FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10, rule 13)
1. Title of theinvention: PROCESSING PLANNED ROUGH GEMSTONES

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter relates, in general, to techniques for processing
gemstones.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Gemstones are naturally occurring deposits of minerals and can include,
for example, diamonds, quartz, opals, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and topaz. Since the gemstones are rare, they are highly valued for use, say in ornamentation and jew-ellery. The value of these gemstones results from their color, luster, and the manner in which they transmit, refract, or reflect rays of light. For the enhancement of such properties, rough gemstones are processed, for instance, by cutting, faceting, shaping, and polishing. The processing of the gemstone imparts certain characteristics to a gemstone. For example, the value of a processed gemstone is generally determined by the 4Cs, i.e., carat (weight), clarity (transparency), color, and cut which are directly or indirectly affected by the processing techniques. Therefore, techniques for effec¬tive gemstone processing have been areas of active research.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0003] The features, aspects and advantages of the subject matter will be better
understood with regard to the following description and accompanying figures. The use of the same reference number in different figures indicate similar or identical features and components. The description refers to the annexed drawings wherein:
[0004] Fig.1A illustrates a schematic of a gemstone processing machine for pro-
cessing a planned rough gemstone, in accordance with an example of the present sub¬ject matter.
[0005] Fig. 1B-1 to 1B-4 illustrate various views of the gemstone processing ma-
chine, in accordance with an example of the present subject matter.

[0006] Fig. 2A and 2B illustrate a motion mechanism of the gemstone processing
machine, in accordance with an example of the present subject matter.
[0007] Fig. 3 illustrates an example image showing alignment of the planned
rough gemstone on the gemstone processing machine, in accordance with an example of the present subject matter.
[0008] Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar el-
ements, but may not designate identical elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and the size of certain parts may be exaggerated to more clearly illustrate the example shown. Moreover, the drawings provide examples and/or implementations consistent with the description; however, the description is not limited to the exam-ples and/or implementations provided in the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] A rough gemstone is usually processed on a gemstone cutting machine to
obtain a processed gemstone. As part of the processing, material is removed from the rough gemstone, for instance, using a cutting laser, based on pre-performed planning of the rough gemstone. Usually, when processing the gemstone, the cutting laser may cut the gemstone through-and-through, i.e., starting from the surface and cutting across the width of the rough gemstone. However, in such a manner of cutting, sub¬stantial amount of material of the gemstone is removed and lost. For instance, a cut¬ting beam of the cutting laser is so shaped that for the cutting beam to pierce through the material of the gemstone and cut farther from the surface and through the gem-stone, the cutting beam creates a wide incision on the gemstone. The creation of such a wide incision requires a considerable amount of material of the gemstone to be re¬moved. In addition, the conventional techniques of planning and cutting a rough gem-stone have a low throughput in terms of the yield or number of polished gemstones that can be obtained from that rough gemstone.

[0010] Examples of gemstone processing are described herein, for example, for
processing a rough gemstone. According to an aspect, the present subject matter in-volves twin-side half sawing (THS) technique, referred to hereinafter as the THS technique, which involves cutting the rough gemstone from the surface to approxi-mately a centre of the gemstone, and then turning the gemstone around, i.e., starting from the opposite surface and cutting to the centre, such that the two cuts from the two surfaces meet at the same point to cut the gemstone into two parts. In addition, the present subject matter discloses the implementation of techniques for cutting pie-shaped pieces out of the gemstone. Referred to as pie-cutting or pie-sawing hereinaf¬ter, when combined with the THS technique of gemstone cutting can achieve high yield per rough gemstone and little wastage of gemstone material during cutting and, therefore, can be used for enhancing the yield and minimizing loss of material of the gemstone while gemstone processing. In another example, however, pie-sawing op¬eration can be performed without the THS technique, i.e., the cutting of the pie-shaped pieces can be done using the through-and-through cutting technique as well. In such a case, the loss of material may not be mitigated but a high yield per rough gemstone can still be achieved.
[0011] In operation, the aforementioned technique may involve, as part of plan-
ning of the rough gemstone, identifying a pie-junction line, i.e., an imaginary central line based on which the pie-shaped piece of the gemstone is to be cut from the rough gemstone. In other words, the line passing through a centre of the imaginary cylinder or sphere of which the pie-piece is a part is identified for use as a reference to cut the pie shaped piece from the rough gemstone. Accordingly, various such pie pieces, re¬ferred to as gemstone sections, are identified in the rough gemstone and the corre¬sponding pie-junction line for each gemstone section is also identified as part of the planning of the rough gemstone. In the present example, the pie-junction line of a gemstone section may serve as a reference for beginning the cutting of the gemstone section from the rough gemstone.

[0012] Aspects of the present subject matter also relate to recognizing that various
gemstone sections that are identified in the rough gemstone may not be aligned with each other. For instance, while planning and identifying the gemstone sections, the pie-junction lines for the various gemstone sections may not be in-line or in parallel with each other. Therefore, the present subject matter also involves determining a relative orientation between the pie-junction lines of the various gemstone sections in the rough gemstone. The relative orientations can be used for adjusting the position of the rough gemstone with respect to the cutting laser, for instance, to align the pie-junction line of the gemstone section to be cut with the cutting laser. For example, in the simplest scenario, the pie-junction lines of the individual gemstone sections are collinear with each other or are parallel to each other. While in the case of the pie-junction lines being collinear involves no adjustment for cutting the various gemstone sections, in case the pie-junction lines are parallel (but not collinear or in one line), once the first gemstone section has been cut, the rough gemstone only has to be moved along a plane to align with the pie-junction line of the subsequent gemstone section to be cut. In other words, no angular or rotational motion has to be provided to the rough gemstone for aligning with the cutting laser. Further, in cases, the pie-junction lines are at an angle to each other, the rough gemstone can be rotated, one the first gemstone section has been cut, to align the pie-junction line of the subsequent gem-stone section to be cut, and so on. Accordingly, the present subject matter also envis¬ages a gemstone processing machine having mechanisms which can provide various types of motions to the gemstone such that the pie-junction lines, irrespective of their layout or orientation in the rough gemstone, can be appropriately aligned with respect to the cutting laser so as to effectively process the rough gemstone.
[0013] Again, from an operational point of view of the present subject matter, to
begin with, a planned rough gemstone is received at a gemstone processing machine. The planned rough gemstone can be a rough gemstone which has already undergone planning operation and, therefore, can have surface markings which indicate the gem-

stone sections identified to be obtained from the planned rough gemstone. The gem-stone processing machine can include a holder to hold a die which bears the planned rough gemstone. Further, the gemstone processing machine can include the cutting laser to perform cutting operation on the planned rough gemstone by removing mate¬rial therefrom.
[0014] In addition, to provide motion to the planned rough gemstone for aligning
the gemstone with respect to the cutting laser, the gemstone processing machine can include a motion mechanism to which the holder is coupled. The motion mechanism can be adapted to move the planned rough gemstone in a plane substantially perpen-dicular to a direction of the cutting laser as well as provide a rotational motion to the planned rough gemstone about a first axis and a second axis. The first axis and the second axis can be mutually perpendicular to each other and substantially perpendic-ular to the direction of the cutting laser. For instance, the direction of cutting laser can be the direction in which the cutting beam of the cutting laser is emitted.
[0015] Additionally, the gemstone processing machine can include a processing
unit which can be operably coupled to the cutting laser and the motion mechanism to perform the processing of the planned rough gemstone. Further, for performing the processing of the planned rough gemstone, the processing unit can obtain cutting pa¬rameters associated with the planned rough gemstone, which in addition to the plan¬ning information as generally known to a person skilled in the art, can include infor¬mation regarding the pie-junction lines for the gemstone sections identified to be ob¬tained from the planned rough gemstone. As explained above, one pie-junction line can be linked with one gemstone section. In addition, the cutting parameters can in¬clude information regarding relative orientation between the various pie-junction lines. In an example, the relative orientation between the various pie-junction lines can be with respect to each other, for instance, relative orientation of each pie-junction line with respect to every other pie-junction line identified for the planned rough gem-stone. In another example, the relative orientation can be determined based on a stand¬ard reference mark, such as an indelible marking on the rough gemstone, which can

be used as a reference against which the orientation of the pie-junction lines can be determined.
[0016] The die bearing the planned rough gemstone is mounted in the holder of
the gemstone processing machine and the processing unit can adjust the planned rough gemstone with respect to a cutting laser by controlling the motion mechanism to substantially align one pie-junction line of the planned rough gemstone with the cutting laser. For instance, the sequence in which the gemstone sections are to be cut can also be received as part of the cutting parameters. Accordingly, to begin with, the processing unit can align the pie-junction line with the cutting laser for the first gem-stone section which is to be cut and obtained from the planned rough gemstone. For instance, for performing the alignment, the gemstone processing machine may also include an image capturing device coupled to the processing unit to assist in ade¬quately aligning the planned rough gemstone with respect to the cutting laser.
[0017] Once the planned rough gemstone is aligned, a pie-sawing operation can
be performed on the planned rough gemstone. The processing unit can control the cutting laser to cut the first gemstone section from the planned rough gemstone, based on the corresponding pie-junction line aligned with the cutting laser. Subsequently, the planned rough gemstone can be automatically adjusted, and the processing unit can substantially align, with the cutting laser, another pie-junction line for the second gemstone section. Such an alignment or adjustment can be achieved based on the relative orientation between the two pie-junction lines. Further, once the planned rough gemstone has been re-aligned for the other pie-junction line, the pie-sawing operation can be performed again to cut the second gemstone section from the planned rough gemstone, based on the other pie-junction line.
[0018] In an example, in which the operation uses the twin-side half sawing oper-
ation, the planned rough gemstone can be cut on one face from a surface to substan-tially a centre of the planned rough gemstone along the pie-junction line, then flipped or rotated by 180 degrees, such that the opposite surface faces the cutting laser, the

pie sawing operation is completed by cutting the planned rough gemstone on an op-posite face from the surface to substantially the centre of the planned rough gemstone along the pie-junction line.
[0019] In the description that follows, reference is made to the accompanying
drawings which form part thereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration spe-cific implementations in which the invention maybe practiced. These implementa-tions are described in sufficient detail to enable that skilling in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that the implementations may be combined, or that other implementations may be utilized, and that structural and logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The follow-ing detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
[0020] Fig. 1A, Fig.1B-1, Fig. 1B-2, Fig. 1B-3, and Fig. 1B-4 illustrate a gemstone
processing machine 100, according to an example of the present subject matter. While Fig. 1A illustrates a schematic of the gemstone processing machine 100, Fig. 1B-1 to 1B-4 illustrate various view of the gemstone processing machine 100. As shown, Fig, 1B-1 illustrates a perspective view, Fig. 1B-2 illustrates a top view, Fig. 1B-3 illus¬trates a front view, and Fig. 1B4 illustrates a side view of the gemstone processing machine 100. For the sake of brevity and ease of understanding, Fig. 1A-Fig. 1B-4 are described in conjunction herein. As an example, the gemstone processing machine 100 can be a gemstone cutting machine which can receive a planned rough gemstone from a gemstone planner. The planned rough gemstone can be a rough gemstone which has already undergone planning operation at the gemstone planner and, there¬fore, can have surface markings made by the gemstone planner indicating the gem-stone sections identified to be obtained from the planned rough gemstone. In another example, the gemstone processing machine 100 can be a combination of the gemstone planner and gemstone cutting machine in which the planning and the cutting may be performed by the same machine. However, even in such case, the planning of the

rough gemstone may be achieved before the gemstone cutting machine can perform the cutting operation of the rough gemstone.
[0021] According to an aspect, as part of the planning, the rough gemstone may
be attached on a die for the entire process of planning and cutting and then analyzed to identify, amongst other things, the various gemstone sections which can be ob-tained from the rough gemstone. The gemstone sections can be in the form of pie-shaped sections which can be obtained by cutting the rough gemstone. The pie-shaped gemstone sections can have a pie-junction line which can be a line passing through the centre of the imaginary cylinder or sphere of which the pie-piece is a part. The pie-junction line can run through the body of the rough gemstone, from one surface to another and, based on the planning, for instance, to exclude impurities, inclusions, and/or imperfections, in the rough gemstone, may have any orientation in the three-dimensional structure of the rough gemstone. The pie-junction line, in one example, can serve as a reference for cutting the gemstone section from the rough gemstone.
[0022] In an example, during the planning, various such gemstone sections may
be identified in the rough gemstone which can be obtained, and these gemstone sec-tions may lie in different portions inside the rough gemstone and may have any arbi-trary orientation. Accordingly, the pie-junction lines of the respective gemstone sec-tions can also be identified and can have various orientations within the body of the rough gemstone. In said example, the gemstone sections and their respective pie-junc¬tion lines can be identified as part of gemstone planning using any technique that is known in the art, including image processing and use of mathematical techniques thereon. Other techniques of gemstone planning are also envisaged as part of the pre¬sent disclosure. It is of note that the present subject matter envisages the identification of the gemstone sections and the identification of the pie-junction lines of the gem-stone sections as part of the aspects of the present subject matter and not of the con¬ventional or known art. However, a person skilled in the art may employ any conven¬tional or known techniques for such identification.

[0023] In one example, as part of planning, the various gemstone sections and their
respective pie-junction lines can be indicated, for instance, by way of markings on the surface of the rough gemstone made using a marking laser. Such a rough gemstone bearing the markings of the planning which indicates the gemstone sections and their pie-junction lines is referred to as the planned rough gemstone. For example, the pie-junction lines, which as explained above, can run through-and-through the body of the rough gemstone, may be marked by two points or dots on the surface of the rough gemstone, the two dots depicting the two ends of the pie-junction line. For instance, one point may be on one part of the surface where the cutting of the rough gemstone must begin, and the other point may be on a diametrically opposite part of the surface where the cutting must end, to obtain the gemstone section from the rough gemstone. In one example, an image capturing device, which may be part of the gemstone plan¬ner or the gemstone process machine 100, as the case may be, in the planning stage may capture images of the surface of the planned rough gemstone having the mark¬ings and store the same as information associated with the planned rough gemstone.
[0024] Therefore, all the information regarding the planned rough gemstone, from
the planning stage as explained above, is associated with the planned rough gemstone and stored as the cutting parameters of the planned rough gemstone. The gemstone processing machine 100 is enabled to use the cutting parameters and process the planned rough gemstone by identifying the gemstone sections and their respective pie-junction lines one by one, and appropriately align them for cutting in a sequential manner. A gemstone processing machine which does not implement the aspects of the present subject matter would be unable to perform such identification and align¬ment. In such a case, for instance, either the alignment has to be done manually and, in certain cases, the rough gemstone may have to be removed from the die and re-attached in the middle of a cutting process, for instance, after a half cutting cycle, i.e., after cutting the gemstone halfway along the pie-junction line. Therefore, the gem-stone processing machine 100 and the method of gemstone processing, as will be

detailed later, in addressing such issues, are evidently efficient in performing the gem-stone processing.
[0025] As shown in Fig. 1A, the gemstone processing machine 100 can include a
holder 102 to hold the die which bears the planned rough gemstone and can include a cutting laser 104 to perform cutting operation on the planned rough gemstone. In an example, a relative motion can be provided between the holder 102 and the cutting laser 104 for the cutting operation. Accordingly, the gemstone processing machine 100 can include a motion mechanism 106 to provide motion to the holder 102, i.e., to the planned rough gemstone and for aligning the planned rough gemstone with respect to the cutting laser 104. For that purpose, in an example, the motion mechanism 106 can be coupled to the holder 102 and the motion mechanism 106 can be adapted to move the holder 102, and therefore, the planned rough gemstone, in various directions with the adequate degrees of freedom, such that the planned rough gemstone can be appropriately aligned with the cutting laser 104 in any required direction.
[0026] In said example, the motion mechanism 106 can move the holder 102 in a
direction towards or away from the cutting laser 104, in a lateral direction with respect to the cutting laser, such as along a plane perpendicular to a direction of the cutting laser 104. Accordingly, the motion mechanism 106 can include a translational motion mechanism 108, as also shown in Figs. 1B-1 to Figs. 1B-4. The translational motion mechanism 108, in an example, can include a base plate 109 that can be coupled to one or more actuators (now shown) which can provide at least a two-dimensional motion, i.e., a planar motion, to the holder 102 with respect to the cutting laser 104. In other words, the translational motion mechanism 108 is adapted to exhibit a planar motion in the plane perpendicular to the direction of the cutting laser. In another ex¬ample, the actuators of the translational motion mechanism 108 can cause the base plate 109 and the holder 102 to execute a three-dimensional motion, i.e., execute mo¬tion along the three coordinate axes with respect to the cutting laser 104. Accordingly, in addition, to planar or two-dimensional motion, the translational motion mechanism

108 can move the holder 102 along the direction of the cutting laser 104 to adjust a distance between the cutting laser from the planned rough gemstone.
[0027] Therefore, the translational motion mechanism 108 may selectively cause
the holder 102 to exhibit a one-dimensional, two-dimensional, or a three-dimensional motion, based on the three coordinate axes. The actuators can be any actuating mech¬anism, such as combination of motors, mechanical force transmitting mechanisms, and/or transmission elements, which can be used for causing the base plate 109 cou¬pled thereto to execute a translational motion. Further, as an example, the direction of the cutting laser 104 can be the direction in which the cutting beam of the cutting laser 104 is emitted.
[0028] In addition, the motion mechanism 106 can also provide a rotational motion
to the holder 102 about a plurality of axes. In one example, the motion mechanism 106 can provide the rotational motion about at least two axes, namely, a first axis 110 and a second axis 112 that are mutually perpendicular to each other and substantially perpendicular to the direction of the cutting laser. For instance, the first axis 110 and the second axis 112 can, both, pass through the gemstone, such as a centre of the gemstone, and cross each other at the gemstone. Such a configuration of the motion mechanism 106 can sufficiently cover the extent of motion of the planned rough gem-stone in the three-dimensional space and allow alignment of the various pie-junction lines with the cutting laser 104.
[0029] Accordingly, in said example as also shown in Figs. 1B-1 to Figs. 1B-4,
the motion mechanism 106 can include a first rotational motion mechanism 114 and a second rotational motion mechanism 116. The first rotational motion mechanism 114 can be adapted to rotate the planned rough gemstone about the first axis 110. In said example, the holder 102 can be mounted to or coupled for instance, fixedly, to the first rotational motion mechanism 114. The first rotational motion mechanism 114 can include a first actuator, such as a servo motor or any other kind of motor, to which the holder 102 can be coupled directly or through a transmission, such that the first

rotational motion mechanism 114 can cause the rotation of the holder 102, and there¬fore, of the planned rough gemstone about the first axis 110.
[0030] On the other hand, the second rotational motion mechanism 116 can be
adapted to rotate the holder 102, and therefore, the planned rough gemstone about the second axis 112. In one example, the second rotational motion mechanism 116 can be independent of the first rotational motion mechanism 114, such that the first rota¬tional motion mechanism 114 can cause motion of the holder 102 without the motion of the second rotational motion mechanism 116. In such an example, the first rota¬tional motion mechanism 114 and the second rotational motion mechanism 116 can be coupled to the holder 102 separately, for instance, through separate transmission mechanisms.
[0031] In another example, the first rotational motion mechanism 114 and the sec-
ond rotational motion mechanism 116 can be interlinked. In said example, the second rotational motion mechanism 116 can be adapted to rotate the first rotational motion mechanism 114. Accordingly, the first rotational motion mechanism 114, having the holder 102 mounted thereon, can be mounted on the second rotational motion mech¬anism 116. For instance, the second rotational motion mechanism 116 can be a motor and the first rotational motion mechanism 114 can be mounted on a shaft of the sec¬ond rotational motion mechanism 116. For instance, Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B illustrate the example in which the first rotational motion mechanism 114 is mounted on the second rotational motion mechanism 116, and the second rotational motion mechanism 116 is adapted to rotate the first rotational motion mechanism 114 about the second axis 112. In said example, shown in Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B, the second rotational motion mechanism 116 can change the direction of the first axis 110 of rotation of the first rotational motion mechanism 114 and cause the movement of the first axis 110 in various positions in a plan containing the first axis 110.
[0032] Therefore, the translational motion mechanism 108, the first rotational mo-
tion mechanism 114, and the second rotational motion mechanism 116 can cooperate with each other to achieve the movement of the planned rough gemstone in the three-

dimensional space in a manner that any orientation of the planned rough gemstone can be achieve by the cooperation of the components of the motion mechanism 106.
[0033] Although the motion to the holder 102 and the planned rough gemstone by
the motion mechanism 106 has been described with reference to the Cartesian coor-dinate system, the motion mechanism 106 can be designed to implement any other coordinate system for executing the motion with respect to the cutting laser 104.
[0034] Further, the gemstone processing machine 100 can include a processing
unit 118 which can be operably coupled to the cutting laser 104 and the motion mech¬anism 106 to perform the processing of the planned rough gemstone. According to an example, the processing unit 118 can include a processor and a device memory. The processor can be a single processing unit or a number of units, all of which could include multiple computing units. The processor may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals, based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the processor(s) is provided to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the device memory. The device memory may be coupled to the processor and can include any computer-readable medium known in the art including, for example, volatile memory, such as static random-access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), and/or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable rom, flash memories, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tapes.
[0035] Further, the processing unit 118 may include module(s) and data. The mod-
ules and the data may be coupled to the processor of the processing unit 118. The modules, amongst other things, include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., which perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The modules may also, be implemented as, signal processor(s), state ma-chine(s), logic circuitries, and/or any other device or component that manipulate sig¬nals based on operational instructions. In addition, the modules may include programs

or coded instructions that supplement applications or functions performed by the pro¬cessing unit 118.
[0036] The processing unit 118 can control the operation of the cutting laser 104,
for instance, switching the cutting beam of the cutting laser 104 on and off, and can control the motion mechanism 106 to adjust the position of the planned rough gem-stone with respect to the cutting laser 104. The term “control” executed by the pro¬cessing unit 118 on the motion mechanism 106, in an example, can be understood as controlling the various actuators of the motion mechanism 106 for causing the actua¬tors to exhibit a predefined, controlled motion. In an example, the gemstone pro¬cessing machine 100 can also include an image capturing device 120, such as a cam¬era, which can provide a visual feed of the holder 102 holding the die and bearing the planned rough gemstone. The visual feed, provided by the image capturing device 120 to the processing unit 118, can also indicate an alignment between the cutting laser 104 and the planned rough gemstone, which the processing unit 118 can use as feedback to appropriately position the planned rough gemstone with respect to the cutting laser 104.
[0037] Further, the processing unit 118 may commence operation when a planned
rough gemstone is received for processing at the gemstone processing machine 100. For instance, the die, having the planned rough gemstone attached thereto, may be mounted into the holder 102, and the processing of the planned rough gemstone may be manually commenced or may commence automatically with the processing unit 118 initiating the operation.
[0038] For performing the processing of the planned rough gemstone, the pro-
cessing unit 118 can obtain the cutting parameters associated with the planned rough gemstone. As explained previously in reference to the planning stage of the rough gemstone, the cutting parameters can include information regarding the pie-junction lines for the gemstone sections identified to be obtained from the planned rough gem-stone. As explained above, one pie-junction line can be linked with one gemstone section. In one example, the processing unit 118 may obtain the information regarding

the location of the pie-junction lines and the gemstone sections to be cut based on the
markings on the planned rough gemstone. In another example, this information re¬
garding the location of the pie-junction lines and the gemstone sections may also be
provided as part of the cutting parameters to the processing unit 118. In addition, the
cutting parameters can include information regarding relative orientation between the
various pie-junction lines. In an example, the relative orientation between the various
pie-junction lines can be with respect to each other, for instance, relative orientation
of each pie-junction line with respect to every other pie-junction line identified for
the planned rough gemstone. In another example, the relative orientation can be de¬
termined based on a standard reference mark, such as an indelible marking on the
rough gemstone, which can be used as a reference against which the orientation of
the pie-junction lines can be determined.
[0039] Once the cutting parameters have been obtained, the processing unit 118
can adjust the planned rough gemstone with respect to the cutting laser 104 by con-trolling the motion mechanism 106 to substantially align one pie-junction line of the planned rough gemstone with the cutting laser 104. For instance, the sequence in which the gemstone sections are to be cut can also be received as part of the cutting parameters. Accordingly, to begin with, the processing unit 118 can align the pie-junction line with the cutting laser for the first gemstone section which is to be cut from the planned rough gemstone. For instance, for performing the alignment, the processing unit 118 can cooperate with the image capturing device 120 to obtain feed¬back as to the alignment between the planned rough gemstone and the cutting laser 104 so as to accurately align the two. For example, as mentioned above, the pie-junc¬tion line may be indicated by two dots on the surface indicating the start and end of the pie-junction line through the body of the planned rough gemstone. Accordingly, for aligning the pie-junction line, the processing unit 118 can operate the translational motion mechanism 108 to align the dot on the planned rough gemstone with the cut¬ting laser 104. Such alignment of the dot with the cutting laser is shown as an example in Fig. 3. Further, the processing unit 118 based on a current position of the planned

rough gemstone may operate the first rotational motion mechanism 114 and/or the second rotational motion mechanism 116, as required, to ensure that the pie-junction line is substantially parallel to the direction of the cutting laser 104. For instance, the processing unit 118 may use the standard reference mark for determining the relative orientation of the pie-junction line with respect to the cutting laser 104 and, accord-ingly, control the motion mechanism 106 to align the planned rough gemstone for the first cutting process.
[0040] Once the planned rough gemstone is aligned, the processing unit 118 can
control the cutting laser 104 by switching on the cutting beam and perform a pie-sawing operation on the planned rough gemstone to remove the first gemstone section from the planned rough gemstone. As the processing unit 118 performs the cutting operation, the cutting laser can cut the planned rough gemstone along pie-junction line aligned with the cutting laser. In an example, the pie-sawing operation can in¬volve cutting pie-shaped sections from the planned rough gemstone which can allow a high yield in terms of number of polished gemstones per rough gemstone to be obtained.
[0041] In an example, the processing unit 118 can control the cutting laser to cut
the planned rough gemstone using the twin-side half sawing (THS) technique. Ac-cordingly, the processing unit 118 can cut the planned rough gemstone starting from the face having the dot to substantially a centre of the planned rough gemstone along the pie-junction line. The processing unit 118 may then switch the cutting beam off, control the motion mechanism 106, for example, the first rotational motion mecha¬nism 114 to rotate the planned rough gemstone about the first axis 110 by 180 degrees, such that the opposite surface of the planned rough gemstone faces the cutting laser 104. Further, the processing unit 118 resumes the cutting operation by again switch¬ing on the cutting laser 104 and pie-sawing the planned rough gemstone on an oppo¬site face from the surface to substantially the centre of the planned rough gemstone along the pie-junction line. With this, the cutting of the first gemstone section from

the planned rough gemstone is completed. In another example, however, the pro-cessing unit 118 can cut the planned rough gemstone using the through-sawing tech-nique, i.e., where the cutting laser can be operated to cut the rough gemstone in one go from one surface to the diametrically opposite surface of the gemstone.
[0042] Subsequently, the processing unit 118 can automatically adjust the holder
102 to align another pie-junction line for the second or subsequent gemstone section to be cut from the planned rough gemstone. The processing unit 118 can use the cut-ting parameters and, based on the relative orientation between the two pie-junction lines, i.e., the one for the first gemstone section which has been cut and the one for the second gemstone section which is to be cut, determine the adjustment of the mo-tion mechanism 106 to be performed. For instance, the processing unit 118 can deter¬mine an angular displacement to be made from a current position of the planned rough gemstone, i.e., the orientation of the first pie-junction line for the first gemstone sec¬tion, to the subsequent position, i.e., the orientation of the second pie-junction line for the second gemstone section.
[0043] Accordingly, the processing unit 118 can control the first rotational motion
mechanism 114 and/or the second rotational motion mechanism 116 to rotate, and if need be, the translational motion mechanism 108, to align the second pie-junction line along the cutting laser 104, in the manner as described earlier. Once the planned rough gemstone has been re-aligned for the other pie-junction line, the processing unit 118 can perform the pie-sawing operation again to cut the second gemstone sec-tion from the planned rough gemstone along the second/other pie-junction line. In an example, the processing unit 118 can perform the cutting of the second gemstone section also using the half-and-half cutting technique, as described earlier. In this manner, one-by-one, the processing unit 118 can perform the pie-sawing operation in a sequential manner to remove the various gemstone sections from the planned rough gemstone, for example, without the gemstone processing machine 100 requiring any downtime.

[0044] The present subject matter also envisages, as a part thereof, a method for
processing gemstones, such as planned rough gemstones, based on the concepts, as-pects, principles, and steps as have been described in reference to the gemstone pro-cessing machine 100 in Fig. 1A to Fig. 3. The order in which the various steps and aspects are described previously is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described steps can be combined in any appropriate order to im-plement the present subject matter without departing from the substance of the subject matter described herein.
[0045] Although the aspects of processing planned rough gemstones have been
described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be under¬stood that the appended claims are not limited to the specific features described. Ra¬ther, the specific features are disclosed only as examples of processing planned rough gemstones.
I/We Claim
1. A gemstone processing machine comprising:
a holder to hold a die bearing a planned rough gemstone, the planned rough gemstone having surface markings indicative of a plurality of gemstone sections identified to be obtained from the planned rough gemstone;
a cutting laser to perform cutting operation on the planned rough gemstone by removing material therefrom;
a motion mechanism having the holder coupled thereto to:
move the planned rough gemstone in a plane substantially perpendicular
to a direction of the cutting laser; and
rotate the planned rough gemstone about at least a first axis and a second
axis, the first axis and the second axis being mutually perpendicular to each
other and being substantially perpendicular to the direction of the cutting laser;
and
a processing unit operably coupled to the cutting laser and the motion mechanism to:
obtain cutting parameters associated with the planned rough gemstone,
the cutting parameters comprising:
2 a plurality of pie-junction lines for the planned rough gemstone, one
for each of the plurality of gemstone sections; and
relative orientation between the plurality of pie-junction lines;
control the motion mechanism to substantially align one of the plurality
of pie-junction lines of the planned rough gemstone with the cutting laser;
perform, by controlling the cutting laser, pie-sawing operation on the
planned rough gemstone to cut a first gemstone section from the planned rough gemstone, based on the one of the plurality of pie-junction lines;

control the motion mechanism to substantially align, for a second gemstone section identified in the planned rough gemstone, another pie-junction line from amongst the plurality of pie-junction lines with the cutting laser, based on the relative orientation between the plurality of pie-junction lines; and
perform, by controlling the cutting laser, pie-sawing operation on the planned rough gemstone to cut a second gemstone section from the planned rough gemstone, based on the other pie-junction line.
2. The gemstone processing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit
is to:
cut, by controlling the cutting laser, the planned rough gemstone on one face from a surface to substantially a centre of the planned rough gemstone;
rotate, by controlling the motion mechanism, the planned rough gemstone by 180 degrees about the first axis; and
cut, by controlling the cutting laser, the planned rough gemstone on an opposite face from the surface to substantially the centre of the planned rough gemstone.
3. The gemstone processing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion mecha¬
nism comprises:
a translational motion mechanism having the holder mounted thereon, the translational motion mechanism being adapted to exhibit planar motion in the plane perpendicular to the direction of the cutting laser;
a first rotational motion mechanism having the holder mounted thereon, the first rotational motion mechanism being adapted to rotate the planned rough gemstone about the first axis; and
a second rotational motion mechanism adapted to rotate the first rotational motion mechanism about the second axis.

4. The gemstone processing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit is to determine an angular displacement to be made from a current position of the planned rough gemstone indicative of an orientation of a first pie-junction line for the first gemstone section to a subsequent position of the planned rough gemstone indic¬ative of an orientation of a second pie-junction line for the second gemstone section.
5. The gemstone processing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion mecha-nism is to move the holder along the direction of the cutting laser to adjust a distance between the cutting laser from the planned rough gemstone.
6. A method for processing planned rough gemstones, the method comprising:
receiving a planned rough gemstone at a gemstone processing machine, the planned rough gemstone bearing surface markings indicative of a plurality of gemstone sections identified to be obtained from the planned rough gemstone, wherein the receiving comprises obtaining:
a plurality of pie-junction lines for the planned rough gemstone, one for each of the plurality of gemstone sections; and
relative orientation between the plurality of pie-junction lines; wherein the planned rough gemstone is attached to a die; mounting the die bearing the planned rough gemstone on the gemstone processing machine, wherein the mounting comprises adjusting the planned rough gemstone with respect to a cutting laser of the gemstone processing machine to substantially align one of the plurality of pie-junction lines of the planned rough gemstone with the cutting laser;
performing pie-sawing operation on the planned rough gemstone to cut a first gemstone section from the planned rough gemstone, based on the one of the plurality of pie-junction lines;

adjusting, automatically, the planned rough gemstone to substantially align, for a second gemstone section identified in the planned rough gemstone, another pie-junction line from amongst the plurality of pie-junction lines with the cutting laser, based on the relative orientation between the plurality of pie-junction lines; and
performing pie-sawing operation on the planned rough gemstone to cut a second gemstone section from the planned rough gemstone, based on the other pie-junction line.
7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the performing the pie sawing operation
comprises:
cutting the planned rough gemstone on one face from a surface to substantially
a centre of the planned rough gemstone;
flipping the planned rough gemstone by 180 degrees; and
cutting the planned rough gemstone on an opposite face from the surface to
substantially the centre of the planned rough gemstone.
8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the relative orientation between the plu-rality of pie-junction lines is determined based on a standard reference mark on the planned rough gemstone.
9. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the adjusting comprises determining an angular displacement to be made from a current position of the planned rough gem-stone indicative of an orientation of a first pie-junction line for the first gemstone section to a subsequent position of the planned rough gemstone indicative of an ori¬entation of a second pie-junction line for the second gemstone section.
10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the current position and the subsequent

position are with respect to the cutting laser of the gemstone processing machine.