US3127834A

US3127834A - Blanket lockup assembly

Info

Publication number: US3127834A
Application number: US60407A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Louis S Tyma; Glenn R Peabody
Original assignee: Miehle Goss Dexter Inc
Current assignee: Miehle Goss Dexter Inc
Priority date: 1960-10-04
Filing date: 1960-10-04
Publication date: 1964-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 1981-04-07

Description

L. s. TYMA, JR., ETAL 3,127,834

BLANKET LOCKUP ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 0 MM /W 50 6 Z W April 7, 1964 Filed 001;. 4, 1960 A ril 7, 1964 L. s. TYMA, JR., ETAL I 3,127,334

BLANKET LOCKUP ASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 4, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 24 3/ 3INVENT0R5.

100/5 .5 Zia/e, Jr: 6/! Z Pmaoy 1f f/or/reys.

A resilient outer layer. I must be properly tensioned, smooth, and periodically re- United States Patent F 3,127,334 BLANKET LUCKUP ASSEMBLY Louis S. Tyma, 3n, Hinsdale, and Glenn R. Peabody,

Villa Park, lil, assigncrs to Miehle-Goss-Dexter, Incorporated, (Ihicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Filed Get. 4, 19%, Ser. No. 6tl,4ll7 6 (Ilaims. (Cl. 161-4151) This invention relates to olfset printing presses and concerns more particularly a blanket cylinder for such presses.

The blanket cylinder for an offset press usually includes a solid cylindrical base having a resilient, flexible blanket tensioned about its periphery. This gives the cylinder a To operate efiiciently, the blanket placed, and hence the art has given a great deal of attention to the securing or lockup of blanket members onto their cylinders.

It is the primary aim of the present invention to provide an improved flexible blanket lockup arrangement that effectively positions and locks a blanket on a cylinder while being very easy to use and exceptionally economical to manufacture.

In more detail, the improved blanket lockup arrangement of the invention is particularly efiective since the blanket is tensioned by solidly supporting both axially alined blanket edges and drawing them down with uniform force into a narrow slot. Thus, the blanket is uniformly tensioned and only the narrow slot interrupts the continuity of the blanket cylinder surface.

It is also an object to provide a lockup arrangement as described above whose economy results both from the simple shape of the required cylinder slot as well as the easily formed character of the additional parts making up the assembly.

Moreover, it is a further object to provide a blanket lockup arrangement of the above type which is simple to manipulate when changing blankets and which facilitates alinement of a blanket as it is positioned on a cylinder.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary section, with portions broken away, of a blanket cylinder embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end section taken approximately along the line 22 of PEG. 1 and showing one step in installing a blanket on the cylinder;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 2 showing a succeeding step in the procedure of mounting a blanket on a cylinder;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 3 showing the final position of the parts; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevation of a modified arrangement for anchoring the edges of the blanket shown in the other figures.

While the invention will be described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that we do not intend to limit the invention to that embodiment. On the contrary, we intend to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning first to FIG. 1 there is shown a blanket cylin- "ice der assembly 10 embodying the blanket lockup arrangement of the present invention. The cylinder assembly 10 includes a cylindrical body 11 having opposite

end shaft portions

12 and 13 and a flexible resilient blanket 15 preferably formed of sheet rubber. The

end shaft portions

12, 13 of the cylinder are journaled in a press frame 16 by roller bearings 17 of which only one is shown. The bearings 17 are carried in eccentric mounts 18 which can be rotated in the press frame 16 so as to adjust the position of the blanket cylinder assembly.

In accordance with the invention, the blanket 15 is mounted on the cylinder body 11 by a pair of

bars

21 and 22 which are secured to opposite ends of the blanket 15 and which are drawn in overlying relation down into a slot 23 formed in the cylinder body. The slot 23 is generally rectangular in cross section and presents a fairly narrow opening in the periphery of the cylinder. The slot extends axially the full length of the cylinder body 11.

The

bars

21, 22 are approximately square in cross section and are secured to the blanket 15 by strips 24 which tightly sandwich the ends of the blanket between the strips and the

respective bars

21, 22. A series of flat head screws 25 lock the strips and their associated bars tightly together. When in assembled relation, the

bars

21, 22, the ends of the blanket 15, and the strips 24 are adapted to be slidably fitted within the slot 23, and the combined thickness of each assembly extends substantially the full width of the slot.

In a slightly modified arrangement (see FIG. 5), a blanket 15a corresponding to the blanket 15 may be clamped between a bar 22a and a strip 24a by a plurality of screws 25a with the bar 22a and the strip 24a having interfitting ridge and trough portions 26 and 27. The bend thus imposed in the blanket 15a securely anchors the blanket to the bar 22:: and resists any tendency of the blanket to slip from between the bar 22a and the strip 24a. Alternatively, the opposed faces of the bars and strips can be knurled or otherwise roughened so as to securely grip the blanket.

To install the blanket 15 on the cylinder body 11, the

bars

21, 22 are first secured to the blanket ends by sandwiching the blanket edges between the respective bars and the strips 24 as described above. The first bar 21 is then anchored in the bottom of the slot 23 by a pair of shoulder screws 30 which pass through lugs 31 formed at each end of the bar 21. The screws 30 are threaded firmly into tapped holes formed at the opposite ends of the slot 23. The shoulder portions of the screws 30 hold the first bar 21 with sufficient looseness to permit some lost motion of the bar radially of the cylinder body.

With the first bar 21 anchored at the bottom of the slot 23, the operator holds onto the free end of the blanket 15 and the cylinder assembly is slowly rotated in the direction of the arrow 32 shown in FIG. 2. Because of the solid, accurate alinement of the first bar 21 both radially and axially of the cylinder body, the blanket 15 wraps about the cylinder body smoothly and in proper alinement as it is held under light tension by the operator. When this step has been completed, the parts have assumed the position shown in FIG. 2.

The second bar 22 is then disposed over the first bar 21 and a plurality of cap screws 35 are passed through both of the

bars

21, 22 into threadable engagement with holes tapped in the bottom of the slot 23. At this point, both ends of the blanket are anchored within the slot 23 3 and the blanket is loosely disposed about the cylinder body, the position of the parts shown in FIG. 3.

The cap screws 35 are then tightened downwardly, driving both

bars

21, 22 down into the slot 23 and drawing both edges of the blanket 15 into the slot so as to tension the blanket uniformly about the periphery of the cylinder body 11. Because of its lost motion anchoring, the bar 21 moves down freely as the cap screws 35 are tightened so that the tensioning force/is exerted onboth edges of the blanket during the tightening step. The parts thus assume the positions shown in FIG. 4.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the blanket lockup arrangement illustrated and described is particularly economical to manufacture. Contributing to this economy of construction is the fact that the slot 23 formed in the cylinder body 11 is of simple rectangular configuration Without requiring complicated undercutting or other expensive machining operations. In addition, the bars 21, 2.2 are of simple, square cross section and can be easily manufactured. The entire assembly requires no special hooks or clamps which would be expensive to manufacture.

It can also be seen that it is quite simple to utilize the lockup arrangement disclosed. The operator merely has to manipulate a series of conventional screws with ordinary tools. The anchoring arrangement provided for the first bar 21 results in the blanket being properly alined during the wrap-on operation. The cap screws 35, since they pass through both of the

bars

21, 22, positively aline the opposite ends of the blanket during the final tightening operation.

Despite its simplicity and economy, the blanket lockup arrangement of the present invention is quite eifective since the solid

square bars

21, 22 give firm support at each edge of the blanket, resulting in even tensioning as both edges of the blanket are drawn downwardly into the slot 23. It can also be seen that only a quite narrow slot is needed and hence there is little break in the outer conformation of the complete blanket cylinder assembly 10.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described in connection with the securing of an offset blanket onto an ofiset press blanket cylinder, it will be apparent that the invention is equally applicable to the securement of any flexible covering onto a supporting cylinder or roller. Hence, in the following claims the terms blanket and blanket cylinder have been used in their broadest sense to mean any flexible sheet or covering and any supporting cylinder or roller, and there is no intention to limit the claimed invention to an olfset press.

We claim as our invention:

1. A flexible blanket lockup arrangement comprising, in combination, a blanket cylinder having a narrow axially extending slot in its periphery, a first bar secured along one edge of said blanket, said first bar being slidably fitted into said slot, means anchoring said first bar near the bottom of said slot with sufiicient looseness to permit some lost motion of the bar radially of the cylinder, a second bar secured along the edge of said blanket opposite the first bar, said second bar being fitted into said slot above said first bar so that the bars are radially spaced in said slot with the bottom of the second bar abutting the top of the first bar, and means for drawing said second bar and thus both of said bars down into said slot so as to tension the blanket uniformly about the cylinder from each of said blanket edges.

2. A flexible blanket lockup arrangement comprising, in combination, a blanket cylinder having a narrow axially extending slot in its periphery, a first bar secured along one edge of said blanket by an overlying strip tightly sandwiching the blanket between the bar and said strip, said first bar being slidably fitted into said slot, means anchoring said first bar at the bottom of said slot with sufficient looseness to permit some lost motion of the bar radially of the cylinder, a second bar secured along the edge of said blanket opposite the first bar by an overlying strip tightly sandwiching the blanket between the bar and the strip, said second bar being fitted into said slot above said first bar so that the bars are radially spaced in said slot with the bottom of the second bar abutting the top of the first bar and so as to loosely dispose the blanket about said cylinder, and means for drawing said second bar and thus both of said bars evenly down into said slot so as to tension the blanket about the cylinder from each of said blanket edges.

3. A flexible blanket lockup arrangement comprising, in combination, a blanket cylinder having a narrow axially extending slot in its periphery, said slot being rectangular in cross section and uniform in depth, a first bar of approximately square cross section secured along one edge of said blanket, said first bar being slidably fitted into said slot, means anchoring said first bar parallel to the bottom of said slot with sufiicient looseness to permit some lost motion of the bar radially of the cylinder, a second bar of approximately square cross section secured along the edge of said blanket opposite the first bar, said second bar being fitted into said slot above said first bar so that the bars are radially spaced in said slot with the bottom of the second bar abutting the top of the first bar and so as to loosely dispose the blanket about said cylinder, and means for drawing said second bar down into said slot so as to urge both bars equally into the slot and thus tension the blanket about the cylinder from each of said blanket edges.

,-4. A flexible blanket lockup arrangement comprising, in combination, a blanket cylinder having a narrow axially extending slot of generally rectangular cross section in its periphery, a first bar secured along one edge of said blanket, said first bar being slidably fitted into said slot and extending substantially the full width of the slot, screws anchoring said first bar to the bottom of said slot with sufficient looseness to permit some lost motion of the first bar radially of the cylinder, a second bar secured along the edge of said blanket opposite the first bar, said second bar being fitted into said slot above and in contact with said first bar so that the bars are radially spaced in said slot with the bottom of the second bar abutting the top of the first bar and so as to loosely dispose the blanket about the cylinder, said second bar extending substantially the full width of the slot, and a plurality of screws passing through both of said bars into threadable engagement with said cylinder for drawing said second bar and thus both of said bars down into said slot so as to tension the blanket about the cylinder.

5. A flexible blanket lockup arrangement comprising, in combination, a blanket cylinder having a narrow axially extending slot of generally rectangular cross section in its periphery, a first bar of approximately square crosssection secured along one edge of said blanket by an overlying strip tightly sandwiching the blanket between the bar and said strip, said first bar being slidably fitted into said slot and extending substantially the full width. of the slot, shoulder screws anchoring said first bar at the bottom of said slot with sufficient looseness to permit some lost motion of the first bar radially of the cylinder, a second bar of approximately square cross section secured along the edge of said blanket opposite the first bar by an overlying strip tighhy sandwiching the blanket between the bar and said strip, said second bar being fitted into said slot above said first bar so as to loosely dispose the blanket about the cylinder, said second bar extending substantially the full width of the slot, and a plurality of screws passing through each of said bars into threadable engagement with said cylinder for drawing said bars down into said slot so as to tension the blanket about the cylinder.

6. A flexible blanket lockup arrangement comprising, in combination, a blanket cylinder having a narrow axially extending slot in its periphery, a first bar secured along one edge of said blanket by an overlying strip tightly sandwiching the blanket between the bar and said strip, said first bar being slidably fitted into said slot, means anchoring said first bar at the bottom of said slot with sufficient looseness to permit some lost motion of the bar radially of the cylinder, a second bar secured along the edge of said blanket opposite the first bar by an overlying strip tightly sandwiching the blanket between the bar and the strip, said second bar being fitted into said slot above said first bar so that the bars are radially spaced in said slot with the bottom of the second bar abutting the top of the first bar and so as to loosely dispose the blanket about said cylinder, and means for drawing said second bar and thus both of said bars evenly down 6 into said slot so as to tension the blanket about the cylinder from each of said blanket edges, said bars and strips having opposed irregular surfaces between which said blanket is sandwiched so as to provide secure anchoring of said blanket to said bars.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,055,295 Kessler Sept. 22, 1936 2,121,309 Wale June 21, 1938 2,714,852 Stempel Aug. 9, 1955

Claims

1. A FLEXIBLE BLANKET LOCKUP ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING. IN COMBINATION, A BLANKET CYLINDER HAVING A NARROW AXIALLY EXTENDING SLOT IN ITS PERIPHERY, A FIRST BAR SECURED ALONG ONE EDGE OF SAID BLANKET, SAID FIRST BAR BEING SLIDABLY FITTED INTO SAID SLOT, MEANS ANCHORING SAID FIRST BAR NEAR THE BOTTOM OF SAID SLOT WITH SUFFICIENT LOOSENESS TO PERMIT SOME LOST MOTION OF THE BAR RADIALLY OF THE CYLINDER, A SECOND BAR SECURED ALONG THE EDGE OF SAID BLANKET OPPOSITE THE FIRST BAR, SAID SECOND BAR BEING FITTED INTO SAID SLOT ABOVE SAID FIRST BAR SO THAT THE BARS ARE RADIALLY SPACED IN SAID SLOT WITH THE BOTTOM OF THE SECOND BAR ABUTTING THE TOP OF THE FIRST BAR, AND MEANS FOR DRAWING SAID SECOND BAR AND THUS BOTH OF SAID BARS DOWN INTO SAID SLOT SO AS TO TENSION THE BLANKET UNIFORMLY ABOUT THE CYLINDER FROM EACH OF SAID BLANKET EDGES.