EP4643704A1

EP4643704A1 - Can product manufacturing device, inspection method, and inspection program

Info

Publication number: EP4643704A1
Application number: EP24779575.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Yuji Koga; Kenji Takeuchi; Yoji Tsujishita
Original assignee: Brother Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Brother Industries Ltd
Priority date: 2023-03-24
Filing date: 2024-03-15
Publication date: 2025-11-05
Also published as: JPWO2024203447A1; WO2024203447A1

Abstract

Provided are a button product manufacturing device, an inspection method, and an inspection program that make it possible to manufacture button products of multiple sizes. The button product manufacturing device is for manufacturing button products in which a front member and a back member are connected and comprises: a printing unit that performs printing on a printing medium; a conveyance unit that conveys the printing medium in a conveyance direction from the printing unit to above the front member; and a mold unit having a lower mold supporting the back member, an upper mold supporting the front member, a first support section supporting the lower mold, and a second support section supporting the upper mold, said mold unit serving to move the upper mold and the lower mold relative to each other so that the upper mold approaches the lower mold and the front member and the back member are thereby connected. The lower mold is detachably attachable to/from the first support section, and the upper mold is detachably attachable to/from the second support section.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a button product manufacturing device, an inspection method, and an inspection program.

BACKGROUND ART

In the related art, a device for manufacturing a button product such as a button badge to which a predetermined image is applied is known, and Patent Literature 1 discloses a button product manufacturing device that manufactures a button badge by caulking a front lid to a back lid.

CITATION LIST

PATENT LITERATURE

Patent Literature 1: JP2019-136210A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

TECHNICAL PROBLEM

The button badge has a wide variety of diameters, and button badges having various sizes are present. However, in the related art, there is a problem that only a button badge having a constant size can be manufactured and a button badge having a changed size cannot be manufactured.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a button product manufacturing device, an inspection method, and an inspection program capable of manufacturing button products of a plurality of sizes.

SOLUTION TO PROBLEM

A button product manufacturing device according to the present invention is a button product manufacturing device that manufactures a button product by connecting a front member and a back member, the button product manufacturing device including: a printing unit configured to perform printing on a print medium; a conveying unit configured to convey the print medium from the printing unit onto the front member in a conveying direction; and a die set including a lower die that supports the back member, an upper die that holds the front member, a first support portion that supports the lower die, and a second support portion that supports the upper die, and configured to connect the front member and the back member by relatively moving the upper die to approach the lower die. In the button product manufacturing device, the lower die is attachable to and detachable from the first support portion, and the upper die is attachable to and detachable from the second support portion.
According to the present invention, since the lower die is attachable to and detachable from the first support portion and the upper die is attachable to and detachable from the second support portion, the lower die and the upper die can be replaced according to a size of the button product to be manufactured. Accordingly, it is possible to manufacture button products of a plurality of sizes.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a button product manufacturing device, an inspection method, and an inspection program capable of manufacturing button products of a plurality of sizes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[FIG. 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a button product manufacturing device according to an embodiment.
[FIG. 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the button product manufacturing device in FIG. 1.
[FIG. 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the button product manufacturing device in FIG. 1.
[FIG. 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a front member feed unit.
[FIG. 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a back member feed unit.
[FIG. 6A] FIG. 6A is a plan view illustrating a printing medium.
[FIG. 6B] FIG. 6B is a plan view illustrating a white film.
[FIG. 7] FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a region in FIG. 4A.
[FIG. 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a conveying unit.
[FIG. 9] FIG. 9 is a side view of the conveying unit in FIG. 8.
[FIG. 10] FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating a lower plate and an upper plate provided on a lower die.
[FIG. 11A] FIG. 11A is a perspective view of a pressing unit.
[FIG. 11B] FIG. 11B is a perspective view of the pressing unit viewed from a direction different from that in FIG. 10A.
[FIG. 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a standby position of a pressing head of the pressing unit.
[FIG. 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a pressing position of the pressing head of the pressing unit.
[FIG. 14A] FIG. 14A is a perspective view of a die set.
[FIG. 14B] FIG. 14B is a perspective view of the die set viewed from a direction different from that in FIG. 14A.
[FIG. 15A] FIG. 15A is a perspective view of a front member and a back member.
[FIG. 15B] FIG. 15B is a cross-sectional view of a button product manufactured by connecting the front member and the back member in FIG. 14A.
[FIG. 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process by the button product manufacturing device.
[FIG. 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart following that in FIG. 16.
[FIG. 18] FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an inspection process.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a button product manufacturing device, an inspection method, and an inspection program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The button product manufacturing device, the inspection method, and the inspection program to be described below are merely an embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and can be added, deleted, or modified in a range without departing from the scope of the present invention.

(Overall Configuration)

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a button product manufacturing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the button product manufacturing device 100 in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the button product manufacturing device 100 in FIG. 1. The button product manufacturing device 100 is a device configured to manufacture a button product by connecting a front member and a back member, for example, caulking the front member and the back member. A button product manufacturing device 100 includes a printing unit 1, a conveying unit 2, a die set 3, a front member feed unit 4, a back member feed unit 5, a pressing unit 6, a take-out unit 7, a collection box 8, a button product container 9, and a base plate 3p, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. On the base plate 3p, support portions 160 and 161 are provided to be attached to and detached from the base plate 3p. The base plate 3p corresponds to a base portion. In FIGS. 1 and 2, directions orthogonal to one another are referred to as a first direction Dx, a second direction Dy, and a third direction Dz. In the present embodiment, for example, the first direction Dx is a front-rear direction of the button product manufacturing device 100, the second direction Dy is a left-right direction of the button product manufacturing device 100, and the third direction Dz is an up-down direction. In this case, a front side of the printing unit 1 is defined as a front side, a rear side thereof is defined as a rear side, and left and right sides thereof when viewed from the front side are defined as a left side and a right side. In the following description, Dx is referred to as the front-rear direction, Dy is referred to as the left-right direction, and Dz is referred to as the up-down direction.
The printing unit 1 is disposed below the die set 3, the front member feed unit 4, the back member feed unit 5, the pressing unit 6, and the take-out unit 7. The printing unit 1 is an inkjet printer configured to print an image on a print medium W (FIG. 6A to be described later) such as a transparent film. The printing unit 1 is configured to perform printing on the print medium W. Specifically, the printing unit 1 includes an ejection head 10, and printing is performed by ejecting ink droplets onto the print medium W by the ejection head 10. The printing unit 1 includes a conveying motor 11 configured to drive a conveying roller. The ejection head 10 may be a serial head type or a line head type.
The printing unit 1 includes a sheet holder (not illustrated) configured to hold a plurality of sheets of printed media W and a plurality of sheets of white films F (FIG. 6B to be described later), and the printed media W and the white films F are held in the sheet holder as a bundle in which the printed media W and the white films F are alternately stacked. The white film F is supplied to the conveying unit 2 without being printed by the printing unit 1, and the print medium W is supplied to the conveying unit 2 after a predetermined image is printed by the ejection head 10 of the printing unit 1. The predetermined image is an inverted image that becomes a normal image when a user views the image from a surface opposite to a surface on which the image is printed among surfaces of the print medium W. In the present embodiment, an example in which the printing unit 1 is an inkjet printer has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the printing unit 1 may be another printer such as a laser printer or a thermal printer.
The button product manufacturing device 100 further includes a control device 110, a first drive circuit 115, a second drive circuit 116, a third drive circuit 117, a fourth drive circuit 118, a fifth drive circuit 119, a sixth drive circuit 120, a seventh drive circuit 150, and a display unit NT, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The display unit NT corresponds to a notification unit. The control device 100 includes an interface 111, a calculation unit 112, and a storage unit 113. The interface 111 is configured to receive various data such as image data from an external device 114 such as a computer, a camera, a communication network, a recording medium, a display, and a printer. The control device 110 may be implemented by a single device, or may have a configuration in which a plurality of devices are disposed in a distributed manner and cooperate with each other to perform an operation of the button product manufacturing device 100.
The storage unit 113 is a memory accessible from the calculation unit 112, and includes a RAM and a ROM. The RAM temporarily stores various data including data received from the external device 114 such as the image data, data converted by the calculation unit 112, and the like. The ROM stores a button product manufacturing program for performing various processes, an inspection program, predetermined data, and the like. The button product manufacturing program and the inspection program may be stored in an external storage medium accessible from the calculation unit 112, for example, a USB flash memory or a CD-ROM, and the calculation unit 122 may read each program stored in the above storage medium via a reading device.
The calculation unit 112 includes at least one circuit, for example, a processor such as a CPU, and an integrated circuit such as an ASIC. The calculation unit 112 is configured to control each unit by executing the button product manufacturing program and the inspection program. The calculation unit 112 corresponds to a computer, a detection unit, a first determination unit, and a second determination unit.
The control device 110 is configured to output a control signal to the first drive circuit 115. The first drive circuit 115 is configured to generate a drive signal based on the control signal and output the drive signal to the ejection head 10 of the printing unit 1. The ejection head 10 is driven in response to the drive signal, which causes ink droplets to be ejected from a nozzle. Specifically, the first drive circuit 115 is configured to cause the ejection head 10 to eject ink droplets onto the print medium W while moving the ejection head 10 in a predetermined movement direction based on the image data acquired from the external device 114. The first drive circuit 115 drives the conveying motor 11 to convey the print medium W in a predetermined conveying direction. In this way, the first drive circuit 115 alternately repeats a printing pass and a conveying operation, and thus an image based on the image data is printed on the print medium W.
The control device 110 is configured to output a control signal to the second drive circuit 116. The second drive circuit 116 is configured to generate a drive signal based on the control signal and control an operation of the conveying motor 23 provided in the conveying unit 2. In this case, the second drive circuit 116 is configured to control the operation of the conveying motor 23 based on respective detection results of a first conveying sensor S1, a second conveying sensor S2, and a third conveying sensor S3 provided in the conveying unit 2.
The control device 110 is configured to output a control signal to the third drive circuit 117. The third drive circuit 117 is configured to generate a drive signal based on the control signal and control respective operations of an upper die lifting motor 34 and a lower die moving motor 140 provided in the die set 3. The control device 110 is configured to output a control signal to the fourth drive circuit 118. The fourth drive circuit 118 is configured to generate a drive signal based on the control signal and control an operation of a pusher motor 46 provided in the front member feed unit 4. Further, the control device 110 is configured to output a control signal to the fifth drive circuit 119. The fifth drive circuit 119 is configured to generate a drive signal based on the control signal and control an operation of a pusher motor 56 provided in the back member feed unit 5. The control device 110 is configured to output a control signal to the sixth drive circuit 120. The sixth drive circuit 120 is configured to generate a drive signal based on the control signal and control an operation of a pressing motor 60 provided in the pressing unit 6. The control device 110 is configured to output a control signal to the seventh drive circuit 150. The seventh drive circuit 150 is configured to generate a drive signal based on the control signal and control an operation of a take-out motor 70 provided in the take-out unit 7.
The control device 110 is configured to control a display operation of the display unit NT. The display unit NT is configured to notify that lower dies 30 and 31 and an upper die 33 (to be described later) are replaced by display based on a command from the control device 110. In addition, the display unit NT is configured to notify a type of the button product 200 (to be described later) to be manufactured by display. In this case, the display unit NT may notify, for example, a maximum diameter of the button product 200.

(Front Member Feed Unit)

Hereinafter, configurations and functions of the conveying unit 2, the die set 3, the front member feed unit 4, the back member feed unit 5, the pressing unit 6, and the take-out unit 7 will be described in detail.
First, the front member feed unit 4 and the back member feed unit 5 will be described. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of the front member feed unit 4. The front member feed unit 4 is supported by the base plate 3p via the support portion 160. The front member feed unit 4 is configured to feed a front member SE to the lower die 30 provided in the die set 3. The front member SE is formed of a magnetic material such as a tin-plated steel plate.
The front member feed unit 4 is disposed above the printing unit 1 and to the right of the die set 3. The front member feed unit 4 includes a front member stocker 40, a front member slope 43, a pusher 45, the pusher motor 46, stocker support portions 165 and 166, and a motor support portion 167, as illustrated in FIG. 4.
The front member stocker 40 is configured to accommodate a plurality of front members SE each having, for example, a circular shape in a plan view while the front members SE are stacked in the up-down direction Dz. The front member stocker 40 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The front member stocker 40 is erected such that an axial center thereof is oriented in the up-down direction, and a slit 40a extending in the up-down direction is formed in the front member stocker 40 at a portion close to the lower die 30. The stocker support portion 165 is connected to one side portion of the slit 40a of the front member stocker 40, and the stocker support portion 166 is connected to the other side portion of the slit 40a. A lower portion of the stocker support portion 165 is attachable to and detachable from the support portion 160 provided on the base plate 3p by fastening members Sc such as screws. A lower portion of the stocker support portion 166 is attachable to and detachable from the support portion 160 by fastening members Sc. Accordingly, the front member stocker 40 is provided to be attachable to and detachable from the base plate 3p via the support portion 160.
The motor support portion 167 is provided to straddle the front member slope 43 from above in a direction orthogonal to a predetermined feed direction D1. The motor support portion 167 is configured to support the pusher motor 46. The motor support portion 167 is configured to be attached to and detached from the support portion 160 via fastening members Sc. Accordingly, the pusher motor 46 is provided to be attached to and detached from the base plate 3p via the support portion 160. The front member slope 43 is configured to be attached to and detached from the support portion 160 via fastening members Sc. Accordingly, the front member slope 43 is provided to be attached to and detached from the base plate 3p via the support portion 160. With the above configuration, the front member feed unit 4 including the front member stocker 40, the front member slope 43, and the pusher motor 46 is provided to be attachable to and detachable from the base plate 3p. Therefore, when a button product 200 having a different diameter is to be manufactured, a front member stocker 40 having a different accommodation region of the front member SE is required, and thus the front member feed unit 4 can be replaced in such a case.
The slit 40a has a width dimension smaller than a diameter dimension of the front member SE, and is formed in a portion from an upper end to a lower end of the front member stocker 40. The user can visually recognize the front members SE accommodated in the front member stocker 40 through the slit 40a of the front member stocker 40. That is, the user can grasp the remaining number of the front members SE. When the remaining number is small, the user can newly replenish the front member SE from the upper end of the front member stocker 40.
A space having a dimension equal to or slightly larger than a thickness dimension of one front member SE is provided between the lower end of the front member stocker 40 and an upper surface of the front member slope 43. The pusher 45 is configured to push out the front member SE on the front member slope 43 toward the lower die 30. The pusher 45 is disposed on a side opposite to the lower die 30 with respect to the front member stocker 40. That is, the front member stocker 40 is disposed between the lower die 30 and the pusher 45. The pusher 45 includes, for example, a plate-shaped pusher main body portion 45a and a rack gear 45b connected to the pusher main body portion 45a and extending in the feed direction D1. The rack gear 45b meshes with a pinion gear 47 connected to a rotary shaft of the pusher motor 46. The pusher motor 46 is rotationally driven, so that the rack gear 45b moves in the feed direction D1 and a direction opposite thereto, and the pusher main body portion 45a moves on the front member slope 43 in the feed direction D1 and the direction opposite thereto along with the movement of the rack gear 45b. In this case, when the pusher main body portion 45a moves in the feed direction D1, a tip end portion of the pusher main body portion 45a passes below the front member stocker 40 and reaches the vicinity of the lower die 30. Accordingly, one front member SE supplied from the front member stocker 40 onto the front member slope 43 is pushed out by the pusher main body portion 45a and sent out toward the lower die 30 in the feed direction D1. Accordingly, the lower die 30 is configured to support the front members SE. On the other hand, when the pusher main body portion 45a moves in a direction opposite to the feed direction D1 and retracts, the tip end portion of the pusher main body portion 45a retreats from below the front member stocker 40 to the outside. Accordingly, one front member SE is supplied from the front member stocker 40 onto the front member slope 43.
The front member slope 43 is configured to guide the front member SE pushed out by the pusher 45 toward the lower die 30 in the feed direction D1. The front member slope 43 is disposed below the front member stocker 40, and extends through below the front member stocker 40 from a predetermined position adjacent to the lower die 3. The front member slope 43 includes a pair of support portions 42 and a slope main body portion 41 whose cross section is formed in, for example, a concave shape. The pair of support portions 42 are provided on both ends of a bottom portion of the slope main body portion 41 in a direction (that is, a width direction) orthogonal to the feed direction D1. Accordingly, an escape groove 44 that is a portion lower than a height of the support portion 42 is formed on an inner bottom surface of the slope main body portion 41. When the front member SE is supplied from the front member stocker 40 toward the front member slope 43, the front member SE is supported by the pair of support portions 42 of the front member slope 43.
The front member slope 43 has a notch 43a at a downstream end portion of the front member SE in the feed direction D1. The notch 43a has an arc shape cut out in a convex shape in the direction opposite to the feed direction D1.
By providing the above notch 43a in the front member slope 43, an upstream end of the front member SE (that is, an end portion on a side opposite to a side where the lower die 30 is present) is less likely to be caught by the front member slope 43 when the front member SE is supplied from a downstream end portion of the front member slope 43 to the lower die 30. Therefore, the front member SE can be supplied to the lower die 30 with high accuracy.

(Back Member Feed Unit)

Next, the back member feed unit 5 will be described. FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of the back member feed unit 5. The back member feed unit 5 is supported by the base plate 3p via the support portion 161. The back member feed unit 5 supplies a back member BE to the lower die 31 different from the lower die 30. The back member BE is formed of a magnetic material such as a tin-plated steel plate. A method of feeding the back member BE by the back member feed unit 5 is basically the same as a method of feeding the front member SE by the front member feed unit 4.
The back member feed unit 5 is disposed above the printing unit 1 and to the left of the die set 3. The back member feed unit 5 includes a back member stocker 50, a back member slope 53, a pusher 55, a pusher motor 56, stocker support portions 168 and 169, and a motor support portion 170, as illustrated in FIG. 5.
The back member stocker 50 is configured to accommodate a plurality of back members BE each having, for example, a circular shape in a plan view while the front members SE are stacked in the up-down direction Dz. The back member stocker 50 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The back member stocker 50 is erected such that an axial center thereof is oriented in the up-down direction, and a slit 50a extending in the up-down direction is formed in the back member stocker 50 at a portion close to the lower die 31. The stocker support portion 168 is connected to one side portion of the slit 50a of the back member stocker 50, and the stocker support portion 169 is connected to the other side portion of the slit 50a. A lower portion of the stocker support portion 168 is configured to be attached to and detached from the support portion 161 provided on the base plate 3p by fastening members Sc. A lower portion of the stocker support portion 169 is configured to be attached to and detached from the support portion 161 by fastening members Sc. Accordingly, the back member stocker 50 is provided to be attached to and detached from the base plate 3p via the support portion 161.
The motor support portion 170 is provided to straddle the back member slope 53 from above in a direction orthogonal to a predetermined feed direction D2. The motor support portion 170 is configured to support the pusher motor 56. The motor support portion 170 is configured to be attached to and detached from the support portion 161 by fastening members Sc. Accordingly, the pusher motor 56 is provided to be attached to and detached from the base plate 3p via the support portion 161. The back member slope 53 is configured to be attached to and detached from the support portion 161 by fastening members Sc. Accordingly, the back member slope 53 is provided to be attached to and detached from the base plate 3p via the support portion 161. With the above configuration, the back member feed unit 5 including the back member stocker 50, the back member slope 53, and the pusher motor 56 is provided to be attachable to and detachable from the base plate 3p. Therefore, when a button product 200 having a different diameter is to be manufactured, a back member stocker 50 having a different accommodation region of the back member BE is required, and thus the back member feed unit 5 can be replaced in such a case.
The slit 50a has a width dimension smaller than a diameter dimension of the back member BE, and is formed at a portion from an upper end to a lower end of the back member stocker 50. The user can visually recognize the back member BE accommodated in the back member stocker 50 through the slit 50a of the back member stocker 50. That is, the user can grasp the remaining number of back member BE. When the remaining number is small, the user can newly replenish the back member BE from the upper end of the back member stocker 50.
A space having a dimension equal to or slightly larger than a thickness dimension of one back member BE is provided between the lower end of the back member stocker 50 and an upper surface of the back member slope 53. The pusher 55 is configured to push out the back member BE on the back member slope 53 toward the lower die 31. The pusher 55 is disposed on a side opposite to the lower die 31 with respect to the back member stocker 50. That is, the back member stocker 50 is disposed between the lower die 31 and the pusher 55. The pusher motor 56 is rotationally driven, so that the pusher 55 moves on the back member slope 53 in the predetermined feed direction D2 and a direction opposite thereto via a rack gear and a pinion gear (not illustrated) similar to those of the front member feed unit 4. In this case, when the pusher 55 moves in the feed direction D2, a tip end portion of the pusher 55 passes below the back member stocker 50 and reaches the vicinity of the lower die 31. Accordingly, one back member BE supplied from the back member stocker 50 onto the back member slope 53 is pushed out by the pusher 55 and sent out toward the lower die 31 in the feed direction D2. On the other hand, when the pusher 55 moves in the direction opposite to the feed direction D2 and retracts, the tip end portion of the pusher 55 retracts from below the back member stocker 50 to the outside. Accordingly, one back member BE is supplied from the back member stocker 50 onto the back member slope 53.
The back member slope 53 is configured to guide the back member BE pushed out by the pusher 55 toward the lower die 31 in the feed direction D2. The back member slope 53 is disposed below the back member stocker 50, and extends through below the back member stocker 50 from a predetermined position adjacent to the lower die 3. The back member slope 53 includes a pair of slope main body portions 51 and a pair of guide walls 52 on a downstream side in the feed direction D2. The slope main body portions 51 are disposed apart from each other in a direction (that is, the width direction) orthogonal to the feed direction D2. Accordingly, a space is provided between one slope main body portion 51 and the other slope main body portion 51. Further, one guide wall 52 is erected at an outer end portion of the one slope main body portion 51 (an end portion on an outer side in the direction orthogonal to the feed direction D2), and the other guide wall 52 is erected at an outer end portion of the other slope main body portion 51. Both end portions of the back member BE supplied from the back member stocker 50 in the direction orthogonal to the feed direction D2 are supported from below by the pair of slope main body portions 51. Accordingly, in a case where, for example, a pin or the like is provided in the back member BE, it is possible to avoid interference of the pin or the like with the slope main body portions 51. Although the space is provided between the one slope main body portion 51 and the other slope main body portion 51 as described above, the configuration of the back member slope 53 is not limited thereto. In the back member slope 53, as illustrated in FIG. 4, an escape groove formed by the slope main body portion and the pair of support portions may also be provided.

(Print Medium and White Film)

Next, the print medium W and the white film F conveyed from the printing unit 1 toward the lower die 30 by the conveying unit 2 will be described. FIG. 6A is a plan view illustrating the print medium W, and FIG. 6B is a plan view illustrating the white film F. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a region Re in FIG. 6A.
The print medium W constitutes the button product 200 together with the front member SE and the back member BE, and is, for example, a transparent sheet. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the print medium W has a rectangular shape. The print medium W has one end We1 in the direction D1 parallel to a conveying direction Dc1 when being conveyed toward the die set 3 by the conveying unit 2, and the other end We2 opposite to the one end We1. In the conveying direction Dc1, the one end We1 of the print medium W corresponds to a downstream end, and the other end We2 corresponds to an upstream end.
The print medium W includes a sheet-shaped connected portion Wb to be connected to the front member SE and the back member BE by the die set 3, a sheet-shaped remaining portion Wa different from the connected portion Wb, and a plurality of first coupling portions Wc that couple the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa. The remaining portion Wa is disposed to surround the connected portion Wb. Accordingly, the remaining portion Wa has the one end We1 and the other end We2 described above in the direction D1. The print medium W has the plurality of first coupling portions Wc and a first cutting portion Wf between the adjacent first coupling portions Wc at a boundary between the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa. Accordingly, the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa are cut and not coupled between the adjacent first coupling portions Wc. In addition, the connected portion Wb has, for example, a circular shape in a plan view, and is located closer to the one end We1 than to the other end We2. That is, the connected portion Wb is unevenly distributed toward the one end We1 with respect to the remaining portion Wa. The connected portion Wb after a second cutting process to be described later has the same size as a connected portion Fb of the white film F or is larger than the connected portion Fb.
The print medium W further includes a linear weak portion Wd extending from an edge portion Wh, which is the one end We1 of the remaining portion Wa in the conveying direction Dc1, to the connected portion Wb. The first coupling portion Wc and the linear weak portion Wd form a weak portion having lower strength than the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa. Specifically, it is exemplified that the linear weak portion Wd and a combination of the first coupling portion Wc and the first cutting portion Wf are formed by perforations having the same thickness as the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa but are partially cut. In addition, as another example, the first coupling portion Wc and the linear weak portion Wd are recesses or the like having a thickness thinner than that of the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa.
When the linear weak portion Wd is formed by the perforations, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the linear weak portion Wd includes a plurality of second coupling portions Wd3 that couple portions of the remaining portions Wa located on both sides of the linear weak portion Wd in the direction D2 orthogonal to the direction D1 to each other, and a plurality of second cutting portions Wd4 in which the portions of the remaining portions Wa are cut. In the present embodiment, the number of the second coupling portions Wd3 is constant regardless of a diameter of the button product 200, in other words, a diameter of the front member SE. The first cutting portion Wf and the second cutting portion Wd4 are continuous with each other. More specifically, among the plurality of second cutting portions Wd4, the second cutting portion Wd4 located closest to the first cutting portion Wf is continuous with the first cutting portion Wf. Accordingly, in the region Re, the connected portion Wb is cut into an inverted T shape with respect to the remaining portion Wa. On the other hand, the linear weak portion Wd has an edge portion side coupling portion Wd1 coupled to the edge portion Wh of the remaining portion Wa.
The first coupling portion Wc includes a coupling portion Wc1, a coupling portion Wc2, and a coupling portion Wc3. The coupling portion Wc1 couples the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa in a predetermined range Pw1 on a boundary between the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa. The coupling portion Wc2 couples the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa in a range Pw2 that is on the above boundary and different from the range Pw1. The coupling portion Wc3 couples the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa in a range Pw3 that is on the above boundary and different from the ranges Pw1 and Pw2. A portion of the connected portion Wb in the range Pw1 is pressed toward the lower die 30 by a first pressing portion 66e (to be described later) provided in the pressing unit 6, and a portion of the connected portion Wb in the range Pw2 is pressed toward the lower die 30 by a second pressing portion 66f (to be described later).
The first coupling portion Wc is provided more in the predetermined range Pw3 on the boundary between the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa than in the range Pw1 and the range Pw2. That is, the number of the coupling portions Wc3 is larger than the total number of the coupling portions Wc1 and the coupling portions Wc2. In the present embodiment, the number of the first coupling portions Wc is increased or reduced according to the diameter of the button product 200, in other words, the diameter of the front member SE. In this case, the number of the first coupling portions Wc is increased as the diameter of the front member SE is increased, and the number of the first coupling portions Wc is reduced as the diameter of the front member SE is reduced. The two coupling portions Wc present on a straight line orthogonal to the conveying direction Dc1 and passing through a center Cw of the connected portion Wb may be included in the coupling portion Wc1 and the coupling portion Wc2, or may be included in the coupling portion Wc3.
The remaining portion Wa is provided with a mark portion MR disposed on one side of the direction D2 with a center in the direction D2 as a reference. The mark portion MR may be, for example, three line segments extending in the direction D1 and arranged side by side in the direction D2.
A configuration of the white film F is basically the same as a configuration of the print medium W. Similar to the print medium W, the white film F constitutes the button product 200 together with the front member SE and the back member BE. As illustrated in FIG. 6B, the white film F has a rectangular shape. The white film F has one end Fe1 in the direction D1 and the other end Fe2 on a side opposite to the one end Fe1. In the conveying direction Dc1, the one end Fe1 of the white film F corresponds to a downstream end, and the other end Fe2 corresponds to an upstream end.
The white film F includes a sheet-shaped connected portion Fb to be connected to the front member SE and the back member BE by the die set 3, a sheet-shaped remaining portion Fa different from the connected portion Fb, and a plurality of first coupling portions Fc that couple the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa. The remaining portion Fa is disposed to surround the connected portion Fb. Accordingly, the remaining portion Fa has the one end Fe1 and the other end Fe2 described above in the direction D1. The white film F has the plurality of first coupling portions Fc and a first cutting portion Ff between the adjacent first coupling portions Fc at a boundary between the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa. Accordingly, the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa are cut and not coupled between the adjacent first coupling portions Fc. In addition, the connected portion Fb has, for example, a circular shape in a plan view, and is located closer to the one end Fe1 than to the other end Fe2. That is, the connected portion Fb is unevenly distributed toward the one end Fe1 with respect to the remaining portion Fa.
The white film F further includes a linear weak portion Fd extending from the one end Fe1 to the connected portion Fb. The first coupling portion Fc and the linear weak portion Fd form a weak portion having lower strength than the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa. Specifically, it is exemplified that the linear weak portion Fd and a combination of the first coupling portion Fc and the first cutting portion Ff are formed by perforations having the same thickness as the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa but are partially cut. In addition, as another example, the first coupling portion Fc and the linear weak portion Fd are recesses or the like having a thickness thinner than that of the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa. Since a configuration of the linear weak portion Fd formed by perforations is the same as the configuration of the linear weak portion Wd in FIG. 7 described above, the description thereof will be omitted.
The first coupling portion Fc includes a coupling portion Fc1, a coupling portion Fc2, and a coupling portion Fc3. The coupling portion Fc1 couples the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa in a range Pf1 that is a range on a boundary between the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa and corresponds to the range Pw1. The coupling portion Fc2 connects the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa in a range Pf2 that is a range on the boundary and corresponds to the range Pw2. The coupling portion Fc3 connects the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa in a range Pf3 that is a range on the boundary and corresponds to the range Pw3. A portion of the connected portion Fb in the range Pf1 is pressed toward the lower die 30 by the first pressing portion 66e (to be described later) provided in the pressing unit 6, and a portion of the connected portion Fb in the range Pf2 is pressed toward the lower die 30 by the second pressing portion 66f (to be described later).
The first coupling portion Fc is provided more in a predetermined range Pf3 on the boundary between the connected portion Fb and the remaining portion Fa than in the range Pf1 and the range Pf2. That is, the number of coupling portions Fc3 is larger than the total number of coupling portions Fc1 and the coupling portions Fc2. The two coupling portions Fc present on a straight line orthogonal to the conveying direction Dc1 and passing through a center Cf of the connected portion Fb may be included in the coupling portion Fc1 and the coupling portion Fc2, or may be included in the coupling portion Fc3.
The remaining portion Fa is provided with a mark portion MR disposed on one side of the direction D2 with a center in the direction D2 as a reference. The mark portion MR may be, for example, three line segments extending in the direction D1 and arranged side by side in the direction D2. The mark portion MR may be disposed on the other side in the direction D2 with the center of the remaining portion Fa in the direction D2 as a reference.

(Conveying Unit)

Next, the conveying unit 2 will be described. FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of the conveying unit 2. FIG. 9 is a side view of the conveying unit 2 in FIG. 8.
Regarding the conveying unit 2, a part of the conveying unit 2 is disposed frontward of the printing unit 1, and the entire conveying unit 2 is disposed frontward of the die set 3. The conveying unit 2 is configured to convey the print medium W and the white film F conveyed from the printing unit 1 onto the front member SE, which is supplied prior to the lower die 30, along the conveying direction Dc1 toward the die set 3. In addition, the conveying unit 2 is configured to convey the remaining portion Wa of the print medium W and the remaining portion Fa of the white film F to the collection box 8 along the conveying direction Dc2. Accordingly, the remaining portion Wa of the print medium W and the remaining portion Fa of the white film F are collected in the collection box 8 as waste portions. In the present embodiment, a film conveying process is performed in which the white film F, prior to the print medium W, is conveyed by the conveying unit 2 so as to be placed on the front member SE held by the lower die 30. Since a conveying method of the print medium W by the conveying unit 2 is the same as a conveying method of the white film F, the conveying of the print medium W will be representatively described below.
As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the conveying unit 2 includes support plates 20 and 22, a pair of conveying guides 21, the conveying motor 23, drive rollers Rk1 to Rk6, and endless drive belts Be1 to Be6.
The support plates 20 and 22 extend in the up-down direction Dz and are disposed apart from each other in the left-right direction Dy. The support plate 20 and the support plate 22 are coupled by a plurality of plate coupling shafts 24 extending in the left-right direction Dy. The support plate 20 is provided with the conveying guide 21 that curves forward from a lower end rear portion of the support plate 20 and extends upward. The conveying guide 21 is also provided on the support plate 22 in the same manner. The conveying guide 21 includes a first guide main body portion 21a and a second guide main body portion 21b. A groove-shaped space is provided between the first guide main body portion 21a and the second guide main body portion 21b, and end portions of the print medium W in the left-right direction Dy are inserted into the space during conveying. The first guide main body portion 21a is bent or curved forward from the lower end rear portion of the support plate 20, extends upward, and is bent or curved rearward. The second guide main body portion 21b is bent or curved forward from the lower end rear portion of the support plate 20 and extends upward. The first guide main body portion 21a is disposed rearward of the second guide main body portion 21b as a whole.
The conveying motor 23 is provided in the support plate 22. A drive gear Ga1 is connected to a rotary shaft of the conveying motor 23. The drive rollers Rk1 to Rk6 are provided on the support plate 22. A drive gear Gb1 is connected to a rotary shaft of the drive roller Rk1. A drive gear Gb2 is connected to a rotary shaft of the drive roller Rk2. A drive gear Gb3 is connected to a rotary shaft of the drive roller Rk3. A drive gear Gb4 is connected to a rotary shaft of the drive roller Rk4. A drive gear Gb5 is connected to a rotary shaft of the drive roller Rk5. A drive gear Gb6 is connected to a rotary shaft of the drive roller Rk6. The drive rollers Rk1 to Rk6 are located to the left of the support plate 22. The drive roller Rk1 is disposed rearward and downward of the drive gear Ga1. The drive roller Rk2 is disposed frontward of the drive roller Rk1 and rearward of the drive gear Ga1 and is disposed upward of the drive roller Rk1. The drive roller Rk3 is disposed above the drive roller Rk2. The drive roller Rk4 is disposed above the drive roller Rk3. The drive roller Rk5 is disposed rearward and upward of the drive roller Rk4. The drive roller Rk6 is disposed frontward of the drive roller Rk5. The drive belt Be1 is stretched around the drive gear Ga1 and the drive gear Gb1. The drive belt Be2 is stretched around the drive gear Gb1 and the drive gear Gb2. The drive belt Be3 is stretched around the drive gear Gb2 and the drive gear Gb3. The drive belt Be4 is stretched around the drive gear Gb3 and the drive gear Gb4. The drive belt Be5 is stretched around the drive gear Gb4 and the drive gear Gb5. The drive belt Be6 is stretched around the drive gear Gb5 and the drive gear Gb6. With such a configuration, a drive force by the conveying motor 23 is transmitted to the drive roller Rk1, the drive roller Rk2, the drive roller Rk3, the drive roller Rk4, the drive roller Rk5, and the drive roller Rk6 via the drive belts Be1 to Be6.
The first guide main body portion 21a and the second guide main body portion 21b are provided with notches Ng corresponding to the respective drive rollers Rk2 to Rk4. The drive roller Rk1 includes a drive shaft Sa1 extending in the left-right direction Dy and a pair of drive-side rollers Ro1. A pair of driven-side rollers Ro2 are provided to face the pair of drive-side rollers Ro1, respectively. Each of the pair of driven-side rollers Ro2 is coupled to a driven shaft Sa2. The drive roller Rk2 includes a drive shaft Sa3 extending in the left-right direction Dy and a pair of drive-side rollers Ro3. A pair of driven-side rollers Ro4 are provided to face the pair of drive-side rollers Ro3, respectively. Each of the pair of driven-side rollers Ro4 is coupled to a driven shaft Sa4. The pair of drive-side rollers Ro3 are disposed in the notches Ng of the first guide main body portion 21a, and the pair of driven-side rollers Ro4 are disposed in the notches Ng of the second guide main body portion 21b. End portions of the print medium W in the left-right direction Dy are clamped by the drive-side rollers Ro3 and the driven-side rollers Ro4. A configuration corresponding to the drive rollers Rk5 and Rk6 (that is, a pair of drive-side rollers, a pair of driven-side rollers, a drive shaft, and a driven shaft) is the same as the above configuration corresponding to the drive roller Rk1, and thus the description thereof will be omitted. In addition, a configuration corresponding to the drive rollers Rk3 and Rk4 (that is, a pair of drive-side rollers, a pair of driven-side rollers, a drive shaft, and a driven shaft) is the same as the above configuration corresponding to the drive roller Rk2, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.
When the conveying motor 23 is driven, the drive force by the conveying motor 23 is transmitted to the drive rollers Rk1 to Rk6. Accordingly, the print medium W is conveyed to the lower die 30 by rotation of the drive-side rollers Ro1 and the driven-side rollers Ro2, rotation of the drive-side rollers Ro3 and the driven-side rollers Ro4, rotation of drive-side rollers Ro5 and driven-side rollers Ro6, rotation of drive-side rollers Ro7 and driven-side rollers Ro8, and rotation of drive-side rollers Ro9 and driven-side rollers Ro10.
Here, as illustrated in FIG. 9, a conveying guide piece 25 is disposed, between the support plate 20 and the support plate 22, upward of the second guide main body portion 21b and frontward of the first guide main body portion 21a as a whole. The conveying guide piece 25 has flexibility and is made of, for example, resin. A base end of the conveying guide piece 25 is fixed to the support plates 20 and 22, and a front end of the conveying guide piece 25 is a free end. The front end of the conveying guide piece 25 faces the first guide main body portion 21a. A distance between the conveying guide piece 25 and the first guide main body portion 21a decreases toward the rear, that is, toward the lower die 30. The print medium W is guided toward the drive-side rollers Ro9 and the driven-side rollers Ro10 by the first guide main body portion 21a and the conveying guide piece 25. Thereafter, the print medium W is conveyed to the lower die 30 along the conveying direction Dc1 by the drive-side rollers Ro9 and the driven-side rollers Ro10. As described above, the first guide main body portion 21a, the second guide main body portion 21b, and the conveying guide piece 25 constitute a first conveying path Cp1 of the print medium W toward the lower die 30 of the die set 3.
The first conveying sensor S1, which is, for example, a contact sensor, is provided rearward of the drive-side roller Ro1 and the driven-side roller Ro2. The second conveying sensor S2, which is, for example, a contact sensor, is provided between the first guide main body portion 21a and the conveying guide piece 25. The second drive circuit 116 drives the conveying motor 23 in a case where the print medium W supplied from the printing unit 1 is detected by the first conveying sensor S1. In a case where a downstream end of the print medium W is detected by the second conveying sensor S2, the second drive circuit 116 controls driving of the conveying motor 23 based on a rotation amount of the conveying motor 23 detected by an encoder (not illustrated) immediately after the detection. Accordingly, the print medium W is conveyed to a predetermined position of the die set 3 with high accuracy.
A conveying guide 26 and a conveying guide piece 27 are provided between the drive-side roller Ro9 and the driven-side roller Ro11 and between a drive-side roller Ro10 and a driven-side roller Ro12. The conveying guide 26 is located above the conveying guide piece 27. The conveying guide 26 extends in the front-rear direction Dx. A rear end (that is, an end portion on a lower die 30 side) 26a of the conveying guide 26 is bent upward. Meanwhile, the conveying guide piece 27 has flexibility and is made of, for example, resin. The conveying guide piece 27 extends in the front-rear direction Dx. A rear end 27a of the conveying guide piece 27 is located frontward of the rear end 26a of the conveying guide 26. The rear end 27a of the conveying guide piece 27 is bent downward. The conveying guide piece 27 intersects the first conveying path Cp1 in a side view illustrated in FIG. 8. In such a configuration, the conveying guide 26 and the conveying guide piece 27 constitute a second conveying path Cp2 of the remaining portions Wa and Fa from the lower die 30 of the die set 3 toward the collection box 8.
In a case where the print medium W is conveyed along the first conveying path Cp1, a lower surface of the conveying guide piece 27 is pressed by a downstream end portion of the print medium W and is bent upward. Accordingly, the conveying guide piece 27 allows conveyance of the print medium W from the drive-side rollers Ro7 and the driven-side rollers Ro8 to the drive-side rollers Ro9 and the driven-side rollers Ro10. In a case where the print medium W is conveyed in the conveying direction Dc1 and reaches a predetermined position of the lower die 30, an upstream end portion of the print medium W is in a state of being gripped by the drive-side roller Ro9 and the driven-side roller Ro10 and is in a state of being located on a downstream side with respect to the conveying guide piece 27 in the first conveying path Cp1. In this case, the conveying guide piece 27 returns to the state of intersecting the first conveying path Cp1 again due to its flexibility.
As described above, the print medium W conveyed to the predetermined position of the lower die 30 is subjected to a cutting process of cutting the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa by the pressing unit 6 (to be described later). Thereafter, the print medium W is subjected to a separation process of separating the remaining portion Wa from the connected portion Wb and discarding only the remaining portion Wa. In the separation process, the second drive circuit 116 reversely rotates the conveying motor 23 in a state where the connected portion Wb is pressed against the front member SE disposed on the lower die 30 by the pressing unit 6. In this case, the drive force by the conveying motor 23 (that is, a drive force by the reverse rotation) is transmitted to the drive roller Rk5 and the drive roller Rk6 via the drive rollers Rk1 to Rk4. Accordingly, the remaining portion Wa is separated from the connected portion Wb. The remaining portion Wa is conveyed in the conveying direction Dc2 after separation, guided to the second conveying path Cp2 by coming into contact with an outer surface of the conveying guide piece 27, and conveyed toward the drive-side roller Ro11 and the driven-side roller Ro12. In this case, since the rear end 27a of the conveying guide piece 27 is bent downward, the remaining portion Wa is easily guided to the second conveying path Cp2. Thereafter, the remaining portion Wa is conveyed while the edge portion We2 of the remaining portion Wa is sandwiched between the drive-side roller Ro11 and the driven-side roller Ro12, and is collected in the collection box 8.
The third conveying sensor S3, which is, for example, a contact sensor, is provided in front of the drive-side roller Ro9 and the driven-side roller Ro10 and behind the drive-side roller Ro11 and the driven-side roller Ro12. It is possible to determine whether the remaining portion Wa is conveyed to the collection box 8 based on a detection result obtained by the third conveying sensor S3. In a case where the remaining portion Wa cannot be detected by the third conveying sensor S3 within a predetermined time after the second drive circuit 116 starts to reversely rotate the conveying motor 23, the control device 110 determines that a jam of the remaining portion Wa occurs. In a case where the remaining portion Wa is still detected after a predetermined time after the remaining portion Wa is detected by the third conveying sensor S3, the control device 110 may determine that a jam of the remaining portion Wa occurs. In a case where it is determined that a jam of the remaining portion Wa occurs, the control device 110 causes the second drive circuit 116 to stop the rotation of the conveying motor 23.

(Pressing Unit)

Next, the pressing unit 6 will be described. FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating a lower plate Mp1 and an upper plate Mp2 provided on the lower die 30. FIG. 11A is a perspective view of the pressing unit 6, and FIG. 11B is a perspective view of the pressing unit 6 viewed from a direction different from that in FIG. 11A. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a standby position Psa of a pressing head 66 of the pressing unit 6, and FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a pressing position Psb of the pressing head 66 of the pressing unit 6. FIG. 13 illustrates a state before the separation process of separating the remaining portion Wa from the connected portion Wb is performed.
The pressing unit 6 is supported by the base plate 3p. The pressing unit 6 is configured to press the print medium W and the white film F against the lower die 30. Specifically, the pressing unit 6 is configured to perform a cutting process (a first cutting process) of cutting at least a part among the plurality of coupling portions Fc in the white film F disposed on the front member SE held by the lower die 30. Similarly, the pressing unit 6 is configured to perform a cutting process (the second cutting process) of cutting at least a part among the plurality of coupling portions Wc in the print medium W disposed on the connected portion Fb disposed on the front member SE (that is, the connected portion Fb after the first cutting process). By the first cutting process and the second cutting process, the connected portion Fb and the connected portion Wb are overlapped on the front member SE held by the lower die 30. Since the first cutting process is basically the same as the second cutting process, the second cutting process by the pressing unit 6 will be described below as a representative example.
As illustrated in FIG. 10, the pressing unit 6 includes the lower plate Mp1 disposed on the lower die 30 and the upper plate Mp2 disposed on the lower plate Mp1. The lower plate Mp1 includes a lower plate main body 121 having a substantially rectangular plate shape, and guide side walls 122 erected from left and right side edge portions of the lower plate main body 121. A distance between a rear end of the left guide side wall 122 and a rear end of the right guide side wall 122 is smaller than a distance between a front end of the left guide side wall 122 and a front end of the right guide side wall 122. The distance between the rear end of the left guide side wall 122 and the rear end of the right guide side wall 122 is equal to or slightly larger than a dimension of the print medium W in the left-right direction (that is, a width dimension) and a dimension of the white film F in the left-right direction. Such guide side walls 122 facilitate positioning of the print medium W and the white film F that are conveyed from the conveying unit 2 with respect to the front member SE held by the lower die 30.
The lower plate main body 121 is provided with a rectangular notch 123 that opens at a front portion of the lower plate main body 121, and a notch 124 that opens adjacent to a rear end of the notch 123 and protrudes rearward and has a semicircular shape. A diameter dimension of the notch 124 is substantially the same as a diameter dimension of a recess of the lower die 30 (that is, a holding portion of the front member SE). Bearing walls 125 are erected on left and right side edge portions of a front portion of the lower plate main body 121. A bearing hole is formed in each bearing wall 125, and a plate support shaft 126 extending in the left-right direction is inserted into each bearing hole. Accordingly, the lower plate Mp1 is swingable up and down with the bearing wall 125 as a base point via the plate support shaft 126. A guide portion Bt1 (FIG. 9) bent downward is provided at a front end of the lower plate main body 121. Further, guide pieces 127 extending rearward and having rear ends curved upward are provided at left and right portions of a rear end of the lower plate main body 121. Since the lower plate Mp1 smoothly rides on upper surfaces of the lower dies 30 and 31 by the guide pieces 127 when the lower dies 30 and 31 rotate as to be described later positioning of the lower plate Mp1 with respect to the lower dies 30 and 31 is easily performed.
The upper plate Mp2 is provided with a rectangular notch 128 that opens at a rear end of the upper plate Mp2, and a semicircular notch 129 that opens adjacent to a front end of the notch 128. A diameter dimension of the notch 128 is substantially the same as the diameter dimension of the recess of the lower die 30 (that is, the holding portion of the front member SE). Since a rear portion of the upper plate Mp2 is cut out as described above, a rear portion of the lower plate main body 121 is exposed at the rear portion.
Bearing walls 130 are erected on left and right side edge portions of a front portion of the upper plate Mp2, respectively. Each bearing wall 130 is disposed inward with respect to the corresponding bearing wall 125. A bearing hole is formed in each bearing wall 130, and the plate support shaft 126 described above is inserted into each bearing hole. Accordingly, the upper plate Mp2 is swingable up and down with the bearing wall 130 as a base point via the plate support shaft 126. A guide portion Bt2 bent upward is provided at a front end of the upper plate Mp2. The guide portion Bt2, together with the guide portion Bt1 described above, smoothly introduces the print medium W and the white film F conveyed from the conveying unit 2 between the lower plate Mp1 and the upper plate Mp2.
The upper plate Mp2 and the lower plate Mp1 are disposed to overlap each other in the up-down direction. In a state where the upper plate Mp2 and the lower plate Mp1 are disposed to overlap each other, the semicircular notch 124 of the lower plate Mp1 and the semicircular notch 129 of the upper plate Mp2 are combined with each other to form a circular opening for exposing recesses of the lower dies 30 and 31.
The pressing unit 6 further includes the following components. As illustrated in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the pressing unit 6 includes the pressing motor 60, a pair of support plates 61, a coupling shaft 62, a swing arm 63, a support block 64, a remaining portion pressing head 65, and the pressing head 66 that presses the print medium W.
The pressing motor 60 is fixed to one support plate 61. A rotary shaft of the pressing motor 60 is rotatably inserted into one support plate 61. A plurality of drive gears Ga2, Ga31, Ga32, Ga41, Ga42, and Ga5 are provided between the one support plate 61 and the other support plate 61. The drive gear Ga2 is connected to the rotary shaft of the pressing motor 60. The drive gear Ga2 meshes with the drive gear Ga31. The drive gear Ga32 is provided coaxially with the drive gear Ga31. The drive gear Ga32 meshes with the drive gear Ga41. The drive gear Ga42 is provided coaxially with the drive gear Ga41. The drive gear Ga42 meshes with the drive gear Ga5. The drive gear Ga5 is provided with the coupling shaft 62 coaxially with the drive gear Ga5 and penetrating the drive gear Ga5. A base end of the swing arm 63 is coupled to the drive gear Ga5 by the coupling shaft 62. For example, a boss is provided on the drive gear Ga5 and is fitted into a recess at the base end of the swing arm 63. In such a configuration, when the pressing motor 60 is rotationally driven, a drive force thereof is transmitted to the drive gears Ga2, Ga31, Ga32, Ga41, Ga42, and Ga5.
The pair of support plates 61 are configured to be attached to and detached from the base plate 3p by fastening members Sc. As described above, the pressing motor 60, the pair of support plates 61, the coupling shaft 62, the swing arm 63, and each drive gear are directly or indirectly provided on the pair of support plates 61. Accordingly, the pressing unit 6 is provided to be attached to and detached from the base plate 3p. Therefore, when a button product 200 having a different diameter is to be manufactured, a pressing head 66 having a different size is required to press a connected portion Wb of the print medium W having a different diameter against the lower die 30, and thus the pressing unit 6 can be replaced in such a case.
The support block 64 is connected to a tip end of the swing arm 63. The support block 64 is configured to support the pressing head 66. In a case where the pressing motor 60 is rotationally driven to rotate the drive gear Ga5, the swing arm 63 rotates in a rotation direction Dr1 illustrated in FIG. 12. Specifically, for example, when the drive gear Ga5 rotates forward, the swing arm 63 rotates from the standby position Psa (FIG. 12) which is a position where the pressing head 66 stands by to the pressing position Psb (FIG. 13) which is a position where the connected portion Wb is pressed by the pressing head 66. On the other hand, for example, when the drive gear Ga5 reversely rotates, the swing arm 63 rotates from the pressing position Psb to the standby position Psa.
The remaining portion pressing head 65 includes a support shaft 65a, a head main body portion 65b, and a spring 65c. A base end of the support shaft 65a is connected to the spring 65c. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the support shaft 65a extends along the conveying direction Dc2 when the pressing head 66 is at the pressing position Psb. The head main body portion 65b is connected to a tip end of the support shaft 65a. The head main body portion 65b is located on a downstream side of the pressing head 66 in the conveying direction Dc2 when the pressing head 66 is at the pressing position Psb. When the head main body portion 65b of the pressing head 66 is at the pressing position Psb, the spring 65c biases the head main body portion 65b in a direction of pressing the remaining portion Wa of the print medium W sandwiched between the lower plate Mp1 and the upper plate Mp2. Accordingly, the head main body portion 65b presses the remaining portion Wa toward a rear end central portion 121a of the lower plate main body portion 121.
In the second cutting process, the pressing head 66 of the pressing unit 6 is configured to press the pressing head 66 to a lower position closer to an inner bottom surface 30a2 than a placement surface 30b5 (to be described later) of the lower die 30. A pressing head 66 includes pressing ends 66a, 66b, 66c, and 66d, the first pressing portion 66e, and the second pressing portion 66f that press the connected portion Wb of the print medium W against the lower die 30. The pressing ends 66a, 66b, 66c, and 66d, the first pressing portion 66e, and the second pressing portion 66f face the connected portion Wb of the print medium W when the pressing head 66 is at the pressing position Psb. The pressing end 66a and the pressing end 66b are located to the left and right in the left-right direction Dy when the pressing head 66 is at the pressing position Psb. The pressing end 66c and the pressing end 66d are located forward and rearward in the front-rear direction Dx when the pressing head 66 is at the pressing position Psb. The first pressing portion 66e is located between the pressing end 66a and the pressing end 66c. The first pressing portion 66e presses a first position Pw1 of the connected portion Wb when the pressing head 66 is at the pressing position Psb. The second pressing portion 66f is located between the pressing end 66b and the pressing end 66c. The second pressing portion 66f presses a second position Pw2 of the connected portion Wb when the pressing head 66 is at the pressing position Psb. Of portions of the pressing head 66 facing the connected portion Wb when the pressing head 66 is at the pressing position Psb, a portion excluding the above pressing ends 66a, 66b, 66c, and 66d, the first pressing portion 66e, and the second pressing portion 66f form a spherical shape recessed upward. Accordingly, the above portion can have a shape along a surface shape of the front member SE.
The first pressing portion 66e is formed to be located downward with respect to the second pressing portion 66f when the pressing head 66 is at the pressing position Psb. Accordingly, when the swing arm 63 rotates and the pressing head 66 is disposed at the pressing position Psb in the second cutting process, the control device 110 causes the first pressing portion 66e to press the first position Pw1 of the connected portion Wb prior to the second pressing portion 66f. That is, in the second cutting process, the control device 110 causes the first pressing portion 66e to press the first position Pw1 of the connected portion Wb, and causes the second pressing portion 66f to press the second position Pw2 of the connected portion Wb after causing the first pressing portion 66e to press the first position Pw1 of the connected portion Wb. After the print medium W is conveyed onto the front member SE supported by the lower die 30, by the above second cutting process, the pressing head 66 presses the connected portion Wb of the print medium W against the lower die 30, and cuts at least the first coupling portion Wc1 and the second coupling portion Wc2 among the first coupling portion Wc1, the second coupling portion Wc2, and the third coupling portion Wc3 of the print medium W. Therefore, the coupling portion Wc of the print medium W has a first portion (that is, the first coupling portion Wc1 and the second coupling portion Wc2) that is cut by the second cutting process, and a second portion (that is, the third coupling portion Wc3) that is at least not completely cut by the second cutting process. Therefore, after the second cutting process, the control device 110 performs the following second separation process of cutting the entire third coupling portion Wc3 among the coupling portion Wc to separate the remaining portion Wa from the connected portion Wb. After the first cutting process, a first separation process of cutting the entire third coupling portion Fc3 among the coupling portion Fc to separate the remaining portion Fa from the connected portion Fb is basically the same as the second separation process. Therefore, the second separation process will be described below as a representative example.
The pressing unit 6 further includes a cutting unit 67. The cutting unit 67 is provided at the pressing end 66d. The cutting unit 67 has a triangular shape. When the first pressing portion 66e is pressed against the first position Pw1 and the second pressing portion 66f is pressed against the second position Pw2, the cutting unit 67 is located on a downstream side in the conveying direction Dc2 of the downstream side end portion of the linear weak portion Wd of the print medium W in the conveying direction Dc2. When the first pressing portion 66e is pressed against the first position Pw1 and the second pressing portion 66f is pressed against the second position Pw2, the cutting unit 67 is located such that a vertex of a triangular shape is located on an upstream side in the conveying direction Dc2.
In the second separation process, the control device 110 causes the conveying unit 2 to convey the print medium W in the conveying direction Dc2, which is a direction opposite to the conveying direction Dc1, in a state where the connected portion Wb is pressed by the first pressing portion 66e and the second pressing portion 66f as described above. Accordingly, by cutting the entire third coupling portion Wc3, the remaining portion Wa is separated from the connected portion Wb. In this case, in a state where the remaining portion Wa is pressed against the lower plate main body 121 by the head main body portion 65b, the linear weak portion Wd is cut by the cutting unit 67 with a downstream end portion of the linear weak portion Wd in the conveying direction Dc2 as a starting point. Thereafter, the remaining portion Wa of the print medium W is conveyed to the collection box 8 by the conveying unit 2. That is, the remaining portion Wa of the print medium W is in a state of surrounding the pressing head 66 only by being separated from the connected portion Wb, and is caught by the pressing head 66 when being conveyed in the conveying direction Dc2 as it is. However, since the remaining portion Wa of the print medium W has the linear weak portion Wd and the linear weak portion Wd is cut, the remaining portion Wa is divided into a right end and a left end with the linear weak portion Wd as a boundary. The remaining portion Wa of the print medium W passes through the pressing head 66 while being divided into the right end and the left end with the linear weak portion Wd as a boundary. Therefore, the remaining portion Wa of the print medium W is conveyed to the collection box 8 without being caught by the pressing head 66.

(Die Set)

Next, the die set 3 will be described. FIG. 14A is a perspective view of the die set 3, and FIG. 14B is a perspective view of the die set 3 viewed from a direction different from that in FIG. 14A.
As illustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the die set 3 includes the lower die 30, the lower die 31, the upper die 33, a first support portion 32, a second support portion 176, the lower die moving motor 140, and a moving mechanism 175. The moving mechanism 175 moves the upper die 33 in a direction approaching and a direction separating from the lower dies 30 and 31. The moving mechanism 175 includes the upper die lifting motor 34, a first gear 35, a second gear 36, a pair of rotation cams 37, and a support plate 38. The upper die lifting motor 34 is configured to drive the moving mechanism 175 and corresponds to a motor. The die set 3 connects the front member SE and the back member BE, and, for example, performs caulking of the front member SE and the back member BE. In this case, the die set 3 connects the front member SE and the back member BE by relatively moving the upper die 33 to approach the lower dies 30 and 31.
The lower die 30 and the lower die 31 are formed in a circular shape in a plan view. The lower die 30 supports the front member SE. The lower die 31 supports the back member BE. The lower die 30 and the lower die 31 are disposed to face each other with a center of the first support portion 32 as a reference, and are each supported by the first support portion 32 via a spring 30s. The lower dies 30 and 31 are connected to the first support portion 32 by a fastening member. The lower dies 30 and 31 are attachable to and detachable from the first support portion 32. The first support portion 32 is connected to the base plate 3p so as to be rotatable about the up-down direction Dz. The upper die 33 holds the front member SE on the lower die 30 upward. The upper die 33 is supported by the second support portion 176. The second support portion 176 is connected to a plate member 38a to be described later. The upper die 33 is connected to the second support portion 176 by a fastening member. The upper die 33 is attachable to and detachable from the second support portion 176. Therefore, when a button product 200 having a different diameter is to be manufactured, the front member SE and the back member BE having different diameters are required, and thus the lower dies 30 and 31 and the upper die 33 can be replaced in such a case.
In an initial stage, the lower die 30 is disposed frontward of the lower die 31. The first support portion 32 has a substantially circular shape in a plan view. A gear 32a is provided on a side peripheral surface of the first support portion 32 parallel to an axial direction. The lower die moving motor 140 is provided on a lateral side of the first support portion 32. A gear 131 is connected to a rotary shaft of the lower die moving motor 140. The gear 131 meshes with the gear 32a of the first support portion 32. Accordingly, when the lower die moving motor 140 is rotationally driven, a drive force thereof is transmitted to the first support portion 32 via the gears 131 and 32a. Accordingly, the first support portion 32 rotates around the up-down direction Dz. By rotating the first support portion 32, either the lower die 30 or the lower die 31 can be located at a position (hereinafter, referred to as a second die position) facing the upper die 33 in the up-down direction Dz. A position facing the second die position in the front-rear direction Dx is referred to as a first die position. The first die position is a position sandwiched between the front member slope 43 of the front member feed unit 4 and the back member slope 53 of the back member feed unit 5. In a case where the lower die 30 is at the first die position, the lower die 30 receives the front member SE from the front member feed unit 4. On the other hand, in a case where the lower die 31 is at the first die position, the lower die 31 receives the back member BE from the back member feed unit 5.
The support plate 38 is erected on the lateral side of the first support portion 32. The upper die lifting motor 34 is disposed on the support plate 38. A third gear (not illustrated) is connected to a rotary shaft of the upper die lifting motor 34. The third gear meshes with the first gear 35. The first gear 35 is provided with a fourth gear (not illustrated) coaxially with the first gear 35. The fourth gear meshes with the second gear 36. The pair of rotary cams 37 are connected to the second gear 36.
The support plate 38 is provided with a plate member 38a extending in the front-rear direction Dx toward above the lower die 31. The upper die 33 is located below the plate member 38a. The upper die 33 includes an inner die 33a and an annular outer die 33b provided below the inner die 33a coaxially with the inner die 33a and having an inner diameter larger than an outer diameter of the inner die 33a. The inner die 33a is provided with a pair of pressed members 33c provided below the plate member 38a and extending in the left-right direction Dy. One rotary cam 37a of the pair of rotary cams 37 presses one of the pressed members 33c downward, and the other rotary cam 37b of the pair of rotary cams 37 presses the other pressed member 33c downward. In such a configuration, in a case where the upper die lifting motor 34 is rotationally driven, a drive force thereof is transmitted to the second gear 36 via the third gear, the first gear 35, and the fourth gear. Accordingly, the second gear 36 rotates in a rotation direction Dr2, and the pair of rotary cams 37 also rotate in the rotation direction Dr2 accordingly. In this case, the rotary cam 37a pushes down one of the pressed members 33c, and the rotary cam 37b pushes down the other pressed member 33c, so that the inner die 33a can be slid with respect to the outer die 33b and lowered to the lower die 30 or the lower die 31. The upper die 33 can be raised above the lower dies 30 and 31 by reversely rotating the upper die lifting motor 34.

(Button Product)

FIG. 15A illustrates perspective views of the front member SE and the back member BE, and FIG. 15B is a cross-sectional view of the button product 200 manufactured by connecting the front member SE and the back member BE illustrated in FIG. 15A.
The front member SE and the back member BE each have a circular shape in a plan view. As illustrated in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the front member SE is a member in which a peripheral edge portion SEa protrudes downward, and the back member BE is a member in which a peripheral edge portion BEa protrudes upward. The button product 200 is formed by caulking the front member SE separated and held by the upper die 33, the connected portion Wb of the print medium W, and the back member BE. The button product 200 is, for example, a button badge. In a state where a peripheral edge portion Fg of the connected portion Fb and a peripheral edge portion Wg of the connected portion Wb that are disposed on the front member SE are bent and sandwiched between the peripheral edge portion SEa and the peripheral edge portion BEa, the peripheral edge portion SEa and the peripheral edge portion BEa are caulked. The maximum diameter of the button product 200 is, for example, 57 mm, and the minimum diameter of the button product 200 is, for example, 32 mm.

(Flow of Overall Process)

Next, a flow of a process in the button product manufacturing device 100 will be described. FIGS. 16 and 17 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of the process by the button product manufacturing device 100.
As illustrated in FIG. 16, first, the control device 110 determines whether there is an instruction to manufacture a button product from the user (step S1). When there is no instruction to manufacture a button product (No in step S1), the control device 110 waits as it is.
When there is an instruction to manufacture a button product (Yes in step S1), the control device 110 causes the front member feed unit 4 to feed the front member SE to the lower die 30 (step S2). Next, the control device 110 causes the conveying unit 2 to convey the white film F onto the front member SE (step S3).
Next, the control device 110 causes the pressing unit 6 to cut the coupling portion Fc of the white film F (step S4). Then, the control device 110 causes the conveying unit 2 to separate the remaining portion Fa of the white film F from the connected portion Fb and to convey the separated remaining portion Fa to the collection box 8 (step S5).
Subsequently, the control device 110 causes the conveying unit 2 to convey the print medium W printed by the printing unit 1 onto the connected portion Fc of the white film F (step S6). Next, the control device 110 causes the pressing unit 6 to cut the coupling portion Wc of the print medium W (step S7). Then, the control device 110 causes the conveying unit 2 to separate the remaining portion Wa of the print medium W from the connected portion Wb and to convey the separated remaining portion Wa to the collection box 8 (step S8).
Next, the control device 110 causes the first support portion 32 to move the lower die 30 from the first die position to the second die position such that the lower die 30 is located below the upper die 33 in the die set 3, and then causes the upper die 33 to hold the front member SE and the connected portions Wb and Fb that are held by the lower die 30 (step S9). In this case, the control device 110 detects, by an encoder (not illustrated), a rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34 when the front member SE is held by the upper die 33, and calculates a torque acting on the upper die 33 based on the rotation speed of the motor (step S10). In this case, a torque of the upper die lifting motor 34 calculated based on the rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34 can be regarded as the torque acting on the upper die 33.
The control device 110 determines whether the calculated torque is increased or reduced with respect to an initial torque (step S11). The initial torque is a torque before starting manufacturing of the button product 200, that is, a torque acting on the upper die 33 when the upper die 33 holds the front member SE as described above before the upper die 33 and the lower dies 30 and 31 are replaced. When the torque is increased or reduced with respect to the initial torque (Yes in step S11), the control device 110 causes the display unit NT to display that the upper die 33 is replaced, and increases or reduces a current command value for the upper die lifting motor 34 such that the current command value becomes a current command value corresponding to the calculated torque (step S12). Accordingly, the rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34 can be increased or reduced.
After the process of step S12 and when the torque is not increased or reduced with respect to the initial torque (No in step S11), the control device 110 causes the back member feed unit 5 to feed the back member BE to the lower die 31 moved to the first die position along with movement of the lower die 30 (step S13 in FIG. 17).
Subsequently, the control device 110 causes the first support portion 32 to move the lower die 31 from the first die position to the second die position such that the lower die 31 is located below the upper die 33 holding the front member SE and the connected portions Wb and Fb, and then causes the upper die 33 to be lowered and performs a caulking process (step S14). In this case, the control device 110 detects a rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34 at the time of caulking the front member SE and the back member BE by the encoder, and calculates a torque acting on the upper die 33 at the time of caulking the front member SE and the back member BE based on the calculated rotation speed (step S15). In this way, the torque required for the upper die 33 at the time of caulking the front member SE and the back member BE is automatically calculated.
The control device 110 determines whether the calculated torque is increased or reduced with respect to a reference torque (step S16). The reference torque is a torque before start manufacturing of the button product 200, that is, a torque acting on the upper die 33 at the time of caulking before the upper die 33 and the lower dies 30 and 31 are replaced. In a case where the torque is increased or reduced with respect to the reference torque (Yes in step S16), the control device 110 causes the display unit NT to display that the lower die 31 (and the lower die 30) is replaced, and increases or reduces a current command value for the upper die lifting motor 34 such that the current command value becomes a current command value corresponding to the calculated torque (step S17). In this case, when the calculated torque exceeds the reference torque, the control device 110 increases the current command value for the upper die lifting motor 34 to increase the rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34, and when the torque is less than the reference torque, the control device 110 reduces the current command value for the upper die lifting motor 34 to reduce the rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34.
Subsequently, the control device 110 causes the display unit NT to display the diameter of the button product 200 (step S18). In this case, information on a correspondence relation between the torque calculated by the control device 110 and the diameter of the button product 200 is stored in the storage unit 113 in advance, and the control device 110 causes the display unit NT to display the diameter of the button product 200 based on the information.
Thereafter, the control device 110 causes the first support portion 32 to move the lower die 31 from the second die position to the first die position such that the lower die 31 holding the button product 200 is located at the first die position, and then causes the take-out unit 7 to take out the button product 200 (step S19). Accordingly, the button product 200 is placed into the button product container 9. After the taking-out of the button product 200 by the take-out unit 7 is finished, the control device 110 causes the first support portion 32 to move the lower die 30 at the second die position to the first die position. An order of the process of step S18 and the process of step S19 may be reversed.
Thereafter, the control device 110 determines whether a predetermined number of button products 200 is manufactured (step S20). When the predetermined number of button products 200 is not manufactured (No in step S20), the control device 110 returns to the process of step S2 and repeats the subsequent processes. On the other hand, when the predetermined number of button products 200 is manufactured (Yes in step S20), the control device 110 ends the button product manufacturing process.

(Inspection Process)

The control device 110 may perform an inspection process before manufacturing the button product 200. In this case, the control device 110 performs a pulse width modulation (PWM) control on the upper die lifting motor 34. FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of the inspection process.
As illustrated in FIG. 18, in a state where the upper die 33 does not hold the front member SE and the lower die 31 does not support the back member BE, the control device 110 detects, by the encoder, the rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34 when the upper die 33 is moved to approach the lower die 31 by the moving mechanism 175 based on a predetermined PWM value (step S31). The control device 110 determines a PWM value corresponding to the lower die 31 and the upper die 33 based on the rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34, and determines a torque to be applied to the upper die 33 at the time of caulking the front member SE and the back member BE based on the determined PWM value (step S32). For example, the control device 110 temporarily stores the determined PWM value in the storage unit 113. A correction value for correcting the determined PWM value and a table indicating a relation between the corrected PWM value and the torque are stored in the storage unit 113 in advance. The control device 110 may read the correction value from the storage unit 113, correct the determined PWM value using the correction value, and determine the torque to be applied to the upper die 33 at the time of caulking the front member SE and the back member BE based on the corrected PWM value. Specifically, the control device 110 reads the torque corresponding to the corrected PWM value using the table, and stores the torque in a predetermined region of the storage unit 113.
The control device 110 determines whether the determined torque exceeds a reference torque (step S33). When the torque exceeds the reference torque (Yes in step S33), the control device 110 increases a duty of a pulse waveform to increase the current command value for the upper die lifting motor 34, thereby increasing the rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34 (step S34). On the other hand, when the torque does not exceed the reference torque (No in step S33), the control device 110 then determines whether the torque is less than the reference torque (step S35). When the torque is less than the reference torque (Yes in step S35), the control device 110 reduces a duty of a pulse waveform to reduce the current command value for the upper die lifting motor 34, thereby reducing the rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34 (step S36). On the other hand, when the torque is not less than the reference torque, that is, when the torque is equal to the reference torque (No in step S35), the control device 110 determines that the lower dies 30 and 31 and the upper die 33 are not replaced, maintains the current command value for the upper die lifting motor 34 without changing, and ends the inspection process.
As described above, according to the button product manufacturing device 100 of the present embodiment, since the lower dies 30 and 31 are attachable to and detachable from the first support portion 32 and the upper die 33 is attachable to and detachable from the second support portion 176, the lower dies 30 and 31 and the upper die 33 can be replaced according to a size of the button product 200 to be manufactured. Accordingly, it is possible to manufacture button products 200 of a plurality of sizes.
In the present embodiment, the front member feed unit 4 and the back member feed unit 5 are each provided to be attachable to and detachable from the base plate 3p. When a button product 200 having a different diameter is to be manufactured, a front member stocker 40 having a different accommodation region of the front member SE and a back member stocker 50 having a different accommodation region of the back member BE are required, and thus the front member feed unit 4 and the back member feed unit 5 can be replaced in such a case.
In the present embodiment, the pressing unit 6 is provided to be attachable to and detachable from the base plate 3p. When a button product 200 having a different diameter is to be manufactured, a pressing head 66 having a different size is required to press a connected portion Wb of a print medium W having a different diameter against the lower die 30, and thus the pressing unit 6 can be replaced in such a case.
In the present embodiment, the inspection process may be performed before manufacturing the button product 200. In this case, the control device 110 determines the PWM value corresponding to the lower die 31 and the upper die 33 based on the rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34 in the inspection process, and determines the torque to be applied to the upper die 33 at the time of caulking based on the determined PWM value. Accordingly, the torque acting on the upper die 33 when the button product 200 is manufactured can be set to an appropriate torque.
In the present embodiment, the control device 110 may increase or reduce the current command value for the upper die lifting motor 34 such that the current command value becomes a current command value corresponds to the torque acting on the upper die 33 calculated based on the rotation speed of the upper die lifting motor 34 at the time of caulking. In this case, the torque acting on the upper die 33 used at the time of manufacturing the button product 200 can be set to an appropriate torque at the time of manufacturing the button product 200 without performing the inspection process described above.
In the present embodiment, the number of the second coupling portions Wd3 is constant regardless of the diameter of the front member SE, and the number of the first coupling portions Wc is increased or reduced according to the diameter of the front member SE. In this case, it is not necessary to change the number of the second coupling portions Wd3 according to the diameter of the front member SE, which is efficient in design. In addition, by increasing or reducing the number of the first coupling portions Wc according to the diameter of the front member SE, it is possible to appropriately perform the cutting process between the connected portion Wb and the remaining portion Wa and to appropriately perform the separation process of separating the remaining portion Wa from the connected portion Wb.
In the present embodiment, the display unit NT displays that the lower dies 30 and 31 and the upper die 33 are replaced. Accordingly, the user can easily recognize that the button product 200 is manufactured by the lower dies 30 and 31 and the upper die 33 after the replacement.
Further, in the present embodiment, the type of the button product 200 to be manufactured is displayed on the display unit NT. Accordingly, the user can easily recognize the type of the button product 200 to be manufactured.

(Modifications)

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the present invention is modified as follows.
In the above embodiment, the lower dies 30 and 31 and the upper die 33 in the die set 3, the front member feed unit 4, the back member feed unit 5, and the pressing unit 6 are detachable, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Any component of the printing unit 1, the conveying unit 2, the take-out unit 7, the collection box 8, and the button product container 9 may be configured to be detachable.
In the above embodiment, the front member SE and the back member BE each have a circular shape in a plan view, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the front member SE and the back member BE may each have another shape such as an elliptical shape.
In the above embodiment, the connected portion Wb has a circular shape in a plan view, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the connected portion Wb may have another shape such as an elliptical shape.
In the above embodiment, the respective coupling portions Wc1 and the respective coupling portions Wc2 are disposed at equal intervals, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the respective coupling portions Wc1 and the respective coupling portions Wc2 may be disposed at unequal intervals. In addition, the respective coupling portions Wc3 are disposed at unequal intervals, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the respective coupling portions Wc3 may be disposed at equal intervals.
In the above embodiment, the first pressing portion 66e, the second pressing portion 66f, and the cutting unit 67 are integrally connected to each other, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The first pressing portion 66e, the second pressing portion 66f, and the cutting unit 67 may be implemented separately and independently.
Further, in the above embodiment, each of the lower die 30 and the lower die 31 is displaced between the first die position and the second die position by rotating the first support portion 32. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. It is also possible to adopt a slide mechanism that displaces each of the lower die 30 and the lower die 31 between the first die position and the second die position, for example, in a sliding manner.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1: printing unit
2: conveying unit
3: die set
3p: base plate
4: front member feed unit
5: back member feed unit
6: pressing unit
30, 31: lower die
32: first support portion
33: upper die
34: upper die lifting motor
100: button product manufacturing device
110: control device
160, 161: support portion
175: moving mechanism
176: second support portion
200: button product
BE: back member
Dc1: conveying direction
NT: display unit
SE: front member
W: print medium
Wa: remaining portion
Wb: connected portion
Wc: first coupling portion
Wd: linear weak portion
Wd3: second coupling portion
Wd4: second cutting portion
We1: one end
Wf: first cutting portion

Claims

A button product manufacturing device that manufactures a button product by connecting a front member and a back member, the button product manufacturing device comprising:
a printing unit configured to perform printing on a print medium;

a conveying unit configured to convey, in a conveying direction, the print medium from the printing unit onto the front member; and

a die set including a lower die configured to support the back member, an upper die configured to hold the front member, a first support portion configured to support the lower die, and a second support portion configured to support the upper die, the die set being configured to relatively move the upper die to approach the lower die to connect the front member and the back member,

wherein the lower die is configured to be attached to and detached from the first support portion, and the upper die is configured to be attached to and detached from the second support portion.
The button product manufacturing device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a front member feed unit configured to feed the front member to the lower die,

a back member feed unit configured to feed the back member to the lower die, and

a base portion configured to support the front member feed unit and the back member feed unit,

wherein the front member feed unit and the back member feed unit are configured to be attached to and detached from the base portion.
The button product manufacturing device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a pressing unit configured to press the print medium against the lower die; and

a base portion configured to support the pressing unit,

wherein the print medium includes:
a sheet-shaped connected portion to be connected to the front member and the back member;

a sheet-shaped remaining portion different from the connected portion; and

a coupling portion that couples the connected portion and the remaining portion, and

the pressing unit is configured to be attached to and detached from the base portion, the pressing unit being configured to press, after the print medium is conveyed onto the front member, at least the connected portion of the print medium against the lower die to cut at least a part of the coupling portion.
The button product manufacturing device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a moving mechanism configured to move the upper die in a direction approaching the lower die and in a direction away from the lower die;

a motor configured to drive the moving mechanism; and

a control device,

wherein the control device is configured to perform an inspection process, before the button product is manufactured, and

the inspection process includes:
a process of detecting a rotation speed of the motor in a case where the upper die is moved by the moving mechanism to approach the lower die based on a predetermined PWM value in a state where the upper die does not hold the front member and the lower die does not support the back member;

a process of determining a PWM value according to the lower die and the upper die, based on the rotation speed; and

a process of determining a torque to be applied to the upper die in a case where the front member and the back member are connected, based on the determined PWM value.
The button product manufacturing device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a moving mechanism configured to move the upper die in a direction approaching the lower die and in a direction away from the lower die;

a motor configured to drive the moving mechanism; and

a control device,

wherein the control device is configured to perform:
a process of detecting a rotation speed of the motor in a case where the front member and the back member are connected to each other;

a process of calculating a torque acting on the upper die in a case where the front member and the back member are connected to each other, based on the rotation speed; and

in a case where the calculated torque exceeds a reference torque before starting manufacturing of the button product, a process of increasing the rotation speed of the motor.
The button product manufacturing device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a moving mechanism configured to move the upper die in a direction approaching the lower die and in a direction away from the lower die;

a motor configured to drive the moving mechanism; and

a control device,

wherein the control device is configured to perform:
a process of detecting a rotation speed of the motor in a case where the front member and the back member are connected to each other;

a process of calculating a torque acting on the upper die in a case where the front member and the back member are connected to each other, based on the rotation speed; and

in a case where the calculated torque is less than a reference torque before starting manufacturing of the button product, a process of reducing the rotation speed of the motor.
The button product manufacturing device according to claim 1,
wherein the front member and the back member each have a circular shape in a plan view,

the print medium includes:
a sheet-shaped connected portion to be connected to the front member;

a sheet-shaped remaining portion that is disposed to surround the connected portion;

a plurality of first coupling portions that couple the connected portion and the remaining portion;

a plurality of first cutting portions between the adjacent first coupling portions; and

a linear weak portion extending from one end of the remaining portion in the conveying direction to the connected portion, the linear weak portion including a plurality of second coupling portions that couple the remaining portions and a plurality of second cutting portions obtained by cutting the remaining portions,

the number of the second coupling portions is constant regardless of a diameter of the front member, and

the number of the first coupling portions is increased or reduced according to the diameter of the front member.
The button product manufacturing device according to claim 1, further comprising
a notification unit configured to notify that the lower die and the upper die are replaced.
The button product manufacturing device according to claim 8,
wherein the notification unit is configured to notify a type of the button product to be manufactured.
An inspection method to be performed before a button product is manufactured by connecting a front member and a back member by relatively moving an upper die to approach a lower die by a moving mechanism, the upper die being configured to hold the front member, the lower die being configured to support the back member, the inspection method comprising:
detecting a rotation speed of a motor in a case where the upper die is moved by the moving mechanism to approach the lower die based on a predetermined PWM value in a state where the upper die does not hold the front member and the lower die does not support the back member, the motor being configured to drive the moving mechanism;

determining a PWM value according to the lower die and the upper die, based on the rotation speed; and

determining a torque to be applied to the upper die in a case where the front member and the back member are connected, based on the determined PWM value.
An inspection program to be executed by a computer of a button product manufacturing device before a button product is manufactured, the button product manufacturing device being configured to manufacture a button product by connecting a front member and a back member by relatively moving an upper die to approach a lower die by a moving mechanism, an upper die being configured to hold the front member, the lower die being configured to support the back member,
wherein the inspection program is configured to cause the computer to function as:
a detection unit configured to detect a rotation speed of a motor in a case where the upper die is moved by the moving mechanism to approach the lower die based on a predetermined PWM value in a state where the upper die does not hold the front member and the lower die does not support the back member, the motor being configured to drive the moving mechanism;

a first determination unit configured to determine a PWM value according to the lower die and the upper die, based on the rotation speed; and

a second determination unit configured to determine a torque to be applied to the upper die in a case where the front member and the back member are connected, based on the determined PWM value.