US2531629A - Sheet delivering means in rotary presses - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 28, 1950 E. J. JANKE 2,531,529

SHEET DELIVERING MEANS IN ROTARY PRESSES Original Filed April 29, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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SHEET DELIVERING MEANS IN ROTARY PRESSES Original Filed April 29, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 28, 1950 SHEET DELIVERING MEANS IN ROTARY PRESSES Edward J. Janke, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Original application April 29, 1944, Serial No.

533,276. Divided and this application September 15, 1945, Serial No. 616,493

5 Claims.

are fed into the machine for printing. Another object is to provide diverting means in the machine which while engaging the freshly printed face of the sheet will not injure the imprint there on.

In my parent application referred to, I show an ofiset printing machine operating on the planographic principle, there being means for applying liquid repellent and ink to a master sheet on an upper drum, the image on the master sheet being then transferred to a yielding surface on a transfer drum beneath the master drum, and the impression being made between the transfer drum and a roller platen beneath it. The means for controlling and directing the printed sheet, as set out in this application, is well adapted for embodiment in such an offset printing machine as above outlined. Accordingly, I have shown in this divisional application the sheet controlling mechanism embodied in such an offset printing machine but without intention of limiting the protection to an offset machine.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an offset printing machine to which my invention is applied; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section just below the paper table, as indicated by the line 2-2 on Figs. 1 and 3; Fig. 3 is a vertical section in a plane parallel with Fig. 1 and on an enlarged scale, the plane being indicated for instance by the line 3-3 on Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a view of a portion of the offset drum showing particularly the ejector bar carried thereby.

I will first give a general description of the machine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 before taking up the particular portion thereof with which the present invention is concerned.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, the frame of the machine shown comprises a pair of parallel ver- 'tical side plates in, II suitably spaced from each other and braced as by cross rods, as [2. The frame is shown in Fig. 1 as mounting on a suitablestand l3 which carries an operating motor I .for driving the machine. The drive is shown ,as. effected through a belt I!!! which operates one 3 of the drums and the other drums are geared with Isuch driven drum.

Mounted on the frame plates Ill and H is an ink supply unit i l, the details of which are not shown but which has at least an ink supply roll I5 applying ink to an applicator roll IS. A distributor I l coacts with the roll it to insure an even distribution of ink thereon. These rolls, together with the liquid repellent applicator roll l3, extend between and are mounted in the upper portions of the frame plates 10 and H.

The applicator rolls i8 and I6 apply liquid repellent and ink, in that order, to the surface of a flexible planographic printing plate 20 which is mounted on the periphery of a plate drum 2|, rotatably mounted in the frame plates Ill and it immediately below the applicator rolls. The inked image of the printing plate is transferred to a transfer blanket 22 mounted on an offset drum 23, journaled in the frame plates.

The sheet or article to be printed is fed along a feed table 24 into the pass between this offset or transfer drum and a platen roll 25 (Fig.3) which is journaled in a bail 26 immediately below the transfer drum. 30 designates a curved guide for directing the printed sheet around the platen roll and between it and a coacting spring-pressed roll SI and discharging it forwardly. The sheet thus passes between upper and lower curved skeleton guides 49 and ti, carried by a removable receiving tray 42. This tray is supported on suitable brackets 43 carried by the stand 13.

As indicated in Fig. l, the shafts of the inkand repellent applicator rolls l6 and l8 are mounted in inclined slots in the frame plates and bear against the inclined edges of a pair of individual 1y mounted cam plates 50 which are slidably mounted on the outer faces of the respective frame plates. These cam plates are operated by the cams 5!, on opposite ends of a shaft 52, which coact with pins projecting outwardly from the plates. The manipulation of this cam shaft may be effected by a lever l I I, Fig. 2, which througha suitable linkage system, a part of which is shown at H7, and which serves to move the repellent roll from an idle position into contact with the master sheet and thereafter to move the :ink ap plying roll into such contact.

The plate drum 2! is best shown in Fig. 3. It comprises a cylinder having a gap and a suitable clamping means liflmounted in the gap for apply ing tension to the trailing end of the plate, and described in detail in my parent application. The leading endof the plate may be anchored to outwardly projecting pins 6| carried in an external recess in the drum. V

The master drum is bodily movable toward or from the transfer drum 23. This is readily effected by providing the shaft 55 carrying the master drum with eccentric end portions which project into bushings carried by the frame plate. The machine is provided with a second operating lever H2 which by suitable linkage, a part of which is shown at M9, Fig. 2, turns the shaft. This lever by mechanism hereinafter explained also controls the up-and-down position of the platen roller to cause it to coact with the offset drum. or be free therefrom.

The transfer cylinder is provided with suitable means for fixedly anchoring one end of the transfer blanket and. movable means for attaching the other end and properly tensioning it about the drum. I have shown hooks it on a bar II fixedly mounted within the drum for carrying the leading end of the blanket, while 7 other hooks I on a bar it, constituting the cross member of a bail pivotally mounted in the drum engage the other end of the blanket and are tensioned by the screws I8 threaded through the bar and coacting with a shoulder on the drum.

The two control levers III and IE2 are preferably located side by side at the right hand side of the machine, as indicated in Fig. 2. should be understood that the lever Iii! may have an idle vertical position and two operative positions and operate the cam shaft 52 to apply first the repellent and then the ink without releasing the repellent application. The lever H2 also may have an idle vertical position and two operative positions, one of which causes the engagement of the transfer drum with the inked image and thereafter a movement into the other position may raise the platen roller into engagement with the transfer drum, rendering the machine ready for printing. In its active position the platen roll is spaced from the transfer blanket a distance slightly less than the thickness of the sheet to be printed, so that no offsetting on the platen occurs in the absence of a sheet between them but they are able to impress the image on the sheet when presented.

The platen is a relatively small roll and is rotatably mounted on a shaft 39, the ends of which are mounted in respective levers which together with the shaft form the platen roll bail 26. These levers are pivoted intermediate their ends as at 82 to the inner faces of respective frame plates and at their outer ends are bent inwardly as at 83. These inwardly bent ends are each provided with a square opening to receive the squared portion 84 of a respective rod 85 carried by respective bars 85 forming part of the base 53 to which the machine is secured and projecting forwardly therefrom. A coil spring 81 surrounding the rod between the portion 83 of the lever and a nut carried by the threaded -upper end of the rod serves to move the platen r011 assembly yieldingly toward the offset roll.

The rods 85 which support the platen roll spring assembly are resiliently maintained in position by second coil springs 88 which are in terposed between the bars 86 and shoulders 89 of the respective rods and are stiffer than the springs 81. These springs 38 act to retain the rods in their uppermost positions. An adjusting nut 90 carried by a threaded portion of each rod extending beneath the respective bar 86 limits the upward movement of the rod and by varying the compression of the spring Bl controls the pressure of the platen roll.

After the plate, mounted on the plate drum, has been coated with liquid repellent and then the ink applied, the plate is brought into contact with the transfer blanket. After the drums have rotated sufficiently to cause the building up of the inked image on the transfer drum; the lever II2 is moved to raise the platen roll, as hereinafter described, into cooperation with the transfer drum, and the machine is then ready for printing.

The raising of the platen roll is accomplished by moving the lever M2 to a position similar to that in which the lever III is shown in Fig. 1. When the lever H2 is in its vertical position shown in Fig. 2, a toggle mechanism about to be described acts on the platen roll supporting arms 25 to hold the platen out of contact with the transfer drum. The movement of the lever to its intermediate position has no effect on this toggle mechanism, but its movement to its farthest position breaks the toggle and permits the springs B'I .to raise the platen into contact with the transfer drum.

The toggle mechanism above mentioned is best illustrated in Fig. 3. As there shown, a pair of plates ll l substantially beneath the respective platen-supporting arms 26 are journaled on the shaft I It to which the lever I I2 is pinned. These plates each carry a pin H5 which engages in the upper ends of slots in respective links Ill which are pivotally connected as at II8 to the arms 26. When in the position shown in Fig. 3, the pins I I 5 lie in a line drawn through the pivots H8 and the axis of the shaft H6, or slightly at the right thereof.

The toggle mechanism is actuated by pins I20 carried by respective levers I2I which are pinned to the shaft IIB. As the lever H2 is moved from its vertical position, the pins I20 move idly in enlarged openings i22 in the toggle plates Ii l. However, as the lever M2 is moved to its left hand position the pins I28 engage the walls of the openings I22 and swing the toggle pins II 5 to the left thus breaking the toggle and permitting the springs 8! to move the platen roller into contact with the transfer drum.

It may be noted that mechanisms herein indicated but not claimed in this application are more fully described in my parent application. For instance, Fig. 1 shows a pair of foot pedals I30 and I3I operating through suitable linkage I32 and I33 and other mechanism not herein shown to control the rotation of the printing members. One of these pedals when held down is adapted to allow a continuous drive of the machine but when elevated will stop it at the end of any rotation. The other pedal is adapted to stop the drum at the end of each half rotation with the result that the attaching mem-'- bers for the master sheet may be successively stopped in convenient position for removing or attaching the sheet. This is of special value where the runs are comparatively short and the master sheet frequently changed.

Coming now to the particular portion of the machine with which the present invention is concerned, it will be understood that the sheets to be printed are fed to the machine from the front, namely, the right hand side of Fig. l, or the left hand side of Figs. 2 and 5, and are discharged toward the side from which they are fed. The sheets are fed, one at a time, across the feed table 24 into the bite of the transfer drum and platen roller to receive the impression from the transfer drum, and are returned, printed, beneath such table, as about to be de scribed.

Immediately after the sheet to be printed passes between the bite of the drum 23 and the platen roller 25, it is stripped from the transfer blanket and directed downwardly around the platen roller to the bite of the platen roller and an ejector roller which is positioned below the platen and cooperates with it to feed the printed sheet forwardly. The stripper mechanism is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and comprises an ejector bar I55 carried by the transfer drum "23, and stripping fingers 3d curving about the platen, to direct the sheet downwardly and forwardly.

The ejector bar 1511 (Figs. 3 and 4) lies in the gap of the offset drum and is carried by a pair of arms 15! which are pivoted as at 552 to the ends of the drum. Springs l53 interconnected between this bar and the drum serve to maintain the ejector bar normally within the cylindrical confines of the drum 23. However, im-

mediately after the sheet has passed between the drum and the platen, a roller I54 on one of the arms l5! engages a stationary cam formation I49 carried by the frame plate It! and causes the bar we to force the sheet away from the drum toward the set of stripper fingers 3E1.

The stripper fingers forming the guide 3!! complete the stripping of the sheet from the transfer drum 23 and guide it around the platen roller. These stripper fingers 3!! are carried by a bail I55 pivotally secured to the frame plates l and H as at I51. These fingers are spaced from and conform to the curvature of the platen roller. Springs E58 interposed between the ends of the bail I '5 and the respective frame plates retain the bail in position against eccentric stops I59 on the frame plates, which by a partial rotation forms settable adjusting devices or settable stops defining the normal position of the guide 39. This mounting permits the bail and stripper fingers to be swung away from the platen whenever desired, the bail being provided with a handle I60 for this purpose. This enables the ready removal for instance of any torn sheet or any sheet jammed from the feeding of more than one sheet at a time.

The arrangement described is such that the upper ends of the fingers are as close to the transfer drum as is practicable. Therefore, the ejector bar 550 is in the nature of a comb, only the tines I48 of which project out of the cylindrical confines of the drum and then only when the ejector is actuated by the cam I49 these tines register laterally with the spaces between the stripper fingers 30.

The stripper fingers guide the sheet around the platen into the bite of the platen and discharge roller 3!. This roller is preferably made of a resilient material such as a rubber composition and is journaled on a rod I63 supported at its ends in arms H54. These arms are pivoted as at I65 to the respective frame plates and are engaged by springs E66 which act to retain the ejector roller resiliently in contact with the platen roller.

The ejector roller 3! is so arranged as to avoid I injury to the freshly printed surface of the sheet being delivered. It is grooved as at 168 so as to present a series of spaced narrow ribs l6! V-shaped edges or V-shaped ridges having comparatively sharp annular edges to the freshly and lower sets of curved tines 4H and 41. The tines of the lower set, which are secured to the rear edge of a receiving tray 42, project into the grooves I68 of the discharge roller 3], thus insuring the stripping of the sheet from such roller. The tines of the upper set (carried by a cross bar 45 of a bail having arms 45 secured to the receiving tray 42) terminate close to the platen above the pass between the platen and discharge roller.

It will be seen that the delivery arrangements enable the printed sheet to be positively diverted immediately after printing so that it comes under control of the deflector stationarily held behind the platen, and thence between the platen and discharge roller, so that the sheet is delivered face downward onto the receiving tray, which is very conveniently carried in front of the operator beneath the table on which the operator places the sheets to be printed, one after the other. The mechanism is accordingly very compact and allows the operator at the front of the machine to keep track of the printed product, and, should occasion require, inspect the same by merely inverting the last delivered sheet. Moreover by employing the specially formed discharge roller coacting directly with the platen under light spring pressure, I effect the forward feed of the printed sheet without injury to the printed image. The spring mount ing of the discharge roller enables it to move readily up and down slightly when the platen roller is shifted by the controllever heretofore mentioned, and accordingly is always ready for action. The pivotal mounting of the deflector enables ready access to the back of the platen for the removal of any sheet inadvertently buckling or jamming in its travel.

I claim:

1. The combination with a pair of upright frame plates of a printing drum and a roller platen carried by and between the frame plates, a diverting roller engaging the platen, and a deflector cooperating with the platen between the drum and roller, said deflector comprising a bail pivoted to the frame plates and carrying upwardly extending forwardly curved fingers at the rear of the platen, adjustable stops carried by the frame plates to engage the bail and limit the approach of the fingers to the platen, and a spring normally holding the bail against the adjustable stops while allowing the deflector to be swung away from the platen.

2. The combination of a frame, a drum rotatably mounted therein and adapted to carry an image, a roller platen beneath the drum, a discharge roller adapted to coact with the platen, a series of spaced guide fingers at the rear of the platen to direct the printed sheet from the discharge region between the drum and platen to the intake region between the platen and discharge roller, said guide fingers being pivotally mounted on the frame, a comb on the drum having teeth adapted to register with the spaces between the guide fingers, and means to force the comb outwardly to force the printed sheet into the region between the platen and guide fingers.

3. In a printing machine, a frame, a drum rotatably mounted therein and adapted to carry an image to be transferred to a sheet to be printed, a roller platen beneath the drum, resilient means acting to urge the platen toward the drum, a substantially horizontal feed table across which sheets are fed one at a time to the bite of the drum and platen, a receptacle mounted substantially below said feed table to receive printed sheets, means to divert printed sheets from said bite to said receptacle one atop the other with the printed surface facing downward whereby when a group of stacks are removed from the receptacle and inverted the sheets will be in the order of their impression with the printed surface of the first sheet printed on top, said means comprising a diverting roller mounted beneath the platen roller, a resilient means to retain said roller in contact with the platen roller, an arcuate deflector plate having a surface spaced from but substantially parallel with the face of the platen and extending a point adjacent said bite to a point adjacent the bite of the diverting roller and platen and at the side of the platen substantially opposite that to which sheets are fed.

4. In a printing machine, a frame, a printing drum, a roller platen beneath the drum, said drum and platen being mounted for rotation in said frame, a substantially horizontal feed table across which sheets are fed one at a time to the bite of the drum and platen, a receptacl to receive printed sheets, said receptacle being mounted substantially below said feed table, means to divert the printed sheets from said bite to said receptacle with their printed face down whereby when a stack of printed sheets is moved from the receptacle and the stack inverted, the printed face of the first sheet printed will be on top of the stack, said means comprising a diverter roller mounted beneath the platen roller, resilient means to retain said roller in contact with the platen roller, an arcuate deflector plate havin a surface spaced from but substantially parallel with the platen roller and extendin from said bite toward the bite of the platen and diverter roller, means on the drum to force a freshly printed sheet into the space between the platen and deflector whereby the sheet will be guided by the deflector into the bite of the platen and diverter rollers, and means to guide the sheet from the bite of the platen and diverter rollers into the receiving receptacle.

5. In a printing machine, a printing drum, a roller platen mounted beneath said drum and coacting therewith, a feed table across which sheets are fed one at a time to the bite of the drum and platen, a receiving table mounted substantially below said feed table, means to divert printed sheets to said receiving table with their printed surfaces facing downward whereby when a stack of sheets is removed and inverted, the first sheet printed will be on top of the stack with its printed surface facing upward, said means comprising a, diverter roller mounted beneath the platen roller and coacting therewith, an arcuate deflector plate having a surface spaced from but substantially parallel with the surface of the platen and extending substantially from the bite of the drum and platen to a point adjacent the bite of the platen and diverter rollers, said platen being pivotally mounted to enable its upper end to be swung away from the bite of said platen and drum, resilient means tending to swing said diverter toward said bite, and adjustable means to limit said swinging movement.

EDWARD J. JANKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 697,173 Roesen Apr. 8, 1902 1,317,486 Flanigan Sept. 30, 1919 1,318,337 Wood Oct. 7, 1919 1,534,885 Trautman Apr. 21, 1925 1,695,649 Giesecke Dec. 18, 1928 1,863,709 Beall June 21, 1932 1,972,851 McCarthy Sept. 4, 1934 2,012,105 Marchev Aug. 20, 1935 2,075,950 Marchev Apr. 6, 1937 2,172,113 Storck Sept. 5, 1939 2,175,667 Marchev Oct. 10, 1939 2,212,659 Costello Aug. 27, 1940 2,249,313 Kropp July 15, 1941 2,253,446 Spiess Aug. 19, 1941 2,260,465 Kropp Oct. 28, 1941 2,389,848 Gibson Nov. 27, 1945

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