GB1156209A - Multi-Colour Printing Machine - Google Patents

Abstract

1,156,209. Screen - stencilling machines. POLYPRINT Ltd. 14 Oct., 1966 [15 Oct., 1965], No. 43892/65. Heading B6C. In a step-by-step multi-colour stencilling machine for printing on the surfaces of bottles, preferably plastic bottles, each article is progressively moved from a feeding device 10 to an off-loading position 11 by an intermittently movable conveyer assembly 5. Each bottle, which is manufactured with a peg formed in a recess in its base, is fed into a hydraulicallyoperated chuck-like carrier in such a manner that a locating element on the carrier engages the peg for registration purposes. Each bottle is filled with air introduced via its carrier on arrival at a printing station and is hydraulically raised at each printing station A, B, C or D into contact with a silk-screen which, during the printing operation, reciprocates lengthwise of the conveyer. The squeegee and wiper associated with each screen are automatically operable relative thereto. Prior to moving to the first printing station each bottle is passed whilst rotating about its axis through an automatically operating flame device. The conveyer comprises parallel endless chains which are movable relative to each other laterally in order to accommodate bottles of various heights. The machine is automatically operable by associated electric, pneumatic and hydraulic means. Electric drying means are provided after each printing station and, through microswitches, should a bottle not be present in any one carrier at any one printing station, the hydraulic lifting means are not actuated and the air-filling device remains inactive. Means may also be provided to predetermine the time of the lowering of a bottle from a silk-screen after a printing operation in order that the period during which a bottle is in printing engagement with a screen may be different at different printing stations.