Method and system for tracking unfinished ceramic structures during manufacture
US7918389B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 15, 2007 |
| Grant date | Apr 5, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 2, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG09F7/00
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A system and method is provided for tracking unfinished ceramic structures moved by a conveyor system through manufacturing loops which preserves both identification and manufacturing information during manufacture, and in particular during mark-obliterating steps. The method includes loading the marked, unfinished ceramic structure at a selected position on the conveyor system; relaying the identification mark and the selected position of the unfinished ceramic structure on the conveyor system; conveying the unfinished ceramic structure through a mark-obliterating manufacturing step, and then identifying the ceramic structure relaying and processing information relating to its position on the conveyor system. The ceramic structure is then re-marked with a second mark after completing all mark-obliterating steps of manufacturing, such as firing and contouring. Both the first and second marks include the combination of a machine-readable and human-readable component, such as the combination of a two-dimensional bar code and an alpha-numeric code.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.