JPH08132788A - Plotter with laser cutting function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a decrease in the quality of recording by so controlling the output of a laser oscillator that the radiating thermal energy to a medium to be cut becomes substantially constant despite the speed of a carriage. CONSTITUTION: The essential part of a plotter comprises a plotter body 2, a Y-bar 3, a carriage 4 and a laser mechanism 5. The Y-bar 3 is provided movably in an X-direction with respect to the body 2. The carriage 4 is provided slidably in a Y direction. The carriage 4 has a laser head 53 for emitting a medium to be cut placed on the table of the body 1 to converge the laser beam generated from a laser oscillator 51 via reflecting members 52a to 52c. Further, a recording pen 41 vertically movably held in the vertical direction to the table of the body 2 is provided, and the Y-bar 3 is moved in the X direction, and the carriage 4 is moved in the Y direction to form a desired record and a cut image on the medium on the table.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plotter for performing desired recording on a recording medium, and more particularly to a plotter having a laser cutting function for cutting a material with a laser beam.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a plotter of this type, a recording pen as a recording member or a cutting pen as a cutting member is held so as to be capable of being pressed against and separated from a recording paper or a material to be recorded as a recording medium. By moving the recording (cutting) member relative to the recording (cutting) medium, desired recording is performed on the recording paper, or the cutting medium is cut into a desired shape. . Further, a laser head is provided on a carriage holding the recording pen or the cutting pen, and a laser beam oscillated by a laser oscillator such as CO2 is condensed by the laser head and is irradiated onto a medium to be cut, so that the desired medium can be obtained. There is a plotter that has a laser cutting function of cutting or engraving into a shape. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the plotter having the laser cutting function. The control unit controls a driving unit configured by a pulse motor or the like for driving the carriage in the X direction and the Y direction, and the carriage. A carriage drive circuit for driving and controlling an elevating mechanism including a moving coil for pressing and separating a recording pen or a cutting pen held on a recording medium from a recording medium, and a power source of a laser oscillator of a laser cutting mechanism selectively. A laser drive unit that irradiates a material (medium to be cut) with a laser at a desired timing by supplying a DC voltage is provided so as to be respectively controllable. In this plotter, when recording is performed using a recording pen or a cutting pen as a recording member, recording (cutting) is performed by the plotter operation unit.
When setting the pen speed or acceleration and the recording (cutting) pen pressure (contact pressure to the material) and cutting with the laser cutting function,
The laser operation unit is configured to set the intensity of the output of the laser oscillator, and the control unit performs recording or cutting based on each setting condition. In the case where the control unit performs recording using a recording pen or a cutting pen, based on recording data transmitted from a host device such as a computer, that is, X-direction movement data of the carriage, Y-direction movement data, and pen up / down data. Sends these created data to the carriage drive circuit to drive and control the X-direction drive motor, the Y-direction drive motor, and the moving coil, respectively. On the other hand, when cutting by the laser cutting mechanism, And Y direction movement data are transmitted to the carriage drive circuit to drive and control the X and Y direction drive motors, and pen up / down data is transmitted to the laser drive section, and the pen up / down data is used as laser on / off data. It is configured to drive and control the laser oscillator.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional plotter having a laser cutting function, a recording pen or a recording pen is used for recording, and a laser cutting mechanism is used for cutting and engraving, which are different from each other. It is necessary to set the conditions, the method for setting the conditions is complicated and the operation becomes complicated, and the means for controlling the elevating mechanism for moving the recording pen or the cutting pen up and down and the means for controlling the laser oscillator are separately required. Therefore, the plotter control unit is complicated. Further, when recording with a recording pen or a cutting pen in this type of plotter, when recording a unit line segment of a straight line or a curved line, the speed of the recording pen gradually increases from the recording start point of this unit line segment. However, when the target speed is reached, the drive speed is controlled so that it becomes constant speed and decelerates near the end point.However, when cutting is performed by the laser cutting mechanism as well, if similar drive control is performed, the start point and end point are close. Since the amount of the laser beam emitted from the laser head is larger than that in the middle portion and the temperature of the cutting portion is high, uniform cutting cannot be performed,
As a result, the cut shape of the joint portion (corner portion or the like) of each unit line segment becomes larger than the others, and the quality of the cutting result is significantly deteriorated. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to move the laser head uniformly at a constant speed, but for that purpose, a mechanism for driving the carriage must be firmly configured, and the device becomes huge. At the same time, it becomes expensive, and there is a problem that high-speed recording cannot be realized.

In view of the above problems, the present invention can drive and control a recording pen, a cutting pen or a laser cutting mechanism with a simple structure, and obtain good recording results in each recording without deteriorating its quality. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plotter having a laser cutting function that can be performed.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, in a plotter having a laser cutting function of the present invention, a plotter controller detects a speed of a carriage, and a laser drive unit according to the detected speed. The control signal for the laser oscillator is changed to control the output of the laser oscillator so that the irradiation heat energy on the medium to be cut is substantially constant regardless of the speed of the carriage. Further, the carriage is provided with a recording unit for performing recording on the recording medium, and the plotter control unit controls the carriage when the plotter is in a laser cut mode in which the laser beam output from the laser oscillator cuts the medium to be cut. The speed of the laser oscillator is detected, and the control signal to the laser drive unit is changed according to the detected speed to control the output of the laser oscillator so that the irradiation heat energy on the medium to be cut becomes substantially constant regardless of the speed of the carriage. When the plotter is in the recording mode in which recording is performed on the recording medium by the recording unit, the speed of the carriage is detected, and the control signal to the recording unit is changed according to the detected speed to record the recording unit on the recording medium. The recording means is controlled so that the recording is substantially constant regardless of the speed of the carriage. Further, an output state setting unit for setting the output of the laser oscillator is provided, and the plotter control unit changes the control signal of the laser drive unit according to the set value set by the output state setting unit and the detected speed of the carriage. It was configured to control.

[0006]

The laser oscillator outputs the laser beam at the time Tw for the time Tw in response to the laser output control signal transmitted from the laser drive section at the predetermined cycle T, and the laser head collects the laser beam for the time Tw. To irradiate. The plotter controller detects the moving speed of the carriage and changes the unit output time Tw of the laser oscillator according to the detected speed and the value set by the operator. As a result, when the moving speed of the carriage is fast, the unit laser irradiation time becomes long, and conversely, when the moving speed of the carriage is slow, the unit laser irradiation time becomes short.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A plotter having a laser cutting function according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a main configuration of a plotter having a laser cutting function according to the present invention, in which 2 is a plotter body, 3 is a Y bar, 4 is a carriage, and 5 is a laser mechanism. Y bar 3
Is provided so as to be movable in the X direction in the drawing with respect to the plotter body 2, and the carriage 4 is provided so as to be slidable in the Y direction. On the carriage 4, a laser head 53 for condensing a laser beam generated by a laser oscillator 51 via reflecting members 52a to 52c and irradiating a medium to be cut placed on the table of the plotter body 2 with the laser head 53, A recording pen (or a cutting pen) 41 that is held so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the table of the plotter body 2 is provided. The Y bar 3 is moved in the X direction, and the carriage 4 is moved in the Y direction. By doing so, a recording or cutting image of a desired shape is formed on the medium on the table.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the plotter of the present invention. The plotter control unit 1 is composed of a control unit 10, a carriage drive unit 11, a D / A converter 12, and a pulse width modulation unit 13. There is. The control unit 10 takes in recording data such as a pen-up command, a pen-down command, a straight line, a curved line, and coordinate data from the computer 6, and uses the operation unit 21 provided in the plotter main body 2 to select a recording medium type or a recording medium. Set values such as pen speed, writing pressure (pressing force of recording member), laser output, etc., which are appropriately set according to the type of cutting member, are captured and held. The control unit 10 also controls the X motor 30 and the carriage 4 that drive the Y bar 3 in the X direction via the carriage driving unit 11.
An elevating mechanism 43 including a Y motor 40 for driving in the Y direction, a recording pen (or a cutting pen) 41, and a moving coil for pressing and separating the recording medium placed on the table of the plotter body 2 from each other. Then, the laser oscillator 51 is driven and controlled based on the recording data and the set value through the laser driving unit 54. In the plotter of the present invention, the control unit 10 drives the laser oscillator 51 by inputting a control signal as shown in FIG. That is, the laser beam is output for Tw time in the cycle T, and the unit laser output time Tw in the cycle T is variably controlled by the pulse width modulator 13. Therefore, the control unit 10 controls the X motor 30, when the plotter is in the laser cut mode.
The moving speed of the carriage 4 is detected from the drive data of the Y motor 40, and the unit laser output time Tw is changed at a predetermined rate according to the detected speed.
FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a speed change of the carriage 4 detected by the control unit 10, and the control unit 10 shows the unit laser output time Tw in each cycle T by the pulse width modulation unit 13 according to the detected speed. 3 (b). Thus, from the laser oscillator 51, as shown in FIG. 3C, when the moving speed of the carriage 4 is slow, the laser output time Tw in the cycle T becomes short, and conversely when the moving speed of the carriage 4 is fast. Is configured to be long. FIG. 3D is a diagram showing a change in irradiation heat energy in the member to be cut when the laser oscillator 51 is driven by the laser output signal shown in FIG. 3C and the carriage 4 is moved at a constant speed. However, in the plotter of the present invention, since the control unit 10 changes the laser output time according to the moving speed of the carriage 4, the amount of thermal energy irradiated per unit area of the medium to be cut is constant. Therefore, by performing laser cutting with the laser output control signal created in this way, the temperature at the cut portion of the medium to be cut becomes uniform, so that the thickness of the cut portion can be made uniform, and Even when the pen stops for a moment at a joint between a straight line and a curved line, a large hole does not open in that part.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the plotter having the laser cutting function of the present invention. First, in step 1, the control unit 10 detects whether the plotter is in the laser cut mode, If the cutting mode is not set, that is, the normal recording mode in which recording is performed by the recording pen (or cutting pen) 41, the laser output control operation is ended. When it is detected in this step 1 that the laser cut mode is set, the process proceeds to step 2, the control unit 10 calculates the moving speed of the carriage 4, and the process proceeds to step 3 where the calculated speed is Whether or not it is 0 is detected. here,
When it is determined that the speed is not 0, the process proceeds to step 4 and the calculated speed is compared with the speed preset by the operation unit 21. If the speed calculated here is smaller than the set speed, the process proceeds to step 8, and the control unit 10 uses the relational expression between the speed and the unit laser output shown in FIG. , Unit laser output T
After calculating w, the process proceeds to step 9, and the data of the calculated laser output Tw is transmitted to the pulse width modulator 13 via the D / A converter 12, and the control signal is transmitted to the laser driver 54. After that, the process proceeds to step 10, and it is detected whether or not the recording operation is completed. If it is not completed, the procedure returns to step 2, and if it is completed, the laser output control operation is completed. In step 4, when the calculated speed of the carriage 4 is higher than the set speed, the process proceeds to step 6,
The control unit 10 sets the laser output Tw as a preset output and proceeds to step 9. As a result, even when the carriage 4 moves at a speed equal to or higher than the set value, it is possible to prevent the laser output from exceeding the set value. When it is detected in step 3 that the calculated moving speed of the carriage 4 is 0, the process proceeds to step 5 to detect whether or not the laser output operation is a manual operation. At this time, if the plotter is in the manual laser output mode,
The process proceeds to step 6, the laser output Tw is set to the set laser output, and the process proceeds to step 9. If the manual laser output mode is not set, the process proceeds to step 7, the laser output is set to 0, and the process proceeds to step 9.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the above-mentioned embodiment is that the laser drive unit 5 is used.
That is, the laser output control signal transmitted to the No. 4 is shared with the writing pressure control signal of the lifting mechanism 43 of the carriage 4. That is, in this type of plotter, the recording pen 41
By inputting a control signal as shown in FIG. 3E to the elevating mechanism 43, the pressure contact force (pen pressure) of the recording pen 41 is appropriately changed according to the speed of the pen carriage 4. There is. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the pen pressure control signal in the recording data from the computer is used as it is as the control signal of the laser driving section 54. The control unit 10 detects whether the plotter is in the laser cut mode or the normal recording (cutting) mode, and when the plotter is in the laser cut mode, controls the switching of the switch circuit 14 to select and connect the laser mechanism 5. ,
The pen pressure control signal of the recording data is transmitted to the laser mechanism pulse width modulation unit 13 to perform the laser output control operation similar to that of the above-described embodiment. On the other hand, in the normal recording mode, the control unit 10 controls the switching of the switch circuit 14 to switch and connect the lifting mechanism pulse width modulation unit 431 to perform the pen pressure control operation according to the speed of the pen carriage 4. In addition, FIG.
Is an embodiment in which the pulse width modulating unit 13 is made to be one by controlling the laser mechanism pulse width modulating unit 13 and the elevating mechanism pulse width modulating unit 431 in the second embodiment described above at the same frequency. In this case, the switch circuit 14 is connected to the downstream side of the pulse width modulation unit 13, and the control unit 10 detects whether the operation mode of the plotter is the laser cut mode or the normal recording mode, and appropriately switches the laser. The mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 43 are configured to be switch-connected. With the above configuration, the conventional writing pressure control data can be used as it is as the laser output control data. Therefore, by using the existing pen with both the recording pen (or cutting pen) mechanism and the laser mechanism,
Recording and cutting can be performed. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the unit output time of the laser is changed by the pulse width modulator according to the moving speed of the carriage. However, for example, the laser output control signal has a constant width in a predetermined cycle T. The laser output may be controlled by transmitting a pulse train and changing the number of the pulses according to the moving speed of the carriage.

[0011]

As described above in detail, in the plotter having the laser cutting function of the present invention, since the unit output time of the laser beam can be changed according to the moving speed of the carriage, a high quality cutting result can be obtained. Since the laser output can be controlled by using the writing pressure control signal of the recording pen, the laser cutting mechanism can be performed without complicating the control circuit and without strongly configuring the driving mechanism. Can be configured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the main configuration of a plotter of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a plotter of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing control signals of the plotter of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the plotter of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional plotter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Plotter control unit 2 Plotter body 3 Y bar 4 Carriage 5 Laser mechanism

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A laser oscillator, which is controlled in operation by a laser drive unit to selectively output a laser beam, and a laser which is provided on a carriage and focuses a laser beam output from the laser oscillator to irradiate a material to be cut. Head and
A carriage driving unit that drives the carriage in the X direction and the Y direction with respect to the medium to be cut, and a laser driving unit and a carriage driving unit that are controlled based on recording data to move the laser head relative to the medium to be cut. In a plotter having a laser cutting function having a plotter control unit that cuts a medium to be cut into a desired shape by moving and selectively irradiating a laser beam, the plotter control unit detects the speed of the carriage. Then, the control signal to the laser drive unit is changed according to the detected speed, and the output of the laser oscillator is controlled so that the irradiation heat energy on the medium to be cut becomes substantially constant regardless of the speed of the carriage. A plotter with a laser cutting function. 2. The recording means for performing recording on a recording medium is provided on the carriage, and the plotter control section sets a laser cut mode in which the plotter cuts the medium to be cut by a laser beam output from the laser oscillator. In some cases, the speed of the carriage is detected, and the control signal to the laser drive unit is changed according to the detected speed so that the irradiation heat energy on the medium to be cut becomes substantially constant regardless of the speed of the carriage. When the plotter is in a recording mode in which the recording means records on the recording medium by controlling the output of the laser oscillator, the speed of the carriage is detected, and the recording means is controlled according to the detected speed. The signal is changed so that the recording by the recording means on the recording medium becomes substantially constant regardless of the speed of the carriage. Plotter having a laser cutting function according to claim 1, characterized in that it is configured to control. 3. An output state setting unit for setting the output of the laser oscillator is provided, and the plotter control unit is responsive to the set value set by the output state setting unit and the detected speed of the carriage to drive the laser drive unit. The plotter having a laser cutting function according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control signal is controlled so as to change.