JP5982974B2 - Cutter device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutter device that cuts an object to be cut such as a sheet by moving a carriage having a cutter blade guided by a guide portion, and an image forming apparatus including the cutter device.

  For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose an image forming apparatus including a cutter device. This type of cutter device includes a guide portion such as a guide rail, and a carriage that moves along the guide portion in a width direction that intersects the conveyance direction of the object to be cut such as paper. The provided cutter blade cuts the object to be cut in the width direction. For example, if there is a gap between the guide portion and the carriage, the carriage is inclined with respect to the guide portion by its own weight, and cutting of the object to be cut is started in this inclined state. When the cutting object starts to be cut, the cutter blade may receive a force in a direction intersecting with the cutting direction (carriage moving direction) from the cutting object.

  For example, when the cutter blade includes a driving blade and a driven blade, if the driven blade is arranged to form a predetermined angle with respect to the driving blade, the cutter blade is in a direction intersecting the traveling direction and It receives a force in a direction to restore the inclination caused by the clearance (backlash) of the carriage. When the carriage that has received this force rises, this causes a problem that the cutting line bends in a curved line in the initial cutting region of the object to be cut.

  In order to solve this problem, for example, in the cutter device described in Patent Document 1, a mechanism is provided in which the carriage is pressed from the outside by the urging force of the torsion coil spring at the cutting start position. Since the carriage is pressed by the urging force of the torsion coil spring, the inclination of the carriage can be suppressed even if there is a gap.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-179004 (for example, paragraphs [0025], [0031], [0043] to [0045], FIG. 4, FIG. 9, FIG. 10, etc.) JP 2003-260830 A (for example, paragraphs [0033] to [0039], FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and the like)

  By the way, in Patent Document 1, since the carriage is biased by a torsion coil spring provided outside the cutter device, there is a problem that the torsion coil spring is indispensable for suppressing the inclination of the carriage. Moreover, in patent document 1, since the essential torsion coil spring and the attachment member which attaches this are provided in the outer side of the cutter apparatus, there also exists a problem that a cutter apparatus becomes large sized.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and one of its purposes is that a component disposed outside the cutter device is not essential in order to urge the carriage, and the component that urges the carriage is removed from the cutter. An object of the present invention is to provide a cutter device and an image forming apparatus capable of avoiding an increase in size of the cutter device due to the arrangement outside the device.

  In order to achieve one of the above objects, one of the aspects of the present invention includes a carriage provided with a cutter blade, a guide portion that guides the carriage with a gap so that the carriage can be moved in one direction of the workpiece, In the cutter device that cuts the workpiece by moving the carriage in the one direction, at least the gap at the position where the cutter blade starts to cut the workpiece is cut. The gist of the present invention is that the gap is set smaller than the gap in the region for cutting. Note that the area to be cut does not indicate the entire area to be cut, but refers to at least a part of the area where cutting is performed at a position other than the cutting start position. It is sufficient that the gap at the start position is small.

  According to this configuration, when the carriage provided with the cutter blade is moved in one direction to cut the object to be cut, the carriage is guided by the guide part in a state where a gap is secured with respect to the guide part, and Move to. When the carriage is in a stopped state, the carriage is inclined to the side perpendicular to the one direction due to the gap, and starts to move while being guided by the guide portion for cutting. Receives a force in a direction perpendicular to one direction, and the carriage tilted before the movement starts rises in a direction to reduce the tilt. In this carriage rising process, when the cutter blade is displaced in a direction orthogonal to one direction as the carriage is raised, the cutting locus in which the object to be cut is cut by the cutter blade is displaced in the direction orthogonal to one direction. (Curve-shaped) cutting locus. However, since at least the gap at the position where cutting of the workpiece is started by the cutter blade is set to be smaller than the gap in the area where the workpiece is cut, at least at the position where cutting of the workpiece is started by the cutter blade The inclination of the carriage in the direction orthogonal to one direction can be made relatively small. For this reason, the bending of the cutting locus in the initial cutting region after the cutting of the object to be cut by the cutter blade can be made relatively small. In addition, since the gap at the cutting start position between the guide portion and the carriage is made smaller than the gap in the area to be cut, components such as a torsion coil spring that urges the carriage are essential, and It is easy to avoid an increase in the size of the cutter device due to the arrangement of a part for biasing the carriage, such as a torsion coil spring, outside the cutter device.

  In the cutter device according to one aspect of the present invention, the cutter blade includes an inclined blade held by the carriage in an inclined posture with respect to the one direction, and the carriage is moved according to the posture of the inclined blade. It is preferable that an urging portion that urges the cutter blade in the same direction as the force received in the direction orthogonal to the one direction from the workpiece is provided.

  According to this configuration, when the cutter blade including the inclined blade in a posture inclined with respect to one direction is cut, the cutting blade in a direction orthogonal to the one direction from the workpiece is cut according to the posture of the inclined blade. Receive power. For example, if the carriage is tilted in the direction opposite to the direction orthogonal to one direction, the carriage is tilted by the force that the cutter blade receives in the direction orthogonal to the one direction from the workpiece after starting to cut the workpiece. Try to get up from the state. However, since the carriage is urged by the urging portion in the same direction as the force that the cutter blade receives in the direction orthogonal to the one direction from the workpiece, at least at the position where the cutter blade starts to cut the workpiece. The inclination due to the carriage gap is relatively small. For this reason, even if the carriage receives a force in a direction orthogonal to one direction after starting the cutting of the object to be cut, the rising amount of the carriage at that time can be reduced to zero or small. The bending of the cutting locus can be made relatively small.

  In the cutter device according to one aspect of the present invention, the workpieces having different widths in the one direction are positioned in the one direction so that the positions to start cutting in the one direction are the same. It is preferable that the sheet is conveyed in a direction crossing the one direction.

  According to this configuration, the objects to be cut having different widths in one direction are transported in a direction crossing the one direction while being positioned in one direction so that the positions at which cutting is started are the same. For this reason, the width of the guide portion may be narrowed at the common cutting start position in the longitudinal direction of the guide portion regardless of the width in one direction of the object to be cut. Can be shortened. As a result, the region where the sliding resistance between the carriage and the guide portion increases due to the narrow width of the guide portion can be relatively shortened.

  In the cutter device according to one aspect of the present invention, the urging portion has a pressing portion that presses the guide portion in a direction orthogonal to the one direction, and the pressing portion presses the guide portion. The carriage is biased in response to the reaction force, and in at least a part of the region of the guide portion that cuts the object to be cut, the maximum protrusion amount of the pressing portion from the carriage The gap is preferably wide.

  According to this configuration, the carriage is urged in a direction orthogonal to one direction by receiving a reaction force when the pressing portion presses the guide portion in a direction orthogonal to one direction. In at least some of the regions where the object to be cut is cut in the longitudinal direction of the guide portion, the gap is wider than the maximum protruding amount of the pressing portion from the carriage. It is possible to avoid the carriage and the guide portion from sliding in a state where pressure is applied by the force.

  One aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus, which is a conveyance unit that conveys the object to be cut, an image forming unit that forms an image on the object to be cut, and the image forming unit. The gist is provided with the cutter device according to the invention, which is provided on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the cut body.

  According to this configuration, the object to be cut after the image is formed by the image forming unit is cut by the cutter device at a position downstream of the image forming unit in the transport direction. And since the cutter apparatus which concerns on the said invention is provided, the effect similar to the invention which concerns on a cutter apparatus can be acquired.

FIG. The partial side view which shows the principal part of a printer. The perspective view which shows the principal part of a printer. The fragmentary perspective view of a cutter apparatus. The sectional side view of a cutter apparatus. The partial front view of a cutter apparatus. The partial plane sectional view of a cutter device. The schematic plane sectional view which shows the contact location of a driving blade and a driven blade. The top view which shows a side pressure mechanism. (A) is a plane sectional view showing a portion near the standby position of the cutter device, (b) is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA in (a), and (c) is a schematic sectional view taken along line BB. The schematic plan view which shows the cutting | disconnection state of a sheet | seat. The schematic plan view which shows the cutting | disconnection state of the sheet | seat in a comparative example.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
A printer 11 as an example of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is a large-sized printer that can also record on a sheet S as an example of a relatively large-sized object to be cut, such as a JIS standard A0 size or B0 size. . The printer 11 includes a leg base 12 having a plurality of casters 12 a at the lower end, a rectangular parallelepiped main body 13 supported on the leg base 12, and a lower base body 13 attached to the leg base 12. The discharge receiving part 14 is provided. The main body 13 includes a feeding unit 16 to which a roll body 15 in which a long sheet S (for example, roll paper) is wound in a roll shape around a core tube (for example, a paper tube) is mounted, and the inside of the feeding unit 16 An image forming body 17 that prints an image or the like based on the image data on the sheet S fed out from the roll body 15.

  In the lower part of the main body 13, the sheet S on which recording is performed is obliquely downward at a portion corresponding to the space between the left and right two columns (only one is shown in FIG. 1) constituting the leg stand 12. A discharge port 19 for discharging is provided. A stacker 20 (discharge basket) that constitutes the discharge receiving portion 14 is positioned below the discharge port 19, and the printed sheet S is discharged from the discharge port 19 and received by the stacker 20.

  The feeding unit 16 shown in FIG. 1 is configured to be able to be accommodated in a state where the roll body 15 is set in a roll paper holder (not shown). When the roll paper holder is rotated by a spindle motor (not shown) and the roll body 15 rotates in the feeding direction, the sheet S is fed out from the roll body 15, and the fed sheet S is obliquely lowered from the feeding unit 16. In this way, the sheet is fed into the image forming body 17.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the image forming main body 17 includes a guide shaft 21 extending along the main scanning direction X, and a recording carriage 22 capable of reciprocating along the guide shaft 21 in the main scanning direction X. Prepare. A recording head 23 (see FIG. 2) that ejects ink is provided in a portion of the recording carriage 22 that faces the sheet S. When the recording carriage 22 reciprocates in the main scanning direction X, printing on the sheet S is performed by ejecting ink droplets from the recording head 23 during the movement. In the present embodiment, an example of an image forming unit is configured by the recording carriage 22 including the recording head 23 that forms an image, the guide shaft 21, and the like.

  Also, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the printed sheet S is cut in the image forming body 17 at a position downstream of the position where the recording carriage 22 reciprocates in the sheet S conveyance direction. A cutter device 25 is provided. The cutter device 25 cuts the printed sheet S in the width direction, and cuts the printed sheet S, for example, one page at a time. As shown in FIG. 1, a control unit C that controls the printer 11 is provided inside one end of the image forming body 17.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sheet S fed from the feeding unit 16 (see FIG. 1) is transported along a transport path inclined at a predetermined angle (for example, 40 to 80 degrees) with respect to the horizontal plane. Is done. At a position facing the recording carriage 22 in the image forming main body 17, a support base 26 that supports the ink ejection target area of the recording head 23 in the conveyed sheet S from the back surface extends along the main scanning direction X. It is provided as follows. The support table 26 is longer in the main scanning direction X than the conveyance area of the maximum width sheet S, and the surface (nozzle formation surface) where the nozzles of the recording head 23 (see FIG. 2) are open is parallel to the support surface 26a. Is supported by a frame 13a constituting the main body 13 at a posture angle.

  Further, at a position downstream of the support base 26 in the transport direction Y, a number of suction holes (not shown) are opened in the transport surface 27a on which the sheet S is transported, and air is sucked into the back surface of the sheet S through the suction holes. An air suction device 27 that suppresses the lifting of the sheet S by applying force is provided. The cutter device 25 is provided at a position downstream of the air suction device 27 in the conveyance direction Y so as to cross the conveyance area of the sheet S in the width direction (main scanning direction X).

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the image forming body 17, for example, conveyance roller pairs 28 and 29 are provided at positions upstream and downstream of the recording carriage 22 in the conveyance direction Y of the sheet S, for example. It has been. The sheet S is conveyed in the conveyance direction Y by the rollers constituting the conveyance roller pair 28 and 29 being rotated by the power of a conveyance motor (not shown) while being nipped (niped) between the conveyance roller pairs 28 and 29. The Then, a recording operation for ejecting ink droplets from the recording head 23 and a transporting operation for transporting the sheet S to the next recording position are performed approximately alternately while the recording carriage 22 moves in the main scanning direction X. Thus, an image based on the print data on the sheet S is printed. In addition, an example of a conveyance part is comprised by conveyance roller pair 28,29 grade | etc.,.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cutter device 25 includes a guide rail 31 that extends along the sheet width direction (main scanning direction X). The guide rail 31 is C-shaped in cross section (see FIG. 5) and has a length longer than the width of the assumed maximum width sheet S. A carriage 32 having a cutter blade is attached to the guide rail 31 so as to be capable of reciprocating along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 31, that is, the sheet width direction as an example of one direction. Further, an electric motor 33 (cutter motor) serving as a power source for outputting power for reciprocating the carriage 32 is provided on the back side of one end of the guide rail 31 (upstream in the conveyance direction at the left end in FIG. 3). The axis is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 31. The cutter device 25 of the present embodiment transmits the power of the electric motor 33 to the carriage 32 via the belt-type power transmission mechanism 35 (see FIG. 4), and moves the carriage 32 in the sheet width direction.

  In this embodiment, the right end position of the moving path of the recording carriage 22 in FIGS. 1 and 3 is the home position where the recording carriage 22 stands by when not printing. Further, in the cutter device 25, the position corresponding to the right end portion of the guide rail 31 in FIG. 3 is the standby position of the carriage 32 (the position of the carriage 32 in FIG. 3). The carriage 32 cuts (shears) the sheet S in the process of moving (forward movement) from the standby position to the counter standby position side (the left end side of the guide rail 31 in FIG. 3). After cutting the sheet S, the carriage 32 moves (returns) to the original standby position, and waits at the standby position until the next cutting position of the sheet S arrives.

  The feeding unit 16 according to the present embodiment employs a feeding method that feeds the sheet S while guiding one side edge of the sheet S to be aligned at a common reference position regardless of the sheet size. Then, the cutter device 25 makes the reference position Sp side where the side edges of the sheet S are aligned the standby position of the carriage 32 and the side edge of the sheet S on the reference position Sp side becomes the cutting start position by the carriage 32. ing. In the present embodiment, as an example, the reference position Sp is set so that the right end of the sheet S is aligned, so that the cutting can be started from the right end of the sheet S at the right end of the guide rail 31 as described above. The corresponding position is set as a standby position of the carriage 32. Of course, the reference position Sp may be set on the left end side so as to align the left end of the sheet S, and the cutting start position may be set on the left end side. In addition, below, since it is the same position as a reference | standard position, it may describe as the cutting start position Sp.

  Next, the detailed structure of the cutter apparatus 25 is demonstrated using FIGS. As shown in FIG. 4, the cutter device 25 includes a belt-type power transmission mechanism 35 that transmits the power of the electric motor 33 to the carriage 32. The belt-type power transmission mechanism 35 includes a pair of geared pulleys 41 and 42 (hereinafter simply referred to as “pulleys 41 and 42”) rotatably supported at both ends in the longitudinal direction in the guide rail 31, and both pulleys 41. , 42 and a timing belt 43 wound around. Two annular timing belts 43 extend along the longitudinal direction in the guide rail 31, and one upper belt in FIG. 4 of the timing belt 43 passes through the carriage 32 and one lower belt. Is fixed to the carriage 32 at a part thereof.

  4, the pulley 41 on one end side (left end side in FIG. 4) of the guide rail 31 on which the electric motor 33 is disposed is provided on the driving side and on the other end side (right end side in FIG. 4) of the guide rail 31. The pulley 42 is the driven side. Both pulleys 41 and 42 protrude from the inner surface of the back portion of the guide rail 31 so that their axes are parallel to each other. A gear 44 (pinion) fitted to an output shaft inserted into the guide rail 31 of the electric motor 33 is disposed in the vicinity of the pulley 41 in the guide rail 31. The gear 44 is coaxial with the pulley 41. It meshes with the gear 45 provided on the top. Therefore, when the electric motor 33 is driven forward, the timing belt 43 rotates in one direction and the carriage 32 moves forward from the standby position. After the forward movement is finished, when the electric motor 33 is driven reversely, the timing belt 43 rotates in the other direction, and the carriage 32 moves back to the original standby position.

  The carriage 32 includes a square plate-like cutter body 50 that protrudes to the outside of the guide rail 31 in a state of being opposed to an opening 31 a formed in the guide rail 31 so as to extend over the entire longitudinal direction. In the cutter body 50, at a position on the front side in the traveling direction during the forward movement of the carriage 32 and at a height corresponding to the sheet S, the sheet is recessed in a horizontal V shape with the interval becoming narrower toward the rear side in the traveling direction. A mouth 50a is provided. And in the cutter main body 50, the disk-shaped drive blade 51 and the driven blade 52 which oppose up and down in FIG. 4 in the back | inner side of the sheet | seat introduction port 50a are arrange | positioned. On both sides of the opening 31a of the guide rail 31, there are formed an upper extending portion 31b and a lower extending portion 31c extending in a direction approaching each other with the opening 31a interposed therebetween. In the present embodiment, the driving blade 51 and the driven blade 52 constitute an example of a cutter blade.

Next, the detailed configuration of the carriage 32 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the carriage 32 includes a slider body 60 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape accommodated in the guide rail 31 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction thereof, and the guide rail 31 from the slider body 60 via the opening 31a. The cutter main body 50 connected to a power transmission shaft 61 (rotating shaft) protruding outward is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the slider body 60 includes a housing 62 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 62 has a pair of front and rear clamping portions 62a (only one pair is shown in FIG. 5) in the moving direction (the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 5) at the lower side of the housing 62, and both end portions 43a of the timing belt 43 (also FIG. 6). Reference) is fixed to the slider body 60 in a state of being sandwiched between the respective sandwiching portions 62a. A toothed pulley 63 is rotatably supported in the housing 62 via a cylindrical bearing 64. The toothed pulley 63 is arranged in a direction in which the axes of the pulleys 41 and 42 supported at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 31 are parallel to the axis. The timing belt 43 is inserted into the housing 62. In the housing 62, the timing belt 43 meshes with the upper portion of the toothed pulley 63 while being pressed from the upper side to the toothed pulley 63 by the guide roller 65. . Therefore, when the timing belt 43 rotates, the carriage 32 moves along the guide rail 31 and the toothed pulley 63 that meshes with the timing belt 43 in the carriage 32 rotates.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the rotation of the toothed pulley 63 is transmitted to the cutter body 50 via the power transmission shaft 61. The cutter body 50 includes a rectangular box-shaped housing 53, and the distal end portion of the power transmission shaft 61 is rotatably supported by a support plate 53a of the housing 53 that faces the opening 31a.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the first gear 54 is fitted to the tip of the power transmission shaft 61 in the housing 53. Further, the support plate 53a is rotatably supported by a second gear 55 that meshes with the first gear 54 and a drive gear 56 that meshes with the second gear 55 and is provided coaxially with the drive blade 51. Has been. The drive blade 51 rotates integrally with the rotation of the drive gear 56. Therefore, when the electric motor 33 is driven forward and the timing belt 43 rotates forward, the carriage 32 moves forward from the standby position. At this time, the rotation of the toothed pulley 63 that meshes with the timing belt 43 causes the power transmission shaft 61 and each of the rotations. The drive blade 51 is rotated by being transmitted to the drive gear 56 via the gears 54 and 55. The driving blade 51 rotates clockwise in FIG. 6 where the sheet S can be cut when the carriage 32 moves forward.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the driven blade 52 disposed above the drive blade 51 is rotatably supported by an upper support plate 53 b constituting the housing 53. The driven blade 52 is arranged in a posture in which the axis of the driven blade 51 is inclined by a predetermined angle (referred to as “shearing angle”). In the housing 53, the driven blade 52 is urged toward the drive blade 51 in the axial direction by a spring 57 (for example, a coil spring), and the cutting edges of both the blades 51, 52 form a predetermined angle and make a predetermined contact. Contact with pressure. And as shown in FIG. 6, the cutting | disconnection location (contact location) of the drive blade 51 and the driven blade 52 respond | corresponds to the conveyance height of the sheet | seat S, and the sheet | seat S introduced from the sheet | seat introduction port 50a is a drive blade. It is guided to the contact location of each blade edge between 51 and the driven blade 52. In the present embodiment, the driven blade 52 constitutes an example of an inclined blade.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, on the outer peripheral surface of the housing 62 of the slider body 60 facing the inner peripheral surface of the guide rail 31, at least one convex portion 62b (however, a part of the illustration is omitted). ) Is formed. The housing 62 can move with respect to the guide rail 31 with a relatively small sliding resistance by sliding with the inner wall surface of the guide rail 31 via the plurality of convex portions 62b.

  Incidentally, in order for the slider body 60 to move in the guide rail 31, a gap G is required between the slider body 60 and the guide rail 31, as shown in FIG. Thus, there is a concern that the carriage 32 may be inclined with respect to the guide rail 31 by the gap due to its own weight. In particular, in the present embodiment, the conveyance path (conveyance surface) of the sheet S has a slope that becomes lower toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction Y, and the cutter device 25 is disposed so that the carriage 32 is in an oblique posture. . For this reason, gravity acts on the carriage 32 to incline downstream in the transport direction Y.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the driven blade 52 is straightly arranged in parallel with the traveling direction so that the cutting edge on the front side in the moving direction at the time of cutting is positioned upstream of the rear cutting edge in the transport direction Y. The drive blade 51 is disposed in an oblique posture with a slant angle θ. For this reason, when cutting the sheet S, each of the blades 51 and 52 receives a force F toward the upstream side in the transport direction Y as indicated by a white arrow in FIG. When the carriage 32 starts to move and reaches the cutting start position of the sheet S and starts cutting, the carriage 32 receives the force F upstream in the transport direction Y shown in FIG. 8 while moving in the traveling direction.

  At this time, assuming that the carriage 32 starts moving from the standby position with its own weight and inclined by the gap, when the carriage 32 reaches the cutting start position and starts cutting the sheet S, the blades 51 and 52 are moved to the sheet S. The carriage 32 rises and tilts in the upward direction upon receiving a force F from the upstream side in the transport direction Y. As the carriage 32 rises, the cutting position of the blades 51 and 52 is displaced to the upstream side in the transport direction Y. Therefore, the sheet S is in the initial cutting area, as shown in the broken line in FIG. It will be cut to draw R. This is because the carriage 32 is inclined by the gap at the standby position, and the bending of the cutting line R increases as the gap increases.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, a mechanism and a configuration that suppress the initial inclination of the carriage 32 caused by the gap G (backlash) are employed in order to avoid the operation of raising the carriage 32 from the cutting start position. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, an example of an urging portion that suppresses the inclination due to the gap G of the carriage 32 even if the slider body 60 has a gap G between the slider body 60 and the guide rail 31. A side pressure mechanism 70 is provided. As shown in FIG. 10A, in the first area AR1 including the cutting start position Sp in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 31, the width in the transport direction Y (downward in FIG. 10A) of the guide rail 31. Is made relatively narrow compared to the region (third region AR3) where the sheet S is cut. That is, at least at the cutting start position Sp, the width of the guide rail 31 is narrower than the area to be cut. In other words, the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b pressed by the pressing member 71 and the slider main body 60 at least at a position in the traveling direction of the carriage 32 when the cutting positions of the blades 51 and 52 are positioned at the cutting start position Sp. The width of the guide rail 31 in the transport direction Y so that the gap G1 secured with the side portion 62e is narrower than the gap G3 when positioned in the third area AR3 when the carriage 32 is cut. Is set.

  First, the side pressure mechanism 70 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 9. As shown in FIG. 7, the lateral pressure mechanism 70 is disposed at a position facing the inner wall surface 31 d of the extending portion 31 b of the guide rail 31 on the upper part of the slider body 60. The side pressure mechanism 70 attaches a pressing member 71 as an example of a pressing portion provided so as to be able to protrude and retract in a direction toward the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b (the conveyance direction Y in this example), and the pressing member 71 in the protruding direction. A compression spring 72 (for example, a coil spring). The pressing member 71 presses the inner wall surface of the upper extending portion 31 b of the guide rail 31 by the urging force of the compression spring 72. Further, the side pressure mechanism 70 is disposed at a position near the axial position of the blades 51 and 52 in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 31 in a plan view in FIG. In this example, in the plan view of FIG. 7, the lateral pressure mechanism 70 is arranged on the same side as the axial position of the blades 51 and 52 (left side in FIG. 7) with respect to the power transmission shaft 61 in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 31. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the pressing member 71 having a U shape in a plan view that constitutes the lateral pressure mechanism 70 is accommodated in a substantially square guide groove 62 c that is recessed in the upper surface of the housing 62 of the slider body 60. It can slide in the direction orthogonal to the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b. A locking projection 71b protrudes outward from the base of the pressing member 71, and on the inner wall surface of the guide groove 62c, the position facing the locking projection 71b in the sliding direction of the pressing member 71 (vertical direction in FIG. 9). A restricting surface 62d is formed on the surface. Therefore, the pressing member 71 can protrude from the side portion 62e facing the extending portion 31b in the housing 62 until the locking projection 71b contacts the restricting surface 62d. The amount of protrusion from the side portion 62e of the pressing member 71 (more precisely, the convex portion 62b of the side portion 62e) when the locking projection 71b comes into contact with the regulating surface 62d becomes the maximum protruding amount Pmax. It is the limit.

  The compression spring 72 housed inside the U-shape of the pressing member 71 has one end abutting against the inner wall surface of the pressing member 71 and the other end facing upward from the bottom surface of the guide groove 62c (in FIG. In a compressed state in contact with the substantially T-shaped restricting portion 62f in plan view. Moreover, the front end surface of the pressing member 71 is a pressing surface 71a formed of a flat surface substantially parallel to the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b. Note that the compression spring 72 made of, for example, a coil spring is positioned by inserting protrusions 71c and 62g that protrude from the pressing member 71 and the restricting portion 62f in opposite directions.

  When the pressing surface 71 a of the pressing member 71 presses the inner wall surface 31 d of the extending portion 31 b by the urging force of the compression spring 72, the slider body 60 receives a reaction force from the inner wall surface 31 d via the pressing member 71, The side portion 62e is held in a state in which the gap G is separated from the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b. That is, since the slider body 60 receives a reaction force from the guide rail 31 via the lateral pressure mechanism 70, the slider body 60 receives a force in a direction away from the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b. For this reason, even if there is a gap between the slider body 60 and the guide rail 31, the carriage 32 does not tilt due to its own weight.

  Next, a configuration of the guide rail 31 that is narrower than a region where the rail width is cut at least at the cutting start position will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 10A, the carriage 32 is in the standby position.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 31, the first region until the carriage 32 that has started moving from the standby position reaches a position slightly past the cutting start position Sp (that is, the reference position Sp). In AR1, the width in the conveyance direction Y of the guide rail 31 is relatively narrower than the second area AR2 and the third area AR3. That is, as shown in FIG. 10B, the gap G1 between the side portion 62e of the slider body 60 and the extending portion 31b in the first area AR1 is narrower than the gaps G2 and G3 in the areas AR2 and AR3. It has become. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10B, the protruding amount (equal to the gap G1) when the pressing member 71 contacts the inner wall surface of the extending portion 31b is a very small value (for example, 0.1 to 0.1). (Value within a range of 0.3 mm).

  The pressing member 71 constituting the side pressure mechanism 70 is urged toward the extending portion 31b side of the guide rail 31 by the elastic force of the compression spring 72, protrudes from the side portion 62e of the slider body 60 in the transport direction Y, and its pressing surface 71a. Presses the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b. The slider body 60 receives a reaction force in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction Y from the inner wall surface 31 d of the guide rail 31 via the pressing member 71. Due to this reaction force, the carriage 32 is small between the side portion 62e of the slider body 60 and the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b when the pressing member 71 is in a position to press the inner wall surface 31d in the first region AR1. It is held in a raised state with a gap G1 (see FIG. 10B). Accordingly, when at least the cutting position of the blades 51 and 52 is at the cutting start position Sp, the carriage 32 is held in the posture shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the carriage 32 is held in the posture shown in FIG. 10 (b) for a short time after the cutting start position is passed until the predetermined distance is further moved. This predetermined distance is relatively small when the carriage 32 is at least at the cutting start position Sp even if there is a variation in the assembly position of the guide rail 31 or a variation in the reference position Sp for aligning the side edges of the sheet S. It has a function of a margin for retaining the gap G1. As the carriage 32 moves in the advancing direction, when the position where the pressing member 71 abuts passes the terminal position of the first area AR1 (the left end position in FIG. 10A), the pressing member 71 moves to the guide rail 31. It comes into contact with the inner wall surface 31d of the extending part 31b in the second region AR2.

  In the second area AR2 of the guide rail 31, the extending portion 31b is inclined so that the width of the guide rail 31 in the transport direction Y gradually increases as the carriage 32 advances in the traveling direction (forward movement direction). Is formed. For this reason, the protrusion amount of the pressing member 71 that contacts the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b in the second region AR2 of the guide rail 31 gradually increases.

  Further, in the third region AR3 from the end position of the second region AR2 where the guide rail 31 is formed in an oblique shape to the end on the counter standby position side (electric motor 33 side), the width of the guide rail 31 is constant at the maximum width. It has become. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 10C, the protruding amount when the pressing member 71 contacts the inner wall surface 31 d of the extending portion 31 b in the third region AR <b> 3 of the guide rail 31 is maximized. In the present embodiment, the gap G3 between the pressing member 71 and the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b in the third region AR3 is the pressing member when the locking projection 71b hits the regulating surface 62d (see FIG. 9). 71 is set wider than the maximum protrusion amount Pmax of 71. For this reason, the pressing member 71 reaches the maximum protrusion amount Pmax in the middle of the second area AR2, and the position when the maximum protrusion amount Pmax is reached in the traveling direction, that is, the area from the middle of the second area AR2. In the third region AR3, the gap G between the side portion 62e of the slider main body 60 and the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b is secured wider than the maximum protrusion amount Pmax. For this reason, when the pressing member 71 is positioned at least in the third region AR3, a gap of (G3-Pmax) is secured between the pressing surface 71a of the pressing member 71 and the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b.

Next, operations of the cutter device 25 and the printer 11 configured as described above will be described.
When execution of printing is started in the printer 11, the sheet S is fed from the roll body 15 in the feeding unit 16 into the image forming main body 17. Then, in the image forming body 17, a recording operation in which ink droplets are ejected from the recording head 23 while the recording carriage 22 moves in the main scanning direction X, and the sheet S is conveyed in the conveyance direction Y to the next recording position. The conveyance operation is performed almost alternately, whereby an image based on the print data on the sheet S is printed. Whenever it is detected that the cutting position of the sheet S after printing has reached the cutting position of the cutter device 25, the control unit C drives the electric motor 33 to cut the sheet S.

  At this time, the electric motor 33 is first driven in the forward direction, whereby the timing belt 43 rotates in the forward direction, so that the carriage 32 moves along the guide rail 31 from the standby position indicated by the solid line in FIG. Then, the movement starts toward the counter standby position side (left direction in the figure). When the carriage 32 starts moving from the standby position, the pressing surface 71a of the pressing member 71 comes into contact with the inner wall surface 31d in the first area AR1 of the extending portion 31b.

  As shown in FIG. 10B, the guide rail 31 has a width in the transport direction Y in the first area AR1, which is narrower than the other areas AR2 and AR3. Therefore, the side portion 62e of the slider body 60 in the first area AR1. And the extension part 31b are narrower than the gaps G2 and G3 in the areas AR2 and AR3. For this reason, even if the carriage 32 is inclined by its own weight due to the gap G1, the amount of inclination is relatively small.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the pressing member 71 constituting the side pressure mechanism 70 protrudes from the side portion 62e by the elastic force of the compression spring 72 with a substantially equal protruding amount to the gap G1, and the pressing surface 71a is the inner wall surface of the extending portion 31b. It abuts on 31d in a state of pressing it. At this time, the slider main body 60 receives a reaction force in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction Y from the guide rail 31 via the pressing member 71, and the carriage 32 is raised by the reaction force. Then, in the carriage 32 that has started to move from the standby position in the posture of FIG. 10B, the cutting positions of the blades 51 and 52 reach the cutting start position Sp.

  When the carriage 32 starts to be cut by the blades 51 and 52 from the cutting start position Sp, the driven blade 52 is set at a predetermined distance with respect to the driving blade 51 arranged in parallel with the traveling direction of the carriage 32 as shown in FIG. Since it is arranged in a posture inclined at a tilt angle θ, it receives a force F in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction Y from the sheet S. At this time, a force on the opposite side (upstream side) of the conveyance direction Y acts on the carriage 32. However, since the carriage 32 is not tilted toward the gap G1, the tilting operation in which the carriage 32 rises does not occur. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, the sheet S is straightly cut in the sheet width direction from the cutting start end S1 to the cutting end end S2 by the movement of the carriage 32.

  When the sheet S starts to be cut from the cutting start position and receives a force F in the same direction as the reaction force from the sheet S, when it moves a little further, the end point of the first area AR1 (the left end point in FIG. 10) And enter the second area AR2. The carriage 32 moves along the guide rail 31 while the pressing member 71 slides on the inner wall surface 31d of the second region AR2 in the extending portion 31b. In the second region AR2, the gap G2 between the side portion 62e and the extending portion 31b gradually widens as it advances in the traveling direction (forward direction) when the carriage 32 is cut, and thus the pressing surface 71a of the pressing member 71 and The sliding pressure with the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b gradually decreases. That is, the sliding resistance between the pressing member 71 and the guide rail 31 is gradually reduced. Then, just before reaching the end point of the second area AR2, the locking projection 71b of the pressing member 71 hits the restricting surface 62d, and the protruding amount from the side portion 62e of the pressing member 71 becomes maximum, reaching the protruding limit.

  After reaching the protrusion limit, for example, in the third region AR3, as shown in FIG. 10C, the side portion 62e is separated from the inner wall surface 31d with a gap G3 wider than the maximum protrusion amount Pmax of the pressing member 71. opposite. At this time, the gap G3 is wider than the maximum protrusion amount Pmax of the pressing member 71, but the carriage 32 is raised by the force F received by the blades 51 and 52 from the sheet S in the same manner as the first area AR1 and the second area AR2. Retained. Therefore, the carriage 32 moves along the guide rail 31 without the pressing member 71 sliding with the inner wall surface 31d. As a result, when the sheet S is cut, the sliding resistance between the pressing member 71 and the inner wall surface 31d is eliminated in most of the movement path of the carriage 32.

As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The width of the guide rail 31 when the carriage 32 is at the cutting start position Sp is relatively narrow, and the gap G1 (backlash) between the guide rail 31 and the slider body 60 is larger than the gap G3 in the area AR3 to be cut. Therefore, the inclination due to the gap G of the carriage 32 at the start of sheet cutting can be kept small. Therefore, the sheet S can be cut straight in the width direction. Further, since the shape of the guide rail 31 suppresses the inclination due to the gap G of the carriage 32, a part such as a torsion coil spring that urges the carriage 32 used in Patent Document 1 is not essential. For example, as in Patent Document 1, it is easy to avoid an increase in size of the cutter device due to the components such as torsion coil springs and the mounting members thereof being arranged outside the cutter device (for example, outside the carriage). Further, since parts such as a torsion coil spring and its attachment members are not required, an increase in the number of parts of the cutter device 25 can be avoided.

  (2) When the slider body 60 accommodated in the guide rail 31 of the carriage 32 is provided with a side pressure mechanism 70 (an example of an urging portion) and the pressing member 71 presses the inner wall surface 31d of the extending portion 31b, Using the force, the slider body 60 is urged in the same direction as the direction of the force F received from the sheet S when the blades 51 and 52 are cut. Therefore, a small inclination of the slight gap G1 between the slider body 60 and the guide rail 31 due to the weight of the carriage 32 can be suppressed. Further, since the side pressure mechanism 70 is accommodated in the guide rail 31, the cutter device 25 is compared with a configuration in which a torsion coil spring and a mounting member for biasing the carriage are provided outside the cutter device as in Patent Document 1. It is easy to realize downsizing.

  (3) The gap G3 in the third region AR3 of the guide rail 31 is made wider than the maximum protrusion amount Pmax of the pressing member 71 from the slider body 60. For this reason, the sliding resistance between the pressing member 71 of the side pressure mechanism 70 and the guide rail 31 can be reduced to zero or very small in the third region AR3 occupying most of the region where the sheet S is cut.

  (4) Second area AR2 in which the width of the guide rail 31 (in other words, the gap G2) is gradually increased toward the traveling direction between the first area AR1 and the third area AR3 including the cutting start position Sp. Was established. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a momentary tilt in the carriage conveyance direction Y, which is a concern in the case of a configuration having a step where the gap G changes suddenly from the gap G1 of the first area AR1 to the gap G3 of the third area AR3. For this reason, it is possible to reliably avoid the occurrence of a protruding bend on the cutting line of the sheet due to the tilting of the carriage for a moment.

  (5) By changing the width of the guide rail 31 in the transport direction Y according to the position in the longitudinal direction, the inclination due to the gap G at the cutting start position Sp of the carriage 32 is relatively suppressed. Therefore, by adjusting the length of the first area AR1 when manufacturing the guide rail 31, the area for suppressing the inclination of the carriage 32 can be adjusted as appropriate. For example, in the printer 11 having the center feeding type feeding unit 16 that feeds the sheet S so that the width center position of the sheet S coincides with the width center of the conveyance area, the cutting start position of the sheet S is the sheet size ( It changes according to the roll width. Even in the case of such a center feeding method, the sheet can be produced at any sheet size by setting the first area AR1 so as to include the cutting start positions of the sheets having the minimum and maximum sheet widths. S can be cut straight. For example, in the urging mechanism that urges the carriage with a torsion coil spring as in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to increase the size of the torsion coil spring in order to lengthen the area for urging the carriage. It has been difficult to lengthen the region for energizing the carriage without causing any problems.

  (6) The feeding unit 16 employs a feeding system that feeds while guiding one side end (for example, the right side end) of the sheet S to be aligned with a common reference position Sp at any sheet size. Therefore, the length of the first area AR1 can be made relatively short. For this reason, since the width of the guide rail 31 is reduced at the cutting start position of the sheet S, the section in which the sliding resistance between the carriage 32 and the guide rail 31 increases can be shortened. When the short first region AR1 is passed, the sliding resistance between the carriage 32 and the guide rail 31 is gradually reduced. For example, the carriage 32 generated due to the large sliding resistance causes a fluctuation in the speed of the sheet S. It is possible to avoid adversely affecting the cutting shape.

In addition, the said embodiment can also be changed into the following forms.
-The side pressure mechanism 70 may be abolished. For example, even if the side pressure mechanism 70 is eliminated in FIG. 7, the width of the guide rail 31 is relatively narrow at least at the cutting start position Sp, so that the guide rail 31 is at least in the first region AR1 including the cutting start position Sp. And the carriage 32 are smaller than the gaps G2 and G3 in the areas AR2 and AR3 to be cut. Therefore, even with this configuration in which the side pressure mechanism 70 is eliminated, the effect (1) in the above embodiment can be similarly obtained. That is, the inclination angle of the carriage 32 when the carriage 32 is inclined by its own weight and the side portion 62e (exactly, the convex portion 62b of the side portion 62e) comes into contact with the extending portion 31b of the guide rail 31 is suppressed. it can. Therefore, the inclination of the carriage 32 at the cutting start position with respect to the guide rail 31 can be suppressed to be small, and the degree of bending of the cutting line in the initial cutting area of the sheet S can be reduced to an extent that there is no problem.

  The side pressure mechanism 70 is not limited to one place, and may be provided at a plurality of places. In this case, it is preferable to dispose at least one side pressure mechanism 70 near the cutting portion of each blade 51, 52 in order to reduce the tilt of the carriage 32.

  Although the guide rail 31 is disposed on the opposite side (for example, the lower side) from the printing surface with respect to the sheet S, the guide rail 31 may be disposed on the printing surface side of the sheet S. Further, the carriage 32 may be arranged so that the cutter body 50 is located on the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the guide rail.

  The cutter device may be applied to a printer in which the conveyance path is substantially horizontal at the position where the sheet is cut. Even if the transport path is substantially horizontal, if there is a gap between the guide rail 31 and the carriage 32, the carriage 32 tilts. Therefore, it is ensured at least between the guide rail 31 to move the carriage 32 at the cutting start position. The effect similar to the said embodiment can be acquired by making the clearance gap smaller than the clearance gap in the area | region to print.

  -The clearance gap should just be smaller than the area | region to cut | disconnect at the position (cutting start position) which starts a cutting | disconnection at least. For example, there may be a portion where the gap is wider than the gap at the cutting start position in a region between the standby position of the carriage 32 and the cutting start position. Further, the setting area of the gap G1 may be changed to the first area AR1, and only the cutting start position Sp or an area from the standby position to the cutting start position Sp may be used.

  The mechanism for urging the carriage in the same direction as the force received from the sheet S when the cutter blade cuts may be a mechanism that pulls the carriage from the back side by a spring instead of the side pressure mechanism 70 that uses the reaction force of pressing. For example, a recess is provided on the inner wall surface of the back surface of the rail section to form a guide path, and a movable body that can move in this direction is provided. The distance between the movable body and the carriage can be changed in a direction perpendicular to the one direction. Are connected in such a way that they can move integrally in one direction. Then, the other end of the tension spring having one end fixed to the movable body is fixed to the carriage.

  The gap G3 in the third region AR3 of the guide rail 31 may be narrower than the maximum protrusion amount Pmax of the pressing member 71 from the carriage 32. In this case, the pressing member 71 slides on the guide rail 31 in the entire region to be cut, but the gap G3 is wider than the gap G1 at the cutting start position Sp, and the protruding amount of the pressing member 71 is relatively large. The spring 72 is in a relatively extended state. For this reason, since the pressing force of the pressing member 71 against the guide rail 31 is relatively small, the sliding resistance between the pressing member 71 and the guide rail 31 in the third area AR3 is compared with the first area AR1 including the cutting start position. , Can be relatively small.

  The gap G2 in the second area AR2 may be a constant value intermediate between the gaps G1 and G3, instead of a configuration that gradually increases toward the traveling direction side. Further, the second area AR2 may be abolished. In this case, even if there is a step due to the difference between the gaps G1 and G3 between the first region AR1 and the third region AR3, there is no problem as long as the step is small enough not to adversely affect the cutting shape of the sheet. .

  -You may provide the mechanism which reduces sliding resistance in the surface facing the inner wall surface of the guide rail of a press member. For example, a rolling element such as a roller, a roller, or a ball is provided on a surface of the pressing member facing the inner wall surface of the guide rail so as to allow rolling. According to this configuration, when the rolling element hits the inner wall surface of the guide rail (guide portion) and rolls, the sliding resistance between the pressing member and the inner wall surface of the guide rail when the carriage 32 moves can be reduced. Moreover, you may form a low friction layer in the contact surface with the inner wall surface of the guide rail of a press member. Further, a mechanism for reducing the sliding resistance between the carriage 32 and the inner wall surface of the guide rail may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the slider body 60 in place of, for example, the convex portion 62b. Also in this case, examples of the mechanism include rolling elements such as rollers, rollers, and balls.

  -A cutter blade is not limited to the structure which consists of a combination of a drive blade and a driven blade, Both may be a drive blade, and both may be a driven blade of free rotation. In addition, a guide having a carriage having a movable blade for guiding a movable blade (for example, a rotary driving blade or a driven blade) in the sheet width direction with respect to a fixed blade provided so as to extend in the sheet width direction is guided by the guide unit. The cutter device may be configured to move in one direction. In the case where two rotating blades (for example, a driving blade and a driven blade) are provided, it is not essential to set the sag angle.

  When the image forming apparatus is a printer (recording apparatus), the image forming apparatus is not limited to an ink jet printer, and may be a dot impact printer or a laser printer. Further, the printer is not limited to a serial printer, and may be a line printer or a page printer.

  The image forming apparatus is not limited to a recording apparatus that forms an image on a sheet by printing (recording), and may be a multifunction machine having a printing function, a scanner function, and a copying function. Furthermore, a scanner that reads an image of a document to form an image (image data) may be used, and a cutter device may be provided to provide the scanner with a document cutting function.

  When the object to be cut is a recording medium, the sheet S is not limited to roll paper (continuous paper) but may be cut paper. The same effect can be obtained when cutting even a cut sheet. Further, the object to be cut is not limited to a sheet as a recording medium such as paper, but may be a resin film, metal foil, metal film, resin-metal composite film (laminate film), woven fabric, non-woven fabric, ceramic sheet, etc. There may be. Furthermore, the shape of the object to be cut is not limited to a sheet shape, and may be a three-dimensional shape.

  -A cutter apparatus is not limited to application to an image forming apparatus. For example, you may apply a cutter apparatus to the apparatus which performs a coating process to a to-be-cut body. In addition, the cutter device may be applied to a device that cuts after forming a circuit on a substrate as an example of an object to be cut. Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to a cutter device for the purpose of cutting only an object to be cut such as a sheet.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer as an example of image forming apparatus, 16 ... Feed part, 17 ... Image forming main body, 22 ... Recording carriage which constitutes an example of image forming part, 23 ... Recording head which constitutes an example of image forming part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 25 ... Cutter apparatus, 28, 29 ... Conveying roller pair which comprises an example of a conveyance part, 31 ... Guide rail as an example of a guide part, 31b ... Extension part, 32 ... Carriage, 50 ... Cutter main body, 51 ... Cutter blade Drive blade that is an example of 52, driven blade that is an example of a cutter blade and an inclined blade, 60 ... a slider body, 70 ... a lateral pressure mechanism as an example of an urging unit, 71 ... an example of an urging unit and pressing A pressing member as an example of the portion, 72... A compression spring constituting an example of the urging portion, X... Main scanning direction (sheet width direction), Y. Cutting start position, AR1... First region, AR2... Second region, AR3... Third region which is an example of a cutting region, G... Gap, G1. ... force, Pmax ... maximum protrusion.

Claims (5)

A carriage with a cutter blade;
A guide portion that guides the carriage while ensuring a gap so as to be movable in one direction of the workpiece;
A cutter device for cutting the object to be cut by moving the carriage in the one direction,
The cutter device, wherein at least the gap at a position where cutting of the workpiece is started by the cutter blade is set smaller than the gap in an area where the workpiece is cut. The cutter blade includes an inclined blade held by the carriage in a posture inclined with respect to the one direction,
2. The urging portion that urges the carriage in the same direction as a force that the cutter blade receives in a direction orthogonal to the one direction from the workpiece by the posture of the inclined blade. The cutter device described.   The biasing portion has a pressing portion that presses the guide portion in a direction orthogonal to the one direction, and biases the carriage by receiving a reaction force when the pressing portion presses the guide portion. And
  The gap is wider than at least a part of a region of the guide portion where the object to be cut is cut, than the maximum protrusion amount of the pressing portion from the carriage. The cutter device described.   The to-be-cut objects having different widths in the one direction are conveyed in a direction intersecting the one direction in a state of being positioned in the one direction so that the positions to start cutting in the one direction are the same. The cutter apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. A transport unit for transporting the object to be cut;
An image forming unit that forms an image on the object to be cut;
An image forming apparatus, comprising the cutter device according to claim 1, which is provided on a downstream side of the image forming unit in a conveying direction of the object to be cut.