Claims
- 1. A system for inscribing an item secured in an item carrier, the item having a surface, comprising:
a housing having a door; an inscriber disposed in the housing and operable to inscribe the surface of the item; and a support having a positioning structure engageable with the item carrier and configured to establish a reference point so that the location of the item carrier with respect to the support is determinable when the item carrier is engaged with the positioning structure, the support moveable between a loading position where the support extends through the door of the housing thereby exposing the positioning structure and an inscribing position where the item is positioned for inscribing and the inscriber is fully enclosed by the housing.
- 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the inscriber is an engraver.
- 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the support moves generally horizontally between the loading position and the inscribing position.
- 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the item carrier has a second positioning structure configured to engage the positioning structure of the support.
- 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the positioning structure of the support is a circular opening and the second positioning structure of the item carrier is a boss configured to engage the circular opening.
- 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the positioning structure of the support further includes a groove extending away from the circular opening and the second positioning structure of the item carrier includes a tab configured to engage the groove.
- 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the boss includes a ridge and the circular opening includes a recess configured to receive the ridge to ensure the item carrier is properly oriented on the support.
- 8. The system of claim 5, wherein the positioning structure of the support includes spring pins configured to engage the boss of the item carrier to secure the item carrier to the support.
- 9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a lever pivotably mounted on the support and having a projection configured to exert a force on the boss of the item carrier to dislodge the item carrier from spring pins in the support.
- 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the lever includes a switch contact configured to engage an indicator switch when an item carrier is secured to the support.
- 11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a controller operable to receive a message to be inscribed on the surface of the item and further operable to govern the movements of the inscriber to inscribe the item.
- 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the controller includes an input device moveable between a first position to receive information about the shape of the item to be inscribed and a second position to receive the message to be inscribed on the surface of the item.
- 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the inscriber is mounted on a support structure operable to move the inscriber in at least two dimensions.
- 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the support structure includes a first stepper motor operable to move the inscriber in the X-direction and a second stepper motor operable to move the inscriber in the Z-direction and the housing includes a third stepper motor operable to move the support in the Y-direction.
- 15. The system of claim 1, further comprising a spring acting on the door to bias the door into a closed position.
- 16. The system of claim 15, wherein movement of the support from the inscribing position to the loading position opens the door and movement of the support from the loading position to the inscribing position allows the spring to bias the door into a closed position.
- 17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a contact switch disposed between the door and the housing to indicate when the door is closed.
- 18. A system for inscribing an item secured in an item carrier, the item having a surface, comprising:
a housing having a door; an inscriber disposed in the housing and operable to inscribe the surface of the item; a support having a positioning structure configured to position the item carrier with respect to the inscriber independently of the shape of the item, the support moveable between a loading position where the support extends through the door of the housing thereby exposing the positioning structure and an inscribing position where the item is positioned for inscribing; and a controller having an input device moveable between a first position to receive characteristics about the item to be inscribed and a second position to receive a message to be inscribed on the surface of the item, the controller operable to govern the movements of the inscriber to inscribe the message on the surface of the item.
- 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the item carrier has a second positioning structure configured to engage the positioning structure of the support.
- 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the positioning structure of the support is a circular opening and the second positioning structure of the item carrier is a boss configured to engage the circular opening.
- 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the positioning structure of the support further includes a groove extending away from the circular opening and the second positioning structure of the item carrier includes a tab configured to engage the groove.
- 22. The system of claim 21 wherein the boss includes a ridge and the circular opening includes a recess configured to receive the ridge to ensure the item carrier is properly oriented on the support.
- 23. The system of claim 21, wherein spring pins are disposed in the circular opening of the support to engage the boss of the item carrier to secure the item carrier to the support.
- 24. The system of claim 23, further comprising a lever pivotably mounted on the support and having a projection configured to exert a force on the boss of the item carrier to dislodge the item carrier from spring pins in the support.
- 25. The system of claim 24, wherein the lever includes a switch contact configured to engage an indicator switch when an item carrier is secured to the support.
- 26. The system of claim 24 wherein the item carrier includes a barcode containing characteristics of the item carried therein and the input device includes a barcode reader to read the barcode, the controller activating the barcode reader when the indicator switch indicates that an item carrier is secured to the support.
- 27. The system of claim 18, wherein the inscriber is mounted on a support structure operable to move the inscriber in at least two dimensions.
- 28. The system of claim 27, wherein the support structure includes a first stepper motor operable to move the inscriber in the X-direction and a second stepper motor operable to move the inscriber in the Z-direction, the controller operable to govern the motions of the first and second stepper motors to inscribe the item.
- 29. The system of claim 28, wherein the surface of the item to be inscribed is rounded and the controller governs the motion of the second stepper motor to ensure the inscriber remains in contact with the surface of the item along the rounded surface.
- 30. A method of inscribing an item, comprising the steps of:
providing an inscribing device including a housing, a controller, an inscriber, and a support having a first positioning fixture; securing an item to be inscribed in an item carrier having a second positioning structure; engaging the second positioning structure with the first positioning structure to secure the item to be inscribed to the support; inputting information including the characteristics of the item to be inscribed and the content of the inscription into the controller; and inscribing the surface of the item based on the information input into the controller.
- 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the information about the characteristics of the item is inputted into an input device of the controller when the input device is in a first position and the content of the inscription is inputted into the input device when the input device is in a second position.
- 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of pivoting the input device with respect to the inscribing device to move the input device between the first and second positions.
- 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the input device is pivoted approximately 180°.
- 34. The method of claim 31, wherein the step of engaging the first and second positioning structures includes inserting a boss on the item carrier into a circular opening on the support.
- 35. The method of claim 31, wherein the characteristics of the item include the items length, width, height, and the dimensions of the surface area available for inscribing.
- 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the characteristics of the item are included in a barcode affixed to the item carrier and the characteristics are inputted into the system with a barcode reader.
- 37. The method of claim 31, wherein the item is secured in the item carrier with an adhesive.
- 38. An item carrier for an inscribing device having an inscriber and a support with a first positioning structure, comprising:
a body having a fixture configured to secure an item to be inscribed thereto, the fixture engaging the item such that at least a portion of the surface of the item is exposed for inscribing; and a second positioning structure engageable with the first positioning structure of the inscribing device to position the item carrier and item on the support of the inscribing device so that an inscription inscribed on the item will be correctly orientated on the item.
- 39. The item carrier of claim 38, further comprising a product code that identifies characteristics of the item to be inscribed.
- 40. The item carrier of claim 39, wherein the product code is included in a barcode affixed to the body of the item carrier.
- 41. The item carrier of claim 38, wherein the fixture is a relief formed in the item carrier.
- 42. The item carrier of claim 41, wherein the fixture further includes snap locks configured to hold the item in the relief.
- 43. The item carrier of claim 41, wherein an adhesive secures the item to the relief of the item carrier.
- 44. The item carrier of claim 38, wherein the second positioning structure is a boss.
- 45. The item carrier of claim 44, wherein the boss includes a ridge configured to orient the item carrier with respect to the support.
- 46. A system for inscribing an item secured in an item carrier, the item having a surface, comprising:
an inscribing module including a housing having a door, an inscriber disposed in the housing and operable to inscribe the surface of the item, and a support having a positioning structure configured to position the item carrier with respect to the inscriber, the support moveable between a loading position where the support extends through the door of the housing thereby exposing the positioning structure and an inscribing position where the item is positioned for inscribing; and a control module including a controller operable to govern the movements of the inscriber to inscribe the message on the surface of the item, the control module connected to the inscribing first module such that the modules may be placed in separate physical locations.
- 47. The system of claim 46, wherein the controller includes an input device moveable between a first position to receive characteristics about the item to be inscribed and a second position to receive a message to be inscribed on the surface of the item.
- 48. The system of claim 46, wherein the housing and door combine to fully enclose the inscriber and support when the support is in the inscribing position.
- 49. The system of claim 48, wherein the inscriber is mounted on a support structure operable to move the inscriber in at least two dimensions.
- 50. The system of claim 49, wherein the support structure includes a first stepper motor operable to move the inscriber in the X-direction and a second stepper motor operable to move the inscriber in the Z-direction.
- 51. The system of claim 46, further comprising a spring acting on the door to bias the door into a closed position.
- 52. The system of claim 51, wherein movement of the support from the inscribing position to the loading position opens the door and movement of the support from the loading position to the inscribing position allows the spring to bias the door into a closed position.
- 53. The system of claim 51, further comprising a contact switch disposed between the door and the housing to indicate when the door is closed.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/054,417 filed on Apr. 3, 1998 for Engraving System.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09373507 |
Aug 1999 |
US |
Child |
10254668 |
Sep 2002 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09054417 |
Apr 1998 |
US |
Child |
09373507 |
Aug 1999 |
US |