Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
  • B41M5/00—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
  • B41M5/24—Ablative recording, e.g. by burning marks; Spark recording
• • 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
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
  • B41M5/00—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
  • B41M5/26—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used

Definitions

• Mounting rails are used to snap on electrical devices in installation technology. Especially in apparatus engineering, pre-assembled support rail sections are often used, which are then installed on site in control cabinets, which have a large number of electrical devices arranged next to one another. Among the electrical devices there are often series terminals, each of which in turn has a plurality of connections. In order to facilitate wiring of the arrangement within the switch box, the individual devices and their connections can be marked, for example by having corresponding marking areas.
• the publication WO 2010/057768 A1 shows a device with which the support rails can be equipped with electrical devices, in particular series terminals, in an automated manner.
• a printing unit is provided which prints an electrical device removed from a magazine on its marking surfaces before it is mounted on the mounting rail.
• the mounting rails are first fitted with the electrical devices and then the devices are marked.
• the cited document describes a marking device that has a mounting rail receptacle and a laser head that applies the desired markings on the marking fields of the devices.
• the mounting device for the support rail is coupled to a linear and swivel device so that the support rail with the electrical devices can be moved and pivoted in front of the laser head in order to be able to move the marking fields to be labeled into the labeling area of the laser head.
• mounting rails are used that have a length in the range from one to over one meter and can be equipped with a variety of electrical devices. It can be provided that each electrical device is marked at several positions, possibly with different orientations. Overall, a large number of markings can thus be applied for a mounting rail, the marking process itself and the pivoting processes of the mounting rail and movement processes of the laser head taking time.
• the individual groups are then processed in the most efficient order possible, taking into account the movements to be made when changing to the next marking level, which also avoids unnecessary movements when positioning the laser head or the mounting rail.
• the term “electrical device” is to be understood as any device with a mounting rail receptacle for arrangement on a mounting rail. These are, for example, purely passive series terminals, but also devices with switching or fuse elements, such as Automatic circuit breakers fall under the term “electrical device”, just like devices with electronic components that can be placed on a mounting rail.
• the next of the marking planes is selected in such a way that pivoting of the support rail is preferred to movement of the laser head in the longitudinal direction.
• the different movement processes are accordingly weighted differently when the next marking level is selected.
• priority values are assigned to the remaining, not yet processed marking planes based on the location coordinates of the marking planes, and the next marking plane to be processed is selected using the priority values.
• a procedure can be Carry out well systematically and adapt to the technical properties of the marking device.
• the location coordinates of the marking planes can be used to determine which movements of the laser head and / or the mounting rail are necessary, with different movements being assigned different priority indicators.
• the priority codes enable the method to be optimally adapted to the properties of the marking device. The priority numbers of necessary movements are then added up in order to obtain the priority value of a marking level.
• the image is preferably created and evaluated before the step of grouping the marking instructions in marking planes, the grouping then being carried out on the basis of the corrected positions.
• the corrected position is already taken into account when the markings are allocated to the various marking groups. This ensures that a marking located on the edge of a marking area can actually be created at its corrected position and, as a result of the correction, does not end up in an area that is no longer accessible at the given position of the laser head.
• the receptacle has a longitudinal support with a receptacle bed for receiving the support rail, which is held eccentrically to an axis of rotation by pivot arms.
• the receiving bed is preferably arranged about 20 to 30 mm off-center from the center of the axis of rotation.
• the eccentric pivoting movement of the receptacle and thus of the mounting rail is based on the knowledge that, on average, the center of gravity of the electrical devices to be labeled, especially in the case of terminal blocks, about the mentioned 20 to 30 mm above the mounting rail mount of the electrical devices rule. Due to the fact that the receiving bed is spaced from the axis of rotation by the abovementioned distance, the electrical devices are rotated on average in their own center of gravity, which enables a fast and inertia-free rotary movement. This minimizes the forces that occur when the rotary motion is accelerated. In this way, the highest possible rotational acceleration and thus swiftly executing swivel movement is achieved, which shortens the marking process overall.
• the receptacle is also advantageously mounted in such a way that it can be pivoted through an angle of rotation greater than 360 ° without a stop.
• the angle of rotation is preferably also significantly greater than 360 ° and is, for example, 720 °. It can also be provided that any desired angles of rotation are possible without a stop.
• the rotary feedthrough is designed so that a power supply for the electromagnets can be provided for the entire range of rotation. The free pivoting achieved in this way makes it possible to pivot the mounting rail in any direction, and thus to switch to further labeling positions in any situation on the shortest possible rotation. This makes it possible to switch to the next labeling position in any case with a rotary movement of less than 180 °.
• the laser head has a laser which emits in an ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range.
• UV wavelength range has the advantage that markings can be applied to almost any plastic surface.
• the electrical devices to be marked can have fields provided for marking, but these do not have to be provided with a special coating or a special plastic, as is usually necessary for markings with infrared (IR) light. It is also possible to apply markings to areas of the electrical devices that are not specifically designated.
• the markings applied can not only be pure color changes, but, when using suitable parameters and focusing the laser radiation, are accompanied by a material removal or a material modification that makes the markings palpable (tactile marking).
• the device has an image capturing device for imaging a support rail inserted into the receptacle.
• the image acquisition device is preferably directly or indirectly connected to the arranged displaceable slide of the linear guide and is particularly preferably a line camera.
• the image acquisition device makes it possible to adapt given positions of the markings to be applied to actual circumstances if there are deviations due to tolerance or gap.
• Fig. 1 -4 an example of a device for marking electrical
• FIG. 5a-c different views of a pivoting device in the
• Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a side member of
• FIG. 7a, b show an arrangement of electrical devices on a mounting rail, each in an isometric view from different directions of view;
• FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a method part for determining
• the pivoting device 10 has a frame 11 in which a type of egg ner swing receptacle 12 is arranged rotatably about its longitudinal axis.
• the receptacle 12 comprises a longitudinal beam 13 which is arranged eccentrically at both ends via pivot arms 14 compared to an axis of rotation. This axis of rotation is rotatably supported in the bearings in the end parts of the frame 11 and coupled to a drive 16 to correspond.
• the drive 16 is, for example, an actuator with a position encoder.
• an optionally reduced-speed DC motor is particularly suitable for the actuator.
• FIGS. 5a-5c show the pivoting device 10 in different Represent views separately from the laser assembly 20 and without a mounting rail 1 attached.
• Fig. 5a shows the pivoting device 10 in an isometric view
• Fig. 5b in a side view
• Fig.5c in a plan view.
• Fig. 6 a cross section through the longitudinal member 13 with a mounting rail 1 is shown.
• the side guide plates 133 grip around the support rail 1 laterally in a lower area.
• the side guide plates 133 are preferably designed as spring steel plates, so that they can compensate for tolerances in the width of the support rail 1.
• the side guide plates 133 are preferably made so thin and protrude only so far over the receiving bed 131 that they guide and position the support rail 1, but do not collide with latched-on electrical devices 2. This is possible because the mounting rail mounts on the electrical devices 2 usually have a small lateral free space at least in the lower region of the mounting rail.
• the side guide plates 133 are particularly helpful for longer support rails 1, since production and / or transport-related longer support rails 1 tend to bend.
• a channel running in the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal member 13 is formed in the longitudinal member 13, through which the cables for energizing the electromagnets 134 can run.
• the channel 136 also serves to reduce weight in order to minimize the rotational inertia of the receptacle 12 in order to achieve a high rate of rotation with the lowest possible torque.
• the receiving bed 131 for the support rail 1 is arranged eccentrically from the axis of rotation during the rotary movement.
• the distance by which the receiving bed 131 is spaced apart from the axis of rotation is preferably in the range from 20 to 30 millimeters (mm) and particularly preferably about 23 mm.
• the reason is that, on average, the center of gravity of the electrical devices 2 to be labeled - in particular in the case of terminal blocks - is approximately 23 mm above the mounting rail mount of the electrical devices 2. If the receiving bed 131 is spaced apart from the axis of rotation by the distance mentioned, the electrical devices 2 are rotated on average in their own center of gravity, which enables a quick and as inertial rotation as possible. This minimizes the forces that occur when the rotary motion is accelerated. That way becomes a Highest possible rotational acceleration and therefore quick to execute
• the laser arrangement 20 is arranged laterally next to the pivoting device 10 in the region of the receptacle 12.
• the actual marking on the electrical devices 2, i.e. on the terminal blocks 2 in the example shown, is carried out by a laser head 21, which carries all the components necessary to apply the label, in particular a laser and deflection and possibly focusing units to the laser beam to be able to deflect the application of the marking, includes.
• the laser head 21 is controlled by the control device, not shown here, in order to apply a label within a focal field 4.
• the Fo kusfeld 4 is shown in Figs. 1-4.
• the exact size and the distance at which the focus field 4 is located in front of the laser head 21 are dependent on the imaging properties of the laser head 21.
• the laser head 21 can apply markings, in particular characters, numbers and / or symbols, to areas to be marked.
• a laser beam generated in the laser head 21 is deflected via a plurality of rotatable or pivotable mirrors in order to reach every point in the focus field 4. Since the mirrors have a low mass inertia, the movement of the mirror and thus the deflection of the laser beam is a faster process compared to other mechanical movements in the system.
• the linear guide 23 can optionally be dispensed with and it can be designed as a holder with a fixed distance. If the variety of models of the electrical devices 2 to be labeled does not provide for large differences in height between the devices, it may be possible to dispense with a linear guide in the y-direction and the corresponding linear guide 24 can be designed as a fixed holder. The height difference relates to a variation in the distance between the areas to be marked and the mounting rail.
• the laser assembly may optionally include image capture means, e.g. a camera, especially a line camera.
• image capture means e.g. a camera, especially a line camera.
• This can be arranged independently of the laser head 21 in such a way that it is aligned with the pivoting device 10 and thus with an inserted support rail 1.
• the image capturing device is arranged in such a way that it can be moved by the linear guide 22 in the x direction along the mounting rail receptacle.
• the image capturing device can also be arranged on the laser head 21 or be formed integrally therein. In that case, it can be moved not only in the x-direction, but also in the z-direction and possibly the y-direction.
• a combination of a line camera, the recorded image line of which is aligned transversely, in particular perpendicular to the x-direction, and being able to move in the x-direction makes it possible to image mounting rails 1 of any length in an image with a variable number of pixels in the x-direction.
• the image capture device can be used at various stages of the marking process.
• the image capture device can be used to map a mounting rail 1 after insertion, possibly in different pivoting positions to check whether the mounting rail 1 used and to be labeled is configured correctly, e.g. whether it actually has the electrical to be labeled Device 2 in the correct orientation and order. It can also be checked whether the devices 2 are correctly positioned to the effect that the marking areas to which the markings are to be applied are located at the position that is stored for the respective marking. If there are deviations that are within a specifiable tolerance range, an indication matching of the positions at which the markings are subsequently applied can be adapted to the positions of the marking areas found. This procedure is explained in more detail below.
• the support rail 1 with latched electrical devices 2 which can also be seen in FIG. 5, is provided separately from the marking device in order to better illustrate the various marking levels 3.
• 7a and 7b show the support rail 1 from different directions of view in isometric representations.
• markings 5 already applied to the electrical devices 2, that is to say the terminal blocks 2 are shown as examples.
• the markings 5 are for the most part connection markings that are attached to the fields next to connections. More of the Markings 5 relate, for example, to customer-specific identification or order numbers or module designations or the like.
• the various marking planes 3 are successively brought into the plane of the focus field 4, which is achieved by pivoting the receptacle 12 and possibly by actuating the linear guide 22 in the z direction and / or the linear guide 23 in the x direction and / or the linear guide 24 takes place in the z direction. All of the markings located in the marking plane 3, which is then located in the focus field 4, are applied by the laser head 21 before the next one of the marking planes 3 is brought into the focus field 4.
• the various marking planes 3 are characterized by their position in space and their dimensions. In summary, these properties are referred to as the location coordinates of a marking plane 3. With regard to the location in space, not only the position, but in particular also an inclination of the marking planes 3, is relevant, since markings can only be applied to surfaces that are not distorted and / or blurred with regard to the Distance to the laser head 21 but also in the Hin view of the inclination are in the focus field 4.
• a marking plane 3 thus contains at least one, preferably a plurality of markings 5, all of which are located in this marking plane 3 and which, in addition, do not differ with regard to the marking parameters to be used. Marking parameters relate to the setting of the laser of the laser head 21, which must be set to apply the marking.
• FIG. 8 An exemplary embodiment of a method for establishing the various marking planes 3 is shown in FIG. 8 in the form of a flow chart.
• a first (or, in subsequent repetitions of step 1, a next) marking instruction is initially retrieved from the transmitted information about the markings 5 to be applied.
• a next step S2 it is determined whether the marking 5 specified by this marking instruction is to be applied to the same electrical device 2 with the same marking parameters as the one last viewed. If this is not the case - e.g.
• the method branches to a next step S3, in which it is checked whether the alignment of the area to be marked is the same as in the case of markings 5 previously made. If this is not the case, the method branches to a next step S4, in which a new marking plane 3 is generated.
• a next step S9 it is then checked whether further marking instructions that are not yet assigned to a marking level 3 are present If there are no further marking instructions that have not yet been assigned, this process section is completed. If there are further marking instructions that are not yet assigned to any marking level 3, the method branches back to step S1, in which the next marking instruction is called up.
• FIG. 9 shows in a flowchart how the priorities can be assigned in an exemplary embodiment with this preferred order of priorities in order to select a next marking level for processing by the marking device.
• a next step S12 it is considered whether processing this currently viewed marking plane would result in pivoting of the mounting rail mount. If so, the priority value p is increased in a step S13 by a value of a priority code that is assigned to this movement. Otherwise the priority value p is retained.
• the priority code for pivoting the mounting rail mount is selected equal to 1 in this example.
• a next step S16 it is determined whether processing this currently considered marking plane would result in a movement in the y direction. If so, the priority value p is increased in a step S17 by the value 4 of a priority code assigned to this movement, otherwise it retains its value.
• the part of the marking process shown in Fig. 9 is carried out again in order to again record the priorities for all further marking levels 3 based on the then current position of the laser head 21 or the rotational position of the receptacle 12 .
• the process ends when all marking levels 3 have been processed.
• the various movements are characterized by priority indicators that represent powers of two. Such a binary evaluation scheme is advantageous, but other priority indicators can also be assigned.
• mapping and the evaluation of the images described below preferably take place before the method described in connection with FIG.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Laser Beam Processing (AREA)
• Burglar Alarm Systems (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

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ID=69846044

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Citations (4)

• 2020
  • 2020-03-05 ES ES20712222T patent/ES2949936T3/es active Active
  • 2020-03-05 EP EP20712222.7A patent/EP3946962B1/de active Active
  • 2020-03-05 WO PCT/EP2020/055918 patent/WO2020200639A1/de unknown

Patent Citations (4)

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