GB2146391A

GB2146391A - Device for providing the lubricating points of machines with lubricant

Info

Publication number: GB2146391A
Application number: GB08421709A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hans-Jurgen Kusch
Original assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Current assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Priority date: 1983-09-08
Filing date: 1984-08-28
Publication date: 1985-04-17
Also published as: JPS6071797U; GB8421709D0; FR2551838B1; JPS6312314Y2; ES534945A0; GB2146391B; FR2551838A1; ES8503813A1; DE8325802U1

Abstract

The invention provides a device for supplying lubricant to lubricating points of machines, particularly gear-wheels of transmissions of small offset-printing machines. For this purpose, a lubricant container (14) having a lubricant delivery opening (18) directed towards the component(s) to be lubricated is mounted detachably, and therefore exchangeably, on one or more appropriate stationary components (e.g. 16) of the machine, in the region of the gear-wheels or other components to be lubricated. To effect the application of lubricant, transmission means (21) are provided which are manually actuatable from the outside of the machine and which act upon the release mechanism (24). The transmission means can be either a pivotable lever (21) or a solenoid. The supply of lubricant is thus precisely meterable, i.e. it can always be suited to the requirements existing at any instant, and also lubricant can be supplied in a simple manner at any time, and thus even while the machine is running. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Device for providing the lubricating points of machines with lubricant Summary The invention provides a device for supplying lubricant to lubricating points of machines, particularly gear-wheels of transmissions of small offset-printing machines. For this purpose, a lubricant container (14) having a lubricant delivery opening (18) directed towards the component(s) to be lubricated is mounted detachably, and therefore exchangeably, on one or more appropriate stationary components (e.g. 16) of the machine, in the region of the gear-wheels or other components to be lubricated.

To effect the application of lubricant, transmission means (21,28) are provided which are manually actuatablefrom the outside of the machine and which act upon the release mechanism (24). The supply of lubricant is thus precisely meterable, i.e. it can always be suited to the requirements existing at any instant, and also lubricant can be supplied in a simple manner at any time, and thus even while the machine is running.

The present invention relates to a device for providing lubricating points of machines with lubricant, especially lubricating points of toothed gears of driving chains of small offset-printing machines.

With large machines, the problem of providing a sufficient lubrication of toothed wheels, bearings, and gears, for example, is, as a rule, solved by providing a centralized lubrication system, from which the various lubricant-consuming points are served via appropraite lubricant pipes. With small plants or machines, cost considerations will usually not permit such an expensive method of lubrication.

Therefore less expensive solutions are generally adopted, according to which the lubricant is applied at the relevant lubrication point either by means of a lubricant pencil or a similar implement or by drawing the necessary quantity of lubricant directly from the lubricant supply reservoir. Another quite usual method is the lubrication of toothed gears on a drip-feed basis by means of a wick oiler.

The first method, i.e. the manual application of the necessary lubricant quantities, requies a great amount of care and skill, as an improper and/or inexpert handling of the lubricant is liable to entail serious contamination of the machinery. Owing to the trouble involved in applying the lubricant, the lubrication requirements, as a whole, are often neglected. An insufficient or incorrectly applied lubricating film often entails premature wear and tear, however, e.g. on the flanks of the toothed wheels. For safety reasons it is also imperative to carry out such a method of lubrication exclusively when the pertinent machines are out of operation.

The wick or pad lubrication referred to above permits only an indeterminate lubrication. In multiple applications this system conveys either too much or too little lubricant. In addition to this, only those lubricants which have a certain viscosity can be used if one is to take advantage at all of the suction or wick effect.

Another possibility of effecting lubrication consists, finally, in the use of "automatic lubricant dispensers". These consist, generally, of a fully enclosed lubricant tank which by means of an appropriate form of connecting screw thread is screwed to the consuming component(s), while through the intermediary of an internal pressure system the lubricant is continuously fed, during a certain interval, to the relevant consumer component(s). These automatic lubricant dispensers are especially appropriate to more or less enclosed lubrication areas. The quantity of lubricant which during the daily predetermined dispensing interval is continuously discharged from the tank does not make allowance for the actually existing and perhaps significantly changing requirements. In addition to this, the quantity of lubricant dispensed is largely dependant on the ambient temperature.

Thus, an insufficient supply or possibly an excessive supply, at least for a short period of time, cannot be excluded.

Proceeding from this state of the art, the present invention approaches the problem of providing an alternative, according to which the primary objective, i.e. to provide the toothed gears of the drive chain in small offset printing machines with an adequate amount of lubricant, is dealt with in such a way as to provide safe and reliable lubrication even during the operation of the machine, while, in addition to this, aiming to ensure that the lubricant is fed to the specific point concerned, and that the quantities released are in accordance with the actual requirements, thus also being independent of fluctuations of ambient temperatures.

The present invention provides a device the characteristics of which are set out in claim 1 (q.v.).

Thus a lubricant supplying device is provided which involves only a modest constructional effort, and which is thus very much an economic proposition, despite the fact that it is highly efficacious.

Moreover the supplying of lubricant can be effected in a simple manner, its metering being precisely controllable, and compatible also with sudden changes in requirements.

The figures of the accompanying drawing show two embodiments of the invention. Thus: Figure 1 is a side view of a small offset printing machine provided with a lubricant supply system according to the present invention, and Figure 2 illustrates the upper section of the offset machine incorporating a modified version of the lubricant supply system.

The essential constructive elements of the machine illustrated in Figure 1 are: The feed pile (1) consisting of the paper sheets to be printed (10); the feeding device (2) delivering the paper sheets to the printing attachment; an inking attachment (3), and a humidifying attachment (4), which ink the plate cylinder (6) via the inking cylinder (5); the plate cylinder (6), for its part, transfers the print pattern to the rubber cylinder (7), from where, owing to the pressure of the counterpressure cylinder (8), the said pattern is transferred to the paper sheet (10). The subsequent chain delivery conveyor (9) conveys the individual paper sheets (10) to the delivery pile (11).

The various operating functions of the machine are initiated and/or controlled via the control panel (12) located at the side-panel of the printing machine.

As a rule, the actuation of the individual cylinders and rollers representing the whole drive chain system is effected through helical gear wheels which are in constant mesh with each other and which are arranged on the same shaft as the relative cylinder but which, for the sake of simplicity, are not represented here.

For the purpose of the supplying of the required lubricant, one embodiment of the invention comprises a lubricant container (14) which is allocated to the toothed wheel fixed on the shaft (13) of the rubber cylinder (7). This lubricant tank is arranged, by means of a holding device (15), on one of the side-panels (16) of the machine. The use of holding or fixing clamps (17) permits an easy exchange of the lubricant container (14). The lubricant delivery opening (18) is directed towards the said toothed wheel of the drive chain, in the immediate vicinity of a subsequent point of engagement (19) comprising an additional toothed gear.

Forthe purpose of releasing the lubricant supply, a control lever (21) is provided which is located in the interior space of the machine and pivoted on the fulcrum (20) attheside-panel (16). The manually operated end (22) of the control lever protrudes slightly from the posterior limitation of the machine; thus it protrudes at a point accessible to the operator. The control lever (21) is, additionally, provided with a releasing cam (23) which acts upon the releasing mechanism (24) of the lubricant container. The said releasing mechanism responds to the pressure exercised by the said releasing cam. A tension spring (25) and a detent (26) determine the rest position of the control lever (21).

Thus, lubricant supply can be ensured during the operation of the machine. The lubricant is supplied always to the point where it is needed, while the interval between the individual lubrication phases as well as their duration can be freely determined and set by the operator.

Another embodiment is shown in Figure 2. While the constructive elements do not differ from the first-named version, the embodiment described here comprises a solenoid or electromagnet (28) assigned to the lubricant container (14) and fixed to the side-panel (16) of the machine by means of a holding device (27). The upper part (29) of the solenoid or electromagnet (28) which, when released, moves in the direction of the arrow, acts again upon the releasing mechanism (24) of the lubricant tank (14).

As mentioned above, the said releasing mechanism responds to the pressure exercised by the releasing cam.

A lead or fender (30) connected to the solenoid or electromagnet (28) leads to a switch (31) mounted on the electric control panel (12) for the individual functions of the machine. By means of this switch, both time and duration of the activation of the solenoid or electromagnet (28) can be manually determined.

Proceeding from the basic principle underlying the present invention, it is of course possible to use various types and configurations of lubricant containers, e.g. lubricant containers afforded by atomizers, or by lubricators like grease guns. This may, of course, entail the necessity of modifying also the various actuating devices for the lubricant-releasing mechanism (24). This is, however, still comprised within the overall ambit of the present invention.

List of components 1. Feed pile 2. Feeding device 3. Inking attachment 4. Humidifying attachment 5. Inking cylinder 6. Plate cylinder 7. Rubber cylinder 8. Counterpressure cylinder 9. Chain delivery conveyor 10. Paper sheet 11. Delivery pile 12. Control panel 13. Shaft 14. Lubricant container 15. Holding device 16. Side panel 17. Clamps 18. Lubricant delivery opening 19. Point of engagement 20. Fulcrum 21. Control lever 22. End of control lever 23. Releasing cam 24. Releasing mechanism 25. Tension spring 26. Detent 27. Holding device 28. Solenoid or electromagnet 29. Upper part of 28 30. Feeder 31. Switch

Claims

1. A device for supplying lubricants to toothed wheels of drive chains in small offset-printing machines, or to other lubricating points of machines, wherein a lubricant container (14) is fixed in a detachable and hence exchangeable mode to a stationary component of the machine, in the region of the component(s) to be lubricated, the lubricant delivery opening (18) of the container being directed towards the said component(s) to be lubricated, and wherein, for the purpose of releasing the lubricant, transfer means (21,28) are provided which can be operated from outside the machine and which act upon a lubricant-releasing mechanism (24) of the device.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer means (21,28) are manually actuated.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant delivery opening (18) is directed towards a toothed driving wheel of a rubber cylinder (7) of a small offset-printing machine.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein a control lever (21) pivoted on a fulcrum (20) is provided, and has an actuating end (22) which protrudes from the machine at a point accessible to the operator, and wherein a releasing cam (23) of the control lever (21) is disposed in a position to act upon the releasing mechanism (24) of the lubricant container (14), to release the lubricant for the desired duration.

5. A device according to claim 1, wherein in the region of lubricant-releasing mechanism (24), a solenoid or electromagnet (28) is provided which is fixed on a lateral or side-panel (16) of the machine and which acts upon the said releasing mechanism (24), this solenoid or electromagnet (28) being connected, via a line (30), with a switch (31) which is mounted on an electrical control panel of the machine (12), and through which the solenoid or electromagnet (28) can be operated to release the lubricant for the desired duration.

6. A device according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant container (14) is fixed to an interior sidepanel (16) of the machine.

7. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein the lubricant delivery opening is directed towards a toothed wheel of an offset-printing machine drive chain, in the vicinty of a subsequent point of engagement (19) with another toothed wheel.

8. A device according to claim 1, substantially as described with reference to either Figure of the accompanying drawing.