JPH07270142A - Method and apparatus for electronic rubbing of engraved character - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method and an apparatus for electronic rubbing of engraved characters by automating the rubbing of engraved characters for neat and accurate copying to facilitate the management of a rubbed copy and moreover to eliminate a preservation space. CONSTITUTION:A laser light beam is applied to a character engraved on a matter to detect the irregularity of the character. A detection signal is computed with a CPU to recognize the shape of the engraved character and a rubbed copy data is generated based on a shape recognition signal. At the same time, the rubbed copy data is stored and managed. At least the following is contained: An engraved character detecting means is provided with a laser scanning sensor, an electronic rubbed copy generation means to input a detection signal of the engraved character detecting means and an electronic rubbed copy storing/ managing means to input an output signal of the electronic rubbed copy generation means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for electronically embossing an embossed character and its apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In automobile manufacturing plants, car body numbers stamped on a frame or the like are collected and retrieved. This Takumoto collection has been done by hand manually. For example, the procedure is to clean the engraved part with thinner etc., lightly apply Komeitan (red meat) with a sponge etc., and apply the Takumoto paper to the engraved part. Then, while pressing it with a spatula, rub it evenly on the paper, transfer the body number in a blank state, peel off the Takumoto paper, and wipe off the Komeitan remaining in the engraved part cleanly. The transferred Takumoto is affixed to a special storage sheet in the order of production and stored for a predetermined period.

[0003]

According to the above-mentioned conventional Takumoto collection, since the working time in the production line is very short, there are problems such as uneven application of Komeitan and bleeding or fading of Takumoto paper. Therefore, there is a problem in that the accurate tapping cannot be performed, and the tapping operation requires skill so that the quality of each operator tends to vary.
In addition, there is a problem that Komeitan attaches to hands and work clothes and contaminates the surrounding area and Takumoto. If the wiping of Komeitan is incomplete, it may cause the mounted parts and the vehicle body to be soiled in the subsequent process. Furthermore, Takumoto must be stored carefully so as not to cause discoloration or discoloration, and a storage space for the Takumoto is required, which results in a large amount of cost and a negative manufacturing cost. The present invention has been made to solve such conventional problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an embossed character electronic traced book collecting method and its device, which automates the traced book collection so that it can be taken cleanly and accurately, and is easy to manage and does not require a storage space.

[0004]

As means for technically solving this problem, the present invention applies a laser beam to a character engraved on an object to be engraved to detect unevenness of the character, and detects the detection signal. Is calculated by the CPU to recognize the shape of the stamped character,
A gist of an electronic character embossing method for embossing characters is characterized in that the embossed character data is created based on the shape recognition signal, and the embossed character data is stored and managed. CPU
Not only recognizes the shape of the engraved character with, but also recognizes abnormalities such as scratches and chips in the embossed character. The present invention also relates to an embossed character detecting means equipped with a laser scanning sensor, an electronic rubbed copy creating means for inputting a detection signal of this embossed character detecting means, and an electronic laid copy memory for inputting an output signal of this electronic laid copy producing means. The gist is an embossed character electronic rubbed book collecting device including at least management means. Further, the embossed character detecting means has a laser sensor and a biaxial moving mechanism for scanning the laser sensor in the direction of a plurality of digits of the embossed character. The gist is that the host computer and the embossing control means are connected to each other.

[0005]

[Operation] A laser beam is applied to an embossed character to detect irregularities, and the detection signal allows the CPU to recognize the embossed character as well as to create hacked copy data, which can be stored and managed. By scanning the laser sensor in the direction of multiple digits of the embossed character, it is possible to collect electronic data in a short time.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), 1 is an engraving device which is capable of engraving an object to be engraved 2 placed on a work receiver 1b by an engraving head 1a.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a fast-forwarding cylinder attached to the engraving device 1, which allows the reading-forwarding device 4 to be fast-forwarded or fast-returned within a certain range along the guide bar 3a. The device 4 is provided with an embossed character detecting means 5 that moves along the guide bar 4a.

The embossed character detecting means 5 is provided with a laser scanning sensor, and a laser beam is applied to the characters (numerals and alphabets) engraved on the object 2 to be embossed by the embossing head 1a to detect the unevenness of the characters. Then, this detection signal is input to the CPU.

An embossing control means 6 provided in the embossing apparatus 1 controls the embossing control and the operation of each component such as the embossed character detecting means 5.

The embossing device 1 thus constructed is used by being incorporated in an automobile manufacturing line (not shown), and the car body number etc. embossed by the embossing device 1 are detected by a laser sensor and electronically. I will explain the method to collect the original. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 7 is an electronic rubbed book creating means,
The detection signal detected by the embossed character detecting means 5 is input through the laser displacement data processing 8 and is calculated by the CPU to recognize the shape of the embossed character, and the quality of the character is inspected to produce the original data. To do.

The shape of the embossed character is recognized by character inquiry, that is, the character pattern processed based on the detection signal of the embossed character detecting means 5 is compared with the character information pattern input from the host computer 9. The character pattern recognized as a result is displayed as an image on the CRT 7a,
If necessary, it is printed by the printer 7b.

FIG. 3 shows a recognized character pattern (for example, 0
And 1) were printed out, and all other numbers and alphabets from A to Z could be correctly recognized. Further, the character pattern can be recognized not only two-dimensionally but also three-dimensionally as shown in FIG. 5, and in this case, the number 0 is displayed by the change of the height position of the scanning line. . This makes it possible to check whether the depth of the embossed character is proper.

The rubbed data is created based on the character pattern of which the shape is recognized as described above. For example, FIG. 4 shows the laid-out data of the number 0. In this case, a small dent is intentionally added to the side of 0. As a result of the experiment, the concave part α appeared as an abnormal line. Therefore, it is possible to inspect the quality defects (scratches, chips, etc.) of the embossed characters.

In this way, a plurality of digits of duplication data, which is usually a combination of numbers and alphabets, is created, and this duplication data is input to the electronic duplication memory management means 10 and stored in the storage device 10a. This electronic rubbed copy storage management means 10 is equipped with a data management terminal 10b, and it is possible to display the managed rubbed copy data on the CRT 10c so that it can be searched at any time and to print it with the printer 10d.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts of the above-mentioned operation states. A of FIG. 6 continues from A of FIG. 7 and B of FIG. 7 follows B of FIG. However, these flowcharts are for the case where the processing is executed every time the data is read by the laser scanning sensor.

The host computer 9 is an engraving device 1
Of the embossing device 1 which is connected to the embossing control means 6 of the host computer 9 and controls the embossing operation of the embossing device 1 incorporated in the automobile manufacturing line. It also controls the detection means 5.

The electronic duplicating means 7 is connected to the embossing control means 6 of the embossing device 1 so that the embossed characters are improperly embossed, or the embossed characters have a quality defect such as a scratch or a chip. At that time, a command signal is sent to the embossing control device 6 to stop the embossing work and display the cause of the defect.

FIG. 8 is intended to speed up the reading in the electronic digging and is not to read and process a plurality of digits of engraved characters one by one (one character at a time) with a laser beam and process them. In this method, the entire stamped characters are read by laser light and processed in a short time. Therefore, the embossed character detecting means 15 includes a laser sensor 16 and a biaxial moving mechanism 17 for scanning the laser sensor in the direction of a plurality of digits of the embossed character.

The biaxial moving mechanism 17 is composed of, for example, a linear motor 19 provided on an upper part of a moving table 18 and a ball screw feed 20 provided on a lower part, and the laser sensor is mounted on a bracket 19a which is a runner of the linear motor 19. Attach 16. That is, laser sensor 1
6 is moved in the X-axis direction by the linear motor 19 (in the direction of a plurality of digits of the character 12a stamped on the object to be stamped 12 as shown in FIG. 9), and is moved by the ball screw feed 20 via the moving table 18 in the Y direction. It is designed to be moved in the axial direction. Incidentally, 19b is a rail-shaped stator of the linear motor 19, and 20a is a pulse motor for driving the ball screw feed 20.

The embossed character detecting means 1 configured as described above
5 is a stamped character 12a having a plurality of digits as shown in FIG.
When detecting, the laser sensor 16 is moved forward in the X-axis direction while scanning along the upper edge of the embossed character to detect irregularities and to output a signal that has passed the final character measurement position, in the Y-axis direction. Move and pitch feed to the set position, this time while scanning the laser sensor 16 in the X-axis direction, scan along all digits of the engraved character,
It detects unevenness and outputs a signal that has passed the final character measurement position. By repeating this operation in a short time, the lower end of the embossed character is scanned at high speed.

The detection signal obtained by scanning is input to the CPU, and thereafter, the same processing can be performed to carry out electronic duplication.

In this way, since the Rakudoku collecting can be performed automatically and by electronic processing, the drawbacks and problems of the conventional Takudoke collecting that are manually performed by using Komeitan and Takumoto paper on the automobile manufacturing line can be avoided. All can be resolved. still,
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be widely applied to, for example, a serial number of a machine tool or the like and a stamped character stamped-out collection in addition to the digging-up collection in an automobile manufacturing line.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The unevenness of the character is detected by shining a laser beam on the character engraved on the object to be engraved, and the detection signal is calculated by the CPU to recognize the shape of the embossed character, and based on this shape recognition signal, Takumoto data is obtained. The electronic rakutaku-collector, which creates and manages this rakuten data, is fully automatic and highly efficient, and can be taken cleanly and accurately, and the rakuten management is easy and requires no storage space. It has excellent effects such as

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an example of an engraving device used in the present invention, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view thereof.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a pattern diagram of each of embossed characters 0 and 1 recognized by a CPU.

FIG. 4 is a pattern diagram of a scratched numeral 0 converted into Takumoto data.

FIG. 5 is a pattern diagram in which an embossed character 0 is three-dimensionally recognized.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of converting an embossed character into laid copy data.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process of recording and storing Takumoto data.

8A and 8B show another embodiment of the embossed character detecting means, wherein FIG. 8A is a side view of a main part and FIG. 8B is a top view.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the outline of high-speed scanning.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Engraving device 1a ... Engraving head 1b ... Workpiece receiving 2 ... Engraved object 3 ... Fast feed cylinder 4 ... Feeding device for reading
5 ... Embossed character detecting means 6 ... Embossing control means 7 ... Electronic duplication book creating means 7a ...
CRT 7b ... Printer 8 ... Laser displacement data processing 9 ... Host computer 10 ... Electronic copy storage management means 10a ... Storage device 10b ... Data management terminal 10c ... CRT 10d ... Printer 12 ... Engraved object 15 ... Embedded character detection means 16 ... Laser sensor 17 ... Biaxial moving mechanism 18 ... Moving table 19 ... Linear motor 20 ... Ball screw feed

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A laser beam is applied to a character engraved on an object to be engraved to detect unevenness of the character, and the detection signal is detected by a CPU.
The method for electronically embossing an embossed character is characterized in that the shape of an embossed character is recognized by performing calculation in step S1, and the data for the embossed character is created based on the shape recognition signal, and the data for embossing the character is stored and managed. 2. The method for electronically embossing an embossed character according to claim 1, wherein not only the shape of the embossed character is recognized by the CPU, but also an abnormality such as a scratch or a chip of the embossed character is recognized. 3. An embossed character detecting means provided with a laser scanning sensor, an electronic rubbed copy creating means for inputting a detection signal of the embossed character detecting means, and an electronic laid copy memory for inputting an output signal of this electronic laid copy producing means. An embossed character electronic duplicating device including at least management means. 4. The embossed character electronic digging device according to claim 3, wherein the embossed character detecting means has a laser sensor and a biaxial moving mechanism for scanning the laser sensor in the direction of a plurality of digits of the embossed character. . 5. The electronic rubbed copy creating means is connected to a host computer and an embossing control means provided in the embossing device, and further, the host computer and the embossing control means are connected to each other. Electronic stamping machine for stamped characters.