EP1348552B1 - Insert in an ink fountain of a printing press - Google Patents

Abstract

The ink box of the roller-type printing press (10) has an outer container with a floor and side walls forming a cavity, and an aperture with the edges of the side walls round it. These edges run all the way round the aperture, thus forming the edges of the aperture too. The ink box contains at least one ink-receiving insert.

Description

The invention relates to a color box for a printing machine, according to the preamble of claim 1. Furthermore, the invention relates to a printing machine with at least one ink fountain according to the preamble of claim. 6

Printing machines, in particular web-fed printing presses, have at least one ink fountain. The ink fountain is filled with a respective color required for printing, in particular printing ink. In order to ensure the supply of color to the printing press, an ink roller assigned to each ink fountain is wetted by partial immersion in the ink fountain at the surface with the respective ink. The color thus taken from the ink fountain is passed on to other organs of the printing press.

From the DE-A-195 30 958 and the EP-A-0 508 031 Color boxes are known which have inserts for receiving the paint, which are insertable into an outer container of the ink fountain. For filling with paint or in color changes and maintenance-related work, the inserts of the printing press can be removed.

Based on the above, the present invention seeks to provide a container and a use having ink fountain for a printing press and preferably a plurality of such color boxes having printing machine, with which quick and easy color changes without time-consuming cleaning are possible, contamination of the container is avoided and also the inserts are inexpensive to produce.

An ink fountain for solving this problem has the features of claim 1. Characterized in that a peripheral edge of the insert has an outwardly projecting, circumferential collar, the edge of the outer container is at least partially covered, preferably encompassed. Further, the use of the ink fountain is designed such that a bottom of the insert over its entire surface rests on the bottom of the outer container, wherein the collar of the insert does not rest on the edge of the outer container.

The collar or preferably a bead serve for a mechanical stabilization of the insert, so that the insert can be easily removed from the outer container. On the other hand, the collar prevents color from entering the space between the insert and the outer container of the ink fountain in an uncontrolled manner. By a full-surface opening of the insert finally the input or the refilling of color by the user in the color box provided with the insert is facilitated. In addition, it is ensured by this structural design that the use of the ink fountain is supported approximately over the entire surface on the bottom of the outer container of the ink fountain, so that the use itself must have no significant load-bearing properties. This is done by the preferably made of stainless steel outer container of the ink fountain. Therefore, a material with a relatively small wall thickness can be selected for the formation of the insert. Further, when cleaning, the user can more easily grasp the edge of the insert and remove it from the outer container.

The arrangement of the insert for receiving ink in the outer container of the ink fountain, a quick and easy cleaning of the ink fountain is guaranteed. Ideally, the cleaning of the ink fountain is unnecessary. In addition, resulting from the use of the ink box greatly reduced changeover times of the printing press and a lower environmental impact, because no cleaning cloths, cleaning agents or solvents must be used to clean the ink fountain, which results in a cost savings. During cleaning or a required color change, the insert is simply removed from the ink fountain and fed to the recycling circuit. Before refilling the color box of the printing press, a new insert is simply inserted into the outer container of the ink fountain. Then it is fill the color box with paint. However, the paint can also be filled in use when it is inserted into the (outer) container of the ink fountain.

Preferably, the ink fountain is designed such that it is adapted to the contour of the interior of the outer container substantially and preferably corresponds to the outer contour of the insert with the interior of the container. This ensures that the volume of the paint box is not significantly reduced by the use of the insert. Furthermore, it is ensured by this structural design that the use of attachments in connection with the ink fountain is not affected by the use of the insert.

Side walls extending from the bottom of the insert form an interior space, wherein upper edges of the side walls surround the full-area opening and form a peripheral edge of the opening of the insert. The side walls may be slightly conical, such that they diverge slightly towards the top edge. As a result, (empty) inserts can be stacked to save space.

According to a further embodiment of the ink fountain, the outer container and / or the insert on fastening means for fixing the insert in the outer container. As a result, an unwanted lifting of the insert during operation of the printing machine is avoided.

A further advantageous embodiment of the ink fountain is characterized in that the insert preferably has reinforcing elements in the area of the floor and / or the side walls. By this configuration, the insertion and the Wiederausausnahme of the insert from the outer container of the ink fountain is further facilitated.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the insert this is formed of a plastic material with a low material thickness. The plastic material ensures a high resistance of the insert according to the invention to chemically aggressive colors in printing technology. Due to the preferably low material thickness of the insert beyond a good adaptability of the same to the contour of the outer container of the ink fountain and minimizing the amount of waste to be disposed of ensured.

According to a further embodiment of the paint box according to the invention, the insert is preferably formed as a deep-drawn, trough-like molded body made of plastic material. With this configuration, a simple, fast and cost-effective production of the ink fountain in large quantities is possible.

A printing machine for solving the above-mentioned problem has the features of claim 6. Characterized in that the ink fountain is formed according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, a fast and thus cost-saving cleaning of the ink fountain according to the invention equipped printing machine, for example, in the case of a color change, to maintenance, but possibly also to refill new color guaranteed.

Fig. 1:

Eine schematische Seitenansicht einer Rollendruckmaschine mit Farbkästen,

Fig. 2:

eine vergrößerte Darstellung eines Teils der Rollendruckmaschine mit Farbkasten gemäß der Fig. 1 in einer perspektivischen Ansicht mit herausgezogenem Farbkasten ohne Einsatz,

Fig. 3:

eine vergrößerte Ansicht des Farbkastens mit einem strichliniert angedeuteten Einsatz, und

Fig. 4:

ein Querschnitt durch äußeren Behälter des Farbkastens mit Einsatz gemäß der Fig. 3.

A preferred embodiment of the ink fountain according to the invention will be described below with reference to the drawing. In the drawing show:

Fig. 1:

A schematic side view of a web-fed printing press with color boxes,

Fig. 2:

an enlarged view of a portion of the web-fed inking machine according to the Fig. 1 in a perspective view with drawn out color box without insert,

3:

an enlarged view of the ink fountain with a dashed line indicated insert, and

4:

a cross section through outer container of the ink fountain with insert according to the Fig. 3 ,

The Fig. 1 shows a known printing machine 10 in a side view. The printing press 10 is essentially constructed from a feed unit 11, a plurality of similarly constructed printing units 12 and an output unit 13. Each printing unit 12 has one, for the sake of clarity in the Fig. 1 not shown, color box 14 on.

The Fig. 2 shows an example of a printing unit 12, in which a color box 14 can be inserted in the direction of the arrow 15. For the sake of clarity, the arranged in the ink fountain 14 use in the Fig. 2 not shown. The ink fountain 14 is under Others formed from an outer container 16 with a bottom 17 and extending from the bottom 17 side walls 18. The upper edges 19 of the side walls 18 form a peripheral edge 20 which defines an opening 21 of the outer container 16. Preferably, the outer container 16 of the ink fountain 14, as exemplified in the Fig. 2 shown, formed substantially cuboid, wherein the full-surface opening 21 facing upward. Notwithstanding the embodiment shown but other geometries of the outer container 16, for example, semi-cylindrical, conceivable. The peripheral edge 20 can, as from Fig. 2 it can be seen, some subsidence or recesses, for example, to provide space for organs for storage of a paint roller or other ancillary equipment.

The Fig. 3 shows the ink fountain 14 according to the invention with an insert 22 disposed therein for receiving the ink for the printing machine 10 in an enlarged view. The insert 22 can be inserted into the outer container 16 and easily removed after use. After complete drying of any color residues, the insert can be properly disposed of and recycled. A complex cleaning of the ink fountain 14 is eliminated. Furthermore, there is a conservation of environmental resources, because no cleaning rags, cleaning agents, solvents for cleaning are required.

The insert 22 has a bottom 23 and side walls 24 extending from the bottom 23 for forming an interior 25. Deviating from the representations in the Fig. 3 and 4 For example, the insert 22 may have slightly obliquely directed sidewalls 24 that are slightly divergent from the bottom 23. The upper edges 26 of the insert 22 form a peripheral edge 27 around a preferably full-surface opening 28 of the insert 22. The edge 27 preferably has a circumferential collar 29. The collar 29 may be arranged in sections or continuously on the edge 27. The collar 29 of the rim 27 on the one hand stabilizes the insert 22 mechanically and on the other facilitates the removal of the insert 22 from the outer container 16. Furthermore, the collar 29 prevents color from getting between the insert 22 and the outer container 16. How out Fig. 3 it can be seen, the insert 22 is formed corresponding to the interior of the outer container 16, such that the insert 22 with small gaps follows the contour of the interior of the outer container 16 or partially rests on the ink fountain 14 inside. As a result, the insert 22 hardly reduces the volume available for the ink in the ink fountain 14. In addition, the insert needs 22 due to the almost full-scale investment on the bottom 17 of the outer container 16 and thereby conditional support to have only a small material thickness, whereby the amount of waste is further reduced.

The Fig. 4 shows the edge 27 with the collar 29 is not on the edge 20 of the outer container 16, but extends at a distance approximately parallel to this. In this case, the bottom 23 of the insert 22 is preferably on the entire surface of the bottom 17 of the container 16. By means of this embodiment, the gripping of the insert 22 when removing it from the outer insert 16 is further facilitated. The collar 29 of the edge 27 of the insert 22 may alternatively but also over the entire surface or partially rest on the edge 20 of the outer container 16, wherein the bottom 23 of the insert 22 may be formed such that it does not or only 17 the bottom 17 of the outer container partially touched. In this embodiment, the insert 22 is "hooked" into the outer container. At the same time, the edge 27 of the insert 22 is mechanically better supported, because this at least partially rests on the edge 20 of the outer container 16.

The collar 29 of the peripheral edge 27 of the insert 22 can also be formed such that it the edge 20 of the outer container 16, as in Fig. 4 represented, embraces. For this purpose, the collar 29 has an approximately U-shaped cross section, which is open at the bottom. The collar 29 thereby forms a kind of beading of the edge 20 of the container 16. As a result, the mechanical stability of the rim 27 is further increased, ensures a tight fit of the insert 22 in the outer container 16 and at the same time improves the removability of the insert 22. Furthermore, additional reinforcing elements in the region of the bottom 23 and / or the side walls 24 of the insert 22, such as beads or shapes, can be provided. Such reinforcing elements are for clarity in the Fig. 4 not shown in detail. Furthermore, it is possible in the Fig. 4 not shown, provide additional fastening means, for example in the region of the peripheral edge 27 of the insert 22 and the edge 20 of the outer container 16 to prevent accidental lifting of the insert 22 in the outer container 16 during operation of the printing press 10.

The Fig. 3 shows approximately semicircular recesses in opposite (narrow) side walls 18 of the ink fountain 14. The recesses extend from the upper edge 20 of the ink fountain 14. The insert 22 is formed corresponding to the recesses in the ink fountain 14. As a result, have opposite narrow side walls 24 of the insert 22 also via corresponding recesses extending from the edge 20. The trained as a bead collar 29 of the insert 22 preferably also extends over the course of the recesses, so that the recesses are surrounded by the collar 29 and the edges of the recesses in the ink fountain 14 from this associated region of the collar 29 are embraced approximately U-shaped as is the case in the remaining regions of the collar 29. Thus, it is reliably avoided even in the areas of the recesses that color from the insert 22 can get into the ink fountain 14.

The wall thickness of the insert 22 is up to 1 mm, preferably between 0.3 mm and 0.8 mm. The insert 22 is preferably made by deep drawing a thermoplastic material in a known manner. As a result, a good adaptability of the insert 22 is given to the contour of the interiors of different color boxes 14 of printing presses.

As a thermoplastic material for the manufacture of the insert 22, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) into consideration. Due to the high chemical resistance of these plastic materials, it is not necessary to use costly, corrosion-resistant materials such as stainless steel for the manufacture of the outer container 16 of the ink fountain 14 of the printing press 10, resulting in further savings. The insert 22 can also be made of other plastic materials, such as thermosets, silicones or any mixtures of thermoplastic and / or thermosetting plastic materials. It is also conceivable to use fiber-reinforced plastic materials in order to possibly increase the stability of the insert 22.

The function of the ink fountain 14 and the insert 22 will be described in more detail below:

Since the paint is in the insert 22, which is arranged in the ink fountain 14, the actual ink fountain 14 comes with no color in touch, so it stays clean. Color is only in use 22. In order to fill the ink fountain 14 of the color, in particular printing ink, the insert 22 is first inserted into the still empty ink fountain 14 and then filled into the insert 22, the color. But it is also conceivable to use the insert 22 together with the already filled in color in the ink fountain 14. It may be intended to open the mouth with paint filled insert 22 to close, for example, by a sealing foil, which is removed after insertion of the insert 22 in the ink fountain 14 and thereby releases the upper full-surface opening of the insert 22.

If, for example, the color to be removed from the ink fountain 14 for color change, this is done together with the insert 22. The insert 22 thus also serves to dispose of the color.

The paint is dried or cured prior to final disposal in the insert 22. The curing of color which is dried by ultraviolet light, is carried out by a brief irradiation of the color or the color remainder with ultraviolet rays, which can be done for example in a drying cabinet. After the paint has cured, it forms a solid unit with the insert 22, which as a whole can be disposed of.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10

press

11

feeding unit

12

printing units

13

output unit

14

paintbox

15

arrow

16

outer container

17

ground

18

Side wall

19

upper edge

20

edge

21

opening

22

commitment

23

ground

24

Side wall

25

inner space

26

edge

27

edge

28

opening

29

collar

Claims (6)

1. Ink fountain (14) for a printing press (10), in particular a web-fed printing press, having an outer container (16) which has a bottom (17), side walls (18) which start from the bottom (17) in order to form an inner space, and an opening (21) which is surrounded by upper edges (19) of the side walls (18), the upper edges (19) of the side walls (18) forming a circumferential edge (20) of the opening (21), and at least one insert (22) for receiving ink being arranged in the ink fountain (14), which insert (22) has a bottom (23) and side walls (24) which start from the bottom (23) in order to form an inner space (25), and a full-surface-area opening (28) which is surrounded by upper edges (26) of the side walls (18) and has a circumferential edge (27) which is formed by the upper edges (26), characterized in that the edge (27) of the insert (22) has a circumferential collar (29) which is configured so as to project to the outside in such a way that the collar (29) covers the edge (20) of the outer container (16) at least in sections, and in such a way that the bottom (23) of the insert (22) lies over its full surface area on the bottom (17) of the outer container (16), the collar (29) not lying on the edge (20) of the outer container (16).
2. Ink fountain (14) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the insert (22) is adapted to the contour of the inner space of the outer container (16) by the outer contour of the insert (22) corresponding with the inner space of the outer container (16).
3. Ink fountain (14) according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the outer container (16) and/or the insert (22) have/has fastening means for fastening the insert (22) in the outer container (16).
4. Ink fountain (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the insert (22) is formed in a liquid-tight manner and from ink-resistant material, preferably the insert (22) is formed from a plastic material which can be deep-drawn and has a small material thickness, it being possible, in particular, for the insert (22) to be folded up after it has been removed from the outer container (16).
5. Ink fountain (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the insert (22) has reinforcing elements in the region of the bottom (23) and/or the side walls (24).
6. Printing press (10), in particular web-fed printing press, having at least one ink fountain (14), characterized in that the ink fountain (14) is configured according to at least one of Claims 1 to 5.

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