JP7768540B2 - Cutting machine and display method for cutting machine - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies. Delivered to Asano Form Tech Co., Ltd. Bunsui Plant on September 14, 2021.

The present invention relates to a cutting machine that can cut resin sheets, films, etc. using a blade.

In cutting machines (die-cutting machines, press machines) that cut materials such as resin sheets and films, a blade die such as a Thomson blade die is mounted on a movable platen that can move up and down. The material to be cut, such as a roll or sheet material, is placed on the table and clamped between the blade die and the fixed platen to cut it (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The shape (two-dimensional shape) of the blade protruding from the blade mold base varies depending on the product shape, so the blade mold must be replaced for each product. The operator removes the blade mold installed in the cutting machine and attaches and fixes a new blade mold (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-162590 JP 2014-159059 A

The movable platen on which the blade dies are attached is supported by a gate-like structure that allows the table to move, making it difficult for the operator to check the blade die attachment status from outside the cutting machine body. Furthermore, for safety reasons, the space where the movable platen moves up and down between it and the table is often covered. This makes it difficult for the operator to position the blade dies due to differences in size, and also makes it difficult to respond quickly to cutting problems.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a cutting machine that allows you to check the installed blade type when installing the blade type or when cutting.

The cutting machine of the present invention comprises a movable platen to which a blade die can be attached and which moves up and down between it and a table on which the material to be cut is placed, a cutting machine body with gate-like structures that support the movable platen from both sides of the table, and an imaging unit that can capture an image of the blade die attached to the movable platen from the side of the blade die that is aligned with the direction of table movement. The imaging unit is installed, for example, inside the movable platen.

For example, the cutting machine can be configured with a cover that covers at least a portion of the vertical movement range of the movable platen, and a lighting device that can illuminate the blade when it is in the blade attachment position. Furthermore, the cutting machine of the present invention can display moving and/or still images of the blade when it is in the blade attachment position on the monitor when the blade is attached and/or during cutting.

The "blade die mounting position" here refers to, for example, the highest position of the movable platen, and represents the position when replacing the blade die relative to the movable platen. For example, when capturing a blade die at the blade die mounting position, it is possible to configure the monitor so that the blade die side and the blade die mounting surface side of the blade die are displayed. Furthermore, the imaging unit can be installed so that when the blade die is displayed, the center line of the monitor's screen in the horizontal direction coincides with the center position (on the screen) of the movable platen displayed on the monitor.

The cutting machine can be configured with a display processing unit that displays an indicator on the monitor that indicates the center position of the movable platen or that suggests the center position as a superimposed image. Here, "center position" refers to the central position of the movable platen along the table movement direction. For example, the display processing unit can display a grid-like scale line on the monitor.

Another aspect of the present invention is a cutting machine display method that, in a cutting machine equipped with a movable platen to which a blade die can be attached and which moves up and down between itself and a table on which the material to be cut is placed, a cutting machine body having gate-like structures that support the movable platen from both sides of the table, and an imaging unit that can capture images of the blade die attached to the movable platen from the side of the blade die that is aligned with the direction of table movement, can display moving and/or still images of the blade die in the blade die attachment position on a monitor when the blade die is attached and/or during cutting.

This invention provides a cutting machine that allows you to check the installed blade type when installing the blade type or when cutting.

1 is a schematic front view showing a cutting machine according to an embodiment of the present invention from the side; 1 is a schematic plan view showing a cutting machine according to an embodiment of the present invention from above; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a blade die is attached to a movable platen. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a cutting machine. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a monitor screen in which the blade mold is displayed in a clamped position.

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view showing the first embodiment of the cutting machine.

The cutting machine 10 comprises a cutting machine main body 20, an operating device 50 located next to the cutting machine main body 20, a table 60 on which the material S to be cut, such as a resin sheet or film, is placed, and a transport table 65. The cutting machine main body 20 comprises a movable platen 30 to which a blade die can be attached, and an elevating mechanism (e.g., a crank mechanism or hydraulic machine) 25 that moves the movable platen 30 up and down at a predetermined stroke width.

The table 60 can move back and forth on the conveyor bed 65, with its longitudinal direction as the movement direction. The operator places the material S to be cut on the table 60 at the front side of the cutting machine main body 20. In this case, a sheet material of a predetermined length is loaded as the material S to be cut. The cutting machine main body 20 has a gate-like structure that straddles the conveyor bed 65 along the table width direction, allowing the movable platen 30 to move up and down between it and the table 60.

An operating device 50 equipped with a monitor 51 and keyboard 52 is located on the side of the cutter body 20. The operator can set the punching speed, pressure, blade height, etc. by operating the keyboard 52. Note that instead of providing a keyboard 52 as an input operation member, a configuration may be adopted in which touch panel operation is performed on the monitor 51.

The cutting machine main body 20 has a housing 21 with a gate-like structure and a door portion 22, and the operator opens and closes the door portion 22 to change the blade dies. A blade die (not shown here) is attached to the movable platen 30 depending on the type of material S to be cut. For safety reasons, the cutting machine main body 20 is covered by the door portion 22, but the vertical movement range of the movable platen may be covered by something other than a door.

When the operator starts the cutting process, the table 60 places the material S to be cut on it and moves to the rearmost end, then moves forward at a predetermined speed. The movable platen 30 repeatedly lowers and rises at predetermined timings, intermittently cutting out the material S to be cut.

In Figure 2, the area punched out of the material S is indicated by a dashed line S1 while the table 60 moves forward at a constant speed. The conveying table 65 may also be configured to move the material S in roll form or long sheet form in the forward and backward directions.

Figure 3 shows the state in which the blade die is attached to the movable platen 30.

The blade die 40 is constructed by embedding a two-dimensional blade section 42, such as a Thomson blade, in a base plate 44 to align it with the cutting position, and wrapping the blade section 42 around an elastic foam (spring) 43, such as sponge, which is formed in a rectangular shape. The elastic foam 43 exerts a resilient force on the material S to be cut, allowing the material S to be moved at a constant speed while cutting.

The movable platen 30 is equipped with blade die clamps 32 (32A, 32B) that hold and secure the blade die 40, clamping and holding the blade die side 40S along the direction of movement of the table 60. The screw shafts 34A, 34B are driven by the fixed clamp drive servo motor 26, causing the blade die clamps 32A, 32B to move toward or away from each other. Below, the position of the blade die 40 held and secured by the blade die clamp 32 is referred to as the blade die mounting position.

A stopper (not shown) is provided at the rear of the cutting machine body 20, and the operator pushes the blade die 40 into the stopper position to attach the blade die 40 to the movable platen 30. Blade height adjustment mechanisms (not shown) for adjusting the blade height are also provided on both ends of the cutting machine body 20 along the table width direction, and the blade height position is adjusted according to the material of the material S to be cut, etc.

The cutting machine main body 20 is provided with an imaging unit 70 at one end. The imaging unit 70 is equipped with a camera that can capture images of the blade die 40 from the blade die side surface 40S when the blade die is attached (clamped position). The imaging unit 70 captures the subject of the blade die 40, and the captured image can be displayed as a moving image on the monitor 51.

The lighting device 72 illuminates the vertical movement range of the movable platen 30 in the cutting machine body 20. Even when the door portion 22 blocks external illumination light, the operator can check the status of the blade die 40 stored inside the cutting machine body 20 on the monitor 51.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of the cutting machine 10.

The control unit 60' controls the transport mechanism drive unit 24 that moves the table 60, the servo motor 29 that drives the lifting mechanism 25 that strokes the movable platen 30 up and down, the fixed clamp drive servo motor 26, the blade height adjustment motor 37, and other components. Furthermore, when the control unit 60' receives image data sent from the imaging unit 70, it processes the image and sends it to the display processing unit 27.

The display processing unit 27 performs a superimposition process on the image captured by the imaging unit 70 sent from the control unit 60', and outputs an indicator used to align the blade die 40 as an image to the monitor 51. Here, a scale line, which will be described later, is superimposed on the monitor 51. The display processing unit 27 may be provided in the control unit 60'. Image processing may also be performed using firmware, software, etc.

The control unit 60' can write image data to or read it from the memory 23, and the operator can record or play captured moving images to or from the memory 23 by operating the keyboard 52. The monitor 51 may also be equipped with a touch panel mechanism to record and play captured images.

Figure 5 shows the monitor screen displaying the blade die 40 in the blade die attachment position (clamp position). Below, we will explain how to align the blade die 40 using the dynamic image display on the monitor 51.

When the blade die 40 is held by the clamp 32, the center position of the blade die 40, i.e., the center line of the side surface 40S of the blade die 40 along the movement direction of the table 60, is aligned with the center position of the movable platen 30 (the center position of the movable platen 30 along the table movement direction). If the blade die 40 is a blade die size specified as a normal size, the center position of the blade die 40 will coincide with the center position of the movable platen 30 by abutting the blade die 40 against the position of the stopper described above.

However, if the blade die 40 is smaller than the specified size, the center position of the blade die 40 will not coincide with the center position of the movable platen 30 when the blade die 40 is pushed to the stopper position. This mismatch between the center positions of the blade die 40 and the movable platen 30 can result in defective products due to uneven cutting loads, or machine malfunction or damage.

When installing a blade die 40 that is different from the normal size, the operator aligns the blade die 40 while viewing a captured image from within the cutting machine main body 20 on the monitor 51. At this time, an image capturing the area near the center position of the movable platen 30, which the operator cannot see, is displayed on the monitor 51. In addition, a grid-like scale line SL is superimposed on the monitor 51.

As shown in FIG. 5, the imaging unit 70 photographs the blade die 40 from its side surface 40S, capturing the blade die 40 at an angle that allows the side surface 40S and the elastic foam 43 to be projected. The imaging unit 70 is installed (positioned) so that the center position of the movable platen 30 coincides with the center line CL in the horizontal direction of the screen. Furthermore, the angle of the imaging unit 70 relative to the blade die 40, the angle of view of the optical system, the exposure value, etc. are set so that the blade die 40 is projected near the center of the monitor 51 as a composition.

The scale lines SL displayed on the monitor 51 are composed of lines spaced at regular intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions of the screen, and are symmetrical with respect to the center line CL in the horizontal direction of the screen. They are also symmetrical with respect to the center line DL in the vertical direction of the screen.

As mentioned above, the elastic foam 43 surrounding the blade die 40 is formed in a rectangular shape. Therefore, by aligning the blade die 40 displayed on the monitor 51 to a position symmetrical with respect to the center line CL in the horizontal direction of the screen, the center position of the blade die 40 can be aligned with the center position of the movable platen 30. Therefore, even if the blade die 40 is a different size from the standard size, there is no need to calculate the center position from the blade die dimensions when installing the blade die.

In particular, by aligning the positions of both ends of the side surface 40S of the cutting die 40 to positions symmetrical with respect to the vertical line of the scale line CL, the center position of the cutting die 40 can be quickly aligned with the center position of the movable platen 30.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the blade die 40 is attached, the blade die 40 captured by the imaging unit 70 is displayed as a moving image on the monitor 51. By aligning the blade die 40 using the scale line CL while viewing the monitor 51, the operator can quickly attach the blade die 40 to the movable platen 30 regardless of the blade die size. In particular, by superimposing the scale line CL on the monitor 51, quick alignment is possible.

As mentioned above, the control unit 60' is also capable of recording and playing back video images in real time. Therefore, by continuing to record video images during cutting, if a cutting defect occurs, the operator can discover the defect on the monitor 51 and stop the operation of the cutter 10 midway through cutting. This prevents cutting from continuing if a defective product has been produced. On the other hand, by playing back recorded video images on the monitor 51, it is also possible to verify the cause of the cutting defect.

The system may also be configured to select the scale line to display from multiple scale lines with different grid sizes. For example, multiple scale line data may be stored in memory 23 in advance, and the operator may operate keyboard 52 to select a scale line CL with an appropriate grid size for aligning the blade die 40 to be installed, and display it superimposed on monitor 51.

The scale lines are not limited to grid-like scale lines, and may consist of lines only in the vertical or horizontal direction of the screen. A line indicating the center position of the movable platen may also be displayed. Furthermore, the center position may be indicated by an image other than a line, or an image may be displayed around the center position to help users imagine and recall the center position.

The imaging unit 70 may be configured so that the angle at which it captures the blade die 40, the magnification of the optical system through zooming, and other factors can be adjusted and changed by the operator operating the keyboard 52. This allows images to be taken while changing the composition, either when the blade die 40 is attached or during cutting. For example, during cutting, images may be taken so that the blade die is captured below the blade die attachment position (near the die-cutting position). In this case, the imaging unit 70 may be configured with a function and mechanism for remotely controlling the magnification and position (attitude) of the optical system. Still images can also be displayed on the monitor 51, and still images may be recorded and played back for display.

10 Cutter 20 Cutter body 30 Movable platen 40 Blade die 51 Monitor 70 Imaging unit

Claims (9)

A cutting machine capable of cutting an object placed on a table using a Thomson blade,
A movable platen capable of mounting a Thomson blade type blade die and moving up and down between the movable platen and a table on which a workpiece is placed;
a cutting machine body having a gate-like structure supporting the movable platen from both sides of the table;
an imaging unit provided in a gate-shaped structure portion of the cutting machine body so as to be able to image the blade mold attached to the movable platen at the blade mold attachment position from a side of the blade mold along the movement direction of the table ;
a display processing unit that displays a moving image and/or a still image of the blade mold at the blade mold attachment position on a monitor and superimposes and displays a grid-like scale line that is symmetrical with respect to a center line of the screen in the left-right direction ,
the imaging unit is installed so that when a moving image and/or a still image of the blade die at the blade die attachment position is displayed on the monitor, a center line of the monitor screen in the left-right direction coincides with a center position of the movable platen,
The cutting machine is characterized in that the imaging unit captures the blade die at the blade die mounting position so that the blade die side and the blade die mounting surface side of the blade die are displayed on the monitor . 2. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein the display processing unit is capable of superimposing an indicator on the monitor to indicate a center position of the movable platen or to allow the user to estimate the center position. The cutting machine according to claim 1 , wherein the display processing unit displays a moving image . 2. The cutting machine according to claim 1 , wherein the display processing unit is capable of displaying, on the monitor, a grid-shaped scale line selected from a plurality of grid-shaped scale lines each having a different grid size. The cutting machine according to claim 1 , further comprising a control unit that records the moving images and/or still images . 6. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein the blade is a Thomson blade having a base plate, a blade portion embedded in the base plate, and a rectangular elastic foam body surrounding the blade portion . A cutting machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the imaging unit is capable of changing the composition of the blade shape displayed on the monitor. a cover portion that covers at least a part of the vertical movement range of the movable platen;
The cutting machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: an illumination device capable of illuminating the blade die when the blade die is in the blade die mounting position. A cutting machine capable of cutting an object placed on a table using a Thomson blade,
A movable platen capable of mounting a Thomson blade type blade die and moving up and down between the movable platen and a table on which a workpiece is placed;
a cutting machine body having a gate-like structure supporting the movable platen from both sides of the table;
an imaging unit provided in a gate-shaped structure portion of the cutting machine body so as to be able to image the blade mold attached to the movable platen from a side of the blade mold along the movement direction of the table ;
A cutting machine characterized in that, when a blade die is attached and/or during cutting, a moving image and/or a still image of the blade die in the blade die attachment position can be displayed on a monitor.