US2605698A - Bed and cylinder address printing machine - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 5, 1952 w. TfGOLLWlTZER BED AND CYLINDER ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 14, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 w a 6 m 7 e a w WWW W. T. GOLLWI TZER BED AND CYLINDER ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINE mi N Q HHHEPD Hc mv mmwm m Aug. 5, 1952 Filed June 14, 1946 g- 5, 1952 w. T. GOLLWITZER BED AND CYLINDER ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 14, 1946 II kllll...

m MKMJ ug- 1952 w. T. GOLLWITZER 2,605,698

BED AND CYLINDER ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 14, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 UHHIMIHII' g- 5, 1952 w.1'. GOLLWITZER 2,605,693

BED AND CYLINDER ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINE 7 Filed June 14, 1946 Y I Sheets-Sheetfi Patented Aug. 5, 1952 BED AND CYLINDER ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINE Walter T. Gollwitzer, Euclid,

Ohio, assignor to Addressograph -Multigrap h Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application June 14, 1946, Serial No. 676,667

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a printing machine and particularly to platen mechanism adapted to be used in printing machines. More particularly the invention pertains to platen mechanism for use in selective printing machines of the character wherein printing devices, which may include address plates and the like, are passed in series through a printing position for cooperation with the platen mechanism.

Machines of the character mentioned above are used in the preparation of business instruments such as utility bills, dividend checks, premium notices and the like, as well as for printing names, addresses and like changeable data on letters, publications, and the like. Commonly, in the past, it has been the practice to use a reciprocating platen at the printing position which presses the sheet or other article being printed into contact with the printing member which, as suggested above, may be a printing device bearing an address plate. An inked ribbon or equivalent inking device is commonly interposed between the printing member and the artiole being printed and the platen pressing against the rear face of the article causes an impression to be made from the printing member through the ribbon onto the face of such article.

Printing devices of the character mentioned above commonly include a group of raised printing characters, for example, characters embossed on a sheet metal plate into a raised plane which constitutes the printing surface. The effective area of the printing surface may vary considerably, depending, for example, upon the number of letters or characters in the name, address, or other data carried by the printing member. In the prior art where reciprocating platens have been used to press articles being printed against such raised type characters it has been difiicult to secure uniform impressions because of the wide variance in printing area. In my copending application, Serial No. 416,548, filed October 25, 1941, now issued as Patent No. 2,410,935, patented November 12, 1946, I have disclosed a hydraulically operated reciprocating platen mechanism which represents an improvement over prior platen structures in that the impression stroke is accurately controlled so that a deeper imprint is not produced from a printing memberhaving few printing characters thereon than in the case of a printing member having a large number of printing characters. As described in such application, this result is secured by using a very rigid frame structure to support the reciprocating platen and rigid stop means for limiting its movement. The use of rigid and heavy frame members is made necessary by the fact that pressures required for imprinting by reciprocating action are very high. Hence, the frame members and reciprocating parts must be massive to secure the result mentioned above.

It is an object of my present invention to replace the reciprocating platen structure of my aforesaid copending application by a roller platen mechanism, which will produce uniform impressions from various printing devices having variable effective printing areas, without requiring the use of heavy and massive structural elements. This is accomplished by using a travelling roller which produces its impression by a substantially shifting line contact, thereby requiring much less application of force and making it possible to reduce substantially the rigidity and mass of various structural elements without sacrificing accuracy and uniformity of impression.

A further object of my invention is to operate a shifting roller platen by simple hydraulic means.

- Another object is to combine a platen of the roller type, for producing the main impressions at a printing station, with an auxiliary platen element for printing auxiliary data at the printing station.

An additional object is to mount a roller'platen, as well as an auxiliary platen, in a supporting frame work designed to afford adequate rigidity and accuracy of impression without the employment of particularly heavy structural elements.

A still further object of my invention is to mount a platen roller in a travelling carriage, in combination with mechanism for raising and lowering such roller from and to impression position respectively, which mechanism operates in accordance with and under control of the shifting movement of the carriage which supports the platen roller.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principle thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principle may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig, l is a plan view of the supporting frame work and carriage structure which comprises my improved platen mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a right side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, this view being taken from the front of Fig. 1.

Fig. 2A is a detail view of part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2, certain parts being in another position.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail of the hydraulic mechanism for operating the platen carriage, this View being taken substantially along the line 3-3, Fig. 1. I

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2, certain parts being broken away to more clearly disclose the construction.

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the end plate for the platen structure, part of the elements of Fig. 4 being shown in this figure.

Fig. 6 is an elevational viewof auxiliary platen mechanism, this view being taken substantially along the line 66,.Figs. 1 and 2, and showing certain parts in section; and

Fig. 7 is a left side elevational view of the mechanism shown in Fig. .6.

The drawings show my invention applied to a printing machine of the general character disclosed in my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 416,548, now issued as Patent No, 2,410,935, and that shown in my prior Patent No. 2,296,277, issued September 22, 1942. fhus in Figs. 1 and 2 there are shown frame members I i and i2 which correspond to frame members shown in the aforesaid copending application and patent for supporting rails, along which printing members are fed to a printing station and for supporting a printing table which may comprise a relatively firm flat backing member I3 (Fig. 2) for the printing device D which comes to rest thereover at the printing station. The printing device D is of a well known type comprising one or more printing plates and other elements such as a perforated or other area affording control means for. setting up devices to print and/or accumulate variable data. An example of such a device is that shownin rny prior Patent No. 2,132,412 patented October 11, 1938. The device D may of course include other elements such as index cards, control tabs and the like, as well known in the art.

The platenstructure which comprises the present invention includes a pair of C-shaped supports 15. and I6 which in the instant case are rigidly secured to the frame members H and i2 by suitable fastening means such as bolts or studs 5?, l8, and i9. As shown in Fig. 4, the upper arms 28, 26A of the supports i5 and I6, respectively, project to the left and the platen structure to be described hereinafter is largely carried by such projecting arms.

On its inner face, each of the arms'Zfi and 20A supports an angle bracket 2! or 22 which may be welded or otherwise firmly secured thereto. Screws 23 and 24 in brackets 2! and 22, respectively, support. a rigid 25 which abuts against the lower edgesof the arms 23 and 23A, and extends above and across the printing area.

Another bar 31 extends below the bar 25 and across the same area. It is adjustably supported by the bar 25 and in spaced parallel relation therewith at three points. One support is shown at the left end of Fig. 2 and consists of a hollow adjustable abutment screw 32 and a supporting stud 33 which is threaded to and passes through the hollow screw 32 to hold the bar 3! against the lower end of the outer screw. Near its right end, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the bar 3| is adjustably spaced from bar 25 by two abutment screws 35 and 36 located near the opposite edges of both bars. Midway bet-ween the abutment screws 35 and 36 there is provided a supporting stud 3'! which holds the bar 3i up against the ends of said abutment screws. By adjusting these various abutment screws and supporting studs the bar 3% may be adjusted in position to tilt it either lengthwise or crosswise so as to dispose platen mechanism supported thereby in proper parallel relation with respect to the printing surface of the device D and any other printing elements supported by or in conjunction with the table surface l3.

At its ends the bar 25 supports a pair of verti cal flat plates ti and :32 secured thereto as by screws 33 and 44. These two plates serve as end frame members for supporting three shafts lfi, t5, and t! .as well as certain other elements. to be described hereinafter. The three shafts mentioned respectively support rollers 5!, 52, and 53 for feedingpaper into and through the printing position as willbe described hereinbelow. The feed roller 5% ispreferably separated into two parts asv best shownin Fig. l, the rear part 5lA being so spaced from the front part 5% as to permit an arm 56 to be supported at anintermediate point on the shaft. tifor a purpose to be described below. A similar and parallel arm 54Ais supported by the-same shaft '45 at its rear end for a similar purpose. Theshafts 45, 56-, and 4'! are held against rotation being rigidly secured to the end frame. member 4i and 42 so as to serve. as spacers and longitudinal frame members therewith to complete a carriage frame structure. .Thus.screws shown at 55,56, and 51, Fig. 4.. are used to secure front end of the three shafts mentioned to the. front end plate and, similarly, screws 58 and 53 Fig. l, are used to secure the rear ends of the shafts to the rear plate 42. r r

A slidable carriage structure comprising a pair of side plates El. and 62, held in spaced relation by a pair of bars 5%, supports the platen roller which presses the article to be printed. intocooperation with printing characters on the printing device or member D. Each of these side platesv has its upper end bent inwardly toward the other at right angles at. GM. and 62A to overlie the upper side edges of bar 3!. By this construction the carriage is mounted to slide back andforth along the bar 3| which thus constitutes a guide rail for the carriage.

The carriage side plates 65 and G2 are each provided with three rollers 83 mounted in position respectively to ride in two parallel grooves 64 formed in the bottom face of the bar or guide rail 3! nears its opposite edges as best shown in Fig. 4. Each of the rollers 53 is preferably mounted on itsside plate 6! or 52 by means of a stud or bolt'Ez'a. Each roller is preferably provided with anti-friction bearings, for example, ball bearings, since these rollers are designed to take the thrust between thecarriage and the supporting rail 3| when the platen roller is in its impression position.

The lower portion. of each of the plates ti and '52 is provided with a vertical slot 5'! in which a pair of bearing blocks 53, 63 may be mounted. These bearing blocks 58 and ii"; are preferably rectangular in cross section and of a width to slide freely up and down in the slots 61'. A shaft H mounted in the bearing blocks 68 and '69 supports the platen roller 12. This roller is composed of two parts 72A and 123 as more fully described hereinafter:

The inner ends of the bearing blocks 68 and 69 are turned to formoylindrical boss portions which are slidably received in curved cam slots 14 in each of a pair of movable cam plates 16 and H. These plates are pivotally supported on the inner faces of the plates 6! and 62 bya shaft 18 .to which the cam plates are rigidly secured against rotation. The shaft 18 projects throughboth carriage side plates and its left end, Fig. 4, shown also at the front in Figs. 1 and 2, is provided. with an arm 19 which is rigidly secured to the shaft 18. The arm 19 carries a cam follower in the form of a flanged roller 3!. The cylindrical portion of such roller BI is adapted to contact and run along the cam shaped lower edge 82 of a plate 33 which is mounted in parallel spaced relation with the left side of the carriage, being best shown in front of the carriage in Figs. 1 and 2.

The plate 83 is secured along its upper edge to a rod or shaft 8A. The shaft 84 has reduced end portions 85 and 85 which are pivotally mounted in fixed bearing blocks 81' and 88 respectively. These blocks are each rabbeted to form a flange which projects to the right, or to the rear as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, to underlie the left edge of the bar or rail 3i. The block 87 is secured to bar 3| as by a screw 89 and the block 88 is similarly s cured as by a screw 90.

At the rear end of the shaft 84 its reduced end portion 85 is provided with an adjustable collar 9| secured to the portion 35 in any suitable manner as by a set screw or the'like. Similarl at the front end the reduced portion 86 has another collar 92 secured thereto. These collars may be adjusted lengthwise of the shaft 84 so as to position such shaft adjustably with respect to its end supporting blocks 8'! and 88. By these means the position of the cam element 92 on the lower edge of the cam plate 83 may be accurately adjusted with respect to the slidable carriage structure,

so as to raise and lower the platen roller 12 at L the proper times in relation to its travel.

At its lower front corner, shown at the right in Fig. l, the cam plate 83 is provided with a tension spring 93, the other end of which .is secured as to a stud 94 in block 88 to urge the cam plate clockwise or toward the carriage side plate 6|.

The rear end portion of the lower edge of the cam plate 83 is split from the remainder of the lower edge portion and is offset at 95 to the left,

or to the front as seen in Fig. 2. When the car- 82 behind the offset portion 85, the plates 16 and Tl swing to the position shown in Fig. 2A and raise the platen roller out of the impression position to the tops of the slots 67 in the carriage side plates. As the carriage returns to its normal forward position the cam follower 8| runs along the inside face of the cam plate 83 until the carriage reaches its extreme forward position shown in Fig. 2A. At this point the cam edge or track .82 is cut away above the cam follower 8! so that the, plate 83 is permitted to swing toward the carriage, under influence of' spring 93, and thus dispose the cam plate in alignment with the cam follower for the next operation of the platen carriage. Hence, on the next movement to the rear, the cam follower 8| will again ride along the edge 82, being forced downwardly by such cam to the position shown in Fig. 2 as the carriage starts its movement to the rear. This of course disposes the platen roller in its operative or impression position for the rearward travel of the carriage.

With the roller in impression position, the carriage is moved to the rear by a hydraulic piston lill mounted to slide in a hydraulic cylinder I112. The piston abuts against the forward end of the right side plate 62 of the carriage and hence when hydraulic fluid is forced through a connection I03 into the cylinder I02, the piston moves rearwardly and drives the platen roller across the printing member, until the cam follower BI rides off the end of the cam track 82 behind the offset portion 95 as described above. A tension spring 504 is secured at one end to a stud I05 on the carriage and its other end to a lug 106 secured to the front end plate 4|. This spring returns the carriage to its normal forward position as hydraulic fluid is withdrawn from the cylinder I02. The piston l0! slides through a suitable hydraulic packing 10'! which is fluid tight, as well known in the art. A bleeder valve, indicated at I08, of any appropriate size and type is utilized for venting air from the hydraulic cylinder in order to maintain proper hydraulic conditions within the system, as is well known in the art. A return line 109, Fig. 3, is provided also for carrying any liquid leaking past the packing l0! back to the hydraulic supply.

For limiting the rearward stroke of the carriage there is provided a spring buffer Ill secured in the hollow head of an adjustable screw I I2 which is threaded into a block I l 3 fastened to the lower face of the track bar 3! as by screws I I4. A locking nut H5 holds the buffer III in desired adjusted position.

As mentioned above and as shown in Fig. 4, the platen roller 12 is preferably composed of two separable sectionslZA and 12B removably secured to the shaft II. The section 12A, shown at the left in Fig. 4, is of appropriate diameter to contact the back of the sheet or other article which is being printed by characters on the printing device D. The part 123 is smaller in diameter, constituting merely a spacer to hold the part 12A in proper alignment with the printing characters. Printing devices D utilize printing plates having various widths and when it is necessary to shift to a different type of printing device, for example one having more lines of printing characters thereon, a wider roller section 12A is employed together with a correspondingly narrower portion 123. Hence, by the selection of appropriate pairs of roller sections, the effective widths of the platen roller may be varied as desired to cooperate with various types of printing members.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be noted that the platen roller carriage traverses only a part of the full length of the carriage supporting structure. In printing machines of the character to which this invention is particularly applicable,

it is commonly desirable to print certain data in addition to that carried by printing devices D. Such data may be variable data, for example, a date, a serial number, a numerical quantity, or

a sum of money or the like. Variable data may be set up to be printed by the employment of selectively movable variable printing members for example, numbering heads and the like. Usually such auxiliary printing members are designed to print relatively few characters and consequently the effective printing surface presented thereby is quite small as compared with the effective printing surface of printing devices D. Hence, the forces required for obtaining an adequate printing impression from such auxiliary printing elements are much less than required in taking an impression from the printing device D. Consequently the use of a roller platen is not necessary but a small reciprocating platen structure may be employed. Such a platen means is provided in the present invention for cooperating with auxiliary printing members of the type mentioned above and will next be described.

Referring to Fig. '7, the platen roller 72 and its supporting carriage structure are shown in their extreme rear positions, and the auxiliary platen mechanism is shown at the rear of the carriage and roller. The arms 54 and 54A, shown in Figs. 1 and 6, and mentioned above, are pivoted on the roller shaft -35 at their right ends as seen in Fig. 6. These arms are joined by a bar I2! extending parallel with the supporting bars and 3I previously described. A platen member I22 is adjustably secured below the member IZI as .by a pair of abutment screws I23 and I24 at the ends of the platen element and a supporting stud I25 at an intermediate position. By these means the bar platen I22 may be adjusted into parallel relation with respect to the printing elements (not shown) with which it cooperates.

At an intermediate part of its lower edge, located substantially midway between the ends of the platen bar I22, the bar I2I is notched to receive a plate I25 which is secured to said bar by appropriate means such as rivets or screws I 21. This plate extends to the right as seen in Fig. 6, and its upper surface is tapered somewhat for cooperation with a roller I3! carried by a pair of arms i32 fixed to and depending from a short shaft I33. The shaft IE3 is supported in slot in the lower face of a longitudinal bar I34, Fig, 2, which is secured at its ends to the rail member ill by screws, or the like, I35. As shown in Fig. 1 the slot extends longitudinally to receive the shaft I33 and a pair of L-shaped brackets I35 and I3! are provided to hold the shaft I 33 in the slots. These brackets are held to bar l34 by any suitable means such as screws I38.

A bell crank MI is pivotally mounted on the rear end of the shaft 47 which supports the feed roller 53 previously mentioned. A depending arm I42 of such bell crank has attached thereto a link I43 which extends to the left as seen in Fig. 6 to connect to an arm I 44 keyed to shaft I 33 which also has keyed thereto the arms I32 upon which the roller I3I is mounted. The other arm of the bell crank I4I extends to the right, as shown at I45, Fig; 6,'to connect to a substantially vertical link I47. A longitudinal adjustment I48 is provided for such link and its lower end I4lA is attached to an arm I49. The arm I49 is rigidly secured to a hub member I5! mounted on a shaft I52 suitably supported in a pair of members I53 and I54 in the lower part of the machine. At its rear end the hub member I5I has rigidly secured thereto an offset arm 55 provided with a cam follower I5? at its end. An operating cam Nil is rotated by a shaft I 62 which extends through the frame members I53 and I54 and is driven in appropriate timed relation with other parts of the machine in an obvious manner by means not shown. Rotation of cam IBI rocks the arms I55 and I49 to move the vertical link I41 downwardly at an appropriate time in the machine cycle and thus forces the roller It]! to the left as seen in Fig. 6 over the sloping upper surface of the plate I26. This causes the platen supporting arms 54 and the platen itself to swingdownwardly into impression relation with the auxiliary printing element (not shown). A tension sprin I65 secured between a stud I56 projecting from the auxiliary platen and a stud I61 mounted in the bar I34 to return the platen to its normal raised position after the roller I3I is withdrawn to the right as seen inFig. '7. A spring III connected between the arm I55 and a fixed element of the frame is effective to hold the cam follower I5! against its cam and to cause the roller I3I to be withdrawn to the right after an impression has been taken, thus permitting spring I55 to raise the platen I22 to its normal non-printing position.

Mention was made hereinabove of the paper guide rollers EI, 52 and 53 through which a strip or web of paper may be advanced across the printing field to take an impression from printil'lg elements in such field. It will be understood that the primary article on which an imprint is to be taken is normall a sheet or the like which is fed over the table surface and above the printing devices D in timed relation with the feeding of such devices D. Thus as shown in Fig. 4, a sheet S .to be printed may be advanced by any suitable means, such as means shown in my aforesaid Patent No. 2,296,277, to printing posi tion. For some purposes, however, it is desirable to retain an additional copy or copies of at least part of the data, for example the variable data imprinted under the auxiliary platen mechanism described above. In such cases one or more webs W, W may be led around the rollers El, 52, 53 and may be advanced intermittently'by suitable web feeding means, not shown, after each in print has been taken. The means for so advancing the webs may be selected from numerous types of feeders well known in the art.

One of the webs W or W may be a carbon coated strip to serve as an inking medium for the other. Both webs may be advanced, in cooperation with a sheet S, to a position overlying printing members and underlying one or .both of the platen means described above. When the platen means presses the webs and sheet against the printing I members, data is recorded on both. If desired,

the imprinted web or webs may be rewound in the machine or may be severed into strips or sheets by appropriate means.

By comparing the platen mechanism described above with that described in my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 416,548, it will be noted that the present mechanism is lighter and requires a less complex hydraulic system. For certain purposes it has marked advantages over reciprocating platens previously used in machines of the general character described hereinabove.

Hence, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of varia tion and modification and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

Iclaim:

1. In apparatus of the character described, a pair of arms, a platen supporting framework firmly supported by said arms, a track member adjustably mounted on said framework, a roller carriage reciprocably supported by said track member, a platen roller carried by said carriage, means including a rock shaft for lowering and raising said roller to and from impression position in said carriage, means yieldingly urging said rock shaft in a direction to raise said roller, a hydraulic piston for moving said carriage through an impression stroke along said track member from an initial position to a final position, a cam plate extended parallel to said track for rocking movement about an axis parallel to said track from a normal active position to an inactive position, means yieldingly urging said cam plate to said active position, a cam follower connected to said rock shaft and engageable with said cam plate during movement of said carriage through its impression stroke to lower said roller to its impression position, means acting between said cam follower and said cam plate to shift said cam plate to its inactive position during the return stroke of said carriage, and resilient means for returning said carriage from said final position to said initial position.

2. A roller platen mechanism for a printing machine comprising a track member for reciprocably supporting a carriage, a carriage mounted on said track member, means for reciprocatin said carriage, said carriage comprising a pair of side plates, a horizontal platen roller mounted for vertical sliding movement in said side plates, a pair of cam followers on said platen roller adjacent opposite ends thereof, a pair of cam plates rockably mounted on said side plates having cam slots therein respectively engaging said cam followers and operable when said cam plates are rocked to raise and lower said roller, and means responsive to reciprocatory movements of said carriage for rocking said cam plates.

WAL'I'ER T. GOLLWITZER.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,110,723 Spiess Sept. 15', 1914 1,225,667 McCain May 8, 1917 1,349,831 Stickney Aug. 17, 1920 1,437,461 Annand Dec. 5, 1922 1,495,013 Freeman May 20, 1924 1,371,993 j Hubbard Aug. 16, 1932 1,919,954 Kranz July 25, 1933 1,968,292 Gollwltzer July 31, 1934 2,024,594 Mueller Dec. 17, 1935 2,068,707 R-eardon Jan. 26, 1937 2,157,803 Rogers May 9, 1939 2,176,371 Wahl Oct. 17,1939 2,295,267 Peak Sept. 8, 1942 2,295,748 Moore Sept. 15, 1942 2,344,609 Hanson Mar. 21, 1944 2,374,194 Grupe Apr. 24, 1945 2,375,793 Kidrick May 15, 1945

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