阅读说明：本技术 用于宽场矩阵激光打标的符号分组和条带化 (Symbol grouping and striping for wide field matrix laser marking ) 是由 安德鲁·约恩 于 2019-08-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：用于在产品上激光打印产品代码的系统和方法包括：在至少一个方面,一种系统包括：激光标记装置,其引导激光束在不同位置停留以在产品上形成标记；控制器,其获取要打印的代码,根据代码中离散符号的位置将代码中的离散符号彼此分为独立符号组,在垂直于产品运动的方向上将每个符号组中的符号组织成一个或多个条带,在至少一个独立符号组中的条带之间增加额外的距离或延时,以防止激光打标设备由于激光打标设备的打印孔径对符号进行剪切,以及使激光打标设备根据独立符号组引导激光束。(A system and method for laser printing a product code on a product includes: in at least one aspect, a system comprises: a laser marking device that directs a laser beam to dwell at different locations to form a mark on the product; a controller that obtains a code to be printed, groups discrete symbols in the code into independent symbol groups from each other according to locations of the discrete symbols in the code, organizes symbols in each symbol group into one or more strips in a direction perpendicular to a direction of product movement, adds an additional distance or delay between the strips in at least one of the independent symbol groups to prevent the laser marking device from shearing symbols due to a print aperture of the laser marking device, and causes the laser marking device to direct a laser beam according to the independent symbol groups.)

1. A method, comprising:

obtaining a code to be printed on one or more products by a laser marking device configured to direct a laser beam in two orthogonal directions to move between and dwell at different locations to form marks on the one or more products;

dividing discrete symbols in the code into independent symbol groups from each other based on their positions;

organizing one or more symbols in each symbol group into one or more strips in a direction perpendicular to the one or more product motions in a product line configured to move products through a facility;

adding an additional distance or time delay between the strips in at least one of the independent symbol groups to prevent the laser marking device from shearing the symbols due to the laser marking device's print aperture; and

causing the laser marking device to direct the laser beam in accordance with the independent symbol groups, including using the additional distance or time delay between stripes in at least one of the independent symbol groups.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

assigning a group print priority to the independent symbol groups based on the time each symbol group enters a print aperture of the laser marking device; and

assigning a tape printing priority to each of two or more tapes having an independent set of symbols of the two or more tapes according to a time at which each tape enters a print aperture of the laser marking device;

wherein causing the laser marking device to direct a laser beam according to the independent symbol groups comprises: causing the laser marking device to direct the laser beam to print the independent groups of symbols in order of the group print priority and to print the two or more stripes within a group of symbols in order of the stripe print priority.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising:

organizing the groups of independent symbols into groups of stripes in a direction perpendicular to a motion of one or more products in the product line, the product line configured to move products through the facility;

wherein said assigning group printing priorities comprises treating each stripe group as a single group for priority assignment.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the groups of independent symbols organized into stripe groups comprise at least four groups of independent symbols.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein obtaining, by the laser marking device, the code to be printed on the one or more products comprises:

receiving an image to be printed;

receiving X and Y coordinates corresponding to two orthogonal directions; and

the image is copied according to the X and Y coordinates to form a code to be printed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein grouping discrete symbols in the code comprises: grouping the discrete symbols in the code based on their proximity to each other.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein grouping the discrete symbols in the code comprises:

defining an inclusion boundary for each discrete symbol in the code; and

discrete symbols containing boundaries overlapping each other are grouped.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the containment boundary of each discrete symbol is set to a circle having a diameter equal to 1.5 times the symbol size.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the containment boundary for each discrete symbol is set based on user input.

10. A system, comprising:

a product line configured to move a product through a facility;

a laser marking device disposed relative to the product line and configured to direct a laser beam in two orthogonal directions to move between different positions and to dwell at the different positions to form a mark on the product; and

a laser marking device controller communicatively coupled with the laser marking device, the laser marking device controller is configured to obtain a code to be printed on the product, to divide discrete symbols in the code into independent symbol groups from each other based on the positions of the discrete symbols in the code, organizing one or more symbols in each symbol group into one or more stripes in a direction perpendicular to the product motion in the product line, adding an additional distance or time delay between the strips of at least one of the independent symbol groups to prevent the laser marking device from shearing symbols due to the laser marking device's printing aperture, and causing the laser marking device to direct the laser beam in accordance with the independent symbol groups, including using the additional distance or time delay between strips in at least one of the independent symbol groups.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the laser marking device controller is configured to assign group print priorities to the independent symbol groups based on when each symbol group enters a print aperture of the laser marking device, assign strip print priorities to the two or more strips of each independent symbol group having two or more strips based on when each strip enters the laser marking device print aperture, and cause the laser marking device to direct the laser beam to print the independent symbol groups in order of the group print priorities and to print the two or more strips within a symbol group in order of the strip print priorities.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the laser marking device controller is configured to organize the groups of independent symbols into groups of stripes in a direction perpendicular to one or more product motions in the product line, the product line configured to move products through the facility and treat each group of stripes as a single group for priority assignment.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the independent symbol groups organized into stripe groups comprise at least four independent symbol groups.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the laser marking device controller is configured to obtain a code to be printed on one or more products by the laser marking apparatus by receiving an image to be printed, receiving X and Y coordinates corresponding to the two orthogonal directions, and replicating the image according to the X and Y coordinates to form the code to be printed.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the laser marking device controller is configured to group the discrete symbols in the code based on their proximity to each other.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the laser marking device controller is configured to group the discrete symbols in the code by defining an inclusion boundary for each discrete symbol in the code and grouping discrete symbols having boundaries that overlap one another.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the containment boundary of each discrete symbol is set to a circle having a diameter equal to 1.5 times the symbol size.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the containment boundary for each discrete symbol is set based on user input.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the laser marking device controller comprises:

an electronic device integrated with the laser marking apparatus; and

a computer separate from the laser marking device.

20. The system of claim 10, wherein the facility is a product manufacturing facility and the product line is a product packaging system.

21. A computer readable medium encoding instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations, comprising:

obtaining a code to be printed on one or more products by a laser marking device configured to direct a laser beam in two orthogonal directions to move between and dwell at different locations to form marks on the one or more products;

dividing discrete symbols in the code into independent symbol groups from each other based on their positions;

organizing the one or more symbols in each independent symbol group into one or more stripes in a direction perpendicular to the motion of the one or more products in a product line configured to move products through a facility;

adding an additional distance or delay between the strips in at least one of the independent symbol groups to prevent the laser marking device from shearing the symbols due to the laser marking device's print aperture; and

causing the laser marking device to direct the laser beam in accordance with the symbol groups, including using the additional distance or time delay between stripes in at least one of the independent symbol groups.

Background

This specification relates to industrial printing systems, and more particularly to systems and techniques for laser printing product codes on product packaging in a manufacturing or distribution facility.

Various industrial printing techniques are known that are capable of printing important information (e.g., shelf life) on the packaging. A dot matrix type laser marking apparatus has been used to print an identification code on a commercial product. These codes are easily observed on common products such as soda cans, cosmetics, pet food containers, and the like. Some government regulatory agencies, such as the food and drug administration in the united states, may require certain products to have such codes. These codes typically include information specific to the time and place of production of the product. For example, many codes convey a lot number associated with a product. Many codes also indicate the actual time and date of manufacture. Because some codes relate to unique manufacturing parameters (e.g., time and date), some codes cannot be pre-printed on the label of the product. Therefore, the code is usually printed on the label after the product is manufactured. Us patent No.7,046,267 describes a laser printing system that organizes images into a series of "stripes" for laser printing to provide an efficient printing sequence of characters and symbols, which can improve printing by using more laser exposure windows (apertures) and reducing the amount of laser deflection motion between marking operations.

Disclosure of Invention

This specification describes systems and techniques relating to industrial printing systems, and more particularly to laser printing product codes on product packages in a manufacturing or distribution facility.

In general, one or more aspects of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in one or more methods that include: obtaining a code to be printed on one or more products by a laser marking device configured to direct a laser beam in two orthogonal directions to move between and dwell at different locations to form a mark on the one or more products; dividing discrete symbols in the code into independent symbol groups from each other based on the positions of the discrete symbols in the code; organizing the one or more symbols in each symbol group into one or more strips in a direction perpendicular to a direction of motion of one or more products in a product line configured to move products through a facility; adding an additional distance or delay between the strips in at least one of the independent symbol groups to prevent the laser marking device from shearing the symbols due to the printing holes of the laser marking device; causing the laser marking device to direct the laser beam according to the independent symbol groups includes using an additional distance or time delay between the strips in at least one of the independent symbol groups. These and other embodiments optionally include one or more of the following features.

The method may include: assigning a group printing priority to an independent symbol group according to the time when each symbol group enters a printing hole of the laser marking device; and assigning a tape printing priority to two or more tapes each having an independent set of symbols of the two or more tapes according to a time at which each tape enters a printing aperture of the laser marking device; wherein causing the laser marking device to direct the laser beam according to the independent symbol groups comprises: the laser marking device is caused to direct the laser beam to print the independent groups of symbols in order of group print priority and to print the two or more stripes within the groups of symbols in order of stripe print priority.

The method may include: organizing groups of the independent symbols into groups of stripes in a direction perpendicular to a direction of motion of one or more products in a product line configured to move the products through the facility; wherein assigning group print priorities comprises treating each stripe group as a single group for priority assignment. The independent symbol groups organized into strip groups may include at least four independent symbol groups. Obtaining, by a laser marking device, a code to be printed on one or more products includes: receiving an image to be printed; receiving X and Y coordinates corresponding to two orthogonal directions; the image is copied according to the X and Y coordinates to form the code to be printed.

Grouping discrete symbols in the code may include: grouping the discrete symbols in the code based on their proximity to each other. Grouping discrete symbols in a code may include: defining an inclusion boundary for each discrete symbol in the code; and grouping discrete symbols containing boundaries overlapping each other. The containment boundary of each discrete symbol may be set to a circle having a diameter equal to 1.5 times the symbol size. The containment boundaries for each discrete symbol may be set according to user input.

One or more methods may be implemented using a computer readable medium encoding instructions operable to cause a data processing apparatus to perform the operations of the one or more methods. Further, a system comprises: a product line configured to move a product through a facility; a laser marking device disposed relative to the product line and configured to direct a laser beam in two orthogonal directions to move between and dwell at different positions to form a mark on the product; and a laser marking device controller communicatively coupled to the laser marking device, the laser marking device controller configured to obtain a code to be printed on the product, divide discrete symbols in the code into independent symbol groups with respect to each other based on the location of the discrete symbols in the code, organize one or more symbols in each symbol group into one or more strips in a direction perpendicular to the direction of product movement in the product line, add an additional distance or delay between the strips of at least one independent symbol group to prevent the laser marking device from shearing the symbols due to the print aperture of the laser marking device, and cause the laser marking device to direct the laser beam in accordance with the independent symbol groups, including using the additional distance or delay between the strips in at least one independent symbol group. These and other embodiments optionally include one or more of the following features.

The laser marking device controller may be configured to assign group printing priorities to the independent symbol groups according to times at which each symbol group enters a printing aperture of the laser marking device, and assign strip printing priorities to two or more strips of the independent symbol groups each having two or more strips according to times at which each strip enters the printing aperture of the laser marking device; and causing the laser marking device to direct the laser beam to print the independent groups of symbols in order of group print priority and to print two or more stripes within the groups of symbols in order of stripe print priority.

The laser marking device controller may be configured to organize the groups of independent symbols into groups of stripes in a direction perpendicular to a direction of movement of one or more products in the product line, the product line configured to move the products through the facility and treat each group of stripes as a single group for priority assignment. The independent symbol groups organized into strip groups may include at least four independent symbol groups. The laser marking device controller may be configured to obtain a code to be printed on one or more products by the laser marking device by receiving an image to be printed, receiving X and Y coordinates corresponding to the two orthogonal directions, and replicating the image according to the X and Y coordinates to form the code to be printed.

The laser marking device controller may be configured to group the discrete symbols in the code based on their proximity to each other. The laser marking device controller may be configured to group the discrete symbols in the code by defining an inclusion boundary for each discrete symbol in the code and grouping discrete symbols having boundaries that overlap one another. The containment boundary of each discrete symbol may be set to a circle having a diameter equal to 1.5 times the symbol size. The containment boundaries for each discrete symbol may be set according to user input. The laser marking device controller may include: an electronic device integrated with a laser marking apparatus; and a computer separate from the laser marking device. The facility is a product manufacturing facility and the product line is a product packaging system.

Various embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented to realize one or more of the following advantages. The effective use of the exposure window (aperture) of the laser marking apparatus can be increased, and the amount of laser beam deflection motion between the dwell positions (marking places) can be reduced. For wide field laser marking applications, such as code matrix marking applications, the code banding technique may employ symbol grouping techniques to reduce print time and/or improve print quality by determining an effective print order for different portions of a complex code/image. In some cases, up to 25% of the printing time can be reduced on typical images in wide field code matrix laser marking applications.

The swath of code may be used to implement cut correction to successfully print (no cut) codes on slow and fast moving products as well as products with varying speeds without the need to control the speed of the products on the product line. In addition, the described systems and techniques are also useful (and advantageous) for products that are stationary during laser printing operations. For example, if a product is temporarily stationary fixed in the product line of a laser printing station for the entire printing of a code, the described systems and techniques may still improve laser printing by optimizing mirror movement to minimize jump distance. This reduces the overall printing time and thus improves the throughput of the product line.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.