Abstract:
A compact material marking system and method uses a laser to mark materials such as fabrics in environments such as stores with safety and ease of use being addressed. The system includes a housing containing the laser, gas filters, and other equipment such as fans. Material to be marked is placed into a cassette box having an opening exposing the material. The cassette is engaged with an enclosure that is coupled to the housing to allow the laser beam from the laser to enter the enclosure and to strike the material found in the engaged cassette. Fumes caused by interaction of the laser beam with the material are contained by the enclosure and drawn away to be filtered. Sensors are employed so that the laser can be activated only when the cassette is fully engaged with the enclosure.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention is directed generally to systems for marking materials and, more particularly, to laser systems for marking materials.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Laser-based marking systems and methods for marking materials such as fabrics are conventionally known. In certain areas of the fashion industry, these conventional systems are widely used by manufacturing companies to mark clothing such as denim jackets and jeans.  
         [0005]     Unfortunately, these conventional laser-based marking systems are designed with certain degrees of safety, operational complexity, and size in mind such that their use is confined to restricted areas by trained operators.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention resides in a compact material marking system. Embodiments include a system having a laser configured to emit a laser beam and a surface configured to receive a material to be struck by the laser beam. An enclosure is coupled to the laser. The enclosure is shaped and positioned with respect to the surface to contain fumes produced when the laser beam strikes the material and to prevent injury from the laser beam. A filter is configured for filtering gases produced when the laser beam strikes the material. A fan is configured to produce fluid flow to cause the fumes contained by the enclosure to flow from the enclosure through the filter.  
         [0007]     Further embodiments include a box configured to contain the material, the box having a box opening to expose the material. The box is shaped to engage the enclosure to align at least a portion of the box opening with at least a portion of an enclosure opening to allow the laser beam to enter the box opening and strike the material in the box.  
         [0008]     Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is a front isometric view showing an implementation of a compact material marking system.  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a rear isometric view showing the compact material marking system of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view showing the material cassette of the compact material marking system of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of the material cassette shown in  FIG. 3  (shown with an open cover).  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of the open material cassette shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional side elevational view of the material cassette taken substantially along the line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is an isometric bottom view of the material cassette of  FIG. 3  showing guide grooves on the bottom of the material cassette.  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side elevational view of the material cassette taken substantially along the line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side elevational view of the material cassette of  FIG. 3  with a closed cover.  
         [0018]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side elevational view of the open material cassette of  FIG. 3  showing placement of a piece of material within the box of material cassette.  
         [0019]      FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side elevational view of the material cassette of  FIG. 3  with the piece of material as shown in  FIG. 10  with the cover closed.  
         [0020]      FIG. 12  is an isometric view of the closed material cassette of  FIG. 3  with the piece of material inside.  
         [0021]      FIG. 13  is an isometric view of the compact material marking system of  FIG. 1  showing the insertion orientation of the material cassette with respect to guides on a cassette platform.  
         [0022]      FIG. 14  is an isometric view of the compact material marking system of  FIG. 1  with the piece of material in the material cassette.  
         [0023]      FIG. 15  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the compact material marking system taken along the line  15 - 15  of  FIG. 14  showing initial insertion of the material cassette into a receiving area of the compact material marking system.  
         [0024]      FIG. 16  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the compact material marking system taken along the line  16 - 16  of  FIG. 14  showing intermediate insertion of the material cassette into the receiving area of the compact material marking system.  
         [0025]      FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional view of the compact material marking system taken along the line  17 - 17  of  FIG. 14  showing final insertion of the material cassette into the receiving area of the compact material marking system.  
         [0026]      FIG. 18  is a representative graph of signal levels received by the intermediate sensor of the compact material marking system of  FIG. 1  during insertion of the material cassette into the receiving area of the compact material marking system.  
         [0027]      FIG. 19  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the compact material marking system taken along the line  19 - 19  of  FIG. 14  showing airflow patterns during operation of the compact material marking system.  
         [0028]      FIG. 20  is a front elevational view of the compact material marking system of  FIG. 1  showing airflow patterns during operation the compact material marking system.  
         [0029]      FIG. 21  is a schematic cross-sectional view of an alternative implementation with the same external appearance as the compact material marking system shown in  FIG. 14  with the cross-sectional view taken along the line  21 - 21  of  FIG. 14  showing airflow patterns during operation of the alternative implementation. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0030]     As will be discussed in greater detail below, a compact material marking system disclosed herein can be used to mark materials in a variety of operational settings by relatively unskilled users. Both safety and environmental quality issues associated with operation are addressed and thereby allows operation by persons such as customers in locations such as stores. Consequently, the existing scope of possible application and implementation of laser-based marking can be greatly expanded.  
         [0031]     An implementation of the compact material marking system according to the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1  as a marking system  100  having a housing  102 , an enclosure  104  (typically transparent but opaque to laser wavelengths used) and a material cassette  106 . The housing  102  includes an equipment container  108  to house devices for generating a laser beam and handling noxious fumes generated as described further below. The housing  102  also includes a laser beam container  110  that houses mirrors and other devices to direct the generated laser beam. Status indicators  112  are positioned on the laser beam container  110  to inform users of operational status such as when the material cassette  106  has been properly positioned for operation, when the marking system  100  has been turned on, when the marking system is in operation, and when the marking system has finished processing a piece of material. The housing  102  further includes vapor ducting  114  having intake scoops  116  with deflectors  117  to collect noxious fumes produced during operation. A top  118  seals top portions of both the equipment container  108  and the enclosure  104 .  
         [0032]     The material cassette  106  has a box  120  with a cover  122 . The cover  122  has an opening  124  that exposes the material to be treated that is contained within the material cassette  106  as discussed further below. Furthermore, the opening  124  is defined by opening walls  125  that help both define the opening and secure the material to be treated that has been placed on a fabric platform  126 , positioned below the opening. The fabric platform  126  is a part of the material cassette  106 . In some implementations, the opening walls  125  are approximately one-half an inch in size to allow for fabric that has items attached, such as buttons, to be inserted under the enclosure  104  as discussed further below.  
         [0033]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the equipment container  108  of the housing  102  further includes an intake fan  128  to push air into the interior of the equipment container and an exhaust fan  130  to expel air from the interior of the equipment container. Also located on the equipment container  108  is a power cord coupler  132  to receive a power cord (not shown), a power switch  134  to control power to the material marking system  100 , and a power indicator  136  to indicate when power is available to the material marking system.  
         [0034]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the material cassette  106  further includes a channel  138  with channel walls  140 , a channel surface  142 , and an upper exterior cover surface  144  of the cover  122  that allow the material cassette to be slid into a receiving area underneath the enclosure  104 . Other implementations use an enclosure that has walls extending downward to meet a base with an opening in one of the walls of the enclosure to slidably accept a material cassette. In the depicted implementation, the material cassette  106  can be larger than a material cassette configured for insertion into an opening in a wall of the enclosure and thus could contain more material. When the material cassette  106  is slid into position underneath the enclosure  104 , the channel walls  140  are substantially adjacent to a lower end portion of the enclosure as best shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  
         [0035]     Interior aspects of the material cassette  106  are shown in  FIGS. 4-6 ,  8 , and  9  showing the cover  122  being in the open position. The cover  122  has an interior cover surface  146  upon which an intermediate magnet  148  is fastened. A final magnet  150  is fastened to an interior wall surface of the box  120 . The cover  122  is coupled to the box  120  by a hinge  152 . The box  120  also has an interior lower box surface  154  to which the fabric platform  126  is coupled. A lip  156  extends from interior wall surfaces of the box  120  near to the top of the box as best shown in  FIG. 6  to provide support for the cover  122  when the cover is closed. As further explained below, a pair of guide grooves  158 , best shown in  FIG. 7 , are fashioned in the bottom external surface of the box  120  to assist in insertion of the material cassette  106  into the receiving area underneath the enclosure  104  of the marking system  100 . The fabric platform  126  is attached to a base  162 , which is further attached to a spring  164  as shown in  FIG. 8 . The spring  164  is attached to the interior lower box surface  154  of the box  120  and is enclosed by a spring enclosure  160 . The spring enclosure  160  also retains the base  162  to limit its upward movement. As shown in  FIG. 9 , in its closed position, the cover  122  rests upon the lip  156 .  
         [0036]     To use the material cassette  106 , the cover  122  is first opened and a portion of a fabric  166 , such as a piece of cloth, an article of clothing, or other such fabric item to be marked is placed upon the fabric platform  126  so that the fabric portion lies flat upon the fabric platform as shown in  FIG. 10 . The cover  122  is then closed so that the opening walls  125  press down onto a portion of the fabric  166  that is lying flat upon the fabric platform  126  near the edges of the fabric platform as shown in  FIG. 11 . The spring  164  biases the fabric platform  126  upward to maintain the fabric  166  thereon in contact with the opening walls  125 . That portion of the fabric  166  lying flat on the fabric platform  126  can be seen through the opening  124  of the material cassette  106  as shown in  FIG. 12 .  
         [0037]     To insert the material cassette  106  into the receiving area of the marking system  100  underneath the enclosure  104 , the guide grooves  158  are aligned with a pair of guides  170  on a cassette support platform  172  fixedly attached to the equipment container  108  of the housing  102  underneath the enclosure  104 , as shown in  FIG. 13 . By aligning the guide grooves  158  with the guides  170 , the channel  138  is also aligned with the lower end portion of the enclosure  104  to allow insertion of the material cassette  106 . The guides  170  have tabs  174  that mate with notches  176  found in each of the guide grooves  158  when the material cassette  106  is fully inserted into the receiving area of the marking system  100 . When the material cassette  106  contains the fabric  166  and is fully inserted as shown  FIG. 14 , the marking system  100  is ready for powered operation.  
         [0038]     Internal components of the marking system  100  are shown in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 15  taken along the  15 - 15  line and of  FIG. 14 . The equipment container  108  houses a laser  178  with an implementation having a predominantly vertical orientation for the laser. An angled mirror  180  is positioned to reflect a laser beam emitted from the laser  178  to redirect the beam into a substantially horizontal orientation. The horizontally oriented laser beam travels within the laser beam container  110  to strike an x-axis mirror  186  and a y-axis mirror  188  which have their orientation controlled by an optical scanner  182  that is held in position by a mount  184 .  
         [0039]     Once the horizontally oriented laser beam strikes a combination of the x-axis mirror  186  and the y-axis mirror  188 , it is redirected through an aperture  190  to strike a desired spot on the fabric  166  depending upon orientation of the mirrors when the material cassette  106  is fully inserted into the receiving area as shown in  FIGS. 14 and 17 . When the fabric  166  is treated by the laser  178  a certain amount of fumes result, which pass through the intake scoops  116  into a plenum  194 . A divider  195  within the plenum  194  allows a certain air flow pattern discussed further below to assist intake of the fumes by the scoops  116 .  
         [0040]     A duct  200  is located within the equipment container  108  to convey fumes from the plenum  194  through two filters  202  as drawn by the exhaust fan  130  to be sent into the exterior atmosphere. In some implementations, the filters  202  include activated charcoal to capture some of the gases that make up the fumes emitted from the fabric  166  during operation of the marking system  100 .  
         [0041]     Also located in the equipment container  108  is a power supply  204  to furnish power and a controller  206  to furnish control functions to components within the equipment container.  
         [0042]     Located in the bottom floor of the plenum  194  is an intermediate magnetic sensor  196  positioned to determine when the material cassette  106  has reached an intermediate position prior to its operational position by generating a signal when the intermediate magnet  148  has come into close proximity to the intermediate sensor. The material cassette  106  is shown in  FIG. 15  inserted to a certain extent into the rest of the marking system  100  less than the intermediate position. In  FIG. 16 , the material cassette  106  is shown inserted to the intermediate position whereat the intermediate magnet  148  is directly below the intermediate sensor  196 . In  FIG. 17 , the material cassette  106  is shown inserted to a final position whereat the final magnet  150  is adjacent to a final magnetic sensor  198  and the intermediate magnet  148  has passed by the intermediate sensor  196  and is positioned further inward toward the equipment container  108 . As the intermediate magnet  148  nears the vicinity of the intermediate sensor  196  and the final magnet  150  nears the vicinity of the final sensor  198 , respectively, the voltage levels of the signals generated by the intermediate sensor and the final sensor increase as shown in  FIG. 18 .  
         [0043]     The signals generated by the intermediate sensor  196  and the final sensor  198  are used in a safety lockout feature which prevents the marking system  100  from being activated unless the material cassette  106  has been properly inserted into the rest of the marking system. In particular, as shown in  FIG. 18 , as the material cassette  106  is inserted into the marking system  100 , the signal generated by the intermediate sensor  196  starts at a substantially zero voltage level, rises to a maximum voltage level, and then decreases back to the substantially zero voltage level. As the material cassette  106  is inserted into the marking system  100 , the signal generated by the final sensor  198  starts at a substantially zero voltage level and finally rises to a maximum voltage level. The controller  206  is programmed to prevent activation of the marking system  100  unless these signal generation characteristics of the intermediate sensor  196  and the final sensor  198  with respect to insertion of the material cassette  106  into the marking system  100  are recognized by the controller. Consequently, the marking system  100  cannot be activated unless the material cassette  106  has been properly inserted into the marking system.  
         [0044]     Fluid flow patterns associated with the marking system  100  are depicted in  FIGS. 19 and 20  showing outside air  208  being brought into the marking system through the intake fan  128  to become housing air  210  that flows from the bottom of the equipment container  108  along external surfaces of the laser  178  thereby assisting in laser cooling, and through the laser beam container  110  to flow through the aperture into the enclosure  104  as enclosure air  212 . Other of the housing air  210  flows through a housing gap  214  between the top  118  and the laser beam container  110  into the enclosure  104  to also become enclosure air  212 .  
         [0045]     Other outside air  208  flows into the enclosure  104  to become enclosure air  212  through an enclosure gap  216  between the enclosure  104  and the material cassette  106 , which helps to keep the material  166  flattened upon the fabric platform  126 . These various sources of enclosure air  212  allow for proper mixing and flow of enclosure air to assist in carrying any fumes created by the laser beam indicated by reference numeral  217  in  FIG. 19 , striking the fabric  166  to be carried through the intake scoops  116  along with the enclosure air  212  into the plenum  194  to become plenum air  218 . From the plenum  194 , the plenum air  218  flows into the duct  200  to become duct air  220 . The duct air  220  flows through the filters  202  and the exhaust fan  130  to be vented externally from the marking system  100  as exhaust air  222 .  
         [0046]     In an alternative implementation shown in  FIG. 21 , the laser  178  is positioned in a substantially horizontal orientation allowing for the laser beam  217  to exit horizontally thereby eliminating the need for the mirror  180 . In this alternative implementation other components of the equipment container  108  have been rearranged to allow for the alternative placement of the laser  178 .  
         [0047]     From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.