Apparatus and method for controlling a programmable marking scribe

A programmable marking scribe for marking a material, the programmable marking scribe comprising:

• an x-axis housing extending along an x-axis;
• a y-axis housing extending along a y-axis;
• a z-axis housing extending along a z-axis;
• a stylus holder slidably supported by the z-axis housing;
• a stylus supported by the stylus holder;
• a programmable controller;
• an x-axis driver supported by the x-axis housing for moving the y-axis housing parallel to the surface of the material and in a direction of the x-axis;
• a y-axis driver supported by the y-axis housing for moving the z-axis housing parallel to the surface of the material and in a direction of the y-axis;
• and
• a z-axis driver supported by the z-axis housing for moving the stylus holder at right angles to the surface of the material and in a direction of the z-axis,
• the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis drivers being operatively responsive to signals generated by the programmable controller according to a program that calculates the size and disposition of individual recessed areas required to form a two-dimensional matrix pattern representing coded marking data and that dictates the motions of the stylus along each respective axis to form the pattern according to specified overall matrix dimensions, each recessed area having a rectangular configuration and being formed by the stylus in a series of only four movements along adjoining axes and in directions parallel to the material surface to displace material in a manner leaving a specifically shaped recessed area formed of grooves and surrounded by ridges, the grooves and ridges forming a reflectively multifaceted data cell having a collective reflectance that sufficiently contrasts with unmarked surface reflectance to enable a reader to clearly distinguish the former from the latter even in the presence of extraneous interfering marks and deposits.

A method of marking, along mutually orthogonal x-, y- and z-axes, a surface of an object with a marking scribe, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a stylus having a pointed tip extending in a z-axis direction;
• (b) positioning the stylus at a specific point adjacent the surface;
• (c) urging the tip of the stylus in the z-axis direction to penetrate the surface to a specific depth;
• and
• (d) moving the stylus parallel to the surface along the x- and y-axes to displace material along contiguous paths that create a specifically shaped, recessed area formed of grooves and surrounded by ridges, the grooves and ridges forming a reflectively multifaceted data cell having a collective reflectance that sufficiently contrasts with unmarked surface reflectance with unmarked surface reflectance to enable a reader to clearly distinguish the former from the latter even in the presence of extraneous interfering marks and deposits.

A method for marking a material with a programmable marking scribe, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a stylus having a pointed tip extending in a z-axis direction;
• (b) providing a programmable controller;
• (c) determining with the programmable controller the size and disposition of recessed areas to form a two-dimensional matrix pattern representing desired coded marking data;
• (c) positioning the stylus at a specific point adjacent the surface;
• (d) urging the tip of the stylus in the z-axis direction to penetrate the surface to a specific depth;
• and
• (e) moving the stylus parallel to the surface along the x- and y-axes to displace material along contiguous paths that create a specifically shaped, recessed area formed of grooves and surrounded by ridges, the grooves and ridges forming a reflectively multifaceted data cell having a collective reflectance that contrasts with unmarked surface reflectance to enable a reader to clearly distinguish the former from the latter even in the presence of extraneous interfering marks and deposits.