US3136245A - Multicolor printing press frame construction - Google Patents

Description

E. H. KLINGELFUSS 3,136,245

MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS FRAME CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 9, 1964 Filed NOV. 2, 1961 /58 i r/ l- Q I INVENTOR I 5051:; 6 IY/nvt/fal! ATIORN I June 9, 1964 E. H. KLINGELFUSS 3,136,245

MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS FRAME CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 2

Al NVENTOR a ene '44 BY an a/f": ATTORNW June 1964 E. H. KLINGELFUSS 3,136,245

MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 2, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 wk e lNVENTOR BY. I

,1 V E ATTOR a I June 9, 1964 E. H. KLINGELFUSS 3,135,245

MULTICOLOR, PRINTING PRESS FRAME CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 2, 1961 BY&

l Lplll IIIILII l l Jun 1964 E. H. KLINGELFUSS MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS FRAME CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed NOV. 2, 1961 INVENTOR gall/Ill ATTOR United States Patent 3,136,245 MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS FRAME CONSTRUCTION Eugene H. Klingelfuss, Pelham, N.Y., assignor to George Hantscho Company, 'Inc., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 2, 1961, Ser. No. 149,780 6 Claims. (Cl. 101-152) This invention relates to printing presses and more specifically to a novel and improved printing press and method of construction.

The manufacture of printing presses is a highly developed art and requires the exercise of maximum precision in the fabrication of the individual elements in order to insure 'clear and distinct printing at relatively high speeds. For this reason presses are generally designed for a specific purpose and the basic design of the press generally fixes the size of the actual rollers utilized in the apparatus. In addition, it has been the practice of the industry. to utilize precisely formed frame elements and particularly the side plates to facilitate machining operations and insure accurate positioning of the rollers.

This invention has as one of its objects a novel and improved method of fabricating printing presses which avoids the need for expensive framing members and at the same time greatly facilitates precision mounting of the rollers. This improved method is particularly advantageous in the fabrication of gravure presses, for it not only simplifies construction, but at the same time affords a press wherein printing rollers of different sizes may be easily 3,135,245 Patented June 9, 1964 ice ments of the press. For simplicity, the illustrated embodiment of the invention has been shown as applied to a gravure press and, accordingly, actual printing is accomplished by the cooperation of a printing roller 13 with a pressure roller 14. It will be observed from FIG. 1 that the rollers 13 and 14, as well as certain other elements of the press to be described, are carried by vertical members 15 secured to the side plates 11 and 12, which vertical members adjustably carry the rollers 13 and 14 together with cooperating elements required to effect the printing process.

The utilization of the vertical elements 15 which are carried by each of the framing members 11 and 12 affords a highly improved and simplified mode of fabricating a press frame and greatly minimizes the time, effort and cost required in the fabrication of conventional frame elements.

In the fabrication of the frame elements 11 and 12 in accordance with the invention, ordinary sheet steel of appropriate thickness may be utilized, notwithstanding slight variations in thickness or small degrees of warping which are characteristic of rolled steel. In the preparation of these, steel plates for use as framing elements, the plate is first mounted on the bed of a suitable metal working machine by securing the plate in position: without the plate occupy its normal position and yet be held firmly and quicklyintroduced into the apparatus and thereby I avoid the need for separate presses having printing rollers of different diameters.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel and improved printing press wherein the several cooperating elements may be automatically adjusted i to'control the pressure on the web being printed and the coordination of the ink supply and doctor blade on the printing roller, notwithstandingthe size of the printing .ance with the invention;

. FIG. 2 is a front view of a printing press taken in the direction of the arrow 2 of-FIG. 1 with portions broken away and shown in section; V P FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 1' taken along the line 3-3 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 3 taken along the lines 44 thereof; v

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 4 taken the line 55.

Printing presses of the type illustrated in the drawings generally comprise a plurality of aligned units mechanalong ically coupled and phased to enable the individual presses to operate successively on a single web, as in the printing of several different colors on a single web. For simplicity, however, only a single section of a press has been illustrated in'the drawings, since the invention relates to the construction of a single section and the coupling of a plurality of sections one to .the other may be carried out by procedures well known in the field.

The single press illustrated in the drawings is generally denoted by the numeral 10 and comprises a pair of spaced side plates 11 and 12 secured one to the other inappro priately spaced relationship to form the basic frame eleto permit appropriate machining operations. With the platesthus mounted, two spaced portions of one edge are carefully ground to provide aligned areas which are precisely coplanar and may be utilized for securing a member 15 thereto. In FIG. 1 these edge areas or surfaces are denoted by the letters A and B. These surfaces A and B arealso used as control points for the location of other machining operations such as holes, for the attachment of the equipment thereto, whichmust be accuratelyaligned with the printing rollers 13 and 14.

After the formation of the carefully aligned flats A and B and the formation of openings in the plate which are accurately aligned relative to these flats, an elongated member 15 is then secured to the edge of the plate as illustrated in FIG. 1. While this elongated member 15 may of course assume any desired shape, a cylindrical rod has been found most desirable. In the case of the rod, however, it'is preferable to mill a flat 16 extending throughout the length of the rod, as illustrated in section in FIG. 3 of the drawings. The rod 15 is then drilled to receive bolts 17 which threadably engage the associated side plate 11 or 12, as thecase may be. Since'the rod 15 is aligned by cooperation with the flats A and B, it is ofcourseessential that the other portions of the edge of theplate being formed be'cut slightly below the flats A and B so that there will be no interference with the mounting of the rod 15. If desired, the entire edge of the plate 11 may be carefully ground, in which case the rod 15 can be secured to the edge by the utilization of a plurality of spaced bolts 17. Care is exercised in the attaching and securing of the rod 15 to its associated sid plate=11 or 12, so that the longitudinal axis of the rod have been previously drilled in the plate.

will be precisely at right angles to the. axes of holes that In this way, the-rods 15 will be precisely vertical when the plates 11 and 12 are formed into a press frame, ready to receive the operating components. a p

The frame construction described above is generally useful in the fabrication of a wide variety of printing presses though it is particularly useful with the novel and improved pressconstn ction which will not be described.

As previously pointed out, the illustratedapparatus may be termed a gravure press, in which case the. roller 13 wouldcarry the plate while the roller 14 about which the paper web'20 travels is a pressure roller which urges the paper or web against the printing roller 13. The gravure or plate roller 13 is carried by a pair of slidable side members 21 and 22. Each side member 21 and 22 has a vertically disposed opening 23 therein to slidably receive the rods secured to the side frame members 11 and 12. The front slope 24 of each of the side members 21 and 22 has a cylindrical recess 25 therein for the receipt of a bearing structure generally denoted by the numeral 26 in FIG. 5, and the bearing structure is held in place by an overlying cap 27 which retains the bearing structure there- A more detailed view of the support for the roller 13 is shown in FIG. 5. In this figure the roller shaft 27' projects from the ends thereof and each end has a'reduced section 28 and a bearing shaft portion 29, the latter being slightly smaller in diameter than the reduced section 28. A bearing 31} is placed on the shaft section 29 and held in position against the shoulder 31 by a cup-like cap 32 and bolt 33, the latter extending through the cap and into the end of the shaft section 29. The bearing 31) is disposed within a cylindrical housing portion 34 with a shoulder 35 on the housing 34 receiving a side wall of the outer race of bearing 3%). The bearing 30, and therefore the shafts 2'7, 28 and 29, are held in place on the housing 34 by a cylindrical collar 36 which is secured to a flange 37 on the housing 34 by a plurality of bolts 38.

With the bearing structure for the gravure roller as thus generally denoted by the numeral 26 is slidable axially relative to its associated bracket member 21 or 22, as the case 'may be. Thus axial motion is provided for the purpose of adjusting the gravure roller relative to the web for purposes of registration. The adjustment of the roller is accomplished by a threaded screw generally denoted by the numeral 39. This threaded screw has areduced section 40 which rotatably engages a cooperating slot in the bearing housing 34 as may be viewed more clearly in FIG. 5. The inner end 41 of the adjustment screw 39 is threadably received within a cooperating opening in the bracket member 21 and the outer end of the-member 39 carries a handwheel 42 for rotating the screw and moving the bearing assembly 26 axially of the roller 13.

Since the bracket members 21 and 22 are slidably carried by the rods or posts 15 secured to the front side of the frame members as described the gravure roller 13 can be moved vertically relative to the press. The vertical adjustment is accomplished by means of a crank 4.3,as may be observed in FIG. 1. The crank '43 operates a transverse shaft 44 carried in side bracket members 45 and 46, as may be observed in FIGS. land 2.

Bo h bracket members 45 and 46 have vertically disposed openings 47 therein for engagement with their respective guide members 15 and they are secured in posiuppermost position. When the cam is moved clockwise, the forward end of the cam follower 55 will engage the stop 57 andlimit clockwise'motion of the lever. The total angular motion can be adjusted as may be desired, though in the present instance, it has been found that an angular motion of somewhat less than 90 degrees will afford the necessary vertical motion for positioning the gravure roller. To lower the gravure roller beyond the point governed by the cam follower 55, the latter can be moved upwardly to avoid engagement by the stop.

The bracket member 46 which carries the right hand end of the shaft 44 is viewed in FIG. 2 and is arranged in a manner similar to that described in connection with the bracket member. 45, in that the shaft has a reduced portion So, which extends through the'bottom end of the lirk 58, and a further reduced section '59 carried in an eccentric bearing 6% rotatably mounted in the bracket member 46. Thus, as the lever 43 is operated, the links 51 and 58 will be operated simultaneously. The upper end of the link 51 is pivoted to the bracket member 21 by a transverse pin 61 while the upper end of the link 28 is pivoted to the bracket member 22 by a transverse pin 62, so that the operation of the lever 43 functions to raise and lower both ends of the gravure roller 13, as the case may be.

The gravure roller is driven from a gear box 63 coupled with a drive shaft 64. The driven shaft 65 of the gear boxf: carries a gear 65 which meshes with a gear Tfixedly secured to the right hand shaft portion of the gravure roller 13 as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 5. The vertical displacement of the gravure roller by rotation of the shaft 44 is coordinated with'the design of the gears 66 and 67 so that the operation of the lever 43 to rotate the shaft will move the gravure roller out of contact with the web but without. actually disengaging gear 66 from gear 67. .ln'this way synchronisation of successive press sections can always be maintained even though the printing process on one or more of'the press sections may be interrupted by clockwise displacement of the lever 43 as viewedv in FIG. 1. When printing is to be resumed, the handle 43 is merely moved in the counterclockwise direction and, since synchronization has been maintained, no further adjustment need be made.

The pressure roller 14 is supported by a pair of adjustable carriers 68 and 69 slidably mounted on columns 15 carried by the side frames 11 and 12 with the shaft 14" of the roller being supported by appropriate bearings mounted in the carriers 63 and 69. 'Each of the carriers 68 and 69 has anupwardly extended member 70 which shaft 72 that is journaled to a bracket member '73 carried tion by the use of bolts "48 whichextend through rearwardly extending flanges 49 and through theassociated frame member 11 or 12, as thecase may be. This procedure fixes and accurately aligns the brackets 45 and 46. The end of the shaft 44 engaging the bracket 45 has a reduced section 50 which extends through a cooperating opening in the'lower end of alink 51 and a further reduced section 52 which is concentrically located by the post 15and having an inwardly extending flange 74 for fixedly securing it in position by means of cooperating bolts 75 which extend through the adjoining frame member 11 or 12, as the case may be. The shaft 72 carries a gear '76 which meshes with a cooperating v worm gear '77 for rotation of the shaft 72.

I Since the bracket members'73are fixed, simultaneous rotation of the gears 76 by means'of the cooperating worms '77 will rotate'the shafts 72'together with the relative to theshaft 44. The concentric portion 52 is disposed within a bearing 53 having an eccentrically located receiving opening and the bearing 53 is rotatable within the bracket member45. A pin 54 locks the eccentric bearing 53 to the concentric shaft portion 52 so. that as the'rotatable bearing 53 isrotated, it will produce eccentric motion of the shaft 44. The operating lever 43 is clamped to the eccentric bearing 53 so thatit may be moved through an angle to raise and lower the link 51. Movement of the lever 43 is limited; by a cam follower and stop member'SS which is pivotally secured to the lever and rides on a cam surface-56, as shown in FIG. 1. When the lever is moved in the counterclockwise position as shown in FIG. 1, the link S1is in its threaded sections '71 to raise and lower the carrier members '58 and 69 for adjustment of the pressure of roller 14 against the gravure roller 13; Simultaneous operation of the worms 77 is effected by a'transverse shaft 78 journaled in the bracket membe'r-73 and to which the worm gears 77 are fixedly secured. Que-end of the shaft 78 carries arhand wheel 79'to effectvertical adjustment'of the carriers 68 and 62.". i

The ink supply for the gravure' roller 13 is carried in an elongated trough $0 extending between the frame elements 11 and '12 and may be supportedin any desirable manner by'such frame elements; Ink is pumped from the trough for application to the gravure roller 13 by means of a pump '31 driven by an electric motorflZ,

pulleys 83 and 84 coupled by a belt 85, and a second set of pulleys 86 and 87, the latter pulley driving pump shaft 88. The pulleys 86 and 87 are coupled by a belt 89. It will be observed that the pulleys 84 and 86 are secured to a shaft 90 which may be utilized to drive ink pumps on adjoining printing units. The pipe 91 constitutes the ink outlet of the pump 81 and extends upwardly in sliding relationship with a tube 92, the latter tube being secured by appropriate brackets 93 to the carriers 68 and 69 so that as the carrier is shifted upwardly and downwardly, the telescoping tube section 92 will move upwardly and downwardly with the vertical displacement of the pressure roller 14. The upper end of the tube 92 is provided with a horizontal section 94 which extends loosely into an ink distributing trough 95, having an ink applicator 96 with an elongated front opening 97 through which ink is applied to the gravure roller 13.

When ink is applied to the gravure roller there will be an excess which is removed by the doctor blade 98 just prior to the printing process and excess ink is caught by a trough 99 surrounding the under side of the gravure roller 13. As may be observed in FIG. trough 99 is carried on the back side by a pair of bracket members 100 each having pins- 101 which engage the U-shaped edge portion 99 of the trough 99. The front edge of the trough 99 is supported by a transverse hollow shaft or tube 102 whichis rotatably carried in ears 103 and 104 secured to the front side of the pan 99. The shaft 102 further carries a lever 105 for rotation of the shaft to release the front of the pan and permit it to drop. Each end of the shaft 102 is cut away to form 180 trough-like portions. The ends of the shaft are supported by stubs 106 having diametral flats and carried by the bracket members 21 and 22 by means of outwardly extending ears 107, as will be observed more .clearly in FIG. 1. The trough-like members 102 encompass an angular Width of approximately 180 degrees and have an internal diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the shafts 106. .With this arrangement and with the trough-like supports 102 being aligned in avertical direction, the pan 99 when moved from a lowered position to its operating position can be retained-in its operating position merely by rotating the shaft 102 so that it will move into engagement with and be supported by the studs 106. The excess ink retained by the pan 99 leaves the trough through an outlet 108 and returns to the ink'pan 80. Y

The gravure roller 13 may be of any diameter depending on the nature of the material being printed, and this invention enables gravure rollers of different sizes to be installed into the press and the cooperating elements of the press quickly. adjusted to accommodate the different sized roller.- As pointed out previously, the pressure roller 14' may be quickly and easily adjusted in a vertical direction by the operation of the hand wheel .79 and sufficient movement of the roller 14 is provided in order to accommodate widely varying sizes of the gravure roller It was also shown that as the pressure roller is displaced vertically, the outlet 97 for theink supply is also displaced vertically so that when the pressure'roller 14 is automatically adjusted relative-to the gravure roller 13 the outlet 97 of the ink supply will always maintain the same relative position with the gravure roller notwithstanding the diameter. In addition to the adjustment of the pressure roller 14 and automatic adjustment of the ink supply 97, the invention: further. provides an automatic adjustment of the doctor blade- 98 with the raising: or lowering of the pressure roller 14. i The adjustment of the doctor..blade is accomplished by an improved support mechanism associal d with and movable with the pressure roller carriers '68 and 69. More specifically, the carriers 68 and 69' each include a shaft 110' and 111 respectively. The shaft 111 is fixedly mounted in the carrier 69 while the shaft 110 is'rotatably supported in the carrier-68. The outer end of the shaft 110 as viewed in FIG. 2 carries an arm .112 which is keyed thereto and extends downwardly. The bottom end of the arm is bifurcated as denoted by the numeral 113 and includes a pivoted block 114 having a threaded opening 115 extending therethrough. A threaded shaft 116 engages the opening 115 and it is rotatably secured to the carrier 68 at 117. The outer end of the shaft 116 is provided with a hand wheel 118 to permit rotation of the shaft 116 with movement of the lever 112 through an angle to rotate the shaft 110.

On the inner side of the carrier 68, a second lever 119 is fixedly secured to the shaft 110 and extends downwardly and rearwardly, as may be observed more clearly in FIGS. 1 and 2. The lower end of the lever 119 carries a stub shaft 120 which extends inwardly of the press. It will be observed that with the structure thus far described, operation of the hand wheel 118 will move the lever 112 through an angle. This movement will effect rotation of the shaft 110 and corresponding movement of the lever 119 through a proportionate angle. The actual support for the doctor blade 98 is effected by means of a third lever 121 which is rotatably carried on the inner end of the shaft 110. This lever 121 includes a collar 122 which slidably engages the shaft 120 and it is further provided with a forwardly extending portion 123 having a pair of openings 124 therein. The portion 123 of the lever 121 is bifurcated as shown more clearly in FIG. 3, and receives a doctor blade supporting member 125'pivoted'in position by a pin engaging one of the innermost openings 124 in the lever portion 123 and extending through the support, 125. A second pin extends through the outermost opening 124 and through the support member 125, though in this instance, the opening in the support member 125 is somewhat larger than the diameter of the pin to permit the member to be moved vertically through a predetermined distance. I As will be'shown, this permits the doctor blade 98 when properly adjusted, to rest, under the influence of gravity, on thegravure roller 13 when the latter is in the lowered position defined by the cam 55 and stop 57 and to be pressed firmly against the gravure roller when in the operating position.

The doctorblade structure 98 which includes a transverse shaft 126 carried at one end by the support member 125 and,as will be observed in FIG. 3, the outer end of the shaft 126 carries a gear sector 127. A shaft 128 including a worm gear 129 is' rotatably journaled in a bracket member 130 with the worm gear 129 meshed with the gear sector 127. The shaft 128 carries a hand wheel 131 which functions to rotate the shaft 126: and adjust the angle of the doctor blade assembly 98 relative to the gravure roller 13..

The. opposite support for the doctor blade assembly lllClUdeSfi lever 132 rotatably carried by the shaft 111 and includes a forwardly extending portion 133 having a pair of openings 134 and 135. The doctor-blade supporting member 136 is fixedly pivoted by means of a pin extending through the openings 134 and the support is retained in position with limited movement by means of a pin extending through the opening and through an enlarged opening 137 in the support 136,.

Rotation of the lever 132 on the shaft 111 is accomplished by an elongated tubular member 138 as shown more clearly in FIG. 2, which is welded or otherwise .securedto-the lever 121 and to the lever 132 so that rotation of the lever 121 about the shaft 110 will cause equivalent rotation'ofthe'lever 132about the shaft .111. "Doctor blade support shaft 126 extends through the outer end of the support member 136 and is journaled therein to permit rotation'of the doctor blade assembly when the adjusting hand wheel 131 is rotated; i The doctorblade assembly 98 may take any desired form and in the present embodiment it consists of an elongated plate 139 which is carried by collars 140 having a flattened surfacev to which the plate 139 is secured;

A plurality of individual collars spaced along the shaft 126 may be employed or a single elongated sleeve may be utilized to lend added rigidity if desired. The doctor blade141- is bolted to the plate 139 by means of an elongated strip 142 with the securing bolts extending through the strip 142 and the doctor blade 141.

it is evident from the foregoing that as the pressure roller 14 is adjusted vertically by the operation of the hand wheel 79 that both the ink supplying apparatus 96 and the doctor blade structure 98 will be raised and lowered with the pressure roller. Thus, should a smaller gravure roller 13 be introduced and the pressure'roller lowered, then when the pressure roller is in proper con tact with the gravure roller, the doctor bladewill be urged firmly against the gravure roller of reduced size. Since the angle of the doctor blade relative to the gravure roller is important, this angle can be adjusted by the operation of the hand wheel 131. Thus, with the change in the size ofthe gravure roller 13, only two adjustments are required, namely, an adjustment for the height of the pressure roller 14 and the adjustment for the angle of the doctor blade lldil with the gravure roller 13.

During the operation of the press as described, it is important to oscillate the doctor blade assembly 98 lengthwise of the roller.

This is accomplished by an n oscillating drive mechanism 143 which is driven from the f shaft 64 by means of pulleys 144 and 145 and a belt 146. The drive mechanism 143- has an output shaft 147 which carries an arm 148 that is rotated through an angle of 360 degrees. The arm 148 has a rocker arm 149 pivoted recess, 154 in the outer end of the doctor blade support lever 132. Since the levers 132 and 129 are fixedly con nected through the tube 138, as the lever 149 is rocked about its pivot it will cause both of the levers 121 and 132 to oscillate on their respective shafts 110 and 111. Since the levers 121 and 132 constitute the principal support for the doctor blade assembly 98, it follows that the'doctor blade assembly will be oscillated relative to the gravure roller 13. Inasmuch as the lever 149 is rocked in a horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 3, and since the block 152 has its long axis in a vertical plane, it is evident that the doctor blade support structure can be moved vertically while retaining'engagement between the block 152 and the cooperating recess 154. Thus, notwithstanding the vertical position of the pressure roller; 14, the oscillating mechanism will always function to effect oscillation of the doctor blade as described above. It is to be understood that in the oscillation of the doctor blade suitable means are provided on the bearing surfaces to effect this oscillation and at the same time minimize wear and maintain clearances between the oscillatory parts at a minimum consistent with effective operation.

' The web to be printed enters the upper portion of the .the pressure roller 14 and then upwardly and outwardly about the roller 157. Slack in the web 20 .being printed :may be compensated for through adjustment of the. roller.

155 by means of an adjusting hand Wheel 1558 which functions to displace the roller 155 horizontally relative to the frame members 11 and112. Since this structure is well known in the art, a detailed description is'not believed necessary. g I p With the invention as described above, it is evident that it affords a new and improved mode of fabricating a printing press, since it greatly simplifies the fabrication of the side frames Hand 12 and arranges for thecarriage of the essential elements requirin careful alignment on the frame members.

8 aligned posts or guides 15. In addition, the printing or gravure roller 13 may be modified in diameter to meet printing requirements and the gravure rollers of different diameters can be accommodated quickly and easily by merely adjusting the vertical position of the cooperating pressure roller and the angle of the doctor blade assembly 98. The vertical adjustment of the pressure roller 14 automatically adjusts the position of the ink supply relative to the'gravure roller and the position of the doctor blade. Inasmuch as the presses of the character described herein are usually coordinated with other similar press sections, the invention afiords means for interrupting the printing of one or more of the press sections without losing the phase relationship of the several sections. This is accomplished by permitting a vertical adjustment of the printing or gravure ro1ler'13 to permit it to be moved out of engagement with the web 20 and at the same time retain the driving mechanism in engagement so that when the roller is moved back'into printing position, it will be automatically phased with coordinated press sections which may be operating on the same web 20. The order of the steps set forth above in describing the fabrication of a press in accordance with the invention and the order in which the steps are set forth in the method claim are not critical as other sequences may be utilized. For instance, each unit maybe completed separately and the rails may be afiixed to the frame members before erecting While only one embodiment of the invention is illustrated and described, it is' understood that alterations, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the-true scope and spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:'

l. The method of fabricating amultiple coupled press comprising the steps of forming machined planar surfaces on an edge of each of .a plurality of frame members, erecting corresponding'pairs of frame members with their planar surfaces in coplanar. relationship, securing to planar surfaces of each pair of frame members machined rails in parallel alignment, assembling upon corresponding pairs of'said rails printing unit element supports and slidably and adjustably positioning said supports on said rails for cooperation of said printing unit elements.

2. A web printing press comprising a pair of spaced frame members each carrying a vertically disposed rail with said rails being in precise parallel alignment independent of the fixed alignment of said frame members, a printing roller, printing roller carrying means slidably engaging said rails for support of the printing roller therebetween, printing roller adjusting means secured to said rails and coupled to said printing roller carrying meansfor i adjustably positioning saidprinting roller, a cooperating roller,-cooperating roller. carrying means s'lidably engaging 'saidrails and supporting the cooperating roller therebetween, 'cooperatingroller adjusting means secured to said rails and mechanically coupled to said cooperating roller carrying means'for positioning said cooperating roller relative to said printing roller, a doctor blade positioned to ride on said printing roller and having supporting shaft portions extending from the ends thereof, shafts rotatably carried by, said cooperating roller carrying *means, a first pair of levers with each lever having one end engaging one of the last said shafts for angular and axial movement relativetheretojand their other ends engaging said shaft portions, a second pair of levers each hav-.

means for angularly adjusting said doctor blade about the axis of said shaft portions.

4. A web printing press comprising a frame, a horizontally disposed printing roller carried by the frame, a cooperating roller including rollersupports carried by said frame and movable toward and away from the printing roller, a doctor blade positioned to ride on said printing roller and having shaft portions extending from the ends .thereof, shafts rotatably carried by said cooperating roller supports, a first pair of levers with each lever having one end engaging one of the last said shafts for angular and axial movement relative thereto and the other ends engaging said shaft portions, a second pair of levers each having one end secured to one of said shafts, means pivoting the other ends of said second levers to the first said levers to permit movement of each pivoted pair toward and away from one another, means coupled with at least one of the first said levers for reciprocating the first said levers and the doctor blade, and means angularly adjusting said shafts to shift both pairs of said levers and the doctor blade angularly relative to said frame.

5. A web printing press according to claim 4 including means for angularly adjusting said doctor blade about the axis of said shaft portions.

6. A web printing press according to claim 4 including an ink supply having a vertically disposed telescopic supply tube and an outlet positioned in proximity to said printingroller for application of ink thereto, and means coupling said outlet to said cooperating roller supports whereby movement of said cooperating roller will produce corresponding movement of said ink supply outlet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,492,591 Bowen May 6, 1924 2,377,482 Crafts June 5, 1945 2,542,229 Bojanower et al. Feb. 20, 1951 2,624,061 Leas Jan. 6, 1953 2,821,913 Johnson Feb. 4, 1958 2,988,989 Crawford June 20, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 827,839 France May 4, 1938

Claims (2)

1. THE METHOD OF FABRICATING A MULTIPLE COUPLED PRESS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF FORMING MACHINED PLANAR SURFACES ON AN EDGE OF EACH OF A PLURALITY OF FRAME MEMBERS, ERECTING CORRESPONDING PAIRS OF FRAME MEMBERS WITH THEIR PLANAR SURFACES IN COPLANAR RELATIONSHIP, SECURING TO PLANAR SURFACES OF EACH PAIR OF FRAME MEMBERS MACHINED RAILS IN PARALLEL ALIGNMENT, ASSEMBLING UPON CORRESPONDING PAIRS OF SAID RAILS PRINTING UNIT ELEMENT SUPPORTS AND SLIDABLY AND ADJUSTABLY POSITIONING SAID SUPPORTS ON SAID RAILS FOR COOPERATION OF SAID PRINTING UNIT ELEMENTS.

2. A WEB PRINTING PRESS COMPRISING A PAIR OF SPACED FRAME MEMBERS EACH CARRYING A VERTICALLY DISPOSED RAIL WITH SAID RAILS BEING IN PRECISE PARALLEL ALIGNMENT INDEPENDENT OF THE FIXED ALIGNMENT OF SAID FRAME MEMBERS, A PRINTING ROLLER, PRINTING ROLLER CARRYING MEANS SLIDABLY ENGAGING SAID RAILS FOR SUPPORT OF THE PRINTING ROLLER THEREBETWEEN, PRINTING ROLLER ADJUSTING MEANS SECURED TO SAID RAILS AND COUPLED TO SAID PRINTING ROLLER CARRYING MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY POSITIONING SAID PRINTING ROLLER, A COOPERATING ROLLER, COOPERATING ROLLER CARRYING MEANS SLIDABLY ENGAGING SAID RAILS AND SUPPORTING THE COOPERATING ROLLER THEREBETWEEN, COOPERATING ROLLER ADJUSTING MEANS SECURED TO SAID RAILS AND MECHANICALLY COUPLED TO SAID COOPERATING ROLLER CARRYING MEANS FOR POSITIONING SAID COOPERATING ROLLER RELATIVE TO SAID PRINTING ROLLER, A DOCTOR BLADE POSITIONED TO RIDE ON SAID PRINTING ROLLER AND HAVING SUPPORTING SHAFT PORTIONS EXTENDING FROM THE ENDS THEREOF, SHAFTS ROTATABLY CARRIED BY SAID COOPERATING ROLLER CARRYING MEANS, A FIRST PAIR OF LEVERS WITH EACH LEVER HAVING ONE END ENGAGING ONE OF THE LAST SAID SHAFTS FOR ANGULAR AND AXIAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO AND THEIR OTHER ENDS ENGAGING SAID SHAFT PORTIONS, A SECOND PAIR OF LEVERS EACH HAVING ONE END SECURED TO ONE OF SAID SHAFTS, MEANS PIVOTING THE OTHER ENDS OF SAID SECOND LEVERS TO THE FIRST SAID LEVERS TO PERMIT MOVEMENT OF THE LEVERS OF EACH PIVOTED PAIR TOWARD AND AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER, MEANS COUPLED WITH AT LEAST ONE OF THE FIRST SAID LEVERS FOR RECIPROCATING THE FIRST SAID LEVERS AND THE DOCTOR BLADE, AND MEANS FOR ANGULARLY ADJUSTING SAID SHAFTS TO SHIFT BOTH PAIRS OF SAID LEVERS AND DOCTOR BLADE ANGULARLY RELATIVE TO SAID FRAME.

Images