CA1155001A - Rapid changeover die and print stations - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract A compound printer having print stations, die cutting stations and other operations, such as per-forating and punching, has structure for rapid change-over of the individual stations. Movable carriages on carriage bars and indexing mounts allow rapid removal and installation of the elements, such as the print station or the die. Changeover time is substantially reduced. Removed components may be stored on the carriages.

Description

1~5S~

Background and Summary of the Invention Rotary printing and die cutting of web products, e.g., to form adhesive labels, is disclosed in applicant's prior U.S. Patents No. 4,095,498 and No. 4,138,944.
In printing and die cutting labels, continuous webs of label material, bearing a pressure strippable material, are printed on a press and then die cut while passing through the nip of a rotating die and an anvil or pressure roll. The particular shape or pattern of the label is determined by the shape of the die. The labels are re-covered by stripping away the undesired portion of the material.
Compound printers are expensive pieces of equip-ment. It is necessary, to recover the substantial invest-ment in these machines, that they be operated with a maximum of productive time and a minimum of down time.
It is desirable that the equipment be as versatile as , ~55~1 possible to accommodate a variety of jobs with a minimum of equipment. The die cutting, punching and perforating equipment must be capable of accepting a variety of con-figurations, that is, it must accept a variety of web sizes, and die sizes. The print module must be capable of handling various web sizes and of printing a variety of shapes and colours. It is preferable that the printer be eapable of multiple color printing, which requires more than one print station. The total eompound printer must process jobs of a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.
Moreover, the total equipment must be capable of operating at high speeds and must produee large quantities of produet in a short time.
Applicant's prior U.S. Patents No. 4,095,498 and No. 4,138,944 disclose printing modules and die cutting modules which may be used in eompound printing op~rations.
Previous U.S. Patents No. 3,491,641; No. 3,826,165; No.
3,850,059; No. 3,348,477; No. 3,832,925; No. 3,866,497 and No. 3,872,752 also diselose web proeessing struetures.
Prior deviees do not prevent a substantial loss of time due to changeover of the proeess line to aceept a different job eonfiguration, such as a different die size, a different eolor or colors of print or other change in the job. r~ueh of the time is lost in elean up and set up of the job, whieh in previous maehines must oceur on-line.
For example, to ehange ink eolor in eurrent maehines the ink fountain and rolls must be eleaned on the maehine.
The old ink must be removed, the reservoir and fountain ~5001 completely cleaned, the rountain roll, anilox roll and plate cylinder must be completely cleaned, the reservoir and fountain must be refilled with lnk berore printing can be resumed. This process can consume anywhere ~rom one to four hours, depending on the complexity of the equipment. If more than one color is lnvolved, more time may be involved in the changeover.
Similarly~ i~ a difrerent die ls required durlng a ~ob, a great deal Or down tlme is required ln changeover, slnce the die support structure must be chang~ed ln llne.
The die must be removed by hand and replaced.
Appllcant has now discovered and provided struc-ture to save a great deal Or tlme and expense in change-over. Process changes may be set up O~r line and rapidly introduced into the printer and production may be resumed.
The changeover tlme is extremely small and can be accomplished by the.operator in a matter of minutes ~or each element Or the process which is changed. Clean up Or the replaced .~ elements may be conducted off line~ The removed elements can 20 then be set up for subsequent replacement and use or placed in storage until such tlme as an addltional change ln the prlnting process is requlred.
Description Or the Drawings Figure 1 is a partlal top plan view o~ a dle cutting station using the structure o~ the inventlo.n;
Figure 2 ls a partial front vle~ o~ the dle cutting station shown in Figure l;
~igure 3 is a partial sectlonal view taken along the plane of line 3-3 in Flgure 2;
Figure 4 is a side view o~ the die cutting 115SOfll station shown in Flgure l;
Figure 5 is a sectlonal view taken along the plane of llne 5-5 in Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a partial sectional view taken along the plane of line 6-6 in Figùre 5;
Figure 7 is a partial isometric view of the pressure wheel assembly and slide;
Figure 8 is a partial iæometric vlew Or the die cylinder bearlng block and sllde;
Figure 9 is an alternate pressure device ror the pressure wheel assembly;
Flgure 10 ls a plan view, in schematic, Or a compound printlng llne using the apparatus o~ the r . :, invention;
Figure 11 is a partlal sectional vlew taken along the plane 11-11 in Figure 10, showlng applicant's die transrer carrlage;
Figure 12 is a partial sectional view taken along the plane 12-12 ln Flgure 11;
Flgure 13 is a partial vlew Or appllcant's die statlon 10 and transrer cart 310;
Flgure 14 ls a partlal sectlonal vlew taken along the plane 14-14 in Figure 13;
Figure 15 ls a partial sectional view taken along the plane 15-15 in ~igure 10 showlng appllcant~æ
print module;
Figure 16 is a partlal sectlonal vlew taken along the plane 16-16 in Flgure 15;
Figure 17 is a partial sectional vlew taken along the plane 17-17 in Flgure 15, l~snt)~

Figure 18 is a partial sectional view taken along the plane 18-18 in Figure 17;
Figure 19 is a partial sectional view taken along the plane 19-19 in Figure 18;
Flgure 20 is a partial sectional vlew taken along the plane 20-20 in F~gure 18;
Figure 21 is a partial sectional vlew taken along the plane 21-21 in Figure 20;
Flgure 22 is a partlal sectional view taken along the plane 22-22 ln Figure 21; and Flgure 23 is a partlal top vlew o~ the print module showlng the air cylinder and yoke on the operator's side.
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Descriptlon Or the Preferred Embodiment 15. Referring in more detail to Figure 2, a dle cutting statlon 10 ls shown with a frame 12 ln which ls mounted a die cyllnder 14. Dle cyllnder 14 is mounted on a cross bar which is positioned between a pair o~ uprlghts ~18 and 20, whlch are part of frame 12, and extend upwardly thererrom. Cross bar 16 is mounted at each end ln re-ceiving blocks 22 on uprlghts 18 and 20. Recelving blocks : 22 have a C-shaped cross section, as shown ln Flgure 3, whlch cooperates wlth uprights 18 and 20. The receivlng blocks 22 are ~reely slldable in the vertlcal dlrectlon along uprights 18 and 20. Cross bar 16, mounted on recelving blocks 22, is freely slidable with receiving blocks 22, Supported on cross bar 16 are two bearing blocks 26 and 28~ shown in Flgures 2 and 3. Bearing blocks 26 and 28 are rreely slldable ln a horizontal ~SSO~ll direction along cross bar 16, Bearing blocks 26 and 28 are split and have removable caps 30 and 32, as shown in F~gures 2 and 8. The bearing blocks 26, 28 support bearlngs 34 on the ends Or shafts 42 and 44 o~ the die cutting cyllnder 14.
Above cross bar 16 is a second cross bar 46 which is similar in design and cross section to cross bar 16 and is also mounted on receiving blocks 48 and 50, which are slidable on vertical supports 18 and 20, but whlch can be rixed, ir desired, Slldably recelved on cross bar 46 are support blocks 52 and 54 which sllde horlæontally along cross bar 46. ilounted on each Or blocks 52 and 54 ls a pressure wheel assembly 56~ 58, Assemblies 56? 58 have ., smooth machined wheels 60, 62 o~ steel or similar smooth hard material, which can be reciprocated ln a vertlcal dlrection. Slidable supports 26, 28, 48, 50, 52 and 54 can be locked in any chosen position by set screws, bolts, pins, cams or any other conventional latch, ir desired, as explalned hereln. Cross bars 16 and 46 can be positioned by lead screws 90 and 92 as shown, or by other equivalent means, or the cross bars can be ~ree ~loatlng, In Figure

2, lead screws 90 and 92 are shown as beln~ single, center mounted screws. It will be appreclated, however, that either or both of them may be made plural and spaced from the center. The latter structure assisting in maln-taining the horizontal orientation Or cross bar 16 and/or cross bar 46.
An anvll or pressure cyllnder 68 is mounted below dle cyllnder 14 in bearings 70~ whlch may be spllt, or which may be solid and removable ~rom the ~rame 12 1~5500~ , with anvil cylinder 68. Die cylinder 14 contacts pressure cyl~nder 68 at circumferential lands 74, 76 which are higher than the central portion 78 of the die cylinder. Typically, there is a clearance of approxi-mately 0.002 inches between portion 78 and the pressure cylinder, or less than the thickness o~ the workpiece, dependlng on the thickness Or the carrier sheet. A
clearance of 0.002 inches is normally used where the carrier sheet 1s 0,003 inches thick, a normal thickness, Clearance can be greater or less depending on the par-ticular Job. Zero tolerance cutting, e.g., 0.0001 inches tolerance, may be used for cutting single sheets~ as is known in the art. Mounted on portion 78 of die cylinder 14 is a die 80 which may be a machined dle, a chemically milled die or other types as is known in the art, The die extends outwardly beyond the profile o~ portion 78 Or the die cylinder. Th~re ls a slight clearance between the die and the pressure cylinder to avoid cutting entirely , through the web 86 being processed, as is known in the art.
The gear train 82, 84~ a chain drive timing belt or other conventlonal mechanism rotates the anvll 68, the dle cutting cyllnder 14 and drlves the web or workpiece 86 ln a manner known ln the art.
Pressure wheel assemblles 56 and 58, as shown in Figures 2, 4, 5 and 7, have spring loaded mechanlcally ad~ustable devices 88 for applylng ~orce through pressure wheels 60 and 62 to the lands 74 and 76 Or dle cyllnder 14. It will be appreclated, however, that lnstead Or mechanical screws, hydropneumatic cylinders 64, as shown in Figure 9, could be used to apply ~orce to pressure l'lS5~0~

wheels 60 and 62~ as could vacuum-hydraullc cylinders and other comparable devices, It will be appreciated that cylinder 64 would preferably be Or the double acting type so that the pressure wheels could be ex-tended during dle cutting to contact and apply ~orceto lands 74, 76 o~ the die cylinder 14 and then later be withdrawn when the pressure circuit is reversed. This system offers the advantage that when the process is lnter-rupted by a broken web or change o~ the dle cyllnder and die, the machine can be restarted and the cyllnders re-engaged without adJusting the pressure setting, Re~erring in more detail to Figures 5 and 7, the mechanical ad~ustable devices 88 also include a quick release feature. Force is applied to or released from lands 74 and 76 by threaded ad~ust bolts 89 whlch thread over shafts 91 o~ pressure wheels 60 and 62. As shown in Figure 5~ ad~ust bolt 89 is retained in the pressure wheel assembly 58 by yoke 93 bolted to the top Or pres-sure wheel assembly 58 by bolts 95, as shown, Yoke 93 has two slotted holes 97 through whlch bolts 95 pass, as shown. Spring 99 biases yoke 93, adJust bolt 8g, shaft 91 and pressure wheel 62 in an upward dlrection against bolts 95, To quic~ly release mechanical devlce 88, ad~ust bolt 89 ls rotated to telescope wlth threaded sha~t 91 to relieve the contact force between pressure wheel 62 and land 76, With the force relleved, yoke 93 can be rotated (counterclockwise in Figure 7) to a posltion with bolts 95 passing through the back portion Or slotted holes 97, The back portions of slotted holes 97 are larger than the heads of bolts 95, as shown, ~S5~)01 Spring 99 then llfts pressure wheel 62, bolt 89 and shaft 91 to g~ve sufficient clearance between pressure wheel 62 and die cylinder 14 3 normally two inches ~s sufficient clearance. Force can be re-exerted by re-versing the above procedure~ Spring 99 is compressedand yoke 93 is rotated to re-engage bolts 95. Ad~ust bolt 89 can then be rotated to re-exert force through pressure wheel 62. The ad~ustment required throug~
ad~ust bolt 89 is normally small and the adJustment ` 10 procedure can be rapidly completed.
Whichever means of applying rorce i5 used, it wlll be appreclated that normall~ the total ~orce that ~i~ is supplled ls from about 2,500 to 3~000 pounds rorce which ls usually 100 to 200 pounds o~ ~orce per lineal lnch o~ the cuttlng edge Or dle 80~ As the dle 80 be-comes blunter wlth use, the force applled to the die cylinder 14 can be lncreased to ensure proper cutting.
Bearing blocks 26 and 28 ror die cylinder 14 and support blocks 52 and 54 ror pressure wheel assemblies 56 and 58 prererably are rastened in position by clamps 94 and 96, shown ln Flgures 7 and 8. Clamps 94 and 96 operate by tlghtenin~ bolts 98 and 100 to secure the clamp against the respective support 16 or 46 to flx the positlon of support blocks 52 and 54 and bearing blocks 26 and 28 thereon, or particular lmportance to bearlng support blocks 26 and 28 are roller bearlngs 102 and 104 which are mounted thereon. Roller bearlngs 102 and 104 allow bearing supports 26 and 28 to be moved horizontally on support 16 when latches 96 are released~ even when a 5 r~ ~11 heavy die cylinder 14 is mounted therein. This allows a die cylinder 14 to be moved horizontally out of en-gagement with an anvil 68 and out of engagement with a workpiece or web 86 and c]ear of the pressure wheel assemblles 56 and 58. When moved horizontally away from engagement with the web or clear of the pressure wheel assemblies, the die cylinder can then be rapidly removed, replaced or reversed in the bearing blocks 26 and 28, as described herein, Support blocks 52 and 54 may also be equipped - with rollers, if desired, Usually the pressure assem-blies 56 and 58 will be light enough ~or manual positioning , without rollers on support blocks 52 and 54.
Referrlng to the embodiment shown in Figures 13 and 14, a modiflcation in the die station 10 is shown ln which cross bar 16 is replaced by a pair of spaced machlned rods 116 (Thompson bars), S~ldlng support blocks 126 are adapted to receive rods 116 therein and to slide thereon.
It is pre~erred that blocks 126 be sliding pillow block bearing assemblies of the recirculating ball type, for example, a structure similar to Thompson Industrles, Manhasset, New York, model SPB-24-oPN Super Plllow Block (TM), is preferred. Other equlvalent bearing structures -may be used. It will be appreciated that the backs Or blocks 126 are open to allow the support for rods 116 to pass through the blocks 126, as shown in Figure 15, herein. Rods 116 are mounted on receiving blocks 22 which operate in the manner previously described, Referring to Fl~ures 15-22, a print station 200 is shown hav~n~ an impression cyllnder 212 mounted in a frame 202. A sub-~rame 204, as part 10 , ' '` - - - - - . . . .

~550~1 Or the prlnt station, is mounted in rrame 202, as shown Sub-frame 204 is mounted on parallel plates 206 which extend transversely across the compound printer, Plates 206 are mounted on recirculating ball pillow blocks 208 o~ the type previously disclosed, Plllow blocks 208 are engaged on transversely extending polished bars 210 which are mounted to the floor beneath the printlng line by mounts 215, as shown.
The impresslon cylinder 212 is mounted in the 10 main ~rame 202, as shown. Sub-~rame 204 supports an L-shaped upper mountlng assembly 213~ as shown, ln which the plate cylinder 214, the Anilox roll 216 and the rountain roll 218 are rotatably mounted, as shown. It .. . .
will be appreclated that all these rollers will be sup-plied with sultable drlve mechanism, as ls known in the art and aæ shown hereln. Fountain roll 218 extends down lnto ink ~ountain 220, whioh is mounted in the upper mount assembly 213. The rountaln 220 may be supplied rom~an external reservolr? not shown, as is known ln 20 ~ the art. ~s shown, ~he ~ountain 220 may be mounted on an~elevator~assembly whlch may be drlven to ralse or lower the rountain to malntain a unl~orm contact between the rountain roll and the lnk~ as 1~ known in the art, In addltion, the Anilox roll may have a sultable doctor blade, as shown, to maintain an even distribution Or ink on the Anilox roll durlng printing.
The main ~rame 202 and sub-frame 204 are equlpped wlth a pair o~ cooperating air cylinders and yokes 224 and 226 which may be engaged to connect the main ~rame 30 202 to sub-~rame 204. On the gear drive side Or the l~S5001 printing line the cylinder 224 is mounted on the main frame 202 and yoke 226 is mounted on sub-frame 204, as shown in Figure 5. On the operator's side of the printing line, yoke 226 is mounted on main frame 202 and cylinder 224 is mounted on sub-rrame 204, as shown in Figure 23. As also shown in Figure 23, the sub-frame 204 and main rrame 202 have an ad~ustable stop 228 which positions the sub-frame 204 against frame 202 when the cylinders and yokes 224, 266 are engaged.
L-shaped mount 213 is supported on longitudinal~y extending bars 230. Mount 213 is reclprocated on the bars 230 by a set of air cylinders 232, mounted as shown. Re-circulating ball slides 234 allow recipracation Or L-shaped ; mount 213 along bars 230. The L-shaped mount 213 has a pair Or stop blocks 236 as shown whlch abut against paired ad~ustable screw stops 238 and movable cam stops 240, as shown. Wlthin mount 213 is a second set Or longitudinally extending bars 242 on which the lnk ~oun-tain and Anilox roll are mounted by reciprocating ball slides 244. The ink ~ountain 220 and Anllox roll assembly 216 are reciprocated along bars 242 by paired pneumatic cylinders 246 ? mounted as shown, The combined Anilox roll 216 and ~ounta1n 220 assembly also has paired stop blocks 248 and cam stops 250, as shown, and paired adJustable screw stops 252.
Screw stops 252, 238 and cam stops 240 and 250 are mounted on the main frame 202 and sub-frame 213, as shown. Stop blocks 236 and 248 are mounted with the assemblles in sub-frame 204, all as shown.
Paired screw stap assemblies 238 and 252 are selectively a~ustable by operation of shaft withln a 1~55~

shaft worm and gear ad~usters 254, 256 which may selectively adJust individual members o~ the palred screw stops or may ad~ust both members of the pair simultaneously, by individual or Joint operation o~
the shaft within shafts.
This operation allows rine ad~ustment of the contact between the plate roll 214 and impresslon cylinder 212 and between the Anilox roll 216 and plate oylinder 214 to increase or decrease the contact or to skew the contact as will be described herein.
The detail Or the screw stop 238 and cam 240 indexlng mechanism is ~urther shown in Figure 21 which shows the mechanism Or 238 and 240. It wlll be appre-clated that the mechanism 250 and 252 ls the same.
Screw adJust assembly 254 ls driven by a shaft 260 wlthin a shart 262. Outer shart 262, operating through a worm and gear combinatlon.264, 266, reclpro-cates screw 238, on the operator's ælde Or the print line,.through bushing 268. Screw 238 is captured rrom rotatlon by key 270, as shown ln Figure 22. Inner shaft : ~260 operates screw 238 on the gear drive side of the : ~ prlnt llne by a slmllar worm, gear and bushlng arrange-.ment. Paired rotatlng cams 240 operated by rotating shart 272, and palred rotating cams 250, lmpinge a~alnst spaclng blocks 236, 248, respectlvely, mounted on each slde or the prlnt line in sub-~rame 204 and ln L-rrame 213, as shown.
The prlnt module 200 may also be provlded wlth a hellcal gear lash ad~ustment 258 whlch ad~usts the relatlonshlp between the clrcumrerentlal lmpression 1~5$0()1 cylinder 212 and the plate pressure cylinder 214 to ad~ust the register of the print on web 86 passing through the nip of impression cylinder 212 and plate cyllnder 214. The lash ad~ustment mechanism may be servo operated or may be manually operated~
The print registry ad~ust mechanism 258~
shown in Figures 16 and 18 as being servo motor driven, operates through a worm and gear mechanism 274, 276 to rotate a threaded collar 277 on phasing shart 278.

Rotation Or collar 277 reciprocates shaft 278 trans-versely in the prlnt module 200. Shaft 278 is driven by a helical gear 280 connected to gear box 282. Helical gear 280 meshes with hellcal gear 284 on phasing shaft 278 and is paired with spur gear 286 whlch drives spur gear 288 that rotates impression cylinder 212. As the phasing shaft is reciprocated) the relative placement of the spur gears 280, 284 are changed, causing a small relative rotation and change Or phasing between the : : ~gears 284, 286 and gear 288 driving impression cylinder 212. This change of phase is transferred with the -opposite sign to the print cylinder 214, which ls driven throu~h gear 289 meshing wlth gear 290 ~ which drlves the plate cylinder 214~ If the phasing system is operated by a servo motor 291 as shown, motor 2~1 25 may be e~uipped with a suitable swltchin~ mechanism 292 ~
microswitches operated by cams, or other structure known in the art, which centers the phasing mechanism to a null location each time the print module is changed, as described further herein.
Referring now to Figure 10, a compound printing 14. - - - - - ... . .

~SSOOl line 300 is shown having a plurality of web processing stations including a printing station 200 ana die cutting stations 10, as shown. The prlnting line 300 may have a plurality of printing stations 200 and may have o~her web processing stations including punching, perforating, roll reeding, tractor rolls and winding rolls ln plural or single operation, as may be required by the particular operation.
Extending transversely ~rom the operat1ons or statlons ln prlnt llne 300 are palred machlned bars 30Z.
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Extending parallel to the printlng llne is palred machined bars 304, Bars 302 and 304 are supported a~ove ; the Moor by supports 305. Bars 302 are spaced aOove bars 304 as shown in Figure 11, Decking may be supplied around bars 302 and 304 to provide a unlrorm surface ror walking, Mounted on bars 304 are a plurallty o~ platforms or carts 306 which are equlpped with reclrculating ball : ~ bearing blocks 307, o r the open type previously described~ :
~20 which allow movement of carts 306 along bars 304. Carts ` 306 are equipped with Thompson bars 308 whlch extend parallel to transverse bars 302 and can be placed adJacent to and ln communication with bars 302 in an abuttlng re~
lationshlp, Also mounted on a cart 306 ls a transrer ~rame 310 shown in more detail ln Flgure 11, Frame 310 is also mounted on open pillow blocks 312, o~ the recir-culating ball type, Extending upwardly rrom the rrame 310 are two spaced uprlghts ln the ~orm Or T-bars 320, Mounted on T-bars 320 ls a rramework. 322 having two vertical members 323 slldingly received on T-bars 320, 15, - - ^ . .

1~5500~

as shown in Figures 11 and 12, and having mounted there~n two spaced sets of polished bars 316, as shown, Bars 316 are mounted and spaced to mate up with bars 116 of die station 10 when placed ad~ acent thereto as shown in Figure 14. Lead screws 324 driven by a motor 326 and cha~n and gear sets 328, 330 reciprocate ver-tical members 323, and attached bars 316 vertically along vertical members 320, Operation of the Device In operation of the device, a travelllng web Or paper such as a multi-laminar web 86 passes through the print station 200,shown in Flgure 18 and between the nip of the anvil 68 and the die cylinder 14 o~ dle station 10, shown in Figure 4, In the die statlon 10, the land portions 74, 76 are in direct contact with anvil 68, The web 86 passes between land 74, 76 and is contacted by die 80 which cuts partiaIly through the multlple layers of` paper as shown. Clamps 96 are fixed to pre-vent horizontal movement of the die cylinder 14, Pres-sure assemblies 56 and 58 are positioned over land 74, 76 of die cylinder 14 with pressure wheels 60 and 62 ln contact therewith~ as shown, Clamps ~4 are fixed to prevent horizontal movement of pressure assemblles 56 and 58, In use of the compound printer, it eventually becomes necessary to change and to replace web 86 with a dif'rerent width, size or style Or web or to replace die 80 wlth a different die, It may also be neoessary to change the color of the ink ln fountain 22~ to prepare 3o the printer for a different colored ~ob, It may also be 16, 1:~5SO~

necessary to c~an~e the print cyllnder or to make other changes in the printing operation.
With applicant's device, it is possible to make rapld changeovers in the printing operation with a mlnimum Or time loss. For the most part changeover is conducted by setting up the change of~ line while the printing machine continues to operate. Set up can be essentially complete before stopping production.
Once production is stopped, the changes can be rapidly introduced into the prlntlng line and productlon resumed.
For example, in changlng the die 80 on die cutting cylinder 14, a replacement die cylinder 14 having a die 80 thereon is first mounted in bearin blocks 32 in the upper position on transverse bars 316 mounted on vertical support 323 of die transfer cart 310. Thls ls conducted off line while the printlng operatlon con-tlnues. When die cyllnder 14 ls mounted on cart 310>
the cart 310, on cart 306 ls then transferred along bars 304 to a posltlon parallel to the d-ie cutting statlon 10. The cart 310 is then transferred along bars 308 ofP of cart 306 and onto bars 302, whlch ex-tend up to the dle cuttlng statlon 10. Movement o~
cart 310 is contlnued untll the cart reaches a pre-determined lndex posltion ln relatlon to the dle station 10. At that point motor 326 is operated ralslng the lower pair of bars 316 lnto an abutting relatlonshlp wlth bars 116 on dle statlon 10, as shown in Flgures 13 and 14. If deslred, suitable latchlng means~ not shown, may be provlded to lock the cart 310 ln position on bars 302 and to latch bars 316 in an indexed relation-17~

1~55t:)01 ship with bars 116, as shown ln Figure 13.
When cart 310 is positioned, as shown in Flgure 13, operation of the printing line is stopped.
Then the force exerted through pressure wheels 60 and 5 62 is relieved by retracting the force applying por-tions of pressure wheel assemblies 56 and 58 as pre-viously described. Clamps, not shown, are disengaged from rods 116 and the assembly of the die cylinder 14, bearlng blocks 32 and slides 128 are moved horizontally out Or the dle cutting station 10 and onto rods 316.
at the lower position on vertical supports 323, Sult_ able safety clamps, not shown, may then be engaged and motor 326 activated to lower vertical members 323 until the upper pair Or rods 316 are in an abuttlng and co_~
operating relationship wlth bars 116 Or die station 10, In this position, sarety latches, not shown, are dls_ engaged and the replacement die cyllnder 14 and its associated assemblles are translated onto bars 116 of' - ~ die station 10. The die assembly may then be positioned 20 ~ in the desired location with pressure wheel assemblles ~56, 58 relooated and the force reapplied, The trans~er is then complete, At this point, operation of' the printlng line may be resumed. Thls complete changeover can be con-25 ducted in a matter o~ a f`ew mlnutes, as opposed to ~reaterthan an hour required for the normal servlce and change-over of the die assembly on line, It will be appreciated that details of the placement of the drlve motors, the drlve train and frame structures, although not shown~
30 have sufficient clearance to allow horizontal removal 18.

~5SQ~

of the die cylinder 14. When the transfer i5 complete~
the transfer cart 310 may be removed from its abutting relationship with die station 10 and transferred back onto cart 306, The cart 306 and transfer cart 310 may then be returned to a remote location. At the remote location the die cylinder 14 and die 80 may be serviced and readied for return to the printing operation rOr a subsequent ~ob.
- To changeover the print module 200, for example, 1~ if a different color ink is requlred for a new run, pres-sure is removed from cylinders 224, 232 and 246 to relax the adJustment Or the sub-frame 204 in main frame 202 and Or the impression cylinder 214 and Anilox cylinder 216. A suitable safety catch 285 is released and the entire sub-frame 204 is rolled out of the printing llne along rails 210 and 302. Sub-frame 204 is transferred to the transfer cart 306 supported on rails 304. Yokes 226 are open, as shown, allowing cylinders 224 to dis-connect quickly by relaxing the pressure in the cylinders.
When on transfer cart 306, the sub-frame may then be serviced and readied for re-introduction into the printing line.
Once the first sub-frame unit 204 is removedJ
a subsequent sub-frame 204 and its assoclated assemblles can then be moved on a transfer cart 306, from a remote location, along rai.ls 304 to a polnt ad~acent rails 302 extending to the location Or prlnt station 200, That sub-frame 204 can then be transferred by hand orf of the trans-fer cart 306 and moved o~f Or rails 308 across rails 302 and into the print station 200 along rails 210. Once in - 19.

1~5~3~

positlon in print station 200, a sultable sarety stop 285 is locked and cylinders 224 are engaged in yokes 226. Pressure is applied to cylinders 224 bringin~ the stop 228 to rest against main frame 202 and closing the clearance between sub-rrame 204 and main frame 202. Move-ment of sub-frame 204 to rest position is only a few thou-sandths of an inch and is easily accommodated by the play of support frames 206 around rods 210.
Once the sub-frame 204 is engaged ln rrame 202, the ad~ustment Or the print cyllnder 214 against impres-sion cylinder 212 may be made. The ad~ustment ls made by flrst rotatlng cam 240 clockwise around shaft 272, as shown in Figure 21, to a posltion where cam 272 extends be~ond the plane o~ the end o~ screw lndexlng stops 238, to the rlght as shown ln Flgure 21, and then acti~ating cylinders 232 to move the L-shaped mount 213 and lts contained assemblles to the left. Stop block 236 ls then impinged against the cam 240. Shaft 272 is then rotated to rotate cam 240 ln a counterclockwlse direction, as :: :
shown ln Flgure 21, which allows pressure cylinders 232 to positlvely engage stop bloc~s 236 against screw stops 238, wlthout a machine damaglng lmpact. ~he indexlng and ad3ustment Or the contact between the Anilox roll 216 and the plate cylinder 214 ls conducted ln the same manner as described for the contact between the plate cylinder 214 and the impression cyllnder 212 usln~ stops 250, 252 ln a manner identlcal to that of stops 240, 238.
With ad~ustment complete, sub-rrame 204 and lts assemblies are now in the machine and are ready ror operation.

During operatlon~ the contact between the plate 20.

115~:101 cylinder 214 and lmpression cylinder 212 can be adJusted to increase or decrease the contact by ~oint operation of indexing screws 238 or to true up the contact by skewing the plate cylinder 214 by operating the ~ndexing stops 238 individually. Screws 252 may be similarly used to manipulate the Anilox roll 216. During operation Or the print station, the register of the print on the web 86 travelling across the lmpression cylinder 212 can be ad~usted while runnlng~ By adJusting the circumferential relationship between print plate cylinder 214 and lmpres-slon cylinder 212 uslng the lash ad~ustment driven by motor 291, as previously described.
It c~n thus be seen that applicant has prov1ded a new mechanism for servicing the elements o~ a compound printer by rapidly changlng over those elements in a manner that does not require any extensive down time and allows servlcing of the elements of the printer to be conducted ofr line while the printer is in operation, Only a mlni-mum of down time ln replacing individual elements in the printing line ~s required. Transfer Or the elements does not require power means slnce the roller bearing assem-blies allow the elements to be quickly and easily moved by manually applled force.
It will be appreciated by one skilled ln the art that the present invention may be used without uslng the exact embodiments dlsclosed herein ror the purposes illustrated. Various modiricatlons may be used ln the specific structure disclosed, for example, the invention may be used on modules o~ the printing operation other than those speci~ic embodiments disclosed, including roll S~5SOOl ~eedingS punching or perforating operations as well as others~ without departing from the spirit of the invention disclosed. The lnventlon ls to be llm~ted only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

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Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:-1.
In a station of a compound printer, the station having a frame, web processing equipment in the frame, and means to receive the web in the frame in a cooperating relationship with the web processing equipment, the improvement comprising: means to rapidly change over the elements of web processing equipment in the frame, including engageable and disengageable means mounting a first element of web processing equipment in the frame of the printer in an on-line position, off-line means to support and remove the first element of web processing equipment from the frame, and means to support a second element of web processing equipment in an off-line position and to introduce the second element of web processing equipment into the frame.

2.

The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the apparatus has means to index the web processing equipment into an operative position in the printer.

3.
The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the change-over means includes transfer means, cooperating with the support means, to transfer the web processing equipment from on-line to a remote off-line position and to transfer the second element of web processing equipment from a remote off-line position to an on-line position.

4.
The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the web processing equipment is a die cutter having a die cutting cylinder mounted in bearings which are movably supported in the frame of a die cutting station.

5.
The apparatus of Claim 4 wherein the die cutting cylinder is mounted in bearing blocks which are slidingly supported on a horizontal member in the frame of the die cutting station, the bearing blocks having means for sliding horizontal movement, when loaded with a die cutting cylinder therein, along the horizontal member and having means to fix the locations of the bearing blocks on the horizontal member.

6.
The device of Claim 5 wherein the bearing blocks have a roller bearing surface supporting the weight of the die cutting cylinder and bearing blocks in contact with the horizontal member for rolling engagement whereby the bearing blocks and die cutting cylinder may be slidingly moved in a horizontal direction along the horizontal member.

7.
The device of Claim 5 wherein the means to fix the location of the bearing blocks in the horizontal member is a clamp means to tighten a portion of a bearing block against the horizontal member.

8.
The apparatus of Claim 4 wherein the die cutting station has means to apply force to the die cutting cylinder which is slidingly supported on a horizontal member and has means to rapidly retract from contact with the die cylinder.

9.
The device of Claim 8 wherein the means to apply force to the die cutting cylinder has means to fix the locations of the force applying means on its horizontal member.
10 .
The apparatus of Claim 5 wherein the hori-zontal member is a set of parallel rods and the bearing blocks have means to receive the parallel rods therein, the bearing blocks having recirculating bearing surfaces therein.
11 .
The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the web pro-cessing equipment is a print module which is movably supported in a frame.
12.
The apparatus of Claim 11 wherein the print module is mounted on bearing blocks which are slidingly supported on a horizontal member in the frame, the bearing blocks having means for sliding horizontal movement along the horizontal support, the apparatus having means to fix the location of the print module in the apparatus.
13.
The apparatus of Claim 12 wherein the apparatus has means to index the location of the print module in the frame.
14.
The apparatus of Claim 12 wherein the horizontal member is a set of parallel rods and the bearing blocks have means to receive the parallel rods therein, the bearing blocks having recirculating bearing surfaces therein.

25.

15.
The device of Claim 8 wherein the means to apply force to the die cutting cylinder is mounted on a first horizontal support mounted in the frame, the first horizontal support being vertically movable in the frame along vertically extending supports in the frame, the first horizontal support having a lead screw means cooperating with the frame and the first horizontal support to vertically position the first horizontal sup-port in the frame, the means to apply force being mounted to the first horizontal support by first horizontal movable means to allow horizontal positioning of the means to apply force to the die cutting cylinder, the means to apply force having means to selectively retract and extend to selectively apply force to the die cylinder, the first horizontally movable means having a first screw clamp means to selectively fix the horizontal position of the first horizontally movable means at a preselected location on the first horizontal support the die cutting cylinder bearings being mounted in bearing blocks which are mounted on a second horizontal support mounted in the frame, the second horizontal support being spaced below the first horizontal support and being vertically movable along the vertically extending supports in the frame, the second horizontal support having a second lead screw means cooperating with the frame and the second horizontal support to vertically position the second horizontal support in the frame, the die cutting cylinder bearing blocks being mounted to the second horizontal support by second horizontally movable means 26.

to allow horizontal positioning of the die cutting cylinder and to allow acceptance of die cutting cylinders of a plurality of lengths, the second hori-zontally movable means having a second screw clamp means to selectively fix the horizontal position of the second horizontally movable means at a preselected location on the second horizontal support, the second horizontally movable means having roller bearing means to contact the second horizontal support and allow horizontal movement along the second horizontal support when the second horizontally movable means is subjected to the weight of a die cutting cylinder, whereby die cutting cylinders may be readily repositioned, reversed, replaced and serviced in the die cutting device.
16.
The device of Claim 15 wherein the die cutter has a set of transversely extending transfer rods ex-tending therefrom and a transfer carriage mounted thereon, the device having means to engage and align the die cutter and the transfer carriage, the transfer carriage having means to support and accept a die cutting cylinder trans-ferred from the die cutter and having means to support and transfer a second die cutting cylinder to the die cutter, the transfer carriage being movable along the transfer rods to a remote location.
17.
The apparatus of Claim 16 wherein the device has a set of longitudinally extending rails cooperating with the transfer carriage and the transversely extending rods.

27.

18.
The apparatus of Claim 14 wherein the print module is mounted on a pair of spaced parallel plates, each plate having bearing block assemblies for sliding horizontal movement along the horizontal support, the print module having a sub-frame and having means on the sub-frame for indexing the sub-frame in the module and fixing it, the print module having additional means to index and adjust contact between a print plate cylinder and an impression cylinder paired in the module, including means to skew the adjustment between the impression cylinder and plate cylinder, the print module having camming means to cushion the indexing of the plate cylinder in the print module, the print module having additional indexing means for an Anilox cylinder paired by the print module and having means to skew the adjustment of the Anilox cylinder to the plate cylinder, the print module having additional camming means to cushion indexing between the Anilox cylinder and the plate cylinder, the print module having pressure means to rapidly index and position the sub-frame and the print cylinder and the Anilox cylinder paired by the sub-frame, the print module having means to adjust the relationship of the print cylinder to the impression cylinder and a web carried thereby.

19 .
The apparatus of Claim 18 wherein the printer has co-operating spaced rails extending longitudinally of the printer and having cooperating therewith a movable transfer carriage adapted to receive the movable elements of the printer and transfer them to a remote location there-from and to transport from a remote location to an operative relationship with the printer replacement elements to be introduced therein.

20.
In a method of changing over the elements of web processing equipment in a station of a compound printer, the station having a frame, the improvement comprising disengaging a first element of web processing equipment from the frame, removing the said first element to an off-line position out of the frame, supporting a second element of web processing equipment in an off-line position and introducing said second element into the frame.