EP0601675B1 - Apparatus for conveying fluid substances in a machine using these substances - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus (1) for conveying fluid substances on a printing or coating machine comprises a substance-delivering pump (3) which has delivery elements (32) which are in engagement. The apparatus is designed as a submerged pump with, extending along it, a circular cylindrical hollow outer body (31) for submerging in substance. At its non-submerged end, the body (31) is fastened on a pump motor (34) while, at the submersible end, it is closed off with an end wall (36). A substance passage opening (380) is designed in the region of the non-submerged end. The conveying elements (32) are arranged in the region of the submersible end. A substance passage opening (360) is arranged in the edge region of the submersible hollow body end. The apparatus can be used for various substance productive capacities and printing/coating machines with reduced substance residual quantites. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a device for supplying flowable substances to a printing or coating machine or to another substance-consuming machine with a substance-promoting, engaged conveying elements such as gear or toothed roller elements or other displacement bodies comprising pump, the conveying elements being at a fixed distance from one another axially are stored and at least one of the conveying elements is driven by a bearing shaft driven by a pump motor (eg EP-A-47887).

It is a pump device with which printing pastes in particular are fed to stencil printing machines. The performance and functional requirements for substance (printing paste) delivery are very different. In addition, economic and environmentally friendly requirements are of particular importance. Usual supply and distribution systems include pumps of the type mentioned at the outset with relatively large suction capacities, the pumps being connected to suction lines, which are mostly guided over long distances and extend between a storage container, the pump and the point of consumption (substance-consuming device). Such supply systems are unsuitable for very different printing requirements that occur in practice. In particular, containers with a relatively large content for sample and collection prints, ie for printing short crops, are uneconomical since the amounts of printing paste provided are not required and considerable amounts of losses in the containers and residual amounts of paint in the lines, the ratio of substance consumption amounts to loss / residual amounts being very unfavorable. In addition, special cleaning efforts with high water consumption are required, whereby large amounts of substance residues get into the wastewater and pollute the environment. A quick change of substance is not possible. Particularly large disadvantages in terms of economy as well as environmental impacts arise with multi-color printing with, for example, 20 colors, in particular with smaller application / printing batches and / or with frequent pattern changes. Small printing paste supply units with a pump and a relatively small container placed thereon are also known. Such a device is intended for lateral attachment to a printing press, the pump and container in the form of a unit to be transported by hand having to be designed to be particularly small, and a substance coating only having to be carried out from above.

The invention has for its object to provide a substance supply device that can be used for a wide variety of quantities, consumption amounts e.g. for production and / or sample prints and substance-consuming facilities such as individual printing stations should be usable, with each use substance loss and residual amounts should be reduced to the greatest extent in order to ensure extremely economical and environmentally friendly use, also due to low cleaning water consumption.

The object is achieved in connection with the features of the device of the type mentioned at the outset in that the device is designed as a submersible pump with a long-extending circular cylindrical jacket hollow body such as a tube or the like for immersion in substance, which is located on its immersion-free (upper) End is attached to the pump motor and at the submersible (lower) end with a front closure wall it is concluded that an upper substance passage opening is formed in the area of the immersion-free end, that the conveying elements such as toothed rollers, gearwheels or the like are arranged in the jacket hollow body in the area of its immersible end, and that a lower substance passage opening is formed in the edge region of the immersible hollow body end. A significant advantage is that in the submersible pump according to the invention there is no need for a suction path between the container substance present at the lower substance passage opening and the conveying elements arranged in the region of this opening. Conventional suction lines between the tank and the pump have been eliminated. Losses / residual amounts in conventional suction lines, cleaning work and the associated water consumption are eliminated. The circular cylindrical jacket hollow body forms a slim, relatively long cylinder immersion tube (immersion cylinder) which can be used in substance storage containers of any size or other substance volume. The front closure wall forms a stable and robust element on which the submersible pump can be placed during operation. By means of the lower substance passage opening it is ensured that, in any case, when the submersible pump is inclined relative to the storage container, it can be emptied down to a very small residual amount of, for example, approximately 1/4 liter. The pump attached to the submersible upper edge of the submersible pump forms, together with the submersible pump tube, an overall slim pump unit which, in its vertical operating arrangement, can be installed in a space-saving manner and in particular directly at or near a substance-consuming device. The elimination of conventional lines between the pump and the container and the ability to be arranged on or near the consumption device are particularly advantageous not only because of the very short connecting lines between the pump and the consumption device, but also with regard to occupational safety and the gain in space in the work area, for example at machine pressure stations. It has been found that due to the arrangement of the conveyor elements in the bottom area of the submersible cylinder, a steady, pressure surge-free and relatively low-pressure ascent conveyance is achieved with a large delivery rate per unit of time. Such funding is very cheap and adapted for width distribution systems, especially in circular templates. Due to the arrangement of the conveying elements in the submersible cylinder base area and the elongated, slender - which is also very advantageous for space-saving submersible pumps - immersion tube design is on the one hand the ratio between the immersion tube length, e.g. 1 meter and more, and the total turning diameter of the conveying elements as well as the ratio between the immersion tube length and axial length of the conveyor elements relatively large. Overall, a pump unit is formed with the device according to the invention, which forms a device which can be easily integrated into the respective substance delivery system for a wide variety of substance consumption devices and quantities and which not only - as explained - for filling the system but preferably also by a simple pump reversal operation in the System emptying and / or cleaning offers considerable advantages in terms of economic, ecological, operational and safety requirements.

A particularly advantageous embodiment consists in that conveying elements, such as preferably toothed rollers, are overhung by one-sided axial bearings on their end faces facing the motor drive. This considerably simplifies the construction and internal cleaning of the dip tube. On the other hand, the conveying elements can also be mounted axially on the lower end walls in a simple manner on the end closure wall, as a result of which longer conveying element lengths can be provided.

It is particularly advantageous to form a single substance passage opening in an outwardly rounded or arched forehead closure wall, so that substance is concentrated is conveyed from the lowest possible point with the submersible pump standing on the tank bottom. It has been found that, due to the construction according to the invention, immersion cylinder lengths of approximately 1 m can be achieved with an outer diameter of only approximately 10 cm. Advantageously, the outer diameter of the shell hollow body is approximately 80-150 mm with a hollow body length of approximately 250-1000 mm.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the conveying element is designed as a toothed roller, the teeth of each toothed roller reaching only in the apex region opposite the toothed roller engagement region, forming a conveying gap without contact up to the inner wall of the hollow jacket body, while the rest of the space between the inner wall of the hollow body and tooth rolling is expanded by the cavity so that the clear distances between the tooth apices and the hollow body inner wall are a multiple of the conveyor gap width. There are no bearing shells or blocks in the longitudinal region of the toothed rollers, and it has been found that the space between the toothed roller circumference and the inner circumference of the submersible cylinder is particularly effective for conveying the substance.

The device according to the invention expediently comprises a washing device which is adapted to the submersible pump and is in the form of a washing tube which, due to the particularly slim shape of the submersible cylinder, is particularly space-saving.

The jacket body expediently consists of a relatively light weight, durable and corrosion-free plastic tube. To avoid substance residues on the outer circumference of the tube, it is also particularly advantageous to provide it with a surface that is highly slidable for substance (possibly with a sliding layer, polishing surface or the like) slide-movable substance wiping element such as a lamellar ring, a cuff or the like is set in order to wipe off substance in a simple manner for cleaning.

The submersible pump according to the invention can, due to the relatively short substance delivery paths achieved with it, be operated particularly advantageously in the reversing mode, in particular to return substance from a supply system and / or to pump water back and forth for cleaning in the system.

Fig. 1

eine erfindungsgemäße Einrichtung in Längsschnitt-Darstellung des Tauchzylinders,

Fig. 2

eine Teil-Schnittansicht gemäß B-B in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

ausschnittsweise die Längsschnitt-Ansicht gemäß C-C in Fig. 1,

Fig. 4A und B

im Teil-Längsschnitt bzw. im Querschnitt A-A den Tauchzylinder einer erfindungsgemäßen Einrichtung mit fliegender Zahnwalzen-Lagerung,

Fig. 5 - 7

eine erfindungsgemäße Einrichtung mit einer Stativ-Tauchpumpe an der Station einer Rundschablonen-Druckmaschine und

Fig. 8 - 10

eine erfindungsgemäße Einrichtung mit Tauchpumpen-Bewegungsvorrichtung und -Waschrohr.

Still other embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims and further advantages, embodiments and possibilities of the invention are described below with reference to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the schematic drawing. Show it

Fig. 1

a device according to the invention in longitudinal section of the immersion cylinder,

Fig. 2

2 shows a partial sectional view according to BB in FIG. 1,

Fig. 3

sections of the longitudinal section view according to CC in Fig. 1,

4A and B

in partial longitudinal section or in cross section AA the immersion cylinder of a device according to the invention with flying toothed roller bearings,

5 - 7

a device according to the invention with a tripod submersible pump at the station of a round stencil printing machine and

8-10

a device according to the invention with submersible pump movement device and wash pipe.

1, a device 1 according to the invention comprises a submersible pump with a long, circular cylindrical tube submersible cylinder 31, which is attached to a three-phase motor 34 at the submerged upper edge with a flange 38 is. The drive axis of the motor 34 is axially parallel to the cylinder axis 43, the two axes being at least almost aligned. Compared to the length of the submersible cylinder, the motor 34 forms a relatively short pump head part with a housing transverse diameter which is only slightly larger than the cylinder diameter. A slim submersible pump unit 3 is thereby formed.

The immersion cylinder 31 is closed at its lower end with a stopper-like closure wall 36 which projects downward from the cylinder 31 with a spherical section surface forming a contact surface. In the lower third and end region of the cylinder 31, two toothed rollers 32, 33 forming conveyor elements are used. These extend parallel to the cylinder axis 43, the two toothed rollers which are in engagement in the central region of the cylinder 31 being provided with the same lengths and diameters. As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the toothed roller diameter is slightly smaller than half the inner diameter of the cylinder, so that narrow conveyor gaps 311 are formed between toothed rollers 32, 33 and the inner wall of the cylinder, the tooth crowns of the rotating rollers reaching tangentially to longitudinal line sections of the inner circumference of the cylinder . It is essential that the gap distances between the tooth crowns and the inner wall of the cylinder remain constant, so that contact of the teeth with the inner wall of the cylinder is excluded. This is achieved in that the toothed rollers 32, 33 are mounted axially. The toothed roller end face slidably rotatably against the flat inner surface of the closure wall 36 and against a pivot bearing part 350. Only the one toothed roller 32 is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the motor drive by means of a bearing shaft 35, the bearing shaft being passed through bearings 351 of the bearing part 350 and a bore in the flange 38. The half-spaces 312, 313 formed between the toothed rollers 32, 33, the inner wall of the cylinder and the end faces of the parts 36, 350 and separated by the toothed rollers form an assembly. Discharge area for promoted substance, thereby pressed through column 311. 2, substance 6 is conveyed through the opening 360 into the space 312 and is conveyed upward out of the space 313. The space 313 is only open at the top via a riser 314, which opens into the passage opening 380 at the upper end of the cylinder 31. It is particularly expedient to also operate the submersible pump unit 3 with a motor 34 which can be switched in the drive direction in order to convey substance and / or cleaning liquid from the opening 380 to the opening 360.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 4A and 4B, there is the special feature that the toothed rollers 32, 33 are axially supported on the bearing part 350 only on one side. In the case of this floating bearing, the axial bearing on the closure wall 36 is omitted. There, the end faces of the rollers lie only on the flat inner wall in such a way that they can rotate and slide.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, a lamellar ring 37, which can be moved along this in a sliding sealing system, is placed over the outer circumference of the immersion cylinder 31 for stripping off substance.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, a device according to the invention comprises a movement device connected to the submersible pump unit 3.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 5 to 7, the submersible pump unit 3 is attached to a stand arm 39 of a telescopic stand stand 53. It is particularly useful that the submersible pump 3 is detachably attached to, for example, a bearing plate of the stand arm. The tripod stand 53 with the height-adjustable arm 39 is advantageously arranged directly on the side of a printing press 8 in the area under the printing station round template 81 and, if appropriate, also expediently along the Machine 8 or the like can be moved by means of a rail (not shown). A very short pressure line in the form of, for example, a flexible hose 7 is reached between the pump opening 380 and the connection 71 of a distribution pipe (paint pipe) 75 of the round template 81. The pressure line 7 can be quickly and easily connected or detached from the opening 380 and the connection of the distribution pipe 75 by means of connection couplings (not shown). The device 1 according to the invention with the telescopic tripod 53 arranged on the machine 8 allows the use of containers of different sizes directly at the machine workstation, it being very advantageous, for example for collection prints, to be able to use relatively small storage containers, for example 20 liter containers .

During operation (FIG. 5), the curved end wall 36 (FIG. 1) advantageously stands with its spherical apex surface on the bottom of the container 2, substance being conveyed from the deepest region of the container 2 through the opening 360 located higher on the spherical surface.

By means of the telescopic stand 53, the submersible pump unit 3 is conveniently immersed in the container 2 or guided out of it. In Fig. 6 the unit 3 is shown in the submerged top position.

Depending on the circumstances, it is also advantageous due to the slim dip tubes made possible by the construction according to the invention to operate a device 1 with a submersible pump stand 53 in combination with a container under a floor surface, such as a lattice floor or the like, the dip tube 31 being connected by a relatively small floor opening can be inserted (Fig. 7). Instead of this or in addition with the arrangement of the container 2 above the floor surface, it is also very advantageous to operate the immersion tube 31 with a substance collecting trough or the like arranged under the floor surface in order to remove residual substance from the machine supply system Pump out (paint tube) and discharge into a closed collecting system. The floor area remains free of lines that endanger occupational safety.

When the immersion cylinder 31 is brought out of the container 2, the sleeve 37 is brought from an upper position into the lower position shown in FIG. 6 in order to remove substance from the cylinder 31.

8 to 10 illustrate the embodiment of a device 1 according to the invention with a stand 54 set up next to the printing press 8. The immersion pump unit 3 is suspended from such a stand 54, for example by means of a suspension element 390 (FIG. 1), via a rope and over a relatively large height can be raised and lowered. This allows containers with a relatively large volume to be used. The pressure line 7 connected to the unit 3 is in a simple manner between the stand 54 and the printing machine 8 or - in the broken line - out over the stand head to the printing machine 8, the line 7 being led so high that the space is accessible under it . By means of the lifting / lowering device 54, the immersion tube 31 is lowered until it stands on the floor container or, when the container 2 is emptied, is brought into the position above it. The stand 54 is equipped with a swiveling device which can be rotated about its standing axis. This has the advantage that the submersible pump unit 3 can be pivoted in the position lifted out of the container 2 via a washing pipe 74 arranged on the stand 54. The washing tube 74 is part of the device 1 and its length and diameter are adapted to the immersion cylinder 31, and because of the narrow and slim design of the immersion tube 31, it is relatively small and therefore space-saving. After lowering the dip tube 31 into the washing tube 74, the dip tube 31 is cleaned.

The internal cleaning of the immersion tube 31 takes place in that the line 7 connected to the opening 380 is connected at its other end to a water connection 73. By switching the direction of motor rotation, water is conveyed at the opening 380 through the pipe 31 to the opening 360 and collected with the washing pipe 74. For the external cleaning of the immersion cylinder 31, the washing pipe 74 preferably comprises an inner spray nozzle ring and floor nozzles which can be connected to a pressurized water connection. Such a washing pipe is also relatively small due to the slim, elongated immersion cylinder. Of course, the connections and / or the directional operation of the motor 34 can be changed for cleaning according to the respective circumstances and optionally manufactured.

Before the pump unit 3 is lifted out of the container 2, the conveying direction is reversed by means of a motor which can be switched in the direction of rotation, in order to pump residual substance back into the container from the distribution system with the line 7 connected to the substance tube 75 at 71. After the unit 3 has been translated into the washing pipe 74, water fed to the washing pipe 74 can be pumped into the distribution system for cleaning by reversing the conveying direction.

According to embodiments that are not shown, a device according to the invention can of course also be equipped with an inclined pump unit 3, such a device advantageously being designed with a correspondingly inclined washing pipe.

Claims (14)

1. Installation/appliance (1) for feeding of flow-capable substances to a printing- or coating machine (8) or to any other substance-consuming machine comprising a substance-conveying pump (3) with active in-gear conveying elements as toothed wheel- or toothed roller elements (32, 33) or such other displacement bodies, at which the conveying elements are axis-born in firm distance one to each other and at least one of the conveying elements is driven via one from a pump motor (34) driven bearing shaft (35, characterized in, that the appliance is configurated as a diving pump with a long extending circular-cylindrical cased or jacketed hollow body, like a pipe (31) or similar for diving into a substance (6), which on its upper diving-free end is fixed to the pump motor (34) and on the lower diving end is locked with a frontal sealing wall, that an upper substance inlet orifice (aperture) (380) is configurated in the range of the dive-free end, that in the jacketed hollow body in the range of its diving end are dispositioned the conveying elements as toothed roller, toothed wheels (32, 33) or similar - and that is configurated, in the marginal zone of the plunging hollow body's end, a lower substance through-flow aperture (360).
2. Appliance according to claim 1, characterized in, that the conveying elements, like preferrably toothed rollers (32, 33) are born, on their frontal sides which are facing the motor drive, by flying unilateral axial bearing.
3. Appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in, that a sole drive bearing shaft (35), connected to a conveying element, like a toothed roller (32), without gear directly is united, rotation-proof, with a motor drive shaft.
4. Appliance according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in, that the substance through-flow aperture (360) is configurated in the obturating wall (36) and that the obturating wall (36) is protruding from the hollow body (31) with a rounded or concaved, preferrably spherically formed sectional part, which formes one - the lower substance through-flow aperture (360) free leaving resting surface.
5. Appliance acc. to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in, that externally, over the circular-cilindrical jacketed hollow body (31) is set a substance/stripping element (37) like a lamellar ring, a sleeve or similar, which can be slide-moved alongside the hollow body.
6. Appliance acc.to one of claims 1 to 5, caracterized in, that the external diameter of the jacketed hollow body (31) is equivalent to about 80 - 150 mm considering a hollow bodies' length of ab. 250 - 1000 mm.
7. Appliance acc.to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in, that it comprises a post-, stand- or lifting device (53, 54), on which the diving pump is preferrably fixed by means of a bearing part (39), a suspension element (390) or similar, being the diving pump maintained , by means of the post-, stand- or lifting device (53,54) in vertical and/or horizontal movement as well as, if required, in pivotable movement.
8. Appliance according to claim 7, characterized in, that the stand device (53) is dispositioned directly adjacent (laterally) to a substance consuming machine or installation, as for ex. to a printing-/coating machine (8).
9. Appliance acc.to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in, that the conveying elements are configurated as toothed rollers (32, 33), at which the teeth of each toothed roller (32, 33) respectively reach contactlessly the interior wall of the pump hollow body solely in the range of the toothed roller' angle point situated opposite the range of gear of the toothed rollers, forming so a conveying gap (311) whereas the remaining space (312, 313) between the hollow body's interior wall and the toothed rollers is widened-up by the hollow space in such a way that the clear distances between the angle points and the hollow body' interior wall represent a multiple of the conveying gap width (311).
10. Appliance according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in, that the gearing length of the conveying elements (32, 33) alongside the extension of the hollow body represent for a multiple of the rotation diameters of the conveying elements.
11. Appliance to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in, that the appliance comprises a washing pipe (74) adapted - with its interior dimensions - to the circular-cylindrical jacketed hollow body (31), the same used for interior - and/or exterior cleaning of the diving-jacketed hollow body, at which the same may be dipped, over ist entire length into the washing pipe.
12. Appliance according to claim 11, characterized in, that in the washing pipe (74) are dispositioned, for external cleaning of the jacketed hollow body (31) one the former wrapping spraying nozzle ring as well as preferrably further to that, bottom nozzles for cleaning of the lower substance through-flow aperture (360) constituting frontal sealing or obturating wall (36).
13. Appliance according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in, that the jacketed hollow body (31) consists of synthetic material, which preferrably is provided, at least on the external circumference, with a surface of high slide-capable effect for substances, if required, coated with a gliding agent, polished surface or similar formed surface.
14. Appliance according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in, that it comprises a pump motor (34), which in direction of rotation is commutable and/or steplessly regulable.

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