Cutting device and cutting method
The cutting device and method address the inefficiencies of conventional cutting devices by using differential feed speeds and gripping mechanisms to tension and secure sheets, resulting in precise and high-quality cuts of thin and flexible materials.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- KOMATSU NTC LTD
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-25
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-07
AI Technical Summary
Conventional cutting devices struggle to efficiently cut thin and flexible sheets without causing tearing or deterioration in quality, as they often result in sheets being bitten between the upper and lower blades during shearing.
A cutting device and method that involves an upstream and downstream conveying mechanism with differing feed speeds to apply tension to the sheet material, combined with a cutting mechanism that moves in accordance with the sheet, and a gripping mechanism to secure the sheet during cutting.
Enables precise and efficient cutting of sheets, preventing them from being caught between blades and ensuring high-quality single-fed sheets are produced.
Smart Images
Figure 2026112553000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a cutting device and a cutting method for a sheet material.
Background Art
[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a cutting device that cuts a steel strip conveyed by a conveyor into steel plates of a predetermined length by a shearing mechanism that follows the steel strip (see, for example, Patent Document 1). When this following moving shearing mechanism shears the steel strip conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side between a lower blade and an upper blade, the steel strip is held by a pressing pad on the downstream side of the shearing position. According to such a cutting device, it is possible to prevent curling and buckling at the end of the steel plate obtained by shearing.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] By the way, a general sheet cutting device that cuts a long and thin sheet into single sheets of a predetermined length temporarily stops the feeding of the long sheet every time it cuts. Therefore, if a conventional cutting device (see, for example, Patent Document 1) can be used instead of these single sheet cutting devices, the cutting efficiency of the sheet can be further improved. However, when the conventional cutting device (see, for example, Patent Document 1) cuts a thin and flexible sheet different from a rigid steel strip as the cutting target, the sheet may be bitten between the upper blade and the lower blade that overlap during shearing. When the sheet is bitten between the upper blade and the lower blade in this way, the end of the sheet is partially torn off and the quality of the sheet deteriorates. The conventional cutting device may not be able to cut the sheet neatly, and there is a risk that the quality of the obtained single sheet will deteriorate.
[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a cutting device and cutting method that can efficiently obtain high-quality single-fed sheets by precisely cutting and aligning sheets. [Means for solving the problem]
[0006] The present invention, which solves the aforementioned problems, is a cutting device for cutting a long sheet material into sheet materials of a predetermined length while continuously conveying it from an upstream side to a downstream side, comprising: an upstream conveying mechanism for conveying the sheet material on the upstream side; a downstream conveying mechanism for conveying the sheet material on the downstream side; and a cutting mechanism disposed between the upstream conveying mechanism and the downstream conveying mechanism for cutting the sheet material, wherein the cutting mechanism has cutting means that moves in accordance with the conveyed sheet material to cut the sheet material, and the feed speed of the sheet material set in the downstream conveying mechanism is set to be faster than the feed speed of the sheet material set in the upstream conveying mechanism.
[0007] Furthermore, the present invention, which solves the above problems, is a cutting method for cutting a long sheet material into sheet materials of a predetermined length while continuously conveying it from an upstream side to a downstream side, comprising the steps of: setting the feed speed of the sheet material in the downstream conveying mechanism that conveys the sheet material downstream to be faster than the feed speed of the sheet material in the upstream conveying mechanism that conveys the sheet material upstream, thereby applying a predetermined tension to the conveyed sheet material; and grasping the sheet material on both the upstream and downstream sides, straddling the cutting position of the conveyed sheet material, while it is being conveyed with the predetermined tension, and cutting the sheet material. [Effects of the Invention]
[0008] According to the cutting apparatus and cutting method of the present invention, sheets can be cut precisely and aligned to efficiently obtain high-quality single-fed sheets. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0009] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2]This is a cross-sectional view of a sheet material cut by the cutting device shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the cutting device, showing the coordinated operation of the upstream and downstream conveying mechanisms that constitute the cutting device. [Figure 4A] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of a cutting device, showing how the cutting mechanism follows the movement of the conveyed sheet material. [Figure 4B] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of a cutting device, showing a state in which a gripping means, which moves in accordance with the conveyed sheet material, grips the sheet material between itself and the second cutting blade of the cutting means. [Figure 4C] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of a cutting device, showing the state in which the first cutting blade of the cutting means is in contact with the sheet material that has been grasped by the grasping means and the second cutting blade of the cutting means. [Figure 4D] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of a cutting device, showing the state in which the sheet material, grasped by the grasping means and the second cutting blade of the cutting means, is cut by the first cutting blade of the cutting means. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of a cutting device, showing how the cutting mechanism, including the cutting means, returns to its initial position after cutting the conveyed sheet material. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0010] The following describes in detail embodiments for implementing the cutting apparatus and cutting method of the present invention, with reference to the drawings as appropriate. First, the cutting device of this embodiment will be described. The cutting device cuts sheet material, which is continuously conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side by a predetermined conveying mechanism, to a predetermined length.
[0011] Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the cutting device 10 according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the upstream side is defined as the vertically upward side and the downstream side as the vertically downward side around the cutting mechanism, but the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in Figure 1, the cutting device 10 is mainly composed of an upstream transport mechanism 1, a cutting mechanism 3, a guide mechanism 4, and a downstream transport mechanism 2, arranged from the upstream side where the sheet material 5 is transported to the downstream side. In addition, although not shown in the figure, the cutting device 10 is equipped with a supply unit located further upstream of the upstream transport mechanism 1 to supply long sheets of sheet material 5a to the upstream transport mechanism 1.
[0012] This supply unit includes a roll section around which a long sheet material 5a is wound, a rotating shaft that rotatably supports the roll section, and, for example, a servo actuator that applies a predetermined tension to the sheet material 5a being pulled out from the roll section by the upstream transport mechanism 1. In the following explanation, when there is no distinction between the long sheet material 5a and the single-sheet material 5b cut from this sheet material 5a, as described later, they will simply be referred to as sheet material 5.
[0013] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet material 5 being cut by the cutting device 10 (see Figure 1). In this embodiment, the sheet material 5 is assumed to be a coated current collector foil, which is an electrode material for secondary batteries. In other words, the sheet material 5 is assumed to have a three-layer structure in which a metal foil 6a, such as copper foil or aluminum foil, selected according to its polarity, is coated on both sides with an active material layer 6b containing a predetermined active material, conductive agent, binder, etc., selected according to its polarity. The thickness t of the sheet material 5 is assumed to be 50 μm or more and 200 μm or less, preferably about 100 μm. However, the sheet material 5 that can be cut by the cutting device 10 is not limited to this, as long as it is thin and flexible, other thin sheets such as paper products, resin films, and metal foils can also be used.
[0014] Returning to Figure 1, the upstream conveying mechanism 1 is composed of a pair of nip rollers 11 and 12. The nip roller 11 is a drive-side roller that rotates with a motor with a reduction gear (not shown). In this embodiment, the nip roller 11 is assumed to be made of wear-resistant hardened steel or special steel. The nip roller 12 is a driven roller that is pressed against the nip roller 11 side and driven. The nip roller 12 in this embodiment is assumed to have a circumferential surface formed of an elastic body such as rubber with a relatively large coefficient of friction. As shown in FIG. 1, the upstream conveying mechanism 1 feeds out the long sheet material 5a sandwiched between the nip roller 11 and the nip roller 12 to the downstream side of the upstream conveying mechanism 1 at a feed speed V2 (see FIG. 3) equal to the circumferential surface speed of the rotating nip roller 11.
[0015] In addition, the nip roller 11 of the upstream conveying mechanism 1 also serves as a measuring roller. That is, although not shown in the figure, the nip roller 11 is provided with a rotation detector such as an encoder. The nip roller 11 detects the feed length of the sheet material 5a from the upstream conveying mechanism 1 to the downstream side by this rotation detector and outputs this detection signal. Incidentally, this rotation detector can also be provided on the nip roller 12 side.
[0016] The cutting mechanism 3 includes a cutting means 31 for the sheet material 5a and a grasping means 32 for the sheet material 5a. The cutting means 31 has a first cutting edge 31a for shearing the sheet material 5a and a second cutting edge 31b. The cutting means 31 moves following the conveyed sheet material 5a and cuts the sheet material 5a at a preset cutting position P2 within the cutting device 10. As a result, the long sheet material 5a is cut into sheet materials 5b of a single leaf with a predetermined length L2.
[0017] In addition, the cutting means 31 includes a second cutting edge displacement mechanism 33 and a first cutting edge displacement mechanism 34. The second cutting edge displacement mechanism 33 moves the second cutting edge 31b along the sheet material 5a and holds it in that position when cutting the sheet material 5a. Also, after cutting the sheet material 5a, the second cutting edge displacement mechanism 33 separates the second cutting edge 31b from the sheet material 5a. Specifically, the second cutting edge displacement mechanism 33 includes a rod 33b that supports the second cutting edge 31b, a driven joint 33c connected to this rod 33b, and a cam 33a linked to the driven joint 33c.
[0018] The first cutting edge displacement mechanism 34 displaces the first cutting edge 31a toward the second cutting edge 31b when the conveyed sheet material 5a reaches the cutting position P2, so as to cut the sheet material 5a at the cutting position P2. After cutting the sheet material 5a, the first cutting edge displacement mechanism 34 moves the first cutting edge 31a away from the sheet material 5a. Specifically, the first cutting edge displacement mechanism 34 includes a rod 34b that supports the first cutting edge 31a, a driven link 34c connected to the rod 34b, and a cam 34a linked to the driven link 34c.
[0019] Furthermore, the cutting mechanism 3 includes a cutting means displacement mechanism 35 that moves the cutting means 31 up and down at a predetermined timing. The cutting means displacement mechanism 35 comprises a bracket 35b that supports the cutting means 31, a driven link 35c connected to the bracket 35b, and a cam 35a that reciprocates the bracket 35b vertically by a predetermined vertical width via the driven link 35c.
[0020] Specifically, the cam 35a of the cutting means displacement mechanism 35 rotates the cutting means 31 (first cutting blade 31a and second cutting blade 31b) to reciprocate between an initial position P1 set downstream of the upstream transport mechanism 1 and a cutting position P2 of the sheet material 5a set downstream of the initial position P1.
[0021] In this case, the cutting means 31 (first cutting blade 31a and second cutting blade 31b) moving from the initial position P1 to the cutting position P2 will move in accordance with the conveyed sheet material 5a, as described above. After cutting the sheet material 5a, the cutting means 31 (first cutting blade 31a and second cutting blade 31b) returns from the cutting position P2 to the initial position P1.
[0022] Next, the grasping means 32 will be described. As shown in Figure 1, the grasping means 32 is positioned upstream of the first cutting edge 31a. In this embodiment, the gripping means 32 mainly comprises a pressing member 32a and a biasing means 32b consisting of an elastic spring or the like. The base end of the biasing means 32b is connected to the driven link 34c together with the base end of the rod 34b that constitutes the first cutting edge displacement mechanism 34. The tip of the biasing means 32b is connected to the retaining member 32a.
[0023] The pressing member 32a grips the sheet material 5a upstream of the first cutting blade 31a when the first cutting blade 31a cuts the sheet material 5a. Specifically, the pressing member 32a sandwiches the sheet material 5a between itself and the second cutting blade 31b, and the biasing means 32b presses the pressing member 32a toward the sheet material 5a. The coordinated operation between the grasping means 32 and the cutting means 31 (first cutting blade 31a and second cutting blade 31b) will be explained in detail later.
[0024] As shown in Figure 1, a guide mechanism 4 is located downstream of the cutting mechanism 3. The guide mechanism 4 is configured to have a pair of wall sections 41 that gradually narrow in distance from the inlet 4a to the outlet 4b of the sheet material 5. The guide mechanism 4 guides the sheet material 5, which is being transported from the cutting mechanism 3 side, towards the downstream transport mechanism 2 side.
[0025] Next, we will explain the downstream transport mechanism 2 (see Figure 1). As shown in Figure 1, the downstream conveying mechanism 2 consists of a pair of belt conveyors 21 and 22 that convey the sheet material 5 while holding it in place. The belt conveyor 21 has three rollers, consisting of a drive roller 21a, a first guide roller 21b, and a second guide roller 21c, arranged from upstream to downstream, and an annular belt 21d stretched across these rollers.
[0026] Of the three rollers consisting of the drive roller 21a, the first guide roller 21b, and the second guide roller 21c, the first guide roller 21b, which is located in the center in the vertical direction, is displaced away from the belt conveyor 22. As a result, the belt 21d is stretched across these rollers in such a way that it forms a roughly triangular shape with the drive roller 21a, the first guide roller 21b, and the second guide roller 21c as its vertices.
[0027] The belt conveyor 22 has four rollers, consisting of a drive roller 22a, a first guide roller 22b, a second guide roller 22c, and a third guide roller 22d, arranged from upstream to downstream, and an annular belt 22e stretched across these rollers. Furthermore, the drive roller 22a of belt conveyor 22 and the drive roller 21a of belt conveyor 21 are positioned at the same height in the vertical direction.
[0028] As shown in Figure 1, the position P3 of the downstream conveying mechanism 2 in this embodiment is defined by the vertical position of the rotation centers of the drive rollers 21a and 22a. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, the position P3 of the downstream conveying mechanism 2 is set to a position shorter than the distance equal to the predetermined length L2 of the single sheet material 5b from the cutting position P2 of the sheet material 5a by the cutting mechanism 3. The position P3 of this downstream transport mechanism 2 corresponds to the "position of the downstream transport mechanism" as referred to in the claims.
[0029] Of the four rollers consisting of the drive roller 22a, the first guide roller 22b, the second guide roller 22c, and the third guide roller 22d, the first guide roller 22b, which is located in the center in the vertical direction, and the second guide roller 22c are positioned so as to be aligned between the drive roller 21a and the second guide roller 21c of the belt conveyor 21. As a result, the belt 22e is stretched across these rollers in such a way that it forms an isosceles trapezoid with each of the drive roller 22a, the first guide roller 22b, the second guide roller 22c, and the third guide roller 22d as its vertices. Furthermore, by positioning the first guide roller 22b and the second guide roller 22c of the belt conveyor 22 between the drive roller 21a and the second guide roller 21c of the belt conveyor 21, the belts 21d and 22e will come into contact with each other between the belt conveyor 21 and the belt conveyor 22.
[0030] Then, the drive rollers 21a and 22a rotate in opposite directions to each other so that the belts 21d and 22e move downward between the belt conveyor 21 and the belt conveyor 22. Specifically, in the example shown in Figure 3, which will be referenced next, the drive roller 21a rotates clockwise, and the drive roller 21a rotates counterclockwise.
[0031] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the cutting device 10, showing the coordinated operation between the upstream conveying mechanism 1 and the downstream conveying mechanism 2. As shown in Figure 3, the feed rate V1 of the sheet material 5 by the belts 21d and 22e in the downstream conveying mechanism 2 is approximately equal to the outer surface velocity of the belts 21d and 22e wrapped around the drive roller 21a and drive roller 22a, respectively.
[0032] In this embodiment, the feed rate V1 of the sheet material 5 set in the downstream transport mechanism 2 is faster than the feed rate V2 of the sheet material 5 set in the upstream transport mechanism 1. In this embodiment, the feed rate V1 is set to a speed approximately 1% faster than the feed rate V2, but it is not limited to this. Furthermore, the feed rate V1 can also be adjusted by a predetermined control unit (not shown) controlling the downstream transport mechanism 2 based on a tension detection signal of the sheet material 5 output by a detection roll (not shown) having a load cell installed in the middle of the transport of the sheet material 5.
[0033] As shown in Figure 3, the belts 21d and 22e of the downstream conveying mechanism 2, with a feed rate set to V1, slide against the sheet material 5 being conveyed at speed V2 while applying a predetermined tension T. In other words, the sheet material 5, which is transported at a feed rate V2, is dynamically grasped at two locations: the upstream transport mechanism 1, which is located upstream of the cutting mechanism 3, and the downstream transport mechanism 2, which is located downstream.
[0034] Figure 3 shows the cutting means 31 (first cutting blade 31a and second cutting blade 31b) that constitute the cutting mechanism 3 positioned at the initial position P1. That is, the first cutting blade 31a and the second cutting blade 31b are positioned away from the sheet material 5. Furthermore, the pressing member 32a that constitutes the gripping means 32 is also positioned away from the sheet material 5. Incidentally, in this embodiment, the vertical position of the cutting means 31 (first cutting blade 31a and second cutting blade 31b) is set based on the position where the shearing portion of the first cutting blade 31a and the shearing portion of the second cutting blade 31b overlap horizontally.
[0035] Next, the coordinated operation between the first cutting blade 31a (see Figure 1), the second cutting blade 31b (see Figure 1), and the pressing member 32a (see Figure 1) will be explained. As described above, the first cutting blade 31a (see Figure 1) and the second cutting blade 31b (see Figure 1) move in accordance with the conveyed sheet material 5a (see Figure 1) from the initial position P1 (see Figure 1) to the cutting position P2 (see Figure 1). The pressing member 32a (see Figure 1) also moves in accordance with the conveyed sheet material 5a (see Figure 1).
[0036] Figure 4A is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the cutting device 10 showing how the cutting means 31 follows the conveyed sheet material 5a. Figure 4B is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the cutting device 10 showing the state in which the gripping means 32, which follows the conveyed sheet material 5a, grips the sheet material 5a between itself and the second cutting blade 31b of the cutting means 31. Figure 4C is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the cutting device 10 showing the state in which the first cutting blade 31a of the cutting means 31 comes into contact with the sheet material 5a that has been gripped by the gripping means 32 and the second cutting blade 31b of the cutting means 31. Figure 4D is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the cutting device 10 showing the state in which the first cutting blade 31a of the cutting means 31 has cut the sheet material 5a that has been gripped by the gripping means 32 and the second cutting blade 31b of the cutting means 31.
[0037] As shown in Figure 4A, the first cutting blade 31a, the second cutting blade 31b, and the pressing member 32a are positioned away from the sheet material 5a and follow the sheet material 5a, which is being transported at a feed speed V2, at a speed V2.
[0038] Next, as shown in Figure 4B, the pressing member 32a and the second cutting blade 31b contact the sheet material 5a while following each other at a speed V2. The pressing member 32a then grips the sheet material 5a between itself and the second cutting blade 31b using the elastic force of the biasing means 32b. As a result, the sheet material 5a is gripped between the pressing member 32a and the second cutting blade 31b upstream of the first cutting blade 31a, and then gripped downstream of the first cutting blade 31a by the belt conveyors 21 and 22 of the downstream conveying mechanism 2 (see Figure 3).
[0039] Next, as shown in Figure 4C, when the first cutting blade 31a and the second cutting blade 31b reach the predetermined cutting position P2 of the cutting device 10, the first cutting blade 31a advances toward the second cutting blade 31b. As a result, the first cutting blade 31a comes into contact with the sheet material 5a. At this time, the sheet material 5a has a predetermined tension T (see Figure 3) and is dynamically grasped at two locations by the upstream conveying mechanism 1 (see Figure 3) and the downstream conveying mechanism 2 (see Figure 3), and is also statically grasped between the pressing member 32a and the second cutting blade 31b.
[0040] Then, as shown in Figure 4D, the first cutting edge 31a advances further toward the second cutting edge 31b, causing the sheet material 5a to be sheared into single sheets of sheet material 5b (see Figure 1) of a predetermined length L2 (see Figure 1).
[0041] The sheet material 5b, separated by shearing, is transported downstream by the downstream transport mechanism 2 (see Figure 3) at a feed rate V1. In this case, the position P3 (see Figure 1) of the downstream conveying mechanism 2 (see Figure 1) is set to a position shorter than the distance from the cutting position P2 (see Figure 1) to the predetermined length L2 (see Figure 1) of the single sheet material 5b (see Figure 1). As a result, the single sheet material 5b is reliably conveyed downstream without detaching from the conveying path. Meanwhile, the long sheet material 5a is continuously transported downstream at the feed rate V2 of the upstream transport mechanism 1 (see Figure 3).
[0042] Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the cutting device 10, showing how the cutting means 31 returns to its initial position P1 after cutting the sheet material 5a. As shown in Figure 5, after cutting the sheet material 5a, the first cutting blade 31a and the second cutting blade 31b move away from the sheet material 5a while moving upstream, i.e., upward towards the initial position P1 (see Figure 3) at a speed V3. The gripping means 32 having a pressing member 32a also moves along with the first cutting blade 31a and the second cutting blade 31b at a speed V3. Incidentally, it is desirable to set this speed V3 to a speed V2 or higher.
[0043] The timing of the movement of the cutting means 31 and the grasping means 32, as described above, by the second cutting blade displacement mechanism 33 (see Figure 1), the first cutting blade displacement mechanism 34 (see Figure 1), and the cutting means displacement mechanism 35 (see Figure 1), is set each time a single sheet of material 5b (see Figure 1) is cut from a long sheet of material 5a (see Figure 1). That is, the timing of the movement of the cutting means 31 and the grasping means 32 is set each time the length of the sheet material 5a fed out by the upstream transport mechanism 1 (see Figure 1) reaches a predetermined length L2 (see Figure 1) of a single sheet of material 5b (see Figure 1). Specifically, in this embodiment, the cutting device 10 controls the timing of the movement of the cutting means 31 and the grasping means 32 based on a detection signal output by the rotation detector of the upstream transport mechanism 1, which also serves as a measuring roller, via a predetermined control unit (not shown).
[0044] The cutting device 10 (see Figure 1) having such a control unit is a cutting method that cuts a long sheet material 5 (see Figure 1) into single sheets of sheet material 5 (see Figure 1) of a predetermined length L2 (see Figure 1) while continuously conveying it from the upstream side to the downstream side, and controls the feed speed V1 (see Figure 3) of the sheet material 5 (see Figure 1) in the downstream conveying mechanism 2 (see Figure 1) that conveys the sheet material 5 (see Figure 1) on the downstream side, and the upstream conveying mechanism that conveys the sheet material 5 (see Figure 1) on the upstream side A cutting method is performed which includes the steps of: applying a predetermined tension T (see Figure 3) to the sheet material 5 (see Figure 1) that is being transported at a speed set faster than the feed speed V2 (see Figure 3) of the sheet material 5 (see Figure 1) in 1 (see Figure 1); and gripping the sheet material 5 (see Figure 1) on both the upstream and downstream sides of the cutting position P2 (see Figure 1) of the sheet material 5 (see Figure 1) that is being transported with the predetermined tension T (see Figure 3), and cutting the sheet material 5 (see Figure 1).
[0045] <Effects> Next, the effects and benefits of this embodiment will be described. The cutting device 10 of this embodiment is a cutting device that cuts a long sheet material 5a into single sheets of sheet material 5b of a predetermined length L2 while continuously conveying it from the upstream side to the downstream side, and comprises an upstream conveying mechanism 1 that conveys the sheet material 5a on the upstream side, a downstream conveying mechanism 2 that conveys the sheet material 5a on the downstream side, and a cutting mechanism 3 that is arranged between the upstream conveying mechanism 1 and the downstream conveying mechanism 2 and cuts the sheet material 5a, and the cutting mechanism 3 has a cutting means 31 that moves in accordance with the conveyed sheet material 5a and cuts the sheet material 5a, and the feed speed V1 of the sheet material 5a set in the downstream conveying mechanism 2 is set to be faster than the feed speed V2 of the sheet material 5a set in the upstream conveying mechanism 1.
[0046] With this cutting device 10, the sheet material 5b is dynamically grasped by the upstream transport mechanism 1 and the downstream transport mechanism 2 to maintain tension T, and then cut by the cutting mechanism 3, thereby preventing the sheet material 5b from getting caught between the upper and lower blades. This allows the cutting device 10 to accurately cut the long sheet material 5a and efficiently obtain high-quality single-sheet material 5b.
[0047] Furthermore, this cutting device 10 generates tension T in the sheet material 5a due to the difference in feed speed (V1-V2) between the upstream transport mechanism 1 and the downstream transport mechanism 2. This allows the cutting device 10 to be made more compact and prevents the sheet material 5a from becoming sagging.
[0048] Furthermore, in such a cutting device 10, the position P3 of the downstream conveying mechanism 2 is set to a position shorter than the distance equal to the predetermined length L2 of the single sheet material 5b from the cutting position P2 of the sheet material 5a by the cutting mechanism 3.
[0049] With this cutting device 10, the lower end of each sheet material 5b is always grasped by the downstream conveying mechanism 2, so that the sheet material 5b can be reliably conveyed downstream without detaching from the conveying path.
[0050] Furthermore, in such a cutting device 10, the cutting means 31 has a first cutting blade 31a and a second cutting blade 31b for shearing the sheet material 5a, and the cutting mechanism 3 further has a gripping means 32 that grips the sheet material 5a upstream of the first cutting blade 31a when cutting the sheet material 5a.
[0051] With this cutting device 10, the sheet material 5a is grasped not only by the upstream transport mechanism 1 and the downstream transport mechanism 2 as described above, but also by the grasping means 32. This allows the cutting device 10 to cut long sheets of sheet material 5a with greater precision.
[0052] Furthermore, in such a cutting device 10, the gripping means 32 includes a pressing member 32a having a biasing means 32b that presses the sheet material 5a toward the second cutting blade 31b, and the first cutting blade 31a is configured to shear the sheet material 5a gripped between the second cutting blade 31b and the pressing member 32a.
[0053] With this cutting device 10, the first cutting blade 31a cuts the sheet material 5a held down by the pressing member 32a by the biasing means 32b, so that long sheets of sheet material 5a can be cut to size with even greater precision.
[0054] Furthermore, in such a cutting device 10, the downstream transport mechanism 2 is a pair of belt conveyors 21 and 22 that transport the sheet material 5a while holding it in place.
[0055] According to this cutting device 10, the sheet material 5a is transported while being held between a pair of belt conveyors 21 and 22, so that the sheet material 5a having a predetermined tension T can be stably transported downstream.
[0056] Furthermore, in such a cutting device 10, the conveying direction of the sheet material 5a is set to downward in the vertical direction.
[0057] With this cutting device 10, even if the sheet material 5a is thin and flexible, the sheet material 5a can be stably transported downstream without resisting gravity.
[0058] Furthermore, such a cutting device 10 has a guide mechanism 4 positioned downstream of the cutting mechanism 3 to guide the sheet material 5a from the cutting mechanism 3 side to the downstream conveying mechanism side 2, and the guide mechanism 4 is configured to have a pair of wall sections 41 that gradually narrow in distance from the inlet 4a to the outlet 4b of the sheet material 5a.
[0059] This cutting device 10 allows for more reliable transport of the sheet material 5a from the cutting mechanism 3 to the downstream transport mechanism 2.
[0060] Furthermore, in such a cutting device 10, the sheet material 5a is an electrode material for a secondary battery in which an active material layer 6b is laminated on both sides of a metal foil 6a.
[0061] This cutting device 10 can prevent the conveyed sheet material 5a from bending, thereby preventing interlayer separation of the sheet material 5a, which is the electrode material for secondary batteries.
[0062] Furthermore, the cutting method of this embodiment is a cutting method for cutting a long sheet material 5a into single sheets of sheet material 5b of a predetermined length L2 while continuously conveying it from the upstream side to the downstream side, and comprises the steps of: setting the feed speed V1 of the sheet material 5a in the downstream conveying mechanism 2 that conveys the sheet material 5a downstream to be faster than the feed speed V2 of the sheet material 5a in the upstream conveying mechanism 1 that conveys the sheet material 5a upstream, and applying a predetermined tension T to the conveyed sheet material 5a; and grasping the sheet material 5a on both the upstream and downstream sides, straddling the cutting position P2 of the conveyed sheet material 5a with the predetermined tension T, and cutting the sheet material 5a.
[0063] According to this cutting method, the sheet material 5b is dynamically grasped by the upstream transport mechanism 1 and the downstream transport mechanism 2 to exert tension T, and then cut by the cutting mechanism 3. Therefore, unlike conventional cutting devices (see, for example, Patent Document 1), the sheet material 5b does not get caught between the upper and lower blades. This cutting method allows for the precise cutting of long sheets of material 5a to efficiently produce high-quality single sheets of material 5b.
[0064] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and can be implemented in various forms. In the above embodiment, a shearing blade having a first cutting blade 31a and a second cutting blade 31b was exemplified as the cutting means 31, but the cutting means 31 is not limited to this, and other cutting means such as a laser cutter can be applied. [Explanation of Symbols]
[0065] 1 Upstream conveying mechanism, 2 Downstream conveying mechanism, 3 Cutting mechanism, 4 Guide mechanism, 4a Sheet material inlet, 4b Sheet material outlet, 5 Sheet material, 5a Long sheet material, 5b Single-sheet material, 6a Metal foil, 6b Active material layer, 10 Cutting device, 21 Belt conveyor, 22 Belt conveyor, 31 Cutting means, 31a First cutting blade, 31b Second cutting blade, 32 Gripping means, 32a Pressing member, 32b Biasing means, 41 Wall section, L2 Determined length of single-sheet material, P2 Cutting position of sheet material, P3 Position of downstream conveying mechanism, V1 Feeding speed of sheet material of downstream conveying mechanism, V2 Feeding speed of sheet material of upstream conveying mechanism
Claims
1. A cutting device that continuously transports a long sheet material from upstream to downstream and cuts it into sheets of a predetermined length, An upstream conveying mechanism for conveying the sheet material on the upstream side, A downstream conveying mechanism for conveying the sheet material downstream, A cutting mechanism is positioned between the upstream conveying mechanism and the downstream conveying mechanism to cut the sheet material, Equipped with, The cutting mechanism has cutting means that move in accordance with the conveyed sheet material and cut the sheet material, A cutting device in which the feed speed of the sheet material set in the downstream conveying mechanism is set to be faster than the feed speed of the sheet material set in the upstream conveying mechanism.
2. The cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the downstream conveying mechanism is set to a position shorter than a distance equal to a predetermined length of the sheet material from the cutting position of the sheet material by the cutting mechanism.
3. The cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the cutting means has a first cutting blade and a second cutting blade for shearing the sheet material, and the cutting mechanism further has a gripping means for gripping the sheet material upstream of the first cutting blade when cutting the sheet material.
4. The gripping means includes a pressing member having a biasing means for pressing the sheet material toward the second cutting blade side, The cutting device according to claim 3, wherein the first cutting blade is configured to shear the sheet material gripped between the second cutting blade and the pressing member.
5. The cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the downstream conveying mechanism is a pair of belt conveyors that convey the sheet material while holding it in place.
6. The cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the conveying direction of the sheet material is set to downward in the vertical direction.
7. The cutting mechanism has a guide mechanism positioned downstream of the cutting mechanism that guides the sheet material from the cutting mechanism side to the downstream conveying mechanism side. The cutting device according to claim 6, wherein the guide mechanism has a pair of wall portions that are gradually spaced closer together as the sheet material moves from the entrance to the exit.
8. The cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material is an electrode material for a secondary battery in which an active material layer is laminated on both sides of a metal foil.
9. A cutting method for cutting a long sheet material into sheets of a predetermined length while continuously conveying it from the upstream side to the downstream side, A step of applying a predetermined tension to the sheet material being transported by setting the feed speed of the sheet material in the downstream transport mechanism that transports the sheet material downstream to be faster than the feed speed of the sheet material in the upstream transport mechanism that transports the sheet material upstream, A step of grasping the sheet material on both the upstream and downstream sides of the cutting position of the sheet material being transported while maintaining a predetermined tension, and cutting the sheet material, A cutting method that has [something].