Appeal No. 2002-1050
Application 09/425,505
cutting engagement. . . . The tests are conducted
under selected cutting conditions which in general
produce low accuracy cuts, and then special or
supplemental motions of the blade and material, which
aid the cutting blade and improve the overall
performance of the cutting machine are determined.
After a plurality of cutting tests have been
conducted, and the precise special motions have been
determined, a schedule of the special motions
correlated with the selected cutting conditions is
established. The schedule is recorded in a memory in
the automatically controlled cutting machine or
elsewhere for future use. During subsequent cutting
operations, the cutting blade and sheet material are
moved relative to one another along a desired cutting
path, and the schedule of special motions is utilized
as the corresponding cutting conditions arise. Thus,
if for example, the schedule has been recorded in a
computer memory which controls the cutting operation,
the special motions can be combined with the more
fundamental motions calculated or otherwise generated
by the computer whenever the computer recognizes one or
more of the selected cutting conditions or whenever the
machine is commanded to use the special motions by the
machine operator who recognizes the special cutting
conditions [column 2, lines 36 through 64].
The special corrective motions contemplated by Gerber are
yawing motions:
[t]he unbalanced lateral forces on the blade can
be counteracted by supplementing the fundamental blade
motions with yaw so that the cutting blade is oriented
at a slight angle to the cutting path which it
traverses, the yaw or rotation occurring abut an axis
generally perpendicular to the sheet material and
directing the blade slightly to one side of the cutting
path from which the unbalanced forces are applied. By
yawing the cutting blade a preselected amount as the
blade advances along the cutting path, the accuracy
with which the desired cutting path is tracked can be
improved. For optimum overall performance, the amount
5
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007