JPH0615902A - Control method of sheet suction fan in sheet moving plotter - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Correction) [Purpose] Automatically control the suction force of the suction fan so that the worksheet can move reliably along the platen surface. [Structure] A small hole 3 for sucking a sheet is provided in a portion of a platen 2 adjacent to a drawing line position with respect to a work sheet F, and a grid roll 4A exposed from the platen 2 and pinch rollers 4a and 4b arranged thereon. Worksheet F is clamped by and. While adhering the work sheet F to the platen 2 surface by the suction fan 10, the grid roll
Worksheet F is moved by 4A and the pinch roller. The width of the worksheet F is detected by the sensor 18, and the suction fan 10 is controlled so that the number of rotations thereof increases in inverse proportion to the width.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to control of a suction fan for performing a suction operation on a platen surface of a sheet to be processed in a sheet moving type plotter, and the suction force of the suction fan is adjusted according to the width dimension of the sheet to be processed. The present invention relates to a method for controlling a sheet suction fan in a sheet moving type plotter in which a sheet to be processed (worksheet) is changed and controlled to be held in a steady state on a platen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a cutting plotter which is connected to a computer and cuts a sheet into a desired pattern according to output data from the computer, a sheet to be handled is a soft plastic sheet with a release layer on the back surface of the sheet. A composite sheet in which mounts such as the above are laminated is often used. The composite sheet of the soft plastic sheet and the mount is usually rolled out and fed to the cutting portion of the cutting plotter. Therefore, the composite sheet supplied to the receiving surface (platen surface) at the cutting position by the cutting pen is easily lifted, and therefore, in order to perform accurate cutting smoothly, the platen of the platen is attracted by the suction force adjacent to the cutting position. The composite sheet (hereinafter referred to as a work sheet) is sucked and supplied on the upper surface.

In order to perform such a suction operation of the worksheet, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a large number of suction holes are formed at a portion adjacent to the cutting position (on the platen 2) on the upper surface of the bed 1 of the cutting plotter A. 3 is provided. Then, at the time of work, a suction fan (not shown) provided inside the bed 1 through the suction small holes 3 sucks the back surface of the worksheet supplied to the cutting position along the upper surface of the bed 1 through a duct (not shown). . The work sheet used here has a pair of grid rollers 4 and a pinch roller 4 ', both ends of which are sandwiched and moved at a required speed, and is attached to a carriage 6 which traverses along a guide rail 5 in the X-axis direction and is attached to a cutting sheet. A tool 7 (cutting pen) is used to cut a desired pattern.

The small holes 3 for suction in the above-mentioned suction means of the worksheet are provided within the range of the maximum handling width so that the small holes 3 for suction can correspond to various widths of the worksheet. Then, the suction fan performs a suction operation by constant rotation on a work sheet of any size used.

[0005]

In such a conventional cutting plotter A, as described above, the suction fan is rotated at a constant number of rotations regardless of the width of the work sheet to suck the small suction fan through the duct. Since the suction is performed through the hole 3, for example, when the optimal suction function is maintained when the cutting work is performed using the worksheet with the maximum usable width, the worksheet with a width narrower than the maximum width is used. In this case, the suction small holes 3 are naturally exposed in a range not covered with the work sheet, and the air is sucked from the exposed suction small holes 3, so that the suction force is reduced. In particular, as the width of the worksheet becomes narrower, the number of exposed small holes 3 for suction increases, so that the suction force further decreases, and when the "curl habit" of the worksheet is strong, it does not sufficiently follow the upper surface of the platen. There is a risk that a cutting operation will be carried out, which will cause a reduction in processing accuracy.

The above-mentioned problems have been described in the case of the cutting plotter. In addition to this, also in the paper move type plotter for drawing, when the drawing sheet having a relatively large basis weight is used, the platen is used in the same manner as the composite sheet. There is a problem with regard to improving the drawing accuracy because it tends to rise above.

In the present invention, for the purpose of solving such a problem, the suction is performed so as to correspond to the width of the worksheet used in the plotter so that the worksheet can be surely moved along the platen surface. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling a sheet suction fan in a sheet moving type plotter that automatically controls the suction force of the fan. The pen referred to in the present invention includes various drawing pens and cutting pens.

[0008]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a small suction opening for adsorbing a work sheet is provided at a maximum in the width direction in a portion adjacent to a drawing position of the platen on the work sheet. The work sheet is sandwiched between a drive roll provided within the range of use and exposed from the platen and a pinch roller arranged on the drive roll, and the work sheet is sucked onto the platen surface by a suction fan. In a sheet moving plotter configured to move a work sheet by a drive roll and the pinch roller, the width of the work sheet is detected by a sensor, and the rotation speed of the suction fan is increased in inverse proportion to the width dimension of the work sheet. A method for controlling a sheet suction fan in a sheet moving type plotter, which is characterized in that

[0009]

According to the sheet suction fan control method of the present invention having such a configuration, in order to feed the work sheet to the plotter, the pinch roller is moved and fixed according to the width of the work sheet, and the sensor is used. When the width of the worksheet is selected, the applied voltage to the motor of the suction fan is controlled so that the rotation speed of the suction fan is set in advance, and the width of the worksheet is the maximum value and the minimum allowable voltage. As the width of the worksheet becomes smaller, the applied voltage to the motor is increased, the suction force of the suction fan is increased, and the suction state adapted to the width of the worksheet is automatically exhibited.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A control method of a sheet suction fan in a sheet moving type plotter according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is a specific example of a cutting plotter, and FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a cutting plotter adopting the sheet suction fan control method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a central enlarged sectional view of the cutting plotter. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the configuration of the suction fan control device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the motor voltage and the rotation speed of the suction fan. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of setting the width of the worksheet and the voltage of the fan motor. In these figures, the parts having the same structures as those of the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

The suction fan 10 provided in the bed 1 of the plotter is a duct 11 connected to the suction small hole 3 for suction.
The suction fan 10 is provided in the collecting section of the above, and is related so that the start / stop and control of the rotation speed are performed by the control device 12 attached to the plotter. The suction small holes 3 are provided as in the conventional example.

A grid roll 4A (driving roll) for feeding a work sheet, which is partially exposed on the platen 2.
Is provided so that a work sheet F that can be used as a plotter and has a substantially total length corresponding to the maximum width is supported in the bed 1 by a known means and can be rotated in the normal direction by a drive mechanism (not shown). Pinch rollers 4a and 4b for this
Shows that the fixed pinch roller 4a arranged on the left side of the drawing is kept in a fixed position as in the conventional case, and the movable side pinch roller 4b arranged on the right side of the drawing is moved to an arbitrary position according to the width of the worksheet F. Can be fixed at the required position.

As means for detecting the width of the worksheet F, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the movable side pinch roller is used.
A sheet size detection plate 16 is erected and fixed on the upper surface of the moving support piece 15 with respect to the guide rail 5 of 4b, and the lower surface of the tip of the sensor mounting plate 17 protruding from the upper part of the carriage 6 to the rear side with respect to the sheet size detection plate 16 Further, a fort sensor 18 that emits a signal by being shielded from light by the sheet size detection plate 16 is additionally provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the movable side pinch roller 4b is attached to the tip of a lever 20 supported by a pin 19 at the lower end of the moving support piece 15, and this lever 20 is a pull spring.
It is designed to be constantly pressed against the grid roll 4A by 21. Therefore, in order to move the movable side pinch roller 4b in accordance with the width of the worksheet F, the cam shaft 22 installed in parallel with the guide rail 5 between the support frames 1a and 1a '(see FIG. 1) is Support frame 1a
By pulling up the operation lever 23 arranged outside, the cam shaft 22 is rotationally displaced downward to move the cam shaft 22 downward (the movable side pinch roller 4b support portion).
Can be lifted with the pin 19 as a fulcrum against the force of the pulling spring 21, so that the movable support piece 15 can be moved to a required position along the guide rail 5 while holding the end of the lever 20 as it is. After setting the position of the movable side pinch roller 4b, the operation side lever 23 is returned to the original position so that the movable side pinch roller 4b returns via the lever 20 and the end of the worksheet F is moved to the grid roll 4A.
The feed operation can be performed by sandwiching between. The operating lever 23
When the cam shaft 22 is displaced by, the pinch roller 4a on the fixed side is also lifted apart from the grid roll 4A.

Next, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, in the plotter control device 12, the width of the worksheet is divided into 70 mm in advance, and the platen 2 surface corresponding to each division is divided. The voltage applied to the drive unit of the suction fan 10 is set and stored in the ROM 1C so that the suction fan 10 can obtain an appropriate static pressure for obtaining the suction force of the worksheet. When the sheet size is determined by the work sheet width detecting means 1A, the data stored in the ROM 1C is compared and calculated by the CPU 1B of the comparison calculation unit and output to the driver 1D, and the suction fan 10 is driven by the set value. Has been done.

As an example of control of the suction fan 10, for example, a suction fan having a characteristic as shown in FIG. 4 is used, and the rotation speed is changed by changing the voltage of the drive motor so that the suction of the work sheet becomes appropriate. So that the static pressure can be changed. Then, based on the characteristics of the suction fan 10, a specific example showing the relationship with the voltage applied to the drive motor of the suction fan 10 suitable for adapting to the work sheet width as described above is shown in FIG. .
The suction fan 10 used here is a small direct current driven plate type.

In the method of controlling the suction fan of the present invention in the cutting plotter having the above-described structure, first, the movable side pinch roller 4b is moved to a predetermined position in accordance with the width of the work sheet F to be used and fixed. The sheet width is detected. To detect the sheet width, for example, when the operation lever 23 for fixing the movable side pinch roller 4b is raised, the switch is turned on in association with the operation lever 23, and the carriage 6 first moves to the reference position at the right end in the figure. After waiting, the work sheet F can be set.

Next, the work sheet F is placed on the bed 1 near the left end in the drawing, and both end portions in the width direction of the work sheet F are sandwiched and fixed by the grid roll 4A and both pinch rollers 4a and 4b. To do. When the operation lever 23 is lowered to fix the pinch rollers 4a and 4b, the switch is turned off and the carriage 6 moves to the left end position. At this time, the fort sensor 18 attached to the carriage 6 that moves along the guide rail 5 detects the position of the sheet size detection plate 16 attached on the moving support piece 15 of the movable side pinch roller 4b to detect the sheet width. . That is, as shown in FIG. 6, assuming that the width of the maximum use range on the bed 1 is A, the distance from the movement reference position of the carriage 6 at the right end of the bed 1 to the end of the placed worksheet F is B, and the worksheet is When the width of F (substantially used width, the same applies below) is C, when the distance B is detected by the movement of the carriage 6, AB = C, and the worksheet F
The width of is required. The distance C = worksheet width is compared and calculated with the data stored in the ROM 1C by the CPU 1B of the comparison calculation unit of the control device 12 to determine the rotation speed of the suction fan 10 corresponding to the detected sheet width. .

Next, the voltage is set according to the determination of the rotation speed of the suction fan 10. It is output to the driver according to this voltage setting, the suction fan 10 is driven at a set speed, and suction is performed from the suction small hole 3 with a required suction force (required static pressure) via the duct 11, and the worksheet F is placed on the platen 2 It will be sent to the cutting section along the surface.

Here, for example, the width of the worksheet F is 540
In the case of a wide width of up to 610 mm, a voltage of 9 V is applied to the fan motor and 1200 r.p.
The suction fan can be driven at a rotation speed of m to feed normally. Further, when the work sheet F having a narrow width of 190 to 260 mm is used, a voltage of 21.5 V is applied to the fan motor to drive the suction fan at a rotation speed of 2300 rpm. By adjusting the voltage, an adapted static pressure can be obtained, and even if the suction small holes 3 are excessively opened, the worksheet F can be normally fed without being lifted.

Although the cutting plotter has been described above, in the sheet moving type plotter, the same control method is used to prevent the drawing sheet from floating even in the plotter which uses a relatively thick drawing sheet. Highly accurate drawing can be performed.

[0022]

As described above, according to the sheet suction fan control method of the present invention, even if the width of the feed-in work sheet with respect to the plotter is narrow, the width of the work sheet is automatically detected on the plotter side, and By operating the suction fan that responds to the usage conditions, you can always perform accurate drawing operations.
Highly accurate cutting and drawing can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cutting plotter adopting a sheet suction fan control method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a central enlarged sectional view of a cutting plotter.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the configuration of a suction fan control device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a suction fan motor voltage and a rotation speed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a setting example of a width of a worksheet and a voltage of a fan motor.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a mode of determining the setting of the worksheet width.

FIG. 7 is an overall perspective view of a specific example of a plotter targeted by the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 bed 2 platen 3 small hole for suction 4A grid roll (driving roll) 4a fixed side pinch roller 4b movable side pinch roller 5 guide rail 6 carriage 7 cutting tool (cutting pen) 10 suction fan 11 duct 12 controller 15 movable side Pinch roller movement support piece 16 Sheet size detection plate 18 Fort sensor 19 Pinch roller lever Pivot support pin 20 Lever 22 Camshaft 23 Operation lever F Worksheet

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A drive roll provided with a suction small opening for adsorbing a work sheet within a maximum use range in a width direction at a position adjacent to a drawing line position of the platen with respect to the work sheet, the drive roll being exposed from the platen. A work sheet is sandwiched by a pinch roller arranged on the drive roll, and the work sheet is moved by the drive roll and the pinch roller while the work sheet is attracted to the platen surface by a suction fan. Control of the sheet suction fan in the sheet moving type plotter, which is characterized by detecting the width of the worksheet with a sensor and controlling so that the rotation speed of the suction fan is increased in inverse proportion to the width dimension of the worksheet. Method.