characters and symbols marked on the search object are recognized. If the quality of the marks is poor or there are omissions, the computer sends correction instructions to the second marking device, and the corrections are made. A second camera photographs the corrected characters, symbols, etc., and the image processing device recognizes the characters and characters to check the quality and entered information.

If the information is still not written correctly, the information will be transmitted to the alarm and the alarm will be activated.

[Example] The present invention will be explained below by giving examples. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the marking device of the present invention, and is for explaining the case where hot coils are marked in a steel manufacturing process.

The marking device of this embodiment is a calculation device 4 that selects characters to be printed on a hot coil 10 that is a marking target object.
An inkjet marker 3 prints two characters/symbols on the marking object 6 based on a printing command signal from the arithmetic unit 4, and the printed characters formed by the marker 3 on the surface of the hot coil 10 as the printing object. From the camera 5 that takes pictures, the image processing circuit 6 that extracts characters from the video taken by the camera 5 and performs character recognition, and the re-marking marker 7 that prints again if the quality of the printed characters is not a predetermined quality. Become.

Next, the operation of marking the hot coil 10 conveyed on the belt conveyor using the marking device of this embodiment will be described.

The computer 1 supervises the production management of the conveyor line 2, etc., and hot coils 10 are conveyed onto the conveyor 2 one after another based on instructions from the computer 10. When the coil 10 is conveyed to the printing section on the conveyor 2, the arithmetic unit 4 selects a printing character based on a command from the computer 1, and sends a character code signal and a printing command signal to the marker 3.

The marker 3 causes the hot coil 10 to eject ink at a conveyance position and timing according to the printed character pattern based on a printing command from the computing device W4, and prints characters and letters corresponding to the character code from the computing device 4 on the surface of the hot coil IO. Form a symbol pattern.

The hot coil 10 with characters printed with the marker 3 is conveyed to the imaging section by the conveyor 2.

In the imaging section, a camera 5 photographs the surface of the hot coil 10, and a video signal is sent to an image processing circuit 6. The image processing circuit 6 extracts characters from the photographed image and performs character recognition using a character recognition method such as a pattern matching method or a composite similarity modified weighted direction index histogram method. The recognition result and the print quality judgment result are sent to the computing device 4.
sent to. The arithmetic unit 4 compares the recognition results and character quality determination results from the image processing circuit 6 with the character code for the marker 3, and if they match, it determines that the quality of the printed characters is correct; In this case, it is determined that the character quality does not meet the standards. If it is determined that the character quality does not meet the standards, the arithmetic unit 4 sends the same character code as that supplied to the marker 3 to the correction marker 7 and a correction print command signal. When the correction marker 7 receives the correction printing command signal, it confirms that the hot coil 10 has been conveyed to the re-marking section by the conveyor 2, and prints overlapping the character position printed by the marker 7. At this time, in order to make it clear that corrective marking has been performed, the ink color of marker 3 is made different from the ink color of marker 3 in this embodiment.

As a result of the above, it is possible to always print characters of correct quality.

In the above embodiment, only one camera was provided to perform re-marking, but as shown in Fig. 2, a camera 8 is also arranged after the marker 7 to photograph the re-marked characters and process the video signal into an image. The re-marked characters are sent to the circuit 6 for character recognition, and the recognition result and the marker 3 are sent to the arithmetic unit 4.
By comparing the character codes, if the quality does not reach a certain level even after re-marking, the arithmetic unit 4 sends a signal to the alarm 9, an alarm is generated, and the marking is performed again manually. Also good.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the belt conveyor 2 is in continuous operation, and the printing section, the imaging section, and the re-marking section are provided at different positions, but as shown in FIG. 3, the markers 3 and 7 are placed at the same position. It is also possible to temporarily stop the conveyor 2 that conveys the hot coil 1O at the printing position, and send the character code number and print command number to the marker 3 based on the command from the computer 1. The marker 3 prints on the surface of the hot coil 10 based on a printing command from the arithmetic unit 4, and the hot coil 10 is imaged by the camera 5 while stopped at the printing position, and the video signal is sent to the image processing circuit 6.
The character quality is determined from the sent and captured image, and the arithmetic unit 4 compares the recognition result from the image processing circuit 6 with the character code for the marker 3. If the two do not match, the character quality standard is determined. decide that it is not satisfactory. Marker 3 again
A corrected print command signal may be sent to the same character code together with the same character code to perform reprinting.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the ink color of marker 3 was made different from the ink color of marker 3, but in order to make the re-marking clear, first, with marker 7, mark the characters written with marker 3. A mark (horizontal line,
An X mark, etc.) may be printed, and the marker 7 may be used to mark again at a position different from the character written with the marker 3. Further, in this embodiment, a hot coil was used as the object to be marked, but the product to be marked is not limited, and any product may be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the marking device of the present invention performs automatic marking in the work of marking items on a conveyance line, etc., and is equipped with a marking device for correction, thereby eliminating the need for regular marking by workers. Since there is no need to check or monitor the situation, it is possible to provide a reliable and highly reliable automatic marking device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 are explanatory diagrams showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a marking device according to the present invention. ...Computer, ...Conveyor line...Marking device...Arithmetic device...Camera 6...Image processing unit 7...Correction marking 8...Second camera 9...Alarm Machine 10: Hot coil applicant Minoru Aoyagi, patent attorney representing Nippon Steel Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A marking device that marks commanded characters, symbols, etc. on the surface of a search object; A camera that photographs the marked characters, symbols, etc.; Characters and symbols photographed by the camera; an image processing device that recognizes such information; a computer that holds information such as character codes to be printed on the searched object; a calculation device that determines whether the printed characters are good or bad and issues a correction command if the marking quality is poor; a marking A marking device characterized by comprising a correction marking device for re-marking when the quality is poor. 2. In claim 1, a second camera that photographs the characters, symbols, etc. printed by the correction marking device; an image processing device that recognizes the characters, symbols, etc. marked on the search object; A computing device that determines the quality of characters, symbols, etc. that have been searched and sends a signal to an alarm if the corrections to the searched object are not made accurately; A marking device characterized by being equipped with an alarm that notifies the user.