Beating device

Abstract

To provide a punching device that can improve the accuracy in stopping a work-piece at a predetermined punching position so as to improve a quality of a product obtained by punching the work-piece.SOLUTION: A punching device 100 comprises: a movable surface plate 1 and an opposing surface plate 2 oppositely arranged in a vertical direction; a moving mechanism that moves the movable surface plate 1 up and down toward the opposing surface plate 2; punching part conveying means (14 and 15) that convey a work-piece S to a position (a punching position or the like) at which punching is performed by the movable surface plate 1 and the opposing surface plate 2; and control means that controls the moving mechanism and the punching part conveying means (14 and 15). The punching device further comprises position detecting means 25 that detects a position of the work-piece S that is conveyed by the punching part conveying means (14 and 15). The control means determines a timing of stopping the punching part conveying means (14 and 15) on the basis of a detected result by the position detecting means after the work-piece S is brought into a state where conveyance force is not applied to the work-piece from conveying means (an inlet roller pair 20 or the like) arranged closer to an upstream than the punching part conveying means (14 and 15).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a punching device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a punching device is known that includes a movable base plate and an opposing base plate arranged opposite each other in the vertical direction, a moving mechanism that moves the movable base plate up and down toward the opposing base plate, and a transport means that transports a workpiece to a position where the punching process is performed by the movable base plate and the opposing base plate.

[0003] As an example of this type of punching device, Patent Document 1 describes a punching device in which a sheet feeder transports the workpiece (paper) supplied from a paper supply section to the punching device (punching section), and a conveying means (conveying mechanism) transports the workpiece to a punching position where the punching process is performed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5399231 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In a punching device in which a movable base plate moves toward an opposing base plate, the conveying means stops conveying at the punching position, and the workpiece whose movement in the conveying direction has stopped is sandwiched between the movable base plate and the opposing base plate to perform the punching process. For this reason, for example, when an image is formed on the workpiece, it is required to accurately stop the workpiece at a predetermined punching position in order to accurately match the image shape with the punched shape. Moreover, not only when an image is formed, but also when an image is formed, it is required to accurately stop the workpiece at the predetermined punching position in order to accurately punch the workpiece at the predetermined position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention is a machine including a movable base plate and an opposing base plate arranged opposite to each other in the vertical direction, a movement mechanism for moving the movable base plate up and down toward the opposing base plate, a punching section transport means for transporting a workpiece to a position where the workpiece is punched by the movable base plate and the opposing base plate, and a control means for controlling the movement mechanism and the punching section transport means. The moving mechanism moves the movable base closer to the counter base, thereby performing a punching process in which the workpiece is punched into a predetermined shape by a punching die attached to at least one of the movable base and the counter base. In the punching device, The punching section transport means includes a pair of surface moving bodies that sandwich and transport the workpiece, a position detection means for detecting a position of the workpiece conveyed by the punching section conveying means; In the punching process, the workpiece is not subjected to a conveying force from a conveying means upstream of the punching section conveying means, The position detection means detects the passage of the rear end of the workpiece conveyed by the punching section conveying means. Then after a certain time has elapsed The punching section conveying means of Stop By doing so, the workpiece is stopped at a predetermined punching position in the space between the movable base plate and the opposing base plate, and then the movable base plate is moved closer to the opposing base plate to punch out the workpiece into a predetermined shape. The punching device is characterized by the above. Another aspect of the present invention is a machine tool including a movable base plate and an opposing base plate arranged opposite to each other in the vertical direction, a movement mechanism for moving the movable base plate up and down toward the opposing base plate, a punching section transport means for transporting a workpiece to a position where punching is performed by the movable base plate and the opposing base plate, and a control means for controlling the movement mechanism and the punching section transport means. The moving mechanism moves the movable base closer to the counter base, thereby performing a punching process in which the workpiece is punched into a predetermined shape by a punching die attached to at least one of the movable base and the counter base. In the punching device, the punching section transport means comprises a surface moving body pair in which two surface moving bodies sandwich and transport the workpiece, and includes a position detection means for detecting the position of the workpiece transported by the punching section transport means, and an upstream transport surface moving body pair located upstream of the punching section transport means in the transport direction of the workpiece, in which the two surface moving bodies sandwich and transport the workpiece, and deliver the workpiece to the punching section transport means, In the punching process After the workpiece is applied with a conveying force from the punching section conveying means and is no longer applied with a conveying force from the upstream conveying surface moving body pair, Then, the workpiece passes through a predetermined detection position. The position detection means After a certain time has elapsed since the detection The punching section conveying means of Stop By doing so, the workpiece is stopped at a predetermined punching position in the space between the movable base plate and the opposing base plate, and then the movable base plate is moved closer to the opposing base plate to punch out the workpiece into a predetermined shape. It is characterized by the above. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, there is an excellent effect that the accuracy of stopping the workpiece at a predetermined punching position is improved, and the quality of the finished product obtained by punching the workpiece can be improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a die-cutting system. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a front view of the die cutter with the front and rear frames not shown. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the die cutter with the front and back frames not shown. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the die cutter with the front and rear frames not shown. [Figure 8] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the upstream side of the die cutter. [Figure 9] Block diagram of a die cutter. [Figure 10] FIG. [Figure 11] 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the displacement of the lift transmission rod and the cylindrical portion when the lift transmission mechanism is driven so that the cylindrical portion moves from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a conveying path of a sheet material from a sheet feeder to a die cutter in the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a conveying path of a sheet material from a sheet feeder to a die cutter in a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in each drawing will be given the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted as appropriate. Also, the dimensions of the members in each drawing will be enlarged or reduced as appropriate to facilitate understanding. Also, some of the members that are not important for explaining the embodiment will be omitted in each drawing.

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a punching device according to the present invention and a punching processing system including the punching device will be described.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a die-cutting system 500 which is a punching processing system according to this embodiment. The die-cutting system 500 includes a sheet feeder 200, a registration device 300, a die cutter 100, and a discharge processing device 400 from the upstream side in the conveying direction of the sheet material, which is the workpiece.

[0012] In the die-cutting system 500, the sheet feeder 200, which is a workpiece supplying means, supplies the sheet material placed on the placement shelf toward the registration device 300. The registration device 300, which is a workpiece position correcting means, adjusts the inclination of the sheet material in a direction parallel to the conveying direction of the sheet material (X-axis direction in the figure) and the position of the sheet material in the width direction (Y-axis direction in the figure), and conveys the sheet material toward the die cutter 100. The die cutter 100, which is a punching means, stops the sheet material supplied from the registration device 300 once and punches the sheet material into the shape of a punching die attached to the fixed platen by sandwiching it between a fixed platen and a movable platen, which will be described in detail later. The discharge processing device 400 includes a discharge unit that receives the sheet material discharged after the punching process by the die cutter 100, a separator that separates the sheet material after the punching process into a product and a surplus part, and a stacker that accumulates the separated products. As shown in FIG. 1, the die cutter 100 has an operation panel 101 on its upper surface.

[0013] Next, the die cutter 100 will be described. 2 to 7 are explanatory diagrams of the die cutter 100 with the exterior cover removed. FIG. 2 is a front view of the die cutter 100. FIG. 3 is an upstream side view of the die cutter 100 as viewed from the right side in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a downstream side view of the die cutter 100 as viewed from the left side in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a front view of the die cutter 100 with the front frame 5 and the rear frame 6 not shown from the front view in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is a rear view of the die cutter 100 with the front frame 5 and the rear frame 6 not shown in the state shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the die cutter 100 with the front frame 5 and the rear frame 6 not shown. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates a schematic upstream side view of the die cutter 100 illustrated in FIG.

[0014] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, the die cutter 100 includes a movable platen 1 that is vertically movable relative to a frame (5, 6, 7, etc.) of the device, and a fixed platen 2 that is disposed above and facing the movable platen 1 and is fixed to the frame of the device. The die cutter 100 has a metal frame structure including a base frame 7, a front frame 5, a rear frame 6, an upstream guide frame 21, and a downstream guide frame 23. The base frame 7 has casters for movement and a fixing mechanism to prevent movement. The front frame 5 and the rear frame 6 are plate-like members, and their lower portions are fixed to the base frame 7. The upstream guide frame 21 and the downstream guide frame 23 are square bar-like members that extend in the width direction of the device and have both ends fixed to the front frame 5 and the rear frame 6. The fixed platen 2 is fixed to the upper parts of the front frame 5 and the rear frame 6. As shown in Fig. 8, a punching die 8 having a cutting blade 81 is fixed to the lower surface of the fixed platen 2 with a stainless steel plate 82 sandwiched therebetween. On the other hand, a face plate 9 is fixed to the upper surface of the movable platen 1.

[0015] The die cutter 100 includes four lifting and lowering transmission mechanisms 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) and four press motors 3 (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) as a moving mechanism for moving the movable base plate 1 up and down. Four cylindrical parts 10 (10a, 10b, 10c, 10d) whose axial directions are parallel to the conveying direction are fixed to the lower part of the movable base plate 1. The lifting and lowering transmission mechanisms 4 include a crank mechanism that converts inputted rotational motion into reciprocating motion in the up and down direction. The press motors 3 are driven to rotate, and the lifting and lowering transmission mechanisms 4 transmit the lifting and lowering motion to the cylindrical parts 10, so that the movable base plate 1 moves in the up and down direction. 2 to 7 are explanatory diagrams showing a state in which all four cylindrical portions 10 are positioned at the bottom dead center of the lift transmission mechanism 4 and the movable platen 1 is at the farthest position from the fixed platen 2 within the movable range of the movable platen 1. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the movable platen 1 has risen to the upper stop position and the sheet material S has been punched out by the cutting blade 81 of the punching die 8. As shown in FIG.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 3, the movable base plate 1 is provided with an upstream guided shaft 11 that protrudes parallel to the X-axis in the drawing and toward the upstream side in the conveying direction at the center of the width direction of its surface on the upstream side in the conveying direction. Also, as shown in Fig. 4, the movable base plate 1 is provided with a downstream guided shaft 12 that protrudes parallel to the X-axis in the drawing and toward the downstream side in the conveying direction at the center of the width direction of its surface on the downstream side in the conveying direction. The upstream guided shaft 11 and the downstream guided shaft 12 are provided with upstream guided bearings 11a and downstream guided bearings 12a.

[0017] 3, the upstream guide frame 21 is provided at its widthwise center with an upstream guide portion 22. The upstream guide portion 22 protrudes downstream in the conveying direction and has two upstream guide rails 22a extending in the up-down direction, and restricts the movement of the upstream guided shaft 11 in the width direction by engaging the upstream guided bearing 11a between the two upstream guide rails 22a. 4, the downstream guide frame 23 is provided at its widthwise center with a downstream guide portion 24. The downstream guide portion 24 protrudes upstream in the conveying direction and has two downstream guide rails 24a extending in the up-down direction, and restricts the movement of the downstream guided shaft 12 in the width direction by engaging the downstream guided bearing 12a between the two downstream guide rails 24a. By regulating the widthwise movement of the upstream guided shaft 11 and the downstream guided shaft 12 by the upstream guide portion 22 and the downstream guide portion 24, it is possible to prevent the movable base plate 1 from being displaced widthwise when the movable base plate 1 moves up and down.

[0018] The die cutter 100 includes an inlet roller pair 20 that conveys the sheet material S supplied from the registration device 300 toward the inside of the device, and a conveyor belt pair (14, 15) that conveys the sheet material S toward the rear side in the width direction relative to the movable base plate 1. The die cutter 100 also includes a conveyor drive motor 13 that is a drive source for the inlet roller pair 20 and the conveyor belt pair, and a conveyor drive transmission mechanism 16 that transmits the driving force. The inlet roller pair 20 includes an inlet drive roller 20a and an inlet driven roller 20b. By driving the conveyor drive motor 13, the inlet drive roller 20a, the conveyor lower belt 14, and the conveyor upper belt 15 move endlessly at the same surface movement speed. As a result, the inlet roller pair 20 sandwiches multiple points in the width direction of the sheet material S and conveys it toward the conveyor belt pair, and the conveyor lower belt 14 and the conveyor upper belt 15 sandwich one end of the sheet material S in the width direction (the rear side of the device) and convey it.

[0019] The lower conveying belt 14 is tensioned around a plurality of lower tension rollers 141, and the upper conveying belt 15 is tensioned around a plurality of upper tension rollers 151. Some of these tension rollers (141, 151) define the paths of the lower conveying belt 14 and the upper conveying belt 15 so that a surface for sandwiching the sheet material S is horizontally formed between an upper tension surface of the lower conveying belt 14 and a lower tension surface of the upper conveying belt 15. The tension rollers (141, 151) forming the surface for sandwiching the sheet material S are supported by a roller holding member (not shown) that can move up and down. When performing the punching process, the sheet material S is transported to between the movable base plate 1 and the fixed base plate 2, and the lower transport belt 14 and the upper transport belt 15 are stopped. The movable base plate 1 has a protruding portion (not shown) that protrudes toward the rear in the width direction, and when the movable base plate 1 rises, the protruding portion pushes up the roller holding member, so that the tension surface formed by the tension rollers (141, 151) held by the roller holding member rises together with the movable base plate 1. This allows the sheet material S to be processed to rise toward the fixed base plate 2 in accordance with the rise of the movable base plate 1.

[0020] As a configuration for vertically moving the sheet material S sandwiched between the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15), the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) may be held by a holding unit that is vertically movable, including a conveyor drive mechanism (conveyor drive motor 13, conveyor drive transmission mechanism 16). In this case, the protruding portion of the movable base 1 is configured to push up the holding unit that holds the pair of conveyor belts including the conveyor drive mechanism.

[0021] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the die cutter 100. The control unit 30 of the die cutter 100 controls the driving of the four press motors 3 (3a to 3d) and the conveyor drive motor 13 based on outputs from the operation panel 101 and the entrance sensor 25. In the die cutter 100 of this embodiment, the control unit 30 is capable of independently controlling the driving of each of the four press motors 3 (3a to 3d).

[0022] The die cutter 100, which is a punching device, includes a control unit 30, which is a control means for controlling a moving mechanism (press motor 3 and lift transmission mechanism 4) that moves a movable platen 1 up and down toward a fixed platen 2. Then, the moving mechanism moves the movable platen 1 closer to the fixed platen 2, whereby a punching die 8 attached to at least one of the movable platen 1 and the fixed platen 2 (in this embodiment, the fixed platen 2) punches out a sheet material S, which is a workpiece, into a predetermined shape.

[0023] Next, the preparation work for the punching process will be described. In the sheet feeder 200, a stack of sheet materials S to be punched is placed on a placement shelf.

[0024] In the die cutter 100, the die 8 is set on the fixed platen 2, and the face plate 9 is set on the movable platen 1. When setting the die 8 and the face plate 9, the discharge unit provided in the discharge processing device 400 at the position closest to the die cutter 100 is lowered manually or electrically. This opens the exit side of the space between the fixed platen 2 and the movable platen 1 through which the sheet material S passes, allowing access from outside.

[0025] Below the fixed base plate 2, there is provided a die slide guide that allows the die 8 to slide in the direction along the conveying direction. By inserting the die 8 into the space below the fixed base plate 2 from the downstream side of the conveying direction of the device body, the die 8 slides along the die slide guide toward the upstream side in the conveying direction. By inserting the die 8 until the tip of the die 8 in the insertion direction abuts against the die abutment plate 19 and pulling down the die fixing lever 17 to the state shown in FIG. 2 etc., the die fixing member 18 abuts the die 8 against the die abutment plate 19 and locks the die 8 in a state where it is abutted against the lower surface of the fixed base plate 2. This fixes the die 8 to the fixed base plate 2.

[0026] If the die 8 has an identifier such as a barcode for calling up information about the die 8, the identifier is read by a reading means such as a handheld scanner, and then the die 8 is set on the fixed platen 2.

[0027] After the die 8 and the face plate 9 are set, the discharge unit is manually or electrically raised to a predetermined position.

[0028] Next, job settings are performed using the operation panel 101 or an external input device. The settings can include the size of the sheet material S, the height of the cutting blade 81 of the die 8, the thickness of the sheet of the die 8, the number of punches, the die reference position, and the sheet reference position. Here, the thickness of the sheet of the die 8 is the sum of the thicknesses of the stainless steel plate 82 fixed to the upper surface of the die 8, the image sheet fixed to the upper surface of this stainless steel plate 82 and depicting the arrangement of the cutting blades 81 of the die 8, and the protective sheet covering the upper surface of the image sheet. The die 8 is inserted into and removed from the die cutter 100 with the stainless steel plate 82, an image sheet with a shim tape attached as required, and a protective sheet laminated on the upper surface of the die 8 in that order.

[0029] The stainless steel plate 82 is a member that prevents the cutting blades 81 of the die 8 from being pushed up by the face plate 9 and protruding from the back surface (top surface) of the die 8. The image sheet allows the arrangement of the cutting blades 81 of the die 8 to be confirmed, and when the arrangement of the cutting blades 81 indicates a location where the punching pressure is insufficient, a shim tape for removing unevenness can be attached to the top surface of the image sheet. The protective sheet covers and protects the top surface of the image sheet to which the shim tape for removing unevenness has been attached, and therefore prevents the shim tape for removing unevenness from rubbing against the bottom surface of the fixed surface plate 2 and peeling off when the die 8 is slid to set it.

[0030] The above-mentioned die reference position and sheet reference position are reference values ​​entered in the job settings so that the stopping position of the sheet material S during the punching process is a stopping position where the position on the sheet material S to be cut coincides with the position of the cutting blade 81 of the die 8. The sheet material S stops when a predetermined number of stop pulses are acquired after the entrance sensor 25, which is disposed upstream of the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15), detects the rear end of the sheet material S, and punching is performed at the stopping position. In job setting, the worker extracts an arbitrary blade reference point of the cutting blade 81 of the die 8, and inputs a die reference position, which is the distance from the blade reference point to the upstream end of the die 8. The worker also extracts a cut reference point corresponding to the blade reference point from among the positions to be cut on the sheet material S to be punched, and inputs a sheet reference position, which is the distance from the cut reference point to the upstream end of the sheet material S to be punched. The control unit 30 calculates and sets the number of stop pulses based on the input die reference position and sheet reference position so that the sheet material S stops at a stop position where the blade reference point and the cut reference point coincide with each other. This process allows the cutting blade 81 of the die 8 to coincide with the position on the sheet material S to be cut during the punching process.

[0031] When a job to be executed by the die cutter 100 includes a creasing process for creasing the sheet material S, an operation is performed to fix the creasing facing recessed material to the face plate 9. In this operation, double-sided tape is applied to the underside of the creasing facing recessed material, and the creasing facing recessed material and a clip are attached to the creasing protrusion provided on the cutting die 8. When the creasing recess transfer button is operated in this state, the movable base plate 1 moves an amount of movement that is smaller than that of the punching process operation, the face plate 9 comes into contact with the underside of the facing recessed material, and the facing recessed material is attached to the face plate 9 by the double-sided tape. As the clip remains on the attached facing recessed material, the face plate 9 is removed from the movable base plate 1, the clip, which is an unnecessary member, is removed, and the face plate 9 is fixed to the movable base plate 1.

[0032] After the above-mentioned various settings are made, the die cutter 100 performs adjustment processing so as to perform appropriate punching before a mass production process in which the sheet material S is continuously conveyed and punched continuously.

[0033] In the adjustment process, a single sheet material S is fed to perform a test feed for punching. In the test feed, the die cutter 100 performs the punching process, but the separator does not perform the separation process, and the sheet in a state where the result of the punching process and the surplus portion are not separated is discharged to the stacker. The operator performs test feeding by pressing the test feeding button on the operation panel 101, and adjusts each part while looking at the results of the test feeding. The test feeding and adjustment operations are repeated as necessary.

[0034] The adjustment operation is performed through the operation panel 101, but may also be performed through an external input device. The adjustments are made to the widthwise position of the sheet material S, the inclination (skew) of the sheet material S with respect to the conveying direction, the position of the sheet material S in the conveying direction when stopped during punching, etc. Furthermore, in the die cutter 100 of this embodiment, as will be described in detail later, adjustments for correcting punching unevenness can also be made by operating the operation panel 101. The operator visually checks the sheet material S obtained in the test feeding and makes such adjustments based on the punching deviation and punching unevenness.

[0035] After the adjustment process, the operator enters the number of sheets to be processed and the processing speed on the operation panel 101 and presses the start button to execute mass production. Mass production stops when the entered number of sheets to be processed is completed, an error is detected, or the operator operates the stop button. The start button and stop button may be provided not only on the operation panel 101 but also on the operation section of the sheet feeder 200, so that they can be operated from either one.

[0036] Next, the punching operation of the die cutter 100 will be described. When the start button on the operation panel 101 is pressed, the sheet material S is fed from the sheet feeder 200, the inclination and widthwise position of the sheet material S are corrected by the registration device 300, and the sheet material S is supplied to the die cutter 100. In the die cutter 100, the conveying drive motor 13 is driven, and the lower conveying belt 14 and the upper conveying belt 15 of the conveying belt pair start to move endlessly. Then, the sheet material S supplied from the registration device 300 is sandwiched between the conveying belt pair and conveyed. The conveying drive motor 13 is stopped after a predetermined timing has elapsed since the rear end of the sheet material S was detected by the entrance sensor 25 arranged on the upstream side of the conveying belt pair. As a result, the sheet material S sandwiched between the conveying belt pair is stopped at a predetermined punching position in the space sandwiched between the moving base plate 1 and the fixed base plate 2.

[0037] Next, the four press motors 3 are driven to raise the movable platen 1. When the movable platen 1 rises, the protruding parts of the movable platen 1 push up the roller holding members described above, and the sheet material S that was at the conveying height also rises. By driving each of the four press motors 3 in the forward direction for a predetermined rotation amount and then stopping it, the movable platen 1 reaches the upper stop position, and the sheet material S is punched out to the shape of the cutting blades 81 of the punching die 8.

[0038] Next, the four press motors 3 are driven in the reverse direction by a predetermined rotation amount and stopped, so that the movable platen 1 descends and reaches the lower stop position. At this time, the roller holding member also descends together with the movable platen 1, and the sheet material S descends to the conveying height. Thereafter, the driving of the conveying drive motor 13 is resumed, so that the sheet material S that has been subjected to the punching process is conveyed to the discharge processing device 400, and the succeeding sheet material S supplied from the registration device 300 is sandwiched between the pair of conveying belts and conveyed to the punching position. These operations are repeated during mass production processing.

[0039] In the above description, the press motor 3 is driven in the forward direction after the transport drive motor 13 stops, and the drive of the transport drive motor 13 is resumed after the reverse drive of the press motor 3 is stopped, but the drive timing of the motor is not limited to this. The press motor 3 may be driven in the forward direction before the transport drive motor 13 stops, and the drive of the transport drive motor 13 may be resumed before the reverse drive of the press motor 3 is stopped, within a range that does not cause a transport failure of the sheet material S, such as a jam. By providing a period during which the drive period of the transport drive motor 13 and the drive period of the press motor 3 overlap, the processing speed can be improved.

[0040] Next, the movement of the press motor 3 during the punching operation will be described. When the conveyor drive motor 13 is driven, the control unit 30 controls the rotation position of the press motor 3, which is a servo motor, to a lower reference rotation position corresponding to the lower stop position so that the lift transmission mechanism 4 waits at the lower stop position.

[0041] When a predetermined timing has elapsed since the entrance sensor 25 detected the passage of the rear end of the sheet material S, the transport drive motor 13 is stopped and the press motor 3 starts to rotate forward. Then, the press motor 3 is rotated forward to the upper reference rotation position and stopped so that the lift transmission mechanism 4 is at the upper stop position. When the rotation positions of all four press motors 3 reach the upper reference rotation position and the forward rotation stops, they wait for a predetermined time (20 msec (milliseconds)) and then start reverse rotation. The four press motors 3 stop when they rotate in reverse to the lower reference rotation position. In this manner, the four press motors 3 repeat forward rotation from the lower reference rotation position to the upper reference rotation position and reverse rotation from the upper reference rotation position to the lower reference rotation position, thereby performing the punching process.

[0042] Fig. 10 is a schematic explanatory diagram of one of the four lift transmission mechanisms 4. Fig. 10(a) is an explanatory diagram of the XZ plane, Fig. 10(b) is an explanatory diagram of the YZ plane, and Fig. 10(c) is a perspective view. 10, the lift transmission mechanism 4 includes a rotation input gear 41 that engages with the rotation output gear 31, an eccentric shaft 44 that rotates together with the rotation input gear 41, and a shaft holder 42 that is fixed to the frame 7 and rotatably holds a rotation shaft portion 441 of the eccentric shaft 44. Furthermore, the lift transmission mechanism 4 includes a lift transmission rod 43 that engages at its lower portion with the eccentric shaft portion 442 of the eccentric shaft 44 and engages at its upper portion with the cylindrical portion 10 of the movable base 1.

[0043] Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the displacement of the lift transmission rod 43 and the cylindrical portion 10 when the eccentric shaft 44 is rotated around the center line of the rotating shaft portion 441 so that the cylindrical portion 10 moves from the bottom dead center to the top dead center. Fig. 11(a) is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the cylindrical portion 10 is located at the bottom dead center, Fig. 11(b) is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the cylindrical portion 10 is located halfway between the bottom dead center and the top dead center, and Fig. 11(c) is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the cylindrical portion 10 is located at the top dead center.

[0044] The eccentric shaft 44 is a member in which the position of the center line is different between a rotating shaft portion 441 that engages with the shaft holding portion 42 and an eccentric shaft portion 442 that engages with the lift transmission rod 43. The position of the center line of the rotation input gear 41 coincides with that of the rotating shaft portion 441.

[0045] When the press motor 3 is driven to rotate and the rotation output gear 31 rotates, the rotation input gear 41 rotates, and the eccentric shaft 44 to which the rotation input gear 41 is fixed rotates around the center line of the rotation shaft portion 441. As a result, the eccentric shaft portion 442 rotates around the center axis of the rotation shaft portion 441, and the lift transmission rod 43 engaged with the eccentric shaft portion 442 and the cylindrical portion 10 engaged with the lift transmission rod 43 move. At this time, the movement of the movable base plate 1 having the cylindrical portion 10 in the width direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 11, the direction parallel to the Y axis) is restricted by the upstream guide portion 22 and the downstream guide portion 24, and the cylindrical portion 10 does not move in the width direction either. Therefore, when the eccentric shaft portion 442 is displaced in the up-down direction and the width direction by the rotation of the eccentric shaft 44, the lift transmission rod 43 tilts and the cylindrical portion 10 moves only in the up-down direction as shown in FIG. 11(b).

[0046] In the eccentric shaft 44 of this embodiment, the amount of eccentricity between the central axis of the rotating shaft portion 441 and the central axis of the eccentric shaft portion 442 is 15 [mm]. Therefore, the vertical movable range H, which is the amount of displacement of the cylindrical portion 10 when the eccentric shaft 44 is rotated from the bottom dead center state shown in Fig. 11(a) to the top dead center state shown in Fig. 11(c), is 30 [mm].

[0047] The moving mechanism that moves the movable base 1 has four lifting and lowering transmission mechanisms 4 (4a to 4d) as multiple pressure mechanisms that independently pressurize the four cylindrical sections 10 as multiple pressure sections, and four press motors 3 (3a to 3d) as multiple drive sources that drive these mechanisms, respectively. The control unit 30 can independently control the driving of each of the four press motors 3, and therefore can change the upper reference rotation position corresponding to the upper stop position for each press motor 3. This makes it possible to individually change the height of the columnar portion 10 at the upper stop position.

[0048] In the die cutter 100 of this embodiment, the eccentric shaft 44 is not controlled to rotate once, but rather the cylindrical portion 10 is controlled to move back and forth between a lower stop position and an upper stop position, which are in the range between the bottom dead center and the top dead center. Regarding the rotation angle θ of the eccentric shaft 44, if θ=0[°] when the cylindrical portion 10 is at the bottom dead center, then θ=180[°] when the cylindrical portion 10 is at the top dead center. Here, if the rotation angle of the eccentric shaft 44 when the cylindrical portion 10 is at the lower stop position is θ1, and the rotation angle when the cylindrical portion 10 is at the upper stop position is θ2, then the relationship of the following formula (1) is established. 0[°]≦θ1<θ2<180[°] (1)

[0049] In this way, by making the rotation angle of the upper stop position smaller than the rotation angle of the top dead center, it becomes possible to change the rotation angle "θ2" when the cylindrical portion 10 is at the upper stop position, and it becomes possible to adjust the position of the cylindrical portion 10 when it is at the upper stop position. When applying pressure, the four press motors 3, which are in the lower reference rotation position corresponding to the state where the cylindrical portion 10, which is the home position of the lift transmission mechanism 4, is located at the lower stop position, are rotated forward at the same speed. Then, the press motors 3 are stopped sequentially starting from the press motors 3 that have rotated to the upper reference rotation position corresponding to the upper stop position of the lift transmission mechanism 4. When the θ2 of the four press motors 3 is different from one another, the press motor 3 that has a larger amount of rotation from the lower reference rotation position to the upper reference rotation position will be stopped later than the other press motors 3. Alternatively, the rotation amount from the lower reference rotation position to the upper reference position may be calculated, and the rotation speed of the press motor 3 having a larger rotation amount may be increased so that the drive time from the lower reference rotation position to the upper reference rotation position is the same for all of the press motors 3.

[0050] As described above, in the die cutter 100 of this embodiment, the upper reference rotation position corresponding to the upper stop position can be changed for each press motor 3, and the height of the cylindrical portion 10 at the upper stop position can be changed individually. With this configuration, by changing the rotation amount of one press motor 3 to be larger when it is in the upper reference rotation position, the value of the rotation angle "θ2" of the eccentric shaft 44 when it is in the upper reference rotation position becomes larger, and the position of the cylindrical portion 10 when it is in the upper stop position becomes higher. This makes it possible to increase the punching pressure, which is the contact pressure between the face plate 9 and the punch die 8 during the punching process, vertically above the cylindrical portion 10 whose position is higher when it is in the upper stop position.

[0051] In this manner, in a configuration in which the contact pressure between the face plate 9 and the punching die 8 during the punching process can be partially increased, a correction can be made to eliminate the punching unevenness by increasing the amount of rotation of the upper reference rotation position of the press motor 3 so that the upper stop position of the cylindrical portion 10 below the location where the punching unevenness occurred during the test feeding becomes higher.

[0052] In other words, the punching pressure, which in conventional die cutters was adjusted by sticking shim tape to the back of the punch die to eliminate unevenness, can now be adjusted by changing the amount of rotation of the upper reference rotation position of the press motor 3. For example, if punching unevenness occurs on the upstream side of the sheet material S output in the test feeding, the rotation amount of the upper reference rotation position of the first press motor 3a is set to be increased. This increases the value of the rotation angle "θ2" of the eccentric shaft 44 of the first lifting transmission mechanism 4a, and the position of the first cylindrical portion 10a at the upper stop position can be made higher than before the setting. Then, the punching pressure on the upstream side of the sheet material S during the punching process can be increased, and the punching unevenness can be eliminated.

[0053] Next, the conveyance of the sheet material S by the pair of conveyor belts consisting of the lower conveyor belt 14 and the upper conveyor belt 15 will be described. In a punching device such as the die cutter 100, which uses a flat punching die and moves the sheet material or the die up and down, a sheet conveying member cannot be positioned in the area opposite the die. For this reason, in conventional flat-bed punching devices, the sheet material is generally transported by gripping and pulling the leading edge of the sheet material with a gripper fixed to a gripper bar that is hung on two circulating chains provided on both sides of the width of the sheet material transport path.

[0054] 3, 4, and 8, the die cutter 100 includes a pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) disposed on the inner side in the width direction, outside the opposing range below the cutting die 8. The pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) holds one end of the sheet material S in the width direction, and conveys the sheet material S so as to pass through the range opposing the cutting die 8 in the die cutter 100.

[0055] The die cutter 100 also includes an air ejection mechanism (not shown) that blows air onto the sheet material S being sandwiched and transported between the pair of transport belts (14, 15). In a configuration in which only the rear end of the sheet material S in the width direction is sandwiched, the front side of the sheet material S may sag, causing the posture of the sheet material S to become unstable as it is transported. In response to this, the air ejection mechanism blows air to lift the front side of the sheet material S and bring the posture of the sheet material S closer to horizontal, thereby stabilizing the posture of the sheet material S. A possible configuration for transporting the sheet material S with a pair of belts is to arrange pairs of conveyor belts on both sides in the width direction to stabilize the position of the sheet material S. However, with this configuration, the sheet material S that can be transported is limited to a wide sheet material S that can have both ends in the width direction sandwiched between the pair of conveyor belts located on both outer sides in the width direction of the cutting die 8. In contrast, with a configuration in which only one end of the sheet material S in the width direction is sandwiched between the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) as in the die cutter 100 of this embodiment, even narrow sheet materials S can be transported and punched.

[0056] In the die cutter 100, unlike the above-mentioned method using a circulating chain, the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) which are conveying members are separate members from the conveying member of the upstream device (registration device 300). Therefore, the sheet material is transferred from the conveying member of the upstream device, and there is a risk of positional deviation during the transfer or positional deviation due to a difference in conveying speed. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the accuracy of the stopping position of the sheet material S during the punching process with the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) which form a conveying device completed within the die cutter 100. However, a sensor for detecting the passage of the sheet material S cannot be arranged in the range facing the cutting die 8, as with the conveying member. Therefore, the timing of stopping the conveyor drive motor 13 which drives the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) is determined based on the detection result of the entrance sensor 25 arranged near the upstream end of the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15).

[0057] Next, the control for stopping the sheet material S at a predetermined punching position will be described. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a conveying path of a sheet material S from the sheet feeder 200, the registration device 300, and the die cutter 100 in the die-cutting system 500 of this embodiment, and the conveying path is indicated by a two-dot chain line arrow in the figure.

[0058] The sheet feeder 200 feeds the sheet material S one by one from a stack of sheet materials S loaded inside by a feeding belt 201, and conveys the sheet material S toward the registration device 300 by a feeding section conveying roller pair 202. The registration device 300 conveys the sheet material S by a plurality of registration section conveying roller pairs 301 arranged in the conveying direction, stops once to adjust the position of the sheet material, and conveys the sheet material S toward the die cutter 100.

[0059] In the die cutter 100, the sheet material S supplied from the registration device 300 is nipped and conveyed by an inlet roller pair 20, and further conveyed by a conveyor belt pair (14, 15) to a position where the sheet material S is subjected to a punching process. The control unit 30 stops the transport drive motor 13 when a predetermined number of stop pulses is acquired (when the sheet material S is transported by a predetermined transport amount) after the entrance sensor 25 detects the rear end of the sheet material S. As a result, the sheet material S stops at a stop position between the movable base plate 1 and the fixed base plate 2, and then the sheet material S is subjected to a punching process by the punching operation.

[0060] Here, as a control for stopping the sheet material S at a stopping position between the movable base plate 1 and the fixed base plate 2, it is also possible to consider a control for stopping the conveying drive motor 13 when the inlet sensor 25 detects the leading edge of the sheet material S and acquires a predetermined number of stopping pulses. However, after the inlet sensor 25 detects the leading edge of the sheet material S, the inlet roller pair 20 conveys the sheet material S, and after the leading edge of the sheet material S is pinched by the conveyor belt pair (14, 15), the inlet roller pair 20 and the conveyor belt pair (14, 15) convey the sheet material S, and after the trailing edge of the sheet material S passes through the nip portion of the inlet roller pair 20, the sheet material S is conveyed only by the conveyor belt pair (14, 15). Even if the conveyor belt pair (14, 15) and the inlet roller pair 20, which is the conveying means on the upstream side, are designed to have the same conveying speed, slight differences in conveying speed occur due to manufacturing errors, etc. Therefore, if detection of the conveying amount (counting the number of stop pulses) is started while the sheet material S is being conveyed by a conveying means other than the conveyor belt pair (14, 15), variations occur in the conveying amount, and the sheet material cannot be stopped at the correct punching position. Below, an embodiment and modifications capable of solving this problem will be described.

[0061] Example 1 In the first embodiment, the control unit 30 determines the timing to stop the transport drive motor 13 based on the detection result of the entrance sensor 25 detecting the passage of the rear end of the sheet material S, thereby determining the timing to stop the pair of transport belts (14, 15) which are the punching section transport means. Here, since the entrance sensor 25 is located downstream of the pair of entrance rollers 20 in the transport direction, the timing at which the entrance sensor 25 detects the rear end of the sheet material S is the timing after the rear end of the sheet material S has passed through the range (the nip portion of the pair of entrance rollers 20) where the pair of entrance rollers 20, which is the transport means upstream of the pair of transport belts (14, 15) which is the punching section transport means, applies a transport force. This makes it possible to detect the transport amount (count the number of stop pulses) while the sheet material S is being transported only by the pair of transport belts (14, 15), and prevents the transport amount from varying from the detection of the rear end of the sheet material S until it is stopped, and allows the sheet material S to be stopped at an accurate punching position. This improves the accuracy of stopping the sheet material S at a predetermined punching position, and improves the quality of the product obtained by subjecting the sheet material S to the punching process.

[0062] [Variation 1] After the leading edge of the sheet material S is clamped between the pair of conveying belts (14, 15), the nip of the pair of inlet rollers 20 is released, and the timing to stop the conveying drive motor 13 may be determined based on the detection timing of a sensor upstream of the pair of inlet rollers 20 in the conveying direction. Figure 1 2 2, the registration device 300 located upstream of the die cutter 100 is provided with a registration discharge section sensor 29 near the downstream end in the conveying direction within the device, and can detect the passage of the leading and trailing ends of the sheet material S.

[0063] In the first modification, the number of pulses from when the sensor 29 or the entrance sensor 25 detects the passage of the leading edge of the sheet material S until the leading edge of the sheet material S is sandwiched between the pair of entrance belts (14, 15) is calculated and stored in advance based on the distance between the pair of entrance belts (14, 15) and the registration discharge sensor 29 or the entrance sensor 25. During the punching process, when the stored number of pulses is obtained after the sensor detects the passage of the leading edge of the sheet material S, the entrance driven roller 20b is separated from the entrance drive roller 20a to open the nip of the entrance roller pair 20. At the same time as or before the nip of the entrance roller pair 20 is opened, the nip of the registration conveyor roller pairs 301 is also opened. When a predetermined number of pulses is obtained after the registration discharge sensor 29 detects the trailing edge of the sheet material S after the nip is opened, the conveyor drive motor 13 is stopped. By opening the nip, even if the rear end of the sheet material S has not passed through the inlet roller pair 20, the sheet material S can be put into a state where no conveying force is applied to it from the inlet roller pair 20, and it is possible to determine the timing to stop the conveying drive motor 13 based on the detection timing of the resist discharge section sensor 29 upstream of the inlet roller pair 20.

[0064] [Modification 2] In a configuration in which a sensor detects the position of the sheet material S after the nip is opened, as in variant example 1, the configuration is not limited to detecting the trailing end of the sheet material S, but may also detect an image formed on the sheet material S for confirming the position. In the second modification, a reading sensor (not shown) is provided for reading an image for position confirmation. In a printing process for forming an image on the sheet material S, when an image for position confirmation is printed on the sheet material S together with an image for a deliverable, the timing for stopping the transport drive motor 13 is determined based on the timing of detection of the image for position confirmation by the reading sensor after the nip of the pair of inlet rollers 20 is released.

[0065] In many cases, the accurate punching position required by the die cutter 100 is not the positional relationship with the sheet material S itself, but the positional relationship with the image of the product formed on the sheet material S. Even if the rear end of the sheet material S is aligned with the punching position, if the position of the image with respect to the sheet material S is misaligned, the image shape of the product cannot be accurately matched with the punched shape. In contrast, in the second modification, the timing for stopping the transport drive motor 13 is determined based on the timing at which the reading sensor of the die cutter 100 detects the passage of the image for position confirmation on the sheet material S. This makes it possible to accurately match the image shape of the product with the punched shape even if the position of the image with respect to the sheet material S is misaligned.

[0066] As in variants 1 and 2, if the nip of the conveying means upstream of the conveying belt pair (14, 15) is opened after the leading edge of the sheet material S is clamped between the conveying belt pair (14, 15), then even for a long sheet material S in which multiple punching processes are performed on a single sheet material S, the timing when the trailing edge of the sheet material S or the image for position detection passes the sensor position can be detected with only the conveying belt pair (14, 15) applying a conveying force.

[0067] [Modification 3] A configuration in which the entrance sensor 25 detects the passage of the trailing end of the sheet material S and a configuration in which the reading sensor reads an image for position confirmation on the sheet material S may be combined. In the third modification, the positional relationship between the trailing end of the sheet material S and the image for position confirmation is calculated on the conveying path sufficiently upstream of the punching position of the sheet material S in the die cutter 100, such as the sheet feeder 200 or the registration device 300. Then, when determining the timing to stop the conveying drive motor 13 based on the timing at which the entrance sensor 25 detects the trailing end of the sheet material S, the timing to stop the conveying drive motor 13 is corrected based on the calculated positional relationship between the trailing end and the image for position confirmation. With this configuration, as in the second modification, even if the position of the image relative to the sheet material S is misaligned, the image shape of the deliverable can be accurately matched with the punching shape. Furthermore, in the configuration of variant example 2, it is necessary to position the reading sensor within a range where it can detect the position confirmation image on the sheet material S whose leading edge is sandwiched between the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15), whereas in the configuration of variant example 3, it is sufficient that the sheet material S is sandwiched between the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) when detecting the trailing edge, and it is possible to position the reading sensor at a distant position upstream of the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15).

[0068] Example 2 If the sheet material S is in a state where it is being transported only by the pair of transport belts (14, 15) when the leading edge of the sheet material S is detected, the transport drive motor 13 may be controlled to stop when a predetermined number of stop pulses is acquired after the leading edge of the sheet material S is detected. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a conveying path of a sheet material S from the sheet feeder 200, the registration device 300, and the die cutter 100 in the die-cutting system 500 of the second embodiment, and the conveying path is indicated by a two-dot chain line arrow in the figure.

[0069] 13, in the second embodiment, the conveying path for the sheet material S upstream in the conveying direction from the punching area sandwiched between the movable platen 1 and the fixed platen 2 in the die cutter 100 is made longer than the sheet material S, and the conveying belt pair (14, 15) conveys the sheet material S over the entire conveying path. That is, compared to the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the conveying belt pair (14, 15) is made longer than the length of the sheet material S. Also, the detection position of the inlet sensor 25 is located downstream in the conveying direction from the upstream end of the conveying belt pair (14, 15) in the conveying direction by at least the length of the sheet material S.

[0070] 13, in the die cutter 100 of the second embodiment, when the leading edge of the sheet material S reaches the detection position of the inlet sensor 25, the trailing edge of the sheet material S has passed through the pair of inlet rollers 20. Therefore, it is possible to determine the timing to stop the conveying drive motor 13 based on the timing at which the inlet sensor 25 detects the leading edge of the sheet material S.

[0071] Compared to the configuration for detecting the leading end of the sheet material S as in Example 2, the configuration for detecting the trailing end of the sheet material S as in Example 1 shortens the distance that must be transported by the transport means in the punching area, and the length of the pair of transport belts (14, 15) can be shortened, thereby making it possible to reduce the size of the die cutter 100 in the transport direction.

[0072] As described above, the die cutter 100 includes a pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) that convey the sheet material S in the punching area sandwiched between the movable base plate 1 and the fixed base plate 2, and an inlet roller pair 20 is provided upstream of the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15). In the embodiment and modified example, after the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) have sandwiched the sheet material S, the pair of inlet rollers 20 no longer applies a conveying force to the sheet material S, and then a sensor detects the edge of the sheet material S or an image for position detection formed on the sheet material S. The timing of this detection is used as a trigger for measuring the conveyance amount until the conveyor drive motor 13 stops. The die cutter 100 of this embodiment is provided with an inlet roller pair 20 on the upstream side of the conveyor belt pair (14, 15), and the conveyor means upstream of the punching section conveyor means is the inlet roller pair 20. In the case where the inlet roller pair 20 is not provided and the conveyor means in the device is only the conveyor belt pair (14, 15), the conveyor means at the downstream end in the conveying direction of another device (registration device 300) adjacent to the upstream side of the die cutter 100 corresponds to the conveyor means upstream of the punching section conveyor means.

[0073] 2, the die cutter 100 is provided with a first strain sensor 26a and a second strain sensor 26b on the upstream and downstream sides in the conveying direction of the front frame 5. Also, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the die cutter 100 is provided with a third strain sensor 26c and a fourth strain sensor 26d on the upstream and downstream sides in the conveying direction of the rear frame 6. The four strain sensors 26 (26a, 26b, 26c, 26d) are expansion amount measuring means for measuring the expansion amount in the vertical direction of the front frame 5 and the rear frame 6 which are holding members for holding the fixed platen 2 of the frame of the die cutter 100. The measurement points are a front frame 5 and a rear frame 6, which are frames on both sides of the conveying path of the sheet material S, and are each provided at a plurality of points (two points in this embodiment) spaced apart in the conveying direction.

[0074] The four strain sensors 26 are fixed near the upper end of the front frame 5 or the rear frame 6, and strain detection rods 27 (27a, 27b, 27c, 27d) are disposed below the strain sensors 26. The lower ends of the four strain detection rods 27 are fixed to detection rod fixing parts 28 (28a, 28b, 28c, 28d) near the lower end of the front frame 5 or the rear frame 6. Since only the lower end of the strain detection rod 27 is fixed to the front frame 5 or the rear frame 6, the position of its upper end is not affected by the deformation of the front frame 5 or the rear frame 6. On the other hand, since the strain sensor 26 is disposed at the upper end of the front frame 5 or the rear frame 6, when the front frame 5 or the rear frame 6 stretches, the strain sensor 26 moves upward and the distance to the upper surface of the opposing strain detection rod 27 increases, and when the stretch is released, the distance from the strain sensor 26 to the upper surface of the strain detection rod 27 also returns to the original distance. Therefore, the strain sensor 26 can detect the amount of extension of the front frame 5 or the rear frame 6 at the position where it is disposed by measuring the change in distance to the upper surface of the strain detection rod 27 disposed opposite to it.

[0075] The four strain sensors 26 detect the amount of extension of the front frame 5 or the rear frame 6 at the installed positions as an electric signal. The control unit 30 is capable of controlling the driving of each of the four press motors 3 based on the measurement results of the strain sensors 26.

[0076] Examples of the sheet material S, which is a plate-shaped workpiece, include paper media such as plain paper, cardboard, label paper, thick paper, coated paper, etc. In addition, plate-shaped workpieces to be processed by the punching device according to the present invention include, in addition to paper media, overhead projector sheets, films, fabrics, resin sheets, metal sheets, electronic circuit board materials that have been subjected to metal foil or plating treatment, special films, plastic films, prepregs, sheets for electronic circuit boards, etc., and may be in the form of a bundle of multiple sheets stacked on top of each other or a single sheet.

[0077] Although the configuration in which the movable base plate is disposed below and the fixed base plate is disposed above has been described, the movable base plate may be disposed above and the fixed base plate may be disposed below.Furthermore, the two base plates facing each other vertically may both be movable base plates that can be moved up and down, and each may be moved toward and away from each other by multiple (four) lifting drive sources. In a configuration in which the movable platen is placed at the bottom and the fixed platen is placed at the top as in this embodiment, the four press motors 3, which are relatively heavy, and the four lifting transmission mechanisms 4 can be placed at low positions in the device, thereby lowering the center of gravity of the die cutter 100 device.

[0078] The above description is merely an example, and each of the following aspects provides unique effects.

[0079] [Aspect 1] In a punching device such as a die cutter 100 which includes a movable base plate such as movable base plate 1 and an opposing base plate such as fixed base plate 2 arranged opposite each other in the vertical direction, a moving mechanism which moves the movable base plate up and down toward the opposing base plate, a punching section conveying means such as a pair of conveying belts (14, 15) which convey a workpiece such as a sheet material S to a position (such as a punching position) where punching is performed by the movable base plate and the opposing base plate, and a control means such as a control unit 30 which controls the moving mechanism and the punching section conveying means, the device is characterized in that it includes a position detection means such as an entrance sensor 25 which detects the position of the workpiece conveyed by the punching section conveying means, and the control means determines the timing to stop the punching section conveying means based on the detection result of the position detection means after the workpiece is no longer subjected to a conveying force from the conveying means upstream of the punching section conveying means (such as the pair of entrance rollers 20). According to this, the position of the workpiece being transported only by the punching section transport means can be detected, and the timing to stop the punching section transport means can be determined based on the detection result, so that the workpiece can be stopped at the correct punching position. This improves the accuracy of stopping the workpiece at the specified punching position, and improves the quality of the finished product obtained by punching the workpiece.

[0080] [Aspect 2] In the punching device of the first aspect, the punching section transport means is a belt transport device that transports the workpiece by sandwiching it between two belt members such as a lower transport belt 14 and an upper transport belt 15. In a belt conveying device, if there is a difference in conveying speed between the conveying means upstream of the belt member, the object to be conveyed may be pulled or pushed by the upstream conveying means, causing the object to slip against the surface of the belt member, and the surface movement speed of the belt member and the movement speed of the object to be conveyed may no longer match. In contrast, in the second aspect, the timing to stop the punching unit transport means is determined based on the detection result of the workpiece being transported only by the punching unit transport means, as in the first embodiment, etc. This makes it possible to prevent the workpiece, which is the transport target, from slipping on the surface of the belt member from the time the workpiece is detected until the punching unit transport means is stopped, and the surface moving speed of the belt member and the moving speed of the workpiece can be made to match, thereby improving the accuracy of stopping the workpiece at the specified punching position.

[0081] [Aspect 3] In the punching device of aspect 2, the belt conveying device is characterized in that it is arranged only at one end (such as the rear end) of the conveying path of the workpiece in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. This allows narrow workpieces to be transported and punched.

[0082] Aspect 4 In the punching device of any of aspects 1 to 3, the control means is characterized in that it determines the timing to stop the punching section conveying means based on the detection result of the position detection means after the rear end of the workpiece has passed through the range (nip, etc.) where a conveying force is applied by a conveying means (such as the inlet roller pair 20) upstream of the punching section conveying means. According to this, after the timing when the rear end passes the upstream conveying means, as in Example 1, the workpiece is not subjected to a conveying force from the conveying means upstream of the punching section conveying means. By determining the stop timing of the punching section conveying means based on the detection result of the position detection means after this state is reached, a configuration can be realized in which the workpiece is stopped at the correct punching position.

[0083] Aspect 5 In the punching device of any of aspects 1 to 3, the conveying means upstream of the punching section conveying means is a surface moving body pair such as an inlet roller pair 20 in which two surface moving bodies such as an inlet drive roller 20a and an inlet driven roller 20b clamp and convey the workpiece, and the control means separates the two surface moving bodies after the tip of the workpiece is in a state in which a conveying force is applied to the punching section conveying means, and then determines the timing to stop the punching section conveying means based on the detection result of the position detection means. According to this, after the timing when the two surface movable bodies are separated, as in Modifications 1 and 2, the workpiece is not subjected to a conveying force from the conveying means upstream of the punching section conveying means. By determining the stop timing of the punching section conveying means based on the detection result of the position detection means after this state is reached, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the workpiece is stopped at the correct punching position.

[0084] Aspect 6 In the punching device of any one of aspects 1 to 5, the position detection means detects the position of the workpiece by detecting that the rear end of the workpiece has reached the detection position. According to this, as in Example 1, etc., it is possible to detect that the workpiece has passed the detection position of the position detection means, and it is possible to detect the position of the workpiece without the workpiece being subjected to a conveying force from the conveying means upstream of this detection position.

[0085] Aspect 7 In the punching device of any of aspects 1 to 5, the position detection means is characterized in that it detects the position of the workpiece by detecting that an image for position detection formed on the surface of the workpiece has reached the detection position. According to this, even if the position of the image is misaligned with respect to the workpiece as in the second modification, etc., the image shape of the product and the punched shape can be made to match accurately. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1: Moving surface plate 2: Fixed surface plate 3: Press motor 3a: First press motor 4: Lift transmission mechanism 4a: First lift transmission mechanism 5: Front frame 6: Rear frame 7: Mounting frame 8: Cutting die 9: Face plate 10: Cylindrical part 10a: First cylindrical section 11: Upstream guided shaft 11a: Guided bearing 12: Downstream guided shaft 12a: Downstream guided bearing 13: Transport drive motor 14: Lower conveyor belt 15: Upper conveyor belt 16: Transport drive transmission mechanism 17: Mold fixing lever 18: Mold fixing member 19: Mold stop plate 21: Upstream guide frame 22: Upstream guide section 22a: Upstream guide rail 23: Downstream guide frame 24: Downstream guide section 24a: Downstream guide rail 25: Inlet sensor 26: Strain sensor 26a: First strain sensor 26b: Second strain sensor 26c: Third strain sensor 26d: Fourth strain sensor 27: Strain detection rod 28: Detection rod fixing part 29: Resist discharge sensor 30: Control section 31: Rotation output gear 41: Rotation input gear 42: Shaft holder 43: Lift transmission rod 44: Eccentric shaft 81: Cutting blade 82: Stainless steel plate 100: Die cutter 101: Operation panel 141: Lower roller 151: Upper roller for tensioning 200:Sheet feeder 300: Resist device 400: Discharge treatment device 441: Rotating shaft 442: Eccentric shaft part 500: Die-cut system H: Up and down movement range

Claims

1. A movable surface plate and an opposing surface plate arranged opposite each other in the vertical direction; a moving mechanism for moving the movable base plate up and down toward the counter base plate; a punching section transport means for transporting a workpiece to a position where punching is performed by the movable platen and the opposing platen; a control means for controlling the moving mechanism and the punching unit transport means, In a punching device, the moving mechanism performs a punching process in which the workpiece is punched into a predetermined shape by a punching die attached to at least one of the movable base plate and the opposing base plate by bringing the movable base plate closer to the opposing base plate, The punching section transport means includes a pair of surface moving bodies that sandwich and transport the workpiece, a position detection means for detecting a position of the workpiece conveyed by the punching section conveying means; In the punching process, when no conveying force is applied to the workpiece from a conveying means upstream of the punching section conveying means, the punching section conveying means is stopped a predetermined time after the position detection means detects the passage of the rear end of the workpiece conveyed by the punching section conveying means, thereby stopping the workpiece at a predetermined punching position in the space sandwiched between the movable base plate and the opposing base plate, and then the movable base plate is brought closer to the opposing base plate to punch out the workpiece into a predetermined shape.

2. A movable surface plate and an opposing surface plate arranged opposite each other in the vertical direction; a moving mechanism for moving the movable base plate up and down toward the counter base plate; a punching section transport means for transporting a workpiece to a position where punching is performed by the movable platen and the opposing platen; a control means for controlling the moving mechanism and the punching unit transport means, In a punching device, the moving mechanism performs a punching process in which the workpiece is punched into a predetermined shape by a punching die attached to at least one of the movable base plate and the opposing base plate by bringing the movable base plate closer to the opposing base plate, The punching section transport means includes a pair of surface moving bodies that sandwich and transport the workpiece, a position detection means for detecting a position of the workpiece conveyed by the punching section conveying means; an upstream conveying surface moving body pair located upstream of the punching section conveying means in a conveying direction of the workpiece, the upstream conveying surface moving body pair sandwiching and conveying the workpiece between two surface moving bodies, and delivering the workpiece to the punching section conveying means; In the punching process, after the workpiece is subjected to a conveying force from the punching section conveying means and is no longer subjected to a conveying force from the upstream conveying surface moving body pair, the punching section conveying means is stopped a predetermined time after the position detection means detects that the workpiece has passed a predetermined detection position, thereby stopping the workpiece at a predetermined punching position in the space sandwiched between the movable base plate and the opposing base plate, and then the movable base plate is brought closer to the opposing base plate to punch out the workpiece into a predetermined shape.

3. In the punching device of claim 2, The punching device is characterized in that the position detection means detects that the rear end of the workpiece has passed a detection position downstream of the upstream transport surface movable body pair in the transport direction of the workpiece.

4. In the punching device of claim 2, The punching device is characterized in that the position detection means detects the position of the workpiece by detecting that an image for position detection formed on the surface of the workpiece has reached a detection position.

5. In the punching device according to claim 2 or 4, In the punching process, the punching device is characterized in that after the rear end of the workpiece passes through the range where the upstream conveying surface moving body pair applies a conveying force, the position detection means detects that the workpiece has passed through a predetermined detection position, and then the punching section conveying means is stopped a predetermined timing later.

6. In the punching device according to claim 2 or 4, In the punching process, after the leading end of the workpiece is subjected to a conveying force by the punching section conveying means, the two surface movable bodies of the upstream conveying surface movable body pair are separated, and then the punching section conveying means is stopped a predetermined time after the position detection means detects that the workpiece has passed a predetermined detection position.

7. The punching device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, A punching device comprising a transport drive source for transmitting drive to both the punching section transport means and the pair of upstream transport surface movable bodies.

8. The punching device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The punching device, wherein the punching section transport means is a belt transport device which transports the workpiece by sandwiching it between two belt members.

9. The punching device according to claim 8, The punching device is characterized in that the belt conveying device is disposed at only one end of the conveying path of the workpiece in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction.

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