US 12,330,326 B2
Cutting machine with overview camera
Rolf Sutter, Appenzell (CH); and Andreas Grüter, Balgach (CH)
Assigned to ZÜND SYSTEMTECHNIK AG, Altstätten (CH)
Filed by ZÜND SYSTEMTECHNIK AG, Altstätten (CH)
Filed on Mar. 13, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/183,150.
Application 18/183,150 is a division of application No. 17/700,924, filed on Mar. 22, 2022, granted, now 11,712,815.
Application 17/700,924 is a division of application No. 16/603,185, granted, now 11,400,614, issued on Aug. 2, 2022, previously published as PCT/EP2017/058153, filed on Apr. 5, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2023/0219248 A1, Jul. 13, 2023
Int. Cl. B26D 5/00 (2006.01); B26D 5/34 (2006.01); B26F 1/38 (2006.01)
CPC B26D 5/007 (2013.01) [B26D 5/005 (2013.01); B26D 5/34 (2013.01); B26F 1/3813 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A cutting machine configured to cut objects which have a flat surface, the flat surface having a graphical design with optical register features, the cutting machine comprising:
a working surface configured to receive at least one object;
a first camera unit, which is arranged above the working surface and relative to the working surface in such a way that a field of vision of the first camera unit extends over the entire working surface;
a working group, which is arranged movably above the working surface and has at least one cutting device as a tool of the cutting machine, the at least one cutting device configured to cut the at least one object;
an optical sensor unit, which is oriented in a direction of the working surface and is arranged displaceable relative to the working surface in such a way that a plurality of positions in a detection region of the optical sensor unit is captured by the optical sensor unit, the detection region comprising a part of the working surface; and
a computing unit with a circuit and program code for controlling the cutting machine, the computing unit comprising a memory unit for storing instructions for the cutting of certain objects, wherein the computing unit:
has the circuit and program code analyse images of the first camera unit and is configured to recognize the register features of the at least one object in an image of the first camera unit,
has the circuit and program code analyse data of the optical sensor unit, and
is configured to define a cutting path for the cutting device in accordance with at least one stored instruction and based on positions of the register features in the image,
wherein the computing unit is configured to detect positions of at least a first plurality of the register features relative to one another via the image of the first camera unit as relative positions,
wherein the computing unit is configured to determine positions of a first subset of the first plurality of the register features relative to the working surface via data from the optical sensor unit as absolute positions, and
wherein the computing unit is configured to determine positions of a second subset of the first plurality of the register features relative to the working surface based on the detected relative positions and the determined absolute positions.