Automated parts labeling system

• US 20030201320A1
• Filed: 04/30/2002
• Published: 10/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Ly, Sidney, Venkatesh, Sid
• Granted Patent: US 6,986,462 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/383
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations

Abstract

A system for marking parts including an automated parts labeling (APL) software module for producing information labels for marking parts, a processor for executing the APL software module, and at least one of peripheral label device communicatively connected to the processor for receiving part identification information from the processor and marking said information labels.

Claims

1. A system for marking parts comprising:

a processor;

an automated parts labeling (APL) module executed by said processor for generating at least one interactive panel;

a processor-user interface for displaying the interactive panel; and

at least one peripheral label device communicatively connected to said processor for marking said information labels.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor-user interface comprises at least one of a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and a bar code scanner.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said interactive panel comprises at least one data entry field related to said peripheral label device, and said processor-user interface is utilized to input data in said data entry field.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein when said bar code scanner is utilized to automatically input data in said data entry field.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein said interactive panel further comprises a print button specific to said peripheral label device, said print button being used for communicating said input data to said peripheral label device.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein said panel further comprises a label format window for selecting a format of said input data.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein said panel further comprises a metal tag window for use when a metal label is desired.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein said panel further comprises a transfer button for use when manually entering data using said keyboard.

9. A method for marking parts, wherein said method comprises:

generating at least one interactive panel utilizing a processor, wherein the interactive panel allows a user to automate marking parts with identification information;

entering input data, utilizing a processor-user interface, in the interactive panel; and

marking an information label utilizing at least one peripheral label device communicatively connected to the processor.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the processor-user interface includes at least one of a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and a bar code scanner, and wherein generating at least one interactive panel comprises displaying the interactive panel utilizing the processor-user interface.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the interactive panel includes a label format window and a data window having at least one data entry field related to the peripheral label device, and wherein entering input data comprises:

selecting an input data format utilizing the label format window; and

entering data in the data entry field utilizing the processor-user interface.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein entering data further comprises automatically entering data utilizing the bar code scanner.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein data window further includes a transfer button, and wherein entering input data further comprises:

selecting the transfer button; and

manually entering the input data utilizing the keyboard.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the data window further includes a print button related to the peripheral label device, and wherein marking an information label comprises:

loading the peripheral label device with an information label suitable for use with the peripheral label device; and

selecting the print button such that the processor communicates the input data to the peripheral label device, whereby the peripheral label device marks the information label with the input data in the selected data format.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the interactive panel includes a metal tag window including a data entry field and a print button, and wherein marking an information label comprises:

entering data in the data entry field utilizing the processor-user interface;

loading the peripheral label device with a metal information label; and

selecting the print button such that the processor communicates the input data to the peripheral label device, whereby the peripheral label device marks the metal information label with the input data.

16. A method for using a computer to mark parts with identification information, the method comprising:

displaying at least one interactive panel on a processor-user interface, said interactive panel having a plurality data entry fields;

receiving input data entered in said data entry fields using said processor-user interface; and

communicating with a plurality peripheral label devices, thereby instructing at least one of said peripheral label devices to mark said input data on an information label.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein displaying at least one interactive panel comprises providing instructions interpretable by the computer to instruct the computer to display said interactive panel having a label format window, a data window having at least one of said data entry fields and at least one print button corresponding to each data entry field in the data window, and a metal tag window having one of said data entry fields and a corresponding print button.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving input data comprises providing instructions interpretable by the computer to instruct the computer to:

receive said input data from a bar code scanner; and

format said received input data based on a format selected utilizing said label format window.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein communicating with a plurality of peripheral label devices comprises providing instructions interpretable by the computer to instruct the computer to communicate with a specific one of said peripheral label devices upon selection of a specific one of said print buttons, thereby instructing said specific peripheral label device to mark said input data entered in said data entry field corresponding to said selected print button on an information label compatible with said specific peripheral label device.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving input data comprises providing instructions interpretable by the computer to instruct the computer to:

to display said data window having a transfer button; and

receive input data manually entered using a keyboard upon selection of said transfer button.