1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet cutting machine, and especially to a sheet cutting machine with a function of indicating a order of cutting of a sheet bundle.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one of book binding processes, there is a sheet cutting process in which four sides of a printed sheet bundle are cut to form a book block of a predetermined size (for example, corresponding to a size of a finished book). A sheet cutting machine is used in the sheet cutting process.
A cutting blade 4 cutting four sides of the sheet bundle 3 is arranged above the table 2 and opposite to the table 2. A blade receiving plate 5 is arranged on the table 2 and opposite to the cutting blade 4. The cutting blade 4 is supported by a blade drive mechanism (not shown) attached to the frame 1 in such a manner that the cutting blade 4 makes a reciprocal vertical movement between a standby position at which the cutting blade 4 is spaced apart upward from the sheet bundle 3, and a cutting position at which the cutting blade 4 comes into contact with the blade receiving plate 5 so as to cut the sheet bundle 3.
A positioning block 6 is arranged on the table 2 parallel to the blade receiving plate 5 for slide movement in directions toward and away from the blade receiving plate 5. A reference side of the sheet bundle 3 is abutted on the positioning block 6, whereby the sheet bundle 3 is positioned with respect to the cutting blade 4.
The positioning block 6 is moved by a positioning block drive mechanism attached to the frame 1,
The sheet cutting machine comprises an operation data storage section 15 storing data of the order of cutting of each side of the sheet bundle 3, and data of a distance between a cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 for each cutting operation accordance with the order of cutting are recorded.
The control section 14 arranges the positioning block at a predetermined position for each cutting operation, based on the data of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 for each cutting operation accordance with the operation data storage section 15.
On the table 2, a pair of auxiliary positioning blocks 10, which extend normal to the positioning block 6, are attached to both ends of the positioning block 6. Accordingly, the reference side of the sheet bundle 3 is abutted on the positioning block 6, and the second reference side of the sheet bundle 3 is abutted on one of the auxiliary positioning blocks 10, whereby the sheet bundle 3 is positioned with respect to the cutting blade 4.
The sheet cutting machine further comprises an indication section 16 indicating the order of cutting. The indication section 16 comprises a display 11 displays a screen pages indicating the order of cutting.
In other words, the screen page shown in
According to this sheet cutting machine, the positioning block 6 is moved to the predetermined position (the position at which the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 is 302.0 mm) at the first cutting operation, and an upper side 3a of the sheet bundle 3 is abutted on the positioning block 6 on the table 2, and a left side 3c is abutted on one of the auxiliary positioning blocks 10, as shown in
When the first cutting operation is finished, the positioning block 6 is moved to the position for the second cutting operation (the position at which the distance to the cutting line 13 is 215.0 mm). The sheet bundle 3 is then rotated at 90 degrees in a counterclockwise direction by the operator, a right side 3d of the sheet bundle 3 is abutted on the positioning block 6, and the upper line 3a is abutted on one of the auxiliary positioning blocks 10, respectively, whereby the sheet bundle 3 is positioned with respect to the cutting line 13 (the cutting blade 4). Thereafter, the start switches 12a and 12b (see
In this sheet cutting machine, the positioning block 6 is automatically located at a predetermined position by the control section 14 for each cutting operation. Accordingly, for example, if the sheet bundle 3 is arranged in a wrong orientation at the first cutting operation, and the lower side 3b of the sheet bundle 3 is abutted on the positioning block 6 as shown in
Consequently, it is necessary for the operator to always pay attention to the orientation of the sheet bundle 6 with respect to the positioning block 6 during the cutting operation of the sheet bundle, which leads to workload. There arises also a problem that an unskilled operator tends to make an error in cutting operation.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to prevent an error of cutting operation caused by an erroneous positioning of a sheet bundle with respect to a positioning block, in a sheet cutting machine which has the function of automatically setting of a position of a positioning block according to a order of cutting of each side of the sheet bundle.
In order to achieve the object, according to the present invention, there is provided a sheet cutting machine comprising: a frame; a table attached to the frame, a sheet bundle being placed on the table; a cutting blade arranged above the table and opposite to the table so as to cut four sides of the sheet bundle; a blade receiving plate arranged on the table and opposite to the cutting blade; a blade drive mechanism attached to the frame and supporting the cutting blade in such a manner that the cutting blade makes a reciprocal vertical movement between a standby position at which the cutting blade is spaced apart upward from the sheet bundle, and a cutting position at which the cutting blade comes into contact with the blade receiving plate to cut the sheet bundle; a positioning block arranged on the table parallel to the blade receiving plate for slide movement in directions toward and away from the blade receiving plate, a reference side of the sheet bundle being abutted on the positioning block, whereby the sheet bundle is positioned with respect to the cutting blade; a positioning block drive mechanism attached to the frame and moving the positioning block; an operation data storage section storing data of a order of cutting of each side of the sheet bundle, data of a distance between a cutting line of the positioning block and the sheet bundle for each cutting operation accordance with the order of cutting, and data of both a direction and an angle of rotation of the sheet bundle for each the cutting operation; a control section controlling the positioning block drive mechanism based on the data of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block and the sheet bundle for each the cutting operation recorded in the operation data storage section in such a manner that the positioning block is located at a predetermined position for each the cutting operation; and an indication section indicating the order of cutting. The indication section comprises: a display; an image data storage section recording image data of the sheet bundle and image data of the positioning block; an image synthesis section reading the image data of the sheet bundle and the image data of the positioning block from the image data storage section, processing the two image data based on the data of both the direction and the angle of rotation of the sheet bundle of the cutting operation read out of the operation data storage section, and generating data of a composite image of the cutting operation each time the cutting operation is carried out; and an image display section reading from the operation data storage section the data of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block and the sheet bundle of the cutting operation, and displaying the distance on the display together with the order of the cutting operation and the composite image each time the cutting operation is carried out.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the positioning block drive mechanism comprises: a slit formed on the table and extending perpendicularly to the blade receiving plate; an extension portion extending downward from a lower face of the positioning block through the slit, the positioning block being guided by the slit for the slide movement, the extension portion of the positioning block having a through hole with a thread groove extending in a direction of the slide movement; a feed screw attached to the frame underside the table and extending along the slit and arranged for rotation around the axis thereof, the feed screw being screwed into the through hole of the extension portion; and a motor attached to the frame and rotating the feed screw.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sheet cutting machine further comprises a pair of auxiliary positioning blocks arranged on the table and extending normal to the positioning block on both ends of the positioning block, the reference side of the sheet bundle being abutted on the positioning block, the second reference side of the sheet bundle being abutted on one of the auxiliary positioning blocks, whereby the sheet bundle is positioned with respect to the cutting blade. Image data of the pair of auxiliary positioning blocks is stored in the image data storage section of the indication section, and the image synthesis section generates data of the composite image based on the image data of the sheet bundle, the image data of the positioning block and the image data of the pair of auxiliary positioning block.
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. A sheet cutting machine according to the present invention is different from a conventional sheet cutting machine in only a structure of an indication section and a structure of an operation data storage section corresponding thereto. Accordingly, an outer appearance of the sheet cutting machine according to the present invention is the same as the conventional sheet cutting machine shown in
In this embodiment, each of the data is inputted to the operation data storage section 15 as follows. First of all, the data of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 for each cutting operation is inputted to the operation data storage section 15 by the control section 14 receiving data of printing (data relating to a print area of a sheet) from a printer arranged in a printing process prior to the sheet cutting process through a data communication and a data recording media, acquiring a necessary data by computing the received data of printing, and storing the acquired data in the operation data storage section 15.
For example, when the printing for the finished book of A4 size is carried out on sheets, in the data of printing, reference positions corresponding to a bottom edge and a spine of the finished book are set on the sheets. Based on the data of the reference positions, the control section 14 of the sheet cutting machine calculates a position of the positioning block 6 at the time of cutting a side corresponding to a top edge of the finished book, and then stores the calculated value as the data of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 of a first cutting operation, in the operation data storage section 15. The control section 14 calculates the position of the positioning block 6 at the time of cutting a side corresponding to a front edge of the finished book, and stores the calculated value as the data of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 of a second cutting operation, in the operation data storage section 15. The control section 14 calculates the position of the positioning block 6 at the time of cutting a side corresponding to the bottom edge of the finished book, and stores the calculated value as the data of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 of a third cutting operation, in the operation data storage section 15. Finally, the control section 14 calculates the position of the positioning block 6 at the time of cutting a side corresponding to the spine of the finished book, and stores the calculated value as the data of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 for a fourth cutting operation, in the operation data storage section 15.
Further, the data of both the direction and the angle of rotation of the sheet bundle 3 for each cutting operation is inputted by an operator from a data input section provided in the sheet cutting machine, and is stored in the operation data storage section 15.
In this embodiment, as mentioned above, a side corresponding to the top edge of the finished book is cut at the first cutting operation, a side corresponding to the front edge of the finished book is cut at the second cutting operation, a side corresponding to the bottom edge of the finished book is cut at the third cutting operation, and a side corresponding to the spine of the finished book is cut at the fourth cutting operation. Corresponding to this order of cutting, the angle of rotation of the sheet bundle 3 of the first cutting operation is set to 0 degrees, the direction of rotation of the sheet bundle 3 of the second cutting operation is set to a counterclockwise direction, and the angle of rotation thereof is set to 90 degrees. In addition, the direction of rotation of the sheet bundle 3 of the third cutting operation is set to a counterclockwise direction, and the angle of rotation thereof is set to 90 degrees, and the direction of rotation of the sheet bundle 3 of the fourth cutting operation is set to a counterclockwise direction, and the angle of rotation thereof is set to 90 degrees.
In this cases the data of the direction and the angle of rotation of the sheet bundle 3 for each cutting operation may be automatically inputted to the operation data storage section 15 by the control section 14 based on the data of printing.
The indication section 16 comprises a display 11, and an image data storage section 17 storing image data of the sheet bundle 3 and image data of the positioning block 6 together with image data of a pair of auxiliary positioning blocks 10. The image data of the sheet bundle 3, the positioning block 6 and the auxiliary positioning blocks 10 become original data of a composite image generated for each cutting operation, as mentioned below. In this embodiment, each of the image data of the sheet bundle 3, the positioning block 6 and the auxiliary positioning blocks 10 is its plane image data. The image data of the positioning block 6 and the auxiliary positioning block 10 is previously stored in the image data storage section 17, whereas the image data of the sheet bundle 3 is obtained by the control section 14 receiving the image data of the printed sheet bundle acquired by the printing process through data communication. In this case, the image of the auxiliary positioning blocks 10 is included in the composite image as necessary. When the image of the auxiliary positioning blocks 10 is not necessary, it is not stored in the image data storage section 17.
The indication section 16 also comprises an image synthesis section 18 reading the image data of the sheet bundle 3 and the image data of the positioning block 6 from the image data storage section 17, processing the two image data based on the data of both the direction and the angle of rotation of the sheet bundle 3 of the cutting operation read out of the operation data storage section 15, and generating data of a composite image of the cutting operation each time the cutting operation is carried out. The indication section 16 further comprises an image display section 19 reading from the operation data storage section 15 the data of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 of the cutting operation, and displaying the distance on the display 11 together with the order of the cutting operation and the composite image each time the cutting operation is carried out.
In other words, the screen page shown in
In
When the cutting operation of the sheet cutting machine is started, the control section 14 first of all reads from the operation data storage section 15 the data (302.0 mm) of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 of the first cutting operation, and arranges the positioning block 6 at a predetermined position. The image synthesis section 18 reads from the operation data storing portion 15 the data (the angle of rotation 0 degrees) of the direction and the angle of rotation of the sheet bundle 3 of the first cutting operation, and, based on the data, process the image data of both the sheet bundle 3 and the positioning block 6 read from the image data storage section 15 so as to generate the composite image (an image in which the lower side 3b of the sheet bundle 3 abuts on the positioning block 6, and the left side 3c of the sheet bundle 3 abuts on one of the auxiliary positioning blocks 10, respectively, see
When the first cutting operation is finished, the control section 14 reads from the operation data storage section 15 the data (215.0 mm) of the distance between the cutting line of the positioning block 6 and the sheet bundle 3 of the second cutting operation, and arranges the positioning block 6 at a predetermined position. The image synthesis section 18 reads from the operation data storage section 15 the data (90 degrees in a counterclockwise direction) of the direction and the angle of rotation of the sheet bundle 3 of the second cutting operation, and, based on the data, processes the image data of both the sheet bundle 3 and the positioning block 6 read from the image data storage section 15 so as to generate the composite image (the image in which the left side 3c of the sheet bundle 3 abuts on the positioning block 6, and the lower side 3b abuts on one of the auxiliary positioning blocks 10, see
In the same manner, the third and fourth cutting operations are performed, and on each occasion the sheet bundle 3 is rotated by the operator according to the image displayed in the screen area 11e of the display 11 and the sheet bundle 3 is correctly positioned with respect to the cutting line 13 (the cutting blade 4). When the fourth cutting operation is finished, the book block for manufacturing a finished book of A4 size can be obtained.
According to the present invention, since the orientation of the sheet bundle 3 with respect to the positioning block 6 is indicated on the display screen for each cutting operation, the operator can easily confirm the orientation of the sheet bundle 3 by looking at the display screen. Accordingly, it is possible to greatly reduce the error of cutting caused by erroneous positioning of the sheet bundle with respect to the positioning block.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2008-135187 | May 2008 | JP | national |