Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Assembling or joining
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-19
2001-05-22
Hughes, S. Thomas (Department: 3726)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Assembling or joining
C083S620000, C083S694000, C083S695000, C083S698110, C083S699510, C083S954000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06233809
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to cutting knives for die cutting, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for mounting cutting knife cavities onto a baseboard.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Cutting knives are commonly used for cutting sheet material such as cloth or vinyl. Cutting knives are also referred to in the industry as cutting dies. Typically, a cutting knife assembly has a support board with a cutting blade or knife mounted thereto shaped to cut a desired pattern. The cutting knife assembly is mounted into a press. The sheet material is fed into the press. The press forces the cutting blades or knives through the sheet material to cut the desired pattern. A common press type is a clicker die press.
The cutting knives are mounted to the support plate which is commonly wood or steel. Wood is preferred because of its low cost compared to steel. A typical method for mounting a cutting knife is by machining a channel into the support plate corresponding to the shape of the desired pattern and securing the cutting knife within the channel. The support plate is typically machined in a machine shop at a location remote from the manufacturing area and then brought to the press for assembly.
Sheet material comes in a variety of widths. It is common for the widths of a particular material to vary several inches between rolls. It is highly desirable to fully utilize the material to minimize waste. As material widths change, placement of the fixed cutting edges may not fully utilize the material unless rearranged.
Conventional cutting knife mounting methods do not allow for the easy removal and rearrangement of the cutting knife to fully utilize different material widths or improved layouts. Because the modifications to the support plate are performed off-line, substantial time and effort are required to rearrange the knives. So much effort is required that a substantial material width change is required before rearranging is cost effective.
Conventional machining methods used in the mounting of cutting knives result in permanent modification to the base plate. Subsequent changes in cavity layout require new baseplate material. New baseplate material substantially increase cost of a new arrangement.
It is therefore desirable to have the capability to quickly and cost-effectively rearrange the cutting knives to fully utilize the available material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a technique for mounting cutting knives on a baseboard that allows for the inexpensive and expeditious rearrangement of the cutting knives to optimize material usage.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a non-metallic baseboard that has a generally planar surface. A cutting knife extends in a generally perpendicular direction to said baseboard and circumscribes a knife cavity. The cutting knife has an elongated cross member affixed to the cutting knife that extends across the knife cavity. The cross member provides a means for affixing the cross member to the baseboard. One method for attaching the cutting knives to the baseboard is by screwing through the cross member into the baseboard. If the cutting knives need to be removed, the cutting knife is quickly unscrewed, preferably using a power screwdriver, and remounted on the assembly line.
In one aspect of the invention, a method for cutting sheet material includes providing a plurality of cutting knives with an integral cross member, arranging the plurality of cutting knives in a predetermined pattern on the baseboard and securing the cutting knives to the baseboard by screwing a fastener through the cross member and into the baseboard. By using a fit-type computer program, cavity layouts may be constantly improved so that the cut material is more efficiently used.
One advantage of the present invention is that a relatively inexpensive wood baseboard may be used. The life of a wood baseboard is prolonged by the present invention since the cross members are preferably placed adjacent to the baseboard to distribute the load of the press across the surface of baseboard.
REFERENCES:
patent: 123127 (1872-01-01), Schoettle
patent: 340976 (1886-05-01), Butterworth
patent: 931830 (1909-08-01), Zimmerman
patent: 950003 (1910-02-01), MacFarland
patent: 954559 (1910-04-01), Zimmerman
patent: 999844 (1911-08-01), Nilsson
patent: 1115079 (1914-10-01), Lynch
patent: 1177005 (1916-03-01), Zimmerman
patent: 1307041 (1919-06-01), Crawford
patent: 1471653 (1923-10-01), Fitzgerald
patent: 1505774 (1924-08-01), Fitzgerald
patent: 1683934 (1928-09-01), Timmons
patent: 1915657 (1933-06-01), Findlater
patent: 2095359 (1937-10-01), Dudley
patent: 2165394 (1939-07-01), Lyness
patent: 2245770 (1941-06-01), Franzmann
patent: 2251432 (1941-08-01), Wall et al.
patent: 2425082 (1947-08-01), Bolston
patent: 2860555 (1958-11-01), Williamson
patent: 2863337 (1958-12-01), Ackley
patent: 2873627 (1959-02-01), Smith
patent: 3178976 (1965-04-01), Kraut
patent: 3217579 (1965-11-01), Rubico et al.
patent: 3373643 (1968-03-01), Spengler
patent: 3383969 (1968-05-01), Saunders
patent: 3520220 (1970-07-01), Acker
patent: 3616720 (1971-11-01), Larson
patent: 3695134 (1972-10-01), Hardwick
patent: 3739676 (1973-06-01), Gerdin
patent: 3826170 (1974-07-01), Jones et al.
patent: 4002092 (1977-01-01), Smith et al.
patent: 4444075 (1984-04-01), Mulry
patent: 4476762 (1984-10-01), Anderson, III et al.
patent: 4494426 (1985-01-01), Hartzell
patent: 4744036 (1988-05-01), Van Tiggelen
patent: 5029505 (1991-07-01), Holliday
patent: 5333519 (1994-08-01), Holliday et al.
patent: 5983766 (1999-11-01), Johnson
patent: 1359307 (1964-03-01), None
patent: 124877 (1919-04-01), None
patent: 663932 (1951-12-01), None
Affidavit of Christopher Geffros, dated Dec. 16, 1997 and photographs.
Geffros Michael R.
Levene Gary S.
Dykema Gossett PLLC
Hughes S. Thomas
Omgba Essama
Ontario Die Company Limited
LandOfFree
Flexible cutting knives and method of mounting cutting knife... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Flexible cutting knives and method of mounting cutting knife..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Flexible cutting knives and method of mounting cutting knife... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2541564