US2229067A - Apparatus for humidifying inking mechanism of printing presses - Google Patents

Description

1941- P. A. FRAZIER 2,229,067

APPARATUS FOR HUMIDIFYING INKING' MECHANISM OF PRINTING PRESSES Filed 001;. 28, 1937 tented Jan. 21, 1941 f APPARATUS FOR HUMIDIFYING INKING MECHANISM OF PRINTING PBESSES Philip A. Frazier, Oak Park, Ill. application October 28, 1937, Serial No. 171,527

4 Claims. 4 (Cl. 101-343) The present invention relates to printing and more particularly letterpress printing and may be employed upon flat-bed or rotary presses.

The invention relates to apparatus for supply-.. W ing proper and sufficient moisture in the form of finely divided particles. to printing ink just prior to the time the printing ink is'applied to the surface to be printed. The apparatus may be satlsiactorlly employed in practicing the method disld closed in my copending application upon a Method of printing, Serial No. 91,095, filed July 1'7, 11.9%, which issued as Patent No. 2,127,955, on August 23, 1938.

ong the objects of the invention are the provision of printing apparatus whereby clear and more well-defined printing is produced; apparatus for supplying moisture to the paper to be printed upon at the time the ink is applied to the paper so that the moisture maypenetrate and be absorbed by the paper fibers to produce a. more accurate impression than is obtained when the paper is dry. 4

A further object of the invention is the provision of apparatus of the type described which may be readily constructed and applied to more or less well-known conventional printing presses.

Paper when it is received by the printer is in a substantially dry condition, and various efforts have been made to apply water to the paper just prior to the printing impression. These efforts have not met with success, particularly where high speed work is essential. Among the various .dculties caused by wetting of the paper are the uneven stretching of the paper which tends to throw out the alignment of the pages and the register of the plates. Furthermore, in web presses where the paper web is under considerable tension, wetting the paper tends to weaken it and increases the tendency toward breaking the web.

I have found that the paper may be satisfactorily moistened by applying moisture in flnely divided form, as by sprayin to the ink in the press immediately prior to the time the ink is applied to the printing surface. The apparatus here described is particularly satisfactory for carrying out that method in that the moisture may be applied to the ink rollers or ink bed in such finely divided form. that it has the appearance of afog or a cloud. To obtain satisfactory results it. is essential that the moisture be in very finely divided form as produced by the improved apparatus, inasmuch as it is necessary that the moisture be evenly and thoroughly distributed upon the surface of the ink rolls or beds, since it is believcd that the water in finely divided form is hill hill

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merely mechanically entrapped in the ink. The apparatus may be employed in spraying any ordinary commercial printing inks for letterpress printing, which are usually made with a. linseed oil varnish base combined with pigment, driers 5 and small amounts of other ingredients.

When water is sprayed on ink in a body, the oily nature of the latter repels the water drops and they tend to collect in larger drops in depressions. Accordingly, it is desirable that the moisture be in very finely divided form. The condition of the surfaces of the printing rollers in operation is entirely different from that of a quiescent body of ink. When two ink rollers or an ink roller and a plane surface interact, the ink adheres to both surfaces and does not separate cleanly from either. The ink surface produced on both is a torn matt'surface full of minute roughnesses and hollows. This is due to the viscosity of the ink, and the tearing action is so violent at high speeds that an ink mist is produced adjacent the rollers and is a source of frequent trouble in high speed presses.

Because .of the matt surface which is formed on an ink roller or plane surface such as an ink table or type form, during the operation of a press, a fairly uniform distribution of moisture in the form of finely divided particles can be maintained on the surfaces during the short interval between feeding ink from the ink fountain and offsetting it from the type surface to the paper, if the moisture is applied to the ink roller or plane surface in a very finely divided spray so as to be thoroughly distributed upon the matt surface. The apparatus herein disclosed has been found to be very suitable for obtaining that highly desirable result.

The invention will be readily understood from the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which a preferred embodiment is shown, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a broken side elevation, partly diagrammatic, of printing structure embodying the invention;

Fig. 2, an enlarged vertical sectional view'of a portion of the apparatus, and

Fig. 3, a sectional view taken along lines 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1 wherein is shown a portion of a conventional flat-bed press, the delivery, feeder and registering mechanism being omitted since the present invention does not relate thereto, the reference character 9 indicates the frame of a flat-bed press provided with a base Ill and a side rail II. The ink-plate l2 of the bed of the press 65 is reciprocally mounted on rollers in the usual fashion and has secured thereto plungers or airheads l3. The plungers l3 work in cylinders I4 and the plungers may be of the piston ring type or may be sealed with leather cups and are employed to cushion the reverse of direction of the bed in a manner well known to the art. Usually two or more air heads l3 are employed at each end of the bed and the cylinders at each end of the bed are connected by an air hose l5. Distributor rollers l8 are mounted ,above the ink plate I2 and are part of a conventional inking mechanism which generally comprises a fountain |'I, ductor rollers l8, distributor rollers i6 and form rollers I8. 1

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 wherein the improved spraying device, to be employed with and actuated by a printing press as hereinafter described, is shown, the device comprises generally a water container 28, a nozzle 2| and an air supply barrel 22. The water container 28 is mounted mouth downwardly in an annular chamber 23 having internal threads 24 adapted to engage the neck of the bottle. The chamber 23 is provided with a gasket 25 of cork or other suitable material, against which the end of the mouth rests, and a boss 26 extending upwardly into the chamber 23. A water conduit 21 leads from the chamber 23 through a central portion of the boss 26 and extends into a water chamber 28 formed centrally in the metallic body portion 29 of the device. A bleeder-line 30 extends from the upper portion of the chamber 28 to the atmosphere. A small water conduit 3| extends from the lower portion of the chamber 28 through the nozzle 2| and is inclined slightly upwardly from the horizontal.

The barrel 22 is provided with a bore 32 termechanism, a reciprocating bed, pistons secured minating in an internally threaded portion 33 adapted to detachably retain a pet-cock 34 secured to the terminus of an air line 35. The upper end of the barrel 22 is provided with a shoulder portion 38 against which a corresponding ortion of an internally threaded ring 31 is adapted to bear to hold the barrel 22 firmly against a depending portion 38 of the body 28. The portion 38 is provided with an air chamber 39 of a diameter slightly greater than the bore 32. An air line 40 of constricted diameter extends from the upper portion of the chamber 39 through the nozzle 2| below the water conduit 3|.

The water duct 3| is equipped with a conically shaped tip 4| adapted to be screwed into the end of nozzle 2|. The tip 4| has a tapering water passage 42 terminating in a small orifice. The nozzle 2| has a flared .portion 43 at its end that is externally screw threaded and adapted to removably retain cap 44. Cap 44 has a small orifice 45 positioned adjacent to the orifice of tip 4| and is provided with an annular tapering recess forming an air chamber 48 in the nature of a. Venturi tube.

In the operation of the device. compressed air passes through the ducts 35, 32, 39 and 40, thence through the passage 45 to the tip of the nozzle.

'Water flows by gravity from the chamber 28 through the tube 21 into chamber 28 where, when the device is in operation, it will not rise above the lower level of the tube 21. The vent 30 prevents pressure in the chamber 28 from exceeding that of the atmosphere. The 'water moves from the chamber 28 through the duct 3| into the outlet 42 of the tube and is drawn from the orifice of the tip in finely divided form. At the orifice 45 of the cap 44 the water is further atomized by the air and emerges from the orifice in the form of a fog or cloud.

As shown in Fig. 1, the device is adapted to be removably mounted upon the rail H or any other convenient portion of a printing press by means of a bracket 41 secured to the barrel 22 of the'"device. The improved spraying device is shown positioned to spray the distributor rolls of the press, but it is to be understood that the device may be positioned to spray the inking plate l2, the surface of the fountain l1, .the form r011- ers l8 or the ductor rollers l8, and that preferably one or more of the devices are positioned on each side of the press, particularly in presses employing a wide bed, in order that the entire length of the rollers may be humidified with the fog produced by the device. The pressure built up intermittently by the plungers |3 in cylinders I4 is suitable for operating the spraying device, and the air hose 35 of the device may be tapped direotly into the cylinder [4 or, as shown in Fig. 1, into the line l connecting the air-headsu The improved spraying device may be advantageously employed with rotary presses, and the pressure to operate the device may be obtained from an air line of the press or, if such is not convenient, a small compressor adapted to produce pressures of ten pounds may be employed.

The apparatus described may be employed for spraying printing rollers with a mixture of glycerine and water to condition the rollers as well as spraying with water alone, as previously described.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with printing structure of the type described including a frame, inking to said bed and cooperating with stationary cylinders mounted on said frame to produce an air pressure; a device mounted upon said structure adapted to supply liquid in finely divided form comprising a body portion, a nozzle, a source of liquid, a liquid duct leading from said source through said body portion and said nozzle, an air duct extending through said body portion and nozzle, a cap on said nozzle having an orifice adjacent to said inking mechanism, and an air line connected to said air duct and said cylinders adapted to supply air under pressure to force liquid in finely divided form from said orifice.

2. Printing structure of the type described including a frame, inking mechanism, a bed reciprocally mounted in said frame, air-heads secured to said bed and stationary cylinders mounted on said frame to receive said reciprocating airheads, and means detachably carried on said frame for supplying liquid in finely divided form to said inking mechanism comprising a nozzle, a source of liquid, a liquid duct leading through said nozzle, an air duct extending through said nozzle, a cap on said nozzle having a small orifice and an air supply line connecting said cylinders and said air duct and adapted to supply air under pressure produced in said cylinders.

3. Printing structure of the type described including a frame, inking mechanism, a bed reciprocally mounted in said frame, stationary cylinders at each end of said frame, pistons secured to said bed and reciprocating in said cylinders adapted to produce an air pressure, and means mounted on said frame for supplying liquid in finely divided form to said inking mechanism lid disposed above said body portion, a liquid duet leading from said source through said body.

portion and nozzle, an air. duct extending through said body portion and nozzle, 9. cap removably secured on said nozzle having a small annular orifice, and an air supply line connecting said cylinders and said air duct adapted to supply compressed air to force liquid in very finely clivided form from said orifice.

4. Printing structure of the type described including aframe', inking mechanism, a bed reciprocally mounted in said frame, pistons secured to'said bed, cylinders at each end oi said frame housing said reciprocating pistons adapted to produce an air pressure in said cylinders, and means detaohabiy mounted on said frame for supplying liquid in finely divided form to said inking mechanism, comprising a body portion, a nozzle forming one end of said body portion and provided with a small orifice, a source of liquid supply, a liquid duct leading through said body portion to said nozzle, an air duct extending through said body portion to said nozzle, and an air supply line connecting said cylinders and said air duct.

PHILIP A. FRAZIER.

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