AU4273989A - Ink furnishing device for printing machines - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention is related to an ink furnishing device for printing machines, and some of the rollers which are provided in the intermediate route of the ink furnishing such as an inking roller, fountain roller, and transfer roller is constituted with a minute hollow body dispersing roller. With this roller constitution, the ink transfer action of the roller becomes sure and it is possible to provide a roller that can be used for a long term, and the time period between successive roller exchanges becomes thereby longer and an ink furnishing device with a high machine availability factor can be provided for printing machines.

Description

ii

'4 Ij r FORM 1 REGULATION 9

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1952-1973

APPLICATION FOR A PATENT

We KABUSHIKIGAISHA TOKYO KIKAI SEISAKUSHO

of 26-24, Shiba 5-chome, Minato-ku, TOKYO, JAPAN

hereby apply for the grant of a Patent for an invention entitled:

INK FURNISHING DEVICE FOR PRINTING MACHINES 00 04 o00 0 46 0

o 4 which is described in the accompanying complete specificc'ion. This 4 I 44 Application is a Convention Application and is based on the Applications numbered: 63-259071 and 63-311064 for a Patent or similar protection made in 4 ii Japan (both) on 14 October 1988 and 9 December 1988 respectively. I I t

Our address for service is:

GRIFFITH HACK CO. t 71 YORK STREET SYDNEY N.S.W. 2000 4 I AUSTRALIA

DATED this 10th day of October 1989

1- KABUSHIKIGAISH TOKYO KIKAI SEISAKUSHO By their Patent A ktdeys J *^tas .ai

GRIFFITH HACK CO. TO: THE COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

SO10646 10/10/89

7969A:rk

B APPLICATION BY ASSIGNEE OF INVENTOR

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952

DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF AN APPLICATION FOR A PATENT

(Nane of In support of an application made by: KabAshikigaisha. Tokyo. .Kik.ai applicant) (Title) for a patent for an invention entitled: Ink. F.urn ishing. D e.v4 c e- f or G Printing Machines (Full nae and I Kohei SIIIBA, address of sinsory) of .1 61-.1.8, Xamimeuro.- 5v-ch ome.,. .Meg.uro ku,. .Tokyo, Japa

do solemnly and sincerely declare as follows: 1. I am authorised by the above mentioned applicant for the patent to make this declara- tion on its behalf. (Full name and 2. The name and address of each actual inventor of the invention is address of as follows: NOSiukB 4SIB1 9, Kam e o-come 'Mo-9cho kme, inventor(s)) KNUA,.4.1aegurc-kuh N Tokyo. Yuichi OKAMURA, 44-11,Kamimeg:pro-3-chome Meguro-ku, okyo Kohmei KAWAHARA.,16-1,1\ishirnaorne-1 shir~~;~re,. chome, I. Ohta-ku,Tokyo. Japan. n (State whether and the facts upon which the applicant is entitled to make this application are as follows: by assignment .Thea li .i the .t ot epnitract of R .actual r invento.rs ermployment) 1Deletc 3. The basic application(s) as defined by Section 141 of the Act was (were) made as paragraphs3 follows: and 4for Country on O.ctob.er. -ion- v enio aoplicnveation ame(s Kabushikigaisha Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho aplication) in the name(s) "r and in n in the name(s) and in on in the name(s) (Place and 4. The basic application(s) referred to in the preceding paragraph was(were) the first date of application(s) made in a Convention country in respect of the invention the subject signing) of this application.

Declared at this day f S. .pte r. 1989. Signed: Kohei SHIBA Position:

GRIFFITH HACK CO

SYDNEY OFFICE MELBOURNE OFFICE G.P.O. BOX 4164 G.P.O. BOX 1285K SYDNEY. N.S.W. 2001 MELBOURNE. VIC. 3004

(12) PATENT ABSTRACT (11) Document No. AU-A-42739/89 (19) AUSTRALIAN PATENT OFFICE

(54) Title INK FURNISHING DEVICE FOR PRINTING MACHINES International Patent Classification(s) 4 (51) B41F031/26 (21) Application No. 42739/89 (22) Applicati on Date 10.10.89

Priority Data (31) Number (32) Date (33) Country 63-259071 14.10.88 JP JAPAN 63-311064 09.12.88 JP JAPAN

(43) Publication Date:26.04.90 (71) Applicant(s) KABUSHIKIGAISHA TOKYO KIKAI SEISAKUSHO (72) Inventor(s) NORIYUKI SHIBA; YUICHI OKAMURA; KOHMEI KAWAHARA (74) Attorney or Agent GRIFFITH HACK CO. SYDNEY

(57) Claim

1. An ink furnishing device for printing machines which

comprises rollers mutually in contact in succession in the ink furnishing route ranging from ink replenishing means to

an ink form roller which is in contact with the surface of

a plate and furnishes ink to it, wherein some of said

rollers is constitited with a minute hollow body dispersing

roller which is provided with an ink receiving layer on which minute hollow bodies are dispersed and the hollow

sections of said minute hollow bodies located at the outer

circumferential surface of said roller are open.

2. An ink furnishing device for printing machines which

comprises rollers mutually in contact in succession in the

ink furnishing route ranging from ink replenishing means to

an ink form roller which is incontact with the surface of a

plate and furnishes ink to it, wherein an inking roller is

(11)42739/89 -2- constituted with a minute hollow body dispersing roller

which is provided with an ink receiving layer on which

minute hollow bodies are dispersed and the hollow sections

of said minute hollow bodies located at the outer

circumferential surface of said roller are open.

p ~*R

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1952 Form

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR OFFICE USE

Short Title:

Int. Cl:

Application Number: Lodged:

Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published:

Priority: eteI t t E f i t Related Art:

I~

TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT

Name of Applicant: KABUSHIKIGAISHA TOKYO KIKAI SEISAKUSHO

Address of Applicant: 26-24, Shiba 5-chome, Minato-ku, TOKYO, JAPAN

Actual Inventor: Noriyuki Shiba; Yuichi Okamura and Kohmei Kawahara

Address for Service: GRIFFITH HACK CO. 71 YORK STREET SYDNEY NSW 2000 AUSTRALIA

Complete Specification for the invention entitled:

INK FURNISHING DEVICE FOR PRINTING MACHINES

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:-

7969A:rk

_i

INK FURNISHING DEVICE FOR PRINTING MACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention This invention relates to an ink furnishing device

used for rotary printing machines, in which the ink

furnishing route from an ink furnishing device such as a

fountain roller to which ink is furnished all the time

during printing operation to an ink form roller which is in contact with a plate and furnishes ink to it is constituted

*oi with rollers which are in contact successively.

I' The present invention is related in particular to a

keyless ink furnishing device in which an ink removal

member is in contact with the surface of an inking roller in order to remove excessive ink and the ink is furnished

by the keyless ink furnishing.

The present invention is also related to an ink

furnishing device in which the surfaces of a fountain

roller and/or transfer roller are constituted with a rough surface.

Description of the Prior Art

A keyless ink furnishing device has been used in the field of flexographic printing. It has an ink metering roller, namely anilox roller on the surface of which minute carved cells of an exquisite and substantially fixed shape

are arranged regularly and ink removal member (for

instance, a blade) to remove excessive ink which is received in the cells, both the ink metering roller and the blade working in cooperation, and the ink received in the cells are furnished to the plate during the printing operation.

The anilox roller used for a keyless ink furnishing

device has its minute carved cells formed by form rolling

or laser beam machining. Sometimes those cells are covered

with an adequate material as needed when used for printing.

On the other hand, an ink furnishing device in which

at least one of the surfaces of an ink fountain roller and

transfer roller is constituted with a rough surface is well

known, for instance, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.

63-22648 'Inking Device' (called hereinafter Prior Art 1)

and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-22649 'Inking Device'

(called hereinafter Prior Art both being applied to

offset printing machines.

The ink furnishing device in Prior Art 1 transfers ink

continuously by making the fountain roller and transfer

roller contact each other under pressure with both rollers

rotating respectively at different peripheral speeds, and at the same time at least one of the fountain roller and

transfer roller has its surface made rough. And, by the rough surface of either one of them the ink is retained in the rough surface and the retained ink gives an uniform

lubrication to the friction at the contact section under

pressure of the fountain roller and transfer roller,

preventing the vibration of both rollers caused by an

-unstable luhrication at the contact section under pressure

and at the same time preventing the separation of the ink

and water at the rough surface and making possible the

dispersal of the water and ink and improving the

performance in receiving ink.

The ink furnishing device in Prior Art 2 has a

fountain roller made of rubber and it is made to contact

directly an inking roller (intermediate roller, drive

roller) to transfer ink between them, and the surface of

the fountain roller is constituted with a rough surface.

This ink furnishing device has a construction in which the

fountain roller is a rubber roller and it is possible

thereby to have a direct contact between the fountain

roller and inking roller, and accordingly a transfer roller

which is placed between the fountain roller and inking

roller in conventional ink furnishing devices is omitted

and the drive means for the transfer roller is eliminated

o.o at the same time to make the overall construction simple

with the cost reduced. The control of the nip between the

20 transfer roller and above mentioned two rollers which is a

difficult work is thereby eliminated, relieving the worker

of this work. Furthermore, the performance of ink transfer is improved by making the surface of the fountain roller

rough.

The continuous contact of surfaces among the inking

roller, fountain roller, transfer roller, etc. develops

friction and their surfaces are worn. The volume of each

.cell in the surface of the anilox roller (inking roller) in

a keyless ink furnishing device becomes smaller by this

wear with the result of a smaller amount of the ink that

can be supplied to the plate and the quality of the

printing can not be maintained at a constant level.

The rough surface in the prior art of the fountain

roller and transfer roller has convex and concave spots

formed simply in a certain range (15 20 pm in Prior Art 1 and Prior Art 2) in the roller surface, and the state of

roughness in subject to a change or vanish in a short time

by the friction during printing operation between the

fountain roller and inking roller or between the fountain

roller and transfer foller so that the benefits derived

from having roller surface rough, the lubrication at roller

contacts under pressure, prevention of the separation of

ink and water, dispersal of ink and water, improved performance in ink receiving, and improved performance in

the transfer of ink are diminished or lost in a short term.

The frequrency of replacing roller with rough surface or

reclamation of the rough surface, therfore, rises with the

problem of lowered machine availability factor.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

An object of the invention is to make sure the

transfer of the ink between rollers such as an inking

roller and fountain roller which are in the intermediate

route of an ink furnishing device by the roller

*constitution that the outer surface of a roller has minute

hollow bodies dispersed on the surface and to make longer

the period of roller replacement in the ink furnishing

device in order to provide an ink furnishing device of high efficiency for printing machines.

In an ink furnishing device according to the invention

for printing machines, some of the rollers in the ink furnishing route which comprises the route from a fountain

roller to the plate and the route from the fountain roller that is furnished ink always during printing to the ink

form roller that is in contact with the plate and furnishes

ink to it are constituted with an ink receiving layer on

which minute hollow bodies are dispersed and mixed in and

which is provided on the outer circumferential surface of a

roller and the hollow section of those minuted hollow

bodies is opened to provide rollers on which minute hollow

bodies are dispersed.

For example the inking roller of an ink furnishing

device of a printing machine has the above mentioned minute P' 20 hollow bodies dispersed on its surface.

The fountain roller and/or transfer roller are

constituted with the above mentioned surface constitution.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings show embodiments of the present invention

in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a roller on which i 7 i 'minute hollow bodies are dispersed,

Fig.2 is the view of a partial surface of the roller

of Fig.l,

Fig.3 is the view of a partial surface of the roller

of Fig.2 on which hard material powder is uniformly

dispersed,

Fig.4 is a schematic view of an ink furnishing device

used for a printing machine in general,

through Fig.8 are the schematic views of the embodiments in which the inking roller is a roller with qlql *4 «I minute hollow dispersed on it, a 1 Fig.29, Fig.30, Fig.37, Fig.38, Fig.39, and Fig.40 are ,t

the schematic views of the embodiments in which the

fountain roller is a roller with minute hollow bodies St'4

*t 15 dispersed on it,

Fig.33, Fig.34, Fig 41, and Fig.42 are the schematic

views of the embodiments in which the transfer roller is a tI

roller with minute hollow bodies dispersed on it, and

Fig.36, Fig.37, Fig.43, and Fig.44 are the schematic

views of embodiments in which both the fountain roller and

transfer roller have minute hollow bodies on them.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Fig.4 is a representative schematic view of an ink

furnishing device in general for printing machines to

explain its functions. It is constituted with an ink

furnishing device 3, inking roller 1, ink form roller, and

-plate cylinder P which are successively arranged in this

order from the upstream side and all of which are in

contact with the neighboring members. An ink removal

device 2 which is for removing excessive ink on the

circumferential surface of the inking roller in contact

with the inking roller and a wetting water supply device D

which supplies water to the plate cylinder P to wet it are

provided. The ink furnishing device 3 in this drawing consists of a fountain roller 31 and ink reservoir 32. In Fig.l, a roller 1 on which minute hollow bodiers are

dispersed consists of a main body member 16 made from, for

instance, a steel stock and an ink receiving layer 11 which

has a plurality of mixed materials on the surface of the

main body member 16. S 15 In Fig.2, this ink receiving layer 11 has minute

hollow bodies 12 that are substantially uniformly dispersed and those minute hollow bodies 12 which are located on the

outer circumferential surface of the roller 1 have the

hollow section of the minute hollow body 12 opened.

20 In Fig.3, in addition to the minute hollow bodies 12 *040t the layer 11 has the powder 13 of a hard material such as

hard inorganic material also uniformly dispersed to be

mixed among the minute hollow bodies 12 in order to raise

the wear resistance of the layer 11.

Each of the minute hollow bodies 12 that are uniformly

dispersed on the substrate 14 of the ink receiving layer 11

should be open by removing part of its shell. The minute

7

L- -T

Shollow body 12 is generally called a microballoon,

microsphere, hollow balloon, glass balloon, silica balloon,

sirus balloon, phenol balloon, vinylidene chloride balloon,

alumina balloon, and zirconia balloon, and various hollow

powder of various materials are known. One or two

example(s) will be mentioned, which include proprietary

products such as 'Carbo Sphere' (registered) of VXRSAR

Manufacturing Inc. of U.S.A. and 'Fillite' (trade name) of

Fillite Inc. of U.K. The former product is a carbon

balloon, its bulk density being 0.15 g/cm 3 and the

thickness of the body is in 1 2 pm, and there are four

distributions of particle diameters ranging in 50 150 p m

(average diameter of 50 p 5 100 pm (average of

5 50 pm (average of 30 pm), and 50 150 p m (average

S 15 of 60 pm). A minute hollow body the surface of which is

i coated with nickel, iron, copper, gold or other metal is known, and this coating is effective. The last mentioned

of the proprietary products is a silica balloon, its bulk

density being 0.4 g/cm 3 and the distribution of the

particle diameters ranges in 30 300 pm.

In the present invention, minute hollow bodies in

which particle diameters are in range of 5 300 pm are

usable. It is easy to provide an inking roller which gives

different amounts of ink supply to the plate by changing

the ratio of mixture of minute hollow bodies 12 dispersed

on the ink receiving layer 11 of the inking roller 1 or/and

changing the size of the minute hollow body 12. The inking

,roller 1 which is capable of changing the amount of ink

taken into the minute hollow bodies dispersed and mixed on

the outer circumferential face of the inking roller 1

furnishes a proper amount of each color ink in multicolor

printings where the supply of ink of different physical

properties should be balanced in quantity. In the

multicolor printing, it is thereby easy to provide an ink

furnishing device which can furnish a proper amount of

color ink for each color in multicolor printing. This ink

furnishing device can be effectively applied to a

multicolor rotary press of satellite type, B-B stacking

type, B-B laterally arranged type, etc, With the

conventional multicolor rotary printing machine, the

physical properties of ink change with color. When all of

15 the color ink is furnished by using an anilox roller which

is provided with cells of an identical capacity, there is an excess or shortage of ink by color, causing an unbalance among colors on the print face, and the overall results of

the color printing is not satisfactory in its

beautifulness. Accordingly, with th above mentioned

keyless ink furnishing device for a multicolor rotary

j printing machine, it is necessary to change a little the

cell capacity in anilox roller by color, which entails more

works in the machining of the cells and the control of wear

of the cells. This created the problem of higher cost in runing a color printing machine in comparison with the running of a monocolor rotary printing machine. This

9

*problem can be, however, solved by the constitution above

described of the present in vention.

For a hard material powder 13 to be used with the

minute hollow bodies, a powder of ceramic material, metal,

alloy, etc. can be used. The size of the particle in the

hard inorganic materal powder 13 should be at least 1 100

pm in diameter when it is used in this invention.

Next, the method of manufacture of an inking roller 1

will be explained below. At first, in an inking roller 1 in Fig.2 minute hollow bodies 12 are uniformly dispersed on

the substrate 14 of an ink receiving layer 11. In the

inking roller 1 in Fig.3 minute hollow bodies 12 and hard

material powder 13 are uniformly dispersed in the substrate

14 of the ink receiving layer 11. This work process is

carried out by a method as mixing or mulling that is

suitable for the characteristics of the substrate 14 of the

ink receiving layer 11. The substrate 14 of the ink receiving layer 11 thus obtained in which the minute hollow

bodies 12 or both the minute hollow bodies 12 and hard

material powder 13 are dispersed uniformly covers the surface of the main body member 16 to form an ink receiving

layer 11. In this work process casting, wrapping,

painting, or other suitable methods are used. Next, the

ink receiving layer 11 covering the surface of the main

body member is ground at the surface of the layer 11. The grinding is given by either a grinding machine or the friction between the inking roller 1 and the blade or bar

*after the inking roller 1 has been installed on the rotary

printing machine. Then with the grinding in the ink

receiving layer on which minute hollow bodies 12 are

dispersed, the minute hollow bodies 12 which are near the

surface of the ink receiving layer 11 have part of the

shell removed and expose the inner surface of the hollow

body in the surface of the ink receiving layer 11 as shown

in Fig.2. Fig.3 shows an ink receiving layer 11 on which

i minute hollow bodies 12 and hard material powder 13 are dispersed and part of the shell layer of a minute hollow

body 12 located near the surface of the ink receiving layer

11 which is removed and the inside of the shell exposed and open in the surface of the ink receiving layer and at the

same time the hard material powder 13 are exposed at the 15 surface of the ink receiving layer 11.

Next, in Fig.5 through Fig.28, various embodiments of the present invention are described and explained in which 04 0 I GO the inking roller 1 of an offset rotary printing machine related to the present invention is constituted with a 20 roller 10 on which minute hollow todies are dispersed. t

As ink removal device is 2, in Fig.4, comprises a blade S21 which is provided to make a contact with the outer

circumferential surface of the inking roller 1. The ink furnishing device 3 comprises a fountain roller 31 which is

provided upstream of the inking roller 1 and rotates with

its outer circumferential surface a little apart from that

of the inking roller 1 an'd an ink reservoir 32 which stores r

*the ink with part of the fountain roller 31 immersed in the

ink. And, the ink in the ink reservoir 32 receives

additional ink during printing operation to overflow the

ink in order to maintain a constant stored ink level as

shown by the arrow mark in the figure.

In Fig.5 and Fig.6, an ink removal devices 2 are shown

which are different in form from that in Fig.4. This

device 2 uses, in Fig.5, a roller 22 in place of the blade

21, which has outer circumferential surface in contact with

the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 1

and is either rotated at a speed lower than the peripheral

speed of the inking roller 1 or ratated at a speed almost the same as the peripheral speed of the inking roller 1

with a strengthened pressure of contact with the inking

roller 1. The ink removal device 2 in Fig.6 uses a bar 23

in place of the blade 21. The bar 23 is in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 1 by

its side. Although in Fig.7 through Fig.24 the ink removal

devices 2 use a blade 21 but it should be understood that

they also can use a roller 22 or a bar 23. In Fig.7 through FJg.28, the constitution of the embodiments of the present invention which combines an ink

44 furnishing device 3 to the inking roller 1 with an ink

supply route to the inking roller 1 or the plate is shown.

In Fig.7 through Fig.12, ink reservoir 32 in the shape of

an ink pan or ink fountain to maintain the height of the

ink storage always constant are shown. The ink reservoir

S32 is a required constituent of the ink furnishing device 3.

Fig.13 through Fig.18 show ink discharge bodies 33 in the

shape of nozzle, for instance, to discharge a specified

volume of ink all the time. The ink discharge body 33 is

also a required constituent of the ink furnishing device.

In Fig.19 through Fig.28, ink storage bodies 34 or 35 in

the shape of an ink pot or ink chamber, for instance, are

provided to divide at least part of the open section of the

ink storage body by part of the circumference of the inking

roller 1 or fountain roller 31. Those ink storage bodies

34 or 35 are required constituents of the ink furnishing

device 3. In iig.19 through Fig.24, an ink storage body 34

which opens part of the ooen section is used, and in

through Fig.28, an ink storage body 35 which closes the

open section and at the same time has an ink removal device

added to itself is used. In Fig.25 and Fig.26, the ink

removal device 2 which is installed with the ink storage body 35 consists of a blade 21 and in Fig.27 and Fig.28,

the ink removal device 2 which is installed with the ink

storage body 35 consists of a bar 23. In Figures 7, 9, 11,

13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, and 27, the inking roller 1

directly furnishes ink to the surface of the plate. In

Figures 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, and 28, the ink form rollers 4 stand between the inking roller 1 and the

plate, and the ink from roller 4 furnishes ink to the plate. In Figures 7, 8, 13, 14, 19, 20, 25, and 26, the ink from the ink reservoir 32, ink discharge body 33 or ink r

•storage body 34 or 35 is directly furnished to the outer

circumferential surface of the inking roller 1. Likewise

in Fig.21, 22, 23, and 24, the ink furnishing device 3 is

provided with the fountain roller 31 and the ink is

furnished to the -outer circumferential surface of the

inking roller 1 through the fountain roller 31 from the ink

reservoir 32, ink discharge body 33, or ink storage body 34

or 35. In Figures 9, 10, 15, 16, 21, 22, 27, and 28, the fountain roller furnishes ink directly to the outer

circumferential surface of the inking roller 1. In Figures 11, 12, 17, 18, 23, and 24, a transfer roller 36 is

provided between the fountain roller 31 and inking roller 1

and this transfer roller 36 furnishes ink to the outer

circumferential surface of the inking roller 1. The

fountain roller 31 in this embodiment can be away from or in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the

inking roller 1. Further, in this embodiment an ink film

thickness regulating blade 37 is provided near the outer

circumferential surface of the fountain roller 31 and this

blade limits the ink film thickness on the outer

circumferential surface of the fountain roller 31 and the

If ink is furnished to the outer circumferential surface of

Ai "the inking roller 1 through the transfer roller 36. The transfer roller 36 is, therefore, in contact with both the

circumferential surface of the fountain roller 31 and the curcumferential surface of the inking roller 1 and the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 31 is

14

hLLb-d

-not furnished excessive ink. But on the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 1 after it has

run on the outer circumferential surface of the ink form

roller 4, there is ink which was not used because it did not contact images or lines on the plate, that is residual

ink is left or transferred. The blade 21 which is a member of the ink removal device 2 is provided to remove the residual ink.

In the embodiments that have been described and explained in the foregoing, the ink is furnished by an ink

furnishing device 3 which attaches the ink to the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 1.

If the ink furnishing device 3 has an ink reservoir 32, at least part of the inking roller 1 or fountain roller

31 is immersed in the ink in the ink reservoir 32. And, the ink is directly furnished to the circumferential surface of the inking roller 1 or the ink pumped up by the

Si outer circumferential surface of the fountain roller 31 is

furnished to the outer circumferential surface of the fountain roller 31 or through a transfer roller 36 from the outer circumferential surface of the fountain roller 31. la When the ink furnishing device 3 is provided with an ink

discharging body 33, the ink is discharged from it to the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 1. Alternatively the ink is discharged to the section where the fountain roller 31 and inking roller 1 come close together or the contact section between them. Or the ink

-is discharged to the outer circumferential surface of the

fountain roller 31 and then the ink is furnished directly

to the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 1

from the fountain roller 31 or through the outer circumferential surface of the transfer roller 36 from the

fountain roller 31. When the ink furnishing device 3 has

an open port and has an ink storage body 34 or 35 in which

at least part of the open port is divided by a section of

the inking roller or fountain roller 31, the ink is

10 furnished directly to the outer circumferential surface of

the inking roller 1 which divides the open port of the ink

storage body 34 or 35 or the ink is furnished to the inking

roller 1 from the outer circumferential surface of the

fountain roller 31 or through the outer circumferential

surface of a tansfer roller 36 from the fountain roller 31.

Part of the ink furnished to the inking roller 1 is 11 received in the minute hollow bodies 12 which are open and

dispersed and mixed on the outer circumferential surface of

the inking roller 1. Next, the ink removal device 2 which is in contact

with the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller

1 removes the excessive ink that is funished to the outer

circumferential surface of the inking roller 1 from it. On

the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 1,

ink in a proper amount for priing is stored and stays in

the hollow sections of the minute hollow bodies 12 which

act as if they were ink reservoir cells.

On the other hand in Figures 11, 12, 17, 18, 23, and

24, the inking roller 1 has ink furnished on its outer

circumferential surface in the amount which is regulated to

be proper for printing at the ink furnishing device 3.

Since the furnished ink is received in the open minute

hollow bodies on the outer circumferential surface of the

inking roller 1, no excessive ink exists on the outer

circumferential surface of the inking roller 2, and

accordingly the removal of excessive ink is not needed.

*to 10 As the inking roller 1 rotates on further, an amount

of the ink on the outer circumferential surface of the

inking roller 1 which is received in the open minute hollow

bodies 12 and suitable for printing is furnished directly

or through the outer circumferential surface of the ink

form roller 4 to the plate.

On the outer circumferential surface of the inking

roller 1 which has finished furnishing ink directly or through the outer circumferential surface of the ink form

roller 4 to the plate from the inking roller 1, the ink

which was not used and left without contact with images and lines on the plate, namely residual ink stays. In Figures

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, and 22, the

ink is furnished on the residual ink and then the excessive

ink is removed by the ink removal device 2 to make the

amount of the ink on the outer circumferential surface of

the inking roller 1 adequate, but in Figures 11, 12, 17,

18, 23, and 24, if the ink is furnished additionally, the c

I I Ti

*sections where the ink is excessive develop on the outer

circumferential surface of the inking roller 1 so that the

excessive ink is removed from the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 1 by providing the blade which is a member of the ink removal device 2 in contact with

the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 1

that has just finished furnishing ink to the plate.

With the rotation of the inking roller 1 continued, the actions described int eh foregoing continue.

10 On the other hand, the outer circumferential surface

of the inking roller 1 wears gradually by the ink removal 0 t

action of the ink removal device 2 for the excessive ink or

residual ink staying on the outer circumferential surface

of the inking roller 1, but the minute hollow bodies 12 are

dispersed substantially uniformly in the ink receiving layer 11 provided on the surface of the inking roller and

those hollow bodies are exposed to be opened on the outer

circumferential surface successively as the wear of the receiving layer 11 proceeds so that the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller 1 develops no significant change until the ink receiving layer 11 wears

out. An adequate amount of ink for printing can be, therefore, maintained on the inking roller 1 for long.

Furthermore, when an inking roller 1 which has on its

ink receiving layer 11, the powder of, for instance, a hard inorganic material that is uniformly dispersed, the friction that develops by the ink removal device 2 is taken

I

1

ii ,up exclusively by the inorganic powder, reducing the wear

of the outer circumferential surface of the inking roller

I 1. In this case also the state of the outer

circumferential surface of the inking roller 1 develops no 1 5 significant change until the ink receiving layer 11 wears i, out. Accordingly, an adequate amount of ink for printing

i P can be furnished for a long period.

i Next, in Fig.29 through Fig.44, various aspects of the I constitution of a second embodiment of the present

I s t 10 invention and in which the fountain roller 31 and/or Uq t transfer roller 36 have minute hollow bodies 10 on their if ,0 e i outer circumferential surface will be explained.

li Fig.29 through Fig.36 give representative schematic

views of the second embodiment. In Figures 29, 31. 33,

37, the ink furnishing device which furnishes ink to the

I fountain roller 31 is an ink reservoir which stores ink

with part of the fountain roller 31 inmmersed in the ink.

In Figures 30, 32, 34, 36, and 38, the ink furnishing

device to furnish ink to the fountain roller 31 is an ink

^t I 20 discharge body 33 which discharges ink towards the outer circumferential surface of the fountain roller 31.

In Fig.29 and Fig.30, a rotating fountain roller 31,

ink furnishing device which is provided upstream of the

fountain roller 31 and furnishes ink to the outer

circumferential surface of the fountain roller 31, ink form roller 4 which is in contact with the plate on a plate

cylinder and rotates to furnish ink to the plate, and

19

L6M. -1 l *inking roller 1 which is placed between the fountain roller

31 and ink form roller 4 and ratates in parallel to them in

4 contact with the outer circumferential surfaces of the

fountain roller 31 and ink form roller 4 are shown, and the fountain roller 31 is the minute hollow body dispersing

roller

In Fig.31 through Fig.36, the rotating fountain roller

I31, ink furnishing device positioned upstream of the

fountain roller 31 to furnish ink to its 10 outercircumferential surface, ink form roller 4 which is in

contact with the plate on a plate cylinder and which

ratates and furnishes ink to the plate, transfer roller 36

which is positioned between the fountain roller 31 and ink

form roller 4 and ratates in parallel to them and has its

outer circumferential surface in contact with the fountain

roller 31 and ink form roller 4 in succession, and inking roller 1 are shown, and the ink fountain roller 31 is the

minute hollow body dispersing roller

I In Fig.31 through Fig.36, the rotating fountain roller H 20 31, ink furnishing device positioned upstream of the

fountain roller 31 to furnish ink to its outer

circumferential surface, ink form roller 4 which is in

contact with the plate on a plate cylinder and which

rotates and furnishes ink to the plate, transfer roller 36

which is positioned between the fountain roller 31 and ink

form roller. 4 and ratates in parallel to them and has its

outer circumferential surface in contact with the fountain roller 31 and ink form roller 4 in succession, and inking roller 1 are shown, and the ink fountain roller 31 is the minute hollow body dispersing roller

In Fig.33 and Fig.34, the transfer roller 36 is the

minute hollow body dispersing roller 10, and in Fig.35 and

Fig.36, both fountain roller 31 and transfer roller 36 are

the minute hollow body dispersing rollers

The embodiments in Fig.37 through Fig.44 are those in

Fig.29 through Fig.36, and with those embodiments an ink film thickness regulating blade 7 near or in contact with

the side face downstream of the ink furnishing device in

the direction of rotation of the fountain roller 31 is

provided and, furthermore, a blade 21 to erase printing

marks which is near or in contact with the side face

downstream of the contact position of the ink form roller 4

in the direction of rotation of the inking roller 1 is

provided. Figures 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, and 44

correspond to Figures 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36.

In Fig.29 through Fig.44, the peripheral speed of the

fountain roller 31 is set lower than the peripheral speed

of the inking roller 1 with which the fountain roller 1

contacts and which is positioned downstream of the fountain

Sfoller 31 or transfer roller 36, and the drive means (not shown) of the fountain roller 31 is either the drive gear

system for the ink furnishing device or specializing single

drive means. In Figures 35, 36, 43, and 44, the ink

receiving layers 11 for both fountain roller 31 and

21

)I~c j

*transfer roller 36 need not be the same, namely the ratios

of mixing of the dispersed minute hollow bodies need not be

the same nor the sizes of the minute hollow bodies 12 on

them need to be the same. Regarding the ratios of mixing of the hard material powder 13 in the ink receiving layer

11, it is not required that they are the same.

In the foregoing description, only the examples of the

case in which the ink furnishing device is an ink reservoir

32 or it is an ink discharge body 33 were given, but it can be other convenient devices.

The above mentioned embodiments of the present

invention were related to the offset rotary printing

machine, but they can be used with rotating letterpress

machines which include flexographic printing machines.

In the embodiments described above, at first the ink

is furnished to the fountain roller 31 so as to attach the

ink to the outer circumferential surface of the roller 31

by means of an ink furnishing device. When the ink furnishing device 6 is an ink reservoir

32, part of the fountain roller 31 is immersed in the ink

in the ink reservoir to furnish ink to the outer circumferential surface of the fountain roller 31. When the ink furnishing device is an ink discharge body 33, the

ink is discharged towards the outer circumferential surface

of the fountain roller 31 from the ink discharge body 33 to

furnish ink to the outer circumferential surface of the

fountain roller 31.

22

hlh- r 7

I il When the fountain roller 31 is a roller 1 which has

minute hollow bodies dispersed on its outer circumferential

surface, part of the ink furnished to the fountain roller

31 is taken in the minute hollow bodies 12 which are

Ir dispersed and mixed on the outer circumferential surface of

the inking roller 31 with the hollow sections of the minute

hollow bodies 12 opened.

Then, as the fountain roller 31 rotates, the ink

furnished to the outer circumferential surface of the

44« 10 fountain roller 31 goes to the contact section between the t tl ink fountain roller 31 and inking roller 1 or to the I

contact section between the ink fountain roller 31 and

transfer roller 36, and when the ink passes through either

one of those contact sections, the ink is transferred to IIt 15 either the inking roller 1 or transfer roller 36. t i The peripheral speed of rotation of the fountain

roller 31 is set slower than that of the inking roller and cI it that of the transfer roller 36 so that the ink conveyed t from the inking roller 1 or transfer roller 36 can be

controlled. The ink which is at the contact section of the i fountain roller 31 and inking roller 1 or at the contact

section of the fountain roller 31 and transfer roller 36 M Fi and which is excessive is squeezed out from those contact

sections and the excesseve ink stays on the upstream side

26 of those contact sections with respect to the direction of

rotation.

When the foutain roller 31 is a roller 1 which has

'minute hollow bodies 12 dispersed on its outer circumferential surface, the ink which is received in the

open minute hollow bodies in the ink receiving layer 11 is

not squeezed out by the contact section of the rollers but

is capable of passing through it. By increasing or

reducing the amount of the ink that is received in the

minute hollow bodies 12 which are open, that is by changing

the size of the minute holl.w body 12 or changing the ratio

of mixing of the hollow bodies to change the amount of ink

cai 10 that is received in the minute hollow bodies 12 that are S0 0 00 o open on the outer circumferential surface of the roller, it o e

0 'S 00a is possible to change the amount of the ink passing through CO0

o0 o the contact section, that is to change the amount of the 0000

Boooo ink transferred from the frountain roller 31 to the inking

roller 1 or to the transfer roller 36. If the transfer roller 36 is a roller 1 which has the 0000

o-a 8 minute hollow bodies 12 on the outer circumferential 0 00 a o0 surface of the roller, it is possible to increase or reduce oO and adjust the amount of the ink transferred from the above

0 0" 0 mentioned fountain roller 31 to the transfer roller. 36. In

a 69o D other words, the amount of the ink received from the 0000

0,os0 fountain roller 31 can be increased or reduced by changing rthe size of the minute hollow body in the ink receiving

layer 11 that is provided on the surface of the transfer

roller 36 or changing the ratio of mixing of the minute hollow bodies 12 to increase or reduce the amount of ink

received in the minute hollow bodies 12.

S The ink that is transferred to the transfer roller 36

reaches the contact section of the transfer roller 36 and

inking roller 1 as the transfer roller rotates, and when the ink passes through the contact section, the ink is

j 5 transferred to the inking roller 1. The ink that is transferred from the fountain roller

31 or transfer roller 36 to the inking roller 1 reaches the

4 contact section between the inking roller 1 and the ink form roller 4 as the inking roller 1 rotates, and when the

inK passes through the contact section, the ink is transferred to the ink form roller 4 and the ink on this

roller is in turn furnished to the plate on the plate cylinder P.

On the other hand, an ink film thickness regulating blade 7 and previous print mark erasing blade 21 as shown

in Fig.37 through Fig.44 act respectively as follows.

The ink film thickness regulating blade 7 is installed

to the fountain roller 31 and regulates beforehand the amount of the ink that reaches the contact section between the fountain roller 31 and intermediate roller or the contact section between the fountain roller 31 and transfer

o roller 36 as the fountain roller 31 rotates. The blade 7 contributes to avoiding before it happens an unexpected mishap that the total amount cf the ink given to the 26 fountain roller 31 is squeezed at the above mentioned contact section as the fountain roller 31 rotates and stays

in a large amount at the contact section on the side of the

I -p v--

L-

upstream and part of this ink passes through the above

mentioned contact section by widening it forcibly as the

inking roller 1 or transfer roller 36 rotates. When the

fountain roller 31 is a roller 1 which has minute hollow

bodies dispersed on its outer circumferential surface, it

is possible by bringing the ink film thickness regulating

blade 7 in contact with the fountain roller 31 to regulate

the amount of ink that reaches the above mentioned contact

section as the fountain roller 31 rotates to an amount which is almost equal to the amount of ink that is received

in the minute hollow bodies 12 that are open on the outer

circumferential surface of the roller and this is very

effective to regulate very easily the amout of ink passing

through the above mentioned contact section always to a

certain amount.

The previous print mark erasing blade 21 is for making

uniform or remove the ink on the outer circumferential

surface of the inking roller 1 which is transferred to it

from the ink form roller 4 and is uneven.. The uneven

distribution of the ink that is left on the ink form roller

4 after furnishing ink to a plate because of the sections

of the ink form roller 4 which made contact with images and

4Alines on the plate and other sections which made no contact

with them and have the ink not transferred to the plate

left on it is eliminated by the blade 21 on the inking

roller to which the uneven ink distribution is transferred,

eleminating at the same time the uneven furnishing of ink

'to the images and lines on a plate by continuing the above

mentioned state of the uneven ink distribution on the

roller and preventing thereby thick and thin tones on the

print, so called 'ghost'. Further, according to the present invention, the peripheral speeds of rotation of the

fountain roller 31 and inking roller 1 or those of the

fountain roller 31 and transfer roller 36 are different so

that there is a friction at the contact section of those

rollers, causing a wear on one of whose rollers. But when the roller 1 which has minute hollow bodies dispersed on

its circumferential surface is used for at least one of the

fountain roller 31 and inking roller 1 or the fountain i roller 31 and transfer roller 36, there will be no

I significant unfavorable change on the outer circumferential surface of the roller until the ink recieving layer 11 on

it is worn out finally, because there are minute hollow

bodies 12 in the ink receiving layer 11 and the minute

hollow bodies 12 that are dispersed and mixed in the ink

I receiving layer 11 are successively exposed on the outer circumferential surface as the ink receiving layer 11 is

i worn to open the shells of the minute hollow bodies. And,

by providing a hard materiai powder 13 dispersed and mixed with the minute hollow bodies on the ink receiving layer

11, the above mentioned wear is exclusively carried by the hard material powder 13 so that the wear in the ink

receiving layer 11 is suppressed and the life of the roller

is extended.

*1

Since a roller which is constituted with the roller 1

on which minute hollow bodies are dispersed is subject to

no significant change on its outer circumferential surface

and it can be used for a long term even if its outer

circumferential surface is worn, the frequency of replacing

rollers becomes very small with the machine availability

factor improved a good deal.

The present invention is not limited by the

embodiments in the above description and it should be

f tr,it t 10 understood that a modification is included as far as it

does not go beyond the spirit of the invention as claimed

in the claim.

tI i -j w L jLHJiJZ t. VU-L u elJS

16

r

1

r I

ii WHAT ID CAIMED IS:

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. An ink furnishing device for printing machines which

comprises rollers mutually in contact in succession in the ink furnishing route ranging from ink replenishing means to

an ink form roller which is in contact with the surface of

a plate and furnishes ink to it, wherein some of said

rollers is constitited with a minute hollow body dispersing

roller which is provided with an ink receiving layer on

10 which minute hollow bodies are dispersed and the hollow

sections of said minute hollow bodies located at the outer

circumferential surface of said roller are open.

2. An ink furnishing device for printing machines which comprises rollers mutually in contact in succession in the

ink furnishing route ranging from ink replenishing means to I It an ink form roller which is incontact with the surface of a

plate and furnishes ink to it, wherein an inking roller is

constituted with a minute hollow body dispersing roller

which is provided with an ink receiving layer on which

minute hollow bodies are dispersed and the hollow sections

of said minute hollow bodies located at the outer

circumferential surface of said roller are open.

3. An ink furnishing device for printing machines which

comprises rollers mutually in contact in succession in the

ink furnishing route ranging from ink replenishing means to i

San ink form roller which is in contact with the surface of

a plate and furnishes ink to it, wherein a fountain roller

is constituted with a minute hollow body dispersing roller

which is provided with an ink receiving layer on which

minute hollow bodies are dispersed and the hollow sections

of said minute hollow bodies located at the outer

circumferential surface of said roller are open.

4. An ink furnishing device for printing machines which comprises rollers mutually in contact in succession in the

ink furnishing route ranging from ink replenishing means to

an ink form roller which is in contact with the surface of

a plate and funishes ink to it, wherein at least one of a

fountain roller and transfer roller is constituted with a

minute hollow body dispersing roller which is provided with an ink receiving layer on which minute hollow bodies are

dispersed and the hollow sections of said minute hollow

bodies located at the outer circumferential surface of said

roller is open.

An ink furnishing device as claimed in any of the

preceding claims from Claim 1 to Claim 4 wherein the ink

receiving layer is provided with the powder of a hard

material mixed and dispersed in said ink receiving layer.

Dated this 10th day of October 1989

KABUSHIKIGAISHA TOKYO KIKAI SEISAKUSHO By their Patent Attorney GRIFFITH HACK CO.

30

I..

r

Ls TaKen

19

i

42739/89

FIG.

4

4

4 Y*

4. 4 4.

6C 4 I 4c S t

ft tt I I: I

t~ C eT FIG. 2

I 44 41 1

i 4.

OI** 4 44

4 S

t E

4 4 (LCC( .44'

4rrr 4 14 i

I FIG. 3

FIG. 4

2 (21)

a C

FIG. aI a

I

ar

a a.

t a

Sta 1441 C FIG. 6 (4 t 4

4.44

.4

2(23"

I

II .SIj 01 S 1.:A

69 14 L 9 1 e 1 i UJ Yr **UW O a L w Iow i i *M Y1 e es ee a a

L_

91 Ijd 91 9 I.J lgo I9A

21 09 1IA ZI 091I (1 i ii i i i: rr ii i Cr~ uii UU iiii t I_u r i ir ,r 3i U o ii L Uu **rr*i

C

ZZ go I.

Iz

61 9 1j 81 91j L 9 1A at~ r we Y 4 0 Y U U u

I I I n.rs nno rrr nCP r r nrr n rr rn n r- r rr r rr

FIG. 23 FI G. 24

FI G. 4 21

FI G. 27 FI G. 28 FIG. 26 w

I 9 1l 02 *9 14

8cn k'i

II---I

FIG. 34 F IG.36

36 -33

FIG. 38 FIG. 37 FI G. 39

I

LVp* 1.A t7tp a 1A ztp 0O

Itp*E I A Otp 91 C LI rJ Y UJU OOII Y YYU yU Y i I' U *rr C O C U ri L~ ~ilu Y J U Y U V VY* Li CVC i y YU