Electronic engraving system

• US 4,052,739 A
• Filed: 01/30/1976
• Issued: 10/04/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited, Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited, Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Wada, Masanobu, Koike, Yujiro, Okuma, Yoshihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Tupper, Robert S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Faber, Alan
• Application Number:
  US05/653,954
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: 178/6.6 B, 178/6.6 R, 178/6.7 R, 179/2 TV, 358/299, 358/297, 358/130, 358/131, 358/302
• US Class Current: 283/75
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2033/04 Transparent material
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2033/20 Coloured material; Pigments or inks
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/06 Picture of the user
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/08 Alphanumerical data
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/24 Colours
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/00 Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof printing processes to produce identification or security features B41M3/14
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/43 by removal of material
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/485 by electronic processing means
• CPC Class Codes: B44B 3/004 using a tool controlled by a photoelectric scanning device
• CPC Class Codes: B44B 3/007 in layered material
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/12 otherwise than by punching
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06046 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06196 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00278 with a printing apparatus, e.g. a laser beam printer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00283 with a television apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/38 Circuits or arrangements for blanking or otherwise eliminating unwanted parts of pictures H04N1/387 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 283/904 Credit card

Abstract

An electronic engraving system is provided wherein an object, e.g., a person, for a picture to be engraved on a card is picked up by a television camera and converted into corresponding electric signals; the electric signals are stored first and then read out at a lower scanning speed that suits a mechanical scanning system through scanning conversion means, and the picture of the object is engraved on the material in accordance with the read out signals, whereby the picture corresponding to the object can be easily engraved on the material, e.g., a plastic card without using any photographic original picture of the object.

Claims

1. An electronic engraving system comprising:

an image pickup means for generating electric signals corresponding to an object;

a signal storage and readout means of the scanning conversion type for storing said electric signals from said image pickup means at a high speed and reading out said stored electric signals at a low speed corresponding to an engraving speed in accordance with command signals;

an engraving means for engraving a picture of the object on a material in response to said read out electric signals, said engraving means including an engraving head having an engraving style arranged to face an engraving table, means for reciprocating said engraving table or engraving style and means for shifting said engraving style transversely to the direction of the reciprocation of said engraving table or engraving style; and

a command signal producing means for producing said command signals, said command signal producing means including a pulse producing means for producing pulses in response to the reciprocation of said engraving table or engraving style and a synchronizing pulse generating circuit for generating a synchronizing pulse in response to said pulses produced by said pulse producing means.

2. An electronic engraving system according to claim 1, wherein said material comprises a hard plastic plate having a colored area on which said picture is engraved.

3. An electronic engraving system according to claim 1, wherein said signal storage and readout means is a scan conversion tube.

4. An electronic engraving system according to claim 1, wherein said signal storage and readout means is a magnetic disc recorder.

5. An electronic engraving system according to claim 1, wherein said pulse producing means comprises an opaque substance having two slits coupled to said engraving table, a light emitting device disposed on one side of said opaque substance, a light receiving device disposed on the other side of said opaque substance opposite to said light emitting device.

6. An electronic engraving system according to claim 1, further comprising a trimming means for picking out signals from the output signals of said signal storage and readout means.

7. An electronic engraving system comprising:

an image pickup means for generating electric signals corresponding to an object;

a signal storage and readout means of the scanning conversion type for storing said electric signals from said image pickup means at a high speed and reading out said stored electric signals at a low speed corresponding to an engraving speed in accordance with command signals;

an engraving means for engraving a picture of the object on a material in response to said read out electric signals, said engraving means including an engraving head having an engraving style arranged to face an engraving table, means for reciprocating said engraving style and means for shifting said engraving style transversely to the direction of the reciprocation of said engraving style; and

a command signal producing means for producing said command signals, said command signal producing means including a pulse producing means for producing pulses in response to the reciprocation of said engraving style and a synchronizing pulse generating circuit for generating a synchronizing pulse in response to said pulses produced by said pulse producing means.