The present invention relates generally to an electronic cutting machine, and more particularly to an electronic cutting machine that may be operated as a stand-alone machine without the need of connection to any other peripheral device such as a personal computer.
As scrapbooking has become a national phenomenon, various new products have been introduced to the mark to embellish and customize scrapbook pages. One product that has seen significant commercial success has been the introduction of various die cutting devices. Die cutting devices typically employ the use of one or more dies having a cutting blade of a particular configuration and a press for firmly pressing a die against a sheet of paper or other material in sheet form to cut the sheet with the die into the desired shape. These systems are typically hand operated.
Another system for cutting shapes in sheet materials is an electronic vinyl cutter. Electronic vinyl cutters are configured to cut a shape or series of shapes in a sheet of adhesive backed vinyl that can be peeled from the sheet and applied to another material, such as a banner, for forming a relatively inexpensive sign. These electronic vinyl cutters are relatively expensive and require connection to a computer and computer software to drive the electronic cutter.
The electronic vinyl cutters have been employed to cut paper materials for use in the arts and crafts industry. The machines, however, are connected to an external computer running software to control the movement of the cutter. In addition, the machines themselves are not generally configured in a manner that makes them simple to operate.
As such, there exists a need for an electronic cutting machine that is configured specifically for cutting paper and other materials in sheet form that is easy to operate and can operate independently of a personal computer or other external device.
The features and inventive aspects will become more apparent upon reading the following detailed description, claims, and drawings, of which the following is a brief description. The following drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments. Like reference numerals refer to like parts in different views or embodiments in the drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, illustrative embodiments are shown in detail. Although the drawings represent the embodiments, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated to better illustrate and explain novel aspects of an embodiment. Further, the embodiments described herein are not intended to be exhaustive or otherwise limit or restrict the claims to the precise form and configuration shown in the drawings and disclosed in the following detailed description. This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/897,563 filed on Jan. 26, 2007, titled “Electronic Cutting Apparatus and Methods for Cutting”, to Workman et al., and this application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 11/457,415 filed Jul. 13, 2006, titled “Electronic Paper Cutting Apparatus”, to Workman et al., which claims priority to U.S. provisional application 60/699,210 filed on Jul. 14, 2005, titled “Electronic Cutting Apparatus and Methods for Cutting”, to Workman et al., all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
As discussed herein in detail, an example of an electronic cutting machine may include a cutting element for cutting a sheet of material, drive rollers for controlling movement of the sheet, and electronics for controlling movement of the cutting element and the drive rollers. The electronic cutting machine operates by moving the cutting element in an “x-direction” and the sheet in a “y-direction.” That is, when the cutting element is placed against the sheet, a controlled cut is made by moving the cutting element back and forth while the sheet is moved perpendicular to the movement of the cutting element. The cutting element is moveable in a “z-direction” to allow desired placement of the cutter against the medium being cut at a specific location and to lift the cutting element when a particular cut is complete. By precisely controlling these two movements, a particular shape can be cut into the sheet.
The electronic cutter as described herein may be configured to operate as a stand-alone machine without any need for connection to a personal computer or other external device. All of the functions of the electronic cutting machine can be controlled by the user through a user interface provided on the electronic cutter.
In one example, various shapes to be cut with the electronic cutter are provided on a separate cartridge. When a user desires a particular image, a cartridge containing that image is connected to the machine. The user can then select the image to be cut using the user interface, such as a keypad, and instruct the machine to cut the image. The cartridge (e.g., containing an electronic memory that includes the shape's shapes description) is removable from the electronic cutter. Moreover, the cartridges may contain a library of shapes that the user may select for cutting.
In another example, the shapes for being cut are stored in memory on the machine. The user then uses the user interface to select a particular shape or series of shapes to be cut from the library of shapes stored on the machine.
In operation, a bottom door forms a support tray for the paper being cut while the upper door reveals the user interface when opened. The sheet to be cut is placed upon a mat having a tacky adhesive applied thereto for removably retaining the sheet. The mat and sheet are inserted into the machine and the blade holder is moved using the user interface over a select position on the mat. The desired shape is selected for cutting and the machine is instructed to cut the shape.
If desired by the user, each image or shape may be further customized before cutting. On example includes changing the size of an image to be cut. The image may be scaled by the user by selecting a desired shape of the image and rotating a sizing wheel until the desired size is displayed.
The cutting element is comprised of a blade holder and a blade. The blade holder allows the blade to freely swivel within the blade holder so that the blade will orient itself in the direction of the cut being made. The blade holder allows for the length of blade extending from the blade housing to be easily and precisely adjusted by a user. In addition, the blade housing is configured to precisely set the blade within the housing during the manufacturing process to ensure that each blade holder/blade assembly is properly configured.
Referring now to the drawings,
Display 35 may be used to display operating parameters, user selections, position information, general status, etc. Moreover, where space is not available on display 35 to show all information contemporaneously, scrolling text may be used to show a large amount of information. For example, where multiple characters are selected for cutting, a scrolling text display may be used to show the user the entire message that is selected for cutting. When the user desired to edit the message, the selected message may be scrolled from side-to-side using the direction keys and highlighting or underlining may be used to indicate the selected character.
Display 35 may also include the functionality to show the user's adjustments in real time for features such as cutting size, cutting speed, and cutting pressure. The user may “dial in” the desired setting based on the value shown in display 35. During the “dial in” process, display 35 may highlight the parameter being adjusted to draw the user's attention to it. For example, when cutting size is being adjusted, display 35 may highlight cutting size and non-highlight the other parameters. In this way, the user is immediately drawn to the parameter under adjustment. Other features of display 35 may include the presentation of warning and/or error message. If a warning or error is present, display 35 may switch the output to the warning/error and override the user's current operation. If desired, display 35 may also be used to present the user with questions, and keypad 40 may be used to receive the user's answer.
Each dial 18, 19 and 20, in an example, may be connected to a potentiometer or other device known in the art for sending a signal to the processor of the machine to change the corresponding parameter. Alternatively, dial 20 may be connected to a rotary encoder (e.g., an optical or mechanical encoder) to provide rotational positioning information to the processor (discussed below). With specific reference to the speed of the cut, in addition to manual adjustment of the speed through manipulation of one of the dials, the machine itself may be configured to automatically adjust the speed depending upon the pressure set by the user, which may indicate a thicker material being cut. In addition, for a given speed of cut, as may be set by the user, the machine will adjust the speed of the cut depending upon the curvature of the cut being made. For example, when cutting a straight line, the machine can move more rapidly through the material without causing a tear in the material. On tight corners, however, if the cut is moving too quickly, the material can be ripped. As such, the machine will automatically adjust its speed depending upon the radius of the arc being cut to prevent the material from ripping when cutting arcs of smaller radii. Thus, when cutting, the machine will automatically adjust “on-the-fly” the speed of the cut as the cut is being made.
Each of dials 18, 19 and 20 may be configured using a variety of technologies. For example, dial 20 may be configured as a potentiometer, an optical rotary encoder, a mechanical rotary encoder, a variable reluctance sensor, etc. For purposes of detecting the speed of the wheel, a variable reluctance-type sensor may be more advantageous than a potentiometer or rotary encoder. However, speed information may still be derived in firmware from the other sensor technologies (although not directly measured). Thus, depending upon the precision desired based on the user's rotation of each dial 18, 19, 20, a particular sensor technology may be more desirable than another may (although each may be used). The velocity-based detection methods for dials 18, 19, and 20 allow a user to quickly dial-in a precise setting. With large or rapid movement of the dial, very large changes in setting occur. However, as the user approaches the target value, the user slows the motion of the wheel, which provides for fine control. In this way, the user may rapidly modify setting without large numbers of rotations.
With particular reference to
Referring now to
As further illustrated in
Referring again to
Similarly, as shown in
Display 35 may be configured in size as appropriate to the size of electronic cutter 10 and the available space, as well as the number of features or parameters to display to the user on a single screen. Display 35 may also be implemented in a variety of technologies including LCD and OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technologies, etc. One example of display 35 may include an LCD display having a size in the range of 2.7-2.9 inches diagonal, having 2:1 aspect ratio and a 128×64 resolution. Alternatively, display 35 may be configured as a multi-line character-based display (e.g., such as a 16×4 LCD module).
Referring now to
Stop button 48 may be configured as part of keypad 40 in a matrix, or it may be hardwired to the controller. Stop button 48 in particular may be hardwired to the controller to allow for interrupt-based sensing of the user's key press, although any of the buttons may be hardwired to the controller. This may allow for reduced latency in stopping the cutter even though any delay may be unperceivable to the user (e.g., due to firmware execution on the processor).
The Auto Fill mode calculates how many copies of the selected characters can fit on the remainder of the page to be cut. The auto fill will turn off “Fit to Page” or “Quantity” when pressed. The display 62 will show how many copies will fit on the sheet prior to cutting.
The Fit to Page mode calculates the best and maximum size of the selected glyphs (images or letters) to be cut and sizes them up or down to fit on the remainder of the page. That is, if an image has already been cut by the machine on the sheet currently loaded, the fit to sheet feature will know how much of the sheet is left for cutting and adjust the sizes of the images to be cut to fit within the remaining space. As such, as with many of the other features or modes described herein, because the machine knows how much has already been cut from a sheet and where on that sheet such cutting has occurred, it can adjust any selected modes or features to be cut in the remaining paper. Thus, unlike a typical “fit to sheet” selection as may be found in printing programs to fit to a particular sheet of paper, the cutter adjusts the fitting on the fly as the usable size of the remaining sheet decreases with each successive cut.
The “Fit to Length” mode changes the parameters of the size dial, previously discussed, to become a selector for overall length of cut. Thus, the feature essentially becomes a Fit to Page cousin where the overall glyph(s) length is crunched down (e.g., reduced) to fit the dialed-in size selected. The range of the size would necessarily be limited by the page length left for cutting. Thus, the machine effectively ignores the current size setting when this feature is selected.
The “Portrait” mode changes the direction of the cutting from lengthwise to a left to right manner. This may require an OK button 65 confirmation since the machine would auto unload and restart the orientation of the entire cutting mat. The portrait feature allows for the orientation of the mat to be customized in a portrait (see
The quantity mode when pressed activates cursor keys to increase/decrease the quantity count. The user can press the OK button 65 to set the quantity. The first time the CUT button is pressed, the display 62 will show “Quantity NNN will require XX pages. Press CUT to begin cutting the first page.” This informs the user that the quantity selected may require more than one sheet for cutting with NNN and XX representing numbers. After each page is cut, the display will show “YY more pages to cut. Load another page too continue cutting or press STOP to exit.” Thus, after each page, the user can decide to continue by inserting another sheet and pressing the CUT button or cease the cutting of the selected quantity by pressing the STOP button. Of course, there are certain functions that can be used in conjunction. For example, Quantity and Fit to Page or Fit to Length could be used together. The Quantity filed appears on the display 62 when the Quantity feature has been selected by the user.
The Flip mode button when selected causes the selected image to be cut as a “mirror” image of the selected glyph. This feature may apply individually to all selected glyphs.
The Multi Cut mode (also described below) would cause the machine to make multiple cuts of the same image two (2), three (3) or more times. The Multi-Cut feature could be used for thicker materials to ensure that the image is cut completely through the particular media.
The Center Point mode (also described below) allows a user to use the cursor keys surrounding the CUT button to position the blade as desired. When doing so, the machine will calculate whether the chosen position will allow the cut to proceed with the existing settings. If not, a “Cannot Fit” error will be displayed to indicate to the user that the position of the blade will not allow the image to fit on the sheet.
Various addition settings may also be selected. For example, in the Settings mode, one can toggle through various selections using the arrow keys to select choices on the same level. Pressing OK 65 will confirm the selection. Some settings may be language, Units, Multiple Cut or others. Other keys may be provided for future feature upgrades.
The Auto Expand feature allows the user to expand the image to the largest size possible. It may also be used in conjunction with the Quantity feature. The Auto Fill feature would automatically fill the page to be cut with the selected images. The Rotate feature would allow the user to rotate an image to be cut to a desired orientation. This may or may not require the user to reload the sheet to be cut.
As will be described in more detail, as illustrated in
Cartridges 50 may be used for various embodiments of electronic cutter 10. For example, where different versions of electronic cutter 10 are available, cartridge 50 may be backwards compatible with features of each electronic cutter 10. That is to say, if one embodiment of electronic cutter 10 supports certain features but another embodiment does not, the same cartridge 50 may be used or both electronic cutters 10. However, features not supported by electronic cutters are then not available. Such a system of backward compatibility allows consumers to purchase cartridges that are supported by a plurality of machines and substantially alleviates versioning problems.
As shown in
In addition, a “Load Last” key 168 is provided. The load last key 168 allows a user to reinsert a mat into the cutter after some material has been cut from the mat. That is, as will be described in more detail, as the machine cuts a particular image or set of images from a particular paper/mat combination, after the mat is removed to remove the shape that has been cut, a user has the option of reinserting the same mat with the remaining paper still attached thereto. By pressing the “Load Last” key, the cutter will have stored data to know the area of the mat that has already been cut. When the user selects a new character or shape to be cut, the cutter will automatically move the cutter head to an area of the paper that has not yet been cut. In addition, the cutter will know if the particular character or shape to be cut of a particularly selected size will fit in the remaining paper. If the character or shape selected by the user is too large to be cut from the remaining paper, the cutter will alert the user by a visual and/or audible alarm, such as a beep and a message on the display of the cutter that the image is too large.
Each key 152, 154 and 156 of the overlay 149 is raised above the base surface 170 with the back surface (not shown) of each key 152, 154 and 156 forming a recess for receiving therein a keyboard key. As such, when placed over the keyboard of the cutter, the overlay 149 will self-align so that it is properly positioned over the appropriate keys. The outer rim 172 of the overlay 149 also seats onto the keyboard to ensure that the overlay is properly positioned and that the overlay cannot be misaligned with the underlying keypad.
Referring again to
Referring now to
In addition to coupling and supporting the blade holder 106, the head unit 102 houses a solenoid (not visible) that is coupled to the clamp portion 112 that supports the blade holder 106. The solenoid controls the amount of pressure that the blade applies when cutting. The solenoid also controls the vertical movement of the blade holder 106 when lifting the blade, in the Z direction, away from the material to allow the blade to move to a new cutting position without cutting. The user can adjust the pressure applied by the solenoid to the blade with one of the dials shown in
As shown in
The processor of the machine controls movement of the stepper motors that control the drive roller 122 and the cutter head 102 to coordinate movement of the material being cut and the blade in a manner that produces a programmed cut. Because the rotational movement of the stepper motors can be precisely controlled, a precise cut can be made.
A blade housing, generally indicated at 200, is illustrated in
The blade holder 200 is configured to be held in the head assembly of the cutter. A circumferential channel 206 is provided in the outer housing 204 for retaining the blade holder. The distal end 210 of the outer housing 204 defines a relatively flat bottom surface 212 over a substantial portion thereof. The use of a flat-nosed end 210 is a substantial improvement over the generally curved ends of prior art blade holders. In particular, the flat nosed end 210 holds the material being cut while the blade moves through the material. The flat-nosed end 210 also includes a radiused lower edge 214 that transitions into the flat surface 212. Of course, the lower edge 214 could be formed from a bevel as well. The bottom surface 212 has sufficient surface area to allow the lower surface to ride on and glide along the material being cut without catching and lifting any of the material already cut. In addition, as the blade 202 cuts through the material, the lower surface 212 holds the material around the blade to allow the blade 202 to cut the material without tearing it. As shown in
The blade housing 200 also allows adjustment of the blade 202 relative to the outer housing 204. This is accomplished by rotating the inner housing 203 relative to the outer housing 204 by grasping and turning a blade height adjustment knob 216 that is integrally formed with the inner housing 203. The engagement of the inner housing 203 with the outer housing 204 is such that the amount of relative rotation between the two is limited in both directions. In the example shown in
A plunger 218 extends from the adjustment knob 216 to force the blade 202 out of the distal end 210 of the housing 200 a sufficient amount to be grasped by a user. The blade 202 can then be pulled from the housing 200 and removed. Replacement of the blade 200 is accomplished by inserting another blade 202 into the housing 200. No other adjustment is necessary.
As shown in
In order to provide discrete set points of rotation between the inner and outer housings 203 and 204, a snap bearing 228 is biased into engagement with a plurality of detents or recesses 230 formed in the outer surface of the inner housing 203. The snap bearing 228 is a metal sphere having a radius that is greater than the depth of the plurality of recesses 230. The radius of the recess 230 is configured to be substantially similar to the radius of the bearing 228. An externally threaded bearing housing 232 is configured to threadedly engage with threads in the side bore 234 of the outer housing 204. A coil spring 236 is interposed between the bearing housing 232 and the snap bearing 228 to bias the snap bearing 228 into the recess 230. As such, as the inner housing is rotated, the bearing 228 will “snap” into a particular recess 230 when the recess 230 is properly aligned with the bearing 228. As such, when engaged with the recess 230, the bearing 228 will hold the relative positions of the inner and outer housings 203 and 204 at particular selected discrete set points. Thus, the depth of cut of the blade 202 can be precisely controlled for a given set point with the engagement of the bearing 228 to the recess 230. In order to provide a visual indicator of the position of the inner and outer housings 203 and 204, and thus, the position of the blade 202, the adjustment knob 216 is color coded with a particular color of paint or other suitable material coating the vertical channels 237 and 238 that are circumferentially aligned with a particular recess 230. Likewise, other indications may be provided on the adjustment knob to provide an indication of the relative position between the inner and outer housing. The upper portion 240 of the outer housing 204 is provided with an alignment mark 242 on the outside thereof. By aligning the mark 242 with a particularly colored channel 237, the amount of the blade 202 extending from the end 210 of the outer housing 204 will be precisely set. Alternatively, a vertical marker 243 constituting a vertically oriented channel may be formed in the upper portion 240. Again, the vertical marker 243 is aligned with one of the recesses 230. Furthermore, numbers may be printed or formed on the raised portions of the adjustment knob to which the alignment mark 242 can be positioned.
The blade 202 is provided with a sharp cutting end 244 at its distal end and a conically shaped proximal end 246. The body 248 of the blade is cylindrical in shape to provide stable and controlled, but free rotation of the blade 202 relative to the inner housing 203. The cutting end 244 is tapered to provide a leading edge 250 and a trailing edge 252. As such, the blade 202 can freely swivel within the housing 203 and will self-orient with the leading edge 250 oriented in the direction of the cut.
The blade 202 is releasably coupled to the inner housing 203 by magnetic force supplied by the magnetic blade stop 254. The blade stop 254 provides a bearing surface for engaging the conical end 246 of the blade 202 to allow free rotation of the blade 202 while retaining the blade 202 with the magnetic force. The longitudinal axis of the body 248 of the blade 202 is linearly and concentrically aligned with the longitudinal axis of the housing 203 with blade bearing 258 positioned adjacent the distal end of the housing 203.
In order to decouple the blade 202 from the housing 203, a plunger 218 is provided. The plunger 218 is longitudinally moveable relative to the housing 203 and is biased toward the proximal end of the housing 203 with the coil spring 260. The distal end 262 of the plunger 218 provides an abutment for the magnetic blade stop 254. Thus the position of the distal end 262 relative to the housing 203 determines the position of the blade 202 relative to the housing 203 and the longitudinal position of the housing 203 relative to the outer housing 204 determines the length of the distal end 244 of the blade 202 extending from the surface 212 of the flat nosed end 210.
In order to ensure that the position of the blade end 244 relative to the housing 203 is properly set at the factory, given the fact that variations in component dimensions due to factory tolerances could result in variations in the blade end 244 position relative to the end 212 for a given set point, a factory adjustment member 262 is provided. The member 262 is provided with an externally threaded portion 264 for engaging with threads on the inside surface 266 of the housing 203. The top portion 266 of the member is provided with a hex head for being turnable with a socket having a similar size. The member forms a sleeve around the plunger 218 to allow the plunger 218 to slide relative thereto. By threading the member 262 into the housing 203, distal end 262 of the plunger 218, which is wider than the longitudinal bore 270 of the member 262, is forced into the top end of the housing 203 a distance equivalent to the distance into the housing 203 that the member 262 is threaded. As such, at the factory, the member 262 can be threaded into the housing 203 until the blade end 244 is coplanar with the surface 212 of the housing 204. The setscrew 265 can then be threaded into the side of the housing 203 through the knob 216 to hold the set position of the member 262 relative to the housing 203. Thus, each blade 202 can be properly longitudinally positioned with the housings 203 and 204 so that adjustment by rotation of the knob 216 will cause the same displacement of the blade for each blade housing 200.
As shown in
When the blade holder 200 is fully assembled as shown in
In addition to holding cutting blades, blade holder 200 may also accept embossing tools and writing tools. For example, blade holder 200 may accept an embossing tool having a round or blunt end that, rather than cutting, can trace a pattern onto the sheet material. Blade holder 200 may also accept a writing instrument such as a pen or pencil that allows for writing upon the surface of the sheet material. When used in combination, blade holder 200 provides for writing and cutting of sheet material. In this way, the user may cut out objects or shapes as well as placing designs thereupon with the writing instrument.
In operation, the cutter as illustrated in
As shown in
As shown in
Again referring to
In order to modify the characters printed on the keyboard overlay, as previously discussed, certain functions are provided to allow for customization of the images to be cut. The “Shift” button can be used to select the upper character key (shown in gray in
As previously discussed, a user can easily modify the size of the character being cut by dialing the desired size with the appropriate dial. In order to keep the size of letters of a particular font consistent, the size is automatically adjusted in proportion to the largest possible character contained in the given font set. If one desires to deviate from this proportional scaling of sizes, the “Real Dial Sizing” key may be selected to cause the size of the particular character to be equal to the selected size. For example, if the letter “a” were selected to be cut, without “Real Dial Sizing” being selected, the letter “a” (small) would be proportionately sized to match the font size of “A” (capital). If “Real Dial Sizing” were selected, the letter “a” would be cut the same size as the letter “A”. When all of the desired characters or images are selected, the user will press the “Cut” button and the cutter 10 will cut the shapes. The feature buttons 52, allow custom feature effects for each set. Such features can vary with each specific cartridge to add various elements of expansion and versatility. For a given feature to be selected, the user need only press the desired feature button after selecting a desired character or image to which the feature will apply. Thus, the character may be modified as shown on a particular overlay by pressing the button on the overlay that corresponds to the desired feature.
In order to decrease the memory required to store a particular font, character, shape and/or image set on a given cartridge and thus decrease the cost of each cartridge, the images and fonts are stored as algorithms. As such, by storing a single algorithm for each character, image or feature, sizing is a simple matter of applying a multiplying factor to the particular algorithm that represents that character, feature or image. As such, there is no need to store separate images of each size on the cartridge. Thus, the ability to modify the size of a character with an added feature is a simple scaling of the algorithm for that feature/character combination and again does not require storage of each feature/character combination with a different feature added thereto (e.g., outlining, shading, underlining, etc.). As such, the fonts, characters and images stored on the cartridges may be resolution independent with the algorithms representing a series of straight lines and/or curves in a particular sequence. For higher resolution images, more individual line or curve segments are included.
The blade adjustment arrow keys that surround the CUT button allow the user to move the blade to any desired location on the mat. Such blade adjustment is often needed to allow the cutter to cut an image at a desired location on a given sheet of paper. The machine, however, is quite sophisticated in its ability to not only know if a particularly selected character and size will fit on a selected size of paper, but knows what it has cut from a particular sheet of paper and whether a newly selected shape for being cut will fit on the remaining paper. For example, when a user cuts a first image from a sheet of paper attached to the mat, the user can press the Unload Paper key and remove the shape that has been cut. The mat can then be reloaded back into the machine for additional cutting with the paper that is remaining by pressing the Load Last key 168. The user would thus press the Load Last key 168, select a new shape to cut and press the CUT button. Until reset, the machine will store in memory the shapes that have previously been cut and their location on the mat. When the user selects a new character or shape to be cut and presses the Load Last key 168, the cutter will automatically move the cutter head to an area of the paper that has not yet been cut for cutting the next shape. In addition, the cutter will know if the particular character or shape to be cut of a particularly selected size will fit in the remaining paper. If the character or shape selected by the user is too large to be cut from the remaining paper, the cutter will alert the user by a visual and/or audible alarm, such as a beep and a message on the display of the cutter that the image is too large. The user will then have the option of downsizing the character to fit or replacing the paper on the mat to accommodate a cut of the desired size.
As shown in
Cutter 400 includes a main housing to which the various components of the machine 400 are attached. Right and left end cap assemblies provide aesthetic coverings for the housing as well as providing recessed handles for grasping the sides of the machine 400. Coupled to the left side of the housing is a stepper motor attached thereto with motor mount. The motor drives the drive roller, which moves the mat (not shown), relative to the blade housing. When assembled, the drive roller is seated within the channel of the base member such that a portion of the top of the roller extends above the top surface of the base member for engaging the bottom surface of the mat.
A second stepper motor mounted relative to the right side of the housing drives the cutter assembly. When assembled the blade holder is positioned adjacent the drive roller and moves parallel thereto when cutting.
A circuit board is coupled to and housed within the bottom of the housing. The circuit board includes at least one processor and memory for controlling the movement of the stepper motors, communication with the cartridge, communication with the user interface, controlling the LCD display and communication with an external computer for firmware upgrades, cartridge content downloading, etc.
The processor of the cutter may any processor capable of executing instructions, including for example, an Atmel Mega 128 chip having 128 kb of memory or any other processor known in the art. The cartridge 435 includes its own processor, such as an Atmel Mega 8 chip, along with a four (4) or eight (8) megabyte memory chip. Alternatively, cartridge 435 may contain non-volatile memory and an interface controller for communicating with the cutter's processor. Of course, other sizes, speeds and types of processors and memory chips known in the art may be employed.
The user interface includes the keyboard assembly and cutter control buttons. The keyboard assembly includes a keypad that includes a plurality of biased keys. The cutter control buttons include a plurality of buttons. The keypad and buttons both interface with a circuit board that communicates with the processor. The keypad may be configured in a matrix for sending key presses. The buttons may be configured as part of the keypad matrix or they may be configured in their own matrix. Alternatively, each button may be configured as a direct input to the processor or circuitry, or as an interrupt (e.g., as discussed above with respect to the “stop” button). A faceplate has a plurality of recesses formed therein for receiving, supporting and maintaining the keypad and buttons. The keys of the keypad are tall enough to protrude through the recesses in the faceplate and to be received in the back of the overlay.
As shown in
As shown in
The back surface of the machine includes an elongate opening for allowing the mat to protrude through the opening during the cutting process. Also provided is a power adapter port for connecting to an electrical power cord and a USB port for attaching the cutter to an external computer. As previously discussed, however, the cutter may be fully operated without the use of an external computer attached thereto. The connection is therefore provided to all the firmware of the machine to be updated as well as for communication with the machine to allow content stored on a particular cartridge to be updated through the machine.
While the cutting machine has been described as being a completely self contained, stand-alone machine, those of skill in the art will appreciate that various components, processes and methodologies taught and described herein could be adapted for use with existing cutter machines known in the art. In addition, it is further contemplated that the cutter machine could be configured without the use of a separate cartridge such that all images, shapes and characters are stored on non-removable memory, the content of which could be updated by connection to a personal computer. In addition, if a replaceable memory module is desired, while the cartridge is shown as having a particular unique configuration, memory storage devices of known configurations could be adapted for use therein, such as the use of flash memory cards known in the art.
The machine is also provided with various unique features such as “Paper Save.” This setting will automatically rearrange the selected shapes to cluster them together and take advantage of otherwise empty space on the paper.
The cutting machine has vast capabilities that allow the user to customize the images, characters and/or shapes to be cut. For example, each cartridge contains and associated overlay provides feature buttons for custom feature effects. These features may vary with each specific cartridge to add a powerful element of expansion and versatility. In addition, the arrow buttons that surround the CUT button can be used to guide the blade to a desired location. This is very useful when needing to cut in a certain spot on the paper, especially to avoid waste. When moving away from the starting point 708 indicated on the cutting mat, the size of the image might need to be reduced in order for the machine to cut the image. If the remaining paper size is too small, the machine will alert the user and allow the user to reduce the size of the image to be cut. If sizes other than the standard size of paper for the machine are used, the user can use the blade positioning buttons and size dial to adjust for the given paper size. By pressing the “Set Paper Size” button, the user can input a custom paper size into the machine and the machine will know where “home” cut position is for the loaded sheet. The machine will cut lengthwise with “down”, as defined by the bottom of the image, being toward the left edge of the paper when viewing the machine from the front.
If material to be cut other than regular paper or cardstock is selected, the machine may be customized for such other materials. For example, the pressure dial may need to be rotated to increase or decrease the pressure of the blade against the material to be cut to allow the blade to completely cut through the material without tearing the material. In addition, some paper materials may require a slower cutting speed. Thus, the speed dial can be decreased to allow the blade to cut without tearing. For thicker or thinner materials, the blade depth can be adjusted by rotating the blade housing adjustment knob as previously discussed.
The default size of images and shapes for the machine is “relational.” This means that the entire cut results for a given character set will be in proportion to the largest possible character or image contained in the set (referred to as Key Height Character). This maintains letters correctly sized in relation to each other. By pressing the “Real Dial Sizing” button, however, the literal size of images or letters is selected. Thus, for example, the letter “c” will be shorter when cut than the letter “f”.
Additional features include digital sizing in 0.1 inch increments (2.3″, 3.1″, etc.) and Incremental Rotate that allows for rotation of the glyph. The rotation feature may be employed through an additional dial that allows the user to “spin” the glyph around a central axis, but also allows the glyph to be rotated at set intervals, such as 45-degree and/or 90-degree increments. Digital sizing may be accomplished with, for example, rotation of dial 20 (see
When setting up electronic cutter 10 for operation, many features can be applied to characters/shapes. For example, when the user wishes to cut out a character-based message, each character may be assigned different attributes. Each attribute may be set by selecting the existing character (e.g., using positioning keys and the display) and using the keyboard 40 or dials 18, 19, 20 to modify the features. For example, size, position, rotation, skew, italic, and other parameters may be modified for each character or shape. Moreover, when multiple graphics or shapes are to be cut (e.g., when a quantity greater than one is selected) each graphic or shape may be individually customized for the features. Alternatively, the user may apply the customized features to all of the characters/shapes. Each character maintains its own list of “feature” attributes based on the user's selection or customization. In one example of use, the user may move a cursor on the display to select a character. The user may then review and/or modify any feature selection for the selected character. To assist the user, various feature button LEDs may become lighted when a feature is selected. In this way, the feature selection buttons provide feedback to the user as to the status of the feature as applied to the selected character. Such a system providing for the assignment of features to each individual character may be called a mix-and-match system (e.g., or a “mix-'n-match” feature).
Other system features may include a “flip” feature that allows for mirroring of a character/shape (see
An “auto-fill” feature may be used to fill a page with as many instances of the current character/shape as will generally fit on the remainder of the page. The auto-fill feature can be useful when cutting a large number of the same shape.
An “auto-expand” feature allows for the resizing of a character/shape or a collection of characters/shapes to generally fill the remainder of the page. The auto-expand feature may be used to maximize the used are of the page. In an example, the auto-expand function is applied to a collection of twelve characters/shapes. The entire collection is scaled up to cover the entire page. Thus, maximizing the size of the collection given the page size.
A “quantity” feature allows the user to select the number of cuts that are applied to the current characters selected, or the collection. For example, when the quantity feature is selected, the user is queried for the “number of cuts” (e.g., the number of total number of times each character will be cut). The user may press the “quantity” button (e.g., on the keyboard) and then enter the number of cuts using dial 20 or the arrow keys on the keyboard. The user is then prompted to begin cutting. Once cutting is authorized by the user, the display may show the status of the number of cuts, providing an indication of cutting progress to the user. If multiple pages are required to complete the number of cuts, the system prompts the user to insert a new page and then resume the cutting operation. At any time, the user may press the “stop” button to exit the quantity feature (e.g., during setup or after cutting has begun).
A “center point” feature allows the user to cut a shape around a center point. The user sets up the center point function by positioning the cutter over the center of the desired cut area. The user then presses the “center point” button on the keyboard to indicate the center position. The user then selects the shape to be cut and then initiates the cutting operation. One example of the center point feature includes cutting an oval shape from a photograph (shown in
A “multi-cut” feature may be useful to make multiple cuts along the same lines. This allows for cutting of thicker material, such as chipboard. When the multi-cut feature is used, a first pass is made to initially cut the material, but may not cut all the way through the material. On a second pass (e.g., of the multiple cutting function) another cut is made following the path of the original cut. This allows the blade to cut deeper into the material. The number of re-cuts the machine makes may be set either by a setup feature or in response to user prompt each time the feature is turned on.
A “line return” feature would allow the user to insert line returns such as is allowed when using a word processor (see
It is understood that the terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In addition, the use of the term “shape” herein, refers to a particular image, font or character that may be stored on the machine of the present invention, on a cartridge for the machine or in any other location for being cut by the machine. Moreover, the use of the term “sheet” herein refers to any material in sheet form that can be cut with electronic cutter 10 as described herein, including without limitation papers of various thicknesses including such materials as colored papers and card stock as well as sheets of plastic, cardboard, foil or other materials known in the art. It is also understood that, as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural reference, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. While various methods, compositions, and materials of the present invention are described herein, any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein may by used in the practice or testing of the present invention. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety and for all purposes.
While the foregoing advantages of the present invention are manifested in the illustrated embodiments of the invention, a variety of changes can be made to the configuration, design and construction of the invention to achieve those advantages. Hence, reference herein to specific details of the structure and function of the present invention is by way of example only and not by way of limitation.
The present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the foregoing embodiments, which are merely illustrative of the best modes for carrying out the invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. The embodiments should be understood to include all novel and non-obvious combinations of elements described herein, and claims may be presented in this or a later application to any novel and non-obvious combination of these elements. Moreover, the foregoing embodiments are illustrative, and no single feature or element is essential to all possible combinations that may be claimed in this or a later application.
With regard to the processes, methods, heuristics, etc. described herein, it should be understood that although the steps of such processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced with the described steps performed in an order other than the order described herein. It further should be understood that certain steps could be performed simultaneously, that other steps could be added, or that certain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes described herein are provided for illustrating certain embodiments and should in no way be construed to limit the claimed invention.
Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments and applications other than the examples provided would be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the above description. The scope of the invention should be determined, not with reference to the above description, but should instead be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is anticipated and intended that future developments will occur in the arts discussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. In sum, it should be understood that the invention is capable of modification and variation and is limited only by the following claims.
All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their broadest reasonable constructions and their ordinary meanings as understood by those skilled in the art unless an explicit indication to the contrary is made herein. In particular, use of the singular articles such as “a,” “the,” “said,” etc. should be read to recite one or more of the indicated elements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to the contrary.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/897,563 filed on Jan. 26, 2007, titled “Electronic Cutting Apparatus and Methods for Cutting”, to Workman et al., and this application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 11/457,415 filed Jul. 13, 2006, titled “Electronic Paper Cutting Apparatus”, to Workman et al., which claim priority to U.S. provisional application 60/699,210 filed on Jul. 14, 2005, titled “Electronic Cutting Apparatus and Methods for Cutting”, to Workman et al., all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60699210 | Jul 2005 | US | |
60897563 | Jan 2007 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12020547 | Jan 2008 | US |
Child | 13154136 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11457415 | Jul 2006 | US |
Child | 12020547 | US |