JP5285226B2 - Cutting apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting device and a control method thereof.

  Conventionally, the cutter blade is attached to the cutter holder so as to be eccentrically rotatable, and the cutter holder is moved relative to the medium to be cut in a two-dimensional manner while the blade edge is in contact with the sheet-like medium to be cut. Cutting devices that cut into shapes are known.

  In such a cutting apparatus, if the cutting edge direction of the cutter is not fixed at the start of cutting, the position of the cutting edge varies and the cutting start position is shifted. Therefore, various means for determining the cutter blade direction at the start of cutting have been proposed.

As such a conventional cutting device, for example, in Patent Document 1, the cutting edge is brought into contact with the cutting medium (the medium to be cut) at a position near the starting point of the cut line and moved toward the starting point in that state. Thus, there is described a cutting plotter in which the cutting edge direction is made coincident with the moving direction, the cutting edge is arranged at the starting point, and the cutting edge is rotated around the starting point position where the cutting edge moves to match the cutting direction.
JP 2001-9783 A

  However, the above-described conventional cutting apparatus and its control method have the following problems.

  In the technique described in Patent Literature 1, since the blade edge direction is made to coincide with the moving direction in the process of moving the blade edge on the medium to be cut, the blade edge direction is determined, so the blade edge is first brought into contact with the medium to be cut. The direction of the edge of the hour has not been determined. Therefore, for example, when the cutting edge direction is the reverse direction that is 180 ° shifted from the moving direction of the cutting edge, even if the cutter holder is moved, the cutting edge does not rotate and is set in the direction opposite to the initialization direction, and the cut start position Then, since it is propelled in the reverse direction where the cutting edge is not formed, there is a problem that the medium to be cut cannot be cut. Further, when the movement in the cutting direction is continued in this state, there is a problem that the surface may be scraped off or torn by the medium to be cut.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a cutting apparatus and a control method therefor that can reliably set the cutter blade edge in the initialization direction without damaging the medium to be cut. For the purpose.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the cutting device of the present invention has a cutter in which the cutting edge is held eccentrically about a rotation axis perpendicular to the medium to be cut, and the cutting edge direction of the cutter. A cutting device having blade edge direction initialization means for moving the cutting medium so as to face the cutting direction when it comes into contact with the cut medium at a cutting start position, and control means for controlling the operation of the blade edge direction initialization means. The blade edge direction initialization means includes a lifting mechanism that moves the cutter relative to the cut medium, a first moving mechanism that moves the cut medium along a first direction, and the cutter. A second movement mechanism that moves the cutter along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the cutter moves the cutter relatively in two axial directions in a plane parallel to the medium to be cut. And structure, a cutting edge direction of the cutter, in a state in which the cutting edge is separated from the object to be cut medium, edge direction setting rotate to face in a predetermined direction is a direction along the direction crossing the second direction A control mechanism, wherein the control means controls the lifting mechanism to place the blade edge away from the medium to be cut, and controls the blade edge direction setting mechanism to rotate the blade edge in the predetermined direction. And the lifting mechanism is controlled to bring the cutting edge into light contact with the medium to be cut, the second moving mechanism is controlled to move the cutting edge along the second direction, and the cutting edge is moved to the cutting edge. Orienting in the second direction, controlling the lifting mechanism to place the blade edge away from the medium to be cut, and controlling the horizontal movement mechanism and the lifting mechanism to bring the blade edge into contact with the cutting start position. The horizontal The cutting edge in a state that controls the movement mechanism is brought into contact with the cutting edge to the cutting start position, characterized in that rotating the cutting direction.

The cutting apparatus control method of the present invention includes a cutter in which a cutting edge is held eccentrically about a rotation axis perpendicular to the medium to be cut, and the cutting edge direction of the cutter. a method of controlling a cutting device having a cutting edge direction initialization means Before moving to face the cut direction when in contact with the cutting medium, and a control means for controlling the operation of the cutting edge direction initialization means, a The blade edge direction initializing means includes an elevating mechanism that moves the cutter relative to the medium to be cut relative to the cutting medium, a first moving mechanism that moves the medium to be cut along a first direction, and the cutter. A second moving mechanism that moves along a second direction orthogonal to the direction of the horizontal movement mechanism that relatively moves the cutter in two axial directions in a plane parallel to the medium to be cut; Mosquito A cutting edge direction setting mechanism that rotates the cutting edge direction of the blade so as to face a predetermined direction that is a direction along the direction intersecting the second direction in a state where the cutting edge is separated from the medium to be cut. comprising, placing away the cutting edge of the cutter above the target cut medium by controlling the lifting mechanism, the cutting edge direction of the cutter controls the cutting direction setting mechanism in the predetermined direction a step that directed, said lift mechanism is controlled to a lowered the cutter, the steps of the state where the cutting edge of said cutter contacts lightly the object cutting medium, said controlling said second moving mechanism blade said There the cutter state light contact with the object to be cut medium, by moving in the second direction, a step of orienting the cutting edge of the cutter in the second direction, and controls the lift mechanism of the cutter Serial and away you step above the target cut medium cutting edge, the controls the horizontal movement mechanism the lifting mechanism by relatively moving the cutter relative to the object to be cut medium, the cut start the cutting edge of the cutter and a step of Ru in contact with the position, and a step of rotating the cutting edge direction of the cutter in the cutting direction while the cutting edge of the cutter controls the horizontal movement mechanism is brought into contact with the cutting start position It is characterized by that.

  According to the cutting device and the control method thereof of the present invention, the cutting edge direction is set to a direction intersecting the initialization direction in a state separated from the medium to be cut, and then the cutting edge is brought into contact with the medium to be cut and the initialization direction is set. Therefore, the cutting edge of the cutter can be reliably set in the initialization direction without damaging the medium to be cut.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In all the drawings, even if the embodiments are different, the same or corresponding members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and common description is omitted.

  A cutting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIGS. 1A and 1B are a plan view schematically showing a schematic configuration of a cutting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and a cross-sectional view taken along line AA. 2A and 2B are a front sectional view and a partial plan view schematically showing a schematic configuration of the cutter head of the cutting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.2 (c) is a partial top view which shows the mode at the time of the action | operation of the blade edge direction setting mechanism of the cutting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a configuration block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit of the cutting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Note that the XYZ coordinate system described in the figure is provided for convenience in order to refer to the relative direction, the XY plane is aligned with the horizontal plane, and the positive Z-axis direction is aligned with the vertical upward direction. They are arranged in the same posture in each figure (the same applies to the following figures). Hereinafter, based on such a positional relationship, the horizontal direction, the vertical direction, and the like may be referred to as a direction parallel to the XY plane, a Z-axis direction, or the like.

  The cutting apparatus 1 of this embodiment carries in, for example, a sheet-like medium 50 (medium to be cut) such as paper, synthetic paper, or a plastic film from the negative side of the X axis, and on the XY plane, as necessary. The medium 50 is cut into a two-dimensional shape in the process of reciprocating conveyance in the X-axis direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the schematic configuration of the cutting apparatus 1 includes a platen 14, a media feeding mechanism 10 (first moving mechanism), a cutter 8, a cutter head 2, and a cutter head moving mechanism 30 (first). 2 movement mechanism), and the control part 100 (refer FIG. 3). The media feeding mechanism 10 and the cutter head moving mechanism 30 constitute a horizontal moving mechanism that relatively moves the cutter 8 in two axial directions in a plane parallel to the medium 50.

  The platen 14 is supported from the back side when the medium 50 is transported and cut, and serves as a pedestal when the medium 50 is cut. The platen 14 includes a plate member that extends in the Y direction on the XY plane.

  The medium feeding mechanism 10 moves the medium 50 along the X-axis direction (first direction), and is disposed on the X-axis negative direction side in the vicinity of the platen 14.

  In the present embodiment, each rotating shaft extends in the Y-axis direction and is connected to the driving rollers 10a and 10b that sandwich the medium 50 from the Z-axis direction, and the driving rollers 10a and 10b via a transmission mechanism (not shown) and driven. The motor 10c rotates the rollers 10a and 10b so that the rollers 10a and 10b can rotate forward and backward.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the motor 10 c is electrically connected to the X-axis drive circuit 106 of the control unit 100, and the amount of rotation is controlled in the forward and reverse directions according to the control signal from the control unit 100. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the cutter 8 is formed with a blade portion 8a for cutting the medium 50 at the lower end portion of a rod-like cutter main body extending along the Z-axis direction. The magnetic pieces 8b and 8c are protruded in a substantially opposed state, and are held by the cutter head 2 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis O coinciding with the central axis of the cutter body. In the following, the intersection of the rotation axis O and a plane parallel to the XY plane may be referred to as a point O.

  The blade portion 8a is formed in a triangular pyramid shape having a cutting edge P at the lowermost end of the blade Q having a V-shaped cross section. The blade Q is formed on a plane that passes through the rotation axis O and is orthogonal to the XY plane. The cutting edge P is formed at a position that is offset from the rotation axis O by a horizontal distance r (where r> 0). For this reason, in order to perform cutting with the cutting edge P, it is necessary to align the position of the cutting edge P so that the cutting direction is a direction from the cutting edge P toward the rotation axis O. Hereinafter, the direction from the blade edge P toward the point O on the horizontal plane where the blade edge P is located is referred to as the blade edge direction of the blade portion 8a.

  The eccentricity r may be appropriately set as necessary, but is preferably set to, for example, about 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, the magnetic piece 8b is such that an iron piece having a fan shape in a plan view passes through a point O on the XY plane, and the axis D intersects the blade Q. It protrudes in a slightly eccentric direction. In this embodiment, the axis D intersects the cutting edge direction PO substantially orthogonally.

  The magnetic piece 8c is obtained by projecting a rod-shaped iron piece smaller than the magnetic piece 8b with the axis D as a central axis at a position substantially opposite to the magnetic piece 8b.

  Due to the difference in size and shape of each iron piece, the magnetic pieces 8b and 8c are subjected to a rotational moment in a certain direction around the rotation axis O when placed in a magnetic field. For this reason, the axis D moves in the direction of the substantially magnetic field and does not stop while maintaining a balance in a state substantially orthogonal to the direction of the magnetic field.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cutter head 2 includes a cutter holder 11, an arm 13, an actuator 12 (elevating mechanism), and a cutter blade direction resetting unit 9 (blade edge direction setting mechanism) that protrudes a blade portion 8 a on the lower surface side. It is housed in a housing 2a having an opening (not shown).

  The cutter holder 11 includes bearings 11a and 11a made of radial bearings at the upper end portion and the lower end portion, respectively, and the cutter 8 is fixed at a fixed position in the Z-axis direction with respect to the inner ring of these bearings 11a. It is the cylindrical member hold | maintained rotatably around.

  The cutter holder 11 is held by an arm 13 at an intermediate portion in the axial direction, and an actuator 12 is fixed to the lower surface side of the arm 13.

  The actuator 12 moves the arm 13 up and down in the Z-axis direction. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, the iron core 12b is placed on the base 12a fixed on the housing 2a. A moving coil actuator is employed that is erected in the direction and moves the moving coil portion 12c up and down along the iron core 12b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the actuator 12 is electrically connected to the Z-axis drive circuit 108 of the control unit 100, and the current value supplied to the moving coil unit 12 c is controlled by the control unit 100, so that the Z-axis direction The driving force and driving direction can be changed.

  The cutter blade direction resetting means 9 rotates the cutter 8 and sets the blade edge direction of the cutter 8 in a direction crossing the Y-axis direction.

  In the present embodiment, the cutter blade direction resetting means 9 is curved in a circular arc shape in plan view, and yokes in which magnetic pole portions 9a and 9b facing each other in the Y-axis direction with the upper end portion of the cutter 8 sandwiched between both ends are formed. A magnetized yoke formed by winding a coil 9c is used as 9d.

  The coil 9c is electrically connected to the cutter blade direction reset circuit 109A, and in an ON state in which a magnetizing current is supplied from the cutter blade direction reset circuit 109A, a magnetic field along the Y-axis direction is provided between the magnetic pole portions 9a and 9b. Is to be formed. In the off state, the magnetizing current is stopped and the magnetic field disappears.

  Since the cutter blade direction resetting means 9 rotates the cutter 8 by magnetic force, the blade edge direction can be set quickly. In addition, since there are no movable parts, a simple and highly reliable configuration can be obtained.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the cutter head moving mechanism 30 moves the cutter head 2 above the platen 14 in a direction (second direction) perpendicular to the direction (X-axis direction) in which the medium 50 is conveyed. Direction), that is, to be movable in the Y-axis direction.

  In the present embodiment, the guide rail 3 extended in the Y-axis direction, the cutter carriage 4 movable along the guide rail 3 in the Y-axis direction, and the driving force in the Y-axis direction are transmitted to the cutter carriage 4. Therefore, the belt 5 is composed of belt pulleys 6 and 6 disposed on both sides in the extending direction of the guide rail 3, and a belt 5 that is an endless belt wound around the belt pulley 6 and a motor 7 that rotationally drives the belt pulley 6.

  A housing 2a of the cutter head 2 is fixed to the cutter carriage 4 in a state where the cutter 8 is disposed along the Z-axis direction with the blade portion 8a facing downward.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the motor 7 is electrically connected to the Y-axis drive circuit 107 of the control unit 100 and can be rotated in the forward and reverse directions using the control unit 100.

  The control unit 100 controls the overall operation of the cutting apparatus 1, and as shown in FIG. 3, the CPU 101, RAM 102, I / O 103, host I / F 104, ROM 105, X-axis drive circuit 106, Y-axis drive circuit. 107, a Z-axis drive circuit 108, and a cutter blade direction reset circuit 109A.

  The CPU 101 is electrically connected to the RAM 102, the I / O 103, and the host I / F 104, loads the control program and control data stored in the ROM 105 into the RAM 102, and executes the control program. Then, the X-axis drive circuit 106, the Y-axis drive circuit 107, the Z-axis drive circuit 108, and the cutter blade direction reset that are electrically connected to the I / O 103 via the I / O 103 configured by an appropriate input / output interface. By communicating with the circuit 109A, a control signal can be sent to each, and a signal including information necessary for control can be received from each.

  The host I / F 104 is a communication interface for performing data communication with a host device 110 such as a personal computer through an appropriate communication line.

  The host device 110 supplies processing data representing the shape of the cut line for cutting to the cutting device 1.

  The X-axis drive circuit 106 rotates the motor 10c so as to move the medium 50 to a target position in the X-axis direction at a target speed in accordance with a control signal sent from the CPU 101.

  The Y-axis drive circuit 107 rotates the motor 7 so as to move the cutter head 2 to a target position in the Y-axis direction at a target speed in accordance with a control signal sent from the CPU 101.

  The target position and target speed of the X-axis direction movement and the Y-axis direction movement are such that the relative movement trajectory of the cutter 8 with respect to the medium 50 draws a trajectory necessary for the blade edge direction initializing operation and the cutting operation of the medium 50 described later. Are set by the CPU 101, respectively.

  The Z-axis drive circuit 108 controls the current value supplied to the moving coil portion 12c of the actuator 12 in accordance with a control signal sent from the CPU 101, and makes the contact state and the separation state of the cutting edge P of the cutter 8 with respect to the medium 50. In addition, the pressing force on the medium 50 is controlled in the contact state.

  The cutter blade direction reset circuit 109A supplies a magnetizing current to the coil 9c of the cutter blade direction reset means 9 according to a control signal sent from the CPU 101, and generates a magnetic field between the magnetic pole portions 9a and 9b. .

  Next, the operation of the cutting apparatus 1 will be described with a focus on the cutting edge direction initialization operation performed before the start of cutting.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the blade direction initialization operation of the cutting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 5 (a-1), (a-2), (b-1), and (b-2) are schematic operation explanatory views showing the cutting edge direction initialization operation of the cutting device according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is. 6 (a) and 6 (b) are schematic operation explanatory views showing the blade edge initialization operation following FIGS. 5 (a-2) and (b-2). FIG. 7 is a schematic operation explanatory view showing the blade edge initialization operation following FIG. FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic operation explanatory views of the blade edge initialization operation following FIG.

  In the cutting operation by the cutting apparatus 1, first, the medium 50 is set in the medium feeding mechanism 10, and the processing data for cutting the medium 50 from the host apparatus 110 is acquired by the CPU 101.

  The CPU 101 analyzes the obtained machining data, calculates a cut line that is a relative movement locus of the cutter 8 with respect to the medium 50 necessary for the cutting operation, sets the coordinates of the cut start position, and the cut direction at the cut start position. Ask for.

  In the following description, as an example, as shown in FIG. 7, the cut line T in the vicinity of the cut start position R (x0, y0) has an angle φ counterclockwise from the Y-axis positive direction to the X-axis negative direction. An example in which the first cut direction is an oblique direction that proceeds in the positive Y-axis direction and the negative X-axis direction as indicated by the arrow in the cut direction U will be described.

  At this time, the cutter 8 is waiting at a standby position at an end in the Y-axis direction, for example.

  From this state, by executing the control program by the CPU 101, according to the flow of FIG. 4, the cutting edge direction is sequentially changed in a direction intersecting the initialization direction along a certain direction, the initialization direction, and the cutting direction. And then start cutting.

  In the present embodiment, the initialization direction is set to the Y-axis positive direction or the Y-axis negative direction according to the moving direction of the cutter head moving mechanism 30.

  In step S <b> 1, the cutter 8 is raised from the standby position, and the cutting edge P of the cutter 8 is positioned above the height of the surface of the medium 50. That is, by moving the moving coil portion 12c of the actuator 12 by the Z-axis drive circuit 108, the arm 13 to which the cutter holder 11 is fixed is moved in the positive direction of the Z-axis.

  Then, the cutter 8 is moved to the area of the medium 50 for initialization in the blade edge direction. In the present embodiment, the region for initializing the cutting edge direction is described as an example in the vicinity of the cutting start position R. However, another region, for example, a certain region secured on the medium 50 for performing trial cutting of the medium 50 It may be.

  In this step S1, the cutter blade direction resetting means 9 is turned off, and the cutter 8 can rotate around the rotation axis O. For this reason, the position of the cutting edge P relative to the rotation axis O is unknown where on the circumference of the radius r centering on the rotation axis O, and when the cutter 8 is lowered, the coordinates of the landing position of the cutting edge P and The cutting edge direction is unknown.

  Next, in step S2, as the cutter blade direction resetting means 9 is turned on, the blade edge direction of the cutter 8 is forcibly changed and oriented in the direction intersecting the Y-axis direction.

  When the cutter blade direction resetting means 9 is turned on, a magnetizing current is supplied to the coil 9c, the magnetic pole portions 9a and 9b are magnetized, and a magnetic field along the Y-axis direction is generated between the magnetic pole portions 9a and 9b.

  For this reason, a rotating moment around the rotation axis O acts on the cutter 8 by the magnetic force acting on each of the magnetic pole portions 9b and 8c, and the cutter 8 rotates around the rotation axis O. Therefore, for example, it rotates from the direction in which the axis D as shown in FIG. 2B intersects the Y-axis direction to a direction substantially along the Y-axis direction as shown in FIG. In the meantime, it stops in the direction along the substantially X-axis direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a-1), when the cutter blade direction resetting means 9 is turned on in a state in which the blade edge P is at a position rotated counterclockwise by an angle θ1 from the Y-axis positive direction, FIG. As shown in (a-2), the blade edge direction PO is changed in a substantially X-axis positive direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (b-1), when the cutter blade direction resetting means 9 is turned on in a state where the cutting edge P is in the position rotated by the angle θ2 clockwise from the positive direction of the Y-axis in FIG. As shown in b-2), the cutting edge direction PO is changed in a substantially X-axis negative direction. At that time, the blade edge direction PO is preferably within a range of plus or minus 15 degrees with respect to the X-axis negative direction. The more the cutting edge direction PO is away from the X-axis negative direction, the more likely it is that the medium 50 will be applied when the cutting edge is moved.

  Next, in step S <b> 3, the actuator 12 is lowered so that the cutting edge P is in light contact with the medium 50. Here, lightly contacting means contacting with a pressing force that does not leave unacceptable scratches on the medium 50 even when moved in the cutting direction. This allowable limit can be set as appropriate according to the material of the medium 50, the sharpness of the cutting edge P, and the like.

  Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the first cutting direction at the cutting start position R includes a Y-axis positive direction component. That is, in the first cutting operation, it is determined whether or not the cutter head moving mechanism 30 is moved in the Y-axis positive direction. For example, in the example of FIG. 7, the cut direction U has a component in the Y-axis positive direction.

  Thus, when the Y-axis positive direction component is included, the process proceeds to step S5.

  If the Y-axis positive direction component is not included, the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S5, the cutter 8 is moved by a predetermined distance in the positive direction of the Y axis while the cutting edge P is in light contact with the medium 50. That is, the motor 10 c is driven by the X-axis drive circuit 106, the driving force is transmitted to the cutter carriage 4 by the belt 5, and the cutter carriage 4 is moved along the guide rail 3 in the positive Y-axis direction. As a result, the cutter 8 is moved together with the cutter head 2 fixed to the cutter carriage 4.

  The change in the blade edge direction at this time is shown in FIG. First, at the start of movement, it is assumed that the blade edge direction PO is oriented in the positive X-axis direction as shown in FIG. From this state, when the cutter 8 is moved in the positive direction of the Y-axis, for example, by a distance A1, the cutting edge P receives a frictional force from the medium 50 in the moving stroke, so that a rotational moment around the rotational axis O is generated. The cutting edge direction rotates counterclockwise as shown in the figure. Therefore, it approaches the Y-axis positive direction as in the blade edge direction P′O ′. Further, when the movement is continued and the distance A2 is moved, the Y-axis positive direction completely coincides with the blade edge direction P ″ O ″.

  The predetermined distance of movement in step S5 is set to be equal to or greater than the distance A2. Here, the distance A2 varies depending on the amount of blurring in the direction of the blade edge at the start of movement, the magnitude of the frictional force from the medium 50, and so on. Keep it.

  When the movement of the predetermined distance is completed, the process proceeds to step S7.

  In addition, in FIG. 6 (a), although it demonstrated by the example which moved from the state of FIG. 5 (a-2), even if it moves from the state of FIG. 5 (b-2), a rotation direction turns into illustration clockwise. In the same manner as described above, the cutting edge direction coincides with the positive Y-axis direction.

  In step S6, as in step S5, the cutter carriage 4 is moved in the negative Y-axis direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, for example, the blade edge direction is moved by a distance A2 from the state of FIG. 5A-2, and the Y-axis is completely moved as indicated by the blade edge direction P ″ O ″. Match in the negative direction. When the movement of the predetermined distance is completed, the process proceeds to step S7.

  In step S <b> 7, the cutting edge P is raised and separated from the medium 50 in the same manner as in step S <b> 1.

  Next, in step S8, as shown in FIG. 7, the media feed mechanism 10 and the cutter head moving mechanism 30 are driven from the state where the blade edge direction PO coincides with the Y-axis positive direction, so that the blade edge P is at the cutting start position. The medium 50 and the cutter carriage 4 are moved so as to be positioned on R. At this time, since the blade edge P is separated from the medium 50, the blade edge direction PO is maintained in the Y-axis positive direction even during movement because the blade edge P does not receive frictional force from the medium 50.

  That is, if the coordinate of the rotation axis O of the cutter 8 in step S7 is (x1, y1), the medium 50 is moved by Δx = x1−x0 by the medium feeding mechanism 10 and the cutter head is moved by the cutter head moving mechanism 30. 2 is moved by Δy = y1 + r−y0, so that the XY coordinates of the cutting edge P and the cutting start position R can be matched (see the broken line in FIG. 8A).

  Next, in step S <b> 9, the actuator 12 is lowered so that the cutting edge P contacts the medium 50 at the cutting start position R. The pressing force of the cutting edge P against the medium 50 is set to a pressing force that can smoothly rotate the cutter 8 around the cutting edge P.

  Next, in step S10, as shown in FIG. 8A, the rotation axis O of the cutter 8 is rotated counterclockwise as shown by a point O ′ around the cutting start position where the cutting edge P is in contact. I will do it. Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, the operation stops at a point O ″ on the cut line T rotated by an angle φ.

  For the rotational movement of the cutter 8, the CPU 101 calculates movement coordinate data for drawing the locus of the arc OO ″, and simultaneously drives the media feed mechanism 10 and the cutter head movement mechanism 30 in accordance with the movement coordinates. It is realized with.

  The blade edge direction initialization operation is thus completed. This completes the preparation stage for starting cutting.

  Thereafter, the actuator 12 is lowered as necessary to adjust the pressing force of the cutting edge P against the medium 50 to a size necessary for cutting, and the media feed mechanism 10 and the cutter head are moved along the trajectory of the cut line T. The mechanism 30 is driven to cut the medium 50.

  According to such a cutting apparatus 1, prior to lowering the cutter 8 so that the cutting edge P comes into light contact with the medium 50 (step S3), the cutting edge P is disposed above the medium 50 (step S1). ) Since the cutting edge direction is set to a direction that intersects the initialization direction (step S2), in step S3, the cutting edge direction is reliably set to a direction that intersects the Y-axis direction that moves in step S5 (S6). Yes. Therefore, the cutting edge direction does not follow the Y-axis direction that moves in step S5 (S6). Therefore, in step S5 (S6), the cutting edge direction is reliably changed to the direction along the movement direction, and the cutting edge direction PO and The position of the cutting edge P can be determined.

  Therefore, the cutting edge P can be accurately positioned at the cutting start position R, and the cutting edge direction PO can be reliably aligned with the cutting direction U.

  On the other hand, when the cutting edge P is brought into contact with the medium 50 without performing steps S1 and S2 and the operation as in step S5 (S6) is performed as in the prior art, the cutting edge direction PO is 180.degree. Although there are cases where the position is shifted, the cutting edge direction PO cannot be rotated if step S5 (S6) is executed in this state. Therefore, the cutting edge direction PO is changed when step S5 (S6) is completed. It remains in the direction opposite to the initialization direction. Therefore, in the state where the cutting edge direction PO is opposite and the position of the cutting edge P is shifted by 2r, the cutter 8 is moved to start cutting, the cutting start position is shifted, cutting cannot be performed, There is also a risk that the surface of the medium 50 may be scraped off or torn.

  According to the cutting apparatus 1 of this embodiment, such a malfunction can be prevented.

  Further, according to the cutting device 1 of the present embodiment, when the cutting edge direction is directed to the initialization direction, the direction in which the cutter head moving mechanism 30 moves at the start of cutting is selected as the initialization direction by performing step S4. I have to. For this reason, the time required for step S10 is shortened compared to the case where the rotation direction in step S10 is always 90 ° or less and rotation larger than 90 ° is required, and the initialization direction is limited to one direction. be able to.

  Next, a modified example of the cutting device of this embodiment will be described.

  FIGS. 9A and 9B are a front sectional view and a partial plan view schematically showing a schematic configuration of a cutter head of a cutting apparatus according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.9 (c) is a partial top view which shows the mode at the time of the action | operation of the blade edge | direction direction setting mechanism of the cutting apparatus which concerns on the modification of embodiment of this invention.

  The cutting apparatus 1A of the present modification includes a hook 23 instead of the magnetic body pieces 8b and 8c of the cutter 8 in the cutting apparatus 1 of the above embodiment, and includes a cutter blade direction reset means 9 and a cutter blade direction reset circuit 109A. Instead, a cutter blade direction reset means 20 (blade edge direction setting mechanism) and a cutter blade direction reset circuit 109B are provided. Hereinafter, a description will be given focusing on differences from the above embodiment.

  The hook 23 is a round bar-shaped shaft portion that is bent at the tip end of the arm portion 23b extending from the side on the line from the point O to the point P in the horizontal plane at the upper end portion of the cutter 8 and is directed in the positive direction of the Z axis. This is an L-shaped member formed with 23a.

  The cutter blade direction resetting means 20 includes a positioning arm 21 and an actuator 22 that advances and retracts the positioning arm 21 in a direction intersecting the Y-axis direction in a horizontal plane where the shaft portion 23a of the hook 23 on the cutter 8 is located. In FIG. 9, as an example, an arrangement in the case where the direction intersecting the Y-axis direction is the X-axis direction is shown.

  The positioning arm 21 includes a positioning groove portion 21b in which a U-shaped groove having an opening width slightly wider than the shaft diameter of the shaft portion 23a extends in the forward / backward direction of the actuator 22 through the rotation axis O, and a positioning groove portion It consists of guide parts 21a and 21a provided so as to gradually widen from the opening part of 21b toward the outside of the opening width.

  The configuration of the actuator 22 can employ an appropriate advance / retreat mechanism, such as a solenoid type actuator.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the actuator 22 is electrically connected to a cutter blade direction reset circuit 109B that controls the forward / backward movement of the actuator 22.

  According to this modification, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the actuator 22 is in the retracted position, the cutter 8 is rotatable. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9C, when the actuator 22 is advanced, the shaft portion 23a moves along the guide portion 21a and is guided by the positioning groove portion 21b, thereby being orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the actuator 22. The position to perform is positioned. Therefore, a straight line connecting the shaft portion 23 a and the rotation axis O is aligned in the advance / retreat direction of the actuator 22. Thereby, the blade edge direction PO can be set to a direction intersecting the Y-axis direction.

  Then, by retracting the actuator 22, the cutter 8 can rotate about the rotation axis O.

  Therefore, the operation up to step S4 in FIG. 4 can be performed by moving the positioning arm 21 toward the cutter 8 and guiding the shaft 23a to the positioning groove 21b and then retracting it.

  In FIGS. 9B and 9C, an example in which the shaft portion 23a is positioned on the X axis negative direction side with respect to the rotation axis O, that is, the blade edge direction PO is in the state of FIG. 5A-2. As described in the example, the case where the shaft portion 23a is located further on the X axis positive direction side may be in the state of FIG. 5B-2. Therefore, when the positioning arm 21 is advanced and retracted by a certain distance, the length of the positioning groove portion 21b is set to be twice or more the distance from the rotation axis O to the outer shape of the shaft portion 23a.

  In the above description, the example in which the initialization direction for setting the blade edge direction matches the movement direction of the cutter head moving mechanism 30 has been described. However, the initialization direction is not limited to this. For example, the moving direction of the media feeding mechanism 10 may be matched. In these cases, when the horizontal movement mechanism is composed of the first movement mechanism and the second movement mechanism, the direction of the blade edge can be set by moving only one of them, so that the control becomes easy.

  Further, since the first moving mechanism and the second moving mechanism are moved simultaneously, relative movement in an arbitrary direction within the XY plane is possible, and therefore an arbitrary oblique direction may be set as the initialization direction.

  In the above description, the example in which the direction intersecting the initialization direction is a direction substantially orthogonal to the initialization direction is described, but the intersection angle is not limited as long as the direction can be intersected with the initialization direction. However, for example, when there is a possibility that the blade edge direction is shaken due to vibration or the like as in the cutter blade direction resetting means 9, the intersection angle is set to be larger than the expected shake amount.

  If the crossing angle is set to be approximately 90 °, the setting accuracy of the crossing angle can be relaxed, so that a simple mechanism can be used.

  In the above description, the cutter and the medium to be cut are moved in two orthogonal axes using different horizontal movement mechanisms, and the cutter is moved up and down by the lifting mechanism. The movement with the cut medium is not limited as long as the relative movement as described above is possible, and the horizontal movement mechanism and the lifting mechanism are not limited to the above examples.

  For example, the raising / lowering mechanism may raise and lower the medium to be cut, and the horizontal movement mechanism may be a cutter alone, or only the medium to be cut moves in a horizontal plane, or both move in a horizontal plane. Good.

  In the above description, the initialization direction is the direction along the second direction, which is the movement direction of the second movement mechanism, and the second movement mechanism coincides with the direction of movement at the start of cutting. As described in the example, if the length of the rotation time of the cutter in step S10 is acceptable, the initialization direction may be set to only one direction. In this case, the process can be simplified such that step S4 in FIG. 4 is omitted and step S5 or S6 is executed.

  In the above description, the example in which the cutting edge direction is set to the initialization direction and then moved to the cutting start position has been described. However, the end point position that sets the cutting edge direction to the initialization direction is matched with the cutting start position. A method may be adopted. That is, the position to be lowered in step S3 in FIG. 4 may be set to a position away from the cut start position by a predetermined distance in the direction opposite to that moved in step S3, and steps S7 to S9 may be omitted. .

  As another aspect, a cutting device for creating and cutting an image can be formed by mounting, for example, an ink jet head of an ink jet printer on the cutter carriage 4 as the image creating device. The inkjet head may be mounted on another carriage that uses the same guide rail as the cutter carriage 4.

It is the top view which shows the schematic structure of the cutting device which concerns on embodiment of this invention typically, and its AA sectional drawing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In front sectional drawing which shows typically schematic structure of the cutter head of the cutting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, the partial top view, and the partial top view which shows the mode at the time of the action | operation of a blade edge direction setting mechanism is there. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part of the cutting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the edge direction initialization operation | movement of the cutting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is typical operation explanatory drawing which shows the blade edge direction initialization operation | movement of the cutting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic operation explanatory view showing the blade edge initialization operation following FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a schematic operation explanatory diagram illustrating a blade edge initialization operation subsequent to FIG. 6. It is typical operation | movement explanatory drawing of the blade edge | tip initialization operation | movement following FIG. Front sectional view and partial plan view schematically showing a schematic configuration of a cutter head of a cutting device according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention, and a cutting edge direction of the cutting device according to the modification of the embodiment of the present invention It is a partial top view which shows the mode at the time of the action | operation of a setting mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1A Cutting apparatus 2 Cutter head 3 Guide rail 4 Cutter carriage 5 Belt 7, 10c Motor 8 Cutter 8b, 8c Magnetic body piece 9, 20 Cutter blade direction reset means (blade edge direction setting mechanism)
9a, 9b Magnetic pole portion 9c Coil 10 Media feed mechanism (first moving mechanism)
10a, 10b Driving roller 12 Actuator 14 Platen 30 Cutter head moving mechanism (second moving mechanism)
50 media (cut medium)
100 control unit 101 CPU
104 Host I / F
105 ROM
109A, 109B Cutter blade direction reset circuit P Blade tip Q Blade O Rotating axis T Cut line U Cut direction

Claims (6)

When the cutting edge is in contact with the cutting medium at the cutting start position, the cutting edge is held eccentrically about a rotation axis perpendicular to the medium to be cut, and the cutting edge direction of the cutter. A cutting device having blade edge direction initialization means that moves to face the cutting direction, and control means that controls the operation of the blade edge direction initialization means,
The cutting edge direction initialization means includes
A lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the cutter relative to the medium to be cut;
A first moving mechanism that moves the medium to be cut along a first direction; and a second moving mechanism that moves the cutter along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. A horizontal movement mechanism that relatively moves in two axial directions in a plane parallel to the cut medium;
A cutting edge direction setting mechanism for rotating the cutting edge direction of the cutter so as to face a predetermined direction that is a direction along a direction intersecting the second direction in a state where the cutting edge is separated from the medium to be cut; With
The control means controls the lifting mechanism to place the cutting edge away from the medium to be cut, controls the cutting edge direction setting mechanism to rotate the cutting edge to the predetermined direction, and moves the lifting mechanism to the predetermined direction. The cutting edge is lightly brought into contact with the medium to be cut, and the second moving mechanism is controlled to move the cutting edge along the second direction so that the cutting edge is directed in the second direction. Control the elevating mechanism to place the cutting edge away from the medium to be cut, control the horizontal movement mechanism and the elevating mechanism to bring the cutting edge into contact with the cutting start position, and A cutting apparatus, wherein the cutting edge is rotated in the cutting direction in a state where the cutting edge is brought into contact with the cutting start position under control.   The predetermined direction is:
  The cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutting apparatus is a direction along the first direction.   The cutting edge direction setting mechanism is
  A first magnetic piece that rotates with the cutter is provided on one side of a direction that is symmetric with respect to the rotation axis of the cutter and that is perpendicular to the cutting edge direction of the cutter, and with the cutter on the other side. A second magnetic piece that rotates and has a different shape from the first magnetic piece;
  A magnetic field is generated along the second direction, and the cutter, the first magnetic piece, and the second magnetic piece are sandwiched between the magnetic poles that generate the magnetic field so as to be rotatable. With arranged coils,
  The cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutter is rotated by a magnetic force.   A cutter in which a cutting edge is held eccentrically around a rotation axis perpendicular to the medium to be cut, and a cutting edge direction of the cutter. When the cutting edge comes into contact with the medium to be cut at a cutting start position, A cutting device control method comprising: a cutting edge direction initializing means that moves to face the cutting edge direction; and a control means that controls the operation of the cutting edge direction initialization means,
  The cutting edge direction initialization means includes
  A lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the cutter relative to the medium to be cut;
  A first moving mechanism that moves the medium to be cut along a first direction; and a second moving mechanism that moves the cutter along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. A horizontal movement mechanism that relatively moves in two axial directions in a plane parallel to the cut medium;
  A cutting edge direction setting mechanism for rotating the cutting edge direction of the cutter so as to face a predetermined direction that is a direction along a direction intersecting the second direction in a state where the cutting edge is separated from the medium to be cut; With
  Controlling the lifting mechanism to dispose the cutting edge of the cutter above the medium to be cut; and
  Controlling the cutting edge direction setting mechanism to direct the cutting edge direction of the cutter in the predetermined direction;
  Controlling the lifting mechanism to lower the cutter so that the cutting edge of the cutter is in light contact with the medium to be cut;
  The second moving mechanism is controlled to move the cutter in a state where the cutting edge is in light contact with the medium to be cut in the second direction so that the cutting edge of the cutter is oriented in the second direction. Process,
  Controlling the lifting mechanism to separate the cutting edge of the cutter above the medium to be cut;
  Controlling the horizontal movement mechanism and the elevating mechanism to move the cutter relative to the medium to be cut and bringing the cutting edge of the cutter into contact with the cutting start position;
  A step of controlling the horizontal movement mechanism and rotating the cutting edge direction of the cutter in the cutting direction in a state where the cutting edge of the cutter is in contact with the cutting start position. Control method.   After rotating the cutting edge direction of the cutter in the cutting direction with the cutting edge of the cutter in contact with the cutting start position,
  Controlling the lifting mechanism to further lower the cutter relative to the medium to be cut;
  The cutting apparatus control method according to claim 4, wherein the cutting medium is cut by the cutter by controlling the horizontal movement mechanism.   The cutting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image creating apparatus.

Images