The present disclosure refers in general to the cutting of printed supports on which a plurality of images are printed, such as in particular tapes of photographic paper, fabric, PVC and the like in the form of sheets or rolled up.
Automatic cutting devices comprise one or more longitudinal cutting units suitable for allowing the cutting of a printed support according to one or more directions parallel to the feeding direction and a transversal cutting unit suitable for allowing the cutting of the substrate perpendicular to the feeding direction.
The single images are obtained thanks to the cuts made by these devices starting from sheets or reels of printed supports having various characteristics and dimensions, with images of various sizes printed on them in order to optimize the consumption of the support and to increase the printing speed.
The transverse cutting unit is typically movable along a first transverse guide, while the longitudinal cutting units are typically constrained to a second transverse guide along which they are locked in predetermined positions in order to obtain the necessary cuts in order to isolate the images.
A cutting device of this type is schematically illustrated in
It has been noted that, once the cut of the printed support 11 has been made in the transversal cutting area comprised between the two sliding planes 1 and 2 of the cutting device, there is a risk that the free edge of the advancing cut printed support goes under the sliding surface downstream of the cutting units 5-10.
To obviate these limitations, the present disclosure provides a cutting device which has means to allow occupation of the space created between the sliding planes, so as to always sustain the support to be cut and to allow it to pass from a plane to the other and to reach the relative unloading rollers avoiding jam at the device outlet.
This result has been achieved in a cutting device as defined in claim 1. Preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.
With reference to
The automatic cutting device comprises at least two longitudinal cutting units 5 and it is configured to be able to move along the transverse axis Y inside the transverse cutting zone so as to intercept and cut the printed support 11 according to at least a certain direction parallel to the longitudinal axis (X).
In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, the longitudinal cutting units 5 are in particular six so as to allow the fractioning of the printed support up to seven portions.
The movement of the longitudinal cutting units 5 is controlled by an electronic control unit (not shown in the figure) in data communication with position sensors and actuators included in each longitudinal cutting unit 5 which respectively allow the detection of the position and the movement with respect to the transverse Y axis.
More specifically, each cutting unit 5 has a rest position, outside the portion of the transverse cutting area crossed by a molded support 11, and a cutting position, inside this portion. The spatial coordinate along the transverse axis Y of each longitudinal cutting unit 5 is determined by the commands of the control unit based on specific preset parameters for the particular type of printed support 11 to be cut or is based on information read from printed support 11 itself, as will be seen better later. For simplicity, below, reference will be made to the set of spatial coordinates along the transverse Y axis of each of the longitudinal cutting units 5 as the “state” of the longitudinal cutting units 5.
The automatic cutting device advantageously comprises an array of fins 14 arranged in a comb, supported in cantilever fashion at the second sliding plane 2. The array of fins is configured to move, controlled by the electronic control unit, from a closed configuration, in which all the fins 14 protrude from the second sliding plane 2 and occupy the transverse cutting zone, to an open configuration in which the fins 14 leave free the transverse cutting zone so as to allow undisturbed movement along the transverse axis Y of the longitudinal cutting units 5.
This array of flaps 14 is configured, when in closed configuration, to support the printed support and / or portions of the printed support 11 cut according to directions parallel to the longitudinal axis X, from the first sliding plane to the second sliding plane. In this way, the risk of jam due to printed media not reaching the second sliding plane is eliminated.
Each of the fins 14 is elastically constrained in the array of fins 14 so that it can be elastically deformed along the transverse axis Y. In this way, when one or more fins 14 pass from the open configuration to the closed configuration and intercept a longitudinal cutting unit 5 placed in the cutting position, they come into contact with this cutting unit 5 and modify their trajectory by flexing as shown in
According to one aspect, the fins 14 have a main development according to a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis X and are configured to resist deformation according to a vertical axis Z, perpendicular to the sliding plane.
More particularly, the array of fins 14 comprises a base structure and a plurality of fins 14 rigidly constrained thereto at one end of its extremities. The base structure is moved so that, when the array of fins 14 passes from the closed configuration to the open configuration, the fins 14 and the base structure slide below the second sliding plane.
According to one aspect, each cutting unit 5 also comprises a wedge-shaped opening 15 facing the second sliding plane 2 and configured to further facilitate the plastic deformation of the fins 14 by directing them outwards from the transverse cutting area. According to one aspect, each cutting unit 5 is configured to cut the printed support 11 according to two directions parallel to the longitudinal axis X. The internal surface of the wedge 15, i.e. the surface facing the first sliding plane, is configured to direct the scrap 16, i.e. the molded support portion 11 comprised between these two cutting directions, below the second sliding plane so that it can be easily collected.
According to one aspect, the automatic cutting device comprises, at the second sliding plane 2, unloading rollers 12 configured to pick up the printed support 11 following any one or more cuts made by the cutting units 5.
The automatic cutting device is particularly advantageous in combination with the optical code recognition device described in the Italian patent application 102019000011847 by the same applicant. According to one aspect, the automatic cutting device for printed media 11 comprises an optical code reader 4, at the first sliding plane, configured to read an optical code 3 on the printed support 11 entering the first sliding plane 1. The electronic control unit is programmed to interpret the data corresponding to the optical code 3 to obtain information relating to the status of the longitudinal cutting units 5 necessary for processing the printed support 11 entering the first sliding plane 1.
If a different state of the longitudinal cutting units 5 is required compared to the current state, then the control unit commands in sequence:
Subsequently, the electronic control unit will manage the cutting operations as in the cutting devices of the prior art and will maintain the same state of the longitudinal cutting units until different instructions are received; it will behave in the same way even if a change of status is not necessary as described above. It is to be understood that the information on the desired state of the longitudinal cutting units could be provided via direct input to the control unit if the printed support is not present or is illegible.
Thanks to the automatic cutting device described in the present disclosure, the cutting of printed supports of various kinds becomes even more practical because whatever their weight per unit area and their resistance to deformation, the support will not be able to slip underneath of the second slide plane, causing jam that are now frequent. All this while maintaining the advantages of a cutting device whose longitudinal cutting units can be positioned at will along the transverse Y axis in order to obtain trimmed prints of any size.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102020000015700 | Jun 2020 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2021/055389 | 6/18/2021 | WO |