US1764257A - Plate hook - Google Patents

Description

June 17, 1930. H. E. GOLBER 1,76%?5? PLATE HOOK Filed Oct. 15, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l t d. @aw/QM .By M7 57,

June 17, 1930. H. E. GoLBER 1,764,257

' PLATE 1100K Filed Oct. 15. 1927 '3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 17, 1930. H. E. GOLBER 1,764,257

PLATE HOOK Filed Oct. l5, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inf/6721631 @lf3/7716272 E'Zi oZlner Patented June 17, 1930 UNITED- s 'rffrizs4 PATENT OFFICE HYMAN ELI G-OLBER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOS; JASSIGNORT THE' MIEHLE' `IPR/IN'J1I1\`|'(': PRESS & MANUFACTURING- COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS PLATE HOOKl .Application filedvctober 15, 192.7.. n `Seralfllo. 226,302,

This invention relates to improvements in printing plate securing means, generally known in theprinting trade as plate hooks,l

anclmore particularly used for positioning an electrotype or any other printing plate on a supporting base, and securing its rigidly thereto. f

Some of the principal objectsof my invention are: to provide'a plate hook of minimum length in order to be particularly adaptedfor use in connection with curved supporting bases; to` provide means whereby the'plate hook is advanced per revolution of its propelling means much slower than has heretofore been known, to make possible exceptional convenient and' accuratel registering of printing-plates; to introduce means whereby the hook is rendered selflocliing; and, to provide a durable and compact construction whichis 2U simple and eicient in its operation.

Other features and obiects of my inventiony will beapparent from the following description and appended claims;

The improved plate hook is illustrated-by three sheets of drawings, in which Figure l is an end view of the plate hook locked within a grooveformed inthe surface of a base Figure 2-is a View at right'angles to that 3U taken in Figure l;

Figure 8 is a plan view of Figure l; Figure l is a sectional view'taliien through the' center of FigureQ;

which the hook is advanced `within al groove in the base; j Y

Figures 8 and 9 are two views of a hook 5 wrench by means of whichvthe hoolrcani be,

conveniently placed into orremoved fromfa groove in the base; l

Figures 10 and ll show a modified' form of a hook. wrench which embodies'safety means as will be hereinafter explained;-

Figure 5 shows sectional view lof the plate Figure 7 illustrates the lrey by means ofl Figure l2 shows a portion ofg the rackV provided within a groove of the base;

fFi'g'ure I3 shows the original'form of a clip whereby a rack is secured'to the base; f

Figure 14 is af plan view of a groove with'A a pair of cooperating racks applied? thereto and-showing' the relative positiony of the rack" Figures 15,16, 17 and IS'are ldif'ferent'views ofthe wings byV means of which a hook is E locked'in its operative position Withina grove of the base. Y i

Referring now to Figure l, the supporting member or base l, which can be madeof' cast iron or of any other suitable material, is ,65'I` formed with one or more groves 2, preferp ably *comprising verticalwalls 3,'recesses1l, inaVw cllnedportlons lorrecesses, anda curved hase i portionV 6. Thev vertical' wallsj ServeY the" purpose ofv guiding the hook, not only as it is being inserted and'withdrawn from the base, but also longitudinally thereof in' its operative positioning and locking movements.

The recesses l are provided toreceive wing Vmembers which projecty laterally from the CII ly, curved clips 8 are then dropped inbe-p l tween the racks, andgdrivenl against Vthe curved base 6`so that the longitudinal edges 9G of the clips will become wedgedv between the bottom of` thegroove and the lower Aedgesjof the racks, as clearly'shown Figures 1` and'y 6. The clips y8 areso dimensioned'thatwhen' they vare driven Vinto,position theracks Vwill be securely held-within the inclinedv recesses 5. y 4 l Preferably the racks are made in sections of approximately 4 Iinches long;V so thatV in caseany part ofthe rack becomes damaged', les

the respective section can be readily replaced by drivin T out the clips 8 which apply to the damaged section, and b y inserting a new section and securing it with new clips as just described. Preferably the clips are placed at intervals of approximately two inches.v

As shown, the racks are composed of a,A

ink clogging between the'teeth, or in the vi-" cinity of the racks, is practically eliminated. As a matter of fact, any accumulation of dirt or dried ink within the spaces of or near the rack will be forced out by the normal operation of the hook as will be explained later. This is a point of primary importance in the construction of plate hooks because many breakages. which occur in the operation of plate hooks, are principally due to the accumulation or cloggingfof dust and ink between the cooperating parts of such hooks.

As is clearly shown in Figure 1 for example, the groove 2 in the base is cut sufficiently deep so that when the hook is placed therein, there will be sufficient clearance between the bottom of the hook andl the bottom of the groove, i. e., the top of the clip 8, to permit of some accumulation of dust or the like without. however, interfering with the operation of the hook. For the same purpose, the recesses Llare also cut substantially deeper than is necessary to accommodate the locking members or wings of the hook.

Y The two racks secured within the same groove are so positioned that the Vteeth 10 of one rack are located opposite the spaces 11 of the other rack. The purpose of this arrangement will be hereinafter apparent.

I will now describe the construction of the plate hook itself. It comprises a body poi'- tion or block 12 which serves as a supporting member for the various parts which constitute the plate hook. Rotatably mounted in the block 12 is a pinion 13, see Figures 4. and G. This pinion has a center portion 14 which forms an 8-toothed worm wheel, and two cylindrical portionsv 15, which act as journals withinrthe bore ofthe hook body 12. The pinion is alsoV formed with laterally projecting teeth 16 and 17 which mesh with the rack teeth 10. When the pinion 13 isrotate'd, the

' teeth 16 and 17 alternately mesh with the teetlilOofthe two racks 7 and thereby propel the-plate hooklongitudinally within the grooveof the base in a direction depending onthe direction in which the pinion is rotated. j

The provision of a UQ-toothed pinion, such as just described, constitutes a very important feature of my invention. It is a wellknown fact that in the majority of plate hooks on the market at the present time, where pinions and racks are used to propel the hook, the pinions, which usually have about 12 teeth, are of such fine pitch that the teeth aie actually too weak and therefore becoinedefectivevery readily. By reducing the number of pinion teeth to a-minimum and thereby correspondingly increasing the dimensions of the teeth, while limiting the space required for the pinion, it is also possible to reduce the over all dimensions of the plate hook itself very considerably and yet provide a pinion, the teeth of which are very much largerY and stronger than have heretofore been` known in the construction of such devices. It will be readily Aappreciated that this construction of the pinion perinits me tobuild a plate hook that is unusually short and therefore particularly well adapted for use on curved bases.

lhile I have illustrated one preferred form of rack engaging pinion teeth, I doA not wish to limit myself to any specific design or di- Y inensions of such teetn, because teeth of cyliiidrical or substantially cylindrical shape, or of any' shape varying from that shown on the drawings, could be used without departing wise, without decreasing the effect of my improved plate hook,two or more teeth of substantially the saine size as those illustrated could be arranged on eac-li side of the rack pinion. rlhis might, of course, necessitate a corresponding modification of the design or dimensions of the rack teeth 10.

The feature of providing a rack pinion liniited to a smallnumloer of teeth has the added advantage that the Vhook is rendered sellocking, i. e., it will'not slip, and cannot be advanced within the base groove by merely pushing it along, because the friction between the pinion teeth and the rack teeth is such that it will not be overcome by an attempt to advance the hook in this manner. Y

The significance of this selflocking feat ire will be fully appreciated when it is explained that aft-er theelectrotype or'siinilar plates have beenv accurately registered and secured to a base, which operation is Va matterthat requires great care and much attention, it frequently occurs th at when a number of iinpressions have been pulled on the press, the

`plates have become loose and have moved out of register, simply because the hooks have slipped. That is,the constant pressure and vibration incident to printing has caused the `from the purpose of my invention. Likehooksto loosen their grip on the plate and thereby permit'the latter to shift out` of register. To prevent suoli slipping a number of hooks have been provided with catches and friction springs and other similar devices. In

` my hook, however, this slipping is eliminated by the proportionately large degree of friction created 1ietween the teeth of the pinion and'their corresponding rack tee-th.

In order to make this more readily understood, I quote the fol-lowing exaniole in which the dimensions given are those adopted in the practical embodiment of th plate hook illust-rated in the drawings. For convenience the pitch ofthe rack has been mace exactly .200l divided into a tooth 10 and space 11V of approximately equal width. Acomplete rotation of the pinion 13 advances the plate hook by one tooth of the rack. Therefore imagining the pitch line A of the rack, se Fig. 2, and its cooperating pitch line of th pinion, the circumference of the pitch circl B of the pinion is equal to exactly .2005 an therefore the diameter f the pitch circle of f the pinion is equal to .200 divided by 3.1116

or about .063. The result is that the frictional, i. e. sliding motion between the pinion teeth 16, and the rack teeth 17, very much exceeds the actual distance through which the plate has been propelled. This function could be readily compared with that of a screw where the extent of itsfrictional, i. e. slidinol motion very considerably exceeds the distance by which the screw has actually been advanced. The operation is therefore accompanied by a Considerable amount offriction so that because of this frictional locking effect between the pinion teeth and the rack teeth,

it will be utterly impossible to dislodge 'the hook from its loperative position, no matter to how great a stressv the hook might be subject-ed.

To rotate the pinion 13, there is provided a worm 18. This worm is inserted into an appropriately shaped bore 19 provided in the hook body 12. The worm 18 is formed with a square hole 20 to receive a key 22, such as illustrated for example in Figure i7, which key,'however, may be of any 'desired form.

' The square portion 21 of the key 22 lits snugly within the square hole 20 of the worm and the rotation of the key will cause the rotation of the worm, and therefore advance the hook withinthe groove of the base. Theworm is prevented from rising-by itsupper face 23 abutting against a ledge 24 of the hook body. The worm is retained within the bore 19 by means of a closing slide 25`which is wedge shaped and is drivenlinto a correspondingly machined portion in the hook body.

Preferably the closing slide 25 has'a small boi'e26 which serves two purposes, namely, it

allows of cleaning out any dried ink or dirt that might accumulate` within Vthe bore of the worm and it permits of an easy removal o'f a broken keythat might become lodgedV in said bore. It should here be explainedthat for obvious reasons, the key is purposely so dimensioned that in case too much force is applied thereto, it will break before any part of the plate hook itself can break.

The hook is heldin the base groove .byV

means of locking ledges or wings 27 and 28. These wings are retained within grooves'of the hook body which grooves are appropriately shaped so as to provide the largest Y possible supporting surface for the wings.

Referring to Figures 15, 16, 17 and 18, itV

projections 30 serve as means whereby the hook wrench or remover, see Figure 8, can

engage the wings so as to withdraw them into` the body of the hook to be flush with the side walls thereof when the hook is being placed into or removed from the base groove. In

order to retain the' wings within the hook.

body and to limit their lateral movement, I preferably provide a recess 32 in one of the end walls of the block 12 and downwardly projecting stops 33m a closing member 34. 'lhe projections 31- at one end of the wings extend into said recess and abut against the walls thereof, while the outward movement of the Wings at their other ends is limited by the projections 31 engaging the stops The inner'portion of each wing, is curvi-v linearly shaped to save as much room as. possible and to make the wings as strong as possible. Inserted between the wings and the adjacent portion of the hook body are preferably two springs 35 which tend to project conical or bearing section 39 as is clearly shown in Figure 4 of the drawings. The conical portion 39 is supported within a corre,- spondingly milled recess or bearing formed `partly withinthe hook bodyitsel'fand partly within the slidably arrangedclosing member 34.

In pla-te hooks of the type having a pivot-v;V ally arranged plate engaging jaw, itis of course important that the bearing surface -within theV hook body for supporting suchl jaw be made as large as possible., Therefore,

in designing my plate hook I made the diameter of the turn tableV section 38 equivalent to the widthcf the basegroove 2. i This will provide the largest possible bearing surface for the j aw member 36.

After the various parts of the plate hook have been assembled, the closing member 84 is locked in its position preferably by means of a pin 40 driven into a bore which partly extends within the closing member 34 and partly within the hook body itself.

In order to permit of convenient insertion and removal of the hook, I have provided a wrench shown in Figures 8 to 1l. This wrench has a body portion al and two parallel legs 42. rIliese legs fit over the ends of the hook and by means ofthe beveled facesv i3 formed vin the free ends of the legs, the projections 30 of the wings are 'forced'togetlier as the wrench is applied to the hook, thereby moving the wings inwardly so as to be flush with the side walls of the hook body. The hook can then be readily placed in its proper position within thebasegroove, care being taken of course that the teeth of the pinion will clear the rack teeth. Upon removal of the wrench, the projections 30 will be released and the wings 27 and 28 will enter the recesses Il, and securely lock the hook against any upward movement within the groove. I

In order that the .hook may be readily disengaged from the wrench when the latter is withdrawn, I provide a pusher member al slidably mounted within the body portion al of the wrench as indicated in Figures 8 'to ll; The outer end of said pusher carries a button 45, while a disc 46 is preferably secured to its inner end. In manipulating the wrench, the operator applies his first and second fingers beneath the two laterally projecting arms et?, or within the recesses 4S, if the modified form `of wrench illustrated in Figures l0 and 1l is used, while the pusher la, i. e., the vbutton i5, is operated by the thumb.

The modified wrench shown in Figures i0 I and 11 is provided withl what I might call a safety means, comprising two inwardly projecting wedge members i9 and 50. Vhen the wrench is applied to the hook for tlie'purpose of inserting it into the groove of the base, these wedges will be located justbelow the projections 30 of the wings 27 and 28 so that when the Wrench is withdrawn, a ter the hook has been placed into the groove, the wedges will pass between said projections and spread them apart so that the wings will be forced into the recesses 4. and remove out of their path anydirt or the lilre that might be lodged Vtherein and ordinarily prevent the wings from spreading in order to enter said recesses. Y

It will be apparent that, with a construction embodying the features of my invention, I provide ya plate' hook that is exceedingly durable and simple in its operation, occupies a limited amount of space within a groove of a printing plate supporting base and permits suchclose approach of the clamping jaw of two opposed hooks, that the smallest possible plate can be very readily secured to such base.

`While I have described and illustrated one preferred form of construction, I wish it to be understood that various modifications may be embodied in my plate hook without departing from the spirit of the invention, therefore, it is my intention to cover all such modifications that will come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim;

l. In printing plate securing means, the combination of a plate supporting base having a groove, a rack arranged on each side wall of said groove and adjacent the bottom thereof, a plate engaging hook including a driven element cooperating with said racks to move said hook longitudinally of said groove, said driven element having a laterally extending tooth at each side to mesh with said raclis.

2. In printing plate securing means, the combination cfa plate supporting base, having a groove, rack means within said groove,

Lon

a plate engaging hook including a rack enracks, and a plurality of clips adapted to be y wedged between said racks to hold the latter securely within said recessed portion.

5. A printing plate supporting element having a groove with a curved base, racks within said groove, a beveled recessed portion provided adjacent the bottom of said groove to receive said racks,'and a plurality of clips adapted to be wedgedbetween said racks so as to assume the curvature of said base and hold said racks securely within said recessed portion. I Y

6. In combination with printing plate securing means, a plate supporting base having a groove, rack means within said lgroove, and a plate hook adapted to be moved longitudinally of said groove and having a driven pinion with laterally proj ecting'teeth of substantially cylindrical cross section to engage said rack means and advance said hook longitudinally of said groove, the diameter of the pitch circle of the teeth on said pinion being less than one-half of the diameter of` the pinion. A

7. In a printing plate'securingmeans, the

combination of `a printing plate, supportingv iv1,764,257 p base, having a groove, rack means within'said groove, a plate engaging hook including a driving element, and a driven element, having one or more rack engaging teeth extending from the side there-oic to cooperate with said rack means Jfor movin@P said hook longitudinally of said groove, the diameter of the itch circle of the teeth on said driven element being less than one-half of' the diameter of said element.

8. In printing plate securing means, the combination of a plate supporting base, a plurality of racls associated therewith, and a plate engaging hook including a rack engaging pinion having a laterally extending tooth at each side to mesh with said racks for moving said hook, one complete revolution of said pinion advancing said hook by one tooth of said racks.

9. In printing plate securing means, the combination of a plate supporting base, a plurality of racks associated therewith, and a plate engaging hook including a raclr engaging pinion having oppositely extending teeth at each side to mesh with said racks for moving said hook, one complete revolution of said pinion advancing said hook by one tooth of said racks.

10. In printing plate securing means, the combination of a plate supporting base, a plurality of racks associated therewith, and a plate engaging hook including a rack engaging pinion having laterally extending teeth of substantially cylindrical shape to mesh with said racks for moving said hook, one complete revolution of said pinion advancing said hook by one tooth of said racks.

11. In printing plate securing means, the

combination of a plate supporting base, a`

plurality of racks associated therewith, and a plate engaging hook including a rack engaging. pinion having laterally extending teeth of substantially cylindrical shape arranged at each side to mesh with said racks for moving said hook, one complete revolution of said pinion advancing said hook by one tooth of said racks.

12. In printing plate securing means, the combination of a plate supporting base, a plurality of racks associated therewith. and a plate engaging hook including a rack engaging pinion having oppositely extending teeth of substantially cylindricalshape to mesh with said racks for moving said hook, one complete revolution of said pinion advancing said hook by one tooth of said racks.

13. In printing plate securing means, the combination of a plate supporting base, a rack associated therewith, and a plate engaging hook including a driven element having a tooth the base of which is located in a plane which extends at right angles to the axis of said element, said tooth being arranged to pass into said rael sidewise of the rack teeth,

thereby adapting it to yremove Jforeign matter accumulated therebetween.r`

14:."In printing plate securing means, .the

combination 'of al plate supporting :base,a

rack associated therewith, and a yplate enhoolr including a driven element having a tooth of substantially cylindrical shape .the base of which is locatedin a plane which combination of a plate supporting base, rackrso means associated therewith, and a plateengaging hook having a rack engaging pinion with teeth extending from each side thereof for moving said hook, the lbases of said teeth being located in planes which extend at right angles to the axis of said pinion, and are arranged to pass into said rack means sidewise of the rack teeth. thereby adapting them to remove foreign matter accumulated therebetween.

16. In printing plate securing means, the combination of a plate supportingbase having a groove provided with an under cut portion., rack means within said groove, a plate engaging hook operating within said groove,y arack engaging pinion, the diameterv of the pitch circle of the teeth of which being less than one-halfl of the diameter of the pinion, and one or more retaining members resiliently mounted on said hook-to engage said under cut portion and adapted to be forcibly compressed and expanded when said hook is within said-groove.

17. A printing plate supporting element,

having a groove, racks within said grooveI provided adjacent the bottom of said groove to receive said racks, and a plurality of clips adapted to be wedged between said raclrs to hold the latter securely within said groove.

18.V In a printing plate securing means, the combination of a printing plate supporting base having a groove, rack means positioned `within said groove and having teeth inwardly projecting from a side of the groove, a, plate engaging hook mounted within said groove for longitudinal adjustment with respect thereto, said hook comprising a worm-shaped driving member rotatable about a vertical axis and a driven member arranged to be rotated through movement of said worm about an axis transverse to said groove, said driven element having teeth to engage with the teeth of said rack means.

19. In a printing plate securing means, the combination of a printing platev supporting base having a groove, a plate engaging hook detachably mounted in said groove and adapted for longitudinal adjustment with respect thereto, said plate hoolr comprising a worm'shaped driving member rotatable about a vertical axis, a driven element engaged by said Worm and rotatable upon an axis transverse to said groove, teeth disposed f on the ends of said driven member and rack t teeth inwardly extending from the sides of said groove arranged to be engaged by the teethof said driven member. Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 5th day of October, 1927. f

lo HYMAN ELI GOLBER.

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