US2640458A - Machine for printing and powdering sheets - Google Patents

Description

June 2, 1953 A. c. slAs MACHINE EoR PRINTING AND POWDERING SHEETS 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 1'7, 1950 INVENTOR. u lr'ikur U. Si

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MACHINE FOR PRINTING AND POWDERING SHEETS Filed March 17, 1950 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TOR. fifkur 0. .Sv'as BY m umrn s June 2, 1953 A. c. SIAS MACHINE FOR PRINTING AND POWDERING SHEETS 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 17, 1950 w W Ea WM 5 w a m P 5 n 1 June 2, 1953 A. c. SIAS MACHINE FOR PRINTING AND POWDERING SHEETS l7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed March 17, 1950- IN VEN TOR. uqfifhar' 01 SL'OLS BY June 2, 1953 A. C. SIAS MACHINE FOR PRINTING AND POWDERING SHEETS 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed March 1'7; 1950 .5 mm ms W0 1 r u W June 2, 1953 c, s s

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June 2, 1953 c, s'lAs MACHINE FOR PRINTING AND POWDERING SHEETS Filed March 1'7, 1950 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 13 .lsiiriigfiisisj I C. Sias Mitowze lLrl mm mw June 2, 1953 c, s s

MACHINE FOR PRINTING AND POWDERING SHEETS Filed March 17, 1950 17 Sheets-Sheet 14 INVENTOR. Jiri'hur CZSIlczs BY M M Marne .5

June 2, 1953 A. c. SIAS MACHINE FOR PRINTING AND POWDERING SHEETS 17 Sheets-Sheet 15 Filed March 17, 1950 INVENTOR. 277 271207 C- z'as rne s June 2, 1953 Q $|A$ MACHINE FOR PRINTING AND POWDERING SHEETS 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 16 Filed March 17, 1950 INVENTOR. flrihur U. Sias BY June 2, 1953 r A. c. SIAS MACHINE FOR PRINTING AND POWDERING SHEETS 17 Sheets-Sheet 17 Filed March 1'7, 1950 ohm IN V EN TOR. firi'hur 0. 'S'ias Patented June 2, 1953 UNITED STATES Arthur). .Sjas, Weston, Conn, assigngrtp Golgi.-

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reratinh f N e i r Appli a i n ar h-1' ,:Sfl'ihLNQ-l5932l 29 C aims.- 1

This invention r lates t new and us u r mprovementsin machihe io powd ihg et and has especial referenc to dev s in p intin 3- calcomania sheets and then powdering them with suitable pigments. It is to h pnglerstood that when the word ipowderine.is used it i m a to include not only the application of color to the sheet, bntalso-th app i ation f 1 0 3 1 ilar material to z-thezsheets f o ;r dusting the same whenzdesired.

Background In conventional printing processes, thepig-ment is incorporated inthe pri-nting ink.

In ceramic decal --printing, only a --few colors are printed with the pigment incorporated in the printing ink. Most of the colors are appliedsubsequent to the printing pperation in-the following manner:

'The printing of the image on the sheet 01" decal paperis done with varnish in which no pigment is incorporated. The 'pigment'is subsequently applied. to the image by dusting -theentire sheet of paper with the dry color. flhecolor-thns dusted adheres to the printedvarnish image. Excess color is removed from the sheet, leaving -the desired image with the color attached ;to the previously printed varnish.

For many years this particular -met-ho'd has been achieved by first printing the varnish on flatbed printing presses, using lithographicstones as printing plates. After'the-varnish was-thus pr nted, the sheets were hand-fed through-a machine which appli d the-pigment. "I-hismachine is known in the trade as the 'powclering machine.

' The hand-fed powdermachine consisted of a feed boar-:1; front stop guides to which the sheet is fed or positioned; -a-cylin'der approximately 20 in diameter which is ecnipped with a gripper mechanism to take the sheet; an elevatingmechanism which raises the-fed sheet" to the cylinder grippers; a color fountainwhich' hclds the color against the cylinder and through which the-sheet passes as the cylinder and-the sheetrota-te; oscillating buffer pads which distribute the color over edge of the sheet away from the cylinder when the grippers open; stripperfingersewhich intercept the front edge of thesheet of paper assthe cylinder rotates anciguide the'sheet off the cylindera-nd-into acollecting box.

' The method above described has'hitherto' been (01- Al i -4'6) .iised and produces the wo it defin t lim r t ns as t meihodeh a par us wh c .iii s it impossible to produce greater quantities of wo ka d al o i a se it im ssib to p d pes 5 iaint p s .o ork- A i idich ed abo th v rni a bee rint-- as on a ca hed -t iert r e pres usin lithesioii pla ;it i 1 12 c ns de d pract cal t make stone p a es by photo raph c means I is desi a e o make plate by QhQFQQifiPlli Hat ma b php os a his meah 'ere u i ali m t i-nlat instea o stem A tem t h v een mad i ii i 9 ty of wer usin meta plate y p o es zaph imea y using such Pla es on the aiii eme t n d fiai c p s-iss- Res ilis hav not been sa isfactor r p actis ble.

F r e -lim etiehs of i efia ed t re s-i t a iii sp ed, Thi i pe o p e s r e r satihs and is limited 3 a proximately 1,000 she ets or hni ssiehs. Ps .h irsub itu n h in idr of set o ary ithoe aph cp s o the flatbed press, the above limitations are avoided. Me a p ates made .iihoiesra h eali seh h s e ss iiliy i iciicill --i i Oh mqde nc iinds resse i rcd cihg our t p o 0 l SLYQ a press may be operated in excess of 5,0110 sheets o ihm e s im e hou Eh b ngs us -.nat. .i. eiiv t the l m tat on :o th ..h ihe i0 know i de ine ma h n Bein han -fe a L 9 she .ah'hou i q visiiisi cou d no z s pa wit a qrl er e s s e e at 5, 99 hoi rli wa ihe ettehi iet to rise a :hr a hihe simila t t e hand- ;ife p wde aehih hiitiples eii i th en e th eiise c riht hsm shihe h shah, -manhe ha th .s i d 'qpni 0 fi hs-del ve o th f set pres weal tel a ,ihe ii zeieshehismh ther wt i e h hsd-r eni svh- -rv-was-addedtwin -1 0 time ess-th c to eset e s :rr .dei- Th a rangem nt wa us caus 9" h ou le tha a he it present me- ,.rh -=the bas s 9 th 3 stop guides of the powder machine in such position and at the proper time so that the elevating mechanism could introduce the sheet into the powder machine cylinder gripper. In order to efiect this result it was necessary that the sheet be properly positioned at the front stop guides of the feeder at the proper instant. To accomplish this with a fast moving sheet of paper that was under no positive control, but just floating on moving tapes was found impracticable. It should be remembered at this point in the old process that the sheet has been printed with varnish and was not yet dusted with color. Any attempt to use rollers or other mechanism on the top of the sheet to obtain some measure of control would be most likely to smear or disturb the freshly printed varnish image. 1 There are other objections relating to the mechanical means for feeding the sheet to the powder cylinder grippers but the essential point is that up to this time the 'sheet has not been under positive control after it left the delivery of the offset press until it reached the grippers of the powder cylinder,

The effect of this previous difficulty in controlling the sheets passing from the printing press to the cylinder of the powder cylinder has been that the sheet is out of control and consequently there are frequent misses. The sheets are thus piled up in the machine causing not only loss of the sheets which miss and get fouled up, but also spoiling succeeding sheets until the machine is brought to a stop. These pile-ups also endanger the equipment itself, sometimes causing smash-ups. Furthermore, one of the most serious effects outside of lost production and spoiled sheets is the effect of frequent stops on the job as a whole. Uniformity of the printing on a complete job, say 5,000 to 10,000 sheets, is best achieved by continuous operation of the printing press. Frequent stops and starts results in tremendous variation in the printing of the entire job and makes the job unacceptable to the customer.

sheet is held on the cylinder by one long gripper which acts also as the gap closer. As the cylinder and sheet rotate, the sheet is first passed through the color fountain, then under the oscillating rubbing pads, after which it has been necessary to deliver the sheets from the cylinder to the chain grippers of the pile delivery. Due tothe fact that the sheet is held to the cylinder by one long continuous gripper, it is impossible to grab the sheet with the chain grippers without first opening the grippers on the cylinder. Of course, just as soon as the gripper thus opens, the control of the sheet at this point is lost. Previously, means had been provided on the old machine to attempt to maintain control of the sheet by placing so-called feed rollers or collars in such a manner that they bear on the sheet, pressing it against the cylinder and rotating in synchronism with the cylinder surface. This was done to keep the sheet moving with the cylinder. However, it must be noted that in the old machine part of the sheet still remains under the oscillating pads when the gripper opens, thus putting the full responsibility of moving the sheetagainst the drag of the pads upon'the feed can take hold of the sheet.

rollers. Pressure is required to do this but on the other hand excessive pressure of these rollers cause marks on the sheet and slurring of the freshly printed image on the surface of the sheet with which the rollers contact. In addition, even excessive pressure does not guarantee that the sheet will not slip back occasionally. After the cylinder gripper opens, it is necessary for the grippers of the chain delivery bars to intercept the front edge of the sheet, this edge no longer being positively held, It is necessary for the front edge to be in position at or outside of the surface of the cylinder in order for the grippers to intercept it. To accomplish this, so-called shoo-fly pins have been used. These are pins in the cylinder positioned under the cylinder grippers. When the grippers open, these pins push out from the surface of the cylinder against the underside of the leading edge of the sheet, pushing it away from the surface of the cylinder so that the chain bar grippers of the delivery unit This arrangement has been found far from positive and depends too much upon the straightness or curl of the paper. If the leading edge of the sheet is curled away from the cylinder, the chain bar grippers miss it on one side. If the curl is toward the cylinder, they miss it on the other side. The same conditions exist if 'the sheet is too limp or too stiif. Furthermore, if the drag on the sheet caused by the rubbing-pads is greater than the forward pull caused by the feed rollers, the sheet tends to slip back when the cylinder gripper is opened and the shoe-fly pins miss the front edge of the sheet.

A second object of this invention is to provide means to insure that the drag on the sheet when the grippers open is eliminated and that the transfer of the sheet from the powder cylinder to the pile-up delivery mechanism is positive and that the sheet, during this transfer, is under full and positive control.

Still another difficulty with the former machine has to do with the inadequate and uneven deposit of color on the sheet. As previously stated, the process of printing described involves printing the design in unpigmented varnish on the sheet first, and then subsequently dusting the dry color on. In the previous form of machine there was employed one color fountain and three oscillating pads disposed thereafter along the surface of the powdering cylinder. It has been found, however, that with the use of the cylinder printing press instead of the old flatbed press the speed of operation and delivery of the sheets is much faster and therefore the old cylinder was not sufficient to handle the delivery unless its speed was jumped up by excessive amounts. Furthermore, with the use of two fountains on the old machine, the second fountain would be too close to the vertical center of the cylinder surface.

It is therefore another object of this invention to overcome this deficiency whereby the improved cylinder can handle the faster delivery from the printing press and also accommodate the larger number of fountains and pads necessary to thoroughly apply the powder and not smear the surface of the sheets.

A further difficulty with the old machine and its use with more fountains and pads has to do with the possibility of causing inadequate deposit of color and an uneven deposit of color. When additional color fountains are added to the old cylinder more oscillating dusting or rubbing closer.

the gripper bar.

pads must be added. With the old cylinder this would require that some of the added pads being disposed on the quadrant of the cylinder extending from the vertical center of the cylinder on the downward path of the cylinder. Here again we have the aggravated condition where the collar would be riding on the cylinder in a downward path which would cause streaking and marking of the fresh image due to the jamming aifect of the color as it is carried by the cylinder against the oscillating pads. The adjustment of the pads with respect to the cylinder and the pressure of the pads on the cylinder presented a problem. Another problem has been to provide simple means whereby this pressure can be easily and quickly varied to suit the needs and that the pads can be independently lifted away from the cylinder if at any time a particular pad picks up some bit of color or substance that will mark the sheet.

It is thus a still further object of the invention to provide means to overcome these defects.

Still another difiiculty encountered with the old machine is due to considerable spoilage of work due to the fact that excess color is carried along with the sheet. This color accumulates in the pile, packs unevenly on the design and either results in spots of heavy color in the finished work or is the cause of rub marks resulting when too vigorous cleaning methods are employed. In

addition to the loss due to spoiled printed sheets, there is also a tremendous loss or waste of the color itself. Many of the colors employed cost $35.00 or more a pound. Another disadvantage of this excess of color on the sheet is the limitation it imposes on subsequent operations. The sheets cannot be fed through the cleaning machines, practicably, in an automatic feeder because such feeders depend upon air blowers to separate the sheets in feeding. Air blown in between the sheets covered with excess color creates a cloud of color powder which is very difficult to collect and exhaust. Thus production is limited to hand-fed machines at a rate of approximately 1,000 sheets per hour instead of 5,000 or more sheets per hour in an automatic feed machine.

The reason for dirty sheets on the old machine is outlined briefly as follows:

A. Only has one color fountain. tosses additional color between pads.

B. Only three oscillating pads.

C. Incorrect positioning of the oscillating pads on the cylinder too near top center.

D. The cylinder gripping bar is also the gap Pressman fore the gap closer is opened. However, on the old machine the gap closer being also the gripper,

when the gap closer is opened, the sheet is no longer held by the gripper.

This makes it difficult to provide means for removing the color.

E. Accumulation of color at the back edge of F. Feed rollers.

G. No means to clean back of the sheet.

It is therefore still another object of the invention to provide means to overcome the above mentioned defects.

A further problem in connection with prior powdering machines is related to the extreme day out without stoppage for readjustments.

There is always a deposit of a line of a Another problem had to do with the fact that the operation of'the grippers on the drum when receiving a sheet from the press has not been hitherto independent from the operation of the same grippers when they are called upon to turn over this sheet to the grippers on the chain delivery mechanism of the pile-up device. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide independent means for adjusting the various grippers on the machine, especially on the drum and to permit independence of adjustment of the operation of said grippers on the drum when they deliver the sheets to the pile-up device.

Further and more specific objects, features, and advantages will more clearly appear from a consideration of the detailed specification hereinafter set forth especially when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a present preferred form which the invention may assume and which form part of the specification.

In brief and general terms the improved machine which is designed to overcome the difficulties and defects of the old machine as above set forth, includes the combination of a rotary high speed off-set printing press in which the designs in varnish are printed on the sheet, a large powder cylinder of such diameter that its circumference will accommodate several sheets at a time, and a pile-up delivery unit associated at the opposite side of the powdering cylinder to receive the printed and dusted sheets.

A vital feature of this set-up is that means are provided in the form of grippers which seize the printed sheet as soon as it passes the printing rollers or cylinders and holds its front edge,

. thus gripped, under positive control as it is passed to a similar set of grippers on the powder cylinder. This arrangement is such that one set of grippers do not let go of the sheet edge until the other set has established gripping engagement. In passing from the powder cylinder to the pile-up delivery mechanism the same action takes place, namely, the grippers on the powder cylinder do not let go of the sheet edge until grippers on the delivery chains have seized this edge to pass it to the pile-up device. In this general manner it is seen that the sheet is thus under direct and positive control at all times and never for an instant floats free in its passage from the printing unit to the pile-up unit. Thereby the defects and difficulties previously enumerated and described are definitely avoided.

As indicated above, the old powder machine was a separate machine placed at the end of the offset press. The sheets dropped off the chain delivery of the press onto the feeder of the powder machine. In the new machine the design is such as to make the off-set press and powder machine one complete unit. The powder machine is an integral part of the unit. The pile delivery of the off-set press as assembled by the manufacturer is removed; the new powder machine is assembled integral with the off-set press and the pile delivery of the press is then assembled at the delivery end of the powder machine. Gripper bars mounted on chains take the sheet from the impression cylinder of the offset press in the same manner that the chain delivery did before it was removed from the press. These gripper bars carrying the sheet take it to the grippers on the powder cylinder of the new powder unit. They do not let go of the sheet until the grippers on the cylinder of the powder machine take hold of it; Continuous operation

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