Automatic lubricating device for a cutting head of a cutting machine

Abstract: An automatic lubricating device for a cutting head (1) of a cutting machine. The lubricating device is assembled within the cutting head (1) and includes a pressure cylinder (4) for forcing lubricating oil through a passage to a sump (3) from which the lubricating oil is forced through a jet (7A) onto the cutter device mechanism. The lubricating device can be operated just prior to cutting or just after a cutting procedure with the cutting blade (2) in an up or a down position.

Description: The invention relates to an automatic lubricating device for a cutting head of a cutting machine which is used for cutting a pile of soft sheets such as cloth. Conventionally, lubricating of a drive mechanism of a cutting blade of a cutting head has been done periodically by hand. Lubrication by hand has the difficulty in maintenance of the operation and further, there was a problem that a proper time for lubrication tended to be lost in order to keep a good efficiency of operation. US 2 869 231 discloses a lubricating system for a cloth cutting machine in which lubricant is transferred from a reservoir by means of a wick to a felt pad. Lubricant is transferred from the felt pad to a receiver pad on the cutting head each time the cutting head is raised so that the pads are in contact. Lubricant trickles down onto the cutting head parts and to the blade from the saturated receiver pad. US 3 830 122 discloses apparatus for dispensing a liquid onto a cutting tool so as to cool the bearing surfaces of the tool. The dispensing of liquid from a bottle to a blade by means of a tube is controlled by means of pincher valve. A presser foot controls the pinch valve whereby, when the tool is in a cutting position, the presser foot is in contact with the object material and the pinch valve is open. An object of the invention is to provide an automatic lubricating device for a cutting head of a cutting machine which enables automatic lubrication of the drive mechanism of a cutting blade without lowering efficiency in operation. The invention provides an automatic lubricating device for a cutting head of a cutting machine, the cutting head being lifted up and down by a cylinder, the cutting head comprising a cutting blade drive mechanism and an oil sump from which lubricating oil is fed onto the cutting blade drive mechanism, characterised in that the oil sump is located within the cutting head and below the cutting head drive mechanism, and by a lubricating cylinder operating coincidentally with an operation of the cylinder for up and down movement of the cutting head, a pump driven by the lubricating cylinder, a nozzle through which lubricating oil from the sump jets out under pressure of the pump and is directed onto the cutting blade drive mechanism when the cutting head is lifted up and when the cutting head is moved downwardly. The used lubricating oil drops down in the oil sump thereby oil lubricating to the cutting blade drive mechanism is conducted automatically when a cutting operation occurs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a cutting head in the present invention attached to a part of a cutting machine; Figure 2 is a cross-section of a front view of a cutting head in the present invention; Figure 3 is a cross-section of a side view of a cutting head in the present invention, and Figure 4 is a plane view of a cutting bed of a cutting machine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of an automatic lubricating device for a cutting head of a cutting machine is described with drawings in the following paragraphs. Figure 2 shows a front cross-sectional view of a cutting head 1 and Figure 3 shows a left side sectional view of the cutting head 1. In the cutting head 1, as shown in Figure 3, a cutting blade 2 is reciprocated by a motor 1A through a cutting blade drive mechanism 1B. The cutting blade drive mechanism 1B is set within a case 1C and an eccentric disc 1a, which is attached to an end of a drive axis 1D, and a blade attaching bar 1E are connected by a connecting rod 1b of which two ends are connected to the eccentric disc 1a and the blade attaching bar 1E respectively by pins 1c, 1c. Below the cutting blade drive mechanism 1B, an oil sump 3 is provided inside the case 1C. A guide block 1F is attached in front of the case 1C. Guide holes 1G, 1G are perforated in the upper part and the lower part of the guide block 1F respectively and the blade attaching bar 1E extends through the upper and the lower guide holes 1G, 1G. The cutting blade 2 is removably attached to the blade attaching bar 1E and extends vertically from the cutting head 1. Guiding bar passages 1H are provided in left and right sides of the case 1C for operation of the connecting rod 1b. At one side in the case 1C, a hollow space 5C is formed and a lubricating cylinder 4 is provided in the upper part inside the hollow space 5C. A piston 5B is attached to a piston rod 5A of the lubricating cylinder 4 and thereby a lubricant pump 5 is formed. Further, a narrow path 6 is formed between the bottom portion of the hollow space 5C and oil sump 3. One end of the narrow path 6 has an opening at the hollow space 5C and a nozzle attaching performation 61 is formed at the other end opening to the oil sump 3. A nozzle 7 is attached to the nozzle attaching perforation 61 and an opening jet 7A of the nozzle 7 is open to the oil sump 3. A supporting body 8 is projected from a reciprocating carriage 300 which is referring to in the following paragraphs, and provided with a pair of guiding bars 8A, which are extend through the guiding bar passages 1H. At a lower portion for the supporting body 8, a base plate 8B is provided and a double acting pneumatic cylinder 9 for lifting up and down is provided on the base plate 8B. According to the in and out action of a piston rod of the cylinder 9, the cutting head 1 is lifted up and down. A two-dot chain of thick lines in Figure 1 show a schematic of a high-pressure air circuit. High-pressure air is supplied from a high-pressure air source 10 to the cylinder 9 through an air pipe path 11, while high-pressure air is also supplied to the lubricating cylinder 4 through an air pipe path 11A which is branched off from the air pipe path 11. In this way, when the high-pressure air is supplied from the high-pressure air source 10 to the cylinder 9, the lubricating cylinder 4 is also supplied with the high-pressure air. When lubrication is applied to the cutting blade drive mechanism 1B, the piston rod 5A is previously drawn into the lubricating cylinder 4 so that the lubricating oil O in the oil sump 3 is drawn into the narrow path 6. Then, when cutting operation occurs, high-pressure air is supplied from the high-pressure air source 10 to the cylinder 9 for lifting up and down so that the cutting head 1 is lowered and at the same time, high-pressure air is also supplied to the lubricating cylinder 4 so that the lubricant pump 5 is actuated to jet out the lubricating oil O from the nozzle 7 to the cutting blade drive mechanism 1B. The cylinder 9 for lifting up and down and the lubricating cylinder 4 are controlled by a control center (not shown in the figures). Figure 4 shows a plane view of a cutting bed 100. The cutting head 1 is placed above a bed body 200 and supported by a carriage 300 and a carriage 400. The carriage 400 is set to slide in a x-direction above the bed body 200 and the carriage 300 attached to the carriage 400 is set to slide in a Y-direction. Both the carriage 400 and the carriage 300 are actuated by drive control motors (not shown in the drawings) respectively controlled by a control center (not shown in the drawings). Following is a description of actuation of the cutting machine. The cutting head 1 is positioned in the upper position when it is not in use. When a cutting operation starts, the cutting head 1 is moved to an operating position from the non-use position by the carriages 300 and 400. Next, the cutting head 1 is lowered by operation of the motor 1A so that the blade 2 penetrates through the pile of sheets. At this time, the lubricating oil O jets out from the nozzle 7 toward the drive mechanism 1B. This means that lubrication occurs before the cutting operation starts. After the cutting operation, the cutting head 1 is lifted up so that the cutting blade 2 is spaced from the pile of sheets, and the cutting head 1 is moved back to the non-use position by the carriages 300 and 400. A lubricating device proposed in the present invention may be formed so that lubrication occurs after a cutting operation. That is, the lubricating oil O jets out from the nozzle 7 toward the drive mechanism 1B by actuating the pump 5 by supplying high-pressure air to the lubricating cylinder 4, while the cutting head 1 is lifted up by supplying the high-pressure air to the double acting pneumatic cylinder 9 from the high-pressure air source 10. In this case, lubrication occurs when the cutting head is lifted up and the cutting blade 2 is spaced from the pile of sheets. Further, a lubricating device may be formed so that lubricating occurs both before and after a cutting operation. That is, when high-pressure air is supplied from the high-pressure air source 10 to the cylinder 9 for lifting up and down and the cutting head 1 is lifted up or down, the lubricating oil O jets out from the nozzle 7 toward the drive mechanism 1B by actuating the pump 5 by supplying high-pressure air to the lubricating cylinder 4. In this case, lubrication occurs both before and after a cutting operation, that is, both when the cutting head is moved downwardly and when the cutting head is lifted up.

Claims: An automatic lubricating device for a cutting head of a cutting machine, the cutting head (1) being lifted up and down by a cylinder (9), the cutting head comprising a cutting blade drive mechanism (1B) and an oil sump (3) from which lubricating oil is fed onto the cutting blade drive mechanism, characterised in that the oil sump is located within the cutting head and below the cutting head drive mechanism, and by a lubricating cylinder (4) operating coincidentally with an operation of the cylinder (9) for up and down movement of the cutting head, a pump (5) driven by the lubricating cylinder, a nozzle (7) through which lubricating oil from the sump jets out under pressure of the pump and is directed onto the cutting blade drive mechanism (1B) when the cutting head is lifted up or when the cutting head is moved downwardly. An automatic lubricating device for a cutting head of a cutting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lubricating oil jets out when the cutting head (1) is in a raised position. An automatic lubricating device for a cutting head of a cutting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lubricating oil jets out when the cutting head (1) is in a downward position. An automatic lubricating device for a cutting head of a cutting machine as claimed in any one of claims 1, 2 and 3 wherein the lubricating device includes a narrow path (6) formed in a bottom portion of the cutting head (1) between the lubricating cylinder (4) and the oil sump (3). An automatic lubricating device for a cutting head of a cutting machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lubricating cylinder (4) and the cylinder (9) for moving the cutting head up and down are powered by compressed air.

Inventors: IKOMA KENJI, IMAI TAICHI, IKOMA, KENJI, IMAI, TAICHI
Applicants: SHIMA SEIKI MFG, SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B26D7
IPC codes: B26D1, B26D5, D06H7, B65H54, B26D7