Processing Systems

Abstract

To provide a processing system including a processing device that allows a processing die to be inserted / pulled and is a relatively small type.SOLUTION: A processing system includes: a processing device that performs predetermined processing on a conveyed-in sheet by using a processing die; and an adjacent device that is adjacent to the processing device in a conveying direction of the sheet. At least part of the adjacent device is configured to be movable between an adjacent position that is adjacent to the processing device in the conveying direction and a retracting position in which the processing die can be inserted into / pulled from an insertion / retraction opening 180 in the conveying direction of the processing device, the retracting position being apart from the adjacent position in a plan view.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 21

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a punching device is known which includes a movable base plate and an opposing base plate arranged opposite each other in the vertical direction, a moving mechanism which moves the movable base plate towards the opposing base plate, and a control means which controls the moving mechanism, and in which the moving mechanism moves the movable base plate closer to the opposing base plate, thereby punching out a sheet into a predetermined shape using a punching die attached to one of the movable base plate or the opposing base plate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-025349 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a conventional punching device as described in Patent Document 1, a punching die is inserted and removed from the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction in which the sheet is conveyed. This requires an opening in the width direction of the frame of the punching device for inserting and removing the punching die, which increases the size of the device to ensure its strength.

[0005] Such problems are not limited to punching devices that use a punching die to punch out a sheet into a predetermined shape, but may also occur in other types of processing devices that use a processing die to perform a predetermined processing on a sheet.

[0006] The present invention has been made in light of the above-mentioned circumstances, and one exemplary purpose of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a processing system including a relatively small processing device in which a processing mold can be inserted and removed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a processing system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a processing device that performs a predetermined processing on a conveyed sheet using a processing mold, and an adjacent device that is adjacent to the processing device in the sheet transport direction. At least a part of the adjacent device is configured to be movable between an adjacent position adjacent to the processing device in the transport direction and a retracted position that allows the processing mold to be inserted and removed from an insertion / removal port in the transport direction of the processing device and is spaced from the adjacent position in a plan view. Together , and a die guide connected to at least one of the die holders and moving to an adjacent position when the at least one of the die holders moves to the retracted position to guide the die to be inserted or removed. . A processing system according to another aspect of the present invention includes a processing device that performs a predetermined processing on a conveyed sheet using a processing mold, and an adjacent device adjacent to the processing device in a sheet transport direction. The adjacent device has a fixed part and a movable part, and the movable part is configured to be movable relative to the fixed part between an adjacent position adjacent to the processing device in the transport direction and a retracted position where the processing mold can be inserted and removed from an insertion / removal port of the processing device in the transport direction and is separated from the adjacent position in a plan view. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a processing system including a relatively small processing device that allows insertion and removal of a processing mold. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a die-cutting system. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an upstream side view of the die cutter. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a downstream side view of the die cutter. [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 rear 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. 2 is a schematic diagram of an upstream side surface of a die cutter. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a 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. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a removal height adjustment screen. [Figure 13] FIG. [Figure 14] 1A and 1B are a top view and a front view of a level adjustment jig. [Figure 15] 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a difference in the amount of displacement of an eccentric shaft portion due to a difference in the rotational position of the eccentric shaft. FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the upstream side of the die cutter to which a belt support mechanism has been added. [Figure 17] FIG. [Figure 18] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the conveyor belt pair and the movable platen. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a die cutter. [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the die cutter during conveyance of a sheet material. [Figure 21] 4 is a perspective view of the separator and its periphery as viewed from the downstream side in the conveying direction. FIG. [Figure 22] FIG. 4 is a downstream side view of the separator. [Diagram 23] FIG. 4 is a downstream side view of the separator. [Figure 24] FIG. 4 is a downstream side view of the separator. [Diagram 25] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a separator and its peripheral surface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] 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.

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a punching device according to the present invention and a punching processing system including the punching device will be described.

[0012] 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, from the upstream side in the conveying direction of the sheet material, which is the workpiece, a sheet feeder 200, a registration device 300, a die cutter 100, a separator 400, and a stacker 480.

[0013] 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 die cutter 100 has an operation panel 101 on its upper surface. The separator 400 separates the sheet material that has been subjected to the punching process into a finished product and a surplus part. The stacker 480 accumulates the separated finished products.

[0014] The die cutter 100 will now be described.

[0015] 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 seen from the right side in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a downstream side view of the die cutter 100 seen 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 hidden 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 hidden 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 hidden. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram that typically shows an upstream side view of the die cutter 100 shown in FIG. 3.

[0016] 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.

[0017] 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.

[0018] 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.

[0019] 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.

[0020] The die cutter 100 includes a pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) that convey the sheet material S to the rear side in the width direction relative to the movable base 1. The die cutter 100 also includes a belt drive motor 13 that is a drive source for the pair of conveyor belts, and a belt drive transmission mechanism 16 that transmits the drive force. By driving the belt drive motor 13, the lower conveyor belt 14 and the upper conveyor belt 15 move endlessly at the same surface movement speed, and the lower conveyor belt 14 and the upper conveyor belt 15 sandwich one end of the sheet material S in the width direction and convey it. Furthermore, when the belt drive motor 13 is driven, the inlet drive roller 20a of the inlet roller pair 20 also rotates. The inlet roller pair 20 conveys the sheet material S by nipping it at multiple points in the width direction between the inlet drive roller 20a and the inlet driven roller 20b.

[0021] The lower conveyor belt 14 and the upper conveyor belt 15 are stretched over a plurality of tension rollers. Some of these tension rollers define the paths of the lower conveyor belt 14 and the upper conveyor belt 15 so that a surface for sandwiching the sheet material S is horizontally formed between an upper tension surface of the lower conveyor belt 14 and a lower tension surface of the upper conveyor belt 15. The tension rollers that form the surface for sandwiching the sheet material S are supported by roller holding members that can move up and down. When performing the punching process, the sheet material S is transported 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 that protrudes toward the rear side 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 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.

[0022] 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 belt drive mechanism (belt drive motor 13, belt 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 belt drive mechanism.

[0023] 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 belt drive motor 13 based on outputs from the operation panel 101 and the rear end detection 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).

[0024] 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.

[0025] 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 movable part of the separator 400 is moved manually or electrically to a retracted position, as described in detail below. 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 the outside.

[0026] 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.

[0027] If an identifier such as a barcode for calling up information about the die 8 is attached to 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.

[0028] After the die 8 and the face plate 9 are set, the discharge unit is manually or electrically raised to a predetermined position.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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 trailing end detection sensor 25, which is disposed upstream of the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15), detects the trailing 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 above-mentioned 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 described above 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.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] In the adjustment process, a single sheet material S is fed and a test feed is performed to perform the punching process. In the test feed, the punching process is performed by the die cutter 100, but the separation process by the separator 400 is not performed, and the sheet in a state where the result of the punching process and the surplus part are not separated is discharged to the stacker 480. 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] 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 belt drive motor 13 is driven, and the lower conveyor belt 14 and the upper conveyor belt 15 of the conveyor belt pair start to move endlessly. Then, the sheet material S supplied from the registration device 300 is sandwiched between the conveyor belt pair and conveyed. The belt drive motor 13 is stopped after a predetermined timing has elapsed since the trailing end detection sensor 25 arranged on the upstream side of the conveyor belt pair detected the trailing end of the sheet material S. As a result, the sheet material S sandwiched between the conveyor belt pair is stopped at the punching position between the moving base plate 1 and the fixed base plate 2.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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. After this, the driving of the belt driving motor 13 is resumed, so that the sheet material S that has been subjected to the punching process is conveyed to the separator 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.

[0040] In the above description, the press motor 3 is driven in the forward direction after the belt drive motor 13 has stopped, and the drive of the belt drive motor 13 is resumed after the reverse drive of the press motor 3 has 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 belt drive motor 13 has stopped, and the drive of the belt drive motor 13 may be resumed before the reverse drive of the press motor 3 has 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 belt drive motor 13 and the drive period of the press motor 3 overlap, the processing speed can be improved.

[0041] Next, the movement of the press motor 3 during the punching operation will be described. When the belt drive motor 13 is driven, the control unit 30 controls the rotation position of the press motor 3, which is a servo motor, so that the rotation position of the press motor 3 becomes a lower reference rotation position corresponding to the lower stop position, so that the lift transmission mechanism 4 waits at the lower stop position.

[0042] When a predetermined timing has elapsed since the trailing end detection sensor 25 detected the passage of the trailing end of the sheet material S, the belt 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] 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).

[0047] 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].

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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)

[0050] 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.

[0051] When the rotation amounts at the upper reference rotation positions of the press motors 3 are different from each other, the rotation amount at the lower reference rotation position may be set so that the number of rotations to the upper reference rotation position is the same. This allows the drive time and rotation speed from the lower reference rotation position to the upper reference rotation position to be the same even if the rotation amounts at the upper reference rotation positions of the press motors 3 are different from each other. Then, during the punching operation, it is not necessary to lengthen the drive time or slow down the rotation speed of some of the press motors 3, and the time required for the punching operation can be shortened. The setting of the rotation amount at the lower reference rotation position may be automatically calculated by the control unit 30, or may be input by the user.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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.

[0055] When correcting uneven punching with the operation panel 101, the four corners are indicated on the operation panel 101, and the worker selects a corner for which he / she wishes to change the punching pressure, and a screen for changing the punching pressure for that corner is displayed. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the display screen (cutting height adjustment screen) of the operation panel 101 for “cutting height adjustment” for correcting the cutting unevenness on the operation panel 101. The punching height adjustment is used to adjust the amount of pressure applied to the product that has undergone test feeding and is insufficient to be punched. In this embodiment, the rotational amount of each of the four press motors 3 can be adjusted, so that the punching height has variable values ​​at the four corners.

[0056] The display screen shown in FIG. 12 has a punching height distribution display section 75 in the center. To the lower right of the punching height distribution display unit 75 is a right front punching height adjustment value display window 70 that indicates the adjustment value of the first press motor 3a, and above and below it are a right front punching height increase button 71 for increasing the right front punching height (upper stop position) of the movable platen 1, and a right front punching height decrease button 72 for decreasing the right front punching height. At the lower left of the punching height distribution display unit 75, there is a left front punching height adjustment value display window 64 that indicates the adjustment value of the second press motor 3b, and above and below it are a left front punching height increase button 65 for increasing the left front punching height of the movable platen 1, and a left front punching height decrease button 66 for decreasing the left front punching height. At the upper right of the punching height distribution display unit 75, there is a right back punching height adjustment value display window 67 that indicates the adjustment value of the third press motor 3c. Above and below this are a right back punching height increase button 68 for increasing the punching height at the right back of the movable base plate 1, and a right back punching height decrease button 69 for decreasing the punching height at the right back. At the upper left of the punching height distribution display unit 75 is provided a left rear punching height adjustment value display window 61 that indicates the adjustment value of the fourth press motor 3d. Above and below this are provided a left rear punching height increase button 62 for increasing the punching height at the left rear of the movable base plate 1, and a left rear punching height decrease button 63 for decreasing the punching height at the left rear.

[0057] Furthermore, at the upper center of the punching height distribution display section 75, there is provided an overall punching height increase button 73 for increasing the punching height at all four points, and an overall punching height decrease button 74 for decreasing the punching height at all four points. In this embodiment, the adjustment unit for the punching height at each of the four corners is "0.01 [mm]", and the adjustment range is "0.00 to 2.50 [mm]", but this is not limited to this. In this embodiment, in order to keep the face plate 9 flat, one of the four corners diagonally opposite the corner for which the punching height is adjusted is used as a fulcrum, and the other two corners are changed accordingly. In the example shown in Figure 12, the back left corner is adjusted to rise by "0.09". In this adjustment, the front right corner acts as the fulcrum, so the adjustment value does not change and remains at "0.00". Meanwhile, the other two corners (front left corner, back right corner) rise in conjunction with the rise of the back left corner.

[0058] The punching height distribution display section 75 shows an outline of the distribution of the height of the upper surface of the movable base plate 1, dividing the upper surface of the movable base plate 1 into 16 regions and displaying the height of each region calculated based on the adjustment values ​​of the four corners. In FIG. 12, the punching height distribution display section 75 shows the punching height distribution numerically, but the punching height distribution may be displayed in color.

[0059] 12, when a setting to increase the punch pressure is input, the control unit 30 changes the setting to increase the amount of rotation of the upper reference rotation position of the corresponding press motor 3. On the other hand, when a setting to decrease the punch pressure is input, the control unit 30 changes the setting to decrease the amount of rotation of the upper reference rotation position of the corresponding press motor 3. Then, during the punching process, the control unit 30 controls the press motors 3 to rotate forward to the upper reference rotation position set for each press motor 3.

[0060] In the die cutter 100 of this embodiment, each of the four corners of the movable platen 1, which moves from bottom to top during punching, is configured to be moved up and down by an independent press motor 3 and lifting transmission mechanism 4. In addition, each press motor 3 is configured so that the amount of rotation can be adjusted individually, so that the lifting positions of the four corners can be adjusted according to the punching unevenness, thereby improving the punching unevenness.

[0061] Since the punching unevenness occurs due to the arrangement of the cutting blade 81 of the punching die 8 or manufacturing errors of the punching die 8, when the punching die 8 that has been removed is reattached to the die cutter 100, the same unevenness removal process as when it was previously attached may be carried out. In the die cutter 100 of this embodiment, the identification information and control information for each die 8 are linked and stored in the storage unit of the control unit 30. The control information at this time includes information on the upper reference rotation positions of the four press motors 3 when the die 8 was previously attached. As a result, by inputting the identification information when attaching the die 8, the control information linked to the identification information can be called up and the upper reference rotation positions of the four press motors 3 can be set to the settings at the time of the previous attachment, reducing the workload during adjustment before mass production operations and shortening the setup time.

[0062] It is preferable that the die 8 has an identification information display unit for displaying a barcode, a control number, or the like. The identification information of the die 8 to be attached can be input by reading the barcode with a barcode reader provided in the die cutter 100, inputting the control number on the operation panel 101, or the like. As a configuration for setting the upper reference rotation position according to the die 8, a readable memory element such as an RF tag or an IC tag may be provided in the die 8, and control information including information on the upper reference rotation positions of the four press motors 3 at the time of the previous installation may be stored in the memory element of the die 8, and the upper reference rotation position may be set based on the information read from the memory element of the die 8 at the time of installation.

[0063] In the die cutter 100 of this embodiment, when a new die 8 is attached, the upper reference rotation position of the four press motors 3 can be set by operating the operation panel 101, and punching unevenness can be improved, thereby reducing the work of attaching shim tapes for removing unevenness. Furthermore, when a die 8 that has been attached for the second or more times is attached, the control information from the previous attachment can be called and set by inputting identification information, thereby semi-automating and simplifying adjustments before mass production.

[0064] The control information linked to the above-mentioned identification information for each die 8 may include one or more job setting information such as the height of the cutting blade 81 of the die 8, the thickness of the sheet of the die 8, the usage history of the die 8, and the die reference position. Examples of the usage history include the date and time of use, the number of punchings, etc. When the die 8 is attached and there is a change in the previously stored control information, the change is linked to the identification information and stored in the lookup table. Then, the next time the die 8 is attached and the identification information is input, the linked control information is automatically called up and job setting is performed.

[0065] By linking the time-consuming process of attaching and adjusting the die 8, and items whose accuracy can only be confirmed by actually processing and seeing the resulting paper waste, to the identification information of the die 8 as control information, the workload on the user can be reduced and the setup time can be shortened.

[0066] The upper stop position of the movable platen 1 is determined almost entirely by the punch die 8. Therefore, by acquiring the setting information of the upper reference rotation positions of the four press motors 3 at the time of the previous installation as control information, the upper stop position of the movable platen 1 can be automatically set, which is advantageous in reducing the workload and shortening the setup time. For punching processing, it is essential to input the reference position of the punching die 8. By acquiring information on the punching die reference position, which is the reference position of the punching die 8, as control information and automatically setting it, it is possible to shorten the adjustment time.

[0067] By acquiring the usage history of the die 8 as control information, the date and time of use and the number of punches can be recorded, which makes it easier to manage the die 8, such as when to replace the cutting blade 81.

[0068] The control information may also include information on the compatibility between the die 8 and the sheet material S, such as paper. In this case, an identifier, such as a barcode, is attached to a part of the sheet material S to be cut by the die 8. An identifier reading means (such as a CCD camera) for reading the identifier of the sheet material S is disposed between the sheet feeder 200 and the die cutter 100. Then, before the punching process is performed, it is confirmed whether the sheet material S and the die 8 are an appropriate combination based on the information acquired by the identifier reading means and the identification information of the die 8. This makes it possible to prevent unnecessary punching from being performed on the sheet material S that does not match the die 8, thereby preventing the occurrence of paper waste and unnecessary punching.

[0069] The die cutter 100 of this embodiment can perform a leveling adjustment to bring the upper surface of the movable base plate 1 and the lower surface of the fixed base plate 2 closer to a parallel state when the movable base plate 1 reaches the upper stop position. Fig. 13 is a perspective explanatory diagram of a level adjustment jig 50 used for level adjustment. Fig. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the level adjustment jig 50, Fig. 14(a) is a top view, and Fig. 14(b) is a front view. The level adjustment jig 50 is fixed to the fixed surface plate 2 in place of the die 8 and includes a jig body plate portion 51 having the same external shape as the die 8 and four spacers 52 .

[0070] The spacers 52 are highly rigid members that are difficult to deform, and are manufactured with high precision so that the heights (lengths in the Z direction in the figure) of the four spacers 52 are uniform, and they are fixed in place by passing through four holes provided in the jig main body plate portion 51. The four spacers 52 are arranged in positions that face the vicinity of the four corners of the upper surface of the rectangular movable base 1 when the level adjustment jig 50 is fixed to the fixed base 2.

[0071] When performing the leveling adjustment, the worker fixes the leveling jig 50 to the fixed base plate 2 instead of the punching die 8 and attaches it to the die cutter 100, and inputs an operation to perform the leveling adjustment on the operation panel 101. The control unit 30, to which the operation for leveling adjustment has been input, rotates the four press motors 3 in the forward direction simultaneously from a state in which the four cylindrical parts 10 are located at the bottom dead center. After rotating the four lifting transmission mechanisms 4 in the forward direction by a predetermined rotation amount (constant pulse) set in advance within a range in which the movable base plate 1 does not reach the leveling jig 50, the control of the four press motors 3 is switched to a torque limit set to a low torque (control to stop the rotation of the press motors 3 when the set torque is reached). The low torque here is a torque required to raise the movable base plate 1, and is a torque to the extent that the movable base plate 1 cannot be moved any further if the movable base plate 1 hits something. The movable base plate 1 is rotated at an extremely low torque at least immediately before contact so that it stops when it comes into contact with the spacer 52 of the leveling jig 50. Then, the stopped position is stored as the horizontal reference position.

[0072] In the leveling adjustment, the press motors 3 of the four corresponding lift transmission mechanisms 4 are rotated to target a rotation position where the four columnar portions 10 are at the top dead center. However, in the case of low-torque torque limit control, when the upper surface of the movable base plate 1 comes into contact with the spacer 52 of the level adjustment jig 50 and hits the lower surface of the fixed base plate 2 via the spacer 52, the rotation of the press motor 3 stops, resulting in a position deviation error, even if the cylindrical portion 10 has not yet reached the rotation position at the top dead center. For example, if the drive pulses of the press motor 3 when the lift transmission mechanism 4 is driven so that the cylindrical portion 10 moves from the bottom dead center to the top dead center are 1000 pulses, the control unit 30 drives the press motor 3 with a target of 1000 pulses, but if the movable base plate 1 hits the spacer 52 during 995 pulse drive and the press motor 3 cannot be driven due to the torque limit, a position deviation error occurs.

[0073] Since the four spacers 52 are aligned in height with high precision, when the movable platen 1 abuts against the fixed platen 2 via the four spacers 52, the upper surface of the movable platen 1 and the lower surface of the fixed platen 2 are parallel to each other. At this time, the rotation positions of the four press motors 3 are rotation positions that can make the upper surface of the movable platen 1 and the lower surface of the fixed platen 2 parallel to each other, and therefore these rotation positions are stored in the memory of the control unit 30 as horizontal reference positions. By setting the upper reference rotation positions of the four press motors 3 based on the horizontal reference positions stored here, the upper surface of the movable platen 1 and the lower surface of the fixed platen 2 can be brought closer to a parallel state when the movable platen 1 reaches the upper stop position.

[0074] The four press motors 3 may stop rotating due to a position deviation error, the rotation position at that time may be stored as the horizontal reference position, and then the motors may be rotated slightly in the reverse direction, and then controlled to rotate forward again under low torque limiting control, and this may be repeated. By storing multiple pieces of information about the horizontal reference position at which rotation stops due to a position deviation error for each of the four press motors 3, and calculating the average of the multiple horizontal reference positions stored for each press motor 3 to set the horizontal reference position, it is possible to obtain more appropriate information about the horizontal reference position.

[0075] When the thickness of the die 8 including the cutting blade 81 is greater than the height of the spacer 52, the upper reference rotation position is set so that the upper stop position is lower by that difference. On the other hand, when the thickness of the die 8 including the cutting blade 81 is less than the height of the spacer 52, the upper reference rotation position is set so that the upper stop position is higher by that difference. This makes it possible to prevent large variations in the pressure of the face plate 9 against the die 8 when the die 8 is attached and punching is performed. In either case, the difference value to be subtracted or added is the same for each of the four press motors 3.

[0076] In conventional die cutters, no leveling is performed to correct the parallelism between the movable platen and the fixed platen. Therefore, when the parallelism between the movable platen and the fixed platen is deteriorated due to assembly errors during the manufacture of the die cutter, part errors, or repeated use, only a shim tape for removing the unevenness is applied to correct the punching unevenness caused by the deterioration of the parallelism, and the parallelism itself is not improved. In such conventional die cutters, it is necessary to correct the deteriorated parallelism with shim tape, which increases the workload of the worker and may not be able to sufficiently eliminate the punching unevenness depending on the worker's ability. Furthermore, when the deteriorated parallelism is corrected with shim tape, it is necessary to apply a large amount of shim tape to the same position every time, which increases the number of test feeds and increases the amount of paper waste.

[0077] In the die cutter 100 of this embodiment, by performing a leveling adjustment before mounting the die 8, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of uneven punching due to deterioration of parallelism during test feeding with the die 8 mounted, and to reduce the burden on the operator of correcting the uneven punching. In addition, since the leveling adjustment is performed under the control of the control unit 30, it is possible to eliminate uneven punching due to deterioration of parallelism regardless of the operator's ability. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce paper waste.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] 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.

[0081] At the moment when the die cutter 100 punches the sheet material S, a large load is applied in the vertical direction, causing the frame to stretch. If the frame stretches, the punching pressure when the movable base plate 1 is moved to the upper stop position will decrease, which may cause punching unevenness. Since the frame stretch varies depending on the job (the combination of the punching die 8 and the sheet material S, etc.) and adjustments, during the adjustment process, the rotation amount at the upper reference rotation position of each press motor 3 is corrected according to the measurement results of each strain sensor 26. The larger the stretch measured by the strain sensor 26, the closer the upper reference rotation position of the corresponding press motor 3 is to the rotation position at which the cylindrical portion 10 is at the top dead center. As a result, at the four corners where the frame stretches more during punching, the upper stop position of the movable base plate 1 during punching can be raised, and the reduction in punching pressure caused by the frame stretch can be corrected in advance. This reduces the workload of the operator to correct punching unevenness by looking at the product of the test feeding, and shortens the adjustment time.

[0082] The strain sensor 26, which is the extension amount measuring means, detects the change in the distance between the strain sensor 26 fixed near the upper end of the frame and the strain detection rod 27 fixed near the lower end of the frame. The configuration for detecting the change in the distance may be a configuration in which a rotating lever is provided that is rotatable with respect to the main body of the strain sensor 26 and contacts the upper surface of the strain detection rod 27, the angle of the rotating lever is detected by the detection part of the strain sensor 26, and the change in the distance between the strain sensor 26 and the strain detection rod 27 is detected based on the detected angle. Another configuration of the extension amount measuring means may be a configuration in which the distance is calculated from a reflective optical distance sensor fixed near one of the upper end and the lower end of the frame to a reflective part fixed near the other of the upper end and the lower end of the frame. Furthermore, the extension amount measuring means for measuring the extension of the frame is not limited to a means using a distance sensor such as the strain sensor 26, but may be a means for measuring the extension of the frame by attaching a strain gauge to the frame.

[0083] The four press motors 3 may be subjected to torque limitation during the punching process in order to prevent damage caused by an overload acting on each member constituting the die cutter 100 when the motors are driven. In this case, it is desirable for the control unit 30 to perform control to change the upper limit value of the generated torque of the corresponding press motor 3 depending on the rotational position of each of the four eccentric shafts 44 (the rotational angle of the eccentric shaft 44 when the cylindrical portion 10 is at the bottom dead center, which is defined as θ=0[°]).

[0084] FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the difference in the amount of displacement of the eccentric shaft portion 442 depending on the difference in the rotational position of the eccentric shaft 44. As shown in FIG. Fig. 15(a) is an explanatory diagram of the movement of the lift transmission rod 43 and the cylindrical portion 10 when the eccentric shaft 44 is rotated, and Fig. 15(b) is an explanatory diagram showing the difference in the amount of displacement of the eccentric shaft portion 442 for the same amount of rotation (α1 = α2 = α3) when the rotation position of the eccentric shaft 44 is different. "L" in Fig. 15(b) is the distance between the center line of the rotating shaft portion 441 of the eccentric shaft 44 and the center line of the eccentric shaft portion 442.

[0085] "α1" in FIG. 15(b) indicates a state in which the eccentric shaft 44 has rotated by "α" from the state where the rotation angle is "0[°]" as shown in FIG. 15(a)(i), and the amount of displacement is "L·sinα1". "α2" indicates a state in which the eccentric shaft 44 has rotated by "α" near the state where the rotation angle is "90[°]" as shown in FIG. 15(a)(ii), and the amount of displacement is "L·sinα2". "α3" indicates a state in which the eccentric shaft 44 has rotated by "α" toward the state where the rotation angle is "180[°]" as shown in FIG. 15(a)(iii), and the amount of displacement is "L·sinα3".

[0086] 15(b), when the rotation angle is near "0[°]" or "180[°]", the displacement amount "L·sinα" relative to the rotation amount "α" is sufficiently smaller than when the rotation angle is near "90[°]". Therefore, even if the torque generated by the press motor 3 is the same, the force that tries to lift the cylindrical portion 10 is sufficiently larger when the rotation angle is near "0[°]" or "180[°]" than when the rotation angle is near "90[°]".

[0087] Therefore, when the upper limit of the generated torque is fixed, if the upper limit of the generated torque is set to a high value so that the movable base plate 1 can be smoothly raised when the rotation angle is near "90[°]", even if a large load is applied to the components constituting the die cutter 100, such as the cylindrical portion 10, when the rotation angle is near "0[°]" or "180[°]", the generated torque of the press motor 3 does not reach the upper limit, and the press motor 3 continues to drive, which may damage the components constituting the die cutter 100. In particular, when the generated torque is difficult to reach the upper limit during punching when the rotation angle reaches near "180[°]", even if the resistance during punching increases due to a paper jam or some object getting caught, the generated torque does not reach the upper limit, and the press motor 3 is driven until it reaches the set upper stop position, which may damage the components constituting the die cutter 100. On the other hand, if the upper limit of the generated torque is set to a low value to prevent damage to components when the rotation angle is near "0°" or "180°", there is a risk that the force required to smoothly raise the movable base 1 will not be obtained when the rotation angle is near "90°".

[0088] In response to this, the upper limit of the torque generated by the press motor 3 is changed depending on the rotation angle of the eccentric shaft 44, etc. Specifically, when the rotation angle is in the vicinity of "90[°]", the upper limit of the torque generated by the press motor 3 is set to a high value, and as the rotation angle approaches "180[°]", the setting of the upper limit of the torque generated by the press motor 3 is changed so that the value becomes smaller continuously or in stages. During the punching operation, if the torque generated by the press motor 3 reaches an upper limit value before reaching the upper stop position, the driving of the press motor 3 is stopped and an error message is displayed on a display unit such as the operation panel 101. In this way, the movable base 1 can be raised smoothly by setting the upper limit of the generated torque to a high value until it approaches the upper stop position, and after it approaches the upper stop position, the upper limit of the generated torque is changed to a low value to reduce the load on the device and prevent damage to the components that make up the die cutter 100, such as the die 8 and the lifting transmission mechanism 4.

[0089] As a configuration for changing the upper limit of the generated torque, control may be performed to reduce the upper limit of the generated torque of the press motor 3 when the movable platen 1 approaches the upper stop position. The most torque is required when the movable platen 1 starts to rise, and the required torque decreases as the movable platen 1 approaches the upper stop position. The movable base plate 1 used in the die cutter 100 of this embodiment is very heavy (approximately 280 kg), so a large torque is required to start and accelerate it. For this reason, when the movable base plate 1 starts to move from the lower stop position, the torque generated by the press motor 3 is set so that no upper limit is set, and the maximum torque of the press motor 3 can be applied. Then, when approaching the upper stop position where punching is performed, the upper limit of the torque generated by the press motor 3 is limited so that the vertical force acting on the lift transmission rod 43, the cylindrical portion 10, and the movable base plate 1 via the eccentric shaft 44 does not exceed a certain value.

[0090] The die cutter 100 conveys the sheet material S by clamping it between a pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) disposed on the inner side in the width direction, which is outside the opposing range below the cutting die 8. In addition, the timing to stop the belt drive motor 13 is determined based on the detection result of a trailing end detection sensor 25 disposed in the vicinity of the upstream end of the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15).

[0091] 16, the die cutter 100 includes a belt support mechanism 32 that supports the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15). The belt support mechanism 32 includes a fixed plate 34 fixed to the rear frame 6, and a movable plate 33 that is movable in the vertical direction relative to the fixed plate 34. 17A and 17B are front views of the pair of conveyor belts, with FIG. 17A being an explanatory view before punching, and FIG. 17B being an explanatory view during punching. 18A and 18B are rear views of the conveyor belt pair and the movable platen, with FIG. 18A being an explanatory diagram before punching, FIG. 18B being an explanatory diagram during punching, and FIG. 18C being an explanatory diagram during punching. Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of the front of the die cutter 100, where Figure 19(a) is an explanatory diagram of the sheet material S being transported toward the punching area, and Figure 19(b) is an explanatory diagram of the state in which the movable platen 1 has been raised after the sheet material S has stopped in the punching area.

[0092] The lower conveying belt 14 is stretched around a lower driving roller 140 , a plurality of lower support rollers 141 , and a lower tension roller 142 , and the upper conveying belt 15 is stretched around an upper driving roller 150 , a plurality of upper support rollers 151 , and an upper tension roller 152 .

[0093] When the belt drive motor 13 is driven, the rotational drive is transmitted via the drive output gear 35, the drive output belt 36, and the belt drive gear 37, causing the upper drive roller 150 and the drive transmission gear 150a to rotate, and thus the upper conveyor belt 15. When the drive transmission gear 150a rotates, the lower belt drive input gear 140a rotates, causing the lower drive roller 140 coaxially therewith to rotate, and thus the lower conveyor belt 14 to rotate. The lower tension roller 142 and the upper tension roller 152 apply tension to the lower conveyor belt 14 and the upper conveyor belt 15 . A plurality of lower tension rollers 141 and a plurality of upper tension rollers 151 which form a portion that sandwiches the sheet material S between the upper tension surface of the lower conveyor belt 14 and the lower tension surface of the upper conveyor belt 15 are supported by a movable plate 33 which is a roller holding member. The movable base 1 has a protrusion 29 which protrudes toward the rear in the width direction.

[0094] When the movable base plate 1 rises, the protrusion 29 comes into contact with the lower surface of the lower bent portion of the movable plate 33 as shown in Fig. 18(b). Furthermore, as the movable base plate 1 rises, the protrusion 29 pushes up the movable plate 33, and the lower tension roller 141 and the upper tension roller 151 held by the movable plate 33 rise. Then, the portion that sandwiches the sheet material S between the upper tension surface of the lower conveyor belt 14 and the lower tension surface of the upper conveyor belt 15 rises together with the movable base plate 1 (rising by the distance "dH" indicated by the dashed line in Fig. 17(b)), and reaches the state shown in Fig. 17(b), Fig. 18(c), and Fig. 19(b).

[0095] During the punching process, the movable base plate 1 is raised, and the sheet material S is pushed up by the movable base plate 1, and the sheet material S is sandwiched between the tip of the cutting blade 81 of the punching die 8 on the fixed base plate 2 side and the surface of the movable base plate 1 (face plate 9). Then, the movable base plate 1 is raised further, and the sheet material S is punched into the shape of the cutting blade 81 of the punching die 8. The sheet material S is sandwiched between the movable base plate 1 and the cutting blade 81, and the position of the sandwiched portion relative to the movable base plate 1 is fixed. After that, when the movable base plate 1 is raised further, the portion of the sheet material S sandwiched between the movable base plate 1 and the cutting blade 81 rises. At this time, if the vertical distance between the portion of the sheet material S sandwiched between the movable base plate 1 and the cutting blade 81 and the portion held by the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) increases, a force pulling the sheet material S is applied, and the sheet material S may be damaged.

[0096] In this embodiment, the upper tension surface of the lower conveyor belt 14 and the lower tension surface of the upper conveyor belt 15 rise in conjunction with the rise of the movable base plate 1. This makes it possible to prevent the position where the sheet material S is sandwiched between the movable base plate 1 and the cutting blade 81 (fixed base plate 2) from being separated in the vertical direction from the position where the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) holds the sheet material S. This makes it possible to prevent a pulling force from acting on the sheet material S during the punching process, thereby preventing damage to the sheet material S. Furthermore, before contacting the cutting blade 81, the sheet material S being pushed up onto the movable base 1 can be prevented from being pulled by a holding means whose position is fixed, thereby preventing the area of ​​the sheet material S facing the movable base 1 from shifting, and therefore preventing positional deviation from occurring in the portion of the sheet material S being punched, allowing for accurate punching processing.

[0097] 18, a lower tension roller shaft 141a which is the rotation shaft of the lower tension roller 141 is fixed in position relative to the movable plate 33, and an upper tension roller shaft 151a which is the rotation shaft of the upper tension roller 151 is movable in the vertical direction relative to the movable plate 33. The upper tension roller shaft 151a is urged toward the lower tension roller shaft 141a by the tension roller urging spring 38, so that the upper tension roller 151 comes into contact with the lower tension roller 141 with the upper conveyor belt 15 and the lower conveyor belt 14 sandwiched therebetween.

[0098] The fixed plate 34 includes an upper protruding plate 34a and a lower protruding plate 34b that protrude forward, and a tension belt slide shaft 34d that connects the upper protruding plate 34a and the lower protruding plate 34b. The movable plate 33 includes a slide member 33a that protrudes toward the rear and is located between an upper protruding plate 34a and a lower protruding plate 34b. A tension belt slide shaft 34d passes through the slide member 33a, and the slide member 33a moves up and down along the tension belt slide shaft 34d, thereby moving the movable plate 33 in the vertical direction. A movable plate positioning spring 34c is provided between the slide member 33a and the upper protruding plate 34a, and presses the slide member 33a downward.

[0099] Before the movable base plate 1 rises, the slide member 33a pressed by the movable plate positioning spring 34c hits the lower protruding plate 34b, thereby determining the position of the movable plate 33 having the slide member 33a relative to the fixed plate 34, and the vertical positions of the upper tension roller 151 and the lower tension roller 141 held by the movable plate 33 are determined. When the movable base plate 1 rises and the protruding portion 29 pushes up the movable plate 33, the slide member 33a rises and the movable plate positioning spring 34c becomes compressed, as shown in Fig. 18(c). The position of the movable plate 33 is determined by the biasing force of the movable plate positioning spring 34c and the hit against the protruding portion 29.

[0100] Fig. 20 is an explanatory diagram of the die cutter 100 during sheet material conveyance, and Fig. 20(a) is a schematic diagram in which an upper air current A2 is added to a plan view above the area through which the sheet material S passes. Fig. 20(b) is a schematic diagram in which an upper air current A2 and a lower air current A1 are added to a front view of the die cutter 100. Fig. 20(c) is a schematic diagram in which a lower air current A1 is added to a plan view below the area through which the sheet material S passes. As shown in FIG. 20, the die cutter 100 includes a lower blower 170 and an upper blower 90 that generate air currents in an area through which the sheet material S held and conveyed by the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15) passes. 20, the lower airflow A1 generated by the lower blower 170 is indicated by a dashed line, and the upper airflow A2 generated by the upper blower 90 is indicated by a dashed line. The conveying direction of the sheet material S is indicated by an arrow "Td", and the location where the sheet material S is located above in FIG. 20(c) is indicated by a dashed line.

[0101] In the lower blower 170, an airflow generated by the lower blower 173 passes through the lower airflow ascending guide pipe 174, flows into the widthwise rear end of the lower airflow horizontal guide pipe 172, passes through a gap formed by the lower airflow pipe wall portion 175, and flows toward the front side in the widthwise direction. The airflow that reaches the front side of the lower airflow pipe wall portion 175 is discharged from the lower blowing port 171 as the lower airflow A1.

[0102] The air flows in through the gap formed by the lower airflow pipe wall portion 175, becoming an airflow that flows from the rear side to the front side in the width direction. Also, the air flows out from the lower air outlet 171 that opens on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the lower airflow horizontal guide pipe 172, becoming an airflow that flows in the conveying direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 20(c), the lower airflow A1 becomes an airflow that is inclined from the rear side to the front side in the width direction with respect to the conveying direction "Td".

[0103] When the sheet material S is transported while only the end portion at the rear side in the width direction is held, the front side in the width direction sags and comes into contact with the face plate 9 fixed to the upper surface of the movable base 1, which may result in damage. In the die cutter 100, a lower airflow A1 is discharged from the lower air outlet 171 onto the lower surface of the sheet material S in the area through which the sheet material S passes while being held and transported by the pair of conveyor belts (14, 15). An airflow that pushes up the lower surface of the sheet material S, or an airflow layer below the sheet material S, can be formed. This makes it possible to prevent the sheet material S from coming into contact with the member below, thereby suppressing damage to the sheet material S.

[0104] In addition, the airflow from the lower air outlet 171 toward the punching area suppresses headwind against the conveyed sheet material S, thereby preventing the sheet material S from rolling up. Furthermore, the airflow from the back side toward the front side prevents the front side of the sheet material S from flapping. This prevents the sheet material S from rolling up or flapping and coming into contact with members located above and below it.

[0105] In order to blow air onto the bottom surface of the sheet material S during transport, the air may be blown from below the pair of transport belts (14, 15) that hold the sheet material S at the rear side in the width direction. In other words, any configuration may be used as long as it forms an air current that pushes up the bottom surface of the sheet material S or an air current layer below the sheet material S.

[0106] In the upper blower 90, an airflow generated by the upper blower 93 passes through an upper airflow descending guide pipe 94 and flows into the upper airflow horizontal guide pipe 92. A plurality of straightening plates 92a are provided inside the upper airflow horizontal guide pipe 92, and above the straightening plates 92a in the upper airflow horizontal guide pipe 92, there is a flow path through which the airflow can pass. The gas that has flowed into the upper airflow horizontal guide pipe 92 passes between the straightening plates 92a while passing through the flow path above the straightening plates 92a. During this passage, the airflow is straightened into an airflow along the conveying direction "Td" and is discharged from the upper blowing port 91 as the upper airflow A2. In the die cutter 100, an upper airflow A2 is discharged from an upper air outlet 91 onto the upper surface side of the sheet material S held and conveyed by the conveyor belt pair (14, 15). This makes it possible to form an airflow layer above the sheet material S, and to prevent the sheet material S from contacting the underside of a member located above. In addition, the air currents from the lower blower 170 and the upper blower 90 lift the front side of the sheet material S and bring it closer to horizontal, thereby stabilizing the position of the sheet material S.

[0107] In the die cutter 100 of this embodiment, in the punching process in the mass production process, the movable platen 1 is configured to reciprocate between a lower stop position and an upper stop position, and is controlled to move without stopping on the way down from the upper stop position to the lower stop position. In contrast, a second punching control may be selected in which the reverse driving of the four press motors 3 is stopped and the driving of the belt drive motor 13 is resumed so that the movable platen 1 stops at the timing when the sheet material S punched by the punching die 8 descends to the conveying height. In this second punching control, after the rear end of the sheet material S that has been subjected to the punching process passes above the movable platen 1, the reverse driving of the four press motors 3 is resumed, the movable platen 1 is lowered to the lower stop position and stopped, and prepared for the next punching operation.

[0108] In the normal punching process of the die cutter 100, the product portion and the excess portion of the sheet material S after the punching process are not completely separated. This is because if the portion held by the holding portion such as the conveyor belt pair (14, 15) is the excess portion, the product may fall inside the device, and if the portion that will become the product is held, the excess portion may fall inside the device. For this reason, the cutting blade 81 of the punching die 8 is shaped to leave a narrow connection line called a "nick" that connects the product and the excess portion. Then, the separator 400 pushes down the excess portion to cut the nick and obtain the product. In contrast, by performing the second punching control, even if the product and the excess portion are completely separated in the punching process, the upper surface of the movable base plate 1 (the upper surface of the face plate 9) supports the lower surface of the sheet material S, so that the excess portion or the part of the product that is not held by the holding portion is prevented from falling into the device, and the product and the excess portion can be discharged outside the die cutter 100 even if there is no nick. This eliminates the need to cut off nicks in the sheet material S after it is discharged, prevents nicks from remaining on the finished product, and improves the quality of the finished product.

[0109] 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.

[0110] 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 the configuration of this embodiment in which the movable platen is placed at the bottom and the fixed platen is placed at the top, 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.

[0111] The separator 400 will now be described.

[0112] Fig. 21 to Fig. 25 are explanatory diagrams of the separator 400. Fig. 21 is a perspective view of the separator 400 and its periphery as viewed from the downstream side in the conveying direction. Figs. 22 to 24 are downstream side views of the separator 400. Fig. 25 is a schematic plan view showing the separator 400 and its peripheral surface. In Figs. 22 and 23, the movable part 404 of the separator 400 is in an adjacent position, and in Figs. 21, 24 and 25, it is in a retracted position.

[0113] The separator 400 includes a fixed portion 402 , a movable portion 404 , a movable portion guide mechanism 406 , and a processed mold guide 408 .

[0114] The separator 400 faces the insertion / removal opening 180 of the die cutter 100. The insertion / removal opening 180 is an opening that opens in the conveyance direction. The insertion / removal opening 180 is an opening for inserting the die 8 into the die cutter 100 to set the die 8 on the fixed platen 2, or for removing the die 8 from the fixed platen 2 to remove the die 8 from the die cutter 100. Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, the insertion / removal opening 180 is an opening for inserting a face plate 9 (not shown in FIGS. 21 to 25) into the die cutter 100 to set the face plate 9 on the movable platen 1, or for removing the face plate from the movable platen 1 to remove the face plate 9 from the die cutter 100.

[0115] The fixed part 402 is adjacent to the die cutter 100 in the conveying direction. The fixed part 402 does not face the insertion / removal port 180 in the conveying direction. Parts of the press motors 3b, 3d (not shown in FIGS. 21 to 25) of the die cutter 100 enter the fixed part 402. When the movable part 404 is in the adjacent position (described later), parts of the press motors 3b, 3d are located below the movable part 404.

[0116] The movable part 404 is configured to be movable between an adjacent position and a retracted position. The adjacent position is a position adjacent to the die cutter 100 in the conveying direction. The adjacent position can also be said to be the position of the movable part 404 when the separator 400 performs the function of the separator 400 (i.e., the separation processing function). Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, when the movable part 404 is in the adjacent position, a sheet is carried from the die cutter 100 to the movable part 404, and the movable part 404 separates the carried-in sheet into a product and a surplus part, and the movable part 404 is provided with a conveying mechanism (not shown) and conveys the separated product to the stacker 480 by this conveying mechanism.

[0117] When the movable part 404 is in the adjacent position, it faces at least a part of the insertion / removal opening 180 of the die cutter 100 in the conveying direction. In this embodiment, when the movable part 404 is in the adjacent position, it faces the entire insertion / removal opening 180 in the conveying direction, and the entire insertion / removal opening 180 is covered and hidden by the movable part 404.

[0118] The retracted position is a position separated from the adjacent position in a plan view, and is a position where the die 8 can be inserted and removed through the insertion and removal opening 180. The retracted position may be a position that is adjacent to the die cutter 100 in the conveying direction in a plan view, and that avoids an area R that is equal to or larger than the die 8 and can contain the die 8 (see FIG. 25).

[0119] For example, the retracted position may be a position spaced apart from the adjacent position in the width direction in a plan view, or a position spaced apart from the adjacent position in a direction intersecting the width direction and the transport direction. In other words, the retracted position may be a position spaced apart from the adjacent position at least in the width direction when viewed in the transport direction. Also, for example, the retracted position may be a position spaced apart from the adjacent position in the transport direction in a plan view.

[0120] Since the movable part 404 can be moved to the retracted position, the die 8 of the die cutter 100 can be inserted and removed through the insertion and removal opening 180 in the conveyance direction. Therefore, for example, there is no need to provide an opening in the front frame 5 or the rear frame 6 (neither of which are shown in Figs. 21 to 25) of the die cutter 100 to form the insertion and removal opening 180 in the width direction, so strength can be ensured even if the front frame 5 and the rear frame 6 are relatively small. In other words, a die-cutting system 500 can be realized that includes a relatively small die cutter 100 that allows the die 8 to be inserted and removed.

[0121] In the illustrated example, the retracted position is a position spaced apart from the adjacent position in the width direction. In this case, since it is not necessary to configure stacker 480 so as not to affect the movement of movable part 404, the degree of freedom in designing the stacker can be increased compared to the case where movable part 404 is moved in the conveying direction, i.e., toward stacker 480.

[0122] The retracted position may be at the same height as the adjacent position, or at a height lower or higher than the adjacent position. In other words, the height positions of the retracted position and the adjacent position do not matter.

[0123] In the illustrated example, the retracted position is at the same height as the adjacent position. The movable part 404 is configured to move horizontally between the adjacent position and the retracted position. In this case, the movable part 404 can be moved with a relatively light force both when moving from the adjacent position to the retracted position and when moving from the retracted position to the adjacent position.

[0124] The movable part guide mechanism 406 guides the movement of the movable part 404 between the adjacent position and the retracted position. In the illustrated example, the movable part guide mechanism 406 guides the movable part 404 to move in the width direction. The movable part guide mechanism 406 also supports the movable part 404. In detail, the movable part guide mechanism 406 supports the movable part 404 when the movable part 404 is in the adjacent position, when it is in the retracted position, and when it is moving between the adjacent position and the retracted position.

[0125] The movable part guide mechanism 406 is a linear guide in the illustrated example, and includes two guide rail portions 410 (see FIGS. 22 to 24) and two slider portions 412 (see FIG. 21). Note that only one guide rail portion 410 (on the downstream side in the conveying direction) is visible in FIGS. 22 to 24. Also, only one slider portion 412 (on the downstream side in the conveying direction) is visible in FIG. 21.

[0126] The two guide rail portions 410 are fixed to the fixed portion 402. The two guide rail portions 410 are spaced apart from each other in the transport direction and extend horizontally in the width direction. In particular, the two guide rail portions 410 extend so as to straddle between the adjacent position and the retracted position in a plan view or in the transport direction.

[0127] The two slider portions 412 are fixed to the movable portion 404. The two slider portions 412 are spaced apart from each other in the conveying direction. Each of the two slider portions 412 is configured to be slidable along the corresponding guide rail portion 410 while being supported by the corresponding guide rail portion 410. The slider portion 412 or the guide rail portion 410 may include a plurality of rolling elements for facilitating the sliding of the slider portion 412.

[0128] The processed mold guide 408 includes a first frame 420 fixed to the movable part 404, a second frame 422 connected to the first frame, and two processed mold guide rails 424, 426 extending in the conveying direction and fixed to the first frame 420 and the second frame 422, respectively. The second frame 422 is connected to the first frame 420 via a hinge mechanism 428 so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the conveying direction. The second frame 422 extends in a direction perpendicular to the axis.

[0129] When moving the movable part 404 from the adjacent position to the retracted position, first, the second frame 422 is rotated, for example manually, from the vertically extending position shown in Fig. 22 to the widthwise extending position shown in Fig. 23. The hinge mechanism 28 preferably has a torque that allows the second frame 422 to maintain the widthwise extending position without rotating due to its own weight.

[0130] Next, in the state shown in Fig. 23, the second frame 422 is manually pushed in the width direction, for example, to move the movable part 404 to the retracted position and move the first frame 420 and the second frame 422 to adjacent positions, as shown in Fig. 24. At this time, the processing die guide rails 424, 426 are in a state where they can function as processing die guide rails. That is, when the processing die 8 is inserted into or removed from the die cutter 100, the processing die guide rails 424, 426 guide the movement of the cutting die 8 in the conveying direction and support the cutting die 8.

[0131] When moving the movable part 404 from the retracted position to the adjacent position, the second frame 422 is, for example, manually pulled in the width direction to move the movable part 404 from the retracted position shown in Fig. 24 to the adjacent position shown in Fig. 23. Next, the second frame 422 is, for example, manually rotated from the position extending in the width direction shown in Fig. 23 to the position extending in the vertical direction shown in Fig. 22.

[0132] The present invention has been described above based on an embodiment. This embodiment is merely an example, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in the combination of each component and each processing step, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. Such modifications will be described below.

[0133] In the embodiment, the case has been described in which movable portion 404, which is a part of separator 400, is movable between the adjacent position and the retracted position, but separator 400 may be entirely movable. In other words, separator 400 may be entirely a movable portion.

[0134] In the embodiment and the above-mentioned modified example, at least the separator 400, which is an apparatus adjacent to the die cutter 100 on the downstream side in the conveying direction, is movable in order to make the die 8 removable, but the present invention is not limited to this. In order to make the die 8 removable, at least a part of the registration apparatus 300 may be movable instead of or in addition to the separator 400. In other words, at least one of at least a part of the adjacent apparatus adjacent to the die cutter 100 on the upstream side in the conveying direction and at least a part of the adjacent apparatus adjacent to the die cutter 100 on the downstream side in the conveying direction may be movable to a retracted position so that the die 8 can be inserted and removed in the conveying direction.

[0135] In the embodiment and the above-mentioned modified example, the die-cutting system 500 including the die cutter 100 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the technical ideas of the embodiment and modified example can also be applied to a processing system including other processing devices that perform a predetermined processing on a sheet carried in using a processing mold. The processing device may be, for example, a device that performs embossing to give a three-dimensional shape to a sheet using a processing mold, or may be, for example, a device that transfers a foil with a predetermined pattern to a sheet using a processing mold.

[0136] The present invention has been described using specific terms based on the embodiments, but the embodiments merely show one aspect of the principles and applications of the present invention, and many modifications and changes in arrangement are permitted to the embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention as defined in the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a semiconductor device, comprising: [Aspect 1] a processing device that performs a predetermined processing on the conveyed sheet using a processing mold; an adjacent device adjacent to the processing device in a sheet conveying direction; Equipped with A processing system in which at least some of the adjacent devices are configured to be movable between an adjacent position adjacent to the processing device in the transport direction and a retracted position where the processing mold can be inserted and removed from an insertion / removal port of the processing device in the transport direction, and which is spaced from the adjacent position in a planar view. [Aspect 2] 2. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein the retracted position is a position where the at least part does not face the insertion / removal port in the conveying direction. [Aspect 3] 3. The processing system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a guide mechanism that guides and supports the at least one portion during movement between the adjacent position and the retracted position. [Aspect 4] The processing system according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, further comprising a processing mold guide connected to the at least one portion, which moves to the adjacent position when the at least one portion moves to the retracted position, and which guides the processing mold to be inserted or removed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0137] 8 die, 100 die cutter, 180 ejector, 400 separator, 404 moving part, 500 die cutting system.

Claims

1. a processing device that performs a predetermined processing on the conveyed sheet using a processing mold; an adjacent device adjacent to the processing device in a sheet conveying direction; Equipped with At least a part of the adjacent device is configured to be movable between an adjacent position adjacent to the processing device in the transport direction and a retreat position at which the processing mold can be inserted and removed from an insertion / removal port of the processing device in the transport direction and which is spaced from the adjacent position in a plan view; a die guide connected to at least one of the die portions and moving to the adjacent position when the at least one of the die portions moves to the retracted position to guide the die to be inserted or removed; Processing system.

2. A processing device that performs a predetermined processing on a sheet carried in using a processing mold; an adjacent device adjacent to the processing device in a sheet conveying direction; Equipped with The adjacent device has a fixed part and a movable part, and the movable part is configured to be movable relative to the fixed part between an adjacent position adjacent to the processing device in the transport direction and a retreat position where the processing mold can be inserted and removed from an insertion / removal port of the processing device in the transport direction and is separated from the adjacent position in a plan view. Processing system.

3. The adjacent position is a position when the movable part exerts a function of transporting the sheet.

3. The processing system of claim 2.

4. The movable part is configured to be slidable above the fixed part between the adjacent position and the retracted position with a horizontal plane as a boundary, When the movable portion is in the adjacent position, at least a part of a drive mechanism for performing a predetermined processing in the processing device is located below the movable portion.

4. The processing system according to claim 2 or 3.

5. A processing system described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the retracted position is a position where at least a part of the system does not face the insertion / removal port in the conveying direction.

6. A processing system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a guide mechanism that guides and supports at least a portion of the workpiece during movement between the adjacent position and the retracted position.

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