JP5719603B2 - Sheet material cutting method and automatic cutting machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet material cutting method for cutting a sheet material such as a fabric placed on a table into parts having a predetermined pattern, and an automatic cutting machine employing the method.

  When finishing a fabric or fabric into a product such as clothing, it is necessary to cut each part such as a front body, a back body, and a sleeve from a sheet material such as a fabric. Usually, an automatic cutter is used to cut the sheet material placed on the table based on the shape data of each part output from the controller.

  On the other hand, when creating a garment or the like using a sheet material with a pattern, pattern matching is required in the process of sewing the parts together. If the patterns that characterize each part, such as the front and sleeves, do not match after sewing, the merchandise value as clothing decreases.

  However, it is difficult to perform the pattern matching operation only in the sewing process, and it is important to cut the pattern in consideration of the pattern alignment of each part in the cutting process.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, two methods are mainly employed as a pattern matching method for parts in an automatic cutting machine. The first method is, for example, the method described in Patent Document 1.

  In the first method, for example, when cutting a lattice-patterned fabric, a reference line representing a theoretical pattern and a pattern (shape) of the part to be cut are displayed on the screen of the display in advance, and the parts are arranged on the screen. And pattern matching. At this time, for each part, a reference mark for pattern matching is generated at a position overlapping the reference line.

  Next, the fabric pattern placed on the table is photographed with a camera and displayed on a display screen, and a reference mark is displayed on the screen. Positioning of each part is performed by moving the reference mark to a corresponding position on the pattern.

  Thereafter, the cutting data for each part is corrected based on the deviation data generated by the movement of the reference mark, and the theoretical pattern arrangement stored in the memory is adjusted to the arrangement of the pattern of the stretched sheet material. Thereafter, the sheet material is cut based on the corrected coordinate data.

  The second method is, for example, the method described in Patent Document 2. In the second method, an actual size pattern of a part to be cut using a projector is projected onto the sheet material placed on the table, and the operator visually matches the pattern of the sheet material with the projected part pattern. Thus, the coordinate data is corrected, and cutting is performed based on the obtained coordinate data.

Japanese Patent No. 2538514 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-279474

  The above-described two pattern matching methods are effective when the sheet material has no elongation or distortion. However, in many automatic cutting machines, a sheet material having a required length is pulled out from the sheet material wound in a roll shape and stretched on the table. At this time, the sheet material is stretched or distorted due to the winding state or the tension at the time of drawing.

  Parts obtained by cutting a sheet material that has been stretched or distorted have a shape different from the original cutting pattern when the elongation or distortion disappears due to the cutting. When sewing is performed using such parts, a pattern shift occurs between other parts. Moreover, since the size of the completed clothing is different from the planned size, the commercial value is significantly reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and provides a sheet material cutting method capable of cutting a part with a pattern corresponding to the elongation and distortion of the sheet material, and as a result, obtaining a part as the original pattern. The purpose is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, a sheet material cutting method according to the present invention is a method for cutting a patterned sheet material along a pattern of at least one part, and includes the following steps: .
Forming a theoretical pattern of a pattern corresponding to a feature point of the pattern of the sheet material on a virtual plane;
Displaying the theoretical pattern of the pattern on a display screen, arranging the pattern of the part on the pattern of the pattern, and setting a pattern matching point for each part;
Forming a reference pattern on the virtual plane based on the theoretical pattern of patterns;
The reference pattern is projected onto a sheet material placed on a table using a projector, and the position and shape of the reference pattern are moved and deformed in accordance with the shape of the handle of the sheet material. Accordingly, correcting the coordinate data of the reference pattern,
Primary correction of the pattern data of the part and the coordinate data of the pattern matching point corresponding to the coordinate data of the corrected reference pattern;
Photographing the sheet material placed on the table with a camera, and displaying an image of the obtained sheet material on the screen of the display;
Displaying the pattern and pattern matching point of the part that has been primarily corrected on the screen on which the image of the sheet material is displayed;
Moving the pattern matching point displayed on the screen of the display and superimposing it on the corresponding part of the pattern of the sheet material, and secondarily correcting the coordinate data of the pattern of the part;
Cutting the sheet material based on coordinate data of a pattern of the secondarily corrected part.

  Here, when the pattern of the sheet material has a lattice shape, it is preferable that the pattern matching point is set at an intersection of a vertical stripe and a horizontal stripe.

  When the pattern of the sheet material is striped, the pattern matching point is set on the stripe, and the pattern matching point is set at a position corresponding to the pattern of the sheet material displayed on the display screen. When overlapping, it is preferable to move the pattern matching point in a direction perpendicular to the stripe.

In addition, when the pattern of the sheet material is a lattice and the elongation or distortion in the direction orthogonal to the sheet material conveyance direction out of the elongation or distortion generated in the sheet material can be ignored, the coordinate data of the reference pattern is corrected. In doing so, only the data of the coordinate axes in the direction parallel to the conveying direction of the sheet material may be corrected.

The automatic cutting machine according to the present invention is an automatic cutting machine for cutting a patterned sheet material along a pattern of at least one part,
A cutting machine body having a table on which a patterned sheet material is placed on the upper surface;
A cutting unit for cutting the sheet material placed on the table along the pattern of the parts;
A cutting unit driving means for driving the cutting unit;
A data processing device for generating a driving signal for the cutting unit driving means;
An input means for an operator to input necessary data to the data processing device;
A display for displaying data processed by the data processing device on a screen;
A projector that projects an image created by the data processing device onto a sheet material placed on the table;
A camera for capturing image data by photographing the sheet material placed on the table,
The data processing apparatus executes the sheet material cutting method according to any one of the above.

  In the present invention, since the cutting data for each part after the reference pattern is deformed is corrected corresponding to the distortion of the sheet material, the pattern (shape) of the separated part is the original pattern without distortion. It becomes the shape and pattern corresponding to. When sewing is performed using the parts cut in this way, clothing having no pattern and dimensional deviation can be produced.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the automatic cutting machine which implements the cutting method of this invention. It is a figure explaining the processing step (first half) of the cutting method concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the process step (latter half) of the cutting method concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the automatic cutting machine of FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing specific processing steps (first half) of the cutting method according to the first exemplary embodiment; 3 is a flowchart showing specific processing steps (second half) of the cutting method according to the first exemplary embodiment; It is a figure explaining the process step of the cutting method concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a sheet material cutting method and an automatic cutting machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
<Configuration of automatic cutting machine>
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an automatic cutting machine that implements the cutting method of the present invention. The automatic cutting machine 1 includes a cutting machine body 3, a cutting unit 4, a cover sheet feeding device 5, a data processing device 6, a controller 7, a projector 8, a camera 9, and a cutting unit driving device 10.

  On the upper surface of the cutter body 3, a table 31 is placed on which the sheet material 2 with a pattern to be cut (shown with a part cut away in the figure) is placed. The table 31 is composed of a conveyor, and the sheet material 2 fed out from the unfolding device (not shown) is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by the conveyor and spread on the table 31. The surface of the table 31 is covered with a bristle brush 32 (only a part is shown) so that the table 31 is not cut during cutting.

  In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1, the sheet material placement surface of the table 31 is represented by XY coordinates, the direction parallel to the conveying direction A of the sheet material 2 is the X axis, and the direction orthogonal thereto is the Y axis. And The direction orthogonal to the plane defined by the XY coordinates is taken as the Z axis.

  The cutting unit 4 is configured to be movable in the X-axis direction by a pair of carriages 41, and an arm 42 is attached to the carriage 41 so as to straddle the table 31. A cutting head 43 that is movable in the Y-axis direction is attached to the arm 42, and a cutter 44 that cuts the sheet material 31 is attached to the lower portion of the cutting head 43. The cutter 44 is movable in the Z-axis direction, and moves downward when the sheet material 2 is cut.

  The carriage 41 is moved in the X-axis direction by a motor and an endless belt (not shown) housed in the cutting machine main body 3, and the cutting head 43 is a motor in the carriage 41 and a belt in the arm 42 (both are both). Move in the Y-axis direction. The cutter 44 is moved in the Z-axis direction by a motor (not shown) in the cutting head 43. Encoders are attached to the shafts of the respective motors, and the cutting unit driving device 10 accommodated in the cutting machine body 3 controls the respective motors based on the information on the number of rotations output from the encoders.

  The cutting head 43 moves the region indicated by B on the table 31 back and forth and left and right with the cutter 44 reciprocating up and down, and the sheet material 2 is formed into a designated pattern in accordance with a signal from the cutting unit driving device 10. Cut along. The cutter 44 may be a cutter that reciprocates a knife-like blade to cut a sheet material, or a cutter that rotates a disk-like blade to cut a sheet material.

  The covering sheet feeding device 5 covers the surface of the sheet material 2 with a transparent and non-breathable covering sheet 51 such as polyethylene (partially cut out in the drawing). The covering sheet 51 is used to prevent the position of the sheet material 2 from being shifted during cutting. The covering sheet 51 fed out from the roll sheet 52 is transported in the direction of arrow A together with the sheet material 2 by the conveyor of the table 31, and is spread between the stand 54 provided at the front end of the table 31 and the covering sheet feeding device 5. It is done.

  The covering sheet 51 is provided with a ventilation hole (not shown) formed on the surface of the table 31 by a suction device (not shown) built in the cutting machine body 3, and the front and rear ends of the cutting machine body 3. The sheet material 2 and the cutting machine main body 3 are pressed against the table 31 by being sucked through the air holes 33 formed on the upper surface of the sheet.

  The data processing device 6 creates and corrects various data for cutting the sheet material, generates display data for the display 71, generates projection data for the projector 8, and generates driving data for the cutting unit driving device 10. The sheet material cutting data created by the data processing device 6 is sent to the cutting unit driving device 10 to control the operation of the cutting unit 4. The data processing device 6 can be composed of a commercially available personal computer.

  Of the data input to the data processing device 6, the part pattern data is input via a network or an external memory such as a USB memory, and the correction data is input via the controller 7 or the mouse 69. Other data is input by the operator using the keyboard 70. The display 71 is used when determining the arrangement of the part pattern on the sheet material 2, and the theoretical pattern pattern of the sheet material and the part pattern (shape) are displayed on the screen of the display 71.

  The controller 7 has the same structure as a commercially available game controller and has the same function. The controller 7 employs a method of wirelessly transmitting data to the data processing device 6 so that the operator can operate while moving around the cutting table 31.

  The projector 8 projects an image created by the data processing device 6 onto the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31, projects a reference pattern to be described later onto the sheet material 2, and together with the controller 7, Used to correct cutting data. The projector 8 is installed at the upper end portion of the column 81 fixed to the cutter body 3, and various projection display devices can be used in addition to a commercially available liquid crystal projector or DLP projector.

  A camera 9 is attached to the side surface of the cutting head 43. The camera 9 captures the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31, and changes the positions of the carriage 41 and the cutting head 43 based on the control of the cutting unit driving device 10, thereby displaying a partial image of the sheet material 2. Can shoot.

  The captured image data is transferred to the data processing device 6 together with the position information of the camera 9 and displayed on the screen of the display 71. The position information of the camera 9 is acquired from an encoder attached to the shafts of the drive motors of the carriage 41 and the cutting head 43.

  Although not shown in the figure, a sheet spreading device is installed on the upstream side of the sheet material conveying method A, and the sheet material 2 wound in a roll shape is fed out and spread on the table 31. Similarly, a pickup table is installed on the downstream side of the sheet material conveying method A, and the cut sheet material 2 is carried out onto the table.

  In the present embodiment, a case where one sheet material 2 is placed on the table 31 and cut is described. However, the sheet material 2 is repeatedly fed and cut by the spreader, and the sheet is placed on the table 31. The material 2 may be laminated, and a plurality of sheet materials may be cut at a time. However, in this case, it is assumed that the strains of the laminated sheet materials are almost the same.

<Sheet material cutting processing steps>
Next, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the process step at the time of implementing the cutting method of this invention using the automatic cutting machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 is demonstrated. FIG. 2 shows processing steps in primary correction of part pattern (shape) coordinate data, and FIG. 3 shows processing steps in secondary correction of part pattern coordinate data.

  FIG. 2A shows a state in which patterns (shapes) 22a and 22b (hereinafter collectively referred to as “pattern 22”) of parts to be cut are arranged on the sheet material 2 having the lattice-like handle 21. FIG. . As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet material to be actually cut is a rectangle, and a plurality of parts having different patterns are arranged on the sheet material. In FIG. 2, a square sheet is used for easy understanding. A case where two parts are arranged on the material 2 is shown.

  First, the operator uses the data processing device 6 to form a theoretical pattern 12 of the sheet material 2 on a virtual plane 11 composed of the X axis and the Y axis as shown in FIG. Formed and displayed on the screen of the display 71. The X axis and Y axis in the figure correspond to the X axis and Y axis of the sheet material placement surface of the table 31 in FIG. The origin O is a mark for alignment.

  The theoretical pattern 12 is created based on the distance between the actual patterns 21 of the sheet material 2 and the thickness of the line, and is usually abstract so that the feature points of the pattern can be understood instead of the pattern itself. It is expressed in a form. In the example shown in FIG. 2B, the theoretical pattern 12 is composed only of center lines of vertical stripes and horizontal stripes constituting a lattice pattern.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2C, the worker displays the patterns 22 a and 22 b of the parts to be cut on the theoretical pattern 12 displayed on the screen of the display 71. In this state, the operator operates the mouse 69 to adjust the positions and rotation angles of the part patterns 22a and 22b, and determines the arrangement of the part patterns while considering the pattern.

  The data of the part patterns 22a and 22b is created in advance using a CAD (Computer Aided Design) device or the like, and the data is stored in the memory of the data processing device 6 via a network such as a LAN or a USB memory. (RAM).

  Subsequently, the operator operates the mouse 69 to display the positioning cross marker 13 on the screen, moves the marker, and moves the marker to pattern matching points 14a and 14b (hereinafter collectively referred to as “pattern”). Setting point 14 ”). The pattern matching point 14 is a reference point for pattern matching, and is set at a location that is easy to understand in appearance, such as an intersection of a vertical stripe and a horizontal stripe, and has a large influence when the pattern is shifted. When the part pattern is large, a plurality of pattern matching points 14 may be set.

  After the pattern matching points 14 have been set for all the part patterns 22, the part pattern 22 and the coordinate data of the set pattern matching points 14 are temporarily stored in the memory of the data processing device 6.

  Next, the data processing device 6 creates a reference pattern 15 on the virtual plane 11 as shown in FIG. The reference pattern 15 is used when correcting the cutting data in accordance with the distortion of the sheet material 2, and by selecting an arbitrary line from the vertical and horizontal lines constituting the theoretical pattern pattern 12. Created.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (e), the operator uses the projector 8 to project the reference pattern 15 onto the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31 in actual size. At this time, the above-described origin O is also projected, the position of the origin O is matched with the corresponding portion of the sheet material 2, and the origin O of the coordinate data of the virtual plane 11 is made coincident with the origin of the coordinate data of the sheet material. The reference pattern 15 and the origin O are preferably projected with a highly saturated color such as red or green for easy understanding. Further, the part pattern 22 may be projected together.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (e), the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31 is distorted or stretched due to stress or the like applied during stretching. The vertical stripes and horizontal stripes of the handle 21 actually have a complicated shape as shown in FIG. 2 (a). However, in FIG. 2 (e), the vertical stripes and horizontal stripes are separated by a single line. It is represented by The same applies to the subsequent drawings.

  Next, the operator operates the controller 7 to move and deform all straight lines constituting the reference pattern 15 projected by the projector 8 in accordance with the handle 21 as shown in FIG. Specifically, each straight line is moved and deformed so as to overlap with the corresponding vertical stripe or horizontal stripe of the pattern 21.

  Each time the operator operates the controller 7 to deform the reference pattern 15, the data processing device 6 calculates the amount of displacement, corrects the coordinate data, and stores the value in a built-in memory. The calculation of the displacement amount may be performed in a lump after completing the deformation of all the lines constituting the reference pattern.

  After the transformation is completed for all the lines of the reference pattern 15, when the operator notifies the data processing device 6 of the completion of the work using the controller 7, the data processing device 6 stores the corrected reference pattern stored in the memory. Read coordinate data.

  The data processing device 6 calculates a coordinate shift of the virtual plane 11 using the read data, and based on the calculated value, the coordinates of the part patterns 22a and 22b and the pattern matching points 14a and 14b stored in the memory. Correct the data.

  For reference, FIG. 2G shows a state where the deformed reference pattern 15 and the part patterns 22a and 22b whose coordinate data are corrected are pasted on a virtual plane. The part pattern 22 shown in FIG. 2G may be projected onto the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31 using the projector 8 to check the corrected state.

  The secondary correction of the coordinate data of the part pattern will be described with reference to FIG. The operator operates the mouse 69 of the data processing device 6 to operate the camera 9 and photographs the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31. FIG. 3A shows the pattern 21 of the sheet material taken by the camera 9 and displayed on the screen of the display 71. As described above, the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31 is distorted and stretched due to the stress applied when the sheet is stretched.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the operator instructs the data processing device 6 to read out the coordinate data of the part patterns 22a and 22b and the pattern matching points 14a and 14b that have been primarily corrected from the memory, The sheet material displayed on the screen is superimposed on the handle 21 for display. At this time, the origin O of the handle 21 of the sheet material 2 photographed by the camera 9 and the origin of the coordinate data of the part patterns 22a and 22b read from the memory are matched. Similarly, the dimensions of the handle 21 of the sheet material in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are matched with the dimensions of the coordinate data read from the memory.

  The pattern matching points 14 a and 14 b displayed together with the marker 13 on the screen should theoretically overlap with corresponding portions of the pattern 21 of the sheet material photographed by the camera 9. However, as shown in FIG. 2 (g), when the pattern matching points 14a and 14b are located between the lines constituting the reference pattern 15, the position accuracy when correcting the coordinates decreases, There is a case where it does not coincide with the corresponding portion of the handle 21 of the sheet material.

  Therefore, the operator operates the mouse 69 to move the pattern matching points 14a and 14b as shown by arrows in FIG. 3B, and superimposes them on the corresponding portions of the pattern 21 of the sheet material. FIG. 3C shows a state where the pattern matching points 14a and 14b are overlapped with corresponding portions of the actual pattern. After the movement of the pattern matching points 14a and 14b is completed, the data processing device 6 corrects the coordinate data of the part patterns 22a and 22b again (secondary correction) and then stores them in the memory.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, the part patterns 22a and 22b of the coordinate data subjected to the secondary correction are deformed according to the distortion of the sheet material 2, and the pattern matching points 14a and 14b are the pattern 21 of the sheet material. It overlaps with the corresponding part. Therefore, if cutting is performed using the data of the part pattern that has been secondarily corrected, a part that is hardly affected by elongation or distortion can be obtained.

  In correcting the coordinate data, the coordinate data between the lines constituting the reference pattern is created by interpolation. Therefore, if the line interval is narrowed, the positional accuracy of the corrected coordinate data is increased, but the data processing amount is enormous and the workability is deteriorated. On the other hand, widening the line spacing reduces the amount of data processing and improves workability. However, if the pattern matching points are located between the lines as described above, the positional accuracy of the corrected coordinate data The pattern matching point is shifted when the reference pattern is deformed.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the captured image of the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31 is displayed on the screen of the display 71, and the deformed part pattern 22 and the pattern matching point 14 are displayed in an overlapping manner. The positional deviation of the pattern matching point 14 is corrected. Since the resolution of the camera 9 is about 0.1 mm, it is possible to perform pattern matching with high accuracy by using an image captured by the camera.

  As described above, in the cutting method of the present invention, the reference pattern 15 created based on the theoretical pattern 12 is projected to the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31 in actual size, and the reference pattern 15 is actually applied. The data for cutting the part pattern is corrected by deforming it in accordance with the pattern 21 of the pattern. By creating a reference pattern by appropriately thinning out the lines constituting the theoretical pattern, the coordinate data can be corrected while maintaining the position accuracy, and as a result, highly accurate cutting data can be efficiently generated.

  In the present embodiment, the reference pattern 15 is created by thinning out the lines constituting the theoretical pattern 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. When the interval between the theoretical pattern patterns 12 is wide, the theoretical pattern pattern 12 may be used as it is without being thinned out. Alternatively, a reference pattern may be created by drawing a line at an appropriate pitch separately from the theoretical pattern 12 and moving the line so as to overlap the theoretical pattern 12.

<Operation of automatic cutter>
Next, the operation of the automatic cutting machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the control system of the automatic cutting machine 1, and FIGS. 4 and 5 show the operation flow of the automatic cutting machine 1.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the control system of the automatic cutting machine 1 includes a data processing device 6, a controller 7, a projector 8, a camera 9, and a cutting unit driving device 10. The data processing device 6 further includes a mouse 69 and a keyboard 70 as input means and a display 71 as output means. Since the members other than the data processing device 6 among these constituent members have already been described, the data processing device 6 will be described here.

  The data processing device 6 includes a calculation unit 60 composed of a CPU, a ROM 61 and a RAM 62 which are memories. The arithmetic unit 60 reads and executes software stored in the ROM 61 or a hard disk (not shown) as an external storage device, thereby realizing many functions shown in the block. The RAM 62 has a function as a working memory, and temporarily stores data calculated by the calculation unit 60.

  Of the functions realized by the calculation unit 60, the data creation means 63 creates the theoretical pattern pattern 11, the pattern matching point 14, and the reference pattern 15 shown in FIG. Data such as the interval and thickness of the pattern necessary for creating the theoretical pattern 11 is taken into the RAM 62 by the USB memory or the like together with the data of the part pattern 22. The data of the pattern matching point 14 and the reference pattern 15 is created based on data input from the mouse 69.

  The data correction means 64 corrects the coordinate data of the reference pattern 15 based on data input from the mouse 69 or the controller 8, and further corrects the coordinate data of the part pattern 22 based on the corrected coordinate data of the reference pattern 15. To do.

  The image data processing means 65 is based on position information (rotation speed) obtained from an encoder (not shown) of the driving motor of the cutting unit 4 for the partial image of the sheet material 2 photographed while changing the position of the camera 9. Affixed to the XY coordinates of the virtual plane 11. In FIG. 3, the entire image of the sheet material 2 is shown. However, it is not always necessary to display the entire sheet material, and only the portion for pattern matching need be displayed on the screen.

  The display data generating unit 66 generates data to be displayed on the display 71 based on the data generated by the data generating unit 63 and the data correcting unit 64 and the image data processed by the image data processing unit 65. Similarly, the projection data generation unit 67 generates data to be displayed on the projector 8 based on the data generated by the data generation unit 63 and the data correction unit 64.

  The cutting data generating unit 68 generates driving data for the cutting unit driving unit 10 based on the coordinate data of the pattern 22 of each part corrected by the data correcting unit 64.

  Next, specific processing steps in the automatic cutting machine 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 6. The flow of FIG. 5 shows processing steps for primary correction of coordinate data corresponding to FIG. 2, and the flow of FIG. 6 shows processing steps for secondary correction of coordinate data corresponding to FIG.

  In step S11 of FIG. 5, the data creation means 63 of the calculation unit 60 reads out the data relating to the pattern of the sheet material stored in the RAM 62 according to the operator's instruction, and the theoretical pattern pattern shown in FIG. 12 is created on the virtual plane 11. The display data generation unit 66 displays the pattern pattern 12 on the screen of the display 71.

  In step S12, the data creating means 63 reads the data of the part pattern 22 stored in the RAM 62 and displays it superimposed on the theoretical pattern 12 as shown in FIG. The operator operates the mouse 69 to move the position of the part displayed on the screen, and determines the arrangement of the part while considering the position of the handle and the rotation angle. Subsequently, in step S13, the operator moves the marker 13 to set the pattern matching point 14 for each part.

  In step S14, the data creation means 63 creates the reference pattern 15 having the shape shown in FIG. The display data generating unit 66 displays the reference pattern 15 on the screen.

  In step S <b> 15, the operator operates the unfolding device and the covering sheet feeding device 5 (not shown) to place the sheet material 2 and the covering sheet 51 on the table 31 of the cutter body 3. Then, the suction device installed in the cutting machine main body 3 is operated, and the sheet material 2 and the covering sheet 51 are firmly fixed to the table 31 by negative pressure. The placement of the sheet material 2 on the table 31 is performed in parallel with the data creation processing in steps S11 to S14.

  In step S <b> 16, the projection data generation unit 67 transfers the data of the reference pattern 15 shown in FIG. 2D to the projector 8 in accordance with the operator's instruction. The transferred data is projected in actual size onto the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31 by the projector 8, as shown in FIG.

  In step S17, the operator operates the controller 7 to move and deform each straight line of the reference pattern 15 in accordance with the corresponding pattern as shown in FIG. 2 (f). Along with the movement and deformation of the reference pattern 15, the data correction means 64 of the calculation unit 60 corrects the coordinate data of the reference pattern 15.

  In step S18, the operator determines whether or not the movement / deformation has been completed for all the lines constituting the reference pattern 15. If the deformation is completed, the process proceeds to step S19, and the movement / deformation is completed. If not, the process returns to step S17.

  In step S19, in accordance with the operator's instruction, the data correction means 64 primarily outputs the data of the part pattern 22 and the pattern matching point 14 arranged on the virtual plane 11 in a form corresponding to the coordinate data of the corrected reference pattern 15. Correct it. Subsequently, in step S20, the data correction unit 64 stores the coordinate data of the part pattern 22 and the pattern matching point 14 that have been primarily corrected in the RAM 62.

  In the modification of the coordinate data of the part pattern 22, as an example, the displacement amount of each point set in a grid pattern in the XY coordinates is calculated based on the displacement amount of the coordinate data of the reference pattern, and the displacement amount is corresponded. The value is added to the coordinate data of the part pattern. However, the present invention is not limited to this method, and an optimum method may be adopted in consideration of the pattern characteristics.

  Next, the secondary correction processing steps will be described with reference to the flow of FIG. In step S <b> 21, the operator operates the mouse 69 of the data processing device 6 to operate the camera 9 and shoots the sheet material 2 placed on the table 31. The photographed image of the sheet material 2 is pasted on the XY coordinates of the virtual plane 11 by the image data processing means 65. In step S22, the operator instructs the display data generation unit 66 to display the image of the sheet material 2 pasted on the XY coordinates by the image data processing unit 65 on the screen of the display 71 (FIG. 3 ( a)).

  In step S23, the display data generation means 66 reads the coordinate data of the part patterns 22a and 22b and the pattern matching points 14a and 14b stored in the RAM 62 in accordance with the operator's instruction, and the sheet material displayed on the screen of the display 71. Is displayed on the handle 21 (see FIG. 3B).

  In the example shown in FIG. 3B, the pattern matching points 14a and 14b do not coincide with the corresponding pattern portions of the sheet material due to the positional accuracy when the primary correction is performed. In step S24, the operator operates the mouse 69 to move the pattern matching points 14a and 14b and superimposes the pattern matching points 14a and 14b on the corresponding positions of the actual pattern.

  FIG. 3C shows a state in which the part patterns 22a and 22b of the coordinate data are deformed according to the distortion of the sheet material 2, and the pattern matching points 14a and 14b are overlapped with corresponding portions of the actual pattern.

  In step S25, the operator determines whether or not the movement has been completed for all the pattern matching points 14, and if the movement is completed, the process proceeds to step S26 (Yes in S25). No in S25) The process returns to step S24.

  In step S <b> 26, the data correction means 64 of the calculation unit 60 secondarily corrects the coordinate data of the part pattern 22 in accordance with the movement of the pattern matching point 14 and stores the data in the RAM 62. Further, the cutting data generating means 68 generates cutting data based on the secondarily corrected coordinate data.

  In step S <b> 27, the generated cutting data is transferred to the cutting unit driving unit 10, and the cutting of the sheet material 2 is performed by driving the cutting unit 4. If cutting is performed using the data of the part pattern that has been secondarily corrected, a part that is hardly affected by the elongation or distortion of the sheet material can be obtained.

  The sheet material 2 that has been cut is then driven on the conveyor of the table 31 and conveyed onto a pickup table (not shown) together with the covering sheet 51, and the cutting operation is completed.

  The above description is based on the assumption that the coordinate data in both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are corrected when the reference pattern is moved and deformed. However, as can be seen from the configuration of the automatic cutting machine 1 in FIG. 1, the elongation and distortion of the sheet material 2 are mainly generated in the X-axis direction parallel to the conveying direction A of the sheet material 2, and in the Y-axis direction orthogonal thereto. Hard to occur.

  In order to correct the coordinate data, it is necessary to correct the coordinates in both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, but if the elongation or distortion in the Y-axis direction can be ignored, the coordinates in the X-axis direction By only correcting the data, the calculation amount in the calculation unit 60 can be greatly reduced and the work time can be shortened.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the cutting of the sheet material having the lattice pattern has been described. However, in the cutting of the sheet material having the stripe pattern, the processing steps until the cutting are slightly different. In the present embodiment, with reference to FIG. 7, the processing steps in the case of cutting a sheet material having a striped pattern will be described focusing on differences from the cutting of a sheet material having a grid pattern.

  FIG. 7A shows a pattern of parts 22a and 22b to be cut on a sheet material 2A having a striped vertical stripe pattern 21A. As in FIG. 2, for the sake of easy understanding, a state in which two parts are arranged on the square sheet material 2 </ b> A is shown.

  Unlike the grid pattern, when cutting a striped pattern sheet material, there is almost no need to consider the pattern alignment in the direction parallel to the stripe, so the processing when cutting the sheet material corresponding to this The contents are different.

  FIG. 7B shows a state in which parts patterns 22a and 22b to be cut into the theoretical pattern 12A and positioning markers 13 are displayed in an overlapping manner. A difference from the lattice-like pattern shown in FIG. 2 is that a theoretical pattern 12A corresponding to a stripe is composed of straight lines extending in the vertical direction. In the lattice pattern, the pattern matching point 14 is set at the intersection of the vertical stripe and the horizontal stripe of the pattern 21. However, since there is no intersection in the stripe pattern, on the straight line overlapping the theoretical pattern pattern 12 (vertical stripe in the figure). The pattern matching point 14 is set at any of the points.

  FIG. 7C shows a state in which the reference pattern 15A is displayed so as to overlap the theoretical pattern 12A. Unlike the lattice pattern, the reference pattern 15A is represented by a straight line parallel to the vertical stripes.

  FIG. 7D shows a state in which the projector 8 projects the reference pattern 15A to the sheet material 2A placed on the table 31 in actual size. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7E, the operator operates the controller 7 to move and deform the reference pattern 15A so as to overlap the vertical stripes 21A of the pattern.

  After the movement and deformation of all the lines of the reference pattern 15A are completed, the data correction means 64 primarily corrects the coordinate data of the part patterns 22a and 22b and the pattern matching points 14a and 14b. FIG. 7 (f) shows a state in which the part patterns 14a and 14b that have been primarily corrected are displayed on the screen together with the moved and deformed reference pattern 15A.

  Next, the operator operates the mouse 69 to operate the camera 9 to photograph the sheet material 2A placed on the table 31, and the image is displayed on the screen of the display 71 as shown in FIG. indicate. Further, the operator instructs the data processing device 6 to read out the image data of the part patterns 14a and 14b that have been primarily corrected from the RAM 61, and as shown in FIG. 7 (h), the pattern of the sheet material 21 displayed on the screen. Overlaid on the display.

  Further, the operator operates the mouse 69 to superimpose the pattern matching points 14a and 14b on the corresponding portions of the sheet material. In the alignment of the pattern matching points 14a and 14b, unlike the lattice-shaped pattern, the pattern matching points 14a and 14b are moved in the horizontal direction to a position that coincides with the vertical stripes of the pattern as shown by arrows in FIG. Move. This is because it is not necessary to consider the pattern alignment in the direction parallel to the stripe in the stripe pattern as described above.

  In this embodiment, the case of cutting a sheet material having a vertical stripe, that is, a pattern parallel to the Y axis has been described, but the above-described cutting method is also applied to a sheet material having a horizontal stripe, that is, a pattern parallel to the X axis. Needless to say, you can.

  Furthermore, for patterns that do not have clear vertical stripes or horizontal stripes such as floral patterns, the patterns are generally repeatedly arranged in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction. Accordingly, by drawing a straight line connecting the central portions of the floral pattern, temporary vertical stripes, horizontal stripes, or lattices can be formed, and the above-described cutting method can be applied to the temporary vertical stripes, horizontal stripes, or lattices.

  As described above, by using the sheet material cutting method according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a pattern part from which the influence of the elongation and distortion of the sheet material placed on the cutting table is removed. By sewing after this part, it is possible to produce clothing with a high commercial value with no pattern or dimensional deviation.

  In the above-described embodiment, the data processing apparatus is used to perform the work from the creation of the theoretical pattern pattern to the correction of the coordinate data of the part pattern. The work up to setting may be performed using a separate CAD device. The work efficiency can be increased by dividing the data processing work between the two devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic cutting machine 2, 2A Sheet material 3 Cutting machine main body 4 Cutting unit 5 Cover sheet feeding apparatus 6 Data processing apparatus 7 Controller 8 Projector 9 Camera 10 Cutting unit drive apparatus 11 Virtual plane 12, 12A, 12B Theoretical pattern 13 Markers 14a to 14f Pattern matching points 15, 15A, 15B Reference pattern 21 Pattern 22a to 22f Parts pattern 31 Table 32 Bristle brush 33 Vent hole 41 Carriage 42 Arm 43 Cutting unit 44 Cutter 51 Cover sheet 52 Sheet roll 53 Stand 60 Calculation unit 61 ROM
62 RAM
63 Data creation means 64 Data correction means 65 Image data processing means 66 Display data generation means 67 Projection data generation means 68 Cutting data generation means 69 Mouse 70 Keyboard 71 Display

Claims (5)

A sheet material cutting method comprising cutting a patterned sheet material along a pattern of at least one part, the method including the following steps.
Forming a theoretical pattern of a pattern corresponding to a feature point of the pattern of the sheet material on a virtual plane;
Displaying the theoretical pattern of the pattern on a display screen, arranging the pattern of the part on the pattern of the pattern, and setting a pattern matching point for each part;
Forming a reference pattern on the virtual plane based on the theoretical pattern of patterns;
The reference pattern is projected onto a sheet material placed on a table using a projector, and the position and shape of the reference pattern are moved and deformed in accordance with the shape of the handle of the sheet material. Accordingly, correcting the coordinate data of the reference pattern,
Primary correction of the pattern data of the part and the coordinate data of the pattern matching point corresponding to the coordinate data of the corrected reference pattern;
Photographing the sheet material placed on the table with a camera, and displaying an image of the obtained sheet material on the screen of the display;
Displaying the pattern and pattern matching point of the part that has been primarily corrected on the screen on which the image of the sheet material is displayed;
Moving the pattern matching point displayed on the screen of the display and superimposing it on the corresponding part of the pattern of the sheet material, and secondarily correcting the coordinate data of the pattern of the part;
Cutting the sheet material based on coordinate data of a pattern of the secondarily corrected part.   2. The sheet material cutting method according to claim 1, wherein when the pattern of the sheet material is in a lattice shape, the pattern alignment point is set to an intersection of a vertical stripe and a horizontal stripe. When the pattern of the sheet material is a stripe shape, the pattern matching point is set on the stripe,
The pattern matching point is moved in a direction perpendicular to the stripe when the pattern matching point is superimposed on a corresponding portion of the pattern of the sheet material displayed on the screen of the display. The cutting method of the sheet material as described in 1. When correcting the coordinate data of the reference pattern when the pattern of the sheet material is a lattice and the elongation or distortion in the direction perpendicular to the sheet material conveyance direction out of the elongation or distortion generated in the sheet material can be ignored 3. The sheet material cutting method according to claim 1, wherein only data of coordinate axes parallel to a conveyance direction of the sheet material is corrected. An automatic cutting machine for cutting a patterned sheet material along a pattern of at least one part,
A cutting machine body having a table on which a patterned sheet material is placed on the upper surface;
A cutting unit for cutting the sheet material placed on the table along the pattern of the parts;
A cutting unit driving means for driving the cutting unit;
A data processing device for generating a driving signal for the cutting unit driving means;
An input means for an operator to input necessary data to the data processing device;
A display for displaying data processed by the data processing device on a screen;
A projector that projects an image created by the data processing device onto a sheet material placed on the table;
And a camera that obtains image data by photographing the sheet material placed on the table, wherein the data processing device executes the sheet material cutting method according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Automatic cutting machine characterized by