US3208377A

US3208377A - Printing press roller registering apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3208377A
Application number: US305606A
Authority: US
Inventors: George E Hantscho
Original assignee: HANTSCHO CO GEORGE
Current assignee: GEORGE HANTSCHO COMPANY Inc; HANTSCHO CO GEORGE
Priority date: 1963-08-30
Filing date: 1963-08-30
Publication date: 1965-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 1982-09-28

Description

Sept. 28, 1965 G. E. HANTSCHO 3, 08,3 7

PRINTING PRESS ROLLER REGISTERING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 30, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. gi d/4 55.5 Az/v r5 CO /d 1965 G. E. HANTSCHO 3,981,377

PRINTING PRESS ROLLER REGISTERING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 30, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. @0965 f. #em/zsm o p 1965 G. E. HANTSCHO 3,208,377

PRINTING PRESS ROLLER REGISTERING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 30, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 57 Sept. 28, 1965 G. E. HANTSCHO PRINTING PRESS ROLLER REGISTERING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 50, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 4l p 1965 G. E. HANTSCHO 3,208,377

PRINTING PRESS ROLLER REGISTERING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 30, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. 28, 1965 c. E. HANTSCHO PRINTING PRESS ROLLER REGISTERING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 30, 1963 INVENTOR. Hmvrscwa United States Patent 3,208,377 PRINTING PRESS ROLLER REGISTERING APPARATUS George E. Hantscho, Eastchester, N.Y., assignor to geollge Hantscho Company, Inc., a corporation of New Filed Aug. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 305,606 9 Claims. (Cl. 101-248) This invention relates to printing presses and more specifically to novel and improved apparatus for mounting the plate cylinder and associated ink and water rollers to facilitate skew adjustment of the plate cylinder and associated rollers.

Printing presses such as web offset presses and the like generally comprise a plurality of individual units which cooperate to form composite or multi-colored designs. When utilizing several individual units to form a single design, it is necessary that the plate cylinders of each section be in precise registry, one relative to the others so that the different portions of the design applied by each unit are in precise register one with the others. Registery is effected by three separate adjustments of the plate cylinder, namely lateral, angular phasing and skew, the latter involving either angular adjustment of the plate cylinder in a plane parallel to the plane of tangency between the plate cylinder and the blanket roller, in the case of an offset press, or adjustment of the printing plate on the plate cylinder itself. While lateral adjustment and angular phasing of plate cylinders can be readily accomplished, adjustment of skew by angular displacement of one end of the axis of the printing cylinder has presented some difliculty, since the ink and water rollers which c0- operate with each plate cylinder must be displaced when the axis of the plate cylinder is shifted.

This invention overcomes the difficulties heretofore encountered in skew adjustment of the plate cylinder and provides a novel and improved structure for maintaining proper pressure relationship between the water and ink rollers. This improved arrangement and coordination of elements affords means for individually adjusting the ink rollers and the water rollers relative to the plate cylinder for shifting the axis of the plate cylinder and at the same time maintaining substantially uniform pressure between the ink and water rollers and the plate cylinder and for disengaging the ink and water rollers from the plate cylinder.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel and improved mounting means for the plate cylinder of a printing press and the associated water and ink rollers to facilitate angular adjustment of the plate cylinder in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of tangency of the plate cylinder with a mating roller or web.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of novel and improved means for adjusting the plate cylinder of a printing press and at the same time maintaining substantially uniform pressure between the ink and water rollers and the plate cylinder while affording means for disengaging the ink and water rollers from the plate cylinder.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings forming part of this application.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevation in partial section of a printing press and showing the plate cylinder mount in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 1 taken along the line 2-2 thereof.

3,Z@8,377 Patented Sept. 28, 19%5 FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 1 taken along the line 33 thereof.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the mounting means for the plate cylinder and ink rollers and taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 4 taken along the line 5-5 thereof.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary portion of FIG- URE 5 showing the ink roller adjusting means in one position.

FIGURE 7 is a view corresponding to FIGURE 6 and showing the ink roller adjusting means in another position.

FIGURE 8 is an exploded perspective view of the mounting means for each of the ink and water rollers.

FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 5 taken along the line 9-9 thereof.

FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 9 taken along the line Iii-10 thereof.

FIGURE 11 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 10 taken along the line 111ll thereof.

FIGURE 12 is a diagrammatical view of another embodiment of the invention.

It is well recognized in the printing industry that printing equipment, for producing composite or multi-colored material wherein the several portions of a design are printed by separate press units, must include means for precisely synchronizing the several units. In the case of web offset presses, it is necessary that accurate alignment be maintained between the material applied to both sides of the web.

As previously mentioned, precise registration of multiple images involves in effect three basic adjustments, name ly longitudinal or angular phasing, transverse or lateral and skew. Longitudinal registry may be obtained in any well-known manner by adjusting the phase of the plate cylinders of each of the units of the press. Transverse adjustment is accomplished by providing conventional means for shifting the plate cylinders axially between the side supporting frames of the press units. The third or skew adjustment has been found desirable to compensate for slight variations occurring in the application of the printing plates to the plate cylinders. The printing plates are usually made in sheet form and wrapped around the plate cylinder. Means are incorporated in the plate cylinder for engaging the ends of the plate and pulling them into a slot or groove in the cylinder. Compensation for deviations of the printing plates from parallelism with the plate cylinder can be effected by utilizing appropriate adjusting means within the plate cylinder itself to provide a skew adjustment of the printing plate on the plate cylinder and in that way obtain precise reg istry. The disadvantage of such a system resides in the fact that the press must be stopped in order to adjust for skew errors. It has been known for many years that plate cylinders could be adjusted by utilizing adjustable eccentric bearing mounts. The adjustment of cooperating water and ink rollers presents difficulties, however, since modern printing procedures require relatively critical adjustment of the pressure of the ink and water rollers with the plate cylinder. In order to control the ink and water roller pressure on the plate cylinder when making the skew adjustment, means have been proposed for shifting the water and ink rollers with movement of the plate cylinder. Such prior devices, however, have not been found entirely satisfactory, principally because of the substantial complication and expense entailed in the structures. Furthermore, the utilization of complicated mechanical networks greatly increases the problem of maintenance and adjustment in an effort to minimize slack or play in the system.

This invention overcomes the difficulties with prior known structures and provides improved means for skewing plate cylinders of printing presses and at the same time maintaining substantially uniform pressure between the plate cylinder and associated water and ink rollers throughout the entire range of movement of the plate cylinder. In addition, the invention affords an improved means coordinated with the means for moving the ink and water rollers with the plate cylinder roller for actual- 1y disengaging the ink and water rollers from the plate cylinder. It will also become apparent as the description proceeds that, while skewing means need only be provided on one end of the plate cylinder, the mechanism in accordance with the invention for disengaging the water and ink rollers from the surface of the plate cylinder may be utilized at both ends of the plate cylinder and thereby minimize the cost and simplify construction of the press embodying the skewing registry adjustment in accordance with the invention. For the purposes of this description, the novel and improved apparatus has been ,shown only in connection with one end of the plate cylinder, though it will become apparent as the description proceeds that certain elements thereof would normally be utilized at the other end of the plate cylinder to lift the ink and water rollers uniformly from the surface of the plate cylinder.

Referring first to FIGURES l to 3, the numeral denotes a fragmentary section of the front frame element of a printing press with the plate cylinder 11 illustrated in dotted outline and cooperating with a mating roller 12 such as the blanket roller of an offset press, it being understood that in an offset press, for instance, two sets of plate cylinders 11 and blanket rollers 12 would be utilized. The plate cylinder 11 is rotatably supported Within an opening 13 in the side frame It) by means of an eccentric sleeve 14 having a bearing 15 disposed therein and journale-d to a shaft 16 extending from one end of the roller 11.

The eccentric sleeve 14 is in the form of a cup-shaped element having an opening 17 in the bottom 1% thereof for reception of the shaft 16. The outer end of the sleeve 14 is provided with an outwardly extending peripheral flange 19, the latter having a gear sector 20 secured thereto by means of bolts or other suitable fastening means 21. A worm screw 22 rotatably secured to the frame 10 by means of a suitable bracket 23 is in engagement with the sector 21? and rotation of the worm 22 will produce rotation of the sector and consequent rotation of the eccentric sleeve 14. It is evident from this structure that, as the eccentric sleeve is rotated, the end of the plate cylinder will be displaced relative to the side frame 10 and thereby skew the plate cylinder 11 relative to its mating cylinder 12. The skew will obviously be in an arcuate path, and by properly positioning the eccentricity of the sleeve 14, the major motion can be confined to a selected plane which would preferably be parallel to a plane tangent to the point of contact between the plate cylinder 11 and the mating cylinder 12.

Axial adjustment of the plate cylinder 11 is accomplished by the hand wheel 24 secured to the end of the shaft 25, the latter being rotatably carried within a bracket 26 secured to the side frame 10. The left end of the shaft as viewed in FIGURE 2 is provided with a threaded section 27 which rotatably engages an opening 28 in the cap 2h. The cap 29 extends within the sleeve 14 and secures the bearing 15 in place within the eccen tric sleeve 14. By properly adjusting the hand wheel 24 and a corresponding hand wheel on the back side of the press, the roller 11 can be shifted axially.

Returning to the skew adjustment of the cylinder 11, it will be observed that the inner portion 14 of the eccentric sleeve 14 has a concentric surface 3%. An annular element 31 shown in dotted outline in FIGURE 2 is car ried on the concentric surface 30. This annular element 31 follows the movement of the cylinder 11 and carries structural means for causing ink and water rollers cooperating with the plate cylinder 11 to follow the movement of the plate cylinder. This structure is shown more clearly in FIGURES 4 through 11.

With particular reference to FIGURES 4 and 5, it will be noted that the annular element 31 is in the form of a plate having outwardly extending segmental wall portions 32 through 37. Adjoining the outer end of these wall portions is a pair of

arcuate segments

38 and 39. In the normal position of these segments during the operation of the press, the end portions 38' and 39' of the

segments

38 and 39 are spaced but a few degrees apart. The other ends 38" and 39" are spaced approximately 20 to 30 apart, depending upon the arcuate length of the individual segments. In this way, the segments can be individually moved through triangular paths within the retaining element 31, and as will be pointed out, displacement of the elements Wlll operate to remove the ink rollers 4% to 43 and the water rollers 44 and 45 from the surface of the cooperating plate cylinder. Since all of the rollers through are mounted and controlled in a similar manner, only the control of the roller 4-0 will be described in detail.

The transfer ink roller 4-6 which transfers ink to the

ink rollers

40 and 41 is fixedly supported to the front and rear frame elements, and the shaft 47 carries a pair of links 48 and 49 angularly disposed one relative to the other. The link 48 includes a rectangular cutout Stl spanned by a bracket 51, the latter being secured to the link 48 by means :of bolts 52. The shaft of the roller 40, which is not shown in FIGURE 5, is carried by a block 53 having a length shorter than the length of the slot 50 to permit the block 53 to be moved lengthwise thereof. The block 53 is adjustably secured in position by a lug 54 secured to the link 48 by means of a screw 55. As will be shown, this adjustment is in effect a rough adjustment for providing a preliminary setting of the pressure of the ink roller 40 against the cooperatlng plate cylinder 11.

The link 48 carrying the roller 40 is coupled to the arcuate segment 38 by means of a link 56 and a rocker arm 57. The link 56 has an opening 58 in one end thereof which engages a stud 59 on the bracket 51. The lower end of the link 56 has a stud 60 which engages an opening 61 in the rocker arm 57. The rocker arm 57 is recessed as indicated at 62 to receive the link 56 with the outer surface of the link 56 being coplanar with the remainder of the rear surface of the rocker arm. The rocker arm 57 lies between the base of the annular element 31 and the segment 38 as will be observed more clearly in FIGURES 4 and 9 and the rocker arm is pivoted to the annular element 31 by means of a stud 63- engaging the opening 64 in the rocker arm. The third opening 65 in the rocker arm 57 receives a pin generally denoted by the numeral 66 and having a cylindrical section 67 of relatively small diameter and an eccentric section 68 of relatively large diameter. The eccentric portion 68 engages the opening 65 in the rocker arm 57 and can be secured in any selected position by means of a locking set screw 65'. The cylindrical shaft 67 carries. a cam wheel 69 which may be held in position by any suitable means, as for instance a locking spring which engages the groove 70 in the cylindrical portion 67. The cam roller 69 rides in the cooperating slot 71 in the annular segment 38 and the width of the slot at any portion thereof is substantially equal to the diameter of the cam wheel 69 so that the latter will roll therein with minimum radial play. The slot 71, as will be observed more clearly in FIGURE 10, is provided with a section generally defined by the radial lines a and b that are substantially concentric with the element 38. The next section between the radial lines b and c slopes inwardly toward the inner radius of the arcuate sector 38, and the remaining portion of the slot defined by the radial lines c and d is again substantially concentric with the arcuate element 38.

Adjustment of the angular position of the element 38 is accomplished by a lever 72 pivoted at 73 to the arcuate element 38 and at '74 to a link 75. The link 75 is secured to a shaft 76 which upon rotation will produce angular shift of the element 38. For instance, FIG- URE 5 shows the position of the arcuate element 38 during normal operation of the press. In order to lift the rollers 48 through 43 from engagement with the plate roller, the shaft 76 and link 75 are moved counterclockwise as viewed in FIGURE 5 to the position shown in FIGURE 7. In so doing, the rollers 69 engaging the slot 71 will be displaced within the slot 71 and in so doing, the rocker arms 57 will be tilted in a counterclockwise direction and lift the rollers.40 through 43 from the surface of the plate cylinder. The water rollers 44 and 45 controlled by the arcuate segment 39 are lifted from the plate roller in substantially the same manner. For this purpose, a lever '77 is pivoted to the segment 39 at 78 and to a bell crank 80 at 81. The bell crank is in turn pivoted to the frame at 82. A second lever 83 has one end pivoted at 84 to the bell crank and its other end pivoted at 85 to a link 86 carried by a shaft 87. Rotation of the shaft 87 in a counterclockwise direction as shown in FIGURE 5 will provide a downward thrust on the lever 77 to move the segment 39 in a counterclockwise direction and lift the water rollers 44 and 45 from the plate cylinder.

With the

arcuate elements

38 and 39 in the positions shown in FIGURE 5, the ink rollers 40 through 43 and the water rollers 44 and 45 are in engagement with the surface of the plate cylinder and the preliminary pressure adjustment for each roller was accomplished by adjustment of the blocks 53 as previously described. Precise adjustments of the pressure of the rollers is accomplished by rotation of the pins 66 as may be observed more clearly in FIGURES 8 and 9. Each pin has a rectangular section 67' land by loosening the set screw 65', the pin can be rotated to adjust the angular position of the rocking lever 57 and thereby precisely adjust the pressure of the associated roller on the plate cylinder. When this adjustment is accomplished the set screw 65 is tightened to secure the pin 66 in the selected position within the opening 65.

Referring again to FIGURE 5, it will be observed that each of the several links 56 connecting the roller carrying links to the associated rocking levers 57 are substantially radially aligned with the concentric arcuate elements of the adjusting mechanism and thus the shaft of the plate cylinder. In other words, center lines defined by the pivot points 59 and 60 of each link 56 will pass substantially through the center of the

annular elements

31, 38 and 39. While precise radial positioning of the links 56 is desirable, some latitude can be tolerated without adversely affecting the operation of the structure.

In the operation of the structure thus far described, let it be assumed that the worm 22 is rotated to skew the plate cylinder as previously described. In skewing the cylinder, the assembly comprising the annular element 31 and the

arcuate segments

38 and 39 will be displaced with the cylinder and relative to the shafts of the ink and water transfer rollers 46. If the cylinder is moved gen orally in the direction of the arrow R in FIGURE 5, the links 56 controlling the water rollers 44 and 45 will be shifted generally to the right so that the link 56 on the uppermost water roller will move through a distance and direction corresponding to the skew of the cylinder represented by the arrow R. This will move the roller 45 in a clockwise direction about its associated water roller 46 and hold it in engagement with the plate cylinder. The link 56 controlling the operation of the roller 44, however, will have its pivot 60 move in a direction at an angle to a line defined by the link pivots 59 and 60. Thus the inner end of the link 56 in moving in the direction of the arrow R will be rotated about the pivot 59 and thus only a portion of the displacement R will be experienced by the roller 44. In connection with the roller 43, it will be observed that the associated link 56 is substan tially at right angles to the skew distance R, and thus, there will be little or no displacement of the roller 43. The roller 42 will have a displacement somewhat corresponding to the displacement of the roller 44, while the

rollers

41 and 40 will be displaced in the direction of the arrow R a distance slightly less than the amount of the skew. The foregoing relationships hold regardless of the direction or extent of the skew, and thus, even though the skew is applied to the plate cylinder through an arcuate path, the ink and water rollers will precisely follow the motion of the plate cylinder. It will be observed that in the normal skewing procedure of the plate cylinder there will be some shift of the

arcuate elements

38 and 39 because the pivots 73 and '78 are fixed relative to the press frame. The degree of shift of each of the

arcuate segments

38 and 39 is relatively small but will not exceed the angular extent of those portions of the slot 71 defined by the radial lines a and b in FIGURE 11. Thus, during the skewing operation, there is no angular motion of the rockers 57.

For the purpose of the instant disclosure, the throwoff mechanism for moving the ink and water rollers out of engagement with the plate cylinder included the angu larly displaceable

arcuate elements

38 and 39 together with the slot 71 for tilting the associated rocker arms 57. It is quite evident, however, that other equivalent structures such as the structure shown in FIGURE 12 may be utilized in accordance with the invention to effect disengagement of the water and ink rollers from the plate cylinder. In this figure, the rockers 57 are in the form of gear sectors pivoted at 63' to a plate 31' corresponding to the plate 31 of the previous embodiment of the invention. Each radially disposed link 56 is eccentrically connected at to the associated gear sector. The link 48 pivoted at 47 to the frame carries one end of the ink roller, the latter being journalled in the bearing block 53 which in turn is adjustably secured to the link 48 by a clamp 54 and locking screw 55 all as previously described. Attachment of the link 48 to the radial link 56' is effected by the trunnion plate 82 secured to the link 48 by screws 83 and carrying a trunnion 84. The radial link 56' has a recess 85 to receive the trunnion :84. The trunnion has a threaded diametral opening threadably receiv ing a captive screw 86 rotatably carried by the link 56' and bridging the recess 85. With this arrangement, coarse pressure adjustment of roller 40 against the plate cylinder 11 is accomplished by means of block 53 while the fine pressure adjustment is effected by means of the screw 86. The

arcuate elements

38 and 39 in this modified form of the invention are sections of a ring gear denoted by the numeral 81 and engage the gear sectors so that when the ring gear sections are displaced through a predetermined angle, the gear sectors or rockers will be operated to remove the ink and water rollers from the surface of the plate cylinder.

As mentioned above, two ring gear sections would normally be used to operate the ink and water rollers independently. If desired, all of the ink and water rollers may be simultaneously operated by the utilization of a single ring gear 81 mounted for rotation about a center defined by the axis of the plate cylinder. It is also evident that other means such as air cylinders, power-operated screw jacks, and the like may be utilized to shift the link 56 outwardly to disengage the ink and water rollers. The air cylinders or jacks may either operate each of the rollers independently or may be arranged to operate them in unlson.

While only certain embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is evident that changes, alterations and modifications may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l1. In a printing press, front and rear frames, a plate cylinder means in said front and rear frames rotatably supporting said cylinder therebetween, at least one of said means comprising an eccentric sleeve rotatably carried by one of said frames and supporting a journal therein, means for angularly adjusting said sleeve to shift the adjoin-ing end of said cylinder relative to the other end thereof, means carried by said sleeve and movable in concentric alignment w'ith said journal as said sleeve is shifted angularly, a roller supported by said frames with the support on at least said one frame being adjustable and a link coupling the roller and its support on said one frame to said sleeve carried means with said link being in substantial alignment with a radial plane of said cylinder whereby movement of said one end of said cylinder will produce substantially corresponding movement of the adjoining end of said roller, said sleeve carried means including at least one element angularly displaceable about the axis of the plate cylinder, a rocker pivotally secured to said sleeve carried means and mechanically coupled to said element whereby movement of said element will angularly shift said rocker on its pivot, and an eccentrically positioned pivot on said rocker and engaging the inner end of said link, said rocker moving said roller out of engagement with the plate cylinder when said element is angularly displaced.

2. In a printing press, front and rear frames, a plate cylinder, means in said front and rear frames rotatably supporting said cylinder therebetween, at least one of said means comprising an eccentric sleeve rotatably carried by one of said frames and supporting a journal therein, means for angularly adjusting said sleeve to shift the adjoining end of said cylinder relative to the other end thereof, means carried by said sleeve and movable in concentric alignment with said journal as said sleeve is shifted angularly, a roller supported by said frames with the upport on at least said one frame being adjustable and a link coupling the roller and its support on said one frame to said sleeve carried means with said link being in substantial alignment with a radial plane of said cylinder whereby movement of said one end of said cylinder will produce substantially corresponding movement of the adjoining end of said roller, said sleeve carried means including a plate member movable in concentric alignment with the axis of the plate cylinder, an arcuate angularly displacealble element concentric with the axis of the plate cylinder and carried by said member, said element having an elongated slot with one end of the center line of the slot being closer to the axis of the plate cylinder than the other end thereof, a rocker arm pivotally secured to said member, a cam wheel carried by said rocker arm and engaging said slot whereby angular movement of said member will displace said rocker arm about its pivot, and means on said rocker arm pivotally engaging said link coupling, said rocker arm upon being moved about its pivot moves said link outwardly and disengages the roller from engagement with the plate cylinder.

3. In a printing press, front and rear frames, a plate cylinder, means in said front and rear frames rotata'bly supporting said cylinder therebetween, at least one of said means comprising an eccentric sleeve rotatably carried by one of said frames and supporting a journal therein, means for angularly adjusting said sleeve to shift the adjoining end of said cylinder relative to the other end thereof, means carried by said sleeve and movable in concentric alignment with said journal as said sleeve is shifted angularly, a roller supported by said frames with the support on at least said one frame being adjustable and a link coupling the roller and its support on said one frame to said sleeve carried means with said link being in substantial alignment with a radial plane of said cylinder whereby movement of said one end of said cylinder will produce substantially corresponding movement of the adjoining end of said roller, said sleeve carried means including at least two arcuate angularly displaceable elements slidably carried by said sleeve carried means, means for individually moving said elements in arcuate paths, a plurality of rollers surrounding the plate cylinder, said rollers being carried by said front and rear frames and movable toward and away from the plate cylinder, a plurality of rockers pivotally secured to said sleeve carried means with certain of said rockers mechanically coupled to one of said elements and the remainder of said rockers being mechanically coupled to the other of said elements whereby angular movement of said elements will rotate said rockers about their pivots and a plurality of links connecting each rocker to an adjoining roller whereby movement of one end of the plate cylinder through rotation of said eccentric sleeve will displace the rollers in a direction and distance corresponding to the displacement of the plate cylinder, and movement of said elements will disengage the rollers from contact with said plate cylinder.

'4. In a printing press, front and rear frames, a plate cylinder, means in said front and rear 'frames rotatably supporting said cylinder therebetween, at least one of said means including 'an eccentric sleeve carried by one of said frames and supporting a journal therein, means for angularly adjusting said sleeve to axially shift the adjoining end of said cylinder relative to the other end thereof, a plate carried by said sleeve and movable concentrically with the axis of said plate cylinder as the sleeve is shifted angularly, at least one roller supported between said frames and movable toward and away from the plate cylinder, a rocker-like member pivotally secured to said plate, a link eccentrically coupled at one end to said rocker-like member and at its other end to said roller and means for angularly adjusting said rocker-like member relative to said plate whereby said rocker-like member when in one position holding said roller in fixed pressure engagement with said plate clyinder and upon displacement of the adjoining end of said plate cylinder through rotation of said eccentric sleeve displacing the adjoining end of said roller proportionally and upon operation of the last said means to angularly shift said rocker-like member the adjoining end of said roller is disengaged from pressure contact with said plate cylinder.

5. In a printing press according to claim 4 wherein the last said means comprises an arcuate angularly adjustable element carried by said plate and a mechanical coupling between said element and said rocker-like member for rotation of said rocker-like member about its pivot upon angular displacement of said element.

6. In a printing press according to claim 4 wherein said rocker-like member is a sector of a gear and the last said means comprises at least a segment of a ring gear carried by said plate and arcuately movable relative thereto whereby movement of said ring gear will angularly displace said gear segment about its axis to move said roller into and out of engagement with said plate cylinder.

7. In a printing press, front and rear frames, a plate cylinder, means on said front and rear frames rotatably supporting said cylinder therebetween, at least one of said means comprising an eccentric sleeve rotatably carried by one of said frames and supporting a plate cylinder journal therein, means for angularly adjusting said sleeve to shift the axis of the adjoining end of said cylinder relative to the other end thereof, rollers 'adjustably carried between said frames for movement toward and away from the plates cylinder, means at said one end of said plate cylinder movable concentrically therewith, radially disposed links coupling the last said means with each of said rollers for moving said rollers in a direction and distance corresponding to the movement of the adjoining end of the plate cylinder, radially disposed links at the other end of the plate cylinder each connected at one end to an adjoining roller and fixed at their other ends relative to the adjoining end of the axis of said plate cylinder, and means for radially displacing the links on each end of said cylinder to engage and disengage the rollers from the surface of said plate cylinder, the last said means comprising a rocker-like member with the rocker-like members at said one end of the plate cylinder being pivoted to said concentrically movable means and at the other end relative to said frame, eccentrically positioned means on each of said rocker-like members for pivotal attachment of said radial links and means for angularly shifting said rocker-like members about their pivots to eifect engagement and disengagement of the rollers with the surface of the plate cylinder.

8. In a printing press, front and rear frames, a plate cylinder, means on said front and rear frames r-otatably supporting said cylinder therebetween, at least one of said means comprising an eccentric sleeve rotata'bly carried by one of said frames and supporting a plate cylinder journal therein, means for angularly adjusting said sleeve to shift the axis of the adjoining end of said cylinder relative to the other end thereof, rollers adjusta biy carried between said frames for movement toward and away from the plate cylinder, means at said one end of said plate cylinder movable concentrically therewith, radially disposed links coupling the last said means with each of said rollers for moving said rollers in a direction and distance corresponding to the movement of the adjoining end of the plate cylinder, radially disposed links at the other end of the plate cylinder each connected at one end to an adjoining roller and fixed at their other ends relative to the adjoining end of the axis of said plate cylinder, means for radially displacing the links on each end of said cylinder to engage and disengage the rollers from the surface of said plate cylinder, said rocker-like members being in the form of gear segments and said means for angularly shifting said rocker-like members comprising an arcuate gear in meshing engagement with said gear sectors.

9. In a printing press, front and rear frames, a plate cylinder, means in said front and rear frames rotatably supporting said cylinder therebetween, at least one of said means comprising an eccentric sleeve: rotatably carried by one of said frames and supporting a journal therein, means for angularly adjusting said sleeve to shift the adjoining end of said cylinder relative to the other end thereof, means carried by said sleeve and movable in concentric alignment with said journal as said sleeve is shifted angularly, rollers angularly disposed about said cylinder and supported by said frames with the supports on at least said one frame Ibeing adjustable and elongated links pivotally coupling each roller and its support on said one frame to said sleeve carried means with each of said links being in substantial alignment with a radial plane common to said cylinder and] its associated roller when said cylinder is in one position whereby movement of said one end of said cylinder from said one position will displace said links in directions and through angles dependent upon the angular relationship between each of said links and the direction of said movement so that said rollers maintain substantially uniform contact with said cylinder.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,635,539 4/53 Peyrelbrune l-O1352 2,653,537 9/53 Peyrebrune 10l247 3,065,690 1 1/ 62 Heller et al. 101-142 EUGENE R. OAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A PRINTING PRESS, FRONT AND REAR FRAMES, A PLATE CYLINDER MEANS IN SAID FRONT AND REAR FRAMES ROTATABLY SUPPORTING SAID CYLINDER THEREBETWEEN, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID MEANS COMPRISING AN ECCENTRIC SLEEVE ROTATABLY CARRIED BY ONE OF SAID FRAMES AND SUPPORTING A JOURNAL THEREIN, MEANS FOR ANGULARLY ADJUSTING SAIDSLEEVE TO SHIFT THE ADJOINING END OF SAID CYLINDER RELATIVE TO THE OTHER END THEREOF, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID SLEEVE AND MOVABLE IN CONCENTRIC ALIGNMENT WITH SAID JOURNAL AS SAID SLEEVE IS SHIFTED ANGULARLY, A ROLLER SUPPORTED BY SAID FRAMES WITH THE SUPPORT ON AT LEAST SAID ONE FRAME BEING ADJUSTABLE AND A LINK COUPLING THE ROLLER AND ITS SUPPORT ON SAID ONE FRAME TO SAID SLEEVE CARRIED MEANS WITH SAID LINK BEING IN SUBSTANTIAL ALIGNMENT WITH A RADIAL PLANE OF SAID CYLINDER WHEREBY MOVEMENT OF SAID ONE END OF SAID CYLINDER WILL PRODUCE SUBSTANTIALLY CORRESPONDING MOVEMENT OF THE ADJOINING END OF SAID ROLLER, SAID SLEEVE CARRIED MEANS INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE ELEMENT ANGULARLY DISPLACEABLE ABOUT THE AXIS OF THE PLATE CYLINDER, A ROCKER PIVOTALLY SECURED TO SAID SLEEVE CARRIED MEANS AND MECHANICALLY COUPLED TO SAID ELEMENT WHEREBY MOVEMENT OF SAID ELEMENT WILL ANGULARLY SHIFT SAID ROCKER ON ITS PIVOT, AND AN ECCENTRICALLY POSITIONED PIVOT ON SAID ROCKER AND ENGAGING THE INNER END OF SAID LINK, SAID ROCKER MOVING SAID ROLLER OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PLATE CYLINDER WHEN SAID ELEMENT IS ANGULARLY DISPLACED.