Sheet Cutting Machine With Hinged Translating Protective Screen
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cutting machines face challenges in efficiently arranging large sheets of material due to structural limitations and safety hazards from the absence of a closed cutting chamber, which complicates material positioning and increases the risk of operator injury.
Innovation Solution
A cutting machine equipped with a protective screen that translates and rotates with the arm to prevent collisions, combined with photocells and additional protection elements, ensuring safe operation by stopping the machine in case of obstacles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If guides are arranged on the minor sides of the table to allow arm sliding, then the arm can move along the sides, but the guides become an encumbrance for the operator and complicate the machine structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the guide system from the worktable structure entirely. Instead of having guides on the table sides, the arm is supported by a carriage system that moves along the major sides of the table, extracting the guiding function from the table structure itself and eliminating the encumbrance for the operator.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having guides on the minor sides of the table as in conventional designs, the patent inverts the arrangement by having the arm supported and guided along the major sides of the table. This inversion allows the operator to work on the minor sides without obstruction while maintaining full arm movement capability.
2Reliability
If a closed cutting chamber is implemented to improve safety, then operator protection increases, but the machine structure becomes more complex and material arrangement becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a protective screen as an intermediary element between the operator and the cutting unit. This screen is mounted on the movable arm and moves with it, providing dynamic protection without requiring a fully enclosed chamber. The screen acts as a mediator that protects the operator while maintaining machine simplicity and ease of material arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of a static enclosed chamber, the patent employs a dynamic protective screen that moves with the arm. This dynamic protection adapts to the arm's position and movement, providing safety throughout the cutting operation without the structural complexity of a fixed enclosed chamber.
3Reliability
If the protective screen is made fixed to the arm, then protection is reliable, but collision with obstacles cannot be absorbed and may cause damage
Solution Approach 1:
The protective screen is made movable relative to the arm through a hinge connection, allowing it to tilt and absorb collisions with obstacles. This dynamic configuration maintains protection effectiveness while providing collision absorption capability, preventing damage to both the screen and surrounding components.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge connection预先 provides a cushioning mechanism that allows the protective screen to tilt away when colliding with obstacles. This beforehand cushioning design prevents rigid impact damage while maintaining the screen's protective function during normal operation.
Data Source
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AI summary
A machine (1) for cutting sheet material is herein described, the machine comprising a worktable (2) adapted to provide a support plane for a sheet of material to be cut, at least one cutting unit (3) adapted to cut the sheet arranged on the worktable (2), at least one arm (4) that is arranged at least partially above the worktable (2) and is adapted to support the cutting unit (3), support means (9) of the arm (4), which is supported so as to be movable along a sliding direction (X), and at least one protective screen (18) supported by a support structure, said protective screen (18) being adapted to translate in the sliding direction (X) due to the movement of the arm (4). Suitably, the protective screen (18) is hinged to the support structure at a hinging point (P) so as to be tilting with respect to the support structure, the protective screen (18) being adapted to perform an at least partial rotation with respect to the hinging point (P) when it hits an obstacle along said sliding direction (X).