JPH11285995A - Cutting method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cutting device which can cut a material piece in accurate length and width, and allows the material piece to be used easily, for example in preparation for a case where a mark is attached to another item of product from this material piece. SOLUTION: A device to cut a long and thin material piece having flexibility into the specified length and width has a drum 2 which holds the material piece on the outside surface by means of vacuum. A first set of knives 24 in a certain spacing to make interaction with a channel extending on the circumference of the drum 2 are positionally aligned with a mark 38 attached on the material piece and cut it into the specified width, and the mark 38 is located at a certain distance from the end of the material piece. A second set of cutting blocks 6 and 8 positioned aslant to the longitudinal direction of the drum 2 are made adjustable so as to set the length of the material piece. The end of the cut material piece in the longitudinal direction is positionally aligned with the mark on the material piece.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cutting device, and more particularly, to a device for cutting or trimming a flexible strip of material.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Cutting length and width of a piece of material is often required, but such cutting operations are usually performed on flat surfaces. Such work is done, for example, in the field of photography,
In this case, a loop or stencil, which is an annular belt, is used to mark the photographic material (photosensitive material). That is, a bar code having information for identifying a specific product, for example, identifying a manufacturer and an emulsifier type to be contained is periodically marked near one end of a transparent elongated material piece. This piece of material is placed on a table and cut to a predetermined length and then a predetermined width. The longitudinal cut must be made so that the barcode is located at a predetermined distance from the end. Next, for example, the ends of the material pieces are ultrasonically welded to each other to form the material pieces into a loop. The loop is supported for rotation in a vertical plane, through which a light-sensitive material, for example a long film, passes. A light source provided inside the loop illuminates the surface of the film and forms an image of the barcode there.
After exposure of the film, it is sent to a photographic processor. The processor can determine the correct conditions for film development and printing by reading the barcode,
For this purpose, it is important that the barcode detected by the processing device be accurately aligned with the edge of the film. If there is an error in this alignment, an error will also occur in the processing conditions.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to be able to accurately cut the length and width of a piece of material and to use the piece of material in case, for example, to mark another product from this piece of material. To provide a cutting device that facilitates this.

The invention finds particular, but not exclusive, use in the field of photography in the preparation of a transparent strip of material which is subsequently formed into a loop for printing a bar code on a photosensitive material. .

[0005]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for cutting a flexible strip of material, comprising: That is, the cutting device preferably comprises a cylindrical support member rotatably mounted, and means for firmly securing the piece of material along the circumferential surface of the support member;
Are disposed spaced apart from each other around a circumferential surface of the support member,
Two lateral cutting means movably provided with respect to each other to cut the material piece to a predetermined circumferential length, and spaced apart from each other along the circumferential surface in the axial direction of the support member And two longitudinal cutting means for cutting the material piece into a predetermined width.

[0006] The means for fixing the piece of material to the support member includes:
It may be a vacuum structure, whereby the piece of material is adsorbed on the circumferential surface of the support member. Preferably, one lateral cutting device is fixedly attached to the support member. This makes it possible to adjust the other transverse cutting means so that there is a precise spacing between the two transverse cutting means, so that the cut length of the piece of material can be accurately determined.

Advantageously, at least a portion of each transverse cutting means, for example a channel for guiding the cutting end, is mounted in the cylindrical surface of the support member. In operation, a piece of material is placed on this channel and on a blade moving through the channel, and the piece of material is cut, for example, manually.

[0008] The transverse and longitudinal cutting means can be arranged such that the cutting straight lines are at other than 90 degrees. Accordingly, when both ends of the material piece are aligned for sealing by, for example, ultrasonic welding, a seal perpendicular to the length of the material piece is not formed.

The longitudinal cutting means preferably have a constant spacing. By bringing the cut end into contact with the fixed piece of material and rotating the support member against this, the material piece can be effectively cut to the desired width.

The cutting device effectively includes means for aligning the longitudinal cutting means with the indicator on the piece of material. This positioning means is means for displaying the relative position between the indicator and the vertical cutting means, for example, VDU (Vi
a sub display unit). This allows the position of the support member or drum to be adjusted until the indicator is separated from the adjacent longitudinal cutting means by a desired distance.

The piece of material may be transparent and the indicator may be opaque. This feature is particularly suitable for forming a piece of material as a stencil for marking the photosensitive material in a later step. The indicator may be displayed repeatedly along the length of the piece of material. The indicator may include a barcode. In the photographic application described above, the indicator may include information regarding subsequent material processing, such as the manufacturer and the particular product type.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of cutting a flexible strip of material comprising the following steps. That is, the cutting method according to the present invention includes the steps of firmly fixing the material piece along the circumferential surface of the cylindrical support member, and two lateral cuttings spaced apart from each other around the circumferential surface of the support member. Adjusting the spacing of the means to a predetermined distance, cutting the pieces of material to a predetermined circumferential length with the transverse cutting means, and axially along the circumferential surface of the support member; Cutting the piece of material into a predetermined width by two longitudinal cutting means arranged at a distance. Preferably, the piece of material is cut to a predetermined width by using the display screen to align the longitudinal cutting means with the indicator on the piece of material.

By supporting an elongated piece of material on a cylindrical surface, ie, along a curve that approximates a closed loop that will later become the shape of the product, both length and width cutting can be performed more accurately. Will be

Cutting of a piece of material can be performed continuously on a piece of equipment. By cutting several pieces of material with the same device, exactly the same length and the same width are guaranteed.

By aligning the marks on the piece of material with the longitudinal cutting means, the positions of these marks with respect to the cut longitudinal edges are accurately determined. Further, as a result, the mark can be accurately positioned on another product such as a photosensitive material by using the material piece functioning as the master.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The cutting device has a cylindrical support drum 2 having a diameter of 21 inches (approximately 53.5 cm) mounted axially on a horizontal shaft 4. The outer surface of the drum 2 is part of a transverse cutting means, here the cutting blocks 6, 8 are buried (countersunk), oblique to the axis of the shaft 4 and over the entire length of the drum 2. Extends along. Each block 6, 8 has a straight channel 9, 10, respectively, extending along its length, and the block 8 is movably mounted so that the distance from the block 6 can be adjusted. Furthermore, two channels 12, which are part of the longitudinal cutting means, extend along the circumference of the drum 2 at intervals of 60 mm. A large number of holes 14 formed in the circumferential surface of the drum 2 are connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) by a pipe 16. These holes 14 are provided inside and outside the channel 12. The drum 2 supported on the shaft 4 is attached to a jig 18 that is further movable.

The cutting assembly 20, which is part of the longitudinal cutting means, includes a pair of knives 24 fixed to the jig 18 and fixed at a distance of 60 millimeters, and controlled by the control of the knob 22, the drum channel 12 on the circumference. Place inside.
A monitor structure 26 located above the drum 2 has a lens system 28 that projects an image on a screen 30 that focuses on the surface of the drum 2.

Next, a description will be given with reference to FIG. The elongated piece of transparent material 32 has a length of about 60.5 inches (about 15 inches).
3.7 cm), and the width is 60 mm or more. The piece of material 32 has a plurality of opaque barcodes 34 that do not contact the end near the one end. These bars are symmetrical about the center line 36.

In actual operation, first, a partial vacuum is applied to the surface of the drum 2 through the tube 16. A piece of material 32 is placed around the drum 2 so as to cover the channels 10 and the channels 12 and the holes 14 of the cutting blocks 6, 8, and first of all the light vacuum
m) in place. In order to display the image of the bar code 34 on the screen 30, the monitor lens system 28
To a mark 38 on the screen representing the position of the cutting knife 24 of the assembly 20 adjacent to the barcode,
Jig 1 until bar code center line 36 matches
Move 8 Subsequently, the vacuum is increased so that the piece of material 32 is securely held in the set position on the surface of the drum 2. At this time, the bar code center line 36 is located at a predetermined distance from the adjacent cutting knife 24. Subsequently, the cutting assembly 20 is brought into contact with a piece of material 32 covering the circumferential channel 12 and the drum 2 is rotated to a predetermined width,
That is, the material piece 32 is cut to 60 mm. Next, while passing through the oblique cutting blocks 6 and 8 (here, the channels 9 and 10 of the cutting blocks 6 and 8 form an angle of 10 ° with the shaft direction), a cutting knife (not shown) is manually pulled to set the material piece 32 in a predetermined position. Cut to length. During this cutting operation, the applied vacuum holds not only the necessary final part of the piece of material 32, but also its waste, on either side of the cutting block 6, 8 or the channel 12, so that the cutting end The part becomes more sharp. Thereafter, the vacuum is removed, the required portion of the precisely cut piece of material 32 is removed, and both ends are ultrasonically welded to form a closed loop or belt. Thus, the belt is provided for marking a bar code 34 on the photosensitive material.

A plurality of pieces of material can be cut by this device, in which case the length and width of each piece of material are exactly the same. The material piece may be fixed on the support member by a clamping method other than the use of a vacuum.

As described above, the apparatus according to the present invention provides a flexible elongate material cutting apparatus comprising: That is, the cutting device preferably comprises a cylindrical support member rotatably mounted, means for firmly securing a piece of material along a circumferential surface of the support member, and spaced apart from each other around the circumferential surface of the support member. Two transverse cutting means, which are provided movably with respect to each other and cut the piece of material to a predetermined circumferential length, and spaced apart from each other along the circumferential surface in the axial direction of the support member And two vertical cutting means for cutting the piece of material to a predetermined width.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a cutting device as one embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the cutting device of FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a support structure of the cutting apparatus of FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing a cutting assembly of the cutting device of FIG. 1 according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a part of an elongated material piece used in the cutting apparatus of FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 support drum, 4 shaft, 6,8 cutting block, 9,10 straight channel, 12 channel, 14
Holes, 16 tubes, 18 jigs, 20 cutting assemblies, 2
2 knobs, 24 cutting knives, 26 monitor structures,
28 lens system, 30 screen, 32 material pieces, 34 barcode, 36 center line, 38
mark.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for cutting a strip of flexible material, comprising: a cylindrical support member; means for securing the material strip along a circumferential surface of the support member; Two lateral cutting means separated from each other around the circumferential surface and movably provided with respect to each other to cut the material piece to a predetermined circumferential length; and along the circumferential surface of the support member. Axially spaced apart from each other, cutting said piece of material to a predetermined width, 2
A cutting device comprising: two longitudinal cutting means; 2. A method of cutting a strip of flexible material, the method comprising: firmly securing the piece of material along a circumferential surface of a cylindrical support member; Adjusting the distance between the two lateral cutting means spaced apart from each other to a predetermined distance; cutting the material piece to a predetermined circumferential length with the lateral cutting means; Cutting the piece of material to a predetermined width by two longitudinal cutting means axially spaced apart from each other along the circumferential surface of the material.