US 4,014,257 AGranted

Apparatus for die cutting indicia on a multilayer tape

AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

InventorLarry A. Bettenhausen

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Abstract

Apparatus for supporting a die plate having indicia formed thereon by a raised rib and for forcing a tape into engagement with the raised rib to cut indicia from said tape corresponding to the indicia on the die. The apparatus utilizes a flat platen supporting one side of the die, a roller mounted on a movable frame and spring biased toward the die plate. A tape is guided across the surface of the die plate at an oblique angle to the direction of movement of the roller such that to cut alphabetic or numerical indicia the cutting is generally taking place at spaced points on the surface of the roller and generally no cuts are made along a line defining a portion of the indicia. The apparatus is cycled by an operating lever to move the roller across the surface of the tape under sufficient spring pressure to afford the cutting operation and then the roller is retracted as the operating handle is returned to the normal position. The die plates are formed with recessed edges to automatically adjust the advancement of the tape past the cutting station to properly space the indicia on the tape.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A machine for cutting one layer of a multilayer tape to form indicia from said one layer for forming messages, said indicia corresponding to indicia formed on one or more die plates having a raised cutting ridge formed thereon to define the outline of the indicia, said machine comprising:

a main frame having a longitudinal axis,
tape guide means for guiding a said tape along a path transversely across said main frame and oblique to said longitudinal axis, said guide means including a plate supported rigidly on said main frame and having a flat surface area defining a cutting platen,
means for receiving a die plate adjacent said cutting platen with the cutting ridge extending away from the cutting platen,
feed means for incrementally advancing said tape along said guide means and past said cutting platen,
a first movable frame supported for movement along said main frame parallel to said longitudinal axis,
a second movable frame pivotally mounted on said first movable frame and movable therewith,
a roller rotatably mounted on said second movable frame and supported, with its axis transverse to said longitudinal axis, by spring means to urge said roller toward said cutting platen,
cam means on said main frame and said second frame for urging said second frame toward said cutting platen and said roller into pressure contact toward said cutting platen when said first movable frame is moved in a first direction along said longitudinal axis and across said path of a said tape and to retract said second frame and said roller relative to said cutting platen when said first frame is moved in the opposite direction.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.