Marking object

ES 2 389 280 T3

DESCRIPTION

Marker object

The invention relates to a marker object with at least one object holder and at least one object flank retained by the object holder, in which the object flank can be marked by means of a marker device, in which the object carrier comprises at least one means of identification, and wherein the identification means contains at least one information relating to the marker object and / or information relating to the marker object can be deposited in the identification means.

Marker objects of the type in question have been known for a long time and are frequently used in industrial and commercial practice in the framework of housing identifications and connection identifications, for example in the form of labels, self-adhesive or insertable identification strips. elastically, in the form of identification cards, toothed bands, insert labels, inscription plates, clamping strips, designation sockets, designation labels and other molded parts. These object flanks are most often retained in a larger number of pieces by an object holder. In the case of molded parts, the object holders are often frames - for example made of plastic - in which the object flanks are connected to the frame-like object holder via a rib, which represents a theoretical breaking point. By separating the rib, the molded part can then be separated out of the object holder.

In the case of flanks of flat objects, therefore especially in the case of labels or designation labels, several labels or designation labels are arranged adjacent on a flat object support, often a flat or coated paper strip with preferably a plastic injection molding.

Marker objects are inserted for marking the object flanks normally into a marker device or marker object fixture of the marker device and are retracted from the marker device, after which the object flanks are provided with a marker pattern - most often alphanumeric characters. The marking unit responsible for the marking itself is most often a printer or a print head, which performs the marking through the application of color. Such printers have been known for a long time, printers being mostly intended for printing on paper.

Document US 2007/0171447 A1 publishes a method for processing stored data on a printing medium and a printer with a printer arrangement, different processing and control facilities and a facility for reading RFID memory. With the read facility, data can be read from an RFID memory, which is installed, for example, on a print medium. Among other things, the intended orientation of the print medium can be matched to the actual orientation, so that, if necessary, the object to be printed on a label on the print medium is rotated or the print medium is rotated to ensure correct orientation of the object on the label.

Document US 2002/0191998 A1 publishes a printer, which contains an arrangement for automatic adjustment of printing parameters. The printer comprises a printing mechanism, a control unit and a code reading facility, which is connected to the control unit for reading a code. Through the code reading facility, a code can be entered into the printer, through the code an automatic setting of printer parameters, which otherwise would only be possible through a manual setting of the printer. With the help of the code to be entered, the printer can be configured, for example, to use a certain combination of print head and consumables, so that an optimal printing result is achieved. The code to be read can be fixed in this case directly on the material to be used in the printer or it can be present on separate sheets or labels.

A printer, with which it is possible to print also plastic marker objects, which have several designation labels as object flanks, is known, for example, from document 10 2006 003 056 A1.

However, the marking unit can also be a press tool or engraving tool, which inserts the predetermined marking pattern on the respective flank of the object through the application of pressure or through chip removal. .

Marking the marker object with known marking devices suffers from some drawbacks. In practice, for example, often only a few of the edges of objects comprised by the marker object are needed at the same time, so that marker objects are only partially marked in one working step, that is, only marking a part of the object's flanks, and marker objects with the remaining unmarked object flanks are no longer used most of the time, but are disposed of unused as scrap.

During the handling of a marking device, attention must also be paid to exactly that the objects 2

ES 2 389 280 T3 markers are guided and retained in the only correct orientation from the marker object fixing support, since the marker pattern is otherwise erroneously applied to the marker object or to the flanks of the object. Especially in the case of asymmetric marker objects or in the case of flanks of objects arranged asymmetrically on the object holder, an incorrect alignment of the marker object on the marker object mounting bracket leads to an incorrect marking of the object flanks, that can no longer be reused later.

Also when using different marker objects, i.e. for example when using marker objects from different manufacturers or also only when using different types of marker objects, pay attention to an alignment - setting of parameters - adequate of the marker device. A setting of parameters of this type normally includes the consideration of the material from which the marking object is made, because it depends, for example, the thickness of the application of color in the realization of the marking or, for example, also to what temperature the object's marker edges subsequently dry out or how intensely the object's edges should be irradiated. An erroneous setting of the marker device parameters, that is to say a setting of parameters, which does not take into account the particularities of the marker object used, likewise leads to the marker objects not being correctly marked and only appearing as waste.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to reduce waste during marking of marker objects and to simplify the marking of marker objects from different manufacturers.

The proposed task is solved in the marker objects in question in the first place because the identification means is a distinctive of the flank of the object, which is installed in such a way that the information is deposited there and can be deposited, of which flank of the object has been marked or which object edge has not been marked yet.

The configuration according to the invention enables a suitable marking device to correctly mark already partially marked marker objects or marker objects with already removed object flanks. In this way, marker objects can also be reused, which still only have a part of the originally present object edges. Through the configuration according to the invention of the marked object, it is achieved that the information relating to the marker object is linked or can be directly linked to the marker object, so that the information necessary for the - correct - marking of the Marker object either from the flanks of the marker object can be obtained by the marker object itself or they can be deposited on the marker object itself.

In one configuration of the invention, the identification means consists of a labeling and / or an engraving and / or an stamping and / or a perforation of the object support, so that these configurations are especially suitable in the case of Marker objects or sidewalls of inexpensive objects, since they can be provided simply and at low cost. Especially in the case of marker objects or the flanks of high-quality objects, the use of electronic data carriers as identification means is also advantageous, so that in particular so-called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips or magnetic strips make Contactless reading or recording of information on the identification medium is possible, which is especially useful for sensitive marker objects.

In a preferred embodiment, the object holder has at least one rib, the identification means being provided - at least partially - on the rib of the object holder. However, two ribs extending essentially parallel to one another are particularly advantageous, these ribs then being provided above all in such a way that when the marking object is used correctly in a marking device, the ribs point in a main conveying direction. of the marker object. In this configuration, the ribs can be used, indeed, at the same time also to contact by application of force or in positive connection with the marking object through a transport device of the marking device - for example rollers that press against each other. and driven - and transport it in the main direction of transport.

It is especially advantageous that several identification means are provided on the object holder of the marker object, such that the information from at least one of the several identification means can be detected independently of the orientation of the marker object or the information can be detected. You can deposit on at least one of several identification means regardless of the orientation of the marker object.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the information of the identification means, which relates to the marker object, or a manufacturer's badge and / or a type badge, whereby the manufacturer of the marker object can be easily determined and the type of the marker object. The type tag can be an "abstract" type, which does not include specific data, such as the type of material used for the object's flanks. In this case, "concrete" information for the description of the marker object of the respective type can be determined simply through comparison with a database, which can be constituted by

ES 2 389 280 T3 for example, by a marking device.

In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the information of the identification means relating to the marker object - symmetry recognition - can be recognized whether the marker object is symmetric or asymmetric. In this case, a marker object is designated as symmetric when the object's flanks are held or arranged symmetrically on the object carrier, so that the spatial arrangement of the object's flanks does not change with respect to a fixed point, when the marker object is rotated 180 °. This information can be used, for example, specifically for a control of the correct coating of a marking device according to the invention. If the marker object is symmetrical, then it does not matter with which of the two front sides the marker object is inserted into a marker device, that is, which of the two front sides is in front, viewed in the main transport direction.

In this context it has been revealed that it is particularly advantageous if the marker object is configured in such a way that the information of the identification means relating to the marker object describes the orientation of the marker object, in particular indicates whether the identification means is provided in the front side or the rear side of the marker object and / or on which side of the front side and / or the rear side of the marker object the identification means is provided. Through this measurement, the orientation of the marking object can be very easily registered from the outside, thereby allowing it to be assessed whether the marker object is properly aligned for further processing.

In a further advantageous configuration, provision is also made for the identification means to be provided at an outer edge of the object holder, in particular, indeed, at the outer edge, with which the marker object can be inserted first in the case of correct use. on the dialer device. In this way it is guaranteed that the information related to the marker object is detected already while the marker object is still positioned.

Especially suitable for marking the marker object is a marker device with at least one marker unit, at least one marker object fixing support and at least one predetermined or predetermined marker pattern, so that the marker unit and the marker support fixing the marker object can be moved in a main transport direction relative to each other, at least one detection and / or influencing device being provided for interaction with the identification means of the marker object, and in such a way that through the detection device and / or the influencing device at least one piece of information can be detected that refers to the marker object and / or at least one information relating to the marker object can be deposited in the identification means. Since the marking device is suitable for correctly using the marking objects according to the invention, that is, the information contained can be detected or deposited or deposited in the identification means of the marking object, The information previously described in connection with the marker object according to the invention can be used for the processing of the marker object in the marking device in the advantageous manner already indicated above.

In a preferred configuration of the marker device it is provided that before marking the edges of the marker object with the detection device and / or influencing device, the information relating to the marker object is detected or retained, in particular, in effect, manufacturer identification and / or type identification and / or orientation and / or information on the marked or unmarked object flanks (identification of the object flanks) of the marker object.

When we speak here that the information relating to the marker object can be detected by the detection and / or influence device, that is, through "interaction" with the identification means, then this obviously presupposes that the device dialer comprises any type of data processing facility. This is obvious and requires no further explanation. In the same way, it is clear that a data processing device of this type is generally used for the conversion of the functionality described here and for the corresponding control of the dialing device. When, for example, it is said that with the detection and / or influencing device the information related to the marker object is detected and retained, then this is also technically understood to mean the use of a data processing facility, with which applies the functionality described. By means of the detection and / or influencing device, in this case, the information can both be read from an identification means and it can also be written, that is, information can be deposited on the identification means, and the information can be evaluated and memorized. information read from the identification means by means of the data processing facility.

In a preferred configuration, the detected and retained information, which relates to the marker object, is used in the marking device for setting the parameters and controlling the marking unit. By this it is understood in particular that, for example, the information related to the orientation of the object's flanks leads to a suitable alignment - in particular rotation - and / or scaling of the masking pattern, so that a marking of the edges can be carried out. flanks of the object regardless of the position of the marking object on the object fixture. Through the detection of the orientation of the flank of the object or

ES 2 389 280 T3 Well most of the time of the plurality of edges of the object, the marking device can adapt the predetermined marking pattern in such a way that the marking can be applied correctly to the intended flanks of the object. Accordingly, a false alignment of the marked objects on the marking device according to the invention is no longer possible, since the marking device adapts the marking pattern - present in an electronic data format - via a transformation corresponding to the detected alignment of the marking object. These transformations of graphical data - for example, translation, rotation, reflection - are known per se.

According to another advantageous configuration of the marking device, it is provided that the detected and retained information (identification of the edges of the object), which refers to the edges of the object marked or not marked, is used for the activation of the unit. marking and / or for adaptation of the marking pattern, ie only unmarked edges of the object are marked via the marking unit. The marking device configured in this way makes it possible to reuse also partially used marking objects, that is to say marking objects in which only a part of the edges of the object is marked. Indeed, the marking device is in a position to obtain information about which edges of the marked object are still present or are not yet marked and / or which edges of the object are not already present or have already been marked. The marking device according to the invention can recognize by comparing this information with the predetermined or predetermined marking pattern, which parts of the predetermined marking pattern can no longer be marked in the corresponding position and therefore , the marking device can react to such a collision. This can be done either because the marking unit does not carry out any marking on the already marked flank positions of the object or because the foreseen marking pattern is adapted, for example because marking positions of the object's flanks are no longer shifted over positions. still markable from flanks of objects not yet marked.

In particular, there are still a plurality of possibilities to configure and develop the marker object according to the invention. To this end, reference is made, on the one hand, to the patent claims that follow patent claim 1, and on the other hand, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments in combination with the drawing. In the drawing:

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a marker object according to the invention in top plan view.

Figure 2 shows another embodiment of a marker object according to the invention in top plan view.

Figure 3 shows yet another embodiment of a marker object according to the invention in top plan view.

Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a marking device in side view, and

Figure 5 shows a perspective representation of a printer as a marking device.

In Figures 1 to 3 a marker object 1 with an object holder 2 and several object flanks 3 held by the object holder 2 is respectively shown. In Figures 1 and 3, the object flanks 3 are arranged symmetrically In the form of columns, instead the flanks of objects 3 are arranged asymmetrically in FIG. 2. The marker object 1 represented in figures 1 and 3 is therefore symmetrically configured, that is, it does not matter with which of the two front sides the marker object 1 can be inserted into a marking device 7. Unlike Thus, the marker object 1 represented in FIG. 2 is asymmetric, so that when marking the flanks of the object 3 it must be taken into account with which front side the marker object 1 is inserted into the marking device 7. The flanks of the object 3 can be marked using the marking device not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

The marker objects 1 represented in the figures are configured in each case in such a way that the object support 2 comprises several identification means (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d), so that the identification means (4a, 4b, 4c , 4d) contain at least one information relating to the marker object 1. In the marker object 1 represented in FIG. 3, information relating to the marker object 1 can also be stored in the identification means 4d.

In Figures 1 to 3 it can be recognized that the object support 2 comprises two ribs 5 which extend essentially parallel to each other, so that the identification means (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) are provided on the rib 5 of the object holder 2. The ribs 5 in this case extend parallel to the main transport direction T of the marker object 1 inserted in a marker device 7.

The marker objects 1 represented in Figures 1 to 4 also have in common that several 5

ES 2 389 280 T3 identification means (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) on the object support 2 in such a way that the information of at least one of the several identification means (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) is detectable regardless of the orientation of the marker object 1. For example, it can be recognized that the identification means 4a and the identification means 4c are arranged, respectively, at opposite corners of the marker object 1, so that in the case of use of the marker object 1 it does not matter with which of the two Front sides the marker object is inserted, for example, into a marking device. The same applies for the identification means 4b provided on opposite sides of the ribs 5.

In the illustrated embodiments, the information on the identification means (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) relating to the marker object 1 refers to a manufacturer recognition 4a and a type recognition 4b. Furthermore, a symmetry recognition 4c is also provided, which makes it possible to recognize whether the marker object 1 or the arrangement of the flanks of the object 3 are symmetrical or asymmetric in the marker object 1. In the embodiments represented in Figures 1 to 3, symmetry recognition 4c consists of opposite holes, where the holes in a symmetric marker object 1 are square and have the same size, respectively (Figures 1 and 3 and in the case of the asymmetric marker object 1 according to figure 2 are of different size, so that, in general, it can be recognized that there is an asymmetry and it is recognized which of the -different- front sides of the object marked 1 is straight.

Marker objects not represented here are characterized in that the information on the identification means, which relates to the marker object, describes the orientation of the marker object, that is, it indicates in particular whether the identification means is provided on the front side or on the rear side. of the marker object and / or on which side of the front side and / or the rear side of the marker object the identification means is provided.

The exemplary embodiment according to figure 3 is characterized in that the identification means is a flank identification of the object 4d, which is installed in such a way that the information on which of the flanks of the object 3 has been deposited and can be deposited. been marked or which flank of object 3 has not been marked yet. In this way it is possible, in principle, to mark marking objects 1 not completely marked by means of a correspondingly equipped marking device, in such a way that only the flanks of the object 3 not yet marked are used.

In the illustrated embodiments, the identification means (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) are provided on an outer edge 6 of the object holder 2, so that it is thereby established in which places of the marker object 1 can be read. and deposit the information of the identification means (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d). The depicted marker objects 1 are preferably designed as plastic injection molded parts and the sides of the object 3 are designed as designation labels for electrical or electronic equipment, so that the designation labels can preferably be inserted or inserted into recesses corresponding parts on the device housings.

Figure 4 partially shows a marking device 7 for marking at least one marking object 1. The marking device 7 comprises a marking unit 8 and a marker object fixing support 9, both shown in FIG. 5. The marking device 7 further comprises a marking pattern, with which the flanks of the object 3 must be identified. The marking unit 8 and the marking object fixing support 9 are movable relative to each other in a main transport direction T, so that the main transport direction penetrates the plane of the paper in the illustrated embodiment. In the marker object 1 used, it is one of the marker objects 1 described above with an object support 2 and several object flaps 3 held by the object support 2, so that the object support 2 comprises identification means 4 .

For interaction with the identification means 4, a detection and / or influencing device 10 is provided, in which information relating to the marker object 1 can be detected via the detection and / or influencing device 10 Information relating to the marker object 1 can be deposited in the identification means 4.

The marking device 7 is further characterized in that before marking the object edges 3 of the marking object 1 with the detection and / or influencing device 10, the information relating to the marking object 1 is detected and retained. In this information or in the detected information, the illustrated embodiments deal with the recognition of the manufacturer 4a, the recognition of the type 4b, the recognition of symmetry 4c and the recognition of the edges of the object 4d.

In the depicted marking device 7, the detected and retained information, which relates to the marker object 1, is used for setting the parameters and controlling the marking unit 8, which makes the marking device 7 particularly advantageous. represented, since the information belonging to the marker object 1 actually used is necessarily always used.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the information relating to the orientation of the object flanks is used for a suitable alignment - especially, in effect, a rotation - and a scaling of the pattern pattern.

ES 2 389 280 T3 marking, so that a marking of the edges of the object 3 can be carried out regardless of the position of the marker object 1 on the mounting bracket of the marker object 9. In particular, the information detected and retained, which refer to the marked or unmarked edges of the object 3 of the marker object 1 recognition of the edges of the object - are used for the activation of the marker unit 8 or, instead, also for adaptation of the marking pattern, so that only unmarked object edges 3 are marked via marking unit 8.

Finally, the marking device 7 represented in FIG. 4 is characterized in that the marking device 7 deposits or updates in the identification means 4 the information on which object edges 3 have been marked by the marking unit 8.

Figure 5 shows a printer used as marking device 7, which may be an ink jet printer. The printer 7 has a print head -only indicated here- as a marking unit 8 and a marker object fixing support 9. The marker object fixing support 9 serves in this case both for housing and also for transporting the marker. marker object 1 to be marked in the main transport direction. For the transport of the marking object 1 through the marking device 1, several rollers 11 - only indicated in figure 4 - may be arranged on the marking device 7, which are aligned with each other in such a way that they contact by application of force and in positively bonding with the ribs 5 of a marker object 1 inserted in the marker object fixing support 9 and thus transporting the marker object 1 in the main transport direction. FIG. 5 also shows a data processing installation 12, which cooperates with the detection and / or influencing device 10.