Cutting – Other than completely through work thickness or through work... – Scoring
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-12
2004-02-24
Shoap, Allan N. (Department: 3724)
Cutting
Other than completely through work thickness or through work...
Scoring
C083S614000, C083S563000, C083S647000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06694854
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a half-cutting device and a tape printing apparatus incorporating the same.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, there has been proposed a tape printing apparatus that carries out printing while feeding a tape material in the form of a laminate of a printing tape and a peel-off paper, and a half cutter of the apparatus provides a half-cut portion in the printed portion of the tape material so as to facilitate the peeling of the peel-off paper. The printed portion of the tape material is fully cut to a predetermined length, to thereby produce a label element A conventional half cutter is, as proposed in e.g. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2-286367 and Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication (Kokai) No. 5-20893, employs a force cutting method in which a cutter blade thereof moves perpendicularly (in approaching and leaving directions) with respect to the surface of the tape material, thereby carrying out the cutting operation.
The half cutter based on the force cutting method has its cutting edge of the cutter blade brought into contact with over the whole length in the direction of the width of the tape, and hence has a large contact area. Furthermore, it cuts the tape material by applying shearing pressure thereto, and hence requires a large force to perform the cutting. Therefore, from the view point of energy saving, downsizing of the construction of the apparatus, and neat and reliable cutting, this kind of half cutter is not preferable.
Normally, the half cutter has a cutting mechanism formed by a cutter and a tape-receiving member opposed to each other. Then, the cutter cuts into the tape material from one side of the tape material while the tape-receiving member bears the tape material against the shearing force of the cutter. Particularly, when the half-cutting is carried out, the amount of cutting into the tape material is only slight, and hence the setting of the distance between the cutter and the tape-receiving member is very important. Therefore, the technique of positioning the cutter for accurately setting the distance between the cutter and the tape-receiving member is desired. Further, the cutter blade is usually held by a cutter holder, and carries out cutting operation by a portion protruded from the cutter holder.
As described above, the distance or space interval between the cutter blade and the tape-receiving member arranged opposed to each other is important, but if the accuracy of holding the cutter blade by the cutter holder is low, causing variation in the amount of protrusion of the produced portion of the cutter blade, it is impossible to accurately position the cutter blade with respect to the tape-receiving member. This can cause adverse affects on the half-cutting process.
The cutting mechanism of a cutter device used in such a tape printing apparatus includes one based on a scissors-type method, and one based on a sliding cutting method, in addition to the one based on the force cutting method.
In the case of the cutting mechanism based on the sliding cutting method, the cutter blade cuts into a lateral edge of the tape material by hitting against the same, and therefore, the cutter blade can suffers considerable damage. In the tape printing apparatus and the like, such damage occurring upon initial cutting is repeatedly carried out with intervals of time. This causes the problem of breaking and wear of the cutting edge.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a first object of the invention to provide a half-cutting device which makes it possible to attain the energy saving, downsizing of the construction of a tape printing apparatus using the device, and reliable cutting with a beautiful cut, and the tape printing apparatus incorporating the device.
It is a second object of the invention to provide a half-cutting device which can accurately set a distance between a cutter and a tape-receiving member, and a tape-printing apparatus incorporating the same.
It is a third object of the invention to provide a half-cutting device having a cutter holder which can hold the cutter blade with an accurate amount of protrusion of the cutter blade from the cutter holder, and a tape printing apparatus incorporating the same.
It is a fourth aspect of the invention to provide a half-cutting device which is capable of reducing the breaking or wear of a cutter blade employed in the sliding cutting method, and a tape printing apparatus incorporating the same.
To attain the above objects, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a half-cutting device comprising:
a half cutter that has a cutter blade formed by an angular blade and moves in a direction of a width of a tape material to perform cutting operation on the tape material;
a tape-receiving member opposed to the half cutter, with the tape material interposed therebetween, for receiving the tape material being cut; and
a cutter moving mechanism that causes the half cutter to perform a cyclic operation including a cutting preparation operation in which the half cutter is advanced toward the tape-receiving member from a cutting wait position to a cutting start position, the cutting operation in which the half cutter is moved from the cutting start position to a cutting completed position, a withdrawing operation in which the half cutter is withdrawn from the cutting completed position to a withdrawn position, and a returning operation in which the half cutter is returned from the withdrawn position to the cutting wait position.
According to this half-cutting device, a half cutter performs cutting operation by moving in a direction of the width of the tape material. That is, it cuts the tape material by its sliding motion, and hence compared with the force cutting method type, it can cut off the tape material with a very small force, thereby making it possible to attain energy saving, downsizing of the construction of the tape printing apparatus, and neat and reliable cutting. Further, the half cutter is away from the tape-receiving member except when the cutting operation is performed, which prevents the half cutter from providing interference with mounting of the tape material between the half cutter and the tape-receiving member.
Preferably, the cutting operation is a linear motion carried out in a direction orthogonal to a direction of extension of the tape material.
According to this preferred embodiment, the cutting operation is a linear motion carried out in a direction orthogonal to a direction of extension of the tape material, and hence the cutting distance over which the half cutter moves to perform the cutting is minimum. This enables efficient and reliable cutting operation.
Preferably, the tape material is removably mounted in a tape printing apparatus such that an end of the tape material is inserted between the tape-receiving member and the half cutter from above, and the cutting operation of the half cutter is carried out from a lower side of the tape material to an upper side of the same.
According to this preferred embodiment, the cutting operation of the half cutter is carried out by a motion from the lower side of the tape material to the upper side of the same. The tape material tends to be displaced upward during printing (since the platen roller and the print head has an open top space therebetween). In this case, if the cutting is carried out from the upper side to the lower side, the printing position of the tape material tends to be displaced. However, if the cutting operation performed from the lower side to the upper side, the tape material has already been brought into direct abutment with the top plate of the cartridge case or like that, and hence is not displaced.
Preferably, the cutter moving mechanism includes a slide mechanism for causing the half cutter to carry out the cutting operation and the returning operation, a moving toward-and-away mechanism for causing the half cutter to carry out the cutting preparation operation and the withdrawing operation, and a d
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Seiko Epson Corporation
Shoap Allan N.
Windmuller John
LandOfFree
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