US3788179A

US3788179A - Cutting press

Info

Publication number: US3788179A
Application number: US00249092A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Vallier
Original assignee: Western States Envelope Co
Current assignee: Western States Envelope Co
Priority date: 1972-05-01
Filing date: 1972-05-01
Publication date: 1974-01-29
Anticipated expiration: 1991-01-29

Abstract

A cutting table is movably mounted on a frame for reciprocal movement between two positions, and a cutting die is positioned to overlie one position of the cutting table. A cutting board which is mounted on top of the cutting table comprises a plurality of rectangular sections which are positioned in sideby-side relationship in a substantially flat tray. The rectangular sections are fitted loosely enough into the tray so that they can be moved from position to position to present an altered cutting surface to the cutting die. An eccentric shaft driven by a chain is mounted on the cutting table and engages the cutting board to cause minor shifting of the cutting board when the chain is moved. The chain engages a ratchet which is positioned to engage a pawl on the frame. The pawl moves the ratchet and thereby shifts the position of the cutting board every time the cutting table is reciprocated between its two positions.

Description

United States Patent [.191 Vallier [52] U.S. Cl 83/437, 83/266, 83/562, 83/563, 83/658 [51] Int. Cl B26d 7/20 [58] Field of Search.....' 83/266, 558, 557, 556, 562, 83/561, 563, 658, 437

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,375,935 4/1921 Sawyer, Jr. 83/562 X 1,404,831 1/1922 Buckner 307,731 ll/1884 Rowe 83/658 X 2,680,484 6/1954 Stuck 83/562 X 1,082,669 12/1913 winkley 83/557 X Jan. 29, 1974 Primary ExaminerJ. M. Meister Attorney, Agent, or FirmArthur L. Morsell, Jr. et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A cutting table is movably mounted on a frame for reciprocal movement between two positions, and a cutting die is positioned to overlie one position of the cutting table. A cutting board which is mounted on top of the cutting table comprises a plurality of rectangular sections which are positioned in side-by-side relationship in a substantially flat tray. The rectangular sections are fitted loosely enough into the tray so that they can be moved from position to position to present an altered cutting surface to the cutting die. An eccentric shaft driven by a chainis mounted on the cutting table and engages the cutting board to cause minor shifting of the cutting board when the chain is moved. The chain engages a ratchet which is positioned to engage a pawl on the frame. The pawl moves the ratchet and thereby shifts the position of the cutting board every time the cutting table is reciprocated between its two positions.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEU JAN 2 9 974 SHEET 3 BF 3 CUTTING PRESS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to cutting presses such as used to die cut relatively thick stacks of paper to form enve lope blanks or the like. In the past, difficulty has been experienced in such cutting presses with regard to the surface against which the cutting die presses. This surface became rapidly grooved from constant cutting action of the die in the same place, which caused such rough die cuts that the lowermost blanks from a stack of die cut blanks had to be thrown away. In the past, the only correction for this condition was to trim the side of the cutting board so that the die would hit in a slightly different spot. This, of course, still created rough cuts at the points where the die crossed the old grooves in the cutting surface, and it also reduced the life of the board by constantly reducing the usable cutting area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In'accordance with this invention the above-noted problem is overcome by providing actuating means on the cutting table, means on the cutting board engaged by said actuating means for causing shifting of the cutting board when the actuating means is operated, and means on the frame positioned to engage said actuating means to thereby cause operation thereof each time the cutting table is moved away from the cutting die. As a part'of the present invention, to still further extend the life of the cutting board it may also be optionally made of a plurality of rectangular sections which are positioned in side-by-side relationship in a substantially flat tray. The rectangular sections are fitted loosely enough into the'tray'so that they may be shifted from position to position to present a changed cutting surface to the cutting die, the rectangular sections being preferably square so that their positions can be changed 90 at a time, and also being reversible to further extend the effective life of the cutting board.

One object of this invention is to provide an improved cutting board for a cutting press.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cutting board which is made of a plurality of rectangular sections that are held in a tray and are movable with respect to one another.

A further object of this invention is to provide a means for shifting ,the position of the cutting board of a cutting press in between cutting operations to present an altered cutting surface to the cutting die before each cutting operation. I

An additional object of this invention is to provide a cutting board shifting mechanism in which movement of the cutting board away from its cutting position is utilized to shift the position of the cutting board between cutting operations.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cutting board shifting mechanism in which a ratchet and pawl, which is actuated by movement of the cutting board away from its cutting position, moves an eccentric coupling that shifts the position of the board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view ofa cutting press utilizing one illustrative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one illustrative cutting board and board shifting mechanism of this invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ratchet and pawl mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of one eccentric coupling mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a second eccentric coupling mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cutting board shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 showing how the cutting board sections can be moved to present a fresh cutting surface to the cutting die.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1, the novel cutting board and board shifting mechanism of this invention is utilized in combination with a cutting press 10 having a hydraulically actuated, vertically operable cutting die 12 which is laterally-movably mounted on a horizontal frame member 14. A cutting table 16 is movably mounted on

horizontal frame members

18 and 20 and is moved by any suitable means such as a hydraulic ram whose cylinder 22 is coupled to verticalframe members 24 and whose piston rod 26 is coupled to a bracket 28 on the bottom of cutting table 16. A cutting board 30 is movably mounted on top of the cutting table 16 by means of a board shifting mechanism which will be described later. A stack of paper 32 is placed on top of cutting board 30 and is aligned and held in position by means of paper guides 34 and paper clamps 36. Paperguides 34 and clamps 36 are mounted on hollow bases in order to allow a chain 76 to pass therethrough for reasons that will be explained later, the bases elevating the chains somewhat.

The hydraulic means which operate the cutting die- 12 and cutting table 16 are preferably programmed by means not shown to make a plurality of laterally shifted cuts in the stack of paper 32 to cut out as many stacks of envelope blanks as is practical from the size of the sheets in the stack. At the end of the cutting operation, the cutting table 16 and cutting board 30 are moved forwardly out from under the cutting die 12 so that the stacks of die cut envelope blanks can be unloaded. After the forward movement (to the left in FIG. 1) stops, the stack of paper containing the die cut envelope blanks is slid onto an unloading table, which is not shown in the drawings, and a fresh stack of paper 32 is placed on cutting table 30. The cutting table 16 is then moved underneath the cutting die 12 again, and the cutting operation is repeated.

This invention is concerned with the fact that the cutting die 12 cuts into the surface of cutting board 30 at the lower end of its cutting stroke and leaves an impression in the surface of cutting board 30. After several cuts in the same position, the impression becomes a groove which causes rough cuts in the bottom sheets of paper which lie adjacent to the surface of cutting board 30. To alleviate this condition, this invention provides two features: (1) a cutting board shifting mechanism which shifts the position of the cutting board 30 by a relatively small amount after each cutting operation to present a fresh cutting surface to the cutting die; and (2) a novel cutting board which is made of rectangular sections that can be moved relative to each other to present a fresh cutting surface to the cutting die. Although these two features can be used independently of each other, they are related in the sense that they are directed to the same end, feature (2) further prolonging the life of the cutting board.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, the cutting board 30 comprises a plurality of rectangular sections 38, square in the preferred embodiment, which are fitted in sideby-side relationship into a shallow tray 40. The sections 38 are fitted loosely enough into the tray 40 so that they can be moved from position to position to present fresh cutting surfaces to the cutting die 12. The arrows in FIG. 6 illustrate one method of moving the sections 38 from position to position. The section 38 in the lower left corner is removed from tray 40 and the section 38 to the right is moved into its place. Each adjacent section 38 is then moved by one position as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 6, which ultimately leaves an empty position in the upper left corner of tray 40. The section 38 which was removed from the lower left corner of tray 40 is then placed in the upper left corner. Such a shift is preferably made once a day. Since there are 20 sections 38 which are involved in the abovenoted shift, the shift can be made 20 times before the sections 38 return to their original configuration. At that point, the sections 38 can be rotated 90 and then shifted 20 more times. The rotation can be performed 3 times. Then the sections 38 can be turned over and shifted 80 times again. This process extends the lifetime of the cutting board 30 by a factor of 160, which provides a substantial saving in cost and also a substantial improvement in the quality of the envelope blanks that are cut on the cutting board 30.

The board shifting mechanism which shifts the position of cutting board 30 between cutting operations utilizes the reciprocal movement of cutting table 16 away from cutting die 12 to cause minor shifting of the board. A ratchet 42 and sprocket 44 (FIG. 3) are rotatably mounted on a stud shaft 46 projecting upwardly from the cutting table 16. The ratchet 42 and sprocket 44 are suitably linked together so that they rotate together. The ratchet 42 is rotatably indexed by contact with a pawl 48 which is mounted on a frame element 40 and is spring loaded by a spring element 52. As best shown in FIG. 2, the table movement is suitably adjusted so that the pawl 48 engages the ratchet 42 to advance the ratchet one tooth after every complete cutting operation of the cutting die 12.

The rotary movement of ratchet 42 and sprocket 44 are translated into a shifting of cutting board 30 by means of an eccentric coupling mechanism by which the cutting board 30 is linked'to the cutting table 16. As best shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, an arm 54 having a slot 56 is rigidly attached to the lower left hand portion of the tray 40 of cutting board 30. Slot 56 engages a pin 58 which is eccentrically mounted on a double sprocket assembly 60, comprising two .concentric sprockets which are keyed together. The double sprocket assembly 60 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 62 which is rigidly attached to cutting table 16. The bottom of double sprocket assembly 60 is linked by an endless chain 64 (FIGS. 1 and 2) to the sprocket 44 which is attached to ratchet 42. Therefore, each time ratchet 42 is indexed by pawl 48, chain 64 indexes sprocket assembly 60, thereby moving eccentric pin 58 and shifting the position of cutting board 30 due to the engagement of eccentric pin 58 in slot 56.

The rear corner of cutting board 30 (toward the cutting die) is eccentrically coupled to cutting table 16 by means of a bracket 66 (FIG. 5) which is rigidly attached to the right hand corner of tray 40. Bracket 66 has a journal bearing 68 rigidly attached thereto. Journal bearing 68 receives an eccentric pin 70 which is attached to a sprocket 72. The sprocket 72 is rotatably attached to a shaft 74 which is mounted for rotation on the cutting table 16. An endless chain 76 (FIGS. I and 2) links the sprocket 72 to the upper sprocket of double sprocket assembly 60 (FIG. 4). Therefore, when ratchet 42 is indexed by pawl 48, the indexing movement is transmitted by means of

chains

64 and 76 to eccentric pin 70, which causes a shifting of the corner of cutting board 30 due to the engagement between eccentric pin 70 and journal bearing 68.

The overall shifting movement of cutting board 30 is a composite of the circular movement caused in one corner by the engagement of eccentric pin 70 with journal bearing 68 and the somewhat different linear movement caused in the other corner by the engagement of eccentric pin 58 with slot 56. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that different shifting movements can be provided forcutting board 30 by varying the nature of the eccentric couplings.

In order to maintain the same relative position of each stack of paper 32 in spite of the shifted position of cutting board 30, the jogging surface of the paper guides 34 and paper clamps 36 are built out as far as the predetermined diameter of the circular motion of cutting board 30 caused by

eccentric pins

70 and 58. The clamps 36 must have an extension 37 welded onto their tips which is equal in length to the diameter of the circular motion of cutting board 30. Care must be taken when extending the length of clamps 36 that the additional length of extension 37 does not reduce the clamp pressure to a point where the clamp will no longer effectively hold the paper. Care must also be taken that the length and width of the cutting board 30 plus the diameter ofits circular motion does not exceed the available length and width of the press.

From the foregoing description it will be clear that this invention provides an improved cutting board for a cutting press and an improved board shifting mechanism for the cutting board. And although this invention has been described in connection with one specific embodiment thereof, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment since many modifications can be made in the disclosed structure without changing its essential principles. For example, although the disclosed embodiment uses chains to transmit motion from the ratchet and pawl to the eccentric mechanisms, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that other motion transmitting means may be used. This and many other modifications of the disclosed structure will be apparent to those skilled in the art and this invention includes all modifications that fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a cutting press having a frame, having a cutting die movably mounted on said frame, having a cutting table movably mounted on said frame for reciprocal movement toward and away from said cutting die, having a cutting board movably mounted on said cutting table, and having means for pressing said cutting die against said cutting board to die cut material which is positioned on said cutting board. the improvement comprising actuating means on said cutting table, means on said cutting board engaged by said actuating means for causing shifting of the cutting board when the actuating means is operated, and means on the frame positioned to engage said actuating means to thereby cause operation of said actuating means each time the cutting table is moved away from said cutting die. i

2. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said actuating means includes a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said cutting table and wherein said means on the frame comprises a pawl attached to the frame and positioned to engage said ratchet and rotate it each time said cutting table is moved away from said cutting die.

3. The improvement defined in claim 2 wherein said actuating means and said means on said cutting board engaged by said actuating means include eccentric means coupling said cutting board to said cutting table.

4. The improvement defined in claim 3 wherein said eccentric means includes a sprocket rotatably mounted on the cutting table and wherein said ratchet wheel has a sprocket attached thereto, there being an endless chain connecting said two sprockets to transmit motion from said ratchet wheel to said eccentric means.

5. The improvement defined in claim 2 wherein said means on said cutting board engaged by said actuating means comprises a slotted bracket attached to said cutting board, and wherein there is a first sprocket journalled to said cutting table having an eccentric pin engaged in the slot of said slotted bracket, there being a second sprocket coupled to said ratchet wheeland movable therewith, and a first endless chain connecting an eccentric pin engaging said second bracket, a fourth sprocket attached to said first sprocket and rotatable therewith, and a second endless chain connecting said third and fourth sprockets,

7. In a cutting press having a frame, having a cutting die movably mounted on said frame, having a cutting table movably mounted on said frame for reciprocal movement toward and away from said cutting die, having a cutting board movably mounted on said cutting table, and having means for pressing said cutting die against said cutting board to die cut material which is positioned on said cutting board, the improvement comprising means for causing automatic shifting of the cutting board including shifting means on the cutting board, operating means on the frame, and cooperating means between said operating means and shifting means responsive to movement of the cutting table for causing minor shifting of the cutting board each time the cutting table is moved away from said cutting die.

Claims

1. In a cutting press having a frame, having a cutting die movably mounted on said frame, having a cutting table movably mounted on said frame for reciprocal movement toward and away from said cutting die, having a cutting board movably mounted on said cutting table, and having means for pressing said cutting die against said cutting board to die cut material which is positioned on said cutting board, the improvement comprising actuating means on said cutting table, means on said cutting board engaged by said actuating means for causing shifting of the cutting board when the actuating means is operated, and means on the frame positioned to engage said actuating means to thereby cause operation of said actuating means each time the cutting table is moved away from said cutting die.

5. The improvement defined in claim 2 wherein said means on said cutting board engaged by said actuating means comprises a slotted bracket attached to said cutting board, and wherein there is a first sprocket journalled to said cutting table having an eccentric pin engaged in the slot of said slotted bracket, there being a second sprocket coupled to said ratchet wheel and movable therewith, and a first endless chain connecting said first and second sprockets.

6. The improvement defined in claim 5 and further comprising a second bracket attached to another portion of said cutting board, a third sprocket journalled to said cutting table under said second bracket having an eccentric pin engaging said second bracket, a fourth sprocket attached to said first sprocket and rotatable therewith, and a second endless chain connecting said third and fourth sprockets.