Cutting line positioning apparatus and method that reduce breakage during sheet cutting

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a cutting line positioning computer program, the computer program being operable to allow a computer to execute a cutting line positioning method for deciding a location for a cutting line on a sheet, the sheet including a base sheet and a top sheet affixed with an adhesive material to a surface of the base sheet and having a target object located thereon, the cutting line serving as a reference line when a cut is made on the top sheet, the top sheet being cut along an outline of the target object on the top sheet by a cutting apparatus, wherein the top sheet includes an effective region that is a region of the top sheet to be left on the base sheet, and a non-effective region that is a region of the top sheet to be removed from the base sheet, the method comprising:

• a cutting line setting step including setting the cutting line such that the cutting line extends in a predetermined direction from a first endpoint and the cutting line is located within the non-effective region, the first endpoint being a predetermined point on the outline of the target object;
• a first determination step including determining whether a first angle is equal to or smaller than a predetermined determination angle, the first angle being defined between the outline of the target object and the cutting line, with the first endpoint located at an intersection of the outline and the cutting line, the determination angle being an acute angle;
• and
• a shape change step including, when the first angle is determined to be equal to or smaller than the determination angle in the first determination step, changing a shape of the cutting line such that the first angle is greater than the determination angle.

A cutting line positioning method for deciding a location for a cutting line on a sheet, the sheet including a base sheet and a top sheet affixed with an adhesive material to a surface of the base sheet and having a target object located thereon, the cutting line serving as a reference line when a cut is made on the top sheet, the top sheet being cut along an outline of the target object on the top sheet by a cutting apparatus, wherein the top sheet includes an effective region that is a region of the top sheet to be left on the base sheet, and a non-effective region that is a region of the top sheet to be removed from the base sheet, the method comprising:

• a cutting line setting step including setting the cutting line such that the cutting line extends in a predetermined direction from a first endpoint and the cutting line is located within the non-effective region, the first endpoint being a predetermined point on the outline of the target object;
• a first determination step including determining whether a first angle is equal to or smaller than a predetermined determination angle, the first angle being defined between the outline of the target object and the cutting line, with the first endpoint located at an intersection of the outline and the cutting line, the determination angle being an acute angle;
• and
• a shape change step including, when the first angle is determined to be equal to or smaller than the determination angle in the first determination step, changing a shape of the cutting line such that the first angle is greater than the determination angle.