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; a support having a positioning structure engageable with the item carrier and configured to establish a reference point on the support 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; at least one spring pin disposed in the positioning structure of the support and configured to engage the item carrier to secure the item carrier to the support; a lever pivotably mounted on the support and including a switch contact, the lever configured to exert a force on the item carrier when the item carrier is engaged with the positioning structure to disengage the item carrier from the support; and an indicator switch disposed in the support and engageable with the switch contact of the lever to provide an indication when the item carrier is engaged with the positioning structure of the support.
- 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the inscriber is an engraver.
- 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a pair of support rails slidably mounting the support such that 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 on the boss.
- 8. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one spring pin is configured to engage the boss of the item carrier.
- 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the lever has a projection configured to exert a force on the boss of the item carrier.
- 10. 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.
- 11. The system of claim 10, 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.
- 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the inscriber is mounted on a support structure operable to move the inscriber in at least two directions.
- 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the support structure includes a first stepper motor operable to move the inscriber in a first direction and a second stepper motor operable to move the inscriber in a second direction and the housing includes a third stepper motor operable to move the support in a third direction.
- 14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a spring acting on the door to bias the door into a closed position.
- 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the door is mounted on a hinge and the support contacts the door when the support moves from the inscribing position to the loading position to pivot the door about the hinge and open 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.
- 16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a contact switch disposed between the door and the housing to indicate when the door is closed.
- 17. 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; at least one spring pin disposed in the positioning structure of the support and configured to engage the item carrier to secure the item carrier to the support; a lever pivotably mounted on the support and including a switch contact, the lever configured to exert a force on the item carrier when the item carrier is engaged with the positioning structure to disengage the item carrier from the support; an indicator switch disposed in the support and engageable with the switch contact of the lever to provide an indication when the item carrier is engaged with the positioning structure of the support; and a controller having a monitor with a touch sensitive screen, the monitor 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 move the inscriber to thereby inscribe the message on the surface of the item.
- 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the item carrier has a second positioning structure configured to engage the positioning structure of the support.
- 19. The system of claim 18, 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.
- 20. The system of claim 19, 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.
- 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the boss includes a ridge and the circular opening includes a recess configured to receive the ridge on the boss.
- 22. The system of claim 20, wherein the at least one spring pin is disposed in the circular opening of the support to engage the boss of the item carrier.
- 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the lever has a projection configured to exert a force on the boss of the item carrier.
- 24. The system of claim 23, 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.
- 25. The system of claim 18, wherein the inscriber is mounted on a support structure operable to move the inscriber in at least two directions.
- 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the support structure includes a first stepper motor operable to move the inscriber in a first direction and a second stepper motor operable to move the inscriber in a second direction, the controller operable to govern the motions of the first and second stepper motors to inscribe the item.
- 27. The system of claim 26, wherein the surface of the item to be inscribed is rounded and the controller governs the motion of the second stepper motor to adjust the position of the inscriber so that the inscriber remains in contact with the surface of the item along the rounded surface.
- 28. A method of inscribing an item, comprising the steps of:providing an inscribing device including a housing, a controller, an inscriber, a support having a first positioning structure, and an ejecting device; securing an item to be inscribed in an item carrier having a boss; engaging the boss with the first positioning structure to secure the item to be inscribed in a fixed position on the support; inputting information including the characteristics of the item to be inscribed and the content of the inscription into the controller; inscribing the surface of the item based on the information input into the controller; and then operating the ejecting device to disengage the item carrier from the support.
- 29. 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 structure; 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 into an input device of the controller when the input device is in a first position; inputting information including the content of the inscription into the input device when the input device is in a second position; and inscribing the surface of the item based on the information input into the controller.
- 30. The method of claim 29, 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.
- 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the input device is pivoted approximately 180°.
- 32. The method of claim 29, 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.
- 33. The method of claim 29, wherein the characteristics of the item include at least one of the item's length, width, height, and the dimensions of the surface area available for inscribing.
- 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the characteristics of the item are included in a barcode affixed to the item carrier and the characteristics are input through a barcode reader.
- 35. The method of claim 29, wherein the item is secured in the item carrier with an adhesive.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/054,417 filed on Apr. 3, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,711 for Engraving System.
US Referenced Citations (46)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2000-168295 |
Jun 2000 |
JP |
PCT-WO-9320522 |
Oct 1993 |
WO |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/054417 |
Apr 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/373507 |
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US |