Machine for cutting stacked sheets of stock

Details Machine for cutting stacked sheets of stock Machine for cutting stacked sheets of stock

1999-11-10

2002-07-23

Rachuba, M. (Department: 3724)

Cutting

With means to monitor and control operation

Including means to correct the sensed operation

C083S076800, C083S209000, C083S365000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06422112

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns a machine for cutting stacked sheets of stock. The machine has a counter for accommodating the stock. The rear of the counter accommodates the stock to be cut and the front of the counter the cut stock. The rear of the counter also accommodates a mechanism for advancing the stack and a baffle for one side of the stack to rest against. A bent is positioned above the counter and accommodates a blade for cutting the stock and a holdfast that can be lowered onto the top of the stack. A control panel and a display panel are positioned on the front side.
A machine of the aforesaid genus is known from Europe Patent 0 056 974 A1 and German 19 637 027 A1. Such machines are employed to cut stacked sheets of in particular paper, cardboard, plastic, and similar stock. When in particular the sheets are to be assembled, the stack-advancing saddle must move into position in relation to the blade very precisely to ensure that the blade can cut the stack very precisely in relation to the specified line of separation. Even slight errors, deviations due to warping of the sheets for example, can deflect the blade from the intended line of separation. In assemblages in particular the incision can enter beyond the edges of the intended format. To prevent such malfunctions, the assembled sheets are held down fast such that the edges of the intended format are not directly adjacent but separated. This procedure of course necessarily leaves strips between the cut edges. Similarly, the edge contours of the stacks are trimmed before the stacks are cut. Once the edges have been cut, the stack being cut will be present in a well defined form or dimension, which decisively affects the precision of the subsequent main cutting processes.
In practice, it is very difficult for the operator to monitor the precise position of the stock being cut at the rear of the cutting surface. As the front of the counter empties, the operator must lean far over it to force the stack or stacks being cut against the stack-advancing mechanism or under the blade and aligns it or them against the abutment lateral baffle. The operator will often unnecessarily be compelled to repeat aligning operations due to his inability to see the rear of the counter and accordingly whether the stock has already been satisfactorily aligned or not.
The operator must be able to monitor various procedures at the rear of the stock-accommodating counter. When assembly sheets are being cut for example, the upper sheets in adjacent stacks can override the stack-advancing mechanism. Stacks can become displaced. Individual sheets can become displaced, by compressed air distorting the uppermost sheet for example. When in particular the sheets are not provided with cutting marks, it is almost impossible for the operator to monitor the rear of the counter because the individual sheets run into each other without visible reference marks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is accordingly an improved machine of the aforesaid genus that will allow the operator to precisely determine the position of the stock being cut, so that corrections will need to be made only when the stock is not resting precisely against the stack-advancing mechanism or abutment lateral baffle.
This object is attained in accordance with the present invention in a machine of the aforesaid genus by at least one camera at the rear of the stock-accommodating counter that monitors the position of the stock being cut in relation to the stack-advancing mechanism or lateral baffle, the image being displayed on the display in real time.
The machine in accordance with the present invention considerably improves not only operator ergonomics but also the quality of the cut. The operator will be able to easily carry out all requisite operations, mad corrections in the position of the stack will need to be made when errors at the rear of the stock-accommodating counter are displayed to the operator in real time. Only in this event will the operator need to intervene below the bent for example and correct the lateral position of the stack or stacks with a square or to align the stack or stacks with the square against the stack-advancing mechanism from the front. The indirect monitoring of the rear of the stock-accommodating counter with the camera, showing the real-time image on the display, will eliminate unnecessary interventions during the cutting process, considerably improving the accuracy of the cut and accelerating the process. Operator ergonomics will be essentially improved.
It is of advantage for the real-time image obtained by the camera at the rear of the stock-accommodating counter to be displayed only while the stack is being aligned in relation to the stack-advancing mechanism or lateral baffle. This approach will be of assistance to the operator in that the display of the real-time image will serve as a clue to monitor the position of the stack at the rear of the counter and intervene to correct it only when it needs to be corrected. The operator will be assisted even more if the image is displayed only when the stack is incorrectly positioned in relation to the stack-advancing mechanism or lateral baffle. The operator can then concentrate entirely on cutting the stock and on operating the machinery, the display indicating that the alignment is incorrect and that the position of the stack needs to be adjusted in relation to the stack-advancing mechanism or lateral baffle. One particular feature of the machine in accordance with the present invention is that it is impossible to initiate a cut with the blade while the stack is incorrectly positioned in relation to the stack-advancing mechanism or lateral baffle. The operator will accordingly be able to make a cut with the machine only when the stack is correctly positioned in relation to the stack-advancing mechanism or lateral baffle. This feature contributes considerably to the quality of the finished product.
It is basically possible to provide a separate screen to display the real-time image. Still, the display in one preferred embodiment displays graphical symbols representing various machine and operation routines, and the image can be superimposed onto it. The symbols can be partly or entirely replaced by the real-time image in this event. If the image replaces only some of the symbols, the rest of the display can simultaneously display the most important routines.
The operator will accordingly in accordance with the present invention be able to view a real-time image of the situation at the rear of the stack-supporting surface, and in a vicinity of the display panel that is particularly easy for him to see, facilitating corrections and allowing him to monitor the precise alignment of the stack in relation to the stack-advancing mechanism and lateral baffle.
The method of monitoring the rear of the stock-accommodating counter can be engineered in many different ways. Preferably, however, there will be several monitoring cameras distributed over the width of the counter.
It will be of advantage for the areas monitored by the monitoring cameras to overlap, each individual camera monitoring one strip of the rear of the stock-accommodating counter extending in relation to the direction the stacks are advanced in. The images can be displayed separately or composite. Each camera can for example be mounted on the stack-advancing mechanism and travel in relation to with it. Such an approach is of particular advantage when the precise alignment of the stack must be monitored against in relation to the stack-advancing mechanism. Mounting a particular camera stationary in relation to the rear of the stock-accommodating counter is also conceivable, in which case it will monitor a specific area of the counter. This approach can be a particular advantage when it is the position of the stack in relation to the lateral baffle that is being monitored. The camera or cameras can monitor the rear of the stock-accommodating counter from above or from the side or both.

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