GB1583136A - Apparatus for cutting sheet material - Google Patents

Description

(54) APPARATUS FOR CUTTING SHEET MATERIAL (71) We, ETABLISSEMENTS TIFLEX, a societe anonyme organised under the laws of France, of 10, Route de Geneve, Poncin (Ain), France, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to an apparatus for cutting sheet material.

The apparatus can be used for cutting cardboard stencils adapted to replicate a phrase, pattern or other text of alphanumerical indicia upon a surface by applying ink to the stencil and thereby printing through openings cut in the cardboard.

For the reproduction of alphanumerical indicia, patterns and the like, it is common practice to employ cardboard or paper stencils which have previously been formed with openings of the desired pattern and through which ink is robbed, wiped or sprayed to apply a pattern corresponding to that of the openings to a surface. Such stencils are used to a considerable extent in shipping departments or the like where a particular alphanumerical text -must be applied to packing cases or the like in quantity.

The preparation of such stencils has heretofore been carried out in various ways, for example, a metal master -having a single letter or .in the form -of a frame provided with a number of alphanumerical patterns can be applied to a paper layer and openings can be cut in the latter -using a stylus or blade. Various machines have also been provided for this purpose, although most of them have been relatively complex, difficult to set up and inconvenient to use. For example, it is frequently required to make cutting dies :in a reverse or:mirror-image pattern so that the stencil will 'have the desired orientation when cut.

An object of the invention to provide an apparatus which can be of relatively simple construction for the cutting sheet material to-provide a pattern, ålphanumerical indicia or:phase:defined iby:cat sheet material, may be rapid in use and can be used in a manner which obviates or at least mitigates disadvantages of earlier systems for the preparation of cardboard stencils.

According to the invention there is provided an apparatus for cutting sheet material to provide a pattern, alphanumerical indicia or phase defined by cut sheet material comprising a press having -at least first and second superposed rollers separated by a gap, a plate mounted on slide means for movement of the plate through the press between 'the said rollers, cutting dies with upwardly facing cutting edges being mounted on the plate to compose -a desired text to be cut and being movable with the plate between the rollers to cut, when the apparatus is in use, sheet material disposed above the dies and pressed against the cutting edges by roller pressure, and means to rotate at least one of the rollers arranged to move the plate between said rollers in response to said rotation.

Upon composition of the desired text by appropriate assembly of the cutting dies, cutting of the text in sheet material can be effected in a single operation. It suffices to position.cuttable sheet material upon the plate, i.e. above the array of dies, and to cover this layer of sheet material with a yieldable web or blanket. The assembly of plate, dies, sheet material and blanket is thus passed between the rollers which press the blanket and sheet material against the cutting edges of the dies, thereby cutting the sheet material in accordance with the pattern defined by the dies disposed on the plate.

In one embodiment of the invention, the upper first roller is a pressure roller and the lower second roller is a support roller, and two further supporting rollers are mounted substantially parållèl to the said second roller one on each side thereof said second roller engages the plate. The plate is ,provided with entrainment rails parallel with said Slide means, and said entrainment rails are.pressed between the first and second rollers. - The plate can be magnetic and.there are magnetic alignment rules and magnetic wedges mountable on the plate for holding the cutting dies in position.

The invention will now be further described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. lis a perspective view, partly broken away, of an apparatus formed according to the invention which can be used for cutting stencils Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic side view, partly in section, of a fragment of the apparatus in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken along the line III--III of Fig. 2.

As will be apparent from Fig. 1, the cutting apparatus comprises a press 1 which can be mounted on a work-table 2 by legs 4 which support the press via a pair of slides or guide rails which are horizontally spaced apart and are parallel to one another, lying in a horizontal plane.

The guide rails 3 slidably carry a horizontal composition setting tray or plate 5 whose two longitudinal edges parallel to the rails 3 are, in turn, formed with entrainment rails 6 which are shown in section in Fig. 3.

The plate 5 is provided with cutting dies 7 having the desired characters adapted to form corresponding openings in a stencil, these characters being outlined by upstanding cutting edges. The rows of dies are maintained in place between longitudinal alignment rules 8 which are magnetic and hence adhere by magnetic force to the ferromagnetic plate 5.

At their ends, each row of dies 7 is fixed by so-called blocking wedges which are also magnetic. The blocking wedges are represented at 9.

The composition of the stencil text using the rectangular dies is facilitated by lines traced on the plate 5 parallel to its longitudinal and transverse edges and forming a grid pattern as will be apparent from Fig. 1.

This ensures that the text of the stencil will be parallel to the longitudinal edges of the sheet material in which the text is to be formed.

In operation, the dies 7 are first covered by a cuttable stencil sheet 10, for example, cardboard of desired size and configuration and the latter is covered, in turn, by a yieldable blanket, e.g. of paper 11. The cardboard sheet 10 and the blanket 11 are so disposed that they do not cover the entrainment rails 6 of the plate 5.

The' assembly formed by the plate 5, the dies or matrices 7, the cardboard sheet 10 and the blanket 11 is passed through the press 1, between an upper pressing roller 12 and a lower supporting roller 13, separated by the gap whose width is determined by the height of the entrainment rails 6 and which corresponds substantially to the thickness of the dies 7 and part of the thickness of the blanket 11.

Two supporting rollers 14, parallel to the supporting roller 13, flank the latter and engage the underside of plate 5 as shown in Fig. 2.

Details of the construction of press 1 can be seen from Fig. 3.

A pair of lateral side plates for upright supports 15, mounted on rubber feet 16 by screws 17, are thereby supported on the table 2. Between the two supports 15, there is mounted a horizontal shaft 18 anchored at its extremities by screws 19, the heads of which are covered by plugs 20 received in recesses of the lateral support plates 15.

The shaft 18 is fixed against rotation by a pair of radial screws 21 which act upon pins 22 which are pressed against slanks of the shaft 18.

The shaft 18 also carries, by means ofa pair of bearings 23, a freely rotatable drum constituting the upper roller 12. The support plates 15, constituted as cheek plates, also receive the bearings 24 which mount the lower roller 13 for rotations. The rollers 12 and 13 are thus rotatable about parallel horizontal axes lying in a common vertical plane perpendicular to the plane of the setting tray or plate 5.

The supporting roller 13 also serves as the entrainment roller for the plate 5. To this end, a first gear 25 is connected to the roller 13 by a pin 26 so as to rotatably entrain the roller 13. The gear 25 meshes with a pinion 27 mounted for rotation on a shaft 28 journaled in bearings 29 of a bearing housing 30 fixed to the right hand cheek plate 15.

A handwheel 31 is affixed at the right hand end of the shaft 28 (Fig. 3) and has a handle 32 projecting outwardly from the wheel for greater leverage. Upon rotation of the wheel 31, therefore, the gear 27 is rotated, thereby driving the gear 25 and the roller 13 to which the latter is affixed.

The cheek plates 15 also are provided with supports 33, one of which is visible in Fig. 1, which carry the guide rails 3 previously mentioned, the guide rails 3 being interrupted in the region of the rollers 12 and 13 of the press.

After composition of the desired text by means of the dies 7 upon the composition tray 5, and formation of the assembly 7, 10, 11 as described, the perforation of the cardboard sheet 10 is obtained by rotating the wheel 31, thereby entraining the supporting roller 13 and advancing the plate 5, whose entrainment rails 6 are pressed between the rollers 12 and 13, toward the rear (Fig. 1) as represented by arrow 34. The plate is guided during this movement between the rails 3.

The parts of the die 7 in relief, i.e. the cutting edges, thus pierce through the cardboard 10 and form a corresponding opening in the stencil sheet. If it is desired to cut a plurality of stencils which are identical, it is merely necessary to remove the previously cut stencil and the blanket, extract any portions cut out from the dies or matrices 7, place another cardboard sheet 10 upon the latter and a blanket 11 thereover, after the plate 5 has been withdrawn in the opposite direction, and repeat the process.

A particular advantage of the appratus is that because the cutting edges of the dies face upwards, the dies can be arranged in the form of the pattern or text being cut and not as its mirror image, and accordingly composition is facilitated.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS 1. An apparatus for cutting sheet material to provide a pattern, alphanumerical indicia or phrase defined by cut sheet material comprising a press having at least first and second superposed rollers separated by a gap, a plate mounted on slide means for movement of the plate through the press between the said rollers, cutting dies with upwardly facing cutting edges being mounted on the plate to compose a desired text to be cut and being movable with the plate between the rollers to cut, when the apparatus is in use, sheet material disposed above the dies and pressed against the cutting edges by roller pressure, and means to rotate at least one of the rollers arranged to move the plate between said rollers in response to said rotation.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the upper first roller is a pressure roller and the lower second roller is a support roller, and two further supporting rollers are mounted substantially parallel to the said second roller one on each side thereof.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which said second roller engages the plate.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the plate is provided with entrainment rails parallel with said slide means, and said entrainment rails are pressed between the first and second rollers.

5. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the plate is magnetic and there are magnetic alignment rules and magnetic wedges mountable on the plate for holding the cutting dies in position.

6. An apparatus for cutting sheet material to provide a pattern, alphanumerical indicia or phrase defined by cut sheet material, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (6)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. necessary to remove the previously cut stencil and the blanket, extract any portions cut out from the dies or matrices 7, place another cardboard sheet 10 upon the latter and a blanket 11 thereover, after the plate 5 has been withdrawn in the opposite direction, and repeat the process. A particular advantage of the appratus is that because the cutting edges of the dies face upwards, the dies can be arranged in the form of the pattern or text being cut and not as its mirror image, and accordingly composition is facilitated. WHAT WE CLAIM IS

1. An apparatus for cutting sheet material to provide a pattern, alphanumerical indicia or phrase defined by cut sheet material comprising a press having at least first and second superposed rollers separated by a gap, a plate mounted on slide means for movement of the plate through the press between the said rollers, cutting dies with upwardly facing cutting edges being mounted on the plate to compose a desired text to be cut and being movable with the plate between the rollers to cut, when the apparatus is in use, sheet material disposed above the dies and pressed against the cutting edges by roller pressure, and means to rotate at least one of the rollers arranged to move the plate between said rollers in response to said rotation.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the upper first roller is a pressure roller and the lower second roller is a support roller, and two further supporting rollers are mounted substantially parallel to the said second roller one on each side thereof.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which said second roller engages the plate.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the plate is provided with entrainment rails parallel with said slide means, and said entrainment rails are pressed between the first and second rollers.

5. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the plate is magnetic and there are magnetic alignment rules and magnetic wedges mountable on the plate for holding the cutting dies in position.

6. An apparatus for cutting sheet material to provide a pattern, alphanumerical indicia or phrase defined by cut sheet material, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.