Method and apparatus for automatically cutting material in standard patterns
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| Název: | Method and apparatus for automatically cutting material in standard patterns |
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| Patent Number: | 4,901,359 |
| Datum vydání: | February 13, 1990 |
| Appl. No: | 06/937,880 |
| Application Filed: | December 04, 1986 |
| Abstrakt: | A method and apparatus for controlling a cutting machine for automatically cutting material according to a standard pattern with an assigned name which has been placed on the material and machine-readable coding placed on the pattern that is represents of the name. Contour data are stored in a CNC-control pattern memory, which enable the cutting machine to cut along a contour defined by the pattern, when the pattern name is received. Coding is automatically detected on the pattern, and if present, the coding is read to determine the pattern name and its position on the cutting machine. The pattern name, and lateral and angular displacement data indicating of the position of the pattern are automatically supplied to control the cutting machine. The apparatus comprises detecting and reading systems including an optical detector on the cutting machine producing a video output signal; a digital image memory; and an image decoding system. The digital image memory includes an input circuit for receiving the video output signal, comparing the video output signal against an adjustable threshold to produce binary video data, and generating a sync signal. |
| Inventors: | Bruder, Wolfgang (Bielefeld, DEX) |
| Assignees: | Durkopp System Technik GmbH (DEX) |
| Claim: | What is claimed is |
| Claim: | 1. A method of controlling a cutting machine having a pattern memory, for automatically cutting material in accordance with a standard pattern, comprising the steps of |
| Claim: | assigning a name to the pattern; |
| Claim: | storing contour data, which enable the cutting machine to cut along a contour defined by the pattern, in the pattern memory of the cutting machine, and associating the contour data in the pattern memory with the name of the corresponding pattern; |
| Claim: | placing machine-readable coding on the pattern that is representative of the name of the pattern; |
| Claim: | placing the material to be cut onto the cutting machine, and placing the pattern at a desired position on the material; |
| Claim: | automatically detecting whether coding is present on the pattern, and if so, reading the coding to determine therefrom the name of the pattern and its position on the cutting machine; and |
| Claim: | automatically supplying data indicative of the name and position of the pattern to the cutting machine and thereby controlling the cutting machine to cut along the contour defined by the pattern at the position of the pattern. |
| Claim: | 2. A method as in claim 1, further comprising steps of |
| Claim: | assigning respective names to a plurality of distinct patterns that are placeable on the material; |
| Claim: | placing machine-readable coding within the contours of each of the patterns that is representative of the name of the pattern; and |
| Claim: | storing respective contour data for each pattern and associated with the name of the corresponding pattern, in the pattern memory of the cutting machine. |
| Claim: | 3. A method as in claim 1, wherein the material to be cut is flat and is placed on the worktable of a coordinate cutting machine having a cutting tool that is movable in two coordinates, and the coding is automatically read by an optical detector fixed to the cutting machine. |
| Claim: | 4. A method as in claim 1, wherein the data indicative of the position of the pattern include X and Y data indicative of the X-Y displacement of a predetermined portion of the coding from a reference point on the cutting machine, and angle data indicative of the angular displacement of said coding with respect to a reference axis on the cutting machine. |
| Claim: | 5. A method as in claim 4, wherein the coding placed on the pattern comprises one code mark of a first type and at least one code mark of a second type, a grid arrangement being defined on the pattern and the name of the pattern being defined according to the location of the code marks on the grid arrangement. |
| Claim: | 6. A method as in claim 5, wherein the first and second types of code marks are substantially circular and have different diameters. |
| Claim: | 7. A method of controlling a cutting machine having a pattern memory, for automatically cutting material in accordance with a standard pattern, comprising the steps of |
| Claim: | automatically supplying data indicative of the name and position of the pattern to the cutting machine and thereby controlling the cutting machine to cut along the contour defined by the pattern at the position of the pattern; |
| Claim: | wherein the data indicative of the position of the pattern include X and Y data indicative of the X-Y displacement of a predetermined portion of the coding from a reference point on the cutting machine, and angle data indicative of the angular displacement of said coding with respect to a reference axis on the cutting machine; |
| Claim: | wherein the coding placed on the pattern comprises one code mark of a first type and at least one code mark of a second type, a grid arrangement being defined on the pattern and the name of the pattern being defined according to the location of the code marks on the grid arrangement; |
| Claim: | wherein the first and second types of code marks are substantially circular and have different diameters; and |
| Claim: | wherein the code marks comprise holes in the pattern and a cover strip is placed over the holes on a bottom surface of the pattern to provide the holes with color contrast with respect to a top surface when the holes are optically viewed from above |
| Claim: | 8. A method of controlling a cutting machine having a pattern memory, for automatically cutting material in accordance with a standard pattern comprising the steps of |
| Claim: | wherein the coding placed on the pattern comprises one code mark of a first type and at least one code mark of a second type, a grid arrangement being defined on the pattern and the name of the pattern being defined according to the location of the code marks on the grid arrangement; and |
| Claim: | wherein the first and second types of code marks are substantially rectangular and have different areas. |
| Claim: | 9. A method as in claim 8, wherein the code marks are applied to a top surface of the pattern and are colored so as to provide the code marks with color contrast with respect to the top surface when optically viewed from above. |
| Claim: | 10. A method as in claim 8, wherein the rectangular code marks are arranged symmetrically with respect to the grid arrangement. |
| Claim: | 11. A method as in claim 5, wherein the step of reading the coding includes locating the centers of the code marks. |
| Claim: | 12. A method of controlling a cutting machine having a pattern memory, for automatically cutting material in accordance with a standard pattern, comprising the steps of |
| Claim: | wherein the grid arrangement includes at least a first axis having a plurality of equally spaced positions defined thereon, the name of the pattern being determined according to which defined positions are occupied by the code marks. |
| Claim: | 13. A method as in claim 12, wherein the code marks are substantially circular and the grid arrangement includes at least a second axis defined perpendicular to the first axis. |
| Claim: | 14. A method as in claim 12, wherein the code marks are substantially circular and the grid arrangement includes at least a second axis defined parallel to the first axis. |
| Claim: | 15. A method as in claim 5, wherein the predetermined portion of the pattern whose X-Y displacement is detected is the center of the code mark of the first type, and the angular displacement of the coding is detected by detecting the angular displacement of the grid arrangement. |
| Claim: | 16. A method as in claim 1, wherein the coding on the pattern represents binary data, and the name of the pattern is in decimal form, and further comprising the step of converting the binary coding data to the name in decimal form. |
| Claim: | 17. An apparatus for automatically controlling a cutting machine to cut material thereon in accordance with a standard pattern placed at a desired position on the material, the apparatus comprising |
| Claim: | pattern memory means in the cutting machine for storing contour data enabling the cutting machine to cut along a contour defined by the pattern, and storing a corresponding pattern name associated with the contour data; and |
| Claim: | means for detecting whether coding is present on such pattern, and if so, reading the coding to determine therefrom a pattern name represented by the coding, and to determine the position of the pattern on the cutting machine; and for automatically supplying data indicative of the name and position of the pattern to the cutting machine, and thereby controlling the cutting machine to cut along the contour defined by the pattern at the position of the pattern. |
| Claim: | 18. An apparatus as in claims 17, wherein the pattern memory means in the cutting machine is capable of storing respective contour data corresponding to a plurality of patterns, and a corresponding plurality of pattern names associated therewith. |
| Claim: | 19. An apparatus as in claim 17, wherein the cutting machine comprises a work surface for receiving the material to be cut, and a cutting tool movable in two dimensions for cutting the material on the work surface. |
| Claim: | 20. An apparatus as in claim 17, wherein the cutting machine has a work surface, and the detecting and reading means comprises |
| Claim: | an optical detector on the cutting machine producing a video output signal representative of objects on the work surface; |
| Claim: | a digital image memory for storing the video output signal as stored video data; and |
| Claim: | an image decoding system for receiving the stored video data and determining therefrom whether coding is present on a pattern on the work surface, and if so, generating control data indicative of the name and position of the pattern on the work surface. |
| Claim: | 21. An apparatus as in claim 20, wherein the cutting machine comprises a CNC control which receives the control data and also includes the pattern memory means. |
| Claim: | 22. An apparatus as in claim 20, wherein the optical detector includes an electronic camera. |
| Claim: | 23. An apparatus as in claim 22, wherein the electronic camera is a line-resolving camera. |
| Claim: | 24. An apparatus as in claim 22, wherein the electronic camera is an area-resolving camera. |
| Claim: | 25. An apparatus for automatically controlling a cutting machine to cut material thereon in accordance with a standard pattern placed at a desired position on the material, the apparatus comprising |
| Claim: | means for detecting whether coding is present on such pattern, and if so, reading the coding to determine therefrom a pattern name represented by the coding, and to determine the position of the pattern on the cutting machine; and for automatically supplying data indicative of the name and position of the pattern to the cutting machine, and thereby controlling the cutting machine to cut along the contour defined by the pattern at the position of the pattern; |
| Claim: | wherein the cutting machine has a work surface, and the detecting and reading means comprises |
| Claim: | an image decoding system for receiving the stored video data and determining therefrom whether coding is present on a pattern on the work surface, and if so, generating control data indicative of the name and position of the pattern on the work surface; and |
| Claim: | wherein the digital image memory comprises |
| Claim: | input means for receiving the video output signal from the optical detector, comparing the video output signal against an adjustable threshold to produce binary video data, and also generating a sync signal related to the video output signal; |
| Claim: | instruction means for receiving the sync signal and generating storage instructions; |
| Claim: | buffer means for receiving the storage instructions and in response thereto storing the binary video data from the input means; and |
| Claim: | memory means for receiving the storage instructions and in response thereto storing the binary video data from the buffer means. |
| Claim: | 26. An apparatus as in claim 25, wherein the buffer means includes, in series, a first serial shift register, a second shift register having serial input and parallel output, and a buffer memory having parallel input, each of these components of the buffer means receiving the storage instructions. |
| Claim: | 27. An apparatus as in claim 26, wherein the storage instructions include |
| Claim: | a square wave signal which is generated by a square wave generator, the latter receiving a start signal from a delayed output of a first flip-flop stage and a stop signal from the output of a second flip-flop stage, the second flip-flop stage receiving the sync signal and an output of the first flip-flop stage; and |
| Claim: | address data from an address counter |
| Claim: | the square wave signal being supplied to the first and second shift registers and the address counter, and the address counter further receiving the sync signal. |
| Claim: | 28. An apparatus for automatically controlling a cutting machine to cut material thereon in accordance with a standard pattern placed at a desired position on the material, the apparatus comprising |
| Claim: | wherein the image decoding system comprises a microcomputer including a bi-directional data bus connected for data transfer to an input port, a CPU, a keyboard, a display, a program memory, a working memory, and a data transfer system. |
| Claim: | 29. An apparatus as in claim 17, and further comprising a standard pattern defining cutting contours, and machine-readable coding within said contours which is representative of the name of said pattern. |
| Claim: | 30. A method of controlling a cutting machine having a pattern memory, for automatically cutting material in accordance with a plurality of standard patterns, comprising the steps of |
| Claim: | assigning respective names to a plurality of distinct patterns; |
| Claim: | storing respective contour data for each pattern, which enable the cutting machine to cut along a contour defined by the pattern, in the pattern memory of the cutting machine, and associating the contour data in the pattern memory with the names of the corresponding patterns; |
| Claim: | placing machine-readable coding within the contours of each pattern that is representative of the name of the pattern; |
| Claim: | placing the material to be cut onto the cutting machine, and placing such plurality of patterns at desired positions on the material; |
| Claim: | automatically detecting whether coding is present on the patterns, and if so, simultaneously reading the coding on all of said patterns to determine therefrom the respective names of the patterns and their respective positions on the cutting machine; and |
| Claim: | automatically supplying said data indicative of the names and positions of all of the patterns to the cutting machine and thereby controlling the cutting machine to cut along the contours defined by the patterns at the positions of the patterns. |
| Claim: | 31. An apparatus for automatically controlling a cutting machine to cut machine thereon in accordance with a standard pattern placed at a desired position on the material, the apparatus comprising |
| Claim: | wherein the pattern memory means in the cutting machine is capable of storing respective contour data corresponding to a plurality of patterns, and a corresponding plurality of pattern names associated therewith; and |
| Claim: | wherein said coding-detecting means is capable of reading the coding on a plurality of said patterns simultaneously to determine therefrom all of the respective pattern names and positions of said patterns, and is capable of automatically supplying all said data indicative of the names and positions of the patterns to the cutting machine. |
| Claim: | 32. A method of controlling a cutting machine having a pattern memory, for automatically cutting material in accordance with a standard pattern, comprising the steps of |
| Claim: | wherein the data indicative of the position of the pattern include X and Y data indicative of the X-Y displacement of a predetermined portion of the coding from a reference point on the cutting machine, and angle data indicative of the angular displacement of said coding with respect to a reference axis on the cutting machine; and |
| Claim: | wherein the data indicative of the X-Y displacement comprises variables L1 and L2, which are defined as follows: [equation included] [equation included] |
| Claim: | and said angle data indicative of said angular displacement comprises a variable L3, defined as follows: ##EQU2## wherein the variables L1 and L2 indicate the shifting of one coding mark P1 by the coordinate dimensions X1'+B and Y1'+A, wherein another coding mark P2 has been shifted by the coordinate dimensions X2'+B and Y2'+A, and wherein the angle alpha indicates the angle through which the pattern has been turned, with respect to a machine zero point MN, in conjunction with said shifting of the marks P1 and P2. |
| Claim: | 33. An apparatus for automatically controlling a cutting machine to cut material on a work surface of said cutting machine, in accordance with a standard pattern placed at a desired position on the material, the apparatus comprising |
| Claim: | wherein the detecting and reading means comprises |
| Claim: | wherein said control data indicative of the position of the pattern on the work surface comprises |
| Claim: | data indicative of the X-Y displacement comprising variables L1 and L2, which are defined as follows |
| Claim: | and angle data indicative of the angular displacement of the pattern on the work surface, comprising a variable L3, defined as follows: ##EQU3## wherein the variables L1 and L2 indicate ,the shifting of one coding mark P1 by the coordinate dimensions X1+B and Y1+A, wherein another coding mark, P2 has been shifted by the coordinate dimensions X2'+B and Y2+A, and wherein the angle alpha indicates the angle through which the pattern has been turned, with respect to a machine zero point MN, in conjunction with said shifting of the marks P1 and P2. |
| Current U.S. Class: | 382/8; 382/61; 83/56; 235/464; 235/494 |
| Current International Class: | G06K 900 |
| Patent References Cited: | 3149522 September 1964 Newton 3513320 May 1970 Weldon 3801775 April 1974 Acker 3805650 April 1974 Pearl 3855887 December 1974 Pearl et al. 3881379 May 1975 Stumpf 4009466 February 1977 Clark 4140037 February 1979 Gerber 4327615 May 1982 Gerber et al. 4435837 March 1984 Abernathy 4495845 January 1985 Sherby 4544064 October 1985 Felder 4613942 September 1986 Chen 4721058 January 1988 Hayamizu et al. |
| Other References: | Bekleidung und Wasche 15, p. 20, col. 3, para. 3-5. |
| Primary Examiner: | Boudreau, Leo H. |
| Assistant Examiner: | Razavi, Michael |
| Attorney, Agent or Firm: | Ostrolenk, Faber, Gerb & Soffen |
| Přístupové číslo: | edspgr.04901359 |
| Databáze: | USPTO Patent Grants |
| Abstrakt: | A method and apparatus for controlling a cutting machine for automatically cutting material according to a standard pattern with an assigned name which has been placed on the material and machine-readable coding placed on the pattern that is represents of the name. Contour data are stored in a CNC-control pattern memory, which enable the cutting machine to cut along a contour defined by the pattern, when the pattern name is received. Coding is automatically detected on the pattern, and if present, the coding is read to determine the pattern name and its position on the cutting machine. The pattern name, and lateral and angular displacement data indicating of the position of the pattern are automatically supplied to control the cutting machine.<br />The apparatus comprises detecting and reading systems including an optical detector on the cutting machine producing a video output signal; a digital image memory; and an image decoding system. The digital image memory includes an input circuit for receiving the video output signal, comparing the video output signal against an adjustable threshold to produce binary video data, and generating a sync signal. |
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