CA1144420A - Flexographic belt printing press - Google Patents
Flexographic belt printing pressInfo
- Publication number
- CA1144420A CA1144420A CA000366356A CA366356A CA1144420A CA 1144420 A CA1144420 A CA 1144420A CA 000366356 A CA000366356 A CA 000366356A CA 366356 A CA366356 A CA 366356A CA 1144420 A CA1144420 A CA 1144420A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- impression
- belt
- printing
- plate cylinder
- plate
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
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- Rotary Presses (AREA)
Abstract
FLEXOGRAPHIC BELT
PRINTING PRESS
Abstract A compact printing press used in multi-color printing of a continuous web of any suitable material, such as paper, plastic, or metal. The press comprises an impression cylinder assembly in juxtaposed relation to a plate cylinder assembly having a plate cylinder around which a belt with attached printing plates is at least partially reeved for printing on the continuous web as it passes between the nip of the plate cylinder and the im-pression cylinder of the impression cylinder assembly. An en-graved, ink transfer roller and fountain roller are disposed adjacent the plate cylinder, and are mounted for relative move-ment and for unitary movement relative to the plate cylinder.
Any suitable doctor blade can be used in connection with the transfer roller, if desired.
PRINTING PRESS
Abstract A compact printing press used in multi-color printing of a continuous web of any suitable material, such as paper, plastic, or metal. The press comprises an impression cylinder assembly in juxtaposed relation to a plate cylinder assembly having a plate cylinder around which a belt with attached printing plates is at least partially reeved for printing on the continuous web as it passes between the nip of the plate cylinder and the im-pression cylinder of the impression cylinder assembly. An en-graved, ink transfer roller and fountain roller are disposed adjacent the plate cylinder, and are mounted for relative move-ment and for unitary movement relative to the plate cylinder.
Any suitable doctor blade can be used in connection with the transfer roller, if desired.
Description
Background oE the Invention . ~
The inven-tion is useful in the printiny of a con-tinuous web composed of any suitable material, e.g. paper, plastic, or metal. An important application of the invention is in the multi-color flexographic printing of packaging material. It is a known disadvantage to use flexographic printing of a continuous web of packaging material, when the printing pattern on the plate cylinder contains large blank areas which produce considerable waste of the web between the repetitive patterns of printed matter. Another disadvantage of using a conventional, flexographic printing press is that the plate cylinder must be changed to accommodate different size printing patterns and printed messages. Further, it is necessary to adjust the positions of the plate cylinder and the transfer and fountain rollers to adapt the press to plate cylinders of varying diameters. The invention is directed to the provision of a flexographic-type printing press with none of the aEorementioned disadvantages.
Briefly stated, the invention is a flexographic belt printing press including an endless belt extending around plate and idler rolls and having printing plates on the outer surface thereof, the idler roll being movable toward and away from the plate roll for adjusting the belt tension and for accommodating belts of different size, impression and inking rolls mounted for pivotal movement toward and away from the plate roll into and out of engagement with the printing plates, selectively operable fluid cylinders for so moving the impression and inking rolls, and selectively adjustable stops for precisely locating the impression and inking rolls when they are pivoted toward the impression roll so that they engage the plates with predetermined pressure for optimum printing performance, whereby removal of the belt and replacement of same is simplified by selectively operating ~ csm/~
the ~luid cy:linders ~or pivoting the impression and inkiny rolls away from the p]ate roll, and relocation of the lmpression and inking rolls in en~agemen-t with plates on a new belt with substantially the same predetermined force for repeatable optimum printing performance by a new belt with little or no readjustment is achieved simply by operating the fluid cylinders for pivoting the impression and inking rolls toward the plate roll into engagement with the stops.
~ feature of a belt-type printing press is tha-t the size and location of the plate cy~inder, transfer and fountain rollers need not be changed when the length of the printing pattern is changed. It is only necessary to change the belt to produce different printing patterns or the size of the printed matter on the continuous webO
Description of the Drawings -The following description of the invention will be better understood by having reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein-Fig. 1 is a plan view of a belt-type printing press employing the invention as seen from -the line 1-1 of Fig. 2, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the press, as viewed from the line 2-2 of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the press, as viewed from the line 3-3 of FigO l; and FigO ~ is an end elevation of the press~ as viewed from the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.
De ~
With reference to the drawing, there is shown a belt-type printing press 5 which is designed for printing on a continuous web ~ of any suitable material such as paper~
plastic, or metal~ The printing press 5 comprises an impression cylinder assembly 7 which is in juxtaposed relation vertically above a plate ~ylinder assembly 8 when the press 5 is in a normal vertical position and rests on a horizon-tal surface
The inven-tion is useful in the printiny of a con-tinuous web composed of any suitable material, e.g. paper, plastic, or metal. An important application of the invention is in the multi-color flexographic printing of packaging material. It is a known disadvantage to use flexographic printing of a continuous web of packaging material, when the printing pattern on the plate cylinder contains large blank areas which produce considerable waste of the web between the repetitive patterns of printed matter. Another disadvantage of using a conventional, flexographic printing press is that the plate cylinder must be changed to accommodate different size printing patterns and printed messages. Further, it is necessary to adjust the positions of the plate cylinder and the transfer and fountain rollers to adapt the press to plate cylinders of varying diameters. The invention is directed to the provision of a flexographic-type printing press with none of the aEorementioned disadvantages.
Briefly stated, the invention is a flexographic belt printing press including an endless belt extending around plate and idler rolls and having printing plates on the outer surface thereof, the idler roll being movable toward and away from the plate roll for adjusting the belt tension and for accommodating belts of different size, impression and inking rolls mounted for pivotal movement toward and away from the plate roll into and out of engagement with the printing plates, selectively operable fluid cylinders for so moving the impression and inking rolls, and selectively adjustable stops for precisely locating the impression and inking rolls when they are pivoted toward the impression roll so that they engage the plates with predetermined pressure for optimum printing performance, whereby removal of the belt and replacement of same is simplified by selectively operating ~ csm/~
the ~luid cy:linders ~or pivoting the impression and inkiny rolls away from the p]ate roll, and relocation of the lmpression and inking rolls in en~agemen-t with plates on a new belt with substantially the same predetermined force for repeatable optimum printing performance by a new belt with little or no readjustment is achieved simply by operating the fluid cylinders for pivoting the impression and inking rolls toward the plate roll into engagement with the stops.
~ feature of a belt-type printing press is tha-t the size and location of the plate cy~inder, transfer and fountain rollers need not be changed when the length of the printing pattern is changed. It is only necessary to change the belt to produce different printing patterns or the size of the printed matter on the continuous webO
Description of the Drawings -The following description of the invention will be better understood by having reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein-Fig. 1 is a plan view of a belt-type printing press employing the invention as seen from -the line 1-1 of Fig. 2, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the press, as viewed from the line 2-2 of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the press, as viewed from the line 3-3 of FigO l; and FigO ~ is an end elevation of the press~ as viewed from the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.
De ~
With reference to the drawing, there is shown a belt-type printing press 5 which is designed for printing on a continuous web ~ of any suitable material such as paper~
plastic, or metal~ The printing press 5 comprises an impression cylinder assembly 7 which is in juxtaposed relation vertically above a plate ~ylinder assembly 8 when the press 5 is in a normal vertical position and rests on a horizon-tal surface
- 2 csm/~
Impression Cylinder Assembly The impression cylinder assembly 7 comprises an impression cylinder 9 which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis that is normal to the dlrection in which the continuous web 6 travels as it moves to and from the impression cylinder 9. The impression cylinder 9 is rotatably mounted between a pair of parallel pivot arms 10,11, each of which have a pair of opposi~g ends 12,13. The pivot arms 10,11 are mounted on the upper framework 14 of the printing press 5 for unitary rotation about an axis which is parallel to the rotational axis of the impression cylinder 9 and located intermediate the opposing ends 12,13 of the pivot arms 10,11.
A pair of air cylinders 15,16, designed to function, in unison, are operatively connected between the upper framework 14 of the printing press 5 and adjacent ends 13 of the pivot arms 10,11, to rotate the impression cylinder 9 about the rotational axis of the pivot arms 10,11, between operating and non-operating positions, i.e. into and out of printing relation with the plate cylinder assembly 8. The free ends 12 of the pivot arms 10,11 each carry a plurality of adjustable stops 17-19 which are strategically located for engaging a set of cor-respondingly positioned abutments or stops 17'-19' adjacent each of the free ends 1~ of the pivot arms 10,11 to control the positioning of the impression cylinder 9. The vertically upper-most set of stops 17,17' are used in the positioning of the impression cylinder 9 in its vertically lowermost operating position relative to the plate cylinder assembly 8. The first to encounter vertically lowermost set of stops 18,18' are designed to regulate the normal non-operating position of the impression cylinder 9, out of printi.ng engagement with the plate cylinder assembly 8. The second to encounter lowermost set of stops 19-19' are used to regulate the fully retracted position of the impresslon cylinder 9 away from the plate cylinder assembly 8, to permit the continuous web 6 to be more conveniently threaded through the impression cylinder assembly 7. Similar conventional air cylinders 20 are provided to reposition the first to encounter set of stops 18,18' to permit engagement of the second to encounter set of stops 19,19'.
A hand operated wheel 21, in conjunction with a pair of digital readout devices 22,23 correlated to the turning of the wheel 21 is provided to help an operator locate the set of operating stops 17,17' to properly position the impression cylinder 9 for printing relation with the plate cylinder assembly 8.
A compensator roller mechanism 24 is used to adjust the length of the pathway which the continuous web 6 travels between a pai.r of similar adjacent printing presses 5 normally employed in a multi-color printing operation to control the registration of color to color. The mechanism 24 comprises a spring biased compensator roller 25 whose vertical position is automatically controlled by operation of a motor, or manually adjusted by a hand operated wheel 26 in conjunction with a pair of digital readout devices 27,28, similar to that used in adjusting the position of the operating stops 17. The spring biased compensator roller 25 is designed to rotate freely about its longitudinal axis which is parallel to the rotational axis of the impression cylinder 9. Any other suitable means can be used, to bring about registration of color to color, if desired.
Plate Cylinder Assembly The plate cylinder assembly 8 comprises a plate cylinder 30 which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis that is parallel to the rotational axis o-E the impression cylinder 9. A continuous flexible belt 31 is at least partially reeved around the plate cylinder 30 and carries a plurality of printing plates similar to those used in a conventional flexographic printing process. The printing plates are bonded in position on the flexible belt 31 which is composed of any suitable material, as is well known in the trade. The belt 31 is also reeved at least partially around a smaller roller 32 which is provided to tension the belt 31 on the plate cylinder 30. The belt tensioning roller 32 is mounted for rotating freely about its longitudinal axis which is parallel to the rotational axis of the plate cylinder 30. Any suitable mechanism 33 may be used to adjust the position of the belt tensioning roller 32 relative to the plate cylinder 30, to accommodate belts of different lengths used in the multi-color printing process.
For example, the mechanism 33, as best seen in ~ig. 4, comprises a pair of vertically disposed parallel drive screws 34,35 which are operatively connected to any suitable drive mechanism 36 for rotating the drive screws 34,35, in unison.
A pair of parallel guide rods 37,38 are disposed in parallel rela-tion within the drive screws 34,35, and a pair oE carriages 39,40, are slidably mounted on the guide rods 37,38, and coupled to the drive screws 34,35 which, when rotated, cause the carriages 39,40 to move along the guide rods 37,38. The belt tensioning roller 32 is rotatably mounted between the carriages 39,40. The pair of drive screws 34,35 are allowed to float, i.e. they are mounted for limited axial movement relative to the adjacent guide rods 37,38 which are fixedly mounted on the lower framework 41 of the printing press 5.
A pair of simllar, double acting air cylinders 42,43 are coupled by any suitable means 44 to the drive screws 34,35 and carriages 39,40 to counterbalance the weight of the belt ten-sioning roller 32 and to place a desired, downwardly directedforce or load on the carriages 39,40 to correspond:ingly move the belt tensioning roller 32 to a position where the belt 31 is placed under a predetermined tension on the plate cylinder 30 for printing engagement with the continuous web 6 passing between the nip of the impression cy~inder 9 and plate cylinder 30.
A conventional, engraved ink transfer roller 45 and founiain roiler 46, as best seen in ~igs. 2 and 3, are associated with the plate cylinder 30 and employed to transfer ink 47 from a fountain 48 to the printing plates carried by the belt 31. Any suitable mechanism such as a.n air loaded doctor or scraper blade SB can be used, if desired, to remove excess printing ink from the transfer roller 45. The scraper blade SB can be mounted in a positive angle position, as shown in ~ig. 2, or a reverse angle position as shown in Fig. 3. The fountain 48 i5 mounted by any appropriate means for movement to and from the fountain roller 46. The transfer roller 45 and fountain roller 46 are, like the belt tensioning roller 32, mounted for rotation about their own particular longitudinal axes which are parallel to the rotational axis of the plate cylinder 30. The transfer roller 45 is rotatably mounted between adjacent ends 49,50 of a pair of parallel arms 51,52 which are provided to support both the transfer roller 45 and the fountain roller 46 on the plate cylinder assembly 8. The support arms 51,52 are mounted for rotation about an axis 53 which is parallel to the rotational axis of the plate cylinder 30 and which is located intermediate the rotational axis of the transfer roller 45 and opposing free ends 54,55 of the support arms 51,52. A pair of air cylinders 56,57 are coupled between the lower framework 41 of the printing press 5 and the adjacent free ends 54,55 of the support arms 51,52 to rotate the support arms 51,52 and move the transfer roller 45, carried thereby, to and from the plate cylinder 3Q.
The fountain roller 46 is rotatably mounted between a pair of parallel pivot arms 58,59 intermediate opposing ends 60,61 and 62,63 thereof. The ends 60,61 of the pivot arms 58,5g, closest ~ 6~
the transfer roller 45, are pivotally mounted by similar pivot pins 64 to a pair of brackets 65,66 which project from the sup-port arms 51,52 in parallel relation adjacent the transfer roller 45. A pair of air cylinders 67,68 are coupled between the opposing free ends 62,63 of the pivot arms 58,59 and the adjacent free ends 54,55 of the support arms 51,52 to rotate the fountain roller ~6 to and from the transfer roller 45. Thus, the transfer roller 45 and fountain roller 46 are mounted for relative rotational movement to and from each other and for unitary rotational movement to and from the plate cylinder 30.
A plurality of sets of stops 70,71 and 72,73 and 74,75 similar to those used in conjunction with the support arms 10,11 of the impression cylinder 9, are provided for coaction with the free ends 54,55 of the support arms 51,52 of the transfer roller 45, to position the transfer roller 45 for engagement with, and disengagement from, the printing plates carried by the belt 31 and passing around the plate cylinder 30. The first set of stops 70,71, closest the free ends 54,55 of the support arms 51,52, are utilized to posi-tion the transfer roller 45 adjacent the plate cylinder 30 for transferring ink to the printing plates carried by the belt 31. The second set of stops 72,73 are used to regulate the normal position of the transfer roller 45 out of engagement with the printing plate carried by the flexible belt 31. Conventlonal air cylinders 76 are also provided to retract the stops 73 of -the second set of stops 72,73 out of inter-ference wlth the coaction of t'ne third set of stops 74,75, at which point the transfer roller 45 is in farthest spaced relatlon from the plate cylinder 30. A hand operated wheel 77 and digital readout devices 78,79 are likewise employed to position the first set of stops 70,71 for controlling the ink transferrlng position of the transfer roller 45 relative to the plate cylinder 30.
The plate cylinder 30 and transfer roller 45, as best seen in Figs. l and 3, are conventionally geared together for synchronized rotation relative to the linear speed at which the web 6 travels between the nip of the impression and plate cylinders 9,30 and are operated by any appropriate drive mechanism which is coupled to the projecting end 80 of a power input shaft 81 that is geared to the plate cylinder 30 and trans-fer roller 45. The fountain roller 46 is operated or rotated independently of the transfer roller 45 by any suitable motor means M and at a speed and distance from the transfer roller 45 sufficient to meter a lmiform and constant desired flow of ink to the printing plates carried by the belt.
A motor driven or hand operated wheel. 82 and locking mechanism 83 are provided for use by an operator in axially ad-justing the position of the plate cylinder 30 relative to the impression cylinder 9.
Thus, there has been described a novel, compact printing press which is especially suitable for use in the multi-color printing of a continuous web of any appropriate packaging material. A number of these compact printing presses are dis-posed one after the other to successively print upon the moving web, different colors used in the multi-color printing process.
Impression Cylinder Assembly The impression cylinder assembly 7 comprises an impression cylinder 9 which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis that is normal to the dlrection in which the continuous web 6 travels as it moves to and from the impression cylinder 9. The impression cylinder 9 is rotatably mounted between a pair of parallel pivot arms 10,11, each of which have a pair of opposi~g ends 12,13. The pivot arms 10,11 are mounted on the upper framework 14 of the printing press 5 for unitary rotation about an axis which is parallel to the rotational axis of the impression cylinder 9 and located intermediate the opposing ends 12,13 of the pivot arms 10,11.
A pair of air cylinders 15,16, designed to function, in unison, are operatively connected between the upper framework 14 of the printing press 5 and adjacent ends 13 of the pivot arms 10,11, to rotate the impression cylinder 9 about the rotational axis of the pivot arms 10,11, between operating and non-operating positions, i.e. into and out of printing relation with the plate cylinder assembly 8. The free ends 12 of the pivot arms 10,11 each carry a plurality of adjustable stops 17-19 which are strategically located for engaging a set of cor-respondingly positioned abutments or stops 17'-19' adjacent each of the free ends 1~ of the pivot arms 10,11 to control the positioning of the impression cylinder 9. The vertically upper-most set of stops 17,17' are used in the positioning of the impression cylinder 9 in its vertically lowermost operating position relative to the plate cylinder assembly 8. The first to encounter vertically lowermost set of stops 18,18' are designed to regulate the normal non-operating position of the impression cylinder 9, out of printi.ng engagement with the plate cylinder assembly 8. The second to encounter lowermost set of stops 19-19' are used to regulate the fully retracted position of the impresslon cylinder 9 away from the plate cylinder assembly 8, to permit the continuous web 6 to be more conveniently threaded through the impression cylinder assembly 7. Similar conventional air cylinders 20 are provided to reposition the first to encounter set of stops 18,18' to permit engagement of the second to encounter set of stops 19,19'.
A hand operated wheel 21, in conjunction with a pair of digital readout devices 22,23 correlated to the turning of the wheel 21 is provided to help an operator locate the set of operating stops 17,17' to properly position the impression cylinder 9 for printing relation with the plate cylinder assembly 8.
A compensator roller mechanism 24 is used to adjust the length of the pathway which the continuous web 6 travels between a pai.r of similar adjacent printing presses 5 normally employed in a multi-color printing operation to control the registration of color to color. The mechanism 24 comprises a spring biased compensator roller 25 whose vertical position is automatically controlled by operation of a motor, or manually adjusted by a hand operated wheel 26 in conjunction with a pair of digital readout devices 27,28, similar to that used in adjusting the position of the operating stops 17. The spring biased compensator roller 25 is designed to rotate freely about its longitudinal axis which is parallel to the rotational axis of the impression cylinder 9. Any other suitable means can be used, to bring about registration of color to color, if desired.
Plate Cylinder Assembly The plate cylinder assembly 8 comprises a plate cylinder 30 which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis that is parallel to the rotational axis o-E the impression cylinder 9. A continuous flexible belt 31 is at least partially reeved around the plate cylinder 30 and carries a plurality of printing plates similar to those used in a conventional flexographic printing process. The printing plates are bonded in position on the flexible belt 31 which is composed of any suitable material, as is well known in the trade. The belt 31 is also reeved at least partially around a smaller roller 32 which is provided to tension the belt 31 on the plate cylinder 30. The belt tensioning roller 32 is mounted for rotating freely about its longitudinal axis which is parallel to the rotational axis of the plate cylinder 30. Any suitable mechanism 33 may be used to adjust the position of the belt tensioning roller 32 relative to the plate cylinder 30, to accommodate belts of different lengths used in the multi-color printing process.
For example, the mechanism 33, as best seen in ~ig. 4, comprises a pair of vertically disposed parallel drive screws 34,35 which are operatively connected to any suitable drive mechanism 36 for rotating the drive screws 34,35, in unison.
A pair of parallel guide rods 37,38 are disposed in parallel rela-tion within the drive screws 34,35, and a pair oE carriages 39,40, are slidably mounted on the guide rods 37,38, and coupled to the drive screws 34,35 which, when rotated, cause the carriages 39,40 to move along the guide rods 37,38. The belt tensioning roller 32 is rotatably mounted between the carriages 39,40. The pair of drive screws 34,35 are allowed to float, i.e. they are mounted for limited axial movement relative to the adjacent guide rods 37,38 which are fixedly mounted on the lower framework 41 of the printing press 5.
A pair of simllar, double acting air cylinders 42,43 are coupled by any suitable means 44 to the drive screws 34,35 and carriages 39,40 to counterbalance the weight of the belt ten-sioning roller 32 and to place a desired, downwardly directedforce or load on the carriages 39,40 to correspond:ingly move the belt tensioning roller 32 to a position where the belt 31 is placed under a predetermined tension on the plate cylinder 30 for printing engagement with the continuous web 6 passing between the nip of the impression cy~inder 9 and plate cylinder 30.
A conventional, engraved ink transfer roller 45 and founiain roiler 46, as best seen in ~igs. 2 and 3, are associated with the plate cylinder 30 and employed to transfer ink 47 from a fountain 48 to the printing plates carried by the belt 31. Any suitable mechanism such as a.n air loaded doctor or scraper blade SB can be used, if desired, to remove excess printing ink from the transfer roller 45. The scraper blade SB can be mounted in a positive angle position, as shown in ~ig. 2, or a reverse angle position as shown in Fig. 3. The fountain 48 i5 mounted by any appropriate means for movement to and from the fountain roller 46. The transfer roller 45 and fountain roller 46 are, like the belt tensioning roller 32, mounted for rotation about their own particular longitudinal axes which are parallel to the rotational axis of the plate cylinder 30. The transfer roller 45 is rotatably mounted between adjacent ends 49,50 of a pair of parallel arms 51,52 which are provided to support both the transfer roller 45 and the fountain roller 46 on the plate cylinder assembly 8. The support arms 51,52 are mounted for rotation about an axis 53 which is parallel to the rotational axis of the plate cylinder 30 and which is located intermediate the rotational axis of the transfer roller 45 and opposing free ends 54,55 of the support arms 51,52. A pair of air cylinders 56,57 are coupled between the lower framework 41 of the printing press 5 and the adjacent free ends 54,55 of the support arms 51,52 to rotate the support arms 51,52 and move the transfer roller 45, carried thereby, to and from the plate cylinder 3Q.
The fountain roller 46 is rotatably mounted between a pair of parallel pivot arms 58,59 intermediate opposing ends 60,61 and 62,63 thereof. The ends 60,61 of the pivot arms 58,5g, closest ~ 6~
the transfer roller 45, are pivotally mounted by similar pivot pins 64 to a pair of brackets 65,66 which project from the sup-port arms 51,52 in parallel relation adjacent the transfer roller 45. A pair of air cylinders 67,68 are coupled between the opposing free ends 62,63 of the pivot arms 58,59 and the adjacent free ends 54,55 of the support arms 51,52 to rotate the fountain roller ~6 to and from the transfer roller 45. Thus, the transfer roller 45 and fountain roller 46 are mounted for relative rotational movement to and from each other and for unitary rotational movement to and from the plate cylinder 30.
A plurality of sets of stops 70,71 and 72,73 and 74,75 similar to those used in conjunction with the support arms 10,11 of the impression cylinder 9, are provided for coaction with the free ends 54,55 of the support arms 51,52 of the transfer roller 45, to position the transfer roller 45 for engagement with, and disengagement from, the printing plates carried by the belt 31 and passing around the plate cylinder 30. The first set of stops 70,71, closest the free ends 54,55 of the support arms 51,52, are utilized to posi-tion the transfer roller 45 adjacent the plate cylinder 30 for transferring ink to the printing plates carried by the belt 31. The second set of stops 72,73 are used to regulate the normal position of the transfer roller 45 out of engagement with the printing plate carried by the flexible belt 31. Conventlonal air cylinders 76 are also provided to retract the stops 73 of -the second set of stops 72,73 out of inter-ference wlth the coaction of t'ne third set of stops 74,75, at which point the transfer roller 45 is in farthest spaced relatlon from the plate cylinder 30. A hand operated wheel 77 and digital readout devices 78,79 are likewise employed to position the first set of stops 70,71 for controlling the ink transferrlng position of the transfer roller 45 relative to the plate cylinder 30.
The plate cylinder 30 and transfer roller 45, as best seen in Figs. l and 3, are conventionally geared together for synchronized rotation relative to the linear speed at which the web 6 travels between the nip of the impression and plate cylinders 9,30 and are operated by any appropriate drive mechanism which is coupled to the projecting end 80 of a power input shaft 81 that is geared to the plate cylinder 30 and trans-fer roller 45. The fountain roller 46 is operated or rotated independently of the transfer roller 45 by any suitable motor means M and at a speed and distance from the transfer roller 45 sufficient to meter a lmiform and constant desired flow of ink to the printing plates carried by the belt.
A motor driven or hand operated wheel. 82 and locking mechanism 83 are provided for use by an operator in axially ad-justing the position of the plate cylinder 30 relative to the impression cylinder 9.
Thus, there has been described a novel, compact printing press which is especially suitable for use in the multi-color printing of a continuous web of any appropriate packaging material. A number of these compact printing presses are dis-posed one after the other to successively print upon the moving web, different colors used in the multi-color printing process.
Claims
THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
A flexographic belt printing press including an endless belt extending around plate and idler rolls and having printing plates on the outer surface thereof, the idler roll being movable toward and away from the plate roll for adjusting the belt tension and for accommodating belts of different size, impression and inking rolls mounted for pivotal movement toward and from from the plate roll into and out of engagement with the printing plates, selec-tively operable fluid cylinders for so moving the impression and inking rolls, and selectively adjustable stops for precisely locating the impression and inking rolls when they are pivoted toward the impression roll so that they engage the plates with predetermined pressure for optimum printing performance, whereby removal of said belt and replacement of same is simplified by selectively operating the fluid cylinders for pivoting the impression and inking rolls away from the plate roll, and relocation of the impression and inking rolls in engagement with plates on a new belt with substantially the same predetermined force for repeatable optimum printing performance by a new belt with little or no readjustment is achieved simply by operating the fluid cylinders for pivoting the impression and inking rolls toward the plate roll into engagement with the stops.
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
A flexographic belt printing press including an endless belt extending around plate and idler rolls and having printing plates on the outer surface thereof, the idler roll being movable toward and away from the plate roll for adjusting the belt tension and for accommodating belts of different size, impression and inking rolls mounted for pivotal movement toward and from from the plate roll into and out of engagement with the printing plates, selec-tively operable fluid cylinders for so moving the impression and inking rolls, and selectively adjustable stops for precisely locating the impression and inking rolls when they are pivoted toward the impression roll so that they engage the plates with predetermined pressure for optimum printing performance, whereby removal of said belt and replacement of same is simplified by selectively operating the fluid cylinders for pivoting the impression and inking rolls away from the plate roll, and relocation of the impression and inking rolls in engagement with plates on a new belt with substantially the same predetermined force for repeatable optimum printing performance by a new belt with little or no readjustment is achieved simply by operating the fluid cylinders for pivoting the impression and inking rolls toward the plate roll into engagement with the stops.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000366356A CA1144420A (en) | 1980-12-08 | 1980-12-08 | Flexographic belt printing press |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000366356A CA1144420A (en) | 1980-12-08 | 1980-12-08 | Flexographic belt printing press |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1144420A true CA1144420A (en) | 1983-04-12 |
Family
ID=4118658
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000366356A Expired CA1144420A (en) | 1980-12-08 | 1980-12-08 | Flexographic belt printing press |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1144420A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5009157A (en) * | 1988-04-19 | 1991-04-23 | Windmoller & Holscher | Rotary press comprising an endless block belt |
-
1980
- 1980-12-08 CA CA000366356A patent/CA1144420A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5009157A (en) * | 1988-04-19 | 1991-04-23 | Windmoller & Holscher | Rotary press comprising an endless block belt |
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