Laser marking device

Abstract

To provide a laser marking apparatus that can shorten the marking time when marking characters of an outline font having contour data with a laser beam, forming them with the appearance of a single line. [Solution] The laser marking apparatus 1 comprises a laser beam emission unit 211 that emits laser light, a laser beam scanning unit 22 that scans the laser light emitted from the laser beam emission unit 211, and a control unit 24 that controls the laser beam scanning unit 22 to scan the laser light emitted from the laser beam emission unit 211 based on the contour line data of the outline font. The control unit 24 controls the laser beam scanning unit 22 to scan the laser light emitted from the laser beam emission unit 211 based on contour line removal data obtained by removing the return path data or the forward path data from the contour line data of the outline font in which the laser light scans back and forth.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a laser marking device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a laser marking device that marks characters in the data format of outline fonts on a marked portion based on the outline data possessed by the outline font (see, for example, Patent Document 1). An outline font is a data format of a font, and is a data format that stores the shape of a character by the outline of the character. When marking a character of an outline font with a laser beam, based on the outline data possessed by the outline font, scanning is performed along the outline that is the outline of the character, and then control is performed to scan and fill in the area surrounded by the outline one line at a time.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a laser marking device, when marking a character of an outline font with a laser beam based on the outline data possessed by the outline font, there may be a case where the line width of the outline that is the outline of the character is made as narrow as possible, and the appearance of the character is composed of the appearance of a single line as much as possible. However, when the appearance of a character of an outline font is composed of the appearance of a single line, since the outline font has outline data, it is necessary to scan the area surrounded by the outline that is the outline of the character with a laser beam. It is necessary to scan back and forth along one line of the character with a laser beam, and it takes time for marking.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a laser marking apparatus that can shorten the marking time when marking characters of an outline font having contour data with a laser beam, so that they appear as a single line. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention relates to a laser marking apparatus comprising: a laser beam emitting unit that emits laser light; a laser beam scanning unit that scans the laser light emitted from the laser beam emitting unit; and a control unit that controls the laser beam scanning unit to scan the laser light emitted from the laser beam emitting unit based on contour line data of an outline font, wherein the control unit controls the laser beam scanning unit to scan the laser light emitted from the laser beam emitting unit based on contour line removal data obtained by removing return path data or forward path data from contour line data scanned by the laser beam in a back-and-forth motion in the contour line data of an outline font.

[0007] Furthermore, it is preferable to include a contour removal data creation unit that creates contour removal data by removing either the return path data or the forward path data from the contour data of the outline font, which is scanned by a laser beam moving back and forth.

[0008] Furthermore, it is preferable to include a data determination unit that, in an outline font having contour line data, determines whether to use contour line removal data obtained by removing return data or forward data from the contour line data if it is a predetermined first outline font data, and determines whether to use contour line data without using contour line removal data obtained by removing return data or forward data from the contour line data if it is a predetermined second outline font data.

[0009] Furthermore, it is preferable to include a scan order optimization data creation unit that optimizes the scan order to create the shortest route, taking into account the connections between each Bézier curve of the outline font, and generates scan order optimization data for the combination of stroke order and writing direction of characters. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, a laser marking apparatus can be provided that can shorten the marking time when marking characters of an outline font having contour line data with laser light, resulting in the appearance of a single line. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] A block diagram of a laser marking apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This diagram shows an example of marking characters in an outline font using conventional control methods, where (a), (b), and (c) show the case where the width of the character lines is gradually narrowed. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of marking outline font characters using a laser marking device, where (a) shows the case where marking is performed without removing return data, and (b) shows the case where marking is performed after removing return data. [Figure 4] Figures (a) to (d) show examples of how outline font characters are marked, with (a) and (b) showing strings of characters where the font is single-line outline, and (c) and (d) showing strings of characters where single-line outline and non-single-line outline fonts are mixed. [Figure 5] Regarding the stroke order of characters when marking with a laser marking device, (a) is a diagram showing the unoptimized stroke order, and (b) is a diagram showing the optimized stroke order. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the control operation of a laser marking device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the laser marking apparatus 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a laser marking apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The laser marking apparatus 1 of this embodiment is a laser processing apparatus for marking characters on a workpiece to be marked W (such as a packaging material made of resin film or a resin PET bottle).

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the laser marking apparatus 1 according to this embodiment comprises a marking unit 2 and an operating terminal 3. The laser marking apparatus 1 marks the part to be marked W, such as packaging material (not shown), which is transported by a transport device (not shown), with characters such as "Date of manufacture" by laser processing using laser light. The packaging material is made of, for example, a resin film. In this embodiment, the part to be marked W is made of packaging material, but it is not limited to this. The part to be marked W may be made of, for example, a resin PET bottle.

[0014] The marking unit 2 comprises a laser oscillator 21, a scanner unit 22 (laser light scanning unit), a focusing lens 23, a control unit 24, and a storage unit 25.

[0015] The laser oscillator 21 has a laser head 211 (laser beam emitter). The laser head 211 emits laser light of a predetermined diameter. The scanner unit 22 scans the laser light emitted from the laser head 211 within a two-dimensional scanning range of the laser light. The scanner unit 22 is configured, for example, using a two-axis galvanometer scanner to perform two-dimensional scanning of the laser light. The focusing lens 23 is positioned on the optical path of the laser light emitted from the laser head 211. The laser light emitted from the laser head 211 is focused by the focusing lens 23.

[0016] The laser light emitted from the laser head 211 is scanned by the scanner unit 22 and irradiated onto the marking target portion W through the condenser lens 23, so that the marking unit 2 marks characters such as "manufacture date" on the marking target portion W. Note that the characters marked on the marking target portion W are not limited to "manufacture date", and may be, for example, "expiration date".

[0017] The storage unit 25 stores a control program for operating the laser marking device 1 of the present embodiment, font data of characters to be marked on the marking target portion W (described later) transmitted from the operation terminal 3, and the like.

[0018] The control unit 24 is a control unit for comprehensively controlling the marking unit 2, and is composed of, for example, a CPU or the like. The control unit 24 appropriately reads out various programs stored in the storage unit 25, outline data of the outline font of the characters to be marked on the marking target portion W (described later) transmitted from the operation terminal 3, return path removal data (described later), etc., and executes them, thereby cooperating with hardware such as the laser oscillator 21 and the scanner unit 22 described above, and realizing various functions according to the present invention.

[0019] The control unit 24 controls the scanner unit 22 so that the laser light emitted from the laser head 211 scans the scanning range and marks characters by referring to the font data of the characters stored in the storage unit 25 or referring to the font data of the characters to be marked on the marking target portion W (described later) transmitted from the operation terminal 3. Thereby, the laser light emitted from the laser head 211 is scanned by the scanner unit 22, and marks characters such as "manufacture date" on the marking target portion W.

[0020] In the present embodiment, the control unit 24 controls the scanner unit 22 to scan the laser light emitted from the laser head 211 based on the outline data of the outline font by referring to the font data of the characters stored in the storage unit 25 or referring to the font data of the characters to be marked on the marking target portion W (described later) transmitted from the operation terminal 3.

[0021] An outline font is one of the font data formats and is a data format that stores the shape of characters by the outlines of the characters. For example, "TrueType font" (TrueType is a registered trademark) can be cited as an outline font. An outline font is composed of outline data of the outline font by "Bezier curves", and the control unit 24 marks characters based on the outline data of the outline font by "Bezier curves", so that the marking unit 2 can draw characters with smooth curves.

[0022] Conventionally, when marking a character such as "E" with a laser beam based on the outline data of an outline font, as shown in Fig. 2(a), the character was marked by scanning along the outline that is the outline of the character "E". When marking the character "E" with the character width shown in Fig. 2(b) that is thinner than the character width of Fig. 2(a) or when marking with the character width shown in Fig. 2(c) that is thinner than the character width of Fig. 2(b), the character was also marked by scanning along the outline that is the outline of the character "E".

[0023] Here, for example, as shown in Fig. 2(c), there may be a case where it is desired to mark with a line having an appearance of a single line with a character width. In this embodiment, a font with a line having an appearance of a single line with a character width is also referred to as a "single-line outline" font.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 2(c), when marking with a "single-line outline" font, since the laser beam is scanned along the outline that is the outline of the character "E", the line marked in one forward pass is traced again in the reverse pass with the line width of the character "E" for marking, so that the laser beam scans the same line back and forth for marking. Therefore, when scanning the laser beam based on the outline data possessed by the outline font, it takes time for marking because of marking by the forward and reverse passes of the outline data.

[0025] In contrast, in the present invention, the control unit 24 controls the scanner unit 22 to scan the laser light emitted from the scanner unit 22 based on the return-route removal data (outline removal data) obtained by removing the return-route data from the outline data of the outline font, among the outline data where the laser light reciprocates and scans.

[0026] For example, conventionally, when marking with a "single-line outline" font, as shown in FIG. 3(a), when marking the characters of "blood circulation" with laser light based on the outline data of the outline font, for the character of "blood" on the left side of FIG. 3(a), it is marked with laser light in the order of (A1) to (A12), and for the character of "circulation" on the right side of FIG. 3(a), it is marked with laser light in the order of (B1) to (B12).

[0027] In this case, when marking with laser light, as shown in FIG. 3(a), for the character of "blood", the reciprocation of the forward path of (A1) and the return path of (A2), the reciprocation of the forward path of (A3) and the return path of (A4), the reciprocation of the forward path of (A5) and the return path of (A6), the reciprocation of the forward path of (A7) and the return path of (A8), the reciprocation of the forward path of (A9) and the return path of (A10), the reciprocation of the forward path of (A11) and the return path of (A12), and for the character of "circulation", the reciprocation of the forward path of (B1) and the return path of (B2), the reciprocation of the forward path of (B3) and the return path of (B4), the reciprocation of the forward path of (B5) and the return path of (B6), the reciprocation of the forward path of (B7) and the return path of (B8), the reciprocation of the forward path of (B9) and the return path of (B10), the reciprocation of the forward path of (B11) and the return path of (B12), the laser light is scanned to mark, and the line marked once in the forward path is traced and marked again in the return path. Thus, in the conventional technology, when marking with a "single-line outline" font, since the outline font has outline data, the laser light is scanned along the outline of the character to surround the outline based on the outline data, and marking is performed by the reciprocation of the forward path and the return path of the outline data, which takes time for marking.

[0028] In contrast, in the present invention, when marking with a "single-line outline" font, the control unit 24 controls the scanner unit 22 to scan the laser light emitted from the scanner unit 22 based on the return-route removal data obtained by removing the return-route data from the outline data of the outline font, which is the outline data where the laser light reciprocates and scans. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3(b), regarding the character "blood" on the left side of FIG. 3(b), <a1> ~ <a6>In the order of, regarding the character "row" on the right side of Fig. 3(b), <b1> ~ <b6>In the order described above, based on the return-route removal data obtained by removing the return-route data from the outline data of the outline font where the laser light reciprocates and scans, by scanning the laser light only in the forward route without reciprocating the laser light, the character "blood circulation" can be marked. Therefore, the line that has been marked once does not need to be traced again, and the character can be marked by scanning the laser light only in the forward route without reciprocating the laser light. Furthermore, even when the marked portion W is a packaging material that is weak to laser light and is composed of a resin film, since the laser light only needs to be scanned once in the forward route, it is possible to reduce the breakage of the packaging material due to damage and perform marking.

[0029] In the present embodiment, the return-route removal data obtained by removing the return-route data from the outline data of the outline font where the laser light reciprocates and scans is created, for example, in the return-route removal data creation unit 33 (described later) (see FIG. 1) of the operation terminal 3. The return-route removal data created in the return-route removal data creation unit 33 is transmitted from the operation terminal 3 to the marking unit 2. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the return-route removal data creation unit 33 is provided in the operation terminal 3, but it is not limited thereto. The return-route removal data creation unit 33 may be provided, for example, in the marking unit 2.

[0030] The control unit 24 controls the scanner unit 22 based on the scan order optimization data created by the scan order optimization data creation unit 35 (described later) of the operation terminal 3. Specifically, the scan order optimization data creation unit 35 (described later) of the operation terminal 3 calculates the time required for all combinations of the writing order and writing direction of characters when the order of scanning the laser light is changed, and adopts the writing order and writing direction of characters that are the shortest time to optimize the scan order of characters and perform marking.

[0031] The operation terminal 3 is composed of a computer operated by a user, and mainly includes an input unit 31 such as a numeric keypad for an operator or the like to input numerical values such as the date and time of the manufacturing date, and a selection key for selecting the content of characters to be marked on the marked part W, a display unit 32, a return path removal data creation unit 33 (outline removal data creation unit), a data determination unit 34, a scan order optimization data creation unit 35, and a terminal-side storage unit 36 (storage unit). The operation terminal 3 is electrically connected to the marking unit 2. The data input by the input unit 31, the return path removal data created by the return path removal data creation unit 33 (described later), the scan order optimization data created by the scan order optimization data creation unit 35, etc. are transmitted from the operation terminal 3 to the marking unit 2 through a wired or wireless communication function.

[0032] The terminal-side storage unit 36 stores various programs used by the return path removal data creation unit 33 (described later) and the data determination unit 34 (described later), the outline data of the outline font of the characters to be marked on the marked part W, the return path removal data created by the return path removal data creation unit 33, etc.

[0033] Based on the character data input to the operation terminal 3, the return path removal data creation unit 33 refers to the outline data of the outline font stored in the terminal-side storage unit 36, and removes the return path data from the outline data of the outline font where the laser light reciprocates and scans, to create return path removal data (outline removal data). For example, as described above, the return path removal data is created by removing the return path data from the outline data of the outline of the character "blood circulation" shown in Fig. 3(a) to obtain the return path removal data for scanning the character "blood circulation" shown in Fig. 3(b). The return path removal data created by the return path removal data creation unit 33 is temporarily stored in the terminal-side storage unit 36 or transmitted to the marking unit 2 through the communication function of the operation terminal 3.

[0034] The data determination unit 34 determines whether the outline of the character data entered into the operation terminal 3 is a "single-line outline" font, where the width of the character is the appearance of a single line. If the data determination unit 34 determines that the outline of the character data entered into the operation terminal 3 is a "single-line outline" font, it determines to use return-path-removed data, which is obtained by removing the return-path data from the outline data, and the return-path-removed data creation unit 33 creates the return-path-removed data.

[0035] Furthermore, the data determination unit 34 determines, in the case of an outline font having contour line data, to use return path removed data obtained by removing return path data from the contour line data if it is a predetermined first outline font data, and to use contour line data without creating return path removed data by the return path removed data creation unit 33 if it is a predetermined second outline font data.

[0036] In this embodiment, for example, a character in a predetermined first outline font data is referred to as the "first specific character," and a character in a predetermined second outline font data is referred to as the "second specific character."

[0037] For example, the "first specific character" may be "Date of manufacture" as shown in Figure 4(a), "12345" as shown in Figure 4(b), the uppercase English letter "W" in "Window" as shown in Figure 4(c), or the katakana character "パソコン" in "Computer World" as shown in Figure 4(d). If any of these characters are specified, the data determination unit 34 determines that they are the "first specific character" and decides to use the return path removed data obtained by removing the return path data from the outline data of the outline font.

[0038] Furthermore, the "second specific character" is defined as, for example, the lowercase English letter "indow" in "Window" shown in Figure 4(c), or the hiragana and kanji "sekai" in "computer world" shown in Figure 4(d). If these characters are specified, the data determination unit 34 determines that they are the "second specific character" and decides to use the outline data of the outline font instead of using the return path removed data obtained by removing the return path data from the outline data of the outline font.

[0039] The characters to be associated with the "first specific character" or the "second specific character" may be selected in advance and stored in the terminal-side storage unit 36, or the "first specific character" and the "second specific character" may be determined based on the shape of the character selected and specified on the operating terminal 3. For example, if the weight of the outline font specified for the character to be marked is "zero" or "close to zero", it can be determined as the "first specific character", and if the weight of the outline font specified for the character to be marked is greater than "zero" or "close to zero", it can be determined as the "second specific character". In this embodiment, the characters shown in Figures 4(a) to (d) are examples and can be set as appropriate.

[0040] In this embodiment of control, if the typeface of the specified character is a font that has the appearance of a single line (typeface weight is "zero" or "close to zero"), the control is performed to remove the return line data, assuming that the intention is to perform the marking with a single line. There are typefaces with a weight of "zero," that is, a width of zero, and if there is a thickness, it will actually be the thickness of the outline line itself during marking. However, the typeface data does not include the thickness of the outline line (it is a drawing element), and the typeface weight merely indicates the width between the outline lines. Therefore, when there is no width between the outline lines of a typeface and the appearance is a single line, the weight can be said to be "zero," and when the width between the outline lines of a typeface is close to zero and the appearance can be considered as a single line, the weight can be said to be "close to zero."

[0041] The scan order optimization data creation unit 35 optimizes the scan order to create scan order optimization data by considering the connections between each Bézier curve of the outline font, based on the combination of stroke order and writing direction of the characters, so that it takes the shortest route. The scan order optimization data created by the scan order optimization data creation unit 35 is temporarily stored in the terminal-side storage unit 36 ​​or transmitted to the marking unit 2 via the communication function of the operation terminal 3.

[0042] For example, as shown in Figure 5(a), the usual way to write "ABC" is to write them in the order of (a1) to (a14). However, when scanning with a laser beam, this writing order is not the shortest scanning distance, and therefore may not be an efficient scanning order.

[0043] Therefore, in the present invention, the scan order optimization data creation unit 35 creates scan order optimization data by considering the connections of each Bézier curve in the outline font, for example, for the stroke order of "ABC", and calculating the time required for all combinations of stroke order and writing direction of the characters when the order in which the laser beam is scanned is changed. In the present invention, by marking the part to be marked W in the stroke order of (b1) to (b12) in Figure 5(b), the route to which the laser beam is scanned becomes the shortest route, thus shortening the time required for laser beam marking and enabling efficient marking of the part to be marked W.

[0044] Next, we will explain the specific control flow of the laser marking apparatus 1.

[0045] As shown in Figure 6, in step S1, the operator first inputs the character to be marked on the part to be marked W using the input unit 31 of the operation terminal 3. This specifies the character to be marked on the part to be marked W.

[0046] In step S2, the data determination unit 34 (see Figure 1) determines whether the font specified for the characters to be marked on the operation terminal 3 (see Figure 1) is a single-line outline font. If it is determined that the font specified for the characters to be marked is not a single-line outline font (NO), the process proceeds to step S3. If it is determined that the font specified for the characters to be marked is a single-line outline font (YES), the process proceeds to step S5.

[0047] In step S2, if it is determined that the font specified for the character to be marked is not a single-line outline (NO), then in step S3, the data determination unit 34 determines whether the weight (typeface thickness) of the font specified for the character to be marked on the operation terminal 3 is "zero" or "close to zero". If it is determined that the weight of the font specified for the character to be marked on the operation terminal 3 is not "zero" or "close to zero" (NO), the process proceeds to step S4. If it is determined that the weight of the font specified for the character to be marked on the operation terminal 3 is "zero" or "close to zero" (YES), the process proceeds to step S5.

[0048] In step S3, if it is determined that the font weight of the character to be marked is not "zero" or "close to zero" (NO), then in step S4, the outline font outline data stored in the terminal-side storage unit 36 ​​is transmitted to the marking unit 2 in order to perform marking based on the outline font outline data. Based on the outline font outline data transmitted to the marking unit 2, the marking unit 2 performs marking on the part to be marked W by controlling the control unit 24 to scan the laser beam. After step S4, the process ends.

[0049] In step S5, if it is determined in step S2 that the font specified for the character to be marked is a single-line outline (YES), or if it is determined in step S3 that the weight of the font specified for the character to be marked is "zero" or "close to zero" (YES), the marking is performed based on return-path-removed data obtained by removing the return-path data from the contour line data. The return-path-removed data creation unit 33, based on the character entered into the operation terminal 3, refers to the contour line data of the outline font of the character stored in the terminal-side storage unit 36 ​​and creates return-path-removed data by removing the return-path data from the contour line data of the outline font in which the laser beam scans back and forth. The return-path-removed data created by the return-path-removed data creation unit 33 is transmitted to the marking unit 2. Based on the return-path-removed data transmitted to the marking unit 2, the marking unit 2 performs marking on the part to be marked W by controlling the control unit 24 to scan the laser beam. The process ends after step S5.

[0050] According to the laser marking apparatus 1 of this embodiment, for example, the following effects can be achieved. The laser marking apparatus 1 comprises a laser head 211 that emits laser light, a scanner unit 22 that scans the laser light emitted from the laser head 211, and a control unit 24 that controls the scanner unit 22 to scan the laser light emitted from the laser head 211 based on the contour data of the outline font. The control unit 24 controls the scanner unit 22 to scan the laser light emitted from the laser head 211 based on return path removal data, which is obtained by removing the return path data from the contour data of the outline font that the laser light scans back and forth.

[0051] This allows marking characters by scanning the laser beam only in the forward direction, without requiring the laser beam to travel back and forth, thus shortening the marking time. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in production capacity for marking the area to be marked W. Furthermore, even if the area to be marked W is a packaging material made of resin film that is sensitive to laser light, the laser beam only needs to be scanned once in the forward direction, thus reducing damage to the packaging material during marking. In addition, outline fonts have high versatility because their font format is generally widely used. Moreover, since outline fonts use "Bézier curves" to construct their outlines, using outline fonts allows for the creation of characters with smooth curves.

[0052] Furthermore, this embodiment includes a return-path-removed data creation unit 33 that creates return-path-removed data by removing the return-path data from the contour line data of the outline font, which is scanned by a laser beam in a back-and-forth motion. This makes it easy to create return-path-removed data, and based on this return-path-removed data, the marking time for marking with a laser beam can be easily shortened.

[0053] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a data determination unit 34 is provided that, in the case of an outline font having contour line data, determines whether to use return path removed data obtained by removing return path data from the contour line data if it is first outline font data, and determines whether to use contour line data without using return path removed data obtained by removing return path data from the contour line data if it is second outline font data. As a result, based on the determination result determined by the data determination unit 34, if the outline font having contour line data is first outline font data, it is possible to efficiently mark with laser light as needed using return path removed data obtained by removing return path data, thereby easily shortening the marking time for marking with laser light.

[0054] Furthermore, this embodiment includes a scan order optimization data creation unit 35 that optimizes the scan order to create scan order optimization data by considering the connections between each Bézier curve of the outline font and the combination of stroke order and writing direction of the characters, so that the scan order becomes the shortest route. As a result, marking can be performed on the part to be marked W based on the scan order optimization data created by the scan order optimization data creation unit 35, and since the route scanned by the laser beam becomes the shortest route, the time required for laser marking can be shortened, and marking can be performed efficiently on the part to be marked W.

[0055] Although preferred embodiments have been described above, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without being limited to the embodiments described above.

[0056] In the above embodiment, the operation terminal 3 is provided with a return path removal data creation unit 33, a data determination unit 34, and a scan order optimization data creation unit 35, but is not limited to this. The marking unit 2 may also be provided with a return path removal data creation unit 33, a data determination unit 34, and a scan order optimization data creation unit 35. In addition to the operation terminal 3, a separate data creation terminal (not shown) may be provided, and the return path removal data creation unit 33, a data determination unit 34, and a scan order optimization data creation unit 35 may be provided in the data creation terminal (not shown). The data creation terminal may be configured as, for example, a personal computer (PC).

[0057] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the control unit 24 in the laser marking apparatus 1 is configured to control the scanner unit 22 based on return-path removed data (contour-removed data) obtained by removing the return-path data from the contour data scanned by the laser beam in the contour data of the outline font. However, the apparatus is not limited to this configuration. The control unit 24 may also be configured to control the scanner unit 22 based on forward-path removed data (contour-removed data) obtained by removing the forward-path data from the contour data scanned by the laser beam in the contour data of the outline font. In this case, "return-path data," "return-path removed data (contour-removed data)," and "return-path removed data creation unit 33 (contour-removed data creation unit)" in the above embodiment can be read and applied as "forward-path data," "forward-path removed data (contour-removed data)," and "forward-path removed data creation unit (contour-removed data creation unit)," and the same effect as when controlling to remove return-path data in the above embodiment can be obtained even when controlling to remove forward-path data. Furthermore, when marking multiple characters (strings), the control method for removing return data before marking and the control method for removing outbound data before marking may be varied for each character. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0058] 1. Laser marking device 22 Scanner section (laser beam scanning section) 24 Control Unit 33. Return path removal data creation unit (contour line removal data creation unit) 34 Data Judgment Unit 211 Laser head (laser light emission unit) < / b1> < / a1>

Claims

1. A laser beam emission unit that emits laser light, A laser beam scanning unit that scans the laser beam emitted from the laser beam emission unit, The system includes a control unit that controls the laser beam scanning unit to scan the laser beam emitted from the laser beam emission unit based on the contour data of the outline font, A laser marking apparatus in which the control unit controls the laser beam scanning unit to scan the laser beam emitted from the laser beam emission unit based on contour removal data obtained by removing the return path data or the forward path data from the contour data of the outline font, which is scanned by a laser beam in a back-and-forth motion.

2. The laser marking apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a contour removal data creation unit that creates contour removal data by removing either the return path data or the forward path data from contour data scanned by a laser beam in the contour data of an outline font.

3. A laser marking apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a data determination unit that, in an outline font having contour line data, determines whether to use contour line removal data obtained by removing return data or forward data from contour line data when the data is a predetermined first outline font data, and determines whether to use contour line data without using contour line removal data obtained by removing return data or forward data from contour line data when the data is a predetermined second outline font data.

4. The laser marking apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a scan order optimization data creation unit that optimizes the scan order to create scan order optimization data by considering the connections between each Bézier curve of an outline font, and determining the shortest route for the combination of stroke order and writing direction of characters.

Images