Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Credit or identification card systems
Patent
1999-05-27
2000-10-24
Le, Thien
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Credit or identification card systems
235454, G06K 500
Patent
active
061353507
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to marking a surface with at least one planar surface, and preferably marking with a corner cube cavity, and the accurate viewing of such marking on a surface of an object, especially a highly polished flat or curved metallic surface. The invention is also applicable to virtually any surface capable of receiving an optically reflective surface finish.
Marking systems and methods for marking surfaces of objects are well known in the art. The typical marking indicia employed in these conventional systems are dots or recesses, usually having a conical or spherical shape. Such prior art marking indicia are typically formed by a conically or spherically shaped stylus, which is forced or stamped into the surface of the object to be marked via a stamping machine, thereby leaving a conical or spherical recess in the surface (FIGS. 7A and 7B).
Vision systems, using video cameras and/or sensors, are typically employed in a manufacturing environment to detect such marking indicia to determine the type, style, size, model, make, serial number, part number, etc., of the product carrying the marking indicia. A light source typically accompanies the video camera and/or sensor in order to aid in detection of the marking indicia. However, the conventional marking indicia of the prior art marking systems do not reflect all of the light received from the light source back to the video camera and/or sensor due to the geometry of the recess, thereby decreasing the accuracy of the vision system. Further, when conventional marking indicia is viewed by the video camera and/or sensor from a variety of different viewing angles, the amount of light reflected back by the marking indicia varies as well thereby making it difficult to accurately view the marking indicia.
The term "corner cube cavity", when used in the specification and in the appended claims, includes any formed cavity which comprises three substantially planar or effectively planar surfaces, with each substantially planar or effectively planar surface extending perpendicular to the other two substantially planar or effectively planar surfaces and all three substantially planar or effectively planar surfaces having one common intersection area or point. It is to be appreciated that the interface or joint between any two intersecting planar surfaces may be slightly radiused, i.e. the common intersection point and the three ridges of a tool employed to form the corner cube cavity may have a slight radius to prolong the useful life of the tool. The radius of curvature of the intersection point and the three ridges must be controlled and should not be any greater than about 5-10% of the overall depth of the cavity to be form in the surface by the tool.
The term "effectively planar surface", when used in this specification and in the appended claims, means any surface area or surface profile which reflects light in substantially the same manner as a complete planar surface.
Wherefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned problems and drawbacks associated with the prior art designs by facilitating effective and accurate viewing of marking indicia, even on a highly polished flat or curved metallic surface.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved marking system which will create a substantially corner cube indentation or cavity in a surface to be marked.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved inspection system which, in combination with the improved marking system, facilitates accurate viewing of the marking indicia from a wide range of inspection angles, i.e. plus or minus 35 degrees relative to a central axis extending normal to the marking indicia cavity.
Yet another object of the invention is to project light from a light source onto a surface containing a corner cube indentation or cavity and view the light reflected from the corner cube indentation or cavity with a sensing device to determine the existence of markings or a pattern arrangement of the markings on the surface
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LeBlanc Steven M.
White Timothy P.
Le Thien
Northeast Robotics LLC
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