Work sheet cutting blade with continuous blade displacement detection

A work sheet cutting apparatus for cutting a work sheet, comprising:

• a cutting member for cutting said work sheet;
• a support member on which said work sheet is to be received when said cutting member is cutting through said work sheet;
• actuating means for displacing said cutting member in a reciprocating movement relative to said support member along a predetermined path producing a sheet-cutting stroke between an operative and a retracted position of said cutting member, said sheet-cutting stroke continuously displacing the cutting member from said retracted position until the cutting member is received and stopped by the support member at said operative position;
• detecting means for continuously detecting the displacement of said cutting member within a predetermined range included in said predetermined path and including said operative position of the cutting member, and generating continuous signals which change with said displacement of the cutting member and represent an amount of displacement of said cutting member within said predetermined range;
• and
• identifying means for identifying, based on an amount of change of said continuous signals from an initial displacement of said cutting member at said operative position toward said retracted position, whether said cutting member has been displaced by a predetermined distance from said operative position of the cutting member.

A work sheet cutting apparatus for cutting a work sheet, comprising:

• a cutting member for cutting said work sheet;
• a support member on which said work sheet is to be received when said cutting member is cutting through said work sheet;
• actuating means for displacing said cutting member along a predetermined path between an operative position of said cutting member where said cutting member is received by said support member and a retracted position of said cutting member spaced away from said operative position;
• detecting means for continuously detecting the displacement of said cutting member within a predetermined range included in said predetermined path, and generating continuous signals representing that said cutting member is displacing within said predetermined range, said predetermined range including said operative position of said cutting member;
• and
• first identifying means for identifying, based on the generated continuous signals, whether said displacement of said cutting member has been stopped at said operative position of the cutting member,
• wherein said predetermined range including said operative position of said cutting member is divided into a multiplicity of divided portions which are contiguous with each other, said detecting means comprising generating means for generating said continuous signals, said generating means generating, each time said cutting member enters each of said divided portions of said predetermined range while displacing toward said operative position along said predetermined path, a corresponding one of said continuous signals, said identifying means identifying that said displacement of said cutting member has been stopped at said operative position, when said generating means does not generate said corresponding one signal for said each divided portion for a time duration predetermined for said each divided portion after said generating means has generated the signal for a backward adjacent divided portion out of said continuous divided portions.

A work sheet cutting apparatus for cutting a work sheet, comprising:

• a cutting member for cutting said work sheet;
• a support member on which said work sheet is to be received when said cutting member is cutting through said work sheet;
• actuating means for displacing said cutting member along a predetermined path between an operative position of said cutting member where said cutting member is received by said support member and a retracted position of said cutting member spaced away from said operative position;
• detecting means for continuously detecting the displacement of said cutting member within a predetermined range included in said predetermined path, and generating continuous signals representing that said cutting member is displacing within said predetermined range, said predetermined range including said operative position of said cutting member;
• first identifying means for identifying, based on the generated continuous signals, whether said displacement of said cutting member has been stopped at said operative position of the cutting member;
• and
• second identifying means for identifying, based on the generated continuous signals, whether said cutting member has been displaced by a predetermined distance from said operative position of the cutting member.

A work sheet cutting apparatus for cutting a work sheet, comprising:

• a cutting member for cutting said work sheet;
• a support member on which said work sheet is to be received when said cutting member is cutting through said work sheet;
• actuating means for displacing said cutting member along a predetermined path between an operative position of said cutting member where said cutting member is received by said support member and a retracted position of said cutting member spaced away from said operative position;
• detecting means for continuously detecting the displacement of said cutting member within a predetermined range included in said predetermined path, and generating continuous signals representing that said cutting member is displacing within said predetermined range, said predetermined range including said operative position of said cutting member;
• and
• identifying means for identifying, based on the generated continuous signals, whether said cutting member has been displaced by a predetermined distance from said operative position of the cutting member,
• wherein said predetermined range including said operative position of said cutting member is divided into a multiplicity of divided portions which are contiguous with each other, said detecting means comprising generating means for generating said continuous signals, said generating means generating, each time said cutting member enters each of said divided portions of said predetermined range while displacing from said operative position along said predetermined path, a corresponding one of said continuous signals, said identifying means identifying that said cutting member has been displaced by said predetermined distance from said operative position, when said generating means has generated a predetermined number of said continuous signals after said cutting member has started to displace from said operative position.

A work sheet cutting apparatus for cutting a work sheet, comprising:

• a cutting member for cutting said work sheet;
• a support member on which said work sheet is to be received when said cutting member is cutting through said work sheet;
• actuating means for displacing said cutting member along a predetermined path between an operative position of said cutting member where said cutting is received by said support member and a retracted position of said cutting member spaced away from said operative position;
• detecting means for continuously detecting the displacement of said cutting member within a predetermined range included in said predetermined path, and generating continuous signals representing that said cutting member is displacing within said predetermined range, said predetermined range including said operative position of said cutting member;
• identifying means for identifying, based on the generated continuous signals, whether said cutting member has been displaced by a predetermined distance from said operative position of the cutting member;
• at least one movable member which is movable along a second predetermined path intersecting said predetermined path of said cutting member as a first predetermined path;
• and
• inhibiting means for inhibiting said movable member from moving along said second predetermined path while said cutting member is positioned within said predetermined distance from said operative position.