阅读说明：本技术 用于自动切割材料的片或多层叠加的片的数控装置 (Numerical control device for automatically cutting sheets or multi-layered superposed sheets of material ) 是由 亚历山德罗·科尔西科皮科利诺 于 2020-02-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了用于自动切割材料的片(2)或多个叠加的片(2)的数控装置(1),包括：-切割室(3),其配有入口(4)和出口(5),切割室(3)配置为容纳位于平面α上的片(2)的至少一部分；-切割装置(80),其在所述切割室(3)内启动以根据预定的模式执行所述片(2)的切割；-传送装置(6),其适于沿纵向方向(Y)在前进方向(A)上将片(2)供给到切割室(3)内；-保持或保留装置(10；115),其与所述传送装置(6)以组合的方式作用在所述片(2)上以确保所述切割装置(80)的切割操作期间所述片(2)的稳定性；-配置为控制所述装置(1)的控制单元(U)；-其中所述材料可选地是兽皮、织物或合成材料,并且可以作为单个片(2)或作为多层的片(2)供给而不会改变前进方向(A)。(The invention discloses a numerical control device (1) for automatically cutting a sheet (2) or a plurality of superimposed sheets (2) of material, comprising: -a cutting chamber (3) provided with an inlet (4) and an outlet (5), the cutting chamber (3) being configured to house at least a portion of the sheet (2) lying on a plane a; -cutting means (80) activated inside said cutting chamber (3) to perform the cutting of said sheet (2) according to a predetermined pattern; -conveying means (6) adapted to feed the sheet (2) into the cutting chamber (3) in a longitudinal direction (Y) in an advancing direction (a); -retaining or retaining means (10; 115) acting in combination with said conveying means (6) on said sheet (2) to ensure the stability of said sheet (2) during the cutting operation of said cutting means (80); -a control unit (U) configured to control the apparatus (1); -wherein said material is optionally hide, fabric or synthetic material and can be supplied as a single sheet (2) or as a multi-layered sheet (2) without changing the advancing direction (a).)

1. Numerical control device (1) for automatically cutting a sheet (2) or a plurality of superimposed sheets (2) of material, comprising:

-a cutting chamber (3) provided with an inlet (4) and an outlet (5), said cutting chamber (3) being configured to house at least a portion of a sheet (2) lying on a plane (α);

-cutting means (80) activated inside said cutting chamber (3) to perform the cutting of said sheet (2) according to a predetermined pattern;

-conveying means (6) adapted to feed a sheet (2) into the cutting chamber (3) in a longitudinal direction (Y) in an advancing direction (a);

-retaining or retaining means (10; 115) acting in combination with said conveying means (6) on said sheet (2) to ensure the stability of the same during the cutting operation of said cutting means (80);

-a control unit (U) configured to control the apparatus (1);

-wherein said material is optionally hide, fabric or synthetic material, and can be fed as a single sheet (2) or as a multilayer sheet (2) without changing said advancing direction (a), and further comprises a crosspiece (18) above said cutting chamber (3) and an artificial vision system intended to acquire images of said sheet (2) to plan cutting operations thereon; the artificial vision system comprises at least one image acquisition device (7a) inserted in the cutting chamber (3) and associated with the crosspiece (18) and at least one upstream image acquisition device (7b) arranged upstream of the crosspiece (18).

2. The device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the upstream image acquisition arrangement (7b) comprises a plurality of image acquisition arrangements arranged in a grid or matrix to cover a rectangular surface spaced from and substantially corresponding to the perimeter dimension of the cutting chamber.

3. Device (1) according to claim 1, wherein said at least one image acquisition device (7a) is housed in a region (20) inside said crosspiece (18), said crosspiece (18) comprising at least one visual access (21), said image acquisition device (7a) reaching said cutting chamber (3) through said at least one visual access (21).

4. Device (1) according to claim 3, wherein in at least one operating configuration of the cutting device (80) the line of sight (L) between the image acquisition means (7a) and the cutting chamber (C) is blocked, the cutting device (80) being able to adopt at least one rest configuration in which the line of sight (L) is not obstructed.

5. Device (1) according to claim 4, wherein said image acquisition means (7a) are in plurality, all housed in said crosspiece (18) and aligned along a transversal direction (X) of deployment of said crosspiece (18).

6. Device (1) according to any one of claims 4 or 5, wherein the cutting device (80) comprises two upper carriages (19 a; 19b) supported by the crosspiece (18) and movable with respect to the crosspiece (18) according to a transverse direction (X) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (Y); wherein, in the rest configuration, the upper carriage (19 a; 19b) is in an opposite lateral end-of-travel position, laterally offset from the at least one internal image acquisition device (7 a).

7. Device (1) according to claim 6, wherein a screw/nut screw system for transmitting motion to the upper carriage (19 a; 19b) is provided, comprising a transverse screw (33) arranged below the crosspiece (18), the transverse screw (33) being offset in a longitudinal direction (Y) from a line of sight (L) of an internal image acquisition device (7 a).

8. The apparatus (1) according to claim 2, wherein said plurality of upstream image acquisition devices are identical in number and configuration to said internal image acquisition devices.

9. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising auxiliary means (113) to facilitate the feeding of the sheets (2) to the conveying means (6) of the machine, said auxiliary means (113) comprising a support plane (114) provided with at least one crosspiece holding element (115) for holding at least one sheet (2) or a plurality of layers of said sheets (2), said plane (114) being activated by motorized means mutually approaching and/or distancing from the conveyor belt.

10. Device (1) according to claim 9, wherein in a rest position the movable plane (114) is movable angularly and retractably below the conveyor belt (6).

11. Device (1) according to any one of claims 9 or 10, wherein the plane (114) can be guided movably on a support guide (124) from a rest position, in which it extends vertically close to the lower front portion (120) of the machine (1), to an operating position, in which it extends horizontally.

12. The apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a coating roller (117) adapted to coat and hold said sheet (2) on said conveying means (6); and a support of the coating roller (117) configured to move with respect to the conveyor (6) in a direction parallel to the advancement direction (Y).

13. Device (1) according to claim 12, wherein said coating roller (117) is associated with said support to spread and coat the surface (S) of said sheet (2) when said support is moved in a direction opposite to said advancing direction (a) of said sheet (2).

14. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising at least one closing element (10) at the inlet (4) and/or outlet (5) of the cutting chamber (3), the closing element (10) being movable between an open position, in which at least one portion of the closing element (10) is at a first distance from the plane (a), and a closed position, in which at least one portion of the closing element (10) is at a second distance from the plane (a), the second distance being smaller than the first distance, the distances being measured along a direction substantially orthogonal to the plane (a) in which the sheet (2) lies.

15. The device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said cutting means (80) comprise at least a first cutting head (8a) and at least a second cutting head (8 b); and a system for replacing cutting heads (8 a; 8b) inside the cutting chamber (3), comprising a first upper carriage (19a) for the first cutting head (8a) and a second upper carriage (19b) for the second cutting head (8 b); said first and second upper brackets (19 a; 19b) being both supported by said crosspiece (18) and being translatable with respect to said crosspiece (18) along a transverse direction (X); the first upper carriage (19a) being fixed with one or more first guides (24 a; 24' a) of the crosspiece (18); the second upper bracket (19b) being fixed with one or more second guides (24 b; 24' b) of the crosspiece (18); the first guide (24 a; 24 'a) is parallel to and distinct from the second guide (24 b; 24' b).

Prior Art

As is well known in the art, there are devices that are capable of automatically cutting sheets according to a predetermined cutting pattern.

Incidentally, the type of material in the sheet to be cut is the most diverse, even in the same industrial field. For example, the apparel, accessories, and footwear industries use a variety of materials, such as leather, non-woven, and synthetic materials. These materials, while having significant differences in manufacturing and consistency, have in common the presence of the cutting operation in the sheet.

So far, numerically controlled cutting machines have mostly been dedicated to a single material or a single class of materials, such as: leather and fabric.

Such known devices are disclosed, for example, in pCT patent application publication No. WO2016/135637 or U.S. patent publication No. 5,450,333.

Despite the need for a single machine capable of handling sheets of different materials, for obvious reasons of production flexibility, the few devices of this type currently on the market have drawbacks related to excessive technical complexity and to the recovery time of the machine during the passage from one process to another; for example, some devices work in opposite directions depending on the type of material to be cut.

The technical problem underlying the present invention is that of providing a device for cutting a sheet of material, the structural and functional characteristics of which are capable of overcoming the above-mentioned limitations, i.e. which is versatile and allows to cut different types of material with limited or without machine reconfiguration operations.

Summary of The Invention

The above technical problem is solved by a numerical control device for automatically cutting sheets or multi-layer superimposed sheets, comprising:

-a cutting chamber provided with an inlet and an outlet, said cutting chamber being configured to accommodate at least a portion of a sheet lying on a plane;

-cutting means activated inside said cutting chamber to perform the cutting of said sheet according to a predetermined pattern;

-conveying means adapted to feed the sheets into the cutting chamber along a longitudinal advancement direction;

-retaining or retaining means acting on the sheet in combination with the conveying means to ensure the stability of the sheet during the cutting operation of the cutting means;

-a control unit configured for controlling the apparatus;

-wherein said material may optionally be hide, fabric or synthetic material, and may be fed in the form of single-layer or multi-layer sheets without changing the transport advancement direction, the device further comprising a crosspiece above said cutting chamber and an artificial vision system for acquiring images of the sheets to plan cutting operations thereon; the artificial vision system includes at least one image capture device inserted into the cutting chamber and associated with the rail and at least one upstream image capture device disposed upstream of the rail.

More specifically, the upstream image capturing device comprises a plurality of image capturing devices including a plurality of image capturing devices arranged in a grid or matrix to cover a rectangular surface spaced from and substantially corresponding to the perimeter dimension of the cutting chamber.

The apparatus may further include one or more cutting heads supported by the rungs; and an artificial vision system for acquiring images of the sheet to plan cutting operations thereon; the artificial vision system includes at least one image capture device inserted into the cutting chamber and associated with the rail.

The solution proposed above is therefore to use a carrying crosspiece which, besides supporting the entire cutting assembly, also becomes an ideal support for the image acquisition device inside the cutting chamber.

Advantageously, the image acquisition device may be housed in a region inside said crosspiece, said crosspiece comprising at least one visual access opening opened by said image acquisition device with respect to said cutting chamber.

In particular, the crosspiece may conveniently be made of a metal profile that is hollow in itself, in which suitable holes are made to position the image acquisition device.

The image acquisition devices are positioned within the rungs, since the underlying cutting device, although moving itself under the rungs in the working configuration and inevitably obstructing the line of sight between the internal image acquisition devices and the cutting chamber, may also return to a rest configuration in which said line of sight is unobstructed.

In particular, the cutting device may comprise at least one upper carriage supported by the crosspiece and movable with respect to the crosspiece according to a transverse direction orthogonal to the advancement direction.

The upper carriage is preferably two and is associated with as many cutting heads as possible, but the number may be greater depending on the specific handling needs of the device.

In the rest configuration, the upper carriage may be moved to a lateral end-of-travel position with the at least one internal image capture device laterally offset. In the preferred case of two upper carriages, the stationary configuration may advantageously allow the two upper carriages to be placed in two opposite transverse end-of-travel positions, i.e. on both sides of the cutting chamber, leaving a free visual access to the sheets conveyed into the device.

A screw/nut screw system for transmitting motion to the upper carriage may advantageously be provided, comprising a transverse screw arranged below the crosspiece. In this case, in order to avoid interference, the transverse screw may be appropriately offset in the longitudinal direction from the line of sight of the image acquisition device.

Preferably, the internal image acquisition devices are more than two, for example five, and are aligned in the transverse direction.

The artificial vision system may also comprise at least one upstream image acquisition device placed upstream of said cutting chamber, for example associated with an upper portion of the front portion of the cutting chamber.

The upstream device is preferably a plurality, the number and configuration of which are the same as the internal image acquisition device.

The various image acquisition devices are thus advantageously arranged in a grid or matrix and can therefore cover a rectangular surface spaced from and substantially corresponding to the perimeter dimensions of the cutting chamber.

It should be noted that the upstream device can cooperate with the downstream device to obtain a detailed, complete image of the underlying cut piece; in any case, its advantageous independent use, for example performing image acquisition during a cutting operation in a situation of interference with the view of the internal device, is not excluded.

The image acquisition means, whether internal or upstream, can be a camera or a video camera of digital type, for example of CCD type. Furthermore, it may comprise a processor adapted to process the image data file into a format processable by a control unit of the device.

As previously mentioned, the upper carriage may be at least two and may support two respective cutting heads. In this way, each upper carriage is mounted on at least two slides which slide with respect to two corresponding guides integral with the crosspiece. The slider abuts the rest of the upper bracket in the lateral direction. However, the two guides for the slider of the first upper carriage and the two guides for the slider of the second upper carriage are different, so that the sliders of the two upper carriages can laterally overlap in their position alongside said upper carriage.

Thanks to this solution, in the side-by-side position, the two cutting heads can pass through each other due to the transverse profile of the slider, and can approach each other as far as the contact position.

The four guides may be two horizontal guides associated with a lower surface of the rail and two vertical guides associated with opposite sides of the rail, each upper bracket including a horizontal slide engaging the vertical guides and a vertical slide engaging the vertical guides.

The four guides are parallel to each other and continuous in the longitudinal direction and preferably engage alternately with the slides of the previous and next upper carriage.

The device may advantageously comprise auxiliary means to facilitate the feeding of the sheets towards the conveying means of the machine, said auxiliary means comprising a support plane equipped with at least one crosspiece holding element for holding at least one sheet or a plurality of layers of said sheet, said plane being activated by motorized means which approach and/or move away from each other with respect to the conveyor belt.

Advantageously, the auxiliary device can be independent of the rest of the device, since it can be detached from the device to modify production.

The movable plane may be angled and retractably displaced in a rest position below the conveyor belt, still with the aim of facilitating a fast exchange of the material to be treated.

The plane may be movably guided on the support guides from a rest position, in which it extends vertically close to the lower front part of the machine, to an operating position, in which it extends horizontally.

The apparatus may further comprise a coating roller adapted to coat and hold a sheet on said conveyor; and a support of the coating roller, the support being configured to move relative to the conveying device in a direction parallel to the advancing direction.

The coating roller may advantageously be mounted on said support plane and be translationally mobile and possibly foldable in the inoperative configuration.

The coating roller may be associated with the support to spread and coat a surface of a sheet when the support is moved in a direction opposite to the advancing direction of the sheet.

The device may advantageously further comprise at least one closing element at the inlet and/or outlet of the cutting chamber, the closing element being movable between an open position, in which at least one portion of the closing element is at a first distance with respect to the plane, and a closed position, in which said at least one portion of the closing element is at a second distance with respect to said plane, said second distance being smaller than said first distance, said distances being measured in a direction substantially orthogonal to the plane in which the sheet lies.

In addition to the noise-resistant shielding function, the closure element may advantageously have a secondary retaining function for the cut material piece.

The features and advantages of the device according to the invention will be more apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings.