US3000300A - Electrically controlled ink agitator - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 19, 1961 D. ORTLEB 3,000,300

ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED INK AGITATOR Filed Nov. 21, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I a a B A MES IN VENTOQ: DOUGLAS ORTLEE,

QTTOQNEY Sept. 19, 1961 D. ORTLEB ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED INK AGITATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 21, 1960 MENTOR- DOUGLAS ORTLEB:

64 H TTO NE 7 United States Patent Filed Nov. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 70,906 6 Claims. (Cl. 101-364) The present invention relates to the art of printing, and more particularly to ink agitators for use in connection with printing presses. More specifically, the present invention comprises an improvement over Patent No. 2,447,868, granted to the inventor hereof on August 24, 1948.

As explained in said patent, the inks generally employed in printing operations performed by most presses are heavy bodied, and therefore prone to coagulate unless they are stirred or agitated more or less constantly while the presses are in operation.

The theretofore existing problem of ink agitation was solved by applicants disclosure set forth in the patent, and although the ink agitator mechanism therein set forth has been and is now being extensively employed, the present invention is designed to provide an improvement thereover.

Accordingly, the primary object of this invention is to provide improved means for continuously agitating ink in the fountain of a press, both when the press is in operation and when the press is temporarily stopped in the course of printing operations.

It is another object of this invention to provide improved means for continuously agitating ink in the fountain of a press in a uniform manner whereby to prevent the trapping of air bubbles in the ink, thu assuring a thorough mixture of the bond and pigment ingredients at all times.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide means for continuously agitating ink in the fountain of a press so as to maintain the color uniform from one to the opposite end of the ink roller of the press.

To attain this objective, the present invention provides a novel mechanism that is electrically controlled, and is adapted to function smoothly, efliciently, and positively.

Broadly, said mechanism includes: an agitator blade; means for supporting said blade with the lower edge thereof in close proximity to the upper surface of the bottom wall of the ink fountain; means for continuously reciprocating said blade transversely of the fountain in one direction, then in the opposite direction; and means for limiting the reciprocal strokes of the blade. Reciprocations of the blade are effected by a rotatably mounted screw that activates a block through which said screw extends, the blade supporting means being associated with said block.

One end of the screw is connected by means of a flexible coupling to the output shaft of a reversible motor unit that is controlled by a magnetic reversing switch. The reversing switch in turn, is controlled by a micro switch having an actuating roller that in one position will effect clockwise rotation of the screw, and in its alternate position will effect counterclockwise rotation thereof. The motor unit and the two switches aforesaid are mounted in operative disposition relatively to each other on one of a pair of end brackets that together support all of the elements included in the mechanism of the present invention, said end brackets being attached to the side frames of the printing press.

A slidably mounted rod has a cam block secured thereto, the cam portion of said block being in constant contact with the roller of the micro switch. A pair of what will be termed travel blocks, is also secured in predetermined spaced relationship to'the rod aforesaid. The spacing of said travel blocks is dependent on the width of the Patented Sept. 19, 1961 ink fountain. In other words, these blocks would be so spaced that when the agitator blade arrives at a point adjacent one end of the fountain, the slidably mounted rod will automatically be shifted, in consequence whereof the cam block aforesaid will actuate the micro switch roller to reverse the rotational direction of the screw, as will appear.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated on two sheets of drawings that accompany this specification, and a more comprehensive understanding of the advantages and features inherent in the mechanism of the invention may be had from the detailed description to follow with reference to said drawings, where- FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the electrically controlled ink agitator mechanism of the present invention shown in operative association with the ink roller end portion of a typical conventional printing press;

FIGURE 2 is a rear elevational view of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary reproduction on an enlarged scale, of the lower left hand portion of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a similar View of the lower right hand portion of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary reproduction on an enlarged scale, of the left hand portion of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a similar View of the right hand portion of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary left end elevational view of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary reproduction on an enlarged scale, of the right hand portion of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 10 is a view, partly in section, taken on the line 10-10 of FIGURE'9;

FIGURE 11 is a detail view of the tongue plate adapted to extend into the helically generated groove of the motor driven screw;

FIGURE 12 is a top plan view of a slide block wherein the tongue plate of FIGURE 11 would be mounted;

FIGURE 13 is a detail view, partly in section, of the micro switch roller actuating cam;

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary view of the upper end portion of the agitator blade;

FIGURE 15 is a detail view of one of the three reversing rod supporting blocks included in the mechanism of the invention; and

FIGURE 16 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG- URE 6, illustrating the micro switch roller actuating cam in an alternate position.

The present invention, as hereinbefore noted, comprises a mechanism that is readily attachable to most, if not all conventional printing presses of the type under consideration. A typical press of this type is partially illustrated in the drawings and designated A. Inasmuch as such presses are well known, it is not deemed necessary to describe the press A in detail. It includes spaced side frames a between which an inking roller B is supported for rotation, the shaft C of said roller being driven by known means not shown. A conventional ink fountain generally indicated at D is defined by an inclined bottom wall E that extends between the side frames a. In more recent presses, a plate P that'is co-extensive with the bottom wall E is incorporated therein and has its lower edge in close proximity to the inking roller B. It will be understood however, that the present invention is not concerned with the provision of such plate, but is equally efficient when embodied in ink fountain constructions as disclosed in Patent No. 2,447,868 aforesaid.

The electrically controlled ink agitator mechanism of the present invention is designated as a whole by the numeral 20. For convenience in describing the mechanism 20, the various included components will be referred to in accordance with their presentation as viewed in the drawings, the portion of the press A that is illustrated being considered the rear portion thereof, and the ink roller B being considered disposed forwardly of the ink fountain D.

Thus, also as viewed in the drawings, the mechanism 20 includes a left end bracket generally designated 22, and a right end bracket generally designated 24, these brackets being attachable to the side frames a by means of bolts 26, and serving to support between them, a pair of vertically spaced transverse guide rails. The bracket 22 is L- shaped, and includes a horizontal leg segment 27 and a depending leg segment 28. The bracket 24 is generally L.-shaped, and also includes a horizontal leg segment designated 29 and a depending leg segment 30. The guide rails are rectangular in cross-section, and include an upper rail 32 and a lower rail 34, the ends of said rails being removably secured to the depending bracket leg segments 28 and 30 by means of screws 36 as shown.

Secured to the leg segment 28 by means of a screw 38, and disposed between the guide rails 32 and 34, is a rectangular block 40 having a transverse circular opening 42 formed therein. Secured to the leg segment 30 by means of screws 44, and disposed between said guide rails is a pair of horizontally spaced rectangular blocks 46 and 48, each having a transverse circular opening 50 therein, as shown for example in Figure 15. Numeral 52 designates what will be termed a reversing rod, the left end portion of said rod being slidably supported in the opening 42 of the block 40, and the right end portion thereof being slidably supported in the aligned openings 50 of the blocks 46 and 48.

In the single ink fountain embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, a pair of horizontally spaced travel blocks and a roller actuating cam block are each secured to the reversing rod 52 by means of set screws, so that these three blocks and said rod move in unison fashion when, as will appear, said rod is caused to reciprocate. The travel blocks are affixed to the reversing rod 52 in predetermined spaced relationship, the left hand block being designated 54, and the right hand block being designated 56. The cam block is identified by the numeral 58, and includes a semicircular lower extremity 60. The set screws whereby these three blocks are secured to the reversing rod 52 are designated by the numeral 62.

In addition to the roller actuating function thereof, the

cam block 58 serves to limit the reciprocatory travel of the reversing rod in that it is secured to said rod between the blocks 46 and 48 aforesaid. In other words, as should be evident from a comparison of FIGURES 6 and 16, leftward movement of the rod 52 is arrested when the cam block 58 contacts the block 46, whereas rightward movement of said rod is arrested when the cam block contacts the block 48.

The cam block 58 is shown per se in FIGURE 13, where it will be observed that it is appropriately notched as at 64 so that its forward portion is slidably disposed between the rails 32 and 34, whereas the rearward semicircular extremity 60 thereof overlies and extends below the upper face of the lower guide rail 34 to engage the roller R of a micro switch MS. The micro switch is conventional, and is appropriately secured to the leg segment 30 of the bracket 24 by suitable means as best seen in FIGURES 6 and 8.

As hereinbefore observed, the right end bracket 24 is generally L-shaped, but has integrally formed therewith upwardly and' laterally extending substantially rectangular platform segment that constitutes a base plate 66 for supporting a magnetic reversing switch MRS onits forward face, and a reversible motor unit RMU on its rearward face. The output shaft of the motor unit RMU is designated 08, andit'will be. understood that its rotational direction will alternative-lube. clockwise or counterclockwise responsive to the functioning of the magnetic reversing switch MRS that is controlled by the micro switch MS.

Numeral 68 designates generally, a helically generated screw that extends between the side frames a, and serves to effect the rightward and leftward movements of a nut block and the therewith associated ink agitating blade to be hereinafter described.

With attention directed particularly to FIGURES 3 and 5, it will be observed that the threaded main body portion 78 of the screw 68 terminates at one end short of the inner faces of the left frame a and the thereon mounted bracket 22, and merges into a segment 72 of re duced diameter. The segment 72 merges into a journal segment 74 of slightly larger diameter as shown, and said journal segment is rotatably supported in a horizontal circular opening 76 provided therefor in the depending leg segment 28 of the bracket 22.

With attention directed particularly to FIGURES 4 and 6, it will be observed that the threaded main body portion 70 of the screw 68 terminates at the other end short of the inner faces of the right side frame a and the thereon mounted bracket 24, and merges into a segment 78 of reduced diameter. The segment 78 merges into a collar segment 80 of considerably larger diameter, and a journal segment 82 having a diameter corresponding to its counterpart 74 extends rightwardly from the collar segment 80. The journal segment 82 is rotatably sup ported in a horizontal circular opening 84 provided therefor in the depending leg segment 30 of the bracket 24. Numeral 86 designates a flexible coupling wherewith the journal segment 82 is operatively connected to the output shaft OS of the reversible motor unit RMU. Two thrust bearings 88 insure smooth operation of the screw 68.

One such bearing is shown interposed between the collar segment 80 and the inner face of the bracket leg segment 30. The other thrust bearing is interposed between the flexible coupling 86 and the outer face of said leg segment 30.

With attention directed particularly to FIGURES 9 through 12, numeral 90 indicates generally what will be termed a nut block. The body 92 of this block has formed therein a first transverse circular opening 94 through which the screw 68 extends, and a second similar opening 96 through which the reversing rod 52 extends. The body 92 of the block has also formed therein upper and lower channels 98 and 100 respectively that engage the guide rails 32 and 34.

A diagonal slot 102 extends from the top to the bottom face of the block, the angularity of said slot corresponding to thatof the helically generated groove of the screw 68. Disposed in said slot and retained therein by a pair of cap screws 104, is a tongue plate 106, a forward portion of said plate extending into the helical groove of the screw 68. With this arrangement, it is apparent that rotation of said screw will cause the nut block 90 to travel either rightwardly or leftwardly, as viewed in the drawings.

As best seen in FIGURE 12, the rear face 108 of the nut block 90 has formed therein a vertical recess 110 that extends from the top to the bottom face thereof. A perpendicular standard 112 is disposed in said recess, and is maintained in the desired vertical position by means of a set screw 114 that extends through an elongated slot 116 in said standard, and engages in a threaded opening #118 provided therefor in the body 92 of the nut block.

7 Numeral 120 designates generally, a supporting bracket for an agitator blade 122. The bracket 120 includes a bifurcated section 124 that has a pivotal connection 126 with the reduced upper end extremity 128 of the standard 112. As clearly shown in FIGURE 5, the pivotal connection 126 is comprised of a bolt 130 that passes through aligned circular openings in the bifurcated section 124 of the blade unn ft ns a ke 1.2 d 1111a extremity 128 of the standard 112, and has a nut 132 applied to its projecting threaded extremity.

The main body portion of the bracket 120 is designated 134, and has formed therein an agitator blade receptive recess 136. The width of this recess is slightly greater than the thickness of the blade 122. Numeral 138 indicates a bolt having a smooth shank portion extending across the recess 136, said shank portion terminating in a threaded extremity in engagement with a tapped opening 140 provided therefor in the bracket main body portion 134.

The preferred configuration of the agitator blade 122 is shown in FIGURE 7. The blade has straight upper and lower edges 142 and 144 respectively. The upper edge 142 merges in sinuous fashion into the lower edge 144 to form a pointed portion 146 constituting the forward end of said blade. The rear end portion of the blade 122 is particularly illustrated in FIGURE '14. There the blade is seen to have formed therein a notch 148 that extends upwardly from the lower edge 142 of the blade, and terminates in a semicircular portion 150 having a diameter corresponding to that of the smooth shank portion aforesaid of the bolt 138.

It will be understood that the magnetic reversing switch MRS, the reversible motor unit RMU, and the micro switch MS are commercially available items, and form per se no part of the present invention. It should also be understood that (although not shown in the drawings), the requisite electrical connections are provided. When the roller R of the micro switch is in the elevated position as shown in FIGURE 6, the reversible motor unit RMU will drive the screw 68 in a clockwise direction as viewed from the right hand side of the press. Consequently, the nut block 90 and therefor the agitator blade 122 move rightwardly as suggested by the broken line arrow 152 appearing in FIGURE 5. When the roller R of the micro switch is in the depressed position as shown in FIGURE 16, the unit RMU will drive the screw 68 in a counterclockwise direction, whereby to propel the nut block 90 and therefore the agitator blade 122 leftwardly.

The plurality of adjustments that are provided, serve to facilitate the appropriate disposition of the agitator blade *122 so that the bottom edge 142 thereof lies in close proximity to the upper surface of the inclined ink well bottom wall E, and the pointed end 146 thereof lies in close proximity to the periphery of the roller B. Thus the standard 112, riding in the recess 11!), may be raised or lowered and maintained in the desired position of vertical adjustment by means of the elongated slot 116 and the set screw 114. Furthermore the agitator blade supporting bracket 120 may be rotated about the pivotal connection 126, and locked in the appropriate position of adjustment by tightening the nut 132. Finally, the blade 122 itself may be raised or lowered slightly, and maintained in position by tightening the bolt 138.

In operation, when the nut block 90, moving rightwardly, engages the travel block 56, the reversing rod 52 will be moved rightwardly also, whereby to shift the cam block 57 from the FIGURE 6 to the FIGURE 16 position thereof. Consequently, the roller R of the micro switch MS would be depressed. As a result, the rotational direction of the screw .68 would be reversed, thus causing the block 90 to move leftwardly until it engages the travel block 54, and thereby shifts the cam block 58 to the FIGURE 6 position thereof, again reversing the rotational direction of the screw, as should now be evident. With respect to the reduced end segments 72 and 78 of the screw 68, these are provided to enable the nut block 91) to rest in a neutral position should either the travel block 54 or the travel block 56 work its way loose on the reversing rod 52.

It is believed that the foregoing description and the drawings provide an adequate disclosure for a complete understanding of the present invention, its mode of operation, and the advantages thereof. Although a single ink fountain arrangement has been illustrated and described, it will be understood that the present invention also contemplates multiple fountain arrangements wherein a plurality of appropriately spaced nut blocks and thereon supported agitator blades would be employed.

What is claimed is:

1. In an ink agitating mechanism in the form of an attachment for a printing press, said press including an ink fountain and an inking roller, the combination of: a pair of end brackets each including a horizontal leg segment adapted to be mounted on one side frame of the press and a depending leg segment; a pair of vertically spaced guide rails each having its ends secured to one of said depending leg segments; a helically generated screw extending transversely therebetween and having its end portions journaled in said depending leg segments; a reversible motor unit including an output shaft having a flexible connection with one end thereof for rotating the screw; a micro switch having an actuating roller, and a magnetic switch for controlling the directional rotation of the output shaft; a nut block provided with a tongue plate engageable in the groove of the helically generated screw reciprocable transversely of the mechanism; an agitator blade supported from a bracket adjustably mounted on a standard secured to said nut block, said blade having its lower edge disposed in proximity to the upper surface of the bottom wall of the fountain and its forward edge in proximity to the periphery of the inking roller; a reversing rod extending transversely of the mechanism and having its opposite ends supported in slide blocks secured to the depending leg segments and disposed between the guide rails; a pair of travel blocks slidably disposed between the guide rails secured to said rod in determined spaced relationship with the nut block disposed between them; a cam block also secured to said rod and having a portion thereof slidably disposed between the guide rails with a depending portion thereof overlying and extending below the top surface of the lower of said guide rails into engagement with the roller of the micro switch.

2. In an ink agitating mechanism in the form of an attachment for a printing press, said press including an ink fountain and an inking roller, the combination of the structure defined in claim 1 wherein the body of the nut block reciprocable transversely of the mechanism has formed therein: a first transverse circular opening through which the screw extends; a second similar opening through which the reversing rod extends; upper and lower channels slidably engaging the guide rails; a diagonal slot extending from the top to the bottom face of the body for mounting said tongue plate, the angularity of said slot corresponding to that of the helical groove in the screw; a vertical recess in the rear face thereof extending from the top to the bottom of the body, a portion of the vertical standard being disposed in said recess; and a threaded circular opening for the reception of a set screw wherewith the standard is retained in said recess.

3. In an ink agitating mechanism in the form of an attachment for a printing press, said press including an ink fountain and an inking roller, the combination of the structure defined in claim 1 wherein the agitator blade has straight upper and lower edges, the upper edge merging in sinuous fashion into the lower edge to form a pointed portion constituting the forward end of the blade, and wherein the rear end portion of said blade has formed therein a notch that extends upwardly from the lower edge of the blade and terminates in a semicircular portion.

4. In an ink agitating mechanism in the form of an attachment for a printing press, said press including an ink fountain and an inking roller, the combination of the structure defined in claim 1 wherein the bracket adjustably mounted on the standard includes a main body portion and a bifurcated section integral therewith; said main body portion having therein a recess for the reception of the rear end portion of the agitator blade, and a pair of aligned circular openings, one of said openings being tapped to receive the threaded extremity of a bolt having a smooth shank portion extending across said recess and through a notch in the rear end portion of said blade; said bifurcated section having a pivotal connection with the upper end of the standard, the pivotal connection comprising a bolt extending through aligned circular openings provided therefor in the bifurcated section and in the upper end of the standard, and having a nut applied to its projecting threaded extremity.

5. In an ink agitating mechanism in the form of an attachment for a printing press, said press including an ink fountain and an inking roller, the combination of the structure defined in claim 1, wherein the standard secured to the nutblock has formed therein an elongated vertical slot through which a set screw extends into engagement with a threaded opening provided therefor in the nut block, and wherein the upper end of the standard it reduced and provided with a circular opening for passage therethrough and through aligned circular openings in a bifurcated section of said agitator blade supporting bracket of a bolt having a nut applied to its projecting threaded extremity.

6. Electrically controlled ink agitating mechanism attachable to the rear end portion of a printing press, said press including an ink fountain having an inclined bottom wall and an inking roller in contact with the forward edge thereof, said mechanism comprising in combination: a pair of end brackets each including a horizontal leg segment secured to one side frame of the press and a depending leg segment; a pair of vertically spaced transverse guide rails each having its opposite ends secured to one of the depending leg segments of the end brackets; a transversely extending screw having its end portions journaled in said depending leg segments, said screw be ing helically generated to provide a continuous helical groove therein; a nut block through which said screw extends provided with a tongue plate engaging said groove whereby rotation of the screw will eflFect transverse movements of said block; a vertically adjustable standard secured to the nut block; a bracket having a pivotal connection with the upper end of the standard; an agitator blade having its rear end portion secured in the last named bracket with its lower edge disposed in proximity to the upper surface of the bot-tom wall of the ink fountain and its forward pointed portion disposed in proximity to the periphery of the inking roller; a rod extending transversely between the guide rails and having its end portions slidably supported in blocks disposed between said guide rails and secured to said depending leg segments of the end brackets, said rod extending freely through a circular opening in the nut block; a pair of travel blocks slidably disposed between the guide rails and secured to the rod in determined horizontally spaced relationship to each other with the nut block aforesaid being located between them; a magnetic reversing switch and a reversible motor unit supported on an upwardly and laterally extending substantially rectangular platform segment integrally formed with the horizontal leg segment of one of the end brackets; a flexible coupling connecting one end portion of the screw with the output shaft of the motor unit; a micro switch provided with an actuating roller supported from the adjacent depending leg segment of the end bracket; and a cam block slidably disposed between the guide rails and secured to said transverse rod; said cam block including a depending semicircular segment in engagement with the roller of the micro switch, whereby when the nut block in its transverse movements engages one of the travel blocks aforesaid, the slidably mounted rod will shift the cam block to actuate the micro switch roller and effect reversal of the then rotational direction of the screw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,142,019 Buettner June 8, 1915 1,644,545 Robertson Oct. 4, 1927 1,937,473 Geary et al. Nov. 28, 1933 2,234,754 Gegenheimer Mar. 11, 1941 2,315,582 Blodgett Apr. 6, 1943 2,447,868 Ortleb Aug. 24, 1948

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