US3699886A

US3699886A - Disconnect arrangement for multi-unit printing press

Info

Publication number: US3699886A
Application number: US130713A
Authority: US
Inventors: Norman K Henkel
Original assignee: Harris Intertype Corp
Current assignee: Harris Graphics Corp
Priority date: 1971-04-02
Filing date: 1971-04-02
Publication date: 1972-10-24
Anticipated expiration: 1989-10-24

Abstract

A disconnect arrangement for a multi-unit sheet fed press in which the transfer cylinder, together with its grippers, gripper cam and followers, are shifted axially out of mesh with the gears on adjacent impression cylinders thereby interrupting the press drive train and permitting individual operation of the units. The disconnected transfer cylinder is locked in a predetermined angular relationship relative to the adjacent cylinders with the transfer cylinder gaps facing the impression cylinders so that the grippers on the impression cylinders can open into the gaps as the units are individually rotated.

Description

United States Patent Henkel [54] DISCONNECT ARRANGEMENT FOR MULTI-UNIT PRINTING PRESS [72] Inventor: Norman K. Henkel, Dayton, Ohio [73] Assignee: Harris-Intertype I Corporation,

Cleveland, Ohio [22] Filed: April 2, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 130,713

[52] US. Cl ..l01/183, 101/411 [51] Int. Cl. ..B41f 7/06 [58] Field of Search ..101/l36145, 152,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,707,914 5/1955 Harrold "101/183 1 Oct. 24, 1972 12/1965 Tagliasacchi ..10l/l83 6/1970 Giuiuzza ..l0l/l83 Primary Examiner-J. Reed Fisher Attorney-Yount and Tarolli [57] I ABSTRACT A disconnect arrangement for a multi-unit sheet fed press, in which the transfer cylinder, together with its grippers, gripper cam and followers, are shifted axially out of mesh with the gears on adjacent impression cylinders thereby interrupting the press drive train and permitting individual operation of the units. The disconnected transfer cylinder is locked in a predetermined angular relationship relative to the adjacent cylinders with the transfer cylinder gaps facing the impression cylinders so that the grippers on the impression cylinders can open into the gaps as the units are individually rotated.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTED 00124 1912 3,699,886

FIGI 48 FIG. 2

lA/l/EA/TOR NORMA/V K. HEN/(EL DISCONNECT ARRANGEMENT FOR MULTl-UNIT PRINTING PRESS This invention relates to multi-unit sheet fed rotary printing presses and, more particularly, to a disconnect arrangement for allowing the impression cylinders of the press to be rotated independently of the transfer cylinder without interference between the interdigitated gripper fingers associated with the transfer cylinder and the impression cylinders.

Although the invention will be described with particular reference to a multi-unit three cylinder offset sheet fed press, it will be appreciated that the invention may be used with any press in which it is desired to disconnect an intergeared cylinder from adjacent cylinders having interdigitated fingers.

In sheet fed presses, various transfer mechanisms are provided to transfer the sheets from one printing unit to the next. Typically, these transfer mechanisms comprise transfer cylinders, the peripheral surfaces of which rotate in close proximity to the peripheral surfaces of the impression cylinders. Gripper fingers both on the impression cylinders and the transfer cylinders grip and release the sheet in a closely timed sequence whereby the sheet is carried around one cylinder and transferred to the next. These gripper fingers are normally positioned in a gap formed in the surfaces of the cylinder and are moved radially outward above the surface of the cylinder in a timed sequence controlled by a cam and follower mechanism.

When a sheet is being transferred from one cylinder to the next, the fingers on the two cylinders are interdigitated so that the gripper fingers on one cylinder move outwardly into the gap of the adjacent cylinder to release the edge of the sheet after the gripper fingers on the other cylinder, which have been opened, close on the edge of the sheet. The movement of the fingers as they open and close must be timed with relation to the rotation of the cylinders so that the gaps on adjacent cylinders coincide to accommodate the radial movement of the fingers during the sheet transfer.

In any multi-unit printing press it frequently is necessary or desirable to perform certain make-ready or clean-up operations on the individual units of the press. However, since all of these units in a multi-unit printing press, including the transfer cylinders, normally are geared together, it is necessary that some means be provided for disconnecting one unit from the other so that the disconnected unit can be operated independently for the make-ready or clean-up operation. To this end, it has been suggested to disconnect each individual printing unit and provide auxiliary motors whereby each disconnected unit can be individually rotated. However, it will be appreciated that when one unit is disconnected from the next, the timed relationship between adjacent cylinders, one rotating and the other stationary, no longer prevails and there is a possibility that the gripper fingers on the cylinder being rotated will interfere with or engage the periphery of the disconnected adjacent cylinders. Moreover, when reconnecting the units, it is important that they be reconnected in the proper timed relationship to avoid gripper interference when the units are operated simultaneously.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a disconnect arrangement whereby the transfer cylinder of a multi-unit press may be disconnected from the press drive gear train thereby to permit individual operation of the press units while maintaining the transfer cylinder in a fixed angular position such that the grippers on adjacent rotating cylinders do not interfere with the disconnected cylinder.

More specifically, this invention contemplates a disconnect arrangement for a multi-unit sheet fed printing press in which a transfer cylinder having a circumference which is an equal multiple, greater than 1, of the impression cylinders is positioned between a pair of impression cylinders and is adapted to be disconnected from the drive gear train of the press. Each of the impression cylinders and the transfer cylinder has sets of interdigitating sheet grippers thereon for successively transferring sheets from one printing unit to the next with the transfer cylinder having a plurality of gaps in its periphery in each of which one set of grippersv is mounted. The impression cylinders of the adjacent units are angularly spaced about the axis of the transfer cylinder such that a pair of gaps in the transfer cylinder are simultaneously adjacent the impression cylinders of the adjacent units. The disconnect arrangement includes means for disconnecting the printing unit drive gears from each other and for disconnecting the transfer cylinder from the gear train with means for locking the disconnected transfer cylinder against rotation in a predetermined angular relationship relative to the impression cylinders whereby a pair of the transfer cylinder gaps are positioned to face the adjacent impression cylinders so that upon rotation of the impression cylinders the grippers thereon open into the space of the gaps of the stationary transfer cylinder.

In the preferred form of the invention, the drive gear train comprises gears on each of the impression cylinders and the transfer cylinder, all of which lie in the same plane, with the disconnect arrangement being operative to shift the transfer cylinder axially thereby shifting its associated gear axially out of that plane and therefore out of mesh with the impression cylinder gears.

The invention further contemplates that the cam which controls the operation of the transfer cylinder grippers, and which is normally secured against rotation, will be shifted axially with the transfer cylinder when the transfer cylinder gear is disconnected thereby maintaining the cam and its associated cam followers in operational alignment.

Other objects, features and aspects of the invention will be more apparent upon a complete reading of the following description which, together with the attached drawings, discloses but a preferred form of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration in side elevation of a portion of a typical multi-unit press;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the transfer cylinder and impression cylinders of the press of FIG. 1 constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a view along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a typical three cylinder sheet fed offset multi-unit press and which includes first and second printing units 10 and 12 respectively. Printing unit 10 includes-a plate cylinder 14, blanket cylinder 16 and impression cylinder 18. Printing unit 12 is identical to unit and has plate, blanket and impression cylinders '13, 15 and 17. A transfer cylinder common to both

impression cylinders

17,18 is positioned between the two cylinders.

Gaps

21,22 are formed in the

cylinders

17 ,18 respectively and in which sets of grippers 23,24 are positioned for operation in conventional manner.

The transfer cylinder 20 has a circumference which is an equal multiple, greater than 1, of the circumference of the

impression cylinders

17,18. As illustrated, the transfer cylinder 20 is three times the size of the impression cylinder and includes three angularly spaced

gaps

25, 26, 27 in each of which is positioned a set of grippers 28.

All of the cylinders are rotatably supported by appropriate bearings between a pair of side frames 29,30. A press drive gear train is provided to drive all of the units of the multi-unit press by a single main drive motor M. This drive gear train includes

gears

31,32 on the

impression cylinders

17,18 which are in meshing engagement with a gear 34 on the transfer cylinder 20. As illustrated, each of the

gears

31,32,34 has a spur gear configuration with all of the gears lying in the same plane. Other types of gears, such as helical gears, may be used. The press may be driven by the main drive motor driving the first transfer cylinder which, in the case of a two unit press, would be the cylinder 20. The gear 34 on the transfer cylinder will, through meshing engagement with the

gears

31,32, drive the impression cylinders while the impression cylinders,

through appropriate gearing, not shown, will drive the blanket and plate cylinders.

As is conventional, the movement of the grippers 28 on the transfer cylinder 20 is controlled by a stationary cam, schematically illustrated at 36. Cam followers 38, each of which is connected to a pivotable shaft 40 on which the gripper fingers are supported, cooperate with the periphery of the cam. Appropriate spring means, not shown, act on the grippers to normally bias the grippers to an open position. The cooperation of the cam followers 38 with the cam surface moves the grippers to a closed position. In a similar manner, the grippers 23,24 on the

impression cylinders

17,18 are also controlled by a suitable cam and follower arrangement, not shown.

The foregoing construction is essentially conventional and operates to transfer a sheet in the following manner. The gripper fingers 24 on the impression cylinder 18 grip the forward edge of the sheet being fed into the printing unit 10 and carry the sheet through the nip of the first unit. The rotation of the transfer cylinder 20 is closely timed to the rotation of the impression cylinder 18 so that as the sheet is carried through the first unit and subsequently released by the gripper fingers 24, one of the gaps, for example, 26 is aligned with and facing the gap 22. For the sheet to be transferred from the impression cylinder 18 to the transfer cylinder 20, it is necessary for the grippers 28 in gap 26 to open radially outward and close down on the forward edge of the sheet and for the fingers 24 thereafter to also open outward to release the sheet. Accordingly, as the impression and transfer cylinders rotate to the position shown in FIG. 1, the

grippers

24,28 are interdigitated to affect the sheet transfer and the radially outward movement of the two sets of grippers is accommodated without interference due to the facing

gaps

22,26. Thus, the grippers 28 can open radially into the gap 22 while the grippers 24 open radially into the gap 26. The grippers 28 then close down on the edge of the sheet and the sheet is carried by the cylinder 20 as it rotates in a clockwise direction around to the next impression cylinder 17 at which point the sheet is transferred to the cylinder 17. The sheet is carried by the transfer cylinder with the inked image on the sheet facing the smooth periphery of the cylinder.

It will be noted that the angular spacing of the

gaps

25, 26, 27 and the position of the

impression cylinders

17,18 are such that a pair of gaps in the transfer cylinder are simultaneously adjacent the impression cylinders for each revolution of the impression cylinder. In this manner, each time the grippers 23,24 on the

impression cylinders

17 ,18 open radially, there is a gap on the transfer cylinder present to accommodate this opening movement.

In accordance with the principles of this invention, it is contemplated that the transfer cylinder 20 may be disconnected from the press drive gear train but angularly positioned such that the gaps on the transfer cylinder remain effective to accommodate the opening and closing movements of the grippers on the impression cylinders when the impression cylinders are operated independently. This is accomplished by providing means for disconnecting the transfer cylinder from the drive gear train together with means for locking the disconnected transfer cylinder against rotation in a predetermined angular relationship relative to the two

impression cylinders

17,18. More specifically, the transfer cylinder 20 is carried on a shaft 42 which is supported in the frames 29,30 for axially sliding movement. To disconnect the transfer cylinder, it is shifted axially out of mesh with the impression cylinder gears. The axial displacement of the shaft 42 and the transfer cylinder may be accomplished by any appropriate means but, as shown, a collar 44 is provided on the gear side end of the shaft and a throw-out lever 46 and appropriate means, such as a hydraulic cylinder, may be used to reciprocate the link 47 to actuate the throw-out lever 46 and thereby displace the transfer cylinder.

Actuation of the throw-out lever 46 to shift the transfer cylinder 20 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 2, will displace the gear 34 out of the plane of

gears

31,32 and thereby disengage that gear from meshing engagement with the gears on the

impression cylinders

17,18. Thereafter, the printing unit 10, may be rotated individually by a suitable motor M1 connected to any of the cylinder gears within the unit and the unit 12 may also be provided with a separate motor for individual operation.

It is important that the transfer cylinder 20 be disconnected and maintained in a fixed predetermined angular relationship relative to the two

impression cylinders

17,18. To this end, there is provided a lug 48 which is carried on the frame member 29 with the lug being adapted to be received in an opening 50 in the side face of the gear 34. When the transfer cylinder and the gear 34 are shifted to the left, as viewed in FIG. 2, the lug 48 enters the opening 50 thereby fixedly securing the transfer cylinder against rotation. The position of the lug 48 is such that when engaged in the opening 50, the transfer cylinder is in the position illustrated in FIG. 1, so that, as the

impression cylinders

17,18 are rotated individually, the gaps on the transfer cylinder are positioned to accommodate the opening and closing movements of the grippers 23,24.

To avoid separation of the cam follower from the periphery of the cam 36 when the transfer cylinder is shifted axially, it is contemplated that the cam 36 will also be shifted with the cylinder. The cam 36 is received over the shaft 42 and fixed against rotation by a suitable means such as a pin 49 carried by the cam 36 and which is slidably received in an opening in the frame 30. A flange 52 on the shaft 42 is adapted to engage the hub 53 of the cam 36. When the transfer cylinder 20 is shifted to the left as viewed in FIG. 2, the flange 52 engages the hub 53 and moves the cam axially so that the operational alignment of the cam followers 38 and the cam 36 is maintained when the transfer cylinder is disconnected. The axial movement of the cam 36 is accommodated by the sliding movement of the pin 49 in the opening in the frame 30. Hence, the cam 36 remains rotationally fixed relative to the frame but is axially shiftable with the transfer cylinder 20.

It is contemplated that the described disconnect arrangement for the transfer cylinder would be used in connection with an appropriate control circuit. For example, suitable sensing means might be employed to sense the position of the cylinder 20 and to prevent shifting of the cylinder 20 except when the opening 50 is aligned with the lug 48. Reconnection of the transfer cylinder to the impression cylinder gears in the proper timed relationship may be accomplished in various ways. One method would be to employ timing marks on the

gears

31, 32, 34 so that when it is desired to reconnect the transfer cylinder, the

impression cylinders

17,18 would be jogged until the marks on the gears are aligned at which point the actuator would be actuated to shift the transfer cylinder 20 to the right as viewed in HO. 2 to reconnect the transfer cylinder into the gear train in the proper timed relationship.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the axial shifting of the cylinder must take place in a manner such that the interdigitated grippers do not interfere. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the grippers 28 opposite gap 22 are open but grippers 24 are closed so that as cylinder 20 is shifted axially,

grippers

28 and 24 do not interfere. In addition, the gap 26 is so positioned that the opening and closing movement of grippers 24, as cylinder 18 is independently rotated, permits the grippers to clear the edge of gap 26.

While the invention has been described in connection with but a preferred embodiment, it is not intended that the illustrated embodiment or the terminology employed in describing it is to be limiting; rather, it is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed 1. In a sheet fed printing press having a plurality of individual intergeared printing units each having an impression cylinder and a printing cylinder,

a sheet transfer cylinder between a pair of impression sai t r i fef iiie r i13lri2 a circumference which is an equal multiple, greater than 1', of a cylinder circumference required to print a single sheet,

each of said impression cylinders and said transfer cylinder having sets of interdigitating sheet grippers thereon for successively transferring sheets from one printing unit to the next,

said transfer cylinder having a plurality of gaps in its periphery in each of which one set of grippers is mounted,

the impression cylinders of the adjacent units being angularly spaced about the axis of the transfer cylinder such that a pair of gaps in the transfer cylinder are simultaneously adjacent said impression cylinders of the adjacent units,

a train of drive gears for said press,

means for disconnecting the transfer cylinder from the gear train,

means for locking said disconnected transfer cylinder against rotation in a predetermined an gular relationship relative to said adjacent units to position said pair of transfer cylinder gaps to face the adjacent impression cylinders whereby rotation of the impression cylinders can be accomplished while the grippers thereon open into the space of the gaps of the stationary transfer cylinder, and

means for driving each unit independently of the other while said transfer cylinder is stationary.

2. The press of claim 1 wherein the drive gear train includes gear means on each of the pairs of impression cylinders and the transfer cylinder with the gear means on said cylinders lying in the same plane and in meshing engagement,

said disconnecting means comprising means for shifting the transfer cylinder gear axially out of said plane and therefore out of mesh with the adjacent impression cylinder gears.

3. The press of claim 2 wherein the transfer cylinder, its gear and grippers are all mounted for axial movement as a unitary assembly upon operation of said disconnecting means.

4. The press of claim 3 wherein the transfer cylinder grippers include pivotal shaft means on which the grippers are mounted,

cam follower means operatively connected to said shaft means,

a non-rotatable cam in the path of movement of said cam follower means for operating said shaft means to open and close said grippers to receive and transfer sheets as required during normal transferring conditions, and

means for moving said cam axially with said transfer cylinder when said transfer cylinder gear is disconnected from its adjacent impression cylinder gears whereby said cam and cam follower means remain in operational alignment while so disconnected.

Claims

1. In a sheet fed printing press having a plurality of individual intergeared printing units each having an impression cylinder and a printing cylinder, a sheet transfer cylinder between a pair of impression cylinders of adjacent units, said transfer cylinder having a circumference which is an equal multiple, greater than 1, of a cylinder circumference required to print a single sheet, each of said impression cylinders and said transfer cylinder having sets of interdigitating sheet grippers thereon for successively transferring sheets from one printing unit to the next, said transfer cylinder having a plurality of gaps in its periphery in each of which one set of grippers is mounted, the impression cylinders of the adjacent units being angularly spaced about the axis of the transfer cylinder such that a pair of gaps in the transfer cylinder are simultaneously adjacent said impression cylinders of the adjacent units, a train of drive gears for said press, means for disconnecting the transfer cylinder from the gear train, means for locking said disconnected transfer cylinder against rotation in a predetermined angular relationship relative to said adjacent units to position said pair of transfer cylinder gaps to face the adjacent impression cylinders whereby rotation of the impression cylinders can be accomplished while the grippers thereon open into the space of the gaps of the stationary transfer cylinder, and means for driving each unit independently of the other while said transfer cylinder is stationary.

2. The press of claim 1 wherein the drive gear train includes gear means on each of the pairs of impression cylinders and the transfer cylinder with the gear means on said cylinders lying in the same plane and in meshing engagement, said disconnecting means comprising means for shifting the transfer cylinder gear axially out of said plane and therefore out of mesh with the adjacent impression cylinder gears.

4. The press of claim 3 wherein the transfer cylinder grippers include pivotal shaft means on which the grippers are mounted, cam follower means operatively connected to said shaft means, a non-rotatable cam in the path of movement of said cam follower means for operating said shaft means to open and close said grippers to receive and transfer sheets as required during normal transferring conditions, and means for moving said cam axially with said transfer cylinder when said transfer cylinder gear is disconnected from its adjacent impression cylinder gears whereby said cam and cam follower means remain in operational alignment while so disconnected.