Cutter Device Homeward Route Offset for Jam Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing printing apparatuses face issues with cut paper jams and duplex cutting due to the cutter blade's path overlapping with already cut roll paper during the return route, leading to potential damage and hindered movement.
Innovation Solution
A cutter device configuration where the homeward route of the cutter is distinct from the outward route, with the carriage moving further away from the cut material, and utilizing a dual-cutter system with a first cutter on one surface and a second cutter on the opposite surface, along with a guide unit and urging mechanism to maintain relative positional accuracy and prevent contact or re-cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the cutter blade follows the same route in both outward and homeward directions, then the device complexity is reduced, but the cutter blade contacts the already cut roll paper causing wrinkles, damages, and cut paper jams
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting path is segmented into two distinct routes: an outward route for cutting and a homeward route for returning. This segmentation prevents the cutter blade from contacting the already cut material during the return journey, eliminating wrinkles, damages, and paper jams while maintaining operational reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The homeward route is shifted in the widthwise direction (perpendicular to the feeding direction) relative to the outward route. This dimensional offset creates a separate path that avoids contact with the cut material, resolving the contradiction between simple path configuration and reliable operation.
2Device complexity
If the cutter blade follows the same route in both directions, then the guide unit structure is simplified, but duplex cutting occurs where the cutter blade cuts the roll paper again
Solution Approach 1:
The guide unit is configured to support two separate routes: an outward route for the cutting operation and a homeward route for the return journey. This segmentation prevents the cutter blade from re-contacting and re-cutting the material, eliminating duplex cutting while maintaining acceptable guide unit structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The homeward route is offset in the widthwise direction from the outward route. This dimensional separation ensures that the cutter blade follows a different path during return, preventing re-cutting of the material and maintaining cutting precision.
3Device complexity
If the cutter blade contacts the already cut roll paper during homeward route, then no additional positioning mechanism is needed, but the cutter blade causes wrinkles and damages on the cut material
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting path is divided into distinct outward and homeward routes that do not overlap. This segmentation ensures the cutter blade never contacts the already cut material during the return journey, preventing wrinkles and damages without requiring additional positioning mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The homeward route is shifted in the widthwise direction away from the outward route. This dimensional offset creates sufficient clearance between the cutter blade and the cut material during return, eliminating harmful contact and protecting the material from damage.
Data Source
AI summary
A cutter device includes a cutter configured to cut a material to be cut; a carriage having a cutter and moving in a widthwise direction with respect to a feeding direction of the material to be cut; and a guide unit configured to guide the carriage in the widthwise direction and, assuming that the movement of the carriage when the cutter cuts the material to be cut is an outward route, a homeward route of the cutter of the carriage is different from the outward route of the cutter, and is shifted from the outward route toward one material to be cut which moves first in the direction away from the other material to be cut in the feeding direction immediately after the cutting from between the materials to be cut divided into two parts.