Print finishing machine

Abstract

A print finishing machine has a die and a drive mechanism. The drive mechanism is driven by a motor and the drive mechanism is configured to drive a stack of sheets of material through the die in order to cut the stack according to the shape of the die.

Claims

1. A print finishing machine comprising: a die; and a drive mechanism driven by a motor, wherein the drive mechanism is configured to drive a stack through the die in order to cut the stack according to the shape of the die, wherein the stack comprises sheets of material, and wherein the motor is a servomotor; a pusher configured to collect the stack and align the stack with the die; and a barrier, wherein the pusher is configured to urge the stack against the barrier, and wherein the barrier is arranged to align the stack with the die, wherein the barrier is configured to open after cutting, and the pusher is configured to pass the stack through the barrier.

2. The print finishing machine of claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism has a drive axis substantially aligned with a cutting axis of the die.

3. A print finishing machine comprising: a die; and a drive mechanism driven by a motor, wherein the drive mechanism is configured to drive a stack through the die in order to cut the stack according to the shape of the die, wherein the stack comprises sheets of material, and wherein the motor is a servomotor; and an anvil, wherein the anvil is driven by the drive mechanism and wherein the anvil is configured to drive the stack through the die.

4. The print finishing machine of claim 3, wherein the direction of movement of the anvil is constrained by guides.

5. The print finishing machine of claim 4, further comprising legs, wherein the guides slide along the legs.

6. The print finishing machine of claim 5, wherein the legs support the drive mechanism and/or a surface.

7. A print finishing machine comprising: a die; and a drive mechanism driven by a motor, wherein the drive mechanism is configured to drive a stack through the die in order to cut the stack according to the shape of the die, wherein the stack comprises sheets of material, and wherein the motor is a servomotor; and a surface configured to receive the stack, wherein the surface is moveable inside the die.

8. The print finishing machine of claim 7, wherein the surface is mounted to a resilient member.

9. The print finishing machine of claim 3, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a linear actuator driven by the motor, wherein the linear actuator is configured to drive the stack, and wherein the motor and the linear actuator are coupled by a gearing mechanism arranged to increase the torque of the drive mechanism.

10. The print finishing machine of claim 9, wherein the motor and linear actuator are arranged in a side-by-side configuration.

11. The print finishing machine of claim 7, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a pair of magnetic limit switches configured to limit the motion of the drive mechanism.

12. The print finishing machine of claim 3, further comprising a cutting tool arranged to shred waste material from the cut stack, wherein the cutting tool comprises a plurality of cutting tools arranged around the outside of the die.

13. The print finishing machine of claim 7, further comprising an extractor configured to remove waste material from the print finishing machine, wherein the extractor comprises a shroud around the die.

14. The print finishing machine of claim 13, wherein the extractor comprises a vacuum cleaner coupled to the shroud.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention shall now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates an end view of a print finishing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the print finishing machine of FIG. 1; and

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates a close-up view of a portion of the print finishing machine of FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) FIGS. 1 and 2 show respective end and side views of a print finishing machine 100. FIG. 3 shows a close-up view of a portion of the print finishing machine 100.

(6) The print finishing machine 100 has a die 112. By driving a stack of sheets of material, in this example a deck of playing cards, through the die 112 the deck of playing cards can be cut according to the shape of the die 112 in order to produce a deck of playing cards with a high quality and uniform finish and rounded corners.

(7) Drive mechanism 120 includes a lead screw 124 driven by servomotor 122. The servomotor 122 and lead screw 124 are in a side-by-side configuration with the servomotor 122 coupled to lead screw 124 by planetary gears 126. The planetary gears 126 reduce the speed of servomotor 122 and increase the torque applied to lead screw 124. The drive mechanism 120 drives an anvil 116 against the deck of playing cards, forcing the deck through the die 112. The servomotor 122 is attached to servomotor controller 123 which powers and controls the servomotor 122.

(8) The deck of playing cards is supported from underneath by surface 110. Surface 110 is mounted to springs fixed to the base of die 112 and is moveable within the die 112. Before cutting, the deck of playing cards is supported by the surface 110 from below. During cutting, the anvil 116 urges the deck towards the die 112, compressing the springs. The deck is forced through the die 112 causing the deck to be cut. Once the deck has been cut, the anvil 116 is retracted and the springs urge the surface 110, and hence the deck, upwards back to the position the surface 110 was in prior to cutting. By supporting the deck from below, the surface 110 reduces the likelihood of deforming or bending the deck as the deck is forced through the die 112. Also, the retractable surface 110 means that the deck does not get stuck inside the die 112 after cutting, making it possible to remove the deck after cutting by simply sliding the deck off the surface 110 with a pusher 132.

(9) The drive mechanism 120 has an encoder which allow the position of the anvil 116 to be determined accurately, and a feedback mechanism to precisely control the range of travel of the anvil 116 to ensure that the whole deck is cut, to ensure that the anvil 116 is moved out of the way after cutting so that the deck can be removed with pusher 132 so a new deck can be inserted, and to ensure that the anvil 116 is not driven beyond the range of travel needed to cut the deck (which could lead to damage, and which could reduce the number of decks of cards that could be processed in a given time).

(10) The drive mechanism 120 is mounted on plate 128 which is supported by legs 119. The anvil 116 is attached to a plate 117, and each corner of the plate 117 has a guide 118 which slides along legs 119 to constrain the anvil 116 to move along a cutting axis of the die in order to reduce unwanted twisting or movement of the deck during cutting which could otherwise lead to poor quality cutting.

(11) A channel 130 is attached towards the middle of legs 119 by brackets 131. Base 138 is attached at the bottom of legs 119. Posts 111 support the die 112. The posts 111 are attached to translation stage 139 fixed to base 138. The translation stage 139 allows the position of the die 112 to be controlled to align the die 112 with channel 130 and deck to ensure an accurate cut.

(12) The base 138 is sat on frame 142 which has feet 143 which establish a suitable height of the print finishing machine 100, for example, to allow the print finishing machine 100 to interface with any other elements in the print finishing process (such as a slitting machine, or a wrapping machine)

(13) The decks of playing cards that are loaded into the print finishing machine 100 have been cut into individual cards on a slitting machine and collated into a deck. The decks of playing cards are loaded into channel 130 from a conveyor belt (not shown) which couples the channel 130 to the slitting machine.

(14) A pusher 132 is attached to a lead screw driven by a servomotor 134 which controls the position of the pusher 132 along a channel 130. The pusher 132 transports the stack along the channel 130 to surface 110. The channel 130 and the surface 110 have a groove 113 into which an end of the pusher 132 is received. The groove 113 ensures that the pusher 132 transports the whole stack along the channel 130 and onto the surface 110, making sure the bottom cards do not get left behind or stuck.

(15) The pusher 132 urges the stack up against barrier 136 which, before cutting, is closed and blocking the channel 130. The channel 130 and barrier 136 constrain the position of the stack in order to help align the stack with the surface 110 and die 112.

(16) The barrier 136 is pneumatically actuated, so after cutting the barrier 136 can be opened allowing the pusher 132 to pass the cut stack to the output 140. The output 140 may be connected to a conveyor which could take the cut stack on to a further print finishing machine (such as a wrapping or packing machine).

(17) The die 112 may have a plurality of blades arranged around the outside edge of the die 112. As the deck is cut, the off-cut material is shredded into small pieces by the blades to reduce the likelihood that the off-cut material will foul the print finishing machine 100. A shroud may be placed around the die 112 which is coupled to a vacuum cleaner which removes the off-cut material to a refuse container.

(18) Although the invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment, the skilled person will appreciate that various modifications could be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

(19) For example, the invention has been described in terms of cutting a deck of playing cards. The invention could cut simultaneously multiple decks stacked on top of one another. The invention could also be applied to cutting game cards, trading cards, business cards, labels or the like. Equally, the invention could be applied to cutting a stack comprising any kind of sheets of material such as paper, card or plastic.

(20) The die 112 may have any desired shape corresponding with the desired cut shape of the stack.