CA1108468A - Web printing press - Google Patents

Abstract

WEB PRINTING PRESS

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

The invention relates to a continuous offset lithographic web printing press capable of printing a series of relatively short runs without interruption and with minimum waste of web material. The press is characterized by a plurality of individual printing units with a motor for each unit and through which units a web runs continuously. During a given run, a portion of the printing units is in a printing mode, and another portion of the printing units is in a nonprinting or thrown-off mode during which time the web moves through the unit or units thrown-off while those units are made ready for a succeeding run. Each motor of each unit is capable of driving a plurality of printing units as well as auxiliary equipment such as a web infeed and folder. A clutch is interposed between each unit and a common drive line for all the units and for the infeed and folder. When the clutch for a given unit is energized, the motor for that unit then applies driving torque to the main drive shaft for driving the auxiliary equipment.
Each printing unit also includes apparatus for throwing the printing cylinder or cylinders from the web and upon throw off for changing the attitude of the web between a printing attitude, and a nonprinting or free running attitude in which contact of the web with the printing cylinders is prevented. A
control system is provided and enables shut-down of and throw-off of the printing unit or units engaged in the first run at the end of a preset count and start-up of the unit or units engaged in the next run. On start up of a unit, the control system brings the printing blanket cylinder or cylinders up to speed, causes throw on of the dampener and inker, and then at the appropriate time causes blanket cylinders to be thrown-on. The control system includes mode select circuits so that any one or all of the printing units may be used for printing a given job.

Description

i; BAC~GROUND AND SUl~MARY OF THE INVENTION
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1 The present invention relates to a web printing press, and 'l moi~e particuiar~y to a web printing press whîch is adapted for , continuously printing a series of different jobs or runs. In ~, the printing of short runs, it i,s diesirable to effect ~ change ¦I from one run to the next quickly without t'down time" and with a ¦I minimum loss of web material.
I I With respect to print~i~ng presses generally, the prior art ¦ has provided apparatus such as that shown in U~5. Patent ¦ 3,1~9,025 to Chambers. The Chambers patent discloses d,irect-. . I printing apparatus in which runs of different printed context , ¦ may be made by a series o~ rota~y printers located along the ¦ path of a web and adapted to be alternately operated. While a first printing set is printingi on the web, the second printing - : j! set may be made ready for the next run and after reachin~i a ~ predetermined c~iunt, the first printing set IS thrown off and ,. . .. . .
~he second printing set engaged with no loss of p~per - ! occasioned by the shift fxom the first printing set to the . ,'~1iiW~IH~N~I~Xi .!
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second printing set. Also as is well known, printing presses have been automated and control systems have been associ~ted with presses to control the various printing uni~s as desired by the press operator. Typical of patents which disclose~ such is u.S. patent 3,467,007~
The present invention relates to a web printing3 press which , includes multiple printing units, a web infe~d, a folde~ and I
other apparatus, such as chill rolls, ètc. Specifically, the web printing press is a b~anket to blan'~et of~set lithographic press designed or printing short runs. In acc~rdance wi~h the present invention, a web-may be moved through a unit or units which are in a printing mode, i.e~ thrown-on~and a unit or units which are not in a printing mode, i.e. thrown-off. The units which axe thro-~n-of may be made ready for the next job, while the other unit or unis are printing a different job~
A control system functions to control throw-on o~ the dampeners and in~er of each unit as well as th~ blanket 1, cylinder of each unit at the appropriate time so that a minimum ¦l of web material is wasted, i.e. where one jo~ stops the ne~t 1, job starts~ The control system is such that an operator may . , control the units so that any one or all of ~he units may print ¦ one job.
More specifically, the web press of the present invention utiliæes individual motors associated with eacn printing unitO
1I These motors are large enough to power the entire web press ; , including both the printin~ units and the au~iliary unitsO A
com~on drive line extends through the press and a single i - position clutch is associated with each unit and coacts between , the common drive line and the motor or its unit. Upon .~ , .

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. en~,agement. of a clutchj the motor of that printing unit is drivin~Jconnected to the common drlve line. Up~n disengagernent i of a clutch the unit may be driven independently of the other ¦ :
¦. units on the press for "make ready" purposes, and for brin~i~g j. the printing unit up ~o a predetermined speed and into a ~ predetermined condition prior to thro~-on of the unit~
!~ The present inve~tion provides r therefore, a web press ~' system which is especially suited to short runs of di~ferent prin~ed matter and characterized by rapid changeover Erom one run to the next run with minimum loss of time and paper. While , .one printing unit is printing on the web, a second printing . unit may be m~de-ready while the web continues to ~ove ~h~ough ~ b~th of the units.
l The present invention also provides a novel press drîving 1 arrangement including a main drive shaft and clutch means l coacting between the shaft and a free running shaft ring gea.r jj which is d~iven rom a power sha~t connected to the individual ¦, printing un~t m~tors.
i Further, the present invention is embodied in a web oEfset .
¦ lithographic press wherein each printing u~it includes a ¦ ~ylinder ~ystem for offset printing including a palr of plate cylinders and a pair of bl~nket cylinders which desirably engage the web.in an S-wrap configuration and print on both sides of the web simultaneously. Means are provided for ¦ selectively thro~ing-off each printing unit and for changing .
I the path of the web as it passes between the thrown-off blanket I rolls. This is done so that the web is restrained from flutter and contact with the thrown-off blanket cylinders as it passes 1'1 . I

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~2i.22 the nonprinting unit. Lever arm supported yrator rolls coacting above and helow the web adjacent to and on opposite , sides of the nip of the blanket cylinders are provided to change the attitude of the web as it traverses the nip. The grator rolls are driven up to the speed of the web prior to engaging the web.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention may be better understood by having reference to the annexed drawings wherein: `
Fig. l is a schematic general layout in side elevation of a web offset press in accordance with the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic and schematic layout of a main drive system for powering the various units of the web offset press shown in Fig. l.
Fig. 3 is a plan view in cross section of a drive arrangement between each printing unit and a common drive shaft.
Pig. 4 is a view showing the cylinders of a printing unit, and particularly the means for throwing-off the blanket cylinders and changing the path of the web.
Fig. 5 is a partial end elevation of a printing unit in accordance herewith showing the web path changing means as they appear in the plane indicated by the line 5-5 in Fig. 4.
Figs. 6-ll show control circuitry for the several printing units, and including circuitry for phasing in printing press operations which must be accomplished before a given printing unit is shifted from a nonprinting mode to a printing mode.

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Fi~. 1 S~QWS schematically in side elevation the general arran~ement of a web offset press embodying the presen~
invention. ~ig. 2 is a schematic vie~ of a common or main ¦
drive sha~t sho~Ying the arran~ement of ~`he individual motors .
and clutches for the various press units and the auxiliary units.
In ~eneral~ a web offset press in accordance with the present invention includes web supply reels, a splicer or pasting unit, for joining the leading edge of a fresh paper roll t~ the trailing end~ of a spen~ roll, a plurality of selectively engageable and disengageable web printin~ units for printing one or both siaes of a w2b, a web drying unit, a cooling unit inclu~ing chill rolls and a folding unit .
Depending upon the nature oE the work being done on the web offset press one or more of the auxiliary units may be selectively disabled for a given run. The auxiliary units a~e conventional and their use and opera~ion is well known. ~he printin~ units axe generally utilized in pairs as a printing set and there may thus be a plurality of such palrs. In a succession of printing units, one printing unit is usually in a printing mode, i.e., thrown-on and the next pr.inting unit is in a nonprinting mode; i~e. t thrown-off with a gap formed between the printing cylinders and being, for example, in a "make-reaay" condition for a succeeding run. ~hen a printing uni~ is thrown off, the web nevertheless continues to pass through the press unit at printing speed~ ¦
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j ii common drive shaft ext~nds parallel to the ~eb offset press and is carried by sui~able jaurnals and has suitable i power transmitting points opposite each of the press uni~s. i .
~ach individual printing unit has a motor capabl~ of driving not only its printing unit, but also the remaining driven press unitSr e.g. the operating auxiliary units requirin~ power through the common drive shaft. Single p~sition clutch means provide proper timing of the units and enable selecti~e engagement and disenqagement of the individual press units Erom ~he drive shaEt. The mo~or of at least one printin~ unit is at all times engaged in driving relation to the COMmOn drive sha~t durin~ a run.
The individ~al ofset printing units include much that i5 conventional. For example, the inking system and the damplng system for the plate cylinders are conventional and their operation is well known and will not be described. ;
Referring now m~re particularly to Fi~ there is shown a complete web o~fset press. Proceedin~ from left to right in the direction of movement of the web, there is first shown a web supply system generally indicated at 10~ In the arrangement shown, a pair of webs 12 and 14 are fed to an .
infeed uni~ 16. Supply rolls 18 and 20 are on stream and supply rolls 22 and 24 are on standby for s-lbse~uent spliGing and putting on stream. The supply reels and pasting system are .
conventional and any available such system may be used.
Web 12 next enters a printing unit 26 which in Fig. 1 is shown in a thrown-of~ mode wherein the web 12 passes between blanket cylinders ~8 and 30 ~hlch have been moved to a ~hrown~o~f posi~ion by a throw-off mechanism herelna~ter more l . ' .
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particularly clescribed. The attitude of the web 12 has al50 been shifted slightly by grator rolls 32 and 34 ~o be more nearly perpendicular to a ptane cxtending through the axes oE
blanket cylinders 28 and 30, Grator rolls 32 an,~ 34 alsa aid in preventing flutter in web 12 by shortening the free span oE
the web and thus to prevent contact with the thrown vff blanket . cylinders 28 and 30. Plate cyl.ind2rs 36 and 38 run in contact . .~ with blanket cylinders 28 and 30i in a knawn manner.
Conventional inker and damp2r systems, not shown, are utilized in conjùnction with the plate cylinders. . -Web 12 exiting from printing unit Z6 next enters pr~nting. unit 40 which may be of indentical structure to printing unit : ~26~ Printing unit 40 is shown in a printiny mode a~d web.12 is in contact with blanket cylinders 4~ and 44 following a kno-~n S-wrap configuration on traversin~ the nip be~ween the .
', cylinders 42 and 44. Grator rolls 46 and 4~ have been located out of contact with web 12 to allow the attitude of the web 12 i to assume an S-wrap profile for receipt of offset pr.int from il' blanke~ cylinders 42 and 44O
!, Web lZ upon leaving pr inting unit 40 i5 turned~ about j turning rolls 50 and 52, and control rolls 54 and 56 for -¦ by-passing printin~ units 58 and 60 and introduction into u~per j drying unit S2. In the meantime, web 14 proceeds from the infeed unit 16, over web control roll 64 and turning rolls 66 ~, and 68 for entry into printing unit 58.
,'Printing unit 58 .is in a nonprint.ing mode, the blanket ; cylinders 7.~i and 72 havin~ been thrown-off and spaced from the web 14. Grator rolls 74 and 76 f~nction in printing unit 58 in the sa~e manner as they do in printing units 26 and 40~

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, Printing unit 60 is next encountered by the web 14 and is in a i printin~ mode in the sarne manner as printing unit 40 is shown , ` with respect to web 12. Thus, ~.~anket cylinders 78 ~d 83 are ` printing web 1~. WPb 14 on leaving the printing unit 60 enters i, lower drying unit 82.
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Following the dryer units 62 and 82, webs 12 and 14 enter a ¦

, chill roll unit generally indicated at 84. The dryer and chill .
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, r~ll units are of known structure and operation. Finally, webs i 12 and 14, which have been printed on both sides, dried and ~: cooled, en~er a folder unit generally indicated at 86 where : signatures are formed fro~ sheets cut from webs 1~ and 14.
Fold\unit ~6 is also of known structure and opera~ion~
`, Printing units 2~, 40, 5~ and ~0 are desirably, although .,i not essentially, of like structure and operation. In a given run and ~s illustrated in Fig. 1, printing units ~6 and 58 are thrown-off and may be undergoin~ "make-ready" procedures while , webs 12 and 14, respectively, pa5s through these units out o ¦~ contac~ with the of~set printing cylinders. Printiny units 40i , and 60 constitute a first printing s~t herein and are shown in ¦ a printing mode moving toward completion of a predetermined ¦ count of signatures constituting a run. Near the end of the run, controlled sequencing operations may be activated or bringin~ on stream the second printing set composed o~ printing units 26 and 2~, and the throwing-off of the first printing set consisting o units 40 and 60~ WhilP the second printing set is operating tos~ard the completion of its separate runir the ! first printin~ set is under~oing "make-ready" procedures for a .
! third run. Thus, a succession of runs~ usually o~ relatively ;.
,' short duration, may be made without shutting down the entîre ¦' web offset press.
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Referriny now more particularly ~o E'ig~ 2, there is here sho~n in schematic and diagrammatic form a main drive line 90 ~l which is positioned parallel to the auxiliary units~l6 yinfeed / I unit~ he dryer 62,~the chill roll unit 84 and the folder unit i 86. Po~er to operate such o~ these units as are required to be driven is provided through po~er take-off units. Thus, the - I po~er to operate the infeed unit 16 is transferred ~rom the drive line 90 through power take-of~ unit 92. The power ~ake-ofE unit 92 may include, if desired, a clutch to enable selective engage~nt and disengagement of this auxiliary unit.
; - In like manner power for operation of other auxiliary units, e.g. the chill roll unit 84 and the folder unit 86 is -~ provided through power take-off units 94 and 96, respectively.
Clutches enabling selective engagement and disengagement f Il these auxiliary units 84 and 86 may be provided, if desired~
- ,' As indicated above, each of the printing units is provided , with a drive motor of sufficient capacity to drive an entire web offset press including a printing set and any auxiliary units. ~hus, printing unit 26 is provided, as schematically and diagrammatically shown in Fig~ 2 with a drive motor 38, a drive train 100 and a clutch 102, the details oE which are best shown in Fig. 3. Drive motor 98 is of sufficient capacity to drive printing unit 28, infeed 16, chill rolls 84, folder 86 and to move the web 12 from the supply reel 20 through the entire press. It is also sufficient to drive the press unit 26 independently of the drive line 90 during "make-ready"
procedures. In li~e manner, printing units 40, 58 and 60 are each provided with a separate drive motorJ e.g. motors 104, 106 and 108, a drive train 110, 112 and 114, I ~WE~.N5DENKER
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~, 10 !l respectively, geared or drivin~ xelati~n with the respèctive printing units 40, 5~ and 60, and selec~ively engageable with drive lin~ 90 through associated C1ULCheS 116, 118 and 120.
The drive line 90 is suita~ly supported in frame members 'i and b~aring~ for rotation as will be indicatea below. The main drive line ma~ be a single shaft, or a series o shafts coupled together through universal joints.
The clutches 102, 11~, 118 and 120 are o known structure, and are characteri~ed in that they are sha~t mounted, single position, air actua~ed, tooth clutches. Re~erence may b~ had to UvS. Patent No. 3~76~0~9 ~ for details of the clutch mechanism. Any other shaft mounted, single position clutch may be employed in the web o~fset press hereo~
The po~er transfer units coacting betwe~n the individual .
printing units and the main drive line operate to trans~er power from the drive motor associated with the printing unit to the drive line for runnin~ the entire press, or to transfer power from th2 main drive line to the individual printing uni~
in a given printin~ set. The clutch mechanism enables the printing units, e.g. those which are thrown off, when disengaged to be driven by their resp~ctive motors during .
1make-re.ady" procedures~ ~
A section of the main drive line 90 is shown in Fig~ 3 extending through oppoC2ing frame ~embers 1~0 and 132 of a printin~ unit~ e.g~ printing unit Z5~ Drive line section 9Q is .
journaled for rotation in the frame membe~s 130 and 132 by roller bearings 134 and 136, respectively. Conventional retaining and sealing means are employed at each bearingf !LI :. VIEIN NENI~E~,;
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.,.l, (~ ( ' A split transaxle 138 consisting of a press clrive shaft section l~iO and an illpUt shaft section 142 are provided preferably having their respective axes 144 and 14G lying in 1' the same plane as ~he axis 148 ol. shaft 90 and extending ¦ transverse thereto. Ends 150 and 152 of shaft sections 140 and 14~, respectively, are fittecl with bevel pinion ~ears 154 and ; 156, Aespectively, suitably keyed to the ~haft ~ections 1~0, .
142 by keys 158, 160, respectiv~ly. The press drive shaft section 1~0 is journaled for rotation in a frame cannected bracket 16~ by a roller bearing 154, and input shaft section 142 is journaled for rotation in the frame member 166 by a roller bearing 168. Bevel pinIon gear 15~ lS held on the end of shaEt section 140 by nut 170 suitably locked agains~
l' loosening by lock washer 172. In like manner; bevel pinion ¦l ~ear 156 is held on the end OL input shaft section 142 by nut .
l' 174 and loc~ washer 176. Roller bearing 168 is held in ¦ position in the frame member 166 by an~ suitable means, for ¦l example, as shown in a snap ring 178 and-re~ainer 1~0, The outer end 182 of the input shaft 142 is pro~ided with a I tapered hub 184 keyed to the outer end 182 by key 186. A
v/ , compl~lentarily tapered pulley.l88 is tightly held on the hub 1~4 by suitable fasteners, e.g. bolts 190.. The pulley 188 is , driven by a belt 192 or a series of V-belts from a ~rive motor for the unit not shown in ~ig~ 3. As inclicatedt the drive : i motor has suficient capacity to run the entire web offset press. .
To transmit power fro~ the drive bevel pinion gear 156 to . the press driven pinion bevel gear 154, there is provlded a ring bevel gear 194 through which the main drive line 90 passes L~l~W~1.`15HEHKER !
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. ., ( . ( . fr~ely and which r;ng bevel gear 194 is meshed with bevel gears ~ lS~ and 15~. Power i5 transrnitted from the m~tor directly to i the printing unit through ~he transmission above described.
. To enable power also to be transmitted to the main drive ;~ line 90, there is provided a shaft mounted single position .j .
Il fluid ope~ated clutch generally indicated at 196. Referen~e ¦. may ~e had to V.S. Patent No. 3,760,91~ In general, the ¦' ~lutch consists o~ three parts, a first portion keyed to the.
main drive line 90, a second por~ion attached to the ring gear 19~, and an axially movable third portion which sPlectively ~; locks the first and second portions together. Fluid pressure, ; e,g. air pressure, effects movement of the third portion into an engaged position where power is transmitted from the motor . , , . .
to the input drive bevel pinion lSZ through ~he ring gear 194 .
,~, to b~th the printing unit driven bevel gear 154 and through the li clutch unit 196 to the main drive line. 9~. Thus, the il individual printing unit is driven as well as all other units li operatively connected to the drive line 90. When the fluid .
¦ pressure is release~ springs~ e.g. spring 198, return the .
¦ clutc~ plate ~00 to a disenga9ed position whereb~ ring gear i94 ¦ is declutched and runs freely about the main drive line 90.
. The clutch 196 is a single position clutch 50 that .
I sync ~ nism can be maintained among the various printing uni~s ; in a printing set and among th~ printill~ set and the auxiliary ! uni~s of the web offset press. q`he details of op~r~tion of i ¦~ such a clutch are found in the aforesaîd Patent 3,760,916. In , general, the clu~ch f~ces 200 and 202 are provided with .
radiating gear teeth which.interlock for driving engagement r but no~ until three driving detents or balls are properly ~L~Y/ElH5HsH~R
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' i` l aligned w.ith corresponding grooves in plat~ 200. The positioning of the balls and grooves is such that the driving '.
enqagement can occur in only a single angular relationship between the clutch faces 200 and 202. The clutch 196 is keyed to the main drive line 90 by a key 204.
In the installa~ion of the clutch 196, the declutching portion 195 to which ring gear 194 is bolted as by bolts 197, is mounted for rotation in axiall~ spaced frame supported ball bearings 199 and 201. Frame portions 191 and 193 support ball bearings 1~9 and 201 so that the declutching portion 195 is supported by the frame concentric with but separated from the main drive line 90. Should the clutch structure shown in U~Sr ~ '' Patent 3,760,916 be used without the foregoing modification Eor mounting the declutching section 195, unpredictable seizure o~
the declutching portion bearings could engage the printing unit with the main drive line 90 thus posing the danger of injury to the operator.
Figure 4 shows in parti~l side elevation one of the printing units~ The uni~ includes an inker system with ink ~
forms 205 and 206 and a ~ampening system indicated generally at .
20~ and 20~. These systems will not be dealt with further since they are o~ known structure and operation and.unnecessary to a full understanding of the present throw-of systemO A
feature of the web offset presses of this inven~ion is the structure for throwing-off a printing unit for make-ready .
purp~ses or a succeediny: run while the web is still passin~
through the printing unit. As indicated, the printing units of the present invention are o the offset type utilizing a pair f web engaqin~ blanket cylinders r one blanket cylinder acting -': '1' - - . I
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t , as an impression cylinder for the other and simultaneously l printing both s;des of the web. The web as it passes through ¦ the nip between the blanket cylinders follo~.~s what is known in `
the art as an "S-wrapi' configuration. The arrangement of the 1~ blanket cylinders and the web infeed means which resu].t in an ¦ .
I S-wrap and the advan~ages oE such are known. The present ,, invention provides apparatus for changing the attî~ude at which ! the web ent@rs the nip fro~ one providing the S wrap ¦ oonfiguration ~or printing purposes to one which enables ~he web to pass between the thrown~off spaced blanket cylinders alon~ a path which is gen~.rally normal to a plane including the ~" axes of rotaqbn o the blanket cylinders. Th-s change in the ¦ .
I attitude of the web is effected by controlled movement of I grator rolls. The grator rolls move betw2en a first posit~on ¦. in contact with the web in a thrown-off condition and a second posi~ion out o contact~with the web in an on-line or print,-ing .
condition.. To prevent damage to the web ~hen the grator rolls ,l are in the process OL contacting the web, means are provi~ed to li drive these rolls before con~act with the webp : ¦ With more particular reference to Figs, 4 and 5, ~here is . ¦ sho~n an upper blanket cylinder 210 and a lower blanket ~
cylinder 212 in on line printing relation. The w~b 214 enters the nip 216 nontangentially to the cylinde~s at an angle other than 90 degrees to a plane ;ncluding the axes 218 and 220 o~
I blanket cylind~rs 210 and 212~ This disp~sition of the web 21~2 .
j and its exit from the cylinders 210 and 212 provi~es the S~wrap i ,I profile above referred to. The web 21~ as it lea~es the nip 216 lies in a plane different from the plane in wh;ch it i, entered the- nip 216S ~d preferably a plane parallel to and ; j. ab~ve the plane of entry.
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`8 The blanket cylinders 210 and 212 are mounted interiorly of the p~inting unit frame for rotation about their respectiv~
axes.218 and 220 in eccentrics 222 and 224 which are mo~nted for limited rotation in the frame of the press about axes 22~ ¦
and 227. To rotate the eccentrics~ and chan~e the relative location o~ the hlanket cylinder axes 218 and 2~0, the eccentrics are provided with an arm and li.nkage system mounted .
outside the frame. The eccelltric 224 is provided with a first arm 22~ pivotally connected to a clevis 230 by a pin 232. The clevis 230 is at the distal extremity of an extensible and retractable arm 234 pro~ecting from a fluid operated actuating cyLinder 23~.. The arm is provided with an adjusta~le stop 238 for limiting the extent of travel o~ the arm 23~
iametrically opposite the first eccentric arm 228 is a second eccentric arm 240 which is pivotally secured by a pi~
242 to a linkage 244 through a clevis 246. The opposite end o~
the linkage 244 is provided with a second clevis 248 which is pivotally connected by a pin 250 to an upper eccentric arm 252. The length of th~ lin~age 244 is des-rably ad~ustable for controlling the extent of throw~o~f. .
The length of ~he arm 22B indicated by A is greater than the lenqth of arm 240 indicated ~y B. Hence, a .375" movem~ntr ~or example, of pin 242 at a distance B ~rom eccentric center 228 and causin~ an angular rotation ~b) of eccentric 224 will .
translate into a .375" m~veJnent of arm 252 at a distance A fro~
eccentric center 226 causing a smaller an~ular rotation (a) of eccentric 222.

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l ( ~ Yhile in prior art d~vices the act o- throwing~-o~f the blan~et cylinder~ resulted in ea~h cylinder moving the same distance out and away from th2 nip 216 (see U.S. Pa~ents 3,5~7,165 to H~rless and 3,724,368 to Treff), in the present device, the upper ~lanket cylinder moves forward ~to the right as shown in Fig. 4) and generally towar~ the plane of the nip 216. ~o~ever, at the same time, the lower blanket cylinder 212 moves forward and ~wa~ from th~ nip 216 a greater distance than the upp2r blan~et cylinder 210 moves toward the nip~ ~lencel the cylinders 210 and 212 are spaced apart in a thrown-off mode wi th the ~iapoint of a line joining the axes 218 and 220 being translated downwardly and forward of its location when the cylinders are thrown-on, i.e. in an on line or printing relation to the web.
The foregoing throw-off mechanism also throws the blanket cylinders 21Q and 212 off with respect to their coacting plate cylinders ~54 and 256, respectively, being i~ this respect not unlike prior art throw oEf mechanisms.
As indicated above, when in the printing mode, the web follows a path indlca~ed by ~he number 214 in an S-wrap configuration through the nip 21S, Because the web is intended to be continuously running in the web o~set press, and because of the movement of the upper blanket cylinder 210 in the throw-off action, the attitude of the web 214 must be changed.
Moreover, the web must be supported at positions relatively close to the open nip 216 to prevent flutter which would allow the web to contact one or both blanket cylinders in traver~ing the open nip (when thrown-off). To protect the printed web and assure that i~ is not marked or broken by any contact with the b~anke~ cylinders 210 and 212 in a silenced, or thrown-off I ILLILY/E11/5H~.`lKElt., LEADEli DLDG. ¦ . .
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printing unit, guide rollers 260 and 262 are provided and are located in the path 21~ of the web in a manner to change the attitude of the web and guide i-t through the nip 216, and to shorten the free span of the web and thus limit the envelope of web flutter. For most efficient passage of the ~eb -through the gap between the blanket cylinders 210 and 212 when "off-pressure"
the web should preferably pass through such gap in an attitude perpendicular to a line join~ing the centers of the thrown-off cylinders.
; To accomplish the foregoing web control, there is provided a web infeed control roll or grator roll 260 and a web outfeed control roll or grator 262. Web aontrol roll 260 spans the web and is journaled for rotation at the distal extremity 264 oE a ; roll control arm 266. Control arm 266 is secured at its proxi-mal extremity 268 to a shaft 270 for rotation therewith. Shaft 270 extends between the front and rear frame portions (not shown) and is journaled for rotation therein. An cperating arm 272 is .... .
secured also to the shaft 2~0, preferably on the outside of the front frame member (not shown), and at its free end 274 pivotally . . ,:
connected to a clevis 276 by a pin 278. The clevis 276 is in turn secured to the free end oE extensible arm 280 which is . .
actuated by a fluid operated cylinder 282. The cylinder 282 is secured to the printing unit frame (not shown) by any suitable ' means,e.g., pin 284. Thusl it will be seen that as the arm 280 is ~,.
extended out of cylinder 282 under the influence of pressurized fluid, e.g., air pressure~ the arm 266 carrying roller 260 is moved from its solid line position in Fig. 4 to the position ~ shown in dotted lines. In the latter position, the roll 260 is -, out of contact with the web.

..~.
',' -(.

The extent o~ travel o~ the arm 266 is limited by a first adjustable stop 286 when en~aging the web, and by a second adjustable stop ~87 when in the off-web position. ', IQ like manner, an outfeed web control roll. 262 is provided and journaled for rotation in the dis~al end 288 of arm 290~
The arm 2~0 is mounted ~or rotation on the sha~ or stud 29~, . .
'; the latter being secur~d in the ~ame member 200 (Fig. 5)~ The I arm 2~0 is connected by a pin 29~ to a c~evis ~9~ at the end o~ ¦
! .
an ex~ensible ~rm 2~3 actuated by a fluia cylinder 300~ In , this case, a single adjustable stop 295 limits travel o~ the web control roll 26~ into the web engaging positionv The rolls 260 and 262 are conveniently provided with protective shrouds 30~ and 304 r respectively~
In utilizing the web guide or control rolls 260 and 262, lt ; ;s necessary that when being brought into contac~ with the web 214 to change its attitude relative to the nip 216 as occurs when taking the printing unit off impression (throwin~-of~ the guide roll surface velocity should be substantially the same as tha~ of the web 214. I~ this were not true, a web break c~uld result~ -In order to achieve speed matching simply, the guide rolls . , . 1 260 and 2&2 are driven by friction rollers 306 and 3~8, . I resp~ctively, whic~ in turn are frictionally driven by bearers : ! 310 and 312 at the extre~itites o~ the blanket cylinders ~1 ¦l and 212~ Friction rollers 306 and 308 are each mounted in - I bearinys on studs 311 and 313 carried on arms 314 and 316, `~ I re~pectively. The arms 31~ and 316 are mounted in turn on ii studs 3~8 and 320 at the respec~ive opposite split ends 322 and 324 and clamped thereto b~ threaded screws 326. The clamping . ; 1 means at ends 322 and 32~ permit adjustment o~ the rollers 306 '/ScEYKERl and 308 in frictional contact with the bearers 310 and 312.
'yD,O~IO 44 21,223 .. , . .
1~
.

1 In the thrown-off positions shown in ~otted lines in Fig.

I 4, the control rolls ~0 and 262 are in contact with tl-e rubber "
~, surfaces 326 and 328, respectively, and drive at a linear speed which substantially matches that of the web. When the rolls 260 and 262 are shifted into contact with the moving web 214 in I~ preparation for thro~-off of the blanket cylinders 210 and 212, I their peripheral speed is close to that of the web 214r and the I shift occurs rapidly enough that thexe is little loss in '~ rotational speed.

,i COMTROL CXRCUITR'~
I The circuitry which controls the several printing units is illustrated generally in FIGURE 6. The our printing units ~6, 40, 58, ana 60, each include respective print fu~ction controls . 310, 312, 314, and 316 ~hich serve to control the print ~i functions of the associated unit" These print functions include operation o~ waterpan motorsr waterforms~ inkorms, inkductor, and thro~n-on and off of impression. Xn addition to I these print function controls~ each unit includes a respective I unit motor control 318, 320, 322, and 324 which ~ontrols the I operation of the motor associated with the respective unit.
The print function and unit motvr controls of each of the unlts are interconnected with an au~oma~ic transfer control 3~6 Automatic transfer control 326 operat~s to automatically transfer operation at press run speed from one printing unit or ¦~ printing set to an alternate printing unit or printing set~
j: For example, i~ the first and third units 2~ and 58 are , operating and are nearing the end of a run, automatic transfer control 326 will operate to automatically bring the second and I!
i' .
~LLl~lYlEi~lsHE~l3E2 .
LEADE2 8LDI:. .
~liD.l~H10 q411~ .
/) 621.2234 I .
; ! 20 : !i ' fou~th units ~0 and 6n up to speed, and sequentially activate I j ,. the print func~ions associated therewith in the proper order~ . ¦
Thereafter, units ~0 and 60 will be clutched into th~ drive line and units ~6 and 58 will be taken off impression, ~ ¦
1 declutched, and braked to a stop. ¦
¦, For changing one or more printing unit~ from a printing mode to a nonprinting mode, automatic transfer control 3~ ¦
includes a sequencer 328 which serwes to supply print.function commands and moto~ control commands in common to the control circuits associatèd with each o~ the units. These commands I will produce the desired sequential operation of the motors and ; print functions of the units being brough~ on line~ The respective control circuits will either respond to, or i~nore, 1 the sequencer commands in accordance with unit selection l! sign~ls supplied by a mode select circuit 330.
¦I Through the circuitry which will now be described, unit ~6 may be operated in an alternatin~ fashion with unit 40, and . I unit 58 may be operated in an alterna~ing ~ashion with unit .~ 1 60. The operator will select the mode of operation by -~ I actuating appropriate controls located at each of the u~its~ A
~ ~transfer" swit~h will be located at each unitr In order to ; . select an alternating mode of operation, the transfer switches .. associated with all of the units involved in the alternating operation must all be actuated. Thus, for example, if units 26 .
and 58 are to be alternated with units ~0 and 60, the transfer switches ~or all four units must be actuated. The operator wi~l then clutch into the drive line 90 those units (e.g. units I, 26 and 5~) which are to be operated initially. Signals from : 1I the clutch and transfer switches of each unit are communicated ~LI I~Y~1H5~EHI~E~ , ' EADEn ~D5. ¦ j H D O H I O ~ I .

1~
~i , , ' .

' to the mod~ select circuit 330, whicll will re~eo,nize ~hich mod,e i, , .
~ of operation has been selected by the operator on the basis of il these signals. The operator will also preset the length of the , run into a manually settable counter located at the sequencer !,32~. I
1' The press motor controls 332 will -then be operated so as to ,; place the press in a continuous run condition. ~fter the press has been brought up to speed, the initial run will be~in.
' Sequencer 328 will count the number of impressions provided by -the press and wlll continually compare this number agalnst the length of the run established by the operator in the sequencer ,~ 328. As the press approaches the end of the run, the sequencer i i 328 will automaticall~ initiate the sequential operation oE the print functions associated with the "new" units, i.e., 40 and 60 in this case. These units will then be brought on-line into 1 the printing mode and the initially operating units (units 26 ¦i and 58) will drop off-line into the nonprinting mode.
¦l At the conclusion of the automatic transer, mode select ¦I circuit 330 ~ill receive a signal from sequencer 328 indicatin~
¦¦ that the mode of operation of the press has been changed~ Mode ¦I select circuit 314 will then change the mode select signals 50 that, as the end of the run of units 40 and 60 is approached, the signals supplied by sequencer 328 will now serve to control the print function controls associated with units 26 and 58, I rather than those associated with units 40 and 60.
il Referring now to FIC-URE 7, a more detailed diagram of 1, sequencer 328 is shown~ T~o manually settable counters 340 and ¦l 342 are provided. These manually settable counters could -~I comprise five-digi~ thumbwheel switches which each provide ." 11 ' .
.LLI~i~YE~`/SU~iK8R !
~E~PEn DLDO. l l ,~iD,OY~O 4411Ji 11 1~21-22~ ' .
~ 22 ! .
.~w ~

l.
i binary coded decimal (BCD) signals to a gate circuit 3~4. Gate I circuit 3~4 ~ill serve to selectively pass the BCD si~nals provi-led by either one or the other of the two preset counters I, in accordance with the state of a gate control flip-flop 346.
¦ The selected counter will then be presumed to contain the ¦, number indicatin~ the length of the current run. In the described embodiment, the alternately operating units will be brought on-line into the prin~ing mode at a selected point just ~, prior to the conclusion of the currently operating run. Some o~erprinting will thus occur at that time~ Conse~uently, the number of impresslons to be produ~ed in a given run must be increased by the number of overprints which will occur at the conclusion of the run~ l~his is accomplished by an adder circuit 348 which serves to combine the ou~put o~ gate circuit 344 with a si~nal supplied by a reference circuit which will be j described hereinafter. The combined signal supplied by adder " . .
circuit 343 thus indicates the total number o~ impressi ons re~uired of the current run.
I ~ BCD up-counte~ 350 is provided ~or ~etermining the number I o~ good impressions which have been produced by the press in the current run. This is accomplished by counting the number ¦ o~ pulses produced by a sensor associated with the folder of the press~ The folder sensor will be described further with reference to Figure llr The signals ~PP~ generated by the folder sensor are directed to a N~ND gate 352 which will pass the signals to a one-shot circuit 353 whenever the output oE a ~I second NAND gate 35~ is at a high logic level. A manuall~
¦~ operable switGh 35~ is provided for allowing the operator to 1 disable the passage of signals ~rom the folder sensor to th~
~ 1i ' .
.LIOWEIN~ ER, .
E~.DER 9LDC. . .
1D, 01110 441 1~ i ~ 223~ I . .

¦! 23 ., il .
`-- 1 . .

i up-counter 350 whenever the impressions being providing by the on-line printing unit are o~ bad quality. Switch 356 is 1 isolate~ from the sequencer circui~ry b~ an opt;cal isolator j. 357~ Unless switch 356 is. closed, the output of optical ¦ isolator 357 will be high, thereby disabling NAND ~ate 352 through NAND gate 35~.
1. A second input ~o NAND ~ate 354 is derived from the , sequencer c;rcuitry itsel and is provided for bypassing ~he ood-c~unk ss~itch whenever a certain point has been reached in , t~e automatic transfer operation. Once this point has been , reached, it is no lon~er possible to disable up-counter 350 . from accumulating further ~ounts until after the auto~atic 'i transfer operation has been completed. .
The output of up-counter 35Q is directed to a read-out -circut t 358 which provides a visual indication to the operator ¦ of the number of good impressions which have been produced in the.current run. The output of up-counter 3~0 is additionally directed to a suktractor circuit 360 which serves to subtract I this number from ~he nu~ber supplied by adder circuit 348 ~indicating the total number of impressions which must be produced in the current r~n)~ The output of subtractor circuit 1 360 thus indicates the number of im~ressions which remain to be ¦ produced in the current run. This signal is directed to a ¦ comparator circuit 362 which compares this number against a li reference numb2r A supplied by a referen.ce circuit 364. This ! reference number indicates the.point in any run at which the I' automatic transfer operation should be.initiatedO Thus, when the number of impressions which remain to be produced is equal to the number supplied b~ reference nwnber circuit 364, the .-ii .
;ILLIOWEIUSH~IKERI, L~ADER ~LDC.
~ND,OH10 4~-~i ~)621.ZZ3.~ ~ ' .
: ~i .
'. i, 3~

. output ~Post A) o~ comparator circuit 362 will shift to a high lo~ic level and will thus initiate the automatic transfer iop~ration.
A do~n-counter control circuit 366 is provided which resp~nds to the output of comparator 36~ as well as to the count signal supplied by cne-shot 353~ Down-counter control i circuit 3Ç~ serves to load a down-oounter 3~8 with the reference nurnber A (contained in reference number circuî~ 364~ !
at appropriate times~ Also~ down-counter control circuit 3~6 serves to enable or disable the passaye ~f the count pulses supplied by one-shot 353 to do-~n-counter 368~ Thus pulses, when gated to down-counter 3~8, will each decrement the number contained within down-counter 368 by one.
In its simplest form, down-counter control circuît 366 will ¦ ;
simply pass the count pulses directly to the count input of down-counter 368 whenever the output of comparator circuit 366 has shifted to a high logic level, and will directl~ pass the reset signal to the load control input of down-coun~er 368 so as to relo~d the do~wn-counter with refe~ence number ~ whene~er a reset pulse is generated. It may be desirable r however, to include operator controlled switches for the purpose OL
disabling the supp~y of count signals to down-counter circuit 363 under various circumstances. Because o~ this, down-counter control circuit 366 is merely illustrated in its general form.
When enabled by down-counter control circuit 366, down-counter 36~ will proceed to count down rom reference number A at the same rate at which good impressions are supplied by the press. Comparators 370-384 will compare the number generated by down-counter 3G8 against several . 1 ' .
L~l ~WEl.`iS~ ER~;
.E.~DEB DLCO. ~ j IID, D~I10 ) ~21-22 ~ 5 ~ 8~

successively small.er refererlce numbers. As the coun~-down ~.
proceeds~ the output o~ corilparators 370-334 ~i]1 each indicate when coincidence between the count-ciown and the correspondinc reference number has occurred. The reference numbers against i' I
.' which ~he down-co~int is compared are generated by a series o~

reference number circuits 386-400. These refe~ence number , , , . circuits (identified in the FIGURE as supplyinc reference .~ nurnbers B-H), as well as reference number circuit 364 ~ Tnay conveniently comprise thumbwheel swltches similar to those used. ', ~' I' i ¦ for counters 3a~ and 342. Cornparator 384 does not have a ; 1 reference number input, but rather serves to cornpare the ~ j .~ , ' i . down-count with zero.
Since comparators 370-3~4 serve only to determine when the down-count is equal to the corresponding reference number, and ¦ :
since down-counter 368 is being continually dec.remented by the .
~ count signal supplied by one-shot 353, the output oE each : 1l comparator ~ill take the form of a single pulse occurring at a ¦~ selected time during the run and having a duration established by the length of time between successive count pulses supplied ¦I by one-shot 353. Since reference numbers B through H are sequentially smaller r the pulses generated by the comparators . . ~EQUB through EQUH) will occur in sequence as the current run nears conclusion. These outputs are directed to the print function and unit motor controls of each unit and will produce . 1, the desired sequential operation thereof at the appropriate . ti~e during automatic transfer.

; Comparators 374 and 380 additionally have second outputs .
~ I (Post D and Post G, respectively) which indicate ~Ihen the : ,nu~lber supplied by down-counter 368 is smaller than the ~:. '.

ILI bWElNsHeNKER .
.,- .eJlDSI~ 3~DC. ¦ j .`ID.DIIIO 4~
~62~.223~ 26 1 . I

t 1. correspondin~ reference number~ These additional outputs s~
.. shift to a high logic level when the dol~n-count rea--hes the ii corresponding reference nu,~ber, and will remain at a hiyh logic i level ~ntil down-counter 368 is reset to a value which is !
greater than the corresponding reference number.
~ The aad.itional output of comparator 37~ (Post D ) is .~ directed to ~AMD gate 354 through invertor 402. It is this I output which serves to disable the c~ood count swi~ch 35~ ~o as ', to prevent the operator from interfering with the automatic `. trans~er operation once the do~n-count signal supplied by ., , . ' j down-counter 358~ has reached reference number D.
The adaitional output of comparator.380 ~Post G) is directed to the motor control circui~ for purposes which will . be descri~ed in greater detail with respect thereto~
When the dot~n-counter has been decremented to zero, the output o~ comparator 3~4 will shift to a high logic level~
i This will trigger a counter select circuit 404 to produce a , ::
reset pulse whicn will reset up-counter 350 and down-counter ¦i 368 (~hrough control circuit 366~ while to~geling gate control ¦I flip-flop 346 to a state at which the gate 344 will no~ pass j the BCD signals generated by the alternate thumbwheel s~witch.
Counter select circuit 404 may conveniently comprise a .
¦ one-shot circuit with associated gating circuitry so that the trigger input to the one-~hot is responsive to three different signals. As described, the counter select circuit ~a4 will ! generate a reset pulse whenever the output of co~parator 384 . indicates that the down-c.ount has reached zero ~thereby ! indicating that the current run has concluded). Additionally, ¦. a reset pulse may be generated by triggering the one--shot i"
L~LI ~ W~NSHE21~E2 ' ~L~J.DE2 DLDS. ~ .
~ND. ON10 J~
`06~.22~J li 27 , 1 I .
- I' . . . I

through manual oper~tion of an initial counter select switch 406. Each ti,ne s~itch 406 is depressed, a reset pulse will be gener~tcd which will cause the output o~ gate control flip flop 346 to change its output state. ~hrough this operatlon the operator m~y select which of ~he counters 340 or 342 the sequencer will respond to initially.
Counter select circuit 404 is also responsive to a signal which is ~enerated whenever power is initially applied to the press. Th;s signal ensures that up counter 350 and do~n-counter 368 are reset. rrhis is essential since, were down-counter 3~8 to ini~ially indicate a value correspondin~ to one o~ the reference numbe~s, actuation of the corresponding press function could mistakenly result therefrom. This signal ~reset bus) is generated ~y a circuit which is shown in FIGU~
8, and will be described further with respec~ thereto.
; 1 It will thus be seen that, when the count generated by `; I down-counter :368 has reached zero, the prececling run has been . . .
i completed, and the sequence of events necessary to brin~ the i alternate units o~-line has also been completed. At this ~ point, the preceding unit has been taken of-line, declutchedg il and br~ked to a stop. The down-~ount zero output then cause~
' counter select circuit 404 to generate the rese~ pulse whi~h will prepare the sequen,o-er for automatically transEerring operation back to the prev;ous units upon the conclusion of the new run~
As described previously, the outputs of comparators 370-382 are directed in com~on to the print function control circuits i associated with each of the units. Each oE these print " ,;
- ~ function control circuits has ~he form shown in FIGUA~E 8. It .wrlrlsH7~

L~AD~ LDS. ' j .. , ~HD,OHID 4~ !
3~ 521.32~.~ .

- l!
, ~,~.~,.

~ ~ f L~
will th-ls be appreciated ~hat, although this print function control circuit ~rill be described with specific reference to nit 2~, the print f~nction con~rol circuits of the remaining ,~ units are substantially identical.
The comparator outputs EQUC-EQUG are each directed to a !~
corresponding print function control flip-flop 450-458 which , serves to control the operation of a print function in unit . Flip-flop 450 provides con~rol signals to an actuator I'` I
circuit 460 which controls the operation oE the waterpan motors 1. of unit 26. Flip-flop 452 supplies control signals to an ,.
actuator circuit 4~ which controls the dampener (waterforms) o unit 26. Flip-flop ~S4 ~upplies control signals to an : I
~l t .l actuator circuit 464 which controls the ink forms. Flip-flop 1. 456 supplies control signals to an actuator circuit 466 which ¦~ controls the inkduc~or of unit 2~, and flip-flop ~58 supplies 1' signals ~or controlling the impression actuator 468 of unit 26~ t The flip-flops will either respond to, or ignore, the i sequencer signa~s in dependence upon the value of a unlt ¦ selection signal U~l)X which i5 supplied in common to each of ¦ the 1ip-flops~ A comparator inhibit signal (COMPIN~) is also ¦ supplied in common to each vf th~ flip-10ps for the purpos~ of ¦ momentaril~ disabling the operation thereo~ during those ¦ intervals when transien-ks appearing on the se~uencer comparator ou~puts could cause erroneous operation of the print function flip-flopsO Since these transients occur concurrently with ~he ¦, count pulses supplied by one-shot 353 of Figure 7, a second 1' output o~ one-shot 3~3 is used to provide the comparator ¦ inhibit signal. -1, . I

LL~--WF~NSHFN~ER ~ ¦
F~.D~ R EILDC. j .
.ND, OHIO 441 14 ~ i ) 521.22~4 I , I . .' ' '~

f~

i The flip-flops will all be reset at the same ti~e~ either by a reset signal generated when po~er is .initially applied to the press, or by a u(l) Auto ~ff signal generated at the ' conclusion of operation of unit ~
.. ~ Flip-flop ~52 i5 shown in detail in FIGURE 8. Flip-flops ¦ :
,~ 450 and 454-458 are constructed similarly. Flip-flop 45 .~ includes two cross coupled MAND gates 470 and 47~ which thus ~ ; operate as a set/reset ~lip-flop. This flip-flop is set i whenever the output o~ another NAND gate 474 shifts to a low ~ logic level. This, in turn, will only occur when .the three ' .
: inputs to N~ND gate 474 are all at a hi~h logic level. These inputs include`the output of the corresponding sequencer i' comparator lEQUD) t a unit sele~tion signal Utl)X and the ~.
' co~parator inhibit signal~ Flip-10p 452 cannot respond to EQU~ unless CO~PINH and U(l)X are both at a hi~h logic level. ¦

!; .
The origin and.generation of the unit selection signal U(l)X
. will be described with respect to the mode selection circuit sho7.~n in ~I~U~E 9. Presuming that the o~her units are being run and that unit 2& is no7~ being automatically brought on line i into a printing mode, the U(13X signal will be at a high logic ¦ level. The comparator inhibit signal also be a~ a high logic ¦ le~el and will shift to a low logic level only during the ¦~ interval o~ the count signal generated by one-shot 353.
When the dor~n-count supplied by down-coun~er 368 is equal . '' to reference number D supplied by reference circuit 3~2, the .
: ' EQUD output o~ comparator 374 will shift to a high logic level. The comparator inhibit signal will briefly be at a low logic level, after which it will return to a high logic level. I
Ii At this point, (assuming U(l~X is high) all three inputs to i, .

WElrl5l~E~lKEp:l "~ADEa e.D~. ' !
~I D, OHID ~1 IA I ' ~Z) 021.2Z~ I, .

i ~
~AND gate 47~t will be at a h.igh.logic level, thus forcing the output of N~ND gate 470 to a high logic level. The outpl~t o~
` NA~.~D gate 472 will then shift to a low logic level. This signal, as inverted by invertor 476, will produce actuation of the dampener associated with unit 1.
- Flip-flop 452 will remain in the set state (and the ~ 1 dampener ~ill remain actuated) until one oE the two additi.onal ¦

inputs to NAND gate ~7~ (reset bus or U(l~Auto-Off) falls to a !
low logic level. The U(l~Auto-Off signal. will be generated b~
NAND gate 478 at the conclusion of the sequence of events which brings the aIternate unit (uni~ 40) on-line. At that time both U~2)X and EQU~ will be at a high logic level~ Thus, NAND gate 473 has one input which i5 directed to the U(2~X selection signal generated by the mode selection circuit of FIGURE 9, and has a second input derived from a one~shot 480 which i5 triggered by the EQUH output of the sequencer shown in FIGURE 7.
Two other events must also occur at the conclusion of the run of any unit or set of units The motor associated with the units which are coming off-line must be brought to a halt, and the mode selection circuit must be informed that the press is now operating in a new mode. The motors of the units which are coming off-line are brought to a halt throu~h use of a U(l~ASTP
signal which is generated by a one~shot 482. The mode selection circuit is informed oE the change in mode through use of a siynal EQUHI generated by a second one-shot 484 at the , . ., I conclusion of the pulse provided by one-shot 480~
.' 1', .
. , I , ' .

!~

I!IWEIHSIIEHII~R
LEADE8 ELDG. ¦; .
H 3, O R 1 ~21-22 1~ 31 . . ~

The master reset circuit ~86 is also illustrated in ~IGURE
8. Only a single reset circuit is provided for the entire control circuitry a~d, althou~h sho~n as being a5sociated with ~ ~ the auto prin~ function control for unit 2~, in fact this reset : Ji circuit is associated with the sequencer shown in FIGURE ~ !The purpPse of this reset circuit, as s~ated pre~iousl~, is to reset ~ f ~he flip-flops in the control circuitr~ to selected states when pow~r is initially applied to the press.
This is accomplished through use of a NAMD gate 490 and a ~C
circuit cQm~rised oE a resistor 492 and a capacitor 494. When power is initia~ly applied to the press, the voltaye across capacitor 494 will be quite low. One of the inputs to MA~ID
gate 490 will therefore also be at a low logic level and the i output of MAND gate 490 will be at a hi~h logic level~ This ~, si~nal, as inverted by an invertor 49~, provides the reset signal to the reset bus. Shortly after the application of , power to the pressr the voltage across capacitor 494 will haYe il charged a high logic level. At this point, since both of the ¦' inputs to NAND gate 490 will be at a high logic le~el, the i output thereof will drop to a 70w logic level and the outpu~ o~
invertor 496 will shift to a high lo~ic level~ The signa} on the reset bus will remain at a high logic level thereafter.
I Referring now to FI~UR~ 9, one-hal~ of the mode selection ; I circuit for supplying the unit selecti~n sigrlals is sho~n~ ~he illustrated circuitry will provide unit selection signals to two of the units (units 26 and 40) which ma~ be operated in an alternatin~ mode. A second circuit, substan~ially identical with the illustrated circuit, is provided ~or the other two units ~units 5~ and 60)~ Thus, although this portion of the ~LLI hW~lNSilEN~E~ .
LE.IDE~ E~LDC. ~ I
~N D, OltlO 4 J~ 521.22~t Il 32 Il '.
1i mode sel.ec~ion circuit will be described with reference to ,` units 26 and 40,'it ~ be appreciated that a second, '' identical circui.t is provided for s,~pplying unit selection 1 , i .
signals to units 58 and 60.
, Th~o type "~" flip-flops 500 and 502 are provided for 1, monitoring the status o units ~6 and 40 respecti.vely. These ,I flip-flops will provide output signals which indicate which of the units has been clutched into the common drive line 90 of I the press, and which unit (if any) is to respond to the print ,I function and motor control commands supplied by.the sequencer.
~hen the press i5 in.itiall~ started up, the status of these flip-flops will be established through use of the set and reset , inputs thereto. During a run time automatic transfer between 1 units 26 and 40, the EQV~II signal supplied by one-shot 484 ,1 (Fig. 8) (~hich is directed to the clock inputs of these , flip-flops) will cause them to toggle from one state to the I' next~ thereby indicating a change from one mode to the next.
l The Q output o flip-~lop S00 provides a signal U(l)C which ¦l indicates whether the clutch of unit 26 is engaged with the ¦I press. The Q output of flip-flop 502 provides a signal ¦~ U(2)C which similarly indicates the clutch status of unit 40.
The initial status of these flip-flops is established through use of four signals which ar~ derived Erom the clutch I control circuitry of the units (~igure 11).. Two of these signals, U(l)CENG and U(2)CE~G will have a hlgh logic level if the clutch engagement command for the corresponding unit is at a level whicll will not produce engagement of the corresponding ii clutch. Thus, whenever both of these signals is at a high I' 103i~ level (indicating that no commands 2-ave 2een applled to )LL)~wEl~l5HE:~ER ' LEJIDER D~DC. I i .
~:ID,OHIO 441 .~0'1.223 8~$~ !

~ither of the units for en~aging those units to the drive line -~ of the press) the output of NAND ~ake 504 will shift to a low : ' logic level, setting ~lip-flop 50~ through NAND gate 506 and ! ~
. resetting flip-flop 500 through NAND gate 508. Since flip-flop i 500 is no~ in a reset state, the Q output thereof (and U(l)C) will be at a low logic level, thus indicating that unit ~6 has 1 not been clutched into the drive line. Since flip-flop 502 has !` been set through N~D gate 506,.the Q output thereof ~and , U(2)C) will also be at a low logic level, thus indicating that unit 40 has also not been clutched into the drive line o~ the 1 press.
The other two signals for establishing the initial condition of flip-flops 500 and 5~2 are signals U(l)MCHENG and U(2)MCHE~G
, . . I
I which are derived from switches which are mechanically j associated with the clutches of the respective units and which thus indicate whether or not the clutch has; in fact, engaged with the drive line of the press~ As will be made clea~er wlth ¦ reference to Figure ll, either U~l)CENG or U(2)CE~G must shift I to a low logic level befo~e the correspondin~ V(l)MC~IEMG or U~2)MCHENG will indicate that mechanical engagement has .
~ occurred. Thus, the output of NAND gate 504 will return to a.
¦ high logic level~ thereby removing the set and reset com~ands I from ~AND gates 50~ ana 500 respectively.
¦ If the mechanical engagement siynal supplied by U~l)MCEIENG
l~ were then to shi~t to a high logic level (indicating that the :
Il unit 26 clutch has been engaged with the drive line of the I press~ and the press were not in a continuous run mode, then ! the output of NAND gate 51.0 will shit to a low logic level~
, This will cause one-shot 51~ to provide a pulse wh-ch will set , ~L~ WE~NS~IEIII;ER i LE.~DER ~LDC. ! j ~ D OillO 44 1) 021-ZZ34 I~ 3~

$$ 1 1 , flip-flop 500 directly~ Assuming that the transfer switches ,~ 514 and 516 of both units have been closed, the output o~ `
optical isolator 518 ~ill be ~t a high logic level, thereby , enabling the output of one-sho~ 512 to pass through NAMD gate ¦
520 and NAND gate 506 so as to also set flip-flop 502. Both ¦
flip-flops 500 and 502 will h~ve thus been forced int~ a set ,~ condition. Because o~ this, the Q output o~ flip-flop 500 wil~

1 be at a high logic level~ indicating ~hat unit 26 has been ! I
! clutched into the press The Q output flip-flop 502, however~ j I will re~ain at a low logi~ level, thus continuing to indicate that unit 40 has not been clutched into ~he drive line.
! Similarly, a NAND gate 522 will generate a lo~ logic signal ¦, if the press is not in a continuous run mode and if the unit 40 i' clutch has been engaged instead of the unit 26 clutch~ This ll low logic level will cause a one-shot 524 to produce a pulse ¦, which will reset flip-flop 500 through NAND gate 52~ and NA~D
gate 508, while directl~ ~ese~ting flip-flop 50~, The Q output of flip-flop 500 will therefore remain at a low logic level I~ indicating that the unit 26 clutch has not been engaged, while the Q output of flip-flop 502 will shift to a high logic level, ! indicating the unit 40 has been clutched into the drive line of ¦ the press.
¦ In this manner, the initial condition of flip-~lops 500 and 502 is established. Once the press has been placed in continuous run, the input CR to inverter 527 will be at a high logic level. The output of inverter 527 wil thus be low, ' disabling NAND gates 510 and 522 and preventin9 the mechanical engagement signals from further effecting the states of flip-flops 500 and 502.
! -LlbW~1~15HEllKEn!l .ADE / DL115, ¦ ~ , ~D.OHIO .5JI~
621.22~J i Il 35 .

_ Flip-flops 500 and 502 ~lso provide signal~ ~hich are used to qenerate the unit transfer signals U(l)X and U(2)X. NAND
ga~es 528 and 530 are provided for this purpose~ Each NAND
gat~ will provide a high logic signal whenever the other unit is clutched into the press and the transfer switches 514 and 516 are both actuated. The output of optical isolator 518 is directed to one of the inputs to NAND ga~es 528 and 530. The other input to NAN~ gate 528 is taken from the Q output of ff flip-flop 502, while the other input to NAND gate 530 i5 taken from the Q output of flip-flop 500. Thus, when unit 26 is not clutched into the drive linf of the press, the U(l)C signal will be at a low logic level. Since the Q output of flip-flop 500 will be high, however, the output oE NAND gate 530 will be low and the output of inverter 532 will be high. U(l)X wi~l therefore be at a high logic level, enabling the print function controls of unit 26 to respond to the print function commands supplied by sequencer 3?8. Similarly, the output of NAND gate 528, as inverted by inverter 534, will cause the print function controls of unit 40 to respond to the print functlon commands supplied by the sequencer when unit 26 i5 clutched into the press and an alternating operation has been specified by the operator through his actuation of the transfer switches 514 and 516.
It will thus be seen that, when the press is being operated in an alternatiny fashion, onl~ one of the unit clutch signals U[l~C or V~2~C and only one of the unit transfer siynals U~l)X
or U(2)X will be high at any givcn time. Upon the conclusion E I !I W ~ S U E 11~ E
. EADE8 ~DC; i ~
0;~,22~ 1! 36 of tLle trans~er ~perati~n from one unit to the next, the o-tput of comparator 382 ~EQUEI; Figure 7~ shifts to a high logic level, causing one-shots 480 and 48~ (Figure 8) to tri~ger producing a pulse on the EQUHl output of one-shot 484. This f signal is directed to the mode control cirCuit (~igure ~) where it is directed to the clock inputs of ~lip-flops 500 ~nd 502.
These flip flops are type `'D~' flip-flops and have their D input connected to the ~ outputs so as to provide A flip-~lop which tog~les between set and reset conditions upon consecutive clock pulses beiny recei~ed on the clock inpu~. Thus~ the pulse s~ppli.ed on the EQUEIl input causes ~lip-~lops 500 an.d ~0~ to be triggered into their alternate modes-wherein the unit which has just be declutched and bra'~ed to a halt (e.g. unit 26) now has the unit transfer signal ~U(l~X) at a high level and the clut~h ii . .
,~ indication signal (U~l)C) at a low level~ Consequently, at the ~ conc f usion Qf the new run, this unit will ag.ain be brought ~ ! on-line by the sequencér output signals.
', Figure 10 illustrates a motor control circult ~or automatically bringing a printing unit up to run speed and clutching the unit into the drive line at the appropriate ¦ moment. Again, for simplicity of description the circuitr~
¦ associated with only a single printing unit (unit 26~ i5 shown.
An auto start circuit 540 is provided which responds to the . output (EQUB) of comparator 370 shown in ~igure 7. In this circuit, a NA~D gate 54Z is provided w'nich is responsive to the ..
EQUB output of comparator 370 (Figure 7) for initiating the 1 automatic start of a unit motor at the appropriate time~ ~AND
¦ gate ~42 additionally includes two other inputs whose purpose ~, is to disable the response of NAND gate 542 to the EQUB signal ¦ -¦i under certain circumstances~ ¦
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)~21.223~ ~i ' - ' 1, 37 i! -`, !
, ( ( ~ .

Each of the printing units has a control switch associatedI with each of the printin~ functions thereof. Two switch .: positions (0~ and OFF) will be provided to allow manual ~ , operation of the print functions controlled thereby. In ~
:- third position (AUTO) each of these switches will allow the , auto.~atic control circui~ry to initia~e the operation o the print functions associa~ed therewith. In order for a unit to be properly prepared Eor automatic start, each o~ the switches associated with the unit must be placed in the automatic position. Consequently, a pole of each of these switches (exemplary switches are indicated by reference numbers 544 and 546) will be connected in series so that a high logic le~el will be presented to NAND gate 54~ only upon all OL the switches being placed in the AUTO position. A second inpu~ to ~1AND gate 548 is derived rom the unit- ink distribution guards and will present a high logic signal to NA~D gate 548 only upon these guards being secureIy placed in position. The third inpu' to NA~D gate 548 is the unit selection signal Ull~X .
which, as previ~usly described, will only be at a high logic level when the press is bsing operated in an alternatin~ mode and unit 26 has been selected to receive the start up .
instructions from the se~uencer. When these three requirem~nts are met, the output of N~MD gate 548 will shift to a low logic le~el, thus causing the output of lnverter 550 to shift to a hiyh logic level. Thi~ will enable NAMD gate 542 to respond ~o the EQUB signal supplied thereto ~y the sequencerO An .
addition~l input to N~ND gate 5~ lCO~iPI~) is provided to momentarily disable the operation of NAN~ gate 542 during those intervals when, as described with respec~ to the print function Y/EIN5u~HllER, .~ID'R DLD~
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) ~2122~

.~
.' 11 . . I

.. controls, trarlsi~nts mi~ht produce a false trigge~ing oE the auto star~ circuit. ' ¦

When comparator 370 (Figure 7) determines that the number of 1,, i impressions remaining to be produced in the current run is ¦
equal to reference number B, the EQUB output thereo~ will shift 1 ~ to a high lo~ic level and, assuming that all of the ¦
i prerequisites have been met, the output of NAND ~ate 54~ will shift to a low logic level. This will initîate the start-up of .
the unit 26 motor. The low lo~ic signal will set the ~/S
flip-flop (F/E' J~ created by the cross-coupling of NA~D gates : 552 and 554. The ou,put of NAND gate 552 will then shift ~o ~
I high logic level, causing the triggering of a one-shot 556. A
. warning buzzer 558 will sound during the interval of the pulse ¦~ provided by on2-shot 556. At the conclusion of this pulse, a ' second one-shot 560 will be triggered which will cause t~e I resetting of F/F J while causing the s~tting of a second flip-flop ~F/F K) represented by cross-coupled NAND gates 562 1' and 564. The output of F/F ~ (U~l)ASTART) is directed to a i control decode network 5~6.
!j The output of inverter 550, in addition to being directed to ! .
I NAND gate 542, is.also directed to the reset inputs of F/F ~

I and F~F K so as to disable the operation thereof except when I the unit selection signal is at a high logic level/ and the requirements reEerred to earlier have been met.

! Control de~ode n~twork 566 provides inch and slow signals to . each of the four units motor power controls ~or controlling the 1~ operation thereof. These signals are derived from manually l operable con-trols (unit controls 568 and console controls 570) ¦l and from the automatic start circuits provided for the various .~ j, .

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units (u(~ 5TARlr throuc~l) Ut4)ASTART). In addition, tne clutch and transf~r signals enerated by the rnode select circuit 330 . . I
I are also clirected tc) control decode network 566. Depending upon the mode in which the press is being operatea the inch I and slow signals will be derived from either the automatic, or i the manual control. To accomplish this ~unction control decode network 566 ineludes boolean al9ebra elements for I logically combininc the mode select signals and the manual and i automatic signals so as to provide the inch and slow sigrlals i . I
for the various units For the puirposes of the present discussion it will be adequate to note that the control decode network 5~6 will provide both inch and slow signals to a respective unit motor power control when an automatic start signal for that unit indicates that an automatic start has been initiated. Thus, l,~ when the output of F/F K (taken from the output of NAND gate 564) shifts to a low loglc levelr control decode network 566 will produce signals on the ineh and slow inputs to the unit 26 l motor power control 572 which will cause the continuous run relay thereof to pull in and cause the unit 26 motor 57~ to be I placed in a continuous run condition. Upon this occurring, a ¦l low loc~,ie level continuous run signal ~CR(l)) will be generatecl 1l which will cause F/F K to be reset. This will remove the unit ¦¦ 26 auto start signal from the control decode network, thus removing the inch and slow signals from the unit 26 motor power control. Since the continuous run relay of the units is a self-latching rela~ unit 26 will remain in a continuous run condition until an automatic stop signal (U(l)ASTOP) has been received thereb~

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The unit motor power controls of the EOUL units rnay co~prise , conventiona~ SCR bridge networks having the conduction angle of !
the SCRts controlled so as to supply controlled amounts o~ I
power to the uni-t motors. As with conventional systems, the level of power supplied to the motor by motor power control 572 I, will be controlled in accordance with a reference voltage level i established by a reference signal. In the disclosed :
embodiment, a maste~ reference circuit 574 i5 provided for sup~lying a voltage signal Vl to those uni~s which are in a printin~ mode. r~aster reference circuit S7~ includes a conventional motor operated potentiometer (MOP) which is controlled hy the operator to establish the press speed. In addition, each unit has a separate unit reference circuit (the I unit 2~ reference circ~it 576 is illustrated in Figure 10? for controllin~ the operation of those units which have not yet ~, been clutched into the press. Time reference circuits 575 and , 577 will be included to condition the siynals to be supplied to L
¦' motor power control 572.
! The continuous run signal supplied by motor power control ¦ 57~ is directed through an inverter 578 to a NA~D gate 580.
When ~he unit selection signal U(l~X is at a high logic level ¦ and the outpu-t o~ inverter 578 lndicates that unit 26 has been j placed in a continuous run condition, the output of NAND gate 1 580 will shift-to a low logic level which will cause the output ¦¦ of NAND gate 582 to shift to a high logic level. This will ¦I cause ihe actuation of a rela~ 584 which will operate a i, , double-pole sin~le~ row switch 586 in the uni~- reference ¦! circuit. In the (illustrated~ unactuated mode, this switch ! will connect the output of the unit reference circult to a ¦-¦I voltage divider S87 which will provide a low m~gnitude voltage LI5WEI~S~E~KE~II signal corresponding to the inch speed of the press. Once ~ 2 1 . 2` 2 ~
~1 ' I relay 584 has been actuated, ho~ever, s~itch 5~6 ~ shift to a second positlon tt~herein the output o~ the unit reference circuit is deriv~d from a unit ratio potentior~eter 5.~8 ~o as to supply a signal to the unit motor power control 572 which is a known proportion of the master reference signal Vl supplied b~
master reference circuit 57~. Because of ~his, upon energization, the unit motor 573 will accelerate to a speed which is close to, but slightly low~r ~hen, the speed of the press. The unit will then be cl~ltched into the press A clutch con~rol circuit 590 is supplied or determining the proper time at which to actuate ~he unit clutch Clutch control circuit 59V responds to speed signals ~rom the motor 573 and the press 592 (US and PS) and to unit position and press position signals (UP and PP) to prov~de a clutch ; energization si~nal at the appropriate time. An electrically controlled clutch 594 will respond by causin~ the unit motor 573 to ~e clutched into the press 592. At that time, clutc~
circuit 5g2 will also cause the actuation of a double-pole/single-throw switch 596 which will disconnect the i unit re~erènce circuit S7~ from the unit power control 572 and ¦I will instead connect the m~ster reference circuit 574 thereto.
-¦1 Thereafter, the unit motor will be controlled by the motor operated potentiometer (MOP) of the master reference cixcuit~
¦I Referring now to Figure 11, a more detailed diagram of the ¦1 unit 2~ clutch control is illustrated~ A unit 26 tachometer ! 600 and a press tachometer 602 are used to provide voltage signals which are proportional to the speed of the unit and the i press respectively. These volta~e signals US and PS are compared b~ a comparator 604 whlch will provide a high logic , .

-Ll~yeltls~ E~!
E,~De8 ~D5.
YD,O~IIO ~A11~ i j ~21-22~J l!

11 ~2 li f 'i ' .
sisnal o-ltpnt when the speed of unit 26 has ~eacl~ed the desired magnitude ~ith respect to the speed of the press. A NAND gate 606 is provided for ~atin~ the comparator output siynal together with two timing signals Post A and Post G ~from Figure 7) which ensure that the output of the comparator will no~ ~e gated by NAND gate 606 unless it occurs within a selected time ~rame. An inverter 608 is used to invert the Post ~ signal so as to provide an output signal which is the substantial equivalent of a "pre-G" signal, i.e., it Will be at a hi~h logic level until the down-coi~nt of the sequencer has reached reference number G. The output of NAND gate 606, as inverted by inverter 609, will shift to a high logic level when the co~parator 604 indicates that the unit speed has reached the desired level. This signal is directed to another NAND gate NAND gate 610 additionally includes position signals derived from the unit 26 plate cylinder 612 and the folder cylinder 614. It will be appreciated that, since the line sha~t rotates twice for every rèvolution of the folder cylinder, there are twa possible clutch engagement positions bet~een the units and the press. Consequently, to ensure that engagement occurs only in the proper one of these two positions, position sensors are provided for sensing the relative positions of the units and the folder. To this purpose, a tab 616 is provided on the unit plate cylinclers which is sensed b~ a sensor 618. Additionally, folder cylinder 614 includes an extended tab 620 and a sensor 622.
Sensors 618 and 622 will provide a high logic signal output whenever the tab passes thereby, and a lo-~ logic signal , .LlbWElllSHEr~i~ER ~
E~DEB 6Liii . I i .
:1D,OH10 441 IJ i . :
621-223J I . ~3 i ' .
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otherwise. The output of the sensors is directed to NAND ~ate 610. (The output oÇ folder sensor 622 is also used to provide , l the count signal, and i~ directed to NAND gate 352 of Figure I ¦ .
7). Additionally directed to NAND gate 610 is the unit 26 1 ¦
selection signal U(l)X. NAND gate 610 will thus provide,a high lo~ic outpu~ signal unless the speed of the unit (as indicated by the output of inverter 608~ and the position of the unit ~as indicated b~ the two inputs provided b~'sensors 618 and 622) as well as the unit selection signal are all high. When all of these signals are high, indicating that the unit is at the proper sp2ed and position, the ou~pu~ of NAND gate 610 will shift to a low logic level, causing the actuation of a flip flop (F/F L) constructed by a cross-coupled combination of NAND gates 624 and 626. The output of F/F L (derived from the output of NAND gate 624~ will shift to a low logic level when .
the output of NAND gate 610 shifts to a low logic level. Thisy in turny will cause the output of inverter 6?8 to shift to a high logic levei7 thereby actuating the unit clutch 594. The out~ut of inverter 628 additionally provides the U~l)CENG
signal used in the mode selec~ circuit illustrated in Figure 9. The U(l~MCHE~G mechanical engagement signal used in the mode select circuit shown in Figure 9, is derived from the unit clutch circuit 594, F/F L can be reset by either one of two automatically supplied signals. The first signal (RS~ BUS) is derived from the reset circuit 48~ sho~n in Figure 8. The second signal i5 the U(l)AUTO-OFF signal derived from NAND gate 478 of Figure 8. This auto-o~ si~nal will cause the deactuation of the clutch at the conclusion of the unit 26 run.
- 1 . :
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~ dditional inputs to ~/E` L allow manual control o~ the clutch. Manually operable clutch-on and clutch-of~ switches i 630 and 63~ ~re provided which are isolated from the logic circuitry b~ optical isolators 634 and 63~ respectively. When ! either of these switches is actuated, the output of the - I corresponding optical isola~or will shift from a low logic level to a high lo~ic level, thereby causing the output of. the corresponding NAND gate 638 or 640 to shift to a low 70~ic , .
level if certain prerequisites are met. The ~ir~t prerequisite is derived from a press slow limit circuit 642 which provides a high logic level output only when the speed of the press is ~ slow enough that no danger can result from the manual - , engagement of the unit to the press~ The second prerequisite for engagement of the clutch is derived from another NAND gate - li 644 which is included to ensure that an invalid operating mode ; ! is not set up by the operator. Thus, if the unit 26 and unit 40 transfer switches have both been operated, indicating an ¦l automatic alteration of modes as desired, and one of the ~` I' clutches has been operated, then clearl~ an invalid mode would ¦ b~ est2blished by the operation o~ the clutch of the other unit as well~ The ~AND gate 644 disables the manual engagement of the unit ~6 clutch when the unit 40 clutch has been engaged (U~2~C) and an automatic transfer between the units is desired (U~1/2~X from FIGURE g). Conse~uently, the unit ~ clutch can I only be manually engaged when either the unit 40 clutch has not been engaged, or when an automatic transfer between unit 26 and unit 40 is not desired.
I Although the inventi~n has been described with respect to a ¦I preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that various ~,we~S~E:.~eR~' ' EA;lEa ~LD~ `
~D,O:~10 ~` 11` 1 ' `
~21-223~ . ' , I

nw~

rearrangements and alterations of p~rts may be made without ' departin~ Erom the spirit and scope of the invention, as i defined in the ~ollowing clairns~ I

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Claims (21)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A web printing press comprising a plurality of printing units arranged in tandem; each of said printing units having a pair of blanket cylinders defining a printing nip therebetween, a plate cylinder associated with each blanket cylinder, means for moving said blanket cylinders between thrown-on and thrown-off positions for printing and not printing on a web moving through the nip, dampeners for applying dampening solution to plates on said plate cylinders, inkers for applying ink to plates on said plate cylinders, a drive motor for driving at least the blanket and plate cylinders of the unit;
means for guiding the web through the nips of plural units with.
the blanket cylinders of at least one unit in their thrown-on position printing on the web and the blanket cylinders of another unit in their thrown-off position, and control circuit means for throwing said blanket cylinders of said another unit into printing position in timed relation to throwing said blanket cylinders of said other unit off while the web moves through the nips of said units, said control circuit means including means for controlling driving of said drive motor for driving said blanket cylinders and plate cylinder of said another unit up to speed, means for controlling driving of said dampener and inker to apply dampening solution and ink to the plate cylinder associated with said another unit prior to throwing said other unit on and said one unit off.

2. A web printing press as defined in claim 1 further including at least one auxiliary unit, a common drive shaft extending through said printing units and said at least one auxiliary unit, respective drives for transmitting torque from each of said drive motors to the blanket cylinders and plate cylinders of each unit, clutches in each of said drives between said common drive shaft and respective motor whereby each of said drive motors may be selectively engaged with said common drive shaft for driving said one auxiliary unit and a printing unit simultaneously.

3. A printing press as defined in claim 2 wherein said means for guiding the web through said nips comprises grator rolls, means for moving the grator rolls between a position in engagement with the web and a position out of engagement, and means for driving said grator rolls up to the speed of the web prior to the engagement of the grator rolls with the web

4. A web printing press as defined in claim 2 wherein said control circuit means includes a mode select circuit which is selectively actuatable for controlling the printing units so that all units print on the web simultaneously.

5. A web printing press comprising at least one auxiliary unit and a plurality of printing units, each having a printing nip through which nip a web moves to receive printed matter when said printing unit is in a printing mode and through which nip said web moves without receiving printed matter when said printing unit is in a nonprinting mode at least one of which printing units is adapted to be in a printing mode while at least one other of said printing units is in a nonprinting mode; means for guiding a web through the printing nips of said at least one printing unit and said at least one other printing unit; a separate drive motor associated with each of said printing units, each of said drive motors having a sufficient capacity to drive said at least one auxiliary unit and said at least one printing unit which is in a printing mode; a common drive shaft extending through said printing units and for at least one auxiliary unit; respective drives for transmitting torque from each of said drive motors to the printing unit associated with the drive motor and to said common drive shaft;
clutches in each of said drives between said common drive shaft and respective motor whereby said drive motor may be selectively engaged with said common drive shaft for driving said at least one auxiliary unit and the printing unit with which said drive motor is associated and selectively disengaged from said common drive shaft for selective driving of the printing unit with which said motor is associated independently of said auxiliary unit.

6. A web printing press in accordance with claim 5 further including means for selectively shifting said at least one printing unit from a printing mode to a nonprinting mode and simultaneously shifting said at least one other printing unit from a nonprinting mode to a printing mode.

7. A web printing press in accordance with claim 5 in which each of said printing units includes means for changing the attitude of the web when passing through said printing nip from a first attitude when the printing unit is in a printing mode to a second attitude when the printing unit is in a nonprinting mode, said attitude changing means including a pair of web engaging rolls, one of said rolls being adjacent to and in advance of said printing nip and the second of said rolls being adjacent to and after said printing nip, and in which the first position of each of said web engaging rolls, respectively, is out of contact with said web and the second position of said web engaging rolls, respectively, is in contact with said web.

8. A web printing press in accordance with claim 7 including means for matching the speed of the surface of said web engaging rolls to the linear speed of said web prior to movement of said rolls from said first position to said second position.

9. A web printing press in accordance with claim 8 in which the speed matching means includes a friction wheel in driven frictional engagement with a part rotatable with a printing cylinder, and positioned for frictional driving engagement with said web engaging roll when said printing unit is in a nonprinting mode, and said web engaging roll is out of contact with said web.
,` !

10. A web printing press in accordance with claim 1 in which the printing units are offset printing units, comprising coacting upper and lower cylinders of each printing unit which are blanket cylinders, each of said printing units including a pair of web engaging grator rolls for changing the attitude of said web, one of said web engaging grator rolls being adjacent to and in advance of said printing nip between said blanket I! cylinders and the other of said web engaging rolls being adjacent to and after said printing nip between said blanket cylinders, the web engaging grator roll in advance of said printing nip being selectively movable between a first position in engagement with one surface of said web, and a second position out of contact with said web and in frictional driven engagement with at least one speed matching friction wheel coacting with a bearer on one of said blanket cylinders, the other of said web engaging rolls located after said printing nip being selectively movable between a first position in engagement with the opposite surface of said web, and a second position out of contact with said web and in frictional driven engagement with at least one speed matching friction wheel coacting with the bearer on the other of said blanket cylinders.

11. A web printing press in accordance with claim 1 wherein the web as it passes through the printing nip of a printing unit in the nonprinting mode has a path normal to a plane including the axes of rotation of the coacting blanket cylinders.

12. A web printing press in accordance with claim 5 wherein said clutches comprise a single position clutch and said common drive shaft extends through and is rotatable relative to one part of each of said single position clutches.

13. A web printing press in accordance with claim 12 wherein the single position clutch includes a first shaft mounted part secured to the common drive line for rotation therewith; a second clutch part driven by said motor, and means including an axially movable member movable between a first engaged position for locking said first and second portions together, and a second disengaged position wherein said first and second portions are rotatable one relative to the other.

14. A web printing press in accordance with claim 13 wherein said drive includes an input shaft and an output shaft on opposite sides of said common drive line, each of said shafts having a pinion gear mounted thereon and, a ring gear coaxially mounted on said common drive shaft for independent rotation with respect thereto and in mesh with each of said pinion gears.

15. A web printing press in accordance with claim 6 further including count responsive control means for changing a printing unit from a printing mode to a nonprinting mode and changing another printing unit from a nonprinting mode to a printing mode while said web is moving continuously therethrough.

16. A web printing press comprising a plurality of printing units arranged in tandem; each of said printing units having a pair of blanket cylinders defining a printing nip therebetween, a plate cylinder associated with each blanket cylinder, means for moving said blanket cylinders between thrown-on and thrown-off positions for printing and not printing on a web moving through the nip, dampeners for applying dampening solution to plates on said plate cylinders, inkers for applying ink to plates on said plate cylinders;
means for guiding the web through the nips of plural units with the blanket cylinders of at least one unit in their thrown-on position printing on the web and the blanket cylinders of another unit in their thrown-off position; and control circuit means for throwing said blanket cylinders of said another unit into printing position in timed relation to throwing said blanket cylinders of said other unit off while the web moves through the nips of said units; said control circuit means including means for controlling driving of said blanket cylinders of said another unit up to speed and means for controlling driving of said dampener and inker to apply dampening solution and ink to the plate cylinder associated with said another unit prior to throwing said other unit on and said one unit off.

17. A web printing press as defined in claim 16 further including a mode select circuit which is selectively actuatable for controlling the printing units so that selected units print on the web simultaneously.

18. A web printing press as defined in claim 2 wherein said means for controlling said drive motor of said another unit comprises means for energizing said drive motor of said another unit and for bringing said unit up to a known fraction of the speed of said common drive shaft, and means for energizing the clutch associated with said another unit at a selected time.

19. A web printing press as defined in claim 18 wherein said means for energizing the clutch associated with said another unit comprises means for sensing the relative speed and position of said drive shaft and said drive motor and means for causing said energization of said clutch at a selected said relative speed and position,

20. A web printing press as defined in claim 2 wherein said control circuit means further comprises master reference means for supplying a master reference signal for jointly controlling those of said units which are engaged with said common drive line, and unit reference means associated with each of said printing units for each providing a unit reference signal to the corresponding said drive motor for controlling the operation thereof when said drive motor has been energized but is not engaged with said common drive line.

21. A web printing press as defined in claim 1 wherein said control circuit means further comprises sequencer means for jointly supplying to each of said units a sequence of commands for automatically causing selected units to be thrown-on and other selected units to be thrown-off, and means for selecting the ones of said units which are to respond to said sequence of commands.