EP0278650B1 - Procédé et dispositif pour imprimer des tuiles - Google Patents
Procédé et dispositif pour imprimer des tuiles Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0278650B1 EP0278650B1 EP19880300819 EP88300819A EP0278650B1 EP 0278650 B1 EP0278650 B1 EP 0278650B1 EP 19880300819 EP19880300819 EP 19880300819 EP 88300819 A EP88300819 A EP 88300819A EP 0278650 B1 EP0278650 B1 EP 0278650B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- tile
- transfer roller
- silicone rubber
- roller
- belts
- 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 - Lifetime
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
- B41F17/00—Printing apparatus or machines of special types or for particular purposes, not otherwise provided for
- B41F17/24—Printing apparatus or machines of special types or for particular purposes, not otherwise provided for for printing on flat surfaces of polyhedral articles
- B41F17/26—Printing apparatus or machines of special types or for particular purposes, not otherwise provided for for printing on flat surfaces of polyhedral articles by rolling contact
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B28—WORKING CEMENT, CLAY, OR STONE
- B28B—SHAPING CLAY OR OTHER CERAMIC COMPOSITIONS; SHAPING SLAG; SHAPING MIXTURES CONTAINING CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL, e.g. PLASTER
- B28B11/00—Apparatus or processes for treating or working the shaped or preshaped articles
- B28B11/001—Applying decorations on shaped articles, e.g. by painting
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B28—WORKING CEMENT, CLAY, OR STONE
- B28B—SHAPING CLAY OR OTHER CERAMIC COMPOSITIONS; SHAPING SLAG; SHAPING MIXTURES CONTAINING CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL, e.g. PLASTER
- B28B11/00—Apparatus or processes for treating or working the shaped or preshaped articles
- B28B11/04—Apparatus or processes for treating or working the shaped or preshaped articles for coating or applying engobing layers
- B28B11/046—Apparatus or processes for treating or working the shaped or preshaped articles for coating or applying engobing layers by rolling
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41P—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO PRINTING, LINING MACHINES, TYPEWRITERS, AND TO STAMPS
- B41P2217/00—Printing machines of special types or for particular purposes
- B41P2217/50—Printing presses for particular purposes
- B41P2217/56—Printing presses for particular purposes for printing ceramic tiles
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a method of, and apparatus for, applying a design to a ceramic tile.
- Decorative ceramic tiles are used, for example, in kitchens and bathrooms to enhance the appearance of the room.
- a number of techniques are used for providing the decorative marking on the tile during its manufacture. For example, it is known to screen print the design onto the unfired (i.e. 'biscuit') form of the tile.
- the definition obtained by this method is not good and therefore only comparatively 'crude' designs may be printed. More accurate definition can be obtained by the use of transfers but this is a comparatively slow process and can only be used for applying designs to the fired tile.
- a rotary gravure printing process is known for applying a design to ceramic hollow-ware such as is described in British patent specification GB-1284841.
- a flexible transfer roller is used in an apparatus for applying a design to a ceramic hollow-ware product, and having a printing station comprising a rotary gravure cylinder and a flexible transfer roller associated therewith.
- a gravure cylinder is associated with a flexible transfer cylinder comprising an outer surface of silicone rubber which can be used for printing on planar surfaces.
- a method of applying a design to a ceramic tile wherein the design is applied to the tile by an off-set rotary gravure printing process in which the transfer roller has an outer surface of silicone rubber, and wherein the tile to be printed passes between the transfer roller and a support roller which has an outer surface of silicone rubber against which the tile is supported during printing.
- the present invention also provides apparatus for applying a design to a ceramic tile the apparatus having a printing station comprising a rotary gravure cylinder, a transfer roller associated therewith and a tile support roller juxtaposed to the transfer roller, wherein the transfer roller has an outer surface of silicone rubber and said support roller has an outer surface of silicone rubber against which the tile is supported during printing.
- the inks used in the method of the invention preferably contain ceramic pigments.
- the inks are at a higher temperature than the tile and of a type which dry quickly upon contact with the relatively cool surface of the ceramic tile. The quick drying nature of these inks allows the tile to be printed at successive rotary gravure printing stations so that a multi-colour design can be quickly and easily built up.
- Silicone rubber has a number of properties which render it suitable for use as the transfer surface of the transfer roller. In particular, it is heat resistant (and is thus not damaged by the application thereto of the heated inks) and also has excellent ink transfer properties. Most preferably, the silicone rubber is provided as a comparatively thin sleeve bonded onto a rigid roller. This construction ensures that the silicone rubber does not 'wobble' during rotation of the transfer roller which thus allows the accurate transfer of the ink to the tile.
- the tile is supported during its printing with the transfer roller by means of the support roller which has a silicone rubber surface of the same hardness as that of the transfer roller.
- the diameter of the transfer roller (measured across the silicone rubber surface) has to be the same as that of the support roller (also measured across its silicone rubber surface). It is necessary to use such a support roller for the printing of unfired clay tiles in order to avoid breakage.
- the spacing between the silicone surfaces of the transfer and support rollers will be related to the thickness of the tile to be printed and will determine the pressure which the transfer roller will apply to the tile for applying the ink thereto.
- the silicone surface of the transfer roller be in contact with the surface of a cleaning roller for removing excess ink from the surface of the transfer roller after the latter has printed onto a tile and before it is re-inked by the gravure cylinder.
- a cleaning roller is also of value as is the case where tiles are being fed successively through the printing station (i.e. to be printed by the transfer roller) and there are one or more tiles missing from the feed. In this case, the transfer roller obviously does not print onto a tile and is cleaned by the cleaning roller before being re-inked.
- the cleaning roller preferably has a PTFE surface. Additionally, the cleaning roller should be at a lower temperature than the gravure cylinder (which will typically be at a temperature of above 100°C to ensure transfer of the ink onto the transfer roller but at a higher temperature than the transfer roller. Typically the surface of the cleaning roller will be at a temperature of 60-70°.
- the silicone rubber is a Room Temperature Vulcanised silicone rubber (as opposed to condensation cured) and preferably has a hardness in the range 40-50 oo Shore. Most preferably the hardness is about 45 oo Shore.
- gravure cylinders may be used for printing detailed designs and the invention thus allows such detailed designs to be applied successively to tiles.
- the gravure cylinders used should be half-tone etched cylinders which achieve a quality comparable to decals (transfers).
- the etched depth of the cylinder is generally of at least double that of gravure cylinders used for the printing of paper.
- the etched depth of the cylinder is 6.25 - 7.5 x 10 ⁇ 3cm (0.0025 to 0.003in). This compares with 2.5 to 3.8 + 10 ⁇ 3cm (0.001 to 0.0015in) in cylinders used for printing paper.
- the greater etched depth is required because of the different nature of the inks used in the present process, compared to those used for printing paper.
- the gravure cylinder will preferably have up to 50 lines/cm (120 lines/inch).
- the gravure cylinder will also be associated with a doctor blade arrangement for the removal of excess ink from its surface. Most preferably, reverse angle doctoring is used.
- the gravure cylinder is applied to the silicone rubber surface of the transfer roller so as to produce an impression therein of about .025cm (.01").
- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention.
- the apparatus of Fig. 1 comprises a printing station 1 for the off-set rotary gravure printing of tiles. More particularly the printing station comprises a transfer roller 2 incorporating a silicone rubber sleeve 3 to which a design to be printed onto a tile is applied by a rotary gravure cylinder 4 (shown only schematically without details of the ink retention cells) supplied with ink from a tray 5 by a roller 6. Cylinder 4 may be internally heated by circulating hot oil therethrough and heaters (not shown) for the ink are provided in tray 5.
- the transfer roller 2 has a horizontal axis of rotation and is located vertically above a support roller 7 itself having a sleeve 8 of the same silicone rubber as sleeve 3.
- Sleeves 3 and 8 may for example be of 1.25cm (0.5") thickness and a hardness of about 45 oo Shore.
- a cleaning roll 9 with a PTFE surface is capable of rotating in contact with the roller 2.
- Doctor blades 10 and 11 are provided for cylinder 4 and roll 9 respectively.
- the apparatus further comprises a conveyor arrangement 12 by which tiles to be printed are supplied to and past the rollers 2 and 7. More particularly, this conveyor arrangement comprises a first pair of laterally spaced belts 13 running around and between the pulleys 14 upstream of the rollers 2 and 7, and a second pair of laterally spaced belts 15 which run around pulleys 16 from upstream of rolls 2 and 7 to downstream thereof.
- the spacing between belts 15 is less than that between belts 13 and at their upstream ends the belts 15 locate between the downstream ends of belts 13.
- Belts 13 are guided by rails 17 and are arranged such that their upper surfaces are very slightly higher than those of belts 15.
- Support roller 7 has two annular grooves 19 axially spaced by a distance corresponding to the lateral spacing of belts 15. As will be seen from an inset to Fig. 1 the belts 15 run in these grooves on their passage past roller 7.
- each of belts 15 Provided on each of belts 15 are a plurality of upstanding projections 20 at regular spaced intervals.
- friction rollers 21 rotatable about horizontal axes locating between the adjacent belts 13 and 15.
- Additionally means for the lateral location of a tile are provided in the form of a line of small vertical rollers 22 at the outer side of one of the belts 13 and a pulley belt 23 at the opposite side of the other belt 13 and being adapted to be urged into contact with a tile by spring loaded rollers 24.
- the illustrated apparatus incorporates a drive arrangement for the gravure cylinder 4.
- This arrangement has a drive shaft from which the rollers 2 and 7 and the belts 13 and 15 are also driven.
- the illustrated apparatus is a modular unit which may be provided as one of a line of similar apparatus (each for printing a different colour ink) for building up a multi-colour pattern on a tile. More particularly, the tiles may be fabricated in a conventional production unit by pressing from clay, drying the pressed clay, then by applying a glaze and then a sealer before the tiles are fed to the illustrated printing apparatus (or line of such apparatus) from which the printed tiles are fed to a kiln for firing.
- the unfired tiles T are fed to the apparatus by conveyors (not shown) and are received on the upstream ends of the belts 13 which are spanned by each tile.
- the tiles are thus conveyed towards the upstream end of belts 15 (which are driven at the same speed as belts 13) and engage with friction rollers 20 which slow or stop the tiles until such time as a pair of projections 20 (one on each belt 15) engage against the trailing edge of the tile and advance it towards rollers 2 and 7.
- the tile is laterally located by the arrangement of vertical rollers 22 and belt 23 (biassed towards the tile by the rollers 24 ) described above.
- the return pulley 14 of the belts 13 are upstream of the rollers 2 and 7 and this is by a distance such that as the leading edge of the tile becomes supported on the roller 7, the trailing edge is still supported by belts 13.
- the gravure cylinder 4 (rotating in the direction of arrow A) is supplied with ink by the roller 6 and applies a design to the silicone rubber sleeve 3 of roller 2 (rotating in the direction of arrow B) and this design is in turn applied to the tile which continues to be conveyed by belts 15 to the downstream end of the apparatus.
- the tile may then be passed to a similar apparatus (for applying a different colour ink to the tile) or to a kiln for firing.
- the ink used for the printing operation comprises ceramic pigments in a pressure sensitive ink medium.
- the ink is held in tray 5 and maintained at an elevated temperature (by heaters not shown) for application to the printing cylinder 4 which is itself maintained at about 120°.
- Cylinder 4 is wiped by the doctor blade 10. This blade is oscillated in a direction parallel to the axis of the cylinder 4 to avoid uneven wear. Additionally, the angle of the blade 10 relative to cylinder 4 may be varied to suit particular printing applications.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Structural Engineering (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Printing Methods (AREA)
- Rotary Presses (AREA)
Claims (10)
- Procédé d'application d'un dessin sur un carreau de céramique (T), dans lequel le dessin est appliqué sur le carreau par un procédé d'impression en rotogravure offset, dans lequel la surface extérieure (3) du rouleau de transfert (2) est en caoutchouc silicone et le carreau (T) à imprimer passe entre le rouleau de transfert (2) et un rouleau de support (7) pourvu d'une surface extérieure (8) en caoutchouc silicone sur laquelle le carreau (T) vient en appui au cours de l'impression.
- Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le caoutchouc silicone des rouleaux de transfert et de support (2, 7) est de la même dureté, comprise dans la gamme de 40 à 50°° Shore, de préférence, environ 45°° Shore.
- Procédé selon la revendication 1 ou 2, dans lequel le carreau (T) à imprimer est en argile comprimée qui n'a pas encore été cuite.
- Dispositif d'application d'un dessin sur un carreau de céramique (T), le dispositif comprenant une station d'impression (1) composé d'un cylindre de rotogravure (4), un rouleau de transfert (2) associé à celui-ci et un rouleau de support de carreau (7) juxtaposé au rouleau de transfert (2), dans lequel la surface extérieure (3) du rouleau de transfert (2) est en caoutchouc silicone et la surface extérieure (8) dudit rouleau de support (7) contre laquelle le carreau vient s'appuyer pendant l'impression est en caoutchouc silicone.
- Dispositif selon la revendication 4, dans lequel le caoutchouc silicone des rouleaux de transfert et de support est de même dureté, dans la gamme de 40 à 50°°° Shore, de préférence d'environ 45°° Shore.
- Dispositif selon la revendication 4 ou 5, dans lequel un rouleau de nettoyage (9) est prévu pour nettoyer la surface de caoutchouc silicone (3) du rouleau de transfert (2).
- Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 4 à 6, comprenant des moyens formant convoyeur comportant une première paire de bandes continues, espacées latéralement (13), situées en amont du rouleau de transfert (2), et une seconde paire de bandes continues (15) s'étendant entre les premières bandes (13), à partir de celles-ci, jusqu'en aval du rouleau de transfert (2), lesdites secondes bandes (15) comprenant une pluralité d'éléments d'entraînement des carreaux espacés (20) venant en prise contre le bord arrière d'un carreau (T) transféré sur les seconds convoyeurs à partir des premiers convoyeurs.
- Dispositif selon la revendication 7, dans lequel des rouleaux de friction (21) sont prévus dans la zone de recouvrement des premiers et seconds convoyeurs pour retarder un carreau acheminé par les premiers convoyeurs, jusqu'à ce que le bord arrrière du carreau soit engagé en prise par les éléments d'entraînement de carreau du second convoyeur.
- Dispositif selon la revendication 7 ou 8, dans lequel il est prévu, en amont du rouleau de transfert (2), des moyens pour guider latéralement les carreaux.
- Dispositif selon la revendication 10, dans lequel les moyens de guidage latéral des carreaux comprennent une ligne de rouleaux de guidage (22) pivotant autour d'axes verticaux, disposés à l'extérieur de l'une des premières bandes continues (13) et une bande de guidage (23) disposée latéralement vers l'extérieur de l'autre première bande continue (13) et dont un brin est sollicité vers le carreau.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB878702170A GB8702170D0 (en) | 1987-01-31 | 1987-01-31 | Applying design to tiles |
GB8702170 | 1987-01-31 |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0278650A2 EP0278650A2 (fr) | 1988-08-17 |
EP0278650A3 EP0278650A3 (en) | 1989-12-27 |
EP0278650B1 true EP0278650B1 (fr) | 1994-01-19 |
Family
ID=10611525
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19880300819 Expired - Lifetime EP0278650B1 (fr) | 1987-01-31 | 1988-02-01 | Procédé et dispositif pour imprimer des tuiles |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0278650B1 (fr) |
DE (1) | DE3887175D1 (fr) |
GB (1) | GB8702170D0 (fr) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE202016008350U1 (de) | 2016-10-25 | 2017-08-17 | Olbrich Gmbh | Walzenauftragswerk für das Auftragen einer Beschichtungsmasse auf einem strukturierten Substrat |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
IT1310805B1 (it) * | 1999-07-28 | 2002-02-22 | Valentino Bonetti | Procedimento per differenziare immagini stampate su supporto qualsiasi in particolare piastrelle di ceramica, e dispositivo per attuare |
US20070234914A1 (en) * | 2006-03-17 | 2007-10-11 | Euram H.R. Ltd. | Tubular decorating arrangement |
ITMO20070302A1 (it) * | 2007-10-03 | 2009-04-04 | Antonio Maccari | Metodi e dispositivi per controllare il funzionamento di macchine decoratrici |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US1807921A (en) * | 1926-09-11 | 1931-06-02 | Oxford Varnish Corp | Transfer machine |
GB482642A (en) * | 1937-07-27 | 1938-04-01 | Oxford Varnish Corp | Improvements in the printing of articles having non-planar surfaces |
GB1284841A (en) * | 1970-01-24 | 1972-08-09 | Myott Son And Company Ltd | Method and means for printing on non-planar surfaces |
DE2126091A1 (de) * | 1971-05-26 | 1972-12-07 | Philipp W | Druckverfahren und Vorrichtung zu seiner Durchführung |
-
1987
- 1987-01-31 GB GB878702170A patent/GB8702170D0/en active Pending
-
1988
- 1988-02-01 DE DE88300819T patent/DE3887175D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1988-02-01 EP EP19880300819 patent/EP0278650B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE202016008350U1 (de) | 2016-10-25 | 2017-08-17 | Olbrich Gmbh | Walzenauftragswerk für das Auftragen einer Beschichtungsmasse auf einem strukturierten Substrat |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE3887175D1 (de) | 1994-03-03 |
EP0278650A3 (en) | 1989-12-27 |
EP0278650A2 (fr) | 1988-08-17 |
GB8702170D0 (en) | 1987-03-04 |
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