Article and engraving method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10489697-B2
Application number	US-201615738959-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 14, 2016
Priority date	Jun 30, 2015
Publication date	Nov 26, 2019
Grant date	Nov 26, 2019

Abstract

An engraved code includes a plurality of dot dented portions defined on an article. The engraved code includes an opening peripheral edge portion of each of the dot dented portions which has a polygonal or quadrilateral shape. This configuration leads to detection of each dot dented portion as a polygonal or quadrilateral dot.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A metallic article comprising:
a readout code including a plurality of dented dots defined in a planar region defined as a part of the metallic article,
wherein:
the readout code includes an inclined plane extending from an opening portion side toward a bottom portion side of each of the plurality of dented dots,
an opening portion of each of the plurality of dented dots has a polygonal shape having four corner portions,
the metallic article includes a dented portion at each of the four corner portions, the dented portion being dented at an acute angle outward in a diagonal direction, and
a coating layer is on the opening portion so that the dented portion is filled with a coating material.

2. The metallic article according to claim 1 , wherein the inclined plane is at least one pair of two planes facing each other.

3. The metallic article according to claim 1 , wherein the inclined plane is four planes respectively corresponding to respective sides of the opening portion.

4. The metallic article according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of dented dots has a quadrilateral pyramid shape.

5. The metallic article according to claim 1 , wherein, for each of the plurality of dented dots, an angle defined by a wall surface of the dented dot and a surface orthogonal to a depth direction of the dented dot is 25 degrees or smaller.

6. The metallic article according to claim 1 , wherein, for each of the plurality of dented dots, a bottom surface of the dented dot has a spherical shape.

7. The metallic article according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of dented dots is defined by laser processing.

8. The metallic article according to claim 1 , wherein the coating layer is a plating layer.

9. The metallic article according to claim 8 , wherein the coating layer is an electrodeposition coating layer.

10. The metallic article according to claim 1 , wherein the polygonal shape is a quadrilateral shape.

11. An engraving method for engraving a readout code on an article, the engraving method comprising:
forming a planar region on a surface of the article with laser light; and
forming a plurality of dented dots as the readout code on the planar region in a dented manner with laser light,
wherein each of the plurality of dented dots defines a plane inclined from an opening portion side toward a bottom portion side.

Assignees

• Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd

Inventors

• Imamura Kazushi
• Suzuki Yasushi
• Nakayama Kokichi
• Murakami Takashi
• Take Toshiyuki

Classifications

• B23K26/362

  Laser etching · CPC title

• B23K26/389

  of fluid openings, e.g. nozzles, jets · CPC title

• G06K19/06159

  the marking being relief type, e.g. three-dimensional bar codes engraved in a support · CPC title

• B23K26/3576

  Diminishing rugosity, e.g. by grinding, polishing or smoothing · CPC title

• B23K26/352

  for surface treatment · CPC title