EP1468825B1

EP1468825B1 - Tubular decorating means

Info

Publication number: EP1468825B1
Application number: EP04003990A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Giancarlo Fiandri; Valdo Vittorio Elmetti
Original assignee: TECNO ITALIA Srl
Current assignee: TECNO-ITALIA Srl
Priority date: 2003-02-24
Filing date: 2004-02-23
Publication date: 2011-06-15
Anticipated expiration: 2024-02-23
Also published as: ES2369638T3; ITMO20030041A0; ITMO20030041A1; EP1468825A1

Description

The invention relates to tubular decorating means, particularly for decorating ceramic products.
Exist in the prior art silk-screen printing machines provided with silk-screen printing screens formed by a tubular skirt coupled with end flanges. The screens can be internally coupled with a pair of struts that are suitable for keeping the screens tightened during storage and are arranged to be removed when the screens are assembled on the aforementioned silkscreen printing machines in operating conditions.
The tubular skirt is permanently connected to the end flanges, for example by means of gluing.
This makes the above-disclosed silkscreen printing screens bulky and difficult to transport.
Furthermore, printing rollers are known for decorating flexo-printing machines of ceramic tiles, comprising a tubular decorating element, externally carved so as to define a decorative pattern to be printed on the tiles.
Also in these printing rollers, are internally provided tensioning struts that must be removed when the rollers are mounted on the decorating machines.
Analogously to the above-disclosed silkscreen printing screens, the printing rollers are rather bulky, which makes transport and storage difficult.
Furthermore, at the moment of mounting, the aforementioned printing rollers must be axially tightened so as to distance from one another the end flanges with which the aforementioned printing rollers are provided. Tightening is rather critical, inasmuch as it may cause the deformation of the decorative pattern and, therefore, negatively affect print quality.
Such printing rollers, being flabby, may be subjected to ovalization or to torsional deformation during operation.
In order to compensate for this drawback, printing rollers have been developed having a greater rigidity, the printing rollers comprise a support body made of plastic material, for example a polymeric resin, having the form of a hollow cylinder, on the outside of which is provided a tubular body made of elastomeric material, such as silicon, for example. The tubular body is provided with a smooth external surface arranged to interact with a visible face of the ceramic products to be decorated. On the aforementioned external surface a plurality of cavities is formed, obtained for example by means of laser beam engraving, which cavities are arranged according to a preset pattern to be impressed on the aforementioned visible face.
Opposite ends of the support body are solidly fixed, for example by means of gluing, to flanges suitable for enabling the roller to be mounted on a decorating machine.
The above-disclosed printing rollers do not substantially have deformations or ovalizations during use.
Such printing rollers, however, are rather bulky and hard to handle.
A further drawback of the aforementioned printing rollers consists of a certain manufacturing complexity due, in particular, to difficulties with which may meet fixing the tubular body to the support body.
From US-A-4 044 669 it is known a printing roller according to the preamble of claim 1.
An object of the invention is to improve the tubular decorating means of the prior art.
Another object of the invention is to obtain tubular decorating means having reduced dimensions.
A further object of the invention is to obtain tubular decorating means easier to transport.
A further object of the invention is to obtain tubular decorating means having great rigidity and being particularly easy to manufacture.
According to the invention, there is provided roller decorating means for decorating items, comprising tubular transferring means arranged to transfer a decorating product to said items, supporting means associated with said tubular transferring means and fixing means arranged to fix said tubular transferring means to said supporting means, said fixing means comprising elastic connecting means arranged to press said tubular transferring means against said supporting means, characterized in that said elastic connecting means comprises lamina means arranged to movably fix said tubular transferring means to said supporting means, said lamina means defining sleeve means that are elastically deformable, said supporting means comprises wall means defining chamber means arranged to receive ends of said tubular transferring means, said lamina means being associable with said supporting means in such a way that said ends are interposed between said lamina means and said wall means. In one embodiment, said supporting means comprises a pair of flanges each one of which is suitable for being associated with a respective end of the tubular transferring means.
In a further embodiment, the elastic connecting means comprises a pair of elastic sleeves suitable for being inserted inside the tubular transferring means and for being positioned in such a way that each one of the aforementioned ends of the tubular transferring means is interposed between one of the aforementioned elastic sleeves and a wall delimiting the flange, so as to movably fix the tubular transferring means to the flanges.
Owing to this aspect of the invention, it is possible to obtain roller decorating means provided with tubular transferring means that can be separated from the respective supporting means when the roller decorating means has to be stored and/or transported.
The tubular transferring means may therefore take on a folded configuration that enables its dimensions to be significantly limited.
In one embodiment, the flexible supporting means is made of a material that is substantially inextensible and preferably geometrically stable at least in the absence of external forces.
In another embodiment, the flexible supporting means comprises a plastic laminate.
In a further embodiment, the aforementioned plastic laminate comprises a plurality of through holes.
The flexible supporting means is made of a material sufficiently rigid so as to ensure that a regular cylindrical form is maintained when the roller is not subjected to external forces, as occurs for example during handling, storage and during phases of mounting on and dismounting from a decorating machine.
The invention may be better understood and implemented with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate some exemplifying and not limiting embodiments thereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a partially sectioned side view of tubular decorating means according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-section taken along the plane II-II of Figure 1;

With reference to Figures 1 and 2, it is shown roller decorating means 1 comprising sleeve decorating means 2 suitable for transferring a decorating product onto an item to be decorated, for example a ceramic support.
The sleeve decorating means 2 can comprise a silkscreen printing screen, or a skirt in elastomeric material, or finally a skirt in elastomeric material inside which a laminar element in a material flexible and substantially inextensible is embedded, as will be better disclosed below.
The roller decorating means 1 further comprises a pair of flanges 4 associable with opposite ends 5 of the sleeve decorating means 2 to enable the roller decorating means 1 to be mounted on decorating machines.
The roller decorating means 1 further comprises elastic connecting means 6 arranged to movably fix the ends 5 to the flanges 4.
The flanges 4 comprise walls 7 defining cylindrical chambers 51 arranged to receive the ends 5.
The elastic connecting means 6 comprises a pair of laminas 8 that can be folded in such a way as to form sleeves 10 arranged to press the ends 5 against the walls 7.
As shown in Figure 2, the laminas 8 may take on a folded mounting configuration, indicated by A, in which they can be positioned in relation to the walls 7, and an extended locking configuration, indicated by B, in which they fix the sleeve decorating means 2 to the flanges 4.
During mounting the roller decorating means 1, first of all, an end 5 is inserted inside the cylindrical chamber 51 of the respective flange 4.
Next, a lamina 8 is taken into the folded mounting configuration A and inserted inside the sleeve decorating means 2 by an opening 9 obtained in the flange 4.
The lamina 8 can be manually maintained by an operator in the folded mounting configuration A.
The aforementioned operator then releases the lamina 8, after positioning it, in such a way that the latter takes on the extended locking configuration B.
To dismount the roller decorating means 1, operations analogous to the above-disclosed ones are followed.
First of all, it is possible to act on the sleeve 10, by inserting a hand through the opening 9, so as to take it from the extended locking configuration B to the folded mounting configuration A.
Subsequently, the flange 4 is separated from the sleeve decorating means 2 and lastly the lamina 8 is removed.
The sleeve decorating means 2 is provided, at each end 5, with a first groove 11 and with a second groove 12.
Each flange 4 is provided, at the wall 7, with a first projecting element 13 and with a second projecting element 14 both arranged to be received respectively in the first groove 11 and in the second groove 12.
The first groove 11, the second groove 12, the first projecting element 13 and the second projecting element 14 thus act as fixing promoting means arranged to improve adhesion of sleeve decorating means 2 to the flanges 4.

Claims

Roller decorating means for decorating items, comprising tubular transferring means (2) arranged to transfer a decorating product to said items, supporting means (4) associated with said tubular transferring means (2) and fixing means arranged to fix said tubular transferring means (2) to said supporting means (4), said fixing means comprising elastic connecting means (6) arranged to press said tubular transferring means (2) against said supporting means (4), characterized in that said elastic connecting means (6) comprises lamina means (8) arranged to movably fix said tubular transferring means (2) to said supporting means (4), said lamina means (8) defining sleeve means (10) that are elastically deformable, said supporting means (4) comprises wall means (7) defining chamber means (51) arranged to receive ends (5) of said tubular transferring means (2), said lamina means (8) being associable with said supporting means (4) in such a way that said ends (5) are interposed between said lamina means (8) and said wall means (7).
Roller decorating means according to claim 1, wherein said lamina means (8) is elastically deformable so as to arrange itself in such a way as to be associable in a shapingly coupled manner with said wall means (7).
Roller decorating means according to claim 1, or 2, and further comprising fixing promoting means (11, 12, 13, 14) arranged to improve the adhesion of said tubular transferring means (2) to said supporting means (4).
Roller decorating means according to claim 3, wherein said fixing promoting means comprises projecting elements (13, 14) protruding from said wall means (7) and cooperating with relative grooves (10, 11) obtained in said tubular transferring means (2).
Roller decorating means according to claim 3, wherein said fixing promoting means comprises grooves obtained in said wall means (7) and suitable for receiving respective projecting elements protruding from said flexible transferring means (2).
Roller decorating means according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said tubular transferring means (2) comprises flexible supporting means (17) and printing means (18) associated with said flexible supporting means (17) in such a way that the supporting means (17) is embedded in said printing means (18).
Roller decorating means according to claim 6, wherein said flexible supporting means (17) comprises a plurality of through holes (19).
Roller decorating means according to claim 6, or 7, wherein said flexible supporting means (17) is made of a material that is substantially inextensible and preferably geometrically stable, at least in the absence of external forces.
Roller decorating means according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein said flexible supporting means comprises a plastic laminate (17).
Roller decorating means according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein said printing means (18) comprises an elastomeric material.
Roller decorating means according to claim 10, wherein said elastomeric material comprises silicon rubber.