US2210032A

US2210032A - Method and apparatus for drying printing ink

Info

Publication number: US2210032A
Application number: US182209A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frederic O Hess
Original assignee: Interchemical Corp
Current assignee: Interchemical Corp
Priority date: 1937-12-29
Filing date: 1937-12-29
Publication date: 1940-08-06
Anticipated expiration: 1957-08-06

Description

'Aug 194% F. 0. Mass ZVZEIQQBZ METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING PRINTING INK Filed Des. 29/1937 4 Sheets-Sheet l \k N 1 a N 7 g5 x, R Q j INVENTOR mm' 0.1m

ATTO R N EY F. o. HESS Aug. 6, 1940.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRY ING PRINTING INK Filed Dec. 29, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 1 ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1940. F, Q HE S mmmz METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING PRINTING INK Filed D60. 29, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 III] 50 Z- 6 94 57 ii if @mm in ATTO H N EY Amiga G, 194E. Q 553 292163483 METHOD AND APPARAIUS FOR DRYING PRINTING INK Filed Dec. 29, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 6, 1.9%?

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a a A igg n s m Application ii-ecember 29, 193?, Sepia-i his. i82,2i@9

ihis invention relates to printing and aims to provide an improved method and apparatus for drying printing ink.

There are typographic printing inks in extensive use at the present time whose vehicles consist of abinder dissolved in a solvent which is substantially non-volatile at ordinary press room temperatures (about 25 C.) and which becomes highly volatile at temperatures of about 150 C. When such inks are applied to a web, the speed at which the web is fed from the printing press to the web rewind roller may be in excess of four hundred feet per minute. It is necessary that the ink printed upon the web traveling at'this high rate of speed be dried in the short space between the printing press and the rewind roller to prevent offsetting or smudging of the ink. Merely volatilizing the solvent of the ink is not sufficient for the solvent vapors are dragged along .90 with the traveling web and recondense upon its surface, softening the ink and causing ofisetting or smudging. It is necessary that the solvent vapors be removed from proximity to the printed surface. In the past this has been done through destroying the solvent vapors by igniting them as they emerge from the ink.

I have discovered that the efliciency and ef-' fectiveness with which the solvent may be removed and the solvent vapors destroyed maybe 30 increased by causing the'printed web to travel past a battery of cup-shaped gas burners which subject the printed surface of the web to heat of such great'intensity that the solvent is instantaneously volatilized and by causing solvent vapors to be withdrawn from the surface of the web into the burners where they are burned. The period during which the printed web is srrnjected to this intense heat is so brief that, even though it consists of paper orother inflammable material, it is not charred.

In accordance with my invention, the material upon which an ink such as that referred to above has been printed is drawn past a battery of burners directed toward the printed surface of 3 the material,so that the solvent of the ink is 'volatilized and solvent vapors are withdrawn from the surface of the material into the burners and burned.

My invention also includes apparatus by means of which the intense heat necessary to volatilize the ink solvent and burn the solvent vapors in a very brief period of time may be efficiently and safely supplied.

In the form which I now consider most desirable, the apparatus includes a gas furnace 10-- (Si Mil-416.1.)

cated in the path. of printed material. A series or" gas burners are attached to manifolds so that the intense heat generated in the burners may be directed upon the printed surface of the material. Those manifolds are mounted for or- 5 bital movement within the housing of the furnace and are connected with a fuel chamber from which a mixture of air and gas is fed to the burners.

A specific embodiment of apparatus for carry- 19 ing out my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the furnace attached the frame of a printing press; 7

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the furnace shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section of the furnace taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a. fragmentary view illustrating the apparatus for operating the member preventing communication between the manifold compartment of the furnace and the suction duct;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of one of the burners;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of a battery of burners;

Fig. 7 is a diagram of the burner manifold electric control; I

Fig. 8 is a diagram of the gas supply electric control;

Fig. 9 is anenlarged section showing the de tails of the connection between a manifold and the fuel chamber;

Fig. 10 is a section taken on the line Ill-I0 of Fig. 9; and Fig. 11 is a section taken on the line ll-H of Fig. 9.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings includes a typographic press ii of standard construction for printing upon a web of material I6 fed from the press to the usual rewind roller' l1. As the printed web emerges from the press, it is led, in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2, through a drying apparatus, to be described, over cooling roller l8 and guide rollers I9, 20 and 2| to rewind roller H.

The drying apparatus is mounted upon a frame 22 attached to the delivery end of thepress and comprises a gas furnace 24 having a housing 25 provided with a narrow slit 28 at its front end for the entry of the printed web l6 and communicating with a suction duct 21 at its rear end. Heat is supplied to furnace 24 by means of cupshaped burners 28 attached to manifolds 30 which communicate with a fuel chamber 3|. A

mixture of gas and air is supplied under pressure to fuel chamber 3| by a mixer (not shown) of conventional type.

The burners 28, as best illustrated in Fig. 5, are of refractory material having a cup-shaped inner surface 82 and a central opening 33. Each burner is attached to its manifold 30 by means of a holder 34 having an externally threaded end 35 screwed in the threaded opening in the manifold. Screwed in central opening 36 of holder 34 is a member 31 having a plurality of passageways 38 and a conical end 39 extending into the burner below opening 33. r

When the burner is lighted, fuelpasses from manifold 38 through the passageways 38 in sepa-- rate streams to provide diverging jets of. flame. The relationship between the conical end 38 of member 31 and the cup-shaped inner surface 32 of burners 28 is. such that the flame jets extend substantially parallel to the surface 32 thereby heating it to incandescence and forming an area 4| of reduced pressure within the burner.

' The intense heat directed from incandescent burner 28 upon the printed surface of web l6 causes the solvent of the ink to volatilize instantaneously and the diverging flame jets occasion a vortex action which sucks the solvent vapors from the surfaceiof the web to the area4| of reduced pressure where they are burned. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the various series of burners 28 are mounted upon their respective manifolds 38 in staggered relation so that intense heat is directed upon all portions of the web equally and streaking .of the web is thereby'prevented.

. Means are provided for cutting olf or regulating the amount of fuel supplied to each of the burners individually: A needle valve 42 having an externally threaded end 43 is screwed in a threaded opening in manifold 30. By inserting a screwdriver in kerf 44, the needle valve 42 may be screwed up or down to open or close the passageway through holder 34. A look nut 45 is provided to hold needle valve 42 in the position desired. Thus if the printed surface of web I6 passing through furnace 24 is not coextensive with the series of burners 28, those burners which are not serving an effective purpose may be shut ofl. Furthermore, the adjustable valves 42 permit control of the amount of heat supplied by each of the various burners 28.

Means are provided for'shifting the burners 28 from the operative position illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 to an inoperative position and at the same time cutting down the supply of gas issued to the burners when movement of the web It past the burners is interrupted so that the web will not be 8| are bent so that the manifolds 38 are oifset tion without requiring a deep space at the top of the furnace 24 when they are in inoperative position.

Rotation of the manifold 38 is effected by means of an electric motor 54 having a-gear 55 meshing with gear 56 attached to shaft 51. Fixed to extension 5| of each manifold 38 is a gear 58 which meshes with worm 59 fixed on shaft .51. Thus, the manifold 38 rotates with motor 54, which in turn is placed in operation automatically whenever web It begins or stops traveling through-furnace 24.

The means for starting and stopping motor 54 are illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. '7 in which the various members occupy-the position which they assume when the press is not in operation. A circuit'iil is connected with the Press circuit 62 and, when the press circuit is closed,

solenoid 63 is energized, closing switch 64 and circuit 65 connected through switch 66 with circuit 61 of motor 54.

Fixed to shaft 48 for rotation therewith are cam 65 having dwells 69 and 'lll'and cam having dwell 12. When circuit 61 is closed and motor 64 is placed in operation as aforesaid, rotation of shaft 48 causes cam 68 to bear against finger ll,

thus closing switch I5. Thereafter, but, before shaft 48 has rotated through an angle of 180, cam bears against finger 14, opening switch 66 and closing switch 16. As soon as shaft 48 has rotated through an angle of 180, finger l3 falls in dwell 18, thus opening motor circuit 61 and stopping the motor with the burners in the operative position illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

When press circuit 82 ,is opened, the solenoid 63 is de-energized, closing switch 17, circuit 18 and motor circuit 61. Rotation of shaft 48 then causes the cam 68 to bear against finger l3, closing switch i5, and further rotation of that shaft through an angle less than 180 causes finger 14 to rest in dwell 12. When shaft 48 has rotated through an angle of 180, finger 13 reaches dwell 89, opening switch 15 and motor circuit 67, thus stopping the motor with the various parts in the position illustrated in Fig. '7.

I When travel of the web |6 through furnace 24 is stopped while the press is in operation, solenoid 63 will also be de-energized by opening switch 8|], thus causing the burners 28 to be rotated to an inoperative position as described above. Switch 88 is actuated by shoe 8| which rides upon web l6. If web 6 should be broken so that its travel through the furnace is interrupted, shoe 8i will fall, opening switch 88.

Meansare provided also for rotating manifolds 38 through an angle less than' 180 and then stopping them so that repairs or adjustments may be effected when the press is not in operation.

Motor circuit 8'7 maybe closed by moving switch 82 to contact 83 until the desired rotation has been efiected and the switch is then moved to the position indicated by dotted lines at 84. After the desired repairs or adjustments have been effected, switch 82 is returned to its initial position and normal operation of the motor control mechanism is resumed.

The large amount of fuel which must be furnished to the burners when they are in operative position is diminished automatically when the burners are placed in inoperative position to the amount necessary to keep the burners lighted: Attached to the extension 5| of each manifold 30 to rotate therewith is a valve 85 having a port 86. Each valve 85 is provided with a sleeve 81 fixed in the fuel chamber 3| and having a port 88 adapted manifold compartments.

matc es to register with port 8'6 when the burners are in operative position. Sleeve Bl also contains a second port 39 of restricted size which is closed by valve 85 when the burners are in operative position. When the burners are turned to inopera-l tive position, valve 85 closes port til and port 88 registers with port 89 which admitsjust suihcient gas to the manifolds to maintain a pilot light in the burners. 1 The volume of gas which may dew through open port 83 is regulated by plate at attached to adjustment screw 9i and the volume of gas that may flow through port 89 is regulated by the plug 92 fixed to adjustment screw The heat generated within the housing while the burners it are in operation is so intense that the burner manifold it may become dangerously hot. To prevent this, a strip 94 oi insulating material is fixed to each manifold 33) between the manifold and the burners 28. These strips are oi such width that their adjacent edges nearly meet to form a partition providing separate burner and tition is provided, the manifolds 3t become suiticiently hot to be subjected to a certain amount of expansion, contraction and warpage. I provide for this by means of a flexible connection between the manifolds and fuel chamber 3h The valve85 is connected with extension 5! of burner manifold 36 by a flexible conduit 95. It is necessary that this conduit be composed oi a material which will not be affected by the heat to which it is subjected or the gas which flows through it. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, conduit 95 constitutes a bellows-like tube with thin corrugated walls and is preferably constructed of copper. To assemble the connection between the burner manifolds 3t! and the fuel chamber 39, the bearing .53 is formed of a split ring as illustrated in Fig. 10. A coil spring 96 is inserted between the end of extension ill and valve 85, and the valve is inserted in sleeve 81, so

that it bears against the end of that sleeve. Split ring bearing 53 is then placed in the groove '52 and is fastened to fuel chamber 39 and sleeve all by bolts @l. V

Products of combustion and any vapors from the ink which may not have been burned are withdrawn from the furnace 24 through suction duct 21. In order that all-such vapors will be withdrawn, suction duct 21 is provided with a skirt 98 which extends over roller 48 to provide a restricted opening to the press room.' As indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2, fresh air is withdrawn through this opening from the press room in a direction counter to the travelof'the printed web, and this counter-current of fresh air prevents the traveling web from dragging the products of combustion or solvent vapors with it to the press room. I

Communication between suction duct 2'! and furnace 24 is limited to the burner compartment of the furnace by means of a pivotally mounted member 99. When the burners 28 are in operative position, the burner compartment of furnace 24 constitutes the compartment below the parti tion formed by the strips of insulating material- 94, and the manifold compartment of the furnace is above the strips. When the burners are swung to inoperative position, the positions of these com- Even when such a parbetween suction duct 2i and the compartment of furnace 2 5 containing the burners.

It is of the utmost importance that the products of combustion and, in particular, any unburned solvent vapors be removed through suction duct 2?. If the products of combustion be permitted to escape to the press room, they may render the atmosphere in the press room unendurable, and, if unburned solvent vapors should be allowed to accumulate, an explosion might be occasioned. To provide for this, the gas supply motor it? is connected by circuit ltd with circuit tilt for suction motor ltd (see Fig. 8). Accordingly, the gas supply motor 502 cannot operate unless the suction motor-circuit itd be closed.

a mode of, carrying out my invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. I will summarize it briefly:

As the web it emerges from the printing press 55 where anink containing a volatilizable, infiainw mable solvent is applied, it passes through fur-' nace 23. Within the furnace, each portion of the printed surface of web it is subjected, during a very, brief period of time, to heat generated by burners 28 to which a controlled amount of fuel is supplied under pressure. This heat is of such great intensity that the solvent of the ink is immediately volatilized and solvent vapors are withdrawn from the surface of web l 6 into burners 28 where they are burned.

The products of combustion and any unburned solvent vapors are withdrawn through duct 21, which communicates with the press room and the part of the furnace 2 3 containing burners 28, by suction means connected with the fuel supply so that no fuel can be supplied to burners 28 unless the suction means are in operation. After the printed web It emerges from furnace 2t and past suction duct 2?, it travels to a web rewind roller ill.

The burners '28 are-fixed to manifolds it which the mounted in the housing 25 oi? furnace 25 for orbital movement so that the burners are directed away from the web automatically whenever movement of the web through furnace 2 3 is "ers are fixed by a partition formed of strips 94 of insulating material fixed between the burners and the manifolds. Warpage, expansion or contraction of manifolds 30 is permitted through the provision of a flexible conduit 95 connecting those manifolds with the fuel supply chamber '3l.

' What I claim is:

1. The method of drying a printing ink containing a volatilizable inflammable solvent after the ink has been printed upon a material, which comprises drawing the matcrial past a battery of burners directed toward the printed surface of the material volatilizing the solvent of the ink, withdrawing solvent vapors from the surface of the material into said burners, and burning said solven vapors. 1

2. The method of drying a printing ink containing a volatilizable inflammable solvent after the ink has been printed upon combustible material, which comprises drhwing the material past a battery of burners, volatilizing the solvent of v the ink, withdrawing solvent vapors from the surface of the material into said burners, and buming the solvent at such speed that the combustible material is not charred.

3. The method of drying a printing ink containing avolatilizable inflammable solvent after the ink has been printed upon a web, which comprises drawing the web past a battery of incandescent, cup-shaped gas burners, volatilizing the solvent of the ink, withdrawing solvent vapors from the surface of the web into saidburners,

Y and burning the solvent vapors.

4. The method of drying a printing ink containing a volatilizable inflammable solvent after the ink has been printed upon a web, which comprises drawing the web past a battery of gas burn- I ers having cup-shaped inner surfaces heated to incandescence by diverging flame jets extending substantially parallel to said inner surfaces, volatilizing the solvent of the ink, withdrawing solvent vapors from the surface of the web into said burners, and burning the solvent vapors.

5. The method of drying .a printing ink containing a volatilizabl inflammable solvent after the ink has been printed upon a material, which consists in causing the material to travel over a predetermined path, subjecting the printed surface of the material traveling along a short section of said path to heat of such intensity that the solvent of the ink is volatilized, burning solvent vapors thereby formed, drawing the resultant products of combustion along the material in the direction of the movement of the material to one end of said section, drawing air along the material in a direction counter to the movement of the material into admixture with said products. of combustion, and" then removing said mixture from proximity to said material and path.

6. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, a plurality of burner manifolds mounted for orbital movement within the housing and connected with the fuel chamber, and a series of burners mounted upon said manifolds so that intense heat is directed upon theprinted surface of the web.

7. The combination with a web printing press,

. of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber,

of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, a

plurality of burner manifolds extending across so the housing and communicating with the fuel 7 series of burners, aburner manifold mounted for orbital movement within the housing, so that the 'burners may be directed toward or away from the printed surface of the web, a valve sleeve con: taining a port fixed in the fuel chamber, and a 75 valve fixed to the manifold and containing a port through said ports.

8. The combination with a web printing press,

v valve sleeve. chamber, means connecting the manifolds with adapted to register with'the port in the valve,

, ers may be directed toward or away from the printed surface of the web, a valve sleeve containing two ports. fixed in the fuel chamber, and a valve fixed to the manifold and containing a port adapted to register with one of the ports in the valve sleeve when the burners are directed toward the printed surface of the web and with the other of the ports in the valve sleeve when the burners are directed away from the printed surface of the web.

11. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, a series of burners, a burner manifold mounted for movement within the housing so that the burners may be directed toward or away from the printed surface of the web, a valve sleeve containing a-port fixed in the fuel chamber, a valve fixed to the manifold and containing a port adapted to register with the port in,

the valvesleeve when the burners are directed toward the printed surface of the web, and

means for regulating the quantity bf fuel flowing 12. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, a series of burners, a burner manifold mounted for movement within the housing so that the burners may be directed toward or away from the printed surface of the web, a valve sleeve containing a port fixed in the f l chamber, a valve containing a port adapted to, register with the port in the valve sleeve when the burners are directed toward the printed surface of the web, and

a flexible conduit connecting the burner manifold with said valve.

13. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, a series of burners, a burner manifold. mounted for movement within the housing so that the burners may be directed toward or away from the printed surface of the web, a valve sleeve fixed in the fuel chamber and containing a port in its inner end, a valve containing a port adapted to' register with the port in the valve sleeve when the .bumers are directed toward theprinted surface of the web, a flexible conduit connecting the manifold with said valve, and resilient means urging said valve against the inner end of the 14. The combination with a'web printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web' and comprising a housing, a fuel chamher, aplurality of burner manifolds mounted for orbital movement within the housing and connected with the fuel chamber, a series of burners mounted upon said manifolds so that intense heat is directed upon the printed surface of the web.- and means for independently regulating the quantity of fuel supplied to each of said burners.

15. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamr .ber, a plurality of burnermanifolds mounted for movement within the housing and connected with the fuel chamber, and a series of burners mounted upon said manifolds in staggered relation so that intense heat is directed upon all portions of the printed surface of the web.

16. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel manifolds and burners to form separate manifold and burner compartments.

17. The combination with a printing press, of

' a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web, and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, a burner manifold mounted within the housing and connected with the fuel chamber, a burner mounted upon said manifold so that intense heat is directed upon the printed surface of the web,-

and a'suction duct'locatedbetween thefurnace and the web rewind roller adapted to withdraw solvent vapors and products of combustion from the furnace and to draw fresh air past the printed surface of the web in a direction counter to its movement.

18. The combination with a printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, a plurality of. burner manifolds mounted for J movement within the housing and connected with'the fuel chamber, a series of burners mounted upon said manifolds so that intense heat is directedupon the printed surface of the web, and a suction duct located between the furnace and the web rewind roller adapted to withdraw solvent. vapors and products of combustion from the furnace and to withdraw fresh air past the printed surface of the web in a direction counter to 7 its movement.

19'. The combination with a printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of a printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, means for supplying fuel under pressure to. said fuel chamber, a plurality of burner manifolds mounted for movement within the housing and of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, aplurality of burner manifolds mounted for movement within the housing and connected with the fuel chamber, a series of burners mounted upon said manifolds so that intense heat is directed upon the printed surface of the web, a partition extending between the burners and the burner manifold to form separate burner and manifold compartments, a suction ductcommunicating with the burner compartment, and

means for preventing communication between the suction duct and the manifold compartment.

21. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising a housing a fuel chamber, a series of burners, a burner mahifoid mounted for movement within the housing so that the burners may be directed toward the printed surface of the traveling web, and means for automatically directing the burners away from the web when movement of the web past the burners is interrupted during operation of the press.

22. The combination with a printing press, or" a furnace located in the path of the printed material and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, a burner manifold mounted for movement with in the housing and connected with the fuel chamher, and a series of burners mounted upon said therein.

23. The combination with a printing press, of a furnace located in the path of the printed material and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, a burner manifold mounted for movement within the housing, and a series of burners fixed to said manifold, each of said burners having a series of flame projecting orifices directed outwardly along a conical surface and a refractory member having a cup-shaped surface extending substantially parallel to the flames projected from said orifices.

.24. Apparatus for drying printing ink comprising the combination with means for causing travel of a web to which the ink has been applied, of a gas burner located adjacent to a point of the travel of the web and mounted for rotation about an axis transverse the path of the web so that it may be directed towards or away from the web.

25. Apparatus for drying-a printing ink comprising a combination with means for causing the travel of a web to which ink has been applied, of a heater adapted to apply intense heat to the printed side of the web at a point in its travel,

, said heater being mounted for rotation about an axis transverse the path of the web so that it may be directed towards or away from the web.

26. Apparatus for drying printing ink, comprising the combination with means for causing a traveling movement of the material to which the ink has been applied, of a plurality of rows of heaters adapted to direct intense heat toward the printed side of the material, each of said rows being mounted for rotation about an axis parallel with the axis of rotation of each other row so that the heaters may be directed toward or away from the material, said axes all lying in a plane parallel to the printed surface of said material.

27. Apparatus for drying printing ink, comprising the combination with means .for moving a material to which ink has been applied, of a burner manifold disposed in the path of the printed material, and a plurality of cup-shaped gas burners mounted upon said manifold so 6v FREDERIC 0. uses.