US3659522A - Automatic machine for silk-screen printing on filled bottles of flexible material with flat faces - Google Patents

Automatic machine for silk-screen printing on filled bottles of flexible material with flat faces Download PDF

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Publication number
US3659522A
US3659522A US859444A US3659522DA US3659522A US 3659522 A US3659522 A US 3659522A US 859444 A US859444 A US 859444A US 3659522D A US3659522D A US 3659522DA US 3659522 A US3659522 A US 3659522A
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machine
containers
screen
printing
movement
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US859444A
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Louis Gilbert Dubuit
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
    • B41F15/00—Screen printers
    • B41F15/08—Machines
    • B41F15/0881—Machines for printing on polyhedral articles

Definitions

  • the technique of silk-screen printing is well-known; it consists of passing the printing ink by means of a squeegee through a screen of silk or other material, of which some of the meshes are free and represent the design to be printed, while the others are closed.
  • Automatic machines which utilize a technique of this kind thus generally comprise a screen-carrier and a squeegee carrier, both of which are given a vertical lifting movement necessary for the presentation and withdrawal of the objects to be printed, and which are further actuated with respect to each other in a relative horizontal reciprocating movement necessary for the printing itself;
  • the screen-carrier may be fixed and the squeegee-carrier may be movable, or conversely the squeegee-carrier may be fixed and the screen-carrier movable.
  • bottles of so-called plastic flexible material were printed while empty, both in the case of bottles with flat faces, cylindrical bottles, conical bottles or oval bottles.
  • Machines for silk-screen printing utilized up to the present day are therefore inoperative in this case, since as the bottles are filled and closed, it is impossible to blow air into them at the time of printing while moreover this operation cannot be carried out correctly.
  • the present invention has for its object a machine which enables this drawback to be obviated.
  • an automatic machine for printing with a silk screen of the kind comprising a screen-carrier and a squeegee-carrier each actuated with a vertical lifting movement and further actuated with respect to each other in a relative horizontal reciprocating movement, is characterized in that, for printing filled bottles of flexible material with flat faces, it comprises, in synchronism with the said movements, on the one hand a forward-movement means adapted to cause the bottles to move step-by-step under the silk screen, the said bottles lying down flat, and on the other hand, a compression means adapted to apply lateral pressure to each bottle at the time of printing.
  • the screencarrier is horizontally movable in a to-and-fro movement, while the squeegee-carrier is fixed, and the associated forward-movement means comprises at least one moving finger fixed on the said screen-carrier and co-operating with a guiding passage in which the said finger pushes forward the bottles to be printed one by one, this guiding passage being formed by two walls which come gradually closer together over at least part of their length, thereby ensuring the desired compression of the bottles.
  • a bottle is engaged in the guiding passage; pushed by the upstream bottle or bottles engaged in a similar manner in this passage by the moving finger during the course of the following cycles, it progressively arrives directly underneath the silk screen and is driven with this latter to receive the desired impression while it is compressed laterally by the walls of the said passage.
  • F161 is a plan view of a machine according to the invention.
  • F162 is a view of this machine in elevation
  • FIG.3 is a lateral view of the machine
  • FIGA shows a detail of FIGJ to a larger scale
  • FIG.5 is a view in cross-section taken along the line V-V of FIGA, for a first position of a bottle to be printed;
  • FIG.6 is a view in cross-section similar to FIGS, for a second position of the said bottle
  • F1G.7 is a view similar to that of FIG.6, and relates to an alternative form of embodiment
  • FIGSB and 9 are views similar to that of P164, and relate respectively each to an alternative form of construction.
  • the invention has been applied to a silk-screen printing machine of the same type as that described in U.S. Pat. No.3,090,300.
  • It comprises essentially two horizontal fixed rods 2, 2' and two moving horizontal rods 3, 3' coupled together by articulated arms 4, 4 and 5, 5', and forming with these arms an assembly of deformable parallelograrns.
  • the screen-carrier is constituted by two vertical arms 12, 13, slidably mounted on the rods 3, 3' and carrying a double horizontal guide-bar 14.
  • This double guide-bar 14 carries in its turn, in a manner adjustable in position, horizontal arms 15, 15 on which a screen can be fitted.
  • a screen of this kind has been shown diagrammatically in chain-dotted lines in FIG.1.
  • the double guidebar 14 is further rigidly fixed to a driving unit 16, the function of which will be explained later.
  • the squeegee-carrier 11 comprises a horizontal arm 17 (FlG.1) slidably mounted on the rods 2, 3; this arm 17 is extended towards the front, where it is articulated on a vertical arm 19(FIG.3).
  • This vertical arm 18 is articulated at its lower portion on an arm 19 slidably mounted on the rod 3', and carries a horizontal arm 20 on which a squeegee 21 can be mounted in an adjustable position.
  • the general movement of the machine is effected by means of a motor 25 (F162), which drives through a transmission 26, the input shaft of a speed-reduction gear 27, which comprises two output shafts.
  • a pinion 28 On one of these output shafts, at the rear of the machine, is keyed a pinion 28 which drives, by means of a chain 29, a pinion 30 which is keyed on the main shaft 31 of the machine.
  • a substantially horizontal lever 34 is pivoted at 35 on the frame of the machine and carries a roller 36 held in contact with the periphery of the cam 32. At its other extremity, the lever 34 is coupled by a tie-rod 38 to the lever 5, extended towards the rear for that purpose.
  • the profile of the cam 32 is such that the lever 34 is alternately lowered and lifted, which causes an alternate lowering and lifting of the movable rods 3, 3' with respect to the fixed rods 2, 2 and therefore a lowering and a lifting of the screen-carrier 10, and the squeegee-carrier 1 l.
  • the cam 33 effects the to-and-fro movement of a trolley 40 (1 10.1), slidably mounted on the rod 2' and capable of being coupled by a fork 41 either to the driving unit 16 of the screen-carrier 10, as shown, or to the arm 17 of the squeegee-carrier 11.
  • the cam 33 cooperates with two rollers 43, 43' carried by a horizontal guidebar 44 mounted so as to slide longitudinally in a fixed block 45, and this guide-bar 44 carries a roller 143 which cooperates with a lever 145, pivotally mounted at 146 and coupled by a crank-arm 46 to the trolley 40.
  • the frame of the machine is provided with a table 50 on which pass the bottles B to be printed.
  • These bottles are of flexible material, and they are closed after being filled with a contents of any kind.
  • these bottles have flat faces; in the example shown, they have a square transverse section.
  • the travel of the bottles B on the table 50 is effected successively by means of a supply conveyor 51, a guiding passage 52,
  • the conveyor 51 comprises two parallel driving chains 55, 55' each passing over two pinions 56, 56 (see F163).
  • the pinions 56 which are keyed on a common shaft 57, are driving pinions, the said shaft 57 carrying (see FlG.2) a pinion 58 driven by the front outputshaft of the reduction gear 27 through the intermediary successively of a chain 59, a bevel gear 60, a chain 61 and a pinion 62.
  • the chains 55, 55 extend substantially perpendicularly to the rods 2, 2 and 3, 3' of the machine and are provided at regular intervals with driving lugs 65.
  • these chains 55, 55 travel on each side of a plate 66 on which the bottles B slide when they are impelled by the lugs .65 of the said chains, the bottles B being guided laterally in this movement by two vertical parallel end plates 67, 67 and being laid down flat, transversely with respect to the chains 55, 55.
  • the guiding passage 52 extends parallel to the rods 2, 2' an 3, 3' of the machine, directly below the screen-carrier 10.
  • This guiding passage is constituted by two vertical guiding end-plates 68, 68', the front plate 68 being interrupted at the outlet of the supply conveyor 51, as is more clearly seen from FlG.l, and being provided at this outlet with a bent-back extremity 69 forming an enlarged mouth for the passage 52.
  • the end-plates 68, 68 preferably come closer to each other in the direction away from this mouth, until they are arranged with respect to each other at a distance which is just equal to or slightly less than the width of a bottle B.
  • the evacuation conveyor 53 is a rolling belt arranged in the extension of the guiding passage 52. It passes over two drums 70, .70', the drum 70 being driven by the front output shaft of the reduction gear 27 through the intennediary successively of a chain 71 and a pinion 72 (see FIG.2).
  • an abutment plate 73 is arranged transversely, in co-operation with a double-acting pneumatic jack 75 which is arranged upstream of the abutment 73, and the rod 76 of which carries a push-plate 77.
  • the control electro-valve of this jack (not shown) is controlled by a micro-contract acting in dependence on a cam 78 keyed on the rear extremity of the general driving shaft 31 of the machine (see FlG.l).
  • the double guidebar 14 of the screen-carrier trolley is provided with an additional arm 80.
  • This arm itself carries a forward-movement finger 81 arranged in the axis of the guiding passage 52.
  • the installation is completed by two burners, one 90 arranged transversely above the supply means 51, the other 91 arranged transversely above the evacuation belt 53.
  • the screen-carrier 10 which is movable in a to-andfro horizontal motion, due to the coupling of its block 16 to are;
  • the trolley 40, and the squeegee-carrier 1 1 are in the lowered position. It will also be assumed that in the axis of the guiding passage 52, the bottles B1, B2, B3 and B4 are successively arranged end-to-end lying flat, the bottle Bl having already been printed and the bottle B2 being about to be printed, and that the moving finger 81 is in the immediate vicinity of the bottom of the bottle B4.
  • the screen 1 10, FIG. 1 is in contact with the bottle B2.
  • the trolley 40 then drives it horizontally in the direction of the arrow 100 of FlG.1, while the squeegee 21 remains fixed.
  • the forward-movement finger 81 pushes the bottle B4 and therefore the bottles B3 and B2, so that this latter remainsfixed with respect to the screen.
  • the bottle B2 is strongly clamped laterally by the side-plates 68, 68' of the guiding passage 52, so that it offers a relatively rigid surface to the screen, in a similar manner to that which takes place in the usual machines in which the bottles are internally inflated for that purpose.
  • the burner has treated this bottle following the known technique of treatment of surfaces of synthetic material so as to prepare them for printing, and at the same time it has eliminated any water which could soil the surface to be printed.
  • the screen-carrier 10 is again lowered and during the course of this movement, the moving finger 81 comes into place behind the bottle which has taken the place of the bottle B4. At the same time, the squeegee-carrier l 1 is also lowered.
  • the bottles B carried away by the evacuation belt 53 pass directly under the burner 91 which effects the drying of the printing which has just been carried out; these bottles then come into contact with the abutment-plate 73 arranged at the extremity of the evacuation belt.
  • the jack 75 which is synchronized with all the parts of the machine by the cam 78, then comes into action, its piston 77 pushing the bottles successively one by one on to the table 54, from which they are evacuated or transferred by any desired means.
  • FlG.4 shows to a larger scale a detail of FlG.l. It can be seen that in accordance with the form of application shown, the distance L1 between the sideplates 68, 68' is slightly less than the width L2 of a bottle.
  • FlG.5 is a cross-section taken along the line VV of FIGA, passing through a bottle which has not yet been introduced into the passage 52.
  • FIG.6 is a similar view after the bottle has passed into this passage. It can be seen that the compression effect applied by the walls 68, 68 results in a stifiening effect of the surface of this bottle to be printed.
  • FlG.8 is similar to FIG.4 and relates to an alternative form in which the bent-back portion 69 of the passage 52 is coupled to the side-plate 68 by an oblique section 69.
  • FlG.9 is similar to F164 and illustrates an alternative form, in which, for the simultaneous printing of several bottles by means of a single screen and a single squeegee, the machine is provided with a plurality of parallel guiding passages 52A, 52B, 52C, each respectively associated with a forwardmovement finger (not shown) carried by the said screen.
  • the presentation of the bottles underneath the screen for the purpose of printing could be effected by means of a continuous belt, parallel or perpendicular to the axis of the machine, by means of a lifting means, the upward movement of which is carried out at each cycle of the machine, or by the aid of any other appropriate means.
  • this presentation is effected by an advancing finger as described, this finger, instead of being fixed to the screen and being lowered with it, could be carried by a conveyor mounted on the table of the machine, in such manner as to be withdrawn at the end of its travel and return to the rear to engage another bottle.
  • this printing could also be made by means of a fixed screen and a moving squeegee.
  • the relative horizontal movement of the screen-carrier and the squeegee-carrier can be effected in any manner other than that described above, and in particular it may be actuated by pneumatic, electro-mechanical or like means.
  • An automatic silk-screen printing machine for printing on filled flexible containers having flat faces, comprising a printing station including a silk-screen printing mechanism, means for step-wise feeding said containers resting on one of their sides to said printing station, and compression means comprising a pair of walls spaced apart a distance less than the uncompressed width of the containers that compress the container between them and that engage substantial areas of the compressed container on opposite sides of the compressed containers and rigidify the face of the containers to be printed both before the containers arrive in the printing station and during the printing on the containers, said compression means being independent of the printing mechanism and acting in a direction transverse to the effective direction of operation of the printing mechanism.
  • a machine as claimed in claim 1 said walls being convergent in the direction of movement of said containers over at least a part of the length of said walls.
  • means for feeding comprises a moving finger carried by a conveyor mounted on the frame of said machine.
  • a machine as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a supply conveyor for supplying containers to said means for feeding, the direction of movement of said conveyor being perpendicular to that of said means for feeding.
  • a machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the silk-screen printing mechanism comprises a screen and a squeegee movable relative to one another, and wherein the movement of the squeegee relative to the screen is coordinated with said stepwise movement.
  • a machine as claimed in claim 6 wherein the screen 15 horizontally reciprocably movable and said squeegee is fixed, and said means for feeding comprises at least one finger fixed relative to a screen and cooperating with a guiding passage in which said finger pushes the containers to be printed.
  • a machine as claimed in claim 7 wherein, for the simultaneous printing of a plurality of containers there are provided a plurality of parallel guiding passages, each associated with means for feeding.

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  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
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US859444A 1968-10-31 1969-09-19 Automatic machine for silk-screen printing on filled bottles of flexible material with flat faces Expired - Lifetime US3659522A (en)

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DE (1) DE1948372C3 (es)
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Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4263845A (en) * 1977-12-21 1981-04-28 Oji Seitai Kaisha, Ltd. Method and apparatus for printing the surface of a bag which has been filled with a content
US4343670A (en) * 1979-12-05 1982-08-10 Rheological Systems, Inc. Apparatus and process for hot-stamping containers
US4409063A (en) * 1979-12-05 1983-10-11 Rheological Systems, Inc. Apparatus and process for hot-stamping containers
US5339732A (en) * 1991-05-03 1994-08-23 M.O.S.S.-S.R.L. Machine for silk-screen printing decoration of the outer sides of containers in general
FR2871410A1 (fr) * 2004-06-09 2005-12-16 Saga Decor Sa Procede de traitement et/ou de decoration d'objets en verre, et chaine mettant en oeuvre ledit procede
US20080239048A1 (en) * 2007-03-27 2008-10-02 Homag Holzbearbeitungssysteme Ag Device and Method for Imprinting a Three-Dimensional Article
US20100281833A1 (en) * 2009-05-11 2010-11-11 The Coca-Cola Company Method of using temporary decoration to mass customize refillable glass vessels
US20130286123A1 (en) * 2012-04-27 2013-10-31 Illinois Tool Works Inc. System and method for printing on a flexible body

Citations (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE595772C (de) * 1931-09-12 1934-04-23 Edmund Muenster A G Vorrichtung zum Einpacken beliebig gestalteter Gegenstaende in Papier o. dgl.
US2484671A (en) * 1944-05-02 1949-10-11 Owens Illinois Glass Co Silk screen stencil decorating machine
US2602393A (en) * 1948-04-26 1952-07-08 Gottscho Inc Adolph Marking apparatus
US2818799A (en) * 1953-08-21 1958-01-07 Hayward Henry Milton Means for applying printing to plastic
US3024722A (en) * 1958-11-10 1962-03-13 American Marietta Co Printer for cans
US3072044A (en) * 1960-08-08 1963-01-08 Gottscho Inc Adolph Marking device
US3078792A (en) * 1960-05-19 1963-02-26 Kammann Fa Werner Screen stencil printing machine
US3090300A (en) * 1960-02-23 1963-05-21 Dubuit Louis Gilbert Silk screen printing machine
US3221643A (en) * 1963-08-05 1965-12-07 Strutz & Co Inc Carl Method and apparatus for decorating bottles
US3267842A (en) * 1964-04-22 1966-08-23 Questron America Inc Decorating
US3302559A (en) * 1965-09-09 1967-02-07 Emery I Valyi Method and apparatus for printing on the surface of plastic hollow objects
US3524295A (en) * 1968-10-08 1970-08-18 American Can Co Process for handling and treating articles in groups

Patent Citations (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE595772C (de) * 1931-09-12 1934-04-23 Edmund Muenster A G Vorrichtung zum Einpacken beliebig gestalteter Gegenstaende in Papier o. dgl.
US2484671A (en) * 1944-05-02 1949-10-11 Owens Illinois Glass Co Silk screen stencil decorating machine
US2602393A (en) * 1948-04-26 1952-07-08 Gottscho Inc Adolph Marking apparatus
US2818799A (en) * 1953-08-21 1958-01-07 Hayward Henry Milton Means for applying printing to plastic
US3024722A (en) * 1958-11-10 1962-03-13 American Marietta Co Printer for cans
US3090300A (en) * 1960-02-23 1963-05-21 Dubuit Louis Gilbert Silk screen printing machine
US3078792A (en) * 1960-05-19 1963-02-26 Kammann Fa Werner Screen stencil printing machine
US3072044A (en) * 1960-08-08 1963-01-08 Gottscho Inc Adolph Marking device
US3221643A (en) * 1963-08-05 1965-12-07 Strutz & Co Inc Carl Method and apparatus for decorating bottles
US3267842A (en) * 1964-04-22 1966-08-23 Questron America Inc Decorating
US3302559A (en) * 1965-09-09 1967-02-07 Emery I Valyi Method and apparatus for printing on the surface of plastic hollow objects
US3524295A (en) * 1968-10-08 1970-08-18 American Can Co Process for handling and treating articles in groups

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4263845A (en) * 1977-12-21 1981-04-28 Oji Seitai Kaisha, Ltd. Method and apparatus for printing the surface of a bag which has been filled with a content
US4343670A (en) * 1979-12-05 1982-08-10 Rheological Systems, Inc. Apparatus and process for hot-stamping containers
US4409063A (en) * 1979-12-05 1983-10-11 Rheological Systems, Inc. Apparatus and process for hot-stamping containers
US5339732A (en) * 1991-05-03 1994-08-23 M.O.S.S.-S.R.L. Machine for silk-screen printing decoration of the outer sides of containers in general
FR2871410A1 (fr) * 2004-06-09 2005-12-16 Saga Decor Sa Procede de traitement et/ou de decoration d'objets en verre, et chaine mettant en oeuvre ledit procede
US20080239048A1 (en) * 2007-03-27 2008-10-02 Homag Holzbearbeitungssysteme Ag Device and Method for Imprinting a Three-Dimensional Article
US8104887B2 (en) * 2007-03-27 2012-01-31 Homag Holzbearbeitungssysteme Ag Method for imprinting a three-dimensional article
US20100281833A1 (en) * 2009-05-11 2010-11-11 The Coca-Cola Company Method of using temporary decoration to mass customize refillable glass vessels
US8020359B2 (en) * 2009-05-11 2011-09-20 The Coca-Cola Company Method of using temporary decoration to mass customize refillable glass vessels
US20130286123A1 (en) * 2012-04-27 2013-10-31 Illinois Tool Works Inc. System and method for printing on a flexible body
US8955963B2 (en) * 2012-04-27 2015-02-17 Illinois Tool Works Inc. System and method for printing on a flexible body

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Publication number Publication date
DE1948372B2 (de) 1973-03-15
DE1948372A1 (de) 1970-05-14
FR1591198A (es) 1970-04-27
ES372295A1 (es) 1972-03-01
DE1948372C3 (de) 1973-09-20

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