JP2003002521A - Cutter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cutter whose life can be judged for cutting an article to be cut with small load dispersion. SOLUTION: The time required for cutting is not largely dispersed since the article to be cut has small load dispersion. Using this point, the life of a movable blade of the cutter is determined by measuring the time required for cutting, and it is determined as the end of the life for the movable blade if the cutting time exceeds a prescribed time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique effectively applied to a cutter for cutting an object to be cut such as a roll paper having a small load variation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional cutter has no function of determining the life of a blade, determines that the blade has reached the end of its life when the number of times the blade is cut or rotated exceeds a prescribed number, and is a driving means. The current value of the motor was detected and the life of the blade was judged from the change in the steady current value.

[0003]

If the cutter has no function of detecting the life of the cutter blade, the cutter user will not be able to use the cutter unless the cutter is exhausted and frequently causes problems such as paper jams. Never notice. In other words, the cutter will be replaced after the trouble has been repeated many times after the movable blade has reached the end of its life.

Further, the conventional method of judging the life by counting the number of times of cutting and the number of times of rotation of the blade determines the life regardless of the individual difference of the blade, and therefore, the blade is still a sufficiently usable cutter. However, it will be judged as the life. Further, since it is necessary to store the number of cuts even when the power is turned off, a rewritable non-volatile memory or other storage means is required. Such a storage means becomes expensive in a cutter for a small system such as a thermal printer because of the storage means.

Further, in the method of judging the life from the change of the current value of the motor, the current value is averaged in order to measure the steady current value in order to realize it with only a simple circuit without using the information processing device. If a device is devised, or if there is a period for cutting the object to be cut and a period for not cutting it while driving the movable blade, is it necessary to divide these sections and measure the current value in each section to make a judgment circuit? , A circuit for averaging the current values in all sections is required.

The present invention makes it possible to detect the life of the blade of the cutter, to prompt the user of the cutter to replace the life of the blade before a problem occurs, and to detect the life of the blade. The purpose is to allow the cutter to be used until the cutting ability of the blade actually decreases. Another object is to reduce the cost without using a rewritable non-volatile memory or other storage means. It is another object of the present invention to enable simple life determination with a simpler circuit even when an information processing device is not used.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides at least one for cutting an object to be cut.
A cutting mechanism having two movable blades, and a drive means for the movable blades in which the moving speed of the movable blades changes depending on the magnitude of the load,
Position detecting means for detecting the current position of the movable blade, time measuring means for measuring the driving time of the movable blade in one cycle,
And a life determining unit that determines the life of the cutting mechanism from the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade.

Further, instead of the above-mentioned life determining means, a measuring means capable of estimating the energy applied to the driving means of the movable blade, such as a driving voltage sensor or a current value sensor of the motor of the cutting mechanism, is provided to the driving means. It is characterized by comprising: a correction means for correcting the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade from the energy, and a life judging means for judging the life of the cutting mechanism from the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade corrected by the correction means. To do.

Alternatively, instead of the above-mentioned life determining means, for example, a constant voltage device or a constant current device for making the voltage and current of a motor for driving the movable blade constant, a driving energy for making the energy given to the driving means for the movable blade constant. It is characterized by having a stabilizing means.

Alternatively, instead of the life determining means, a measuring means for measuring the temperature of the cutting mechanism or an environmental temperature around the cutting mechanism, and a correcting means for correcting the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade from the measured temperature, And a life judging means for judging the life of the cutting mechanism from the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade corrected by the correcting means.

Alternatively, instead of the above life determining means, a measuring means for measuring the humidity around the cutting mechanism, a correcting means for correcting the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade from the measured humidity, and a correcting means for correcting the And a life judging means for judging the life of the cutting mechanism from the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade.

In addition to the above-mentioned means, a warning means for giving a warning to the user to replace the cutting mechanism is provided.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a cutter according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1a and 1b
Is a cutting mechanism, 1a is a movable blade, 1b is a fixed blade, 2a
Is a DC motor for driving the movable blade, 2b is a feed shaft of the movable blade 1a in which a spiral groove is cut, and 3 is a switch for detecting the position of the movable blade 1a.

(Operation of movable blade driving means and movable blade) When the DC motor 2a is driven for the cutting operation, the shaft 2b rotates with the rotation of the DC motor 2a, and the shaft 2b rotates with the rotation of the shaft 2b. Movable blade 1 along the groove of 2b
a is slid in the longitudinal direction of the fixed blade 1b. The groove of the shaft 2b is formed by carving two spirals having different rotating directions and smoothly connecting both ends of the spirals so as not to be discontinuous. The DC blade 2a can be rotated in one direction to move the movable blade. 1a is configured to repeat the amplitude in the longitudinal direction of the fixed blade 1b. When the movable blade 1a slides toward the DC motor 2a, the roll blade 4 sandwiched between the movable blade 1a and the fixed blade 1b is cut by the movable blade 1a and the fixed blade 1b.

(Operation of the movable blade and the position detecting means of the movable blade)
In FIG. 1, when the movable blade 1a is on the end of the shaft 2b opposite to the DC motor 2a, the switch 3 which is the position detecting means of the movable blade 1a is in the ON state,
When a is located on the shaft 2b other than the position of the end opposite to the DC motor 2a, the switch 3 which is the position detecting means of the movable blade 1a is configured to be in the OFF state.

(Operations of movable blade position detecting means and time measuring means) The moment when the switch 3 is connected to the time measuring means such as the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and the switch 3 changes from the ON state to the OFF state. Then, switch 3 turns O again.
It is configured to be able to measure the time until returning to the N state. When the information processing device is not used, for example, a timer circuit which can reset the timer value and can be stopped or operated can be used as the time measuring means. When the time measurement is started, the timer value is reset and the timer operation is started.

(Cutting operation) In the initial state, the movable blade 1
The roll paper 4 is set at a position where the switch 3 is turned on. When the driving of the DC motor 2a is started, the movable blade 1a starts moving along the shaft 2b, and the switch 3
Turns off. The time measurement by the time measuring means is started from the moment when the switch 3 is turned off.
When the DC motor 2a is continuously driven, the roll paper 4 is cut by the movable blade 1a and the fixed blade 1b, and the movable blade 1a is further cut.
Turns back at the position closest to the DC motor 2a and returns to the position of the movable blade 1a in the initial state. At the moment when the switch 3 is turned on, the driving of the DC motor 2a is stopped, and the time measurement by the time measurement means is completed.

(Life Judgment) When cutting an object to be cut such as roll paper with a small load variation, the cutting operation time becomes longer than the initial cutting operation time when the degree of wear of the blade approaches the end of its life. Therefore, when the result of the above time measurement exceeds the specified time, it can be determined that the blade has reached the end of its life due to wear. For example, the life of the blade due to wear is determined by comparing the specified time with the result of time measurement by the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. Also, even if you do not use the information processing device,
For example, the first comparing circuit for comparing the timer value of the timer circuit with a value representing the specified time can be used as the life determining means. If the timer value is larger than the value indicating the specified time by the first comparison circuit, it can be determined that the life has expired.

If there is a possibility that the cutting operation will be stopped due to clogging of the object to be cut, the movable blade will not return to the specified position even after a sufficiently long time has elapsed after the operation of the movable blade. By detecting this, it is possible to call the user's attention as if a paper jam has occurred. Even when the information processing device is not used, the second comparator circuit compares the timer value of the timer circuit with a value representing a sufficiently long time, and if the timer value becomes larger, the timer circuit is stopped and the paper is stopped. It is possible to call the user's attention as the occurrence of clogging.

(Life judgment when energy applied to driving means changes) Further, when energy applied to driving means may change, such as when a voltage variable power source or a battery is used as a power source. For example, the energy applied to the drive means of the movable blade is measured by using a measuring means such as a sensor for measuring the motor drive voltage and a current sensor shown in 3 of FIG. 2 that can estimate the energy applied to the drive means of the movable blade. Estimate the energy of the movable blade from the energy given to the driving means.
It is also possible to make a correction to correct the driving time of the cycle and determine the life from the corrected driving time of one cycle of the movable blade.

If the energy applied to the driving means may change as it is, such as when a variable voltage type power source or a battery is used as the power source, for example, a constant voltage circuit or a constant current circuit is used. It is also possible to determine the life by driving the movable blade while keeping the energy applied to the driving means of the movable blade constant by the drive energy stabilizing means which can keep the energy applied to the driving means of the movable blade constant.

(Determination of Life when Driving Time of Movable Blade 1 Cycle Changes with Temperature) When the driving time of 1 cycle of the movable blade fluctuates due to the temperature of the cutter or the ambient temperature around the cutter, for example, FIG. The temperature of the cutter or the environment temperature around the cutter is measured by a measuring means for measuring the temperature of the cutter or the environment temperature around the cutter, such as a sensor for measuring ambient temperature shown in No. 4, and the movable blade is driven for one cycle from the measured temperature. It is also possible to make a correction to correct the time and determine the life from the corrected drive time of one cycle of the movable blade.

(Life Judgment When the Driving Time of the Movable Blade 1 Cycle Changes According to Humidity) When the driving time of the movable blade 1 cycle changes due to the humidity around the cutter, for example, the humidity indicated by 5 in FIG. The humidity around the cutter is measured by a measuring means such as a measuring sensor for measuring the humidity around the cutter, the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade is corrected based on the measured humidity, and the one cycle of the corrected movable blade is measured. The life can also be determined from the driving time.

(Warning to User) Further, it is possible to prompt the user to replace the cutter by a warning means such as a warning lamp shown in FIG.

[0025]

According to the present invention, the user of the cutter can be informed that the cutter has reached the end of life before a problem occurs, and the user of the cutter can be prompted to replace the cutter. Further, since the method of detecting the life of the blade is used, unlike the method of determining the life by the number of times of cutting, the cutter can be used until the cutting ability of the blade actually decreases. Further, a rewritable non-volatile memory or other storage means is unnecessary, which is economical. Further, even when the information processing device is not used, it is possible to easily determine the life with a simple circuit including one timer circuit and one or two comparison circuits.

Further, in the case of a cutter that stops the movable blade at a specified position each time a cutting operation is performed, a movable blade position detecting means for stopping the movable blade at a fixed position is already provided. In many cases, hardware costs can be suppressed when the present invention is applied.

Further, in the case of a system having an information processing device for controlling the cutter, it often has a function capable of measuring the time of one cycle of the movable blade, and the hardware cost is further increased when the present invention is applied. It can be suppressed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a cutter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a cutter according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a movable blade 1b Fixed blade 2a DC motor for driving the movable blade 1a 2b Movable blade 1a feed shaft 3 Switch for detecting the position of the movable blade 1a 4 roll paper

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. At least one for cutting an object to be cut.
A cutting mechanism having two movable blades, and a drive means for the movable blades in which the moving speed of the movable blades changes depending on the magnitude of the load,
Position detecting means for detecting the current position of the movable blade, time measuring means for measuring the driving time of the movable blade in one cycle,
A cutter comprising: a life determining unit that determines the life of the cutting mechanism from the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade. 2. A measuring means for detecting a driving voltage value or a driving current value of the driving means and estimating the energy given to the driving means, and one cycle of the movable blade from the energy given to the driving means. The correction means for correcting the drive time is provided, and the life determination means determines the life of the cutter from the drive time of one cycle of the movable blade corrected by the correction means. Cutter. 3. The cutter according to claim 1, further comprising drive energy stabilizing means for making the energy applied to the drive means constant. 4. The life span is provided with a measuring means for measuring a temperature of the cutting mechanism or an ambient temperature around the cutting mechanism, and a correcting means for correcting a driving time of one cycle of the movable blade from the measured temperature. The cutter according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines the life of the cutter based on the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade corrected by the correcting unit. 5. The measuring means for measuring the humidity around the cutting mechanism, and the correcting means for correcting the driving time of one cycle of the movable blade from the measured humidity, the life determining means by the correcting means. The cutter according to claim 1, wherein the cutter life is determined from the corrected one-cycle driving time of the movable blade. 6. A warning means for warning a user to replace the cutting mechanism is provided.
Cutter described in any of.