US3112685A - Image transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 3, 1963 J. M. FLUKE v IMAGE TRANSFER APPARATUS y 2 Sheets-Shet l Filed June 12. 1961 y &

-l wl- Dec. 3, 1963 J. M. FLUKE IMAGE TRANSFER APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 12, 1961 conf/ms mr M/ve 010346 l naamw/roman INVENTOR. Jffffm N.

BY l M l United States Patent Oil ice arrasa; Patented Dec. 3, 1953 3,112,685 n/raoa raANsrnn Armarios lJefferson M. Fluke, 1811 16th W., Kirkland, Wash.,

iisighnor of one-half to Ralph D. Bennett, Kirkland,

Filed June l2, 1961, Ser. No. 116,43@ 14- Clairns. (Cl. 9S-39) ence to its presently preferred embodiment as applied to y the transfer of photographic images from coated paper carriers to coated aluminum' sheet carriers lfor use in photo-offset printing systems; however, -it will be recognized that certain modifications and changes therein with respect to details and with respect to applications may beV made without departing from the underlying essentials 'comprising the features of the invention.

In previous devices for effecting image transfers between carriers, difficulty was experienced in achieving precise uniformity in the degree of wetting and activation yof the carrier coatings by the developer liquid 'While moving the carriers `at a continuous and rapid rate into progressive mutually superposed relationship in passing through the apparatus. Also, the previous arrangements of carrier feeds and guides together with the means, usually an immersion bath container for the developer liquid, made visual inspection of the cooperating carriers for determination of relative positioning most difficult.y

A broad object of this invention is to overcome these difficulties and more specifically to provide a compact,

' efficient and economical apparatus to this end.

Still another object is an improved image transfer apparatus incorporating feed Iand :guide elements arranged for compactness and for easy determination and Iadjustment of relative positioning ofthe carriers.

A further object is apparatus Which incorporates in combination therein an improved means rfor spreading developer liquid while guiding a carrier, and more specically which is capable of spreading and flowing developer liquid uniformly over the coated surface of one carrier under pressure which insures uniform wetting and activation of its photographic coating :despite variations or spottiness in its acceptance of such liquid, while also providing related arrangements for achieving uniform wetting of the other carrier 'with the developer liquid.

In accordance with this invention as herein disclosed, one carrier, preferably the image-bearing carrier since it is usually the more critical of the two carriers as to lcoating activ-ation, is fed tangentially to the upper periphery of a driven guide roller to advance through the guide space between the roller and a conformably curved guide shoe which serves also as ra ydeveloper applicator to which developer liquid under pressure is supplied by .a recirculation pump so as to insure uniform` spreading and flow of developer liquid over the carrier surface. Liquid pressure also increases feed traction of the guide roller on the carrier. The second carrier, in the example comprising the image-receiving carrier or coated aluminum sheet, is fedk to the lower periphery of the guide roller with the direction of rotation thereof at la location directly lbeneath the applicator shoe, so that excess developer liquid which runs down from theshoe `onto the second carrier as it converges with the first carrier rounding the guide roller, puddles there and supplements the wetting of the carrier coatings. The two lthen mutually superposed carriers uniformly wetted at their interface pass between the guide roller and a squeegee roller pressing against it. A liquid receiver beneath the cooperating rollers and shoe catches the run-off and holds it Afor the recirculation pump. Preferably the second feed comprises a driven roller also which isdriven by the same power means as that driving the guide roller,y through separate power transfer overrunning clutches permitting independent manual speed-up 0r advance rotation of keither suc-h roller in order to ad- Vance the leading edge of either carrier relative to the other carrier as they approach convergence, and thereby permit positionally indexing the two carriers relatively.

These arrangements, particularly the preferred embodiment wherein the vmost desirable `features ofthe invention rare combined Vfor the illustrative application, provide -a precision, economical, lrapid production, compact, easily operated and highly reliable machine according to the foregoing objectives.

These an-d other features, objects and advantages of the invention will Ibecome more fully evident from the following description thereof by reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the illustrative embodiment with parts broken aW-ay to show detailsv of construction.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal apparatus.

FEGURE 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section-al View as in FIGURE 2, with the parts in operation.

FIGURE 4 is an end View of the lapparatus with parts broken away in section to show construction.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional detail of the driven guidevrroller mechanism as yviewed in a longitudinal sectional plane.

Referring to the drawings, a readily removable upper assembly di) comprises the frame side plates 12 and 14 which are interconnected by and carry various other parts. The upper assembly 10 rests on a lower lassembly 16 comprising the pedestal or base 18 'having upstanding' side sectional View of the Y brackets Ztl and 22 thereon provided with horizontally extending upright flanges 24 notched at 24a to receive locating pins 26 carried by the respective upper assembly plates 12 land 14.

Horizontal tie rods 28 maintain the side plates 12 and 14 in vertically disposed parallel relationship, as do the oppositely inclined feed pans or aprons 30 and 32, respectively, which at their opposite side edges are bolted to the respective plates, as indicated at 34. The feed apron 30, located generally above the feed apron 32, has its lower horizontal edge portion terminate just above and in tangential relationship to the driven guide roller 36 in order to feed carrier sheets tangentially between said roller and a cooperating presser roller 38 journaled for idling in the upper assembly frame. The lower edge portion of the second and oppositely inclined feed chute 3:2V is tangentially directed aginst the lower periphery of the driven guide roller 36 and has a curved lower edge portion 32a which extends conformably about the lower edge of the guide roller through a short arc beyond the point of tangency to lead the mutually superposed carriers between such roller and a second presser roller 40, also an idler, bearin g upwardly against the lower periphery of the driven guide roller 36. Preferably the feeding of carriers on apron 30 to the guide roller is accomplished initially by sliding the carriers down the apron into the nip of rollers 3S and 35, from which point the carrier is advanced by frictional contact with the driven guide roller 36. Carriers advanced along feed apron 32, however, are preferablyV fed positively to the guide roller 36 by means of a driven roller 42 cooperating with a presser roller 44 through a slot or slots 32h in the guide apron 32.

Each of the respective presser rollers 3S, 40 and 42 are spring urged against their respective cooperating rollers by suitable mounting arrangements permitting some sliding movement of their support journals in a direction toward and from the respective cooperating rollers, and by springs 4.5 which urge them against the latter.

Also part of the upper assembly is a power means preferably comprising the gear-head motor 46 mounted on frame plate 14 and having an output shaft 46a upon which the spur gear 43 is fixed. This spur gear meshes with similar gears 5t) and 52 which idle on one end of the respective support shafts 54 and 56 of driven rollers 42 and 36. The ratios of gear 48 to gear 50 and of gear 48 to gear 52 are such that the driven rollers have the same peripheral speed when driven by these gears through separate power transfer means comprising the overrunning clutches 58 and 60, respectively. The latter are part of a carrier indexing arrangement. Each of these overrunning clutches comprises a toothed member, such as a gear serving as a ratchet wheel fixed on the associated support shaft 54 or 56, and a spring-kept pawl mounted on the associated idle gear to engage the ratchet wheel. These clutches represent one of various suitable types of overrunning clutch devices which can be used for the purpose. To complete the indexing arrangement, a manual turn knob 62 mounted on each of the roller support shafts 54 and 56, preferably at the end opposite from the gearing, permits independent manual advancement rotation of each roller for indexing adjustment of the individual carriers being fed to the apparatus, without necessity for disengaging gears.

An additional and vitally important element of the upper assembly comprises the carrier guide and developer applicator shoe 62 which is positioned adjacent the side periphery of driven guide roller 36 by end mounts 64 secured to the side plates l2 and 14, respectively. This guide shoe 62 is arcuately curved conformably to the peripheral curvature of the guide roller 36 and is spaced outwardly therefrom by a slight distance affording clearance for passage of an image-bearing carrier Cb therebetween after its emergence from between the rollers 36 and 38, plus a sufficient clearance over and above the thickness of the coated carrier Cb to permit free flow of a film of developer liquid throughthis interface region as it is introduced therein under pressure. Preferably the developer is introduced through an opening 62a formed in the shoe, which extends the length of the guide shoe at a location intermediate its upper and lower edges as shown. The surface of roller 36 supports the exible carrier sheet against the liquid pressure. Pressure of liquid developer against the carrier further increases its frictional feed contact pressure with the guide roller 36 so as to increase the positive feed imparted to the carrier. The upper edge of the guide shoe 62 extends nearly to the pressure roller 38 and serves to catch the leading edge of a carrier Cb as it emerges from between the rollers 36 and 38. This upper edge has notches 62h at intervals along its length through which pressurized developerV liquid escapes or is depressured so that it cannot spurt up against the roller 38. It isV desired to keep this roller dry as possible so as to avoid predeveloping the carrier coating. The lower edge of shoe 62 is also provided with notches 62e at locations along its length, but for a somewhat different purpose. This purpose is to permit increased iiow and run-off of pressurized developer liquid through the space between the shoe and the drive roll 36, which flow would otherwise be limited due to the flow resistance entailed in the downward arcuate extent of shoe 62 serving to guide the carrier Cb into convergence with carrier Cr from feed guide 32.

Thus, pressurized developer liquid forced from opening 62a into and through the space between the carrier Cb and the guide shoe spills down into the reentrant space just mentioned where it puddles and is temporarily retained as a means to supplementally wet the image-receiving carrier Cr and to wet carrier Cb. Excess developer liquid, barred by the squeege roller 4b from removal with the 4 departing carriers, runs out of the sides at the interface between the mutually superposed carriers.

This excess liquid running down from the upper assembly is caught in a receiver tray 70 placed on the base 18 between the side members 20 and 22. This receiver tray serves as a reservoir for developer liquid D. A motordriven pump 72 mounted in this receiver tray draws from the reservoir and forces developer liquid through the tube 74 to the inlet 62d of a distribution channel formation 62e formed, in communication with the opening 62a, on the back side of the arcuate shoe 62. The inlet 62d is conveniently located at one end ofthe guide shoe 62 near the side of the apparatus at which the pump 72 is stationed. From this inlet location the guide shoe distribution channel 62e decreases progressively in cross section toward its opposite end so as to insure substantially uniform rate of discharge of developer liquid from the channel 62e through the opening 62a along its length despite pressure drop along such length.

Preferably temperature control of the developer liquid in the suppiy tray '79 is provided by suitable means comprising, for example, a hollow-wall tray construction affording a heat exchange chamber '760. through which temperature controlled liquid R may be circulated by means of outside conduits 73 extending to and from a source of such liquid (not shown). Y

in operation of the apparatus, an image-bearing carrier sheet Cb is placed on the apron 3) and an image-receiving carrier sheet Cr is placed on the apron 32, usually with the motor 36 deenergized. Pump 72 is in operation to circulate liquid developer through the tube 74 and the interface region between arcuate applicator-guide shoe 62 and the adjacent peripheral side of roller 36. Now, the rollers 38 and 42 arV individually turned manually in order to advance the respective carriers into appropriate superposed registry as they converge in the reentrant region beneath the iower periphery of the guide roller 36. Thereupon the guide roller 36, and with it the driven roller d2, is placed in operation by energizing the drive motor 46 in order to continue the progressive advance of the now superposed carriers. As the carriers emerge from the space between the guide 32a and roller 36 they are squeegeed under pressure exerted against the latter by the presser roller 40 so that they emerge and depart in a semi-dry state. If desired, the motor 46 may be left in continuous operation along with the pump motor 72, and with a small amount of practice an operator may accomplish the correct registry of carriers through superimposing any necessary increments of feed motion to one sheet or the other by simply turning the appropriate manual turn knob of roller 36 or roller 4t2, as permitted by the respective overrunning clutches described. In order to permit visual inspection of the relative positioning of the sheets, the applicator-guide shoe 62 is preferably made of a transparent material so that the leading edge of carrier sheet Cb may be observed as it approaches convergence with the leading edge of carrier sheet Cr. The arrangement of rollers and applicator shoe permit ready observation of the manner in which the carrier sheets meet.

These and other aspects of the invention will be recognized by those skilled in the art on the basis of the foregoing disclosure of the presently preferred embodiment, which persons will also recognize that the invention is not necessarily confined to the illustrative details of construction and application, except within the fair intended meanings of the claims which follow.

I claim as my invention:

1. Image transfer apparatus comprising means to advance an image-bearing carrier and an image-receiving carrier edgewise into progressive superposed contact one with the other along respective paths which converge together, said means including Va guide surface on which one carrier is guided in approaching such convergence with the other carrier, the guide surface being contacted i by `that face of said one carrier which is opposite that contacted by the other carrier, developer liquid applicator shoe means disposed ciosely adjacent said guide surface and conforming substantially in shape to and parallel with said guidesurfaceto form a narrow passage theresaid one carrier and said shoe means, yspreads out and flows over the carriertherein. l

2. Image transfer apparatus comprising means to` advance an image-bearing `'carrier and an image-receiving carrier edgewise 4into progressive superposed contact one with the other along respective paths which converge together, said means including a oonvexly curved guide surface around which one carrier is guided in approaching such convergence with the other carrier, the guide surface being contacted by that face of said one carrier which isk opposite that contacted by the Aother carrier, developer liquid applicatormeans having a concavely curved guide face extending parallel to and along said guide surface in closely spaced relationship lforming an intervening passage for said one carrier slightly thicker than the carrier itself, and means including said applicator means, accumulator means to receive the overiiow therefrom and a pump to deliver the accumulated developer liquid to said passage under pressure causing spreading and ow of the liquid uniformly through the interface between the applicator and said one carrier, thereby to wet the latter carrier and thereby also the other carrier as the two carriers come together, said applicator means comprising a curved guide shoe which is apertured -to pass developer liquid to such passage at a location intermediate its relatively leading and trailing edges.

3. The image transfer apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein the guide shoe comprises a curved plate-like member having an elongated groove extending in its guide face, across the breadth of the passage transverse to the direction of carrier movement, said groove comprising the aperturing through which developer liquid ows to the passage.

4. The image transfer apparatus defined in claim 3, comprising a horizontally disposed revolving roller providing said guide surface, airst feed for advancing said one carrier into tangential relationship with the upper periphery of the revolving roller in the direction of motion of such upper periphery, and a second feed for advancing the other carrier into tangential relationship with a point on the lower periphery of the revolving roller in the direction of motion `of such lower periphery, the guide shoe being positioned adjacent the revolving roller in the path of said one carrier ahead of the infeed point of the second carrier, whereby developer liquid from the shoe runs from said passage down lonto said other carrier as it approaches the revolving roller.

5. The image transfer apparatus defined in claim 4, wherein 4the lower and upper edge portions of the shoe have a succession of openings formed thereinalong the length thereof.y

6. The image transfer apparatus defined in claim 5, and a presser roller operatively associated with the revolvin ll n v i www rollers, at least one of saiddrive means including a unidirectional coupling permitting separate turning of one of therevolving rollers independently of the other in the direction of driven rotation, and thereby permitting indexing of one carrier relative to the other.y

7. Image transfer apparatus comprising means to advance an image-bearing carrier and an image-receiving carrier edgewise into progressive superposed contact one with the other along respective paths which converge together, said means including a horizontal revolving roller around a side portion of which one carrier is guided in approaching convergence with the other carrier, and means including a pump andy a distributor of developer liquid mounted adjacent said roller side portion and conforming substantially in shape to and parallel with the periphery of the roller so as to form an interface region therebetween for confinement of a layer of developer liquid spread out on the carrier, said distributor thereby being operable under pressure from said pump to spread developer liquid Y k on the exposed face of said one carrier' as it advances around said side portion, the first-mentioned means including a rst feed for advancing said one carrier into tangential relationship with the upper periphery of the revolving roller in the direction of motion of such upper periphery, and a second feed for advancing the other carrier into tangential relationship with a point on the lower periphery of the revolving roller in the direction of motion of such lower periphery. l

8`. rImage transfer apparatus comprising means to advance an image-bearing carrier and an image-receiving carrier edgewise into progressive superposed contact one with the other along respective paths which converge together, said meansincluding a horizontal revolving roller around a side surface` of which one carrier is guided inr approaching convergence with the other carrier, and further including a guide surface for the other carrier, and means including a pump and an arcuately curved distributor shoe conformed to and spaced a Vshort distance from one of said surfaces to dene a passageway therebetween for the individual carrier which is guided by the last-mentioned one of said surfaces and for a layer of developer liquid spread on said individual carrier, and operable under pressure from said pump to spread developer liquid onV the exposed face of said individual carrier as it advances through said passageway, the first-mentioned means including a first feed for advancing said one carrier into tangential relationship with the upper periphery of the revolving roller in the direction of motion of such upper periphery, and

a second feed for advancing the other carrier into tangentialy relationship with a point on the lower periphery of the revolving roller in the direction of motion of such lower periphery. n

9. Image transfer apparatus comprising means to advance an image-bearing carrier and an image-receiving carrier edgewise into progressive superposed contact one with the other along respective paths which converge together, said means including a horizontal revolving roller around a side surface of which one carrier is guided in approaching convergence withthe other carrier, and further including a guide surface for the other carrier, and means including a pump and a distributor shoe spaced a short.

distance from one of said surfaces to define a passageway therebetween for the individual carrier which is guided by the last-mentioned one of said surfaces and operable under pressure from said pump to spread developer liquid on the exposed face of said individual carrier as it advances through said passageway ts- H second feed, drive means drivingly interconnecting the revolving rollers to rotate at the same peripheral speed, a power source, and drive means driving-ly connecting said power source to onek of the revolving rollers, at least one of said drive means including a unidirectional coupling permitting separate turning of one of the revolving rollers independently of the other in the direction of driven rotation,'and thereby permitting indexing of one carrier relaperiphery respectively of the guide roller, power means to yrotate the guide roller in one direction, a rst feed to advance one carrier tangentially between the rst presser roller and guide roller with rotation of the latter, an arcuately curved guide shoe operatively associated with the side periphery of the guide-roller to pass said one carrier therebetween as it emerges from between the guide roller and first presser roller, a second feed to advance the other 'carrier tangentially between the second presser roller and guide roller with rotation of the latter, including guide means converging with the guide roller beneath said guide shoe, whereby the two carriers are advanced convergingiy into superposed relationship and guided to the second presser roller, and means operatively associated Vwith the guide shoe to force developer liquid under pressure through the space between the shoe and the irst carrier sucient to run down onto the second carrier as it converges with the firstrcarrier, including a receiver for excess developer liquid running from the carriers and a pump drawing from the receiver to recirculate such excess developer liquid to the guide shoe. Y

12. The apparatus defined in claim 11, wherein the second feed includes cooperating feed roller means one of which is driven, and separate power transfer means from the power means to the driven feed roller Vmeans and to the guide roller, each including a unidirectional clutch means permitting independent' manual rotation `of the driven feed roller means or guide roller selectively to ad- Vance either carriers leading edge toward convergence` with the other carrier.

13. The apparatus defined in claim 11, wherein the guide shoe comprises a curved plate having notched upper and lower edges, and a developer liquid feed channel extending generally horizontally across said plate intermediate said edges and in direct communication with the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED'STATES PATENTS 2,966,108 Boger Dec. 27, 1960

Claims (1)

1. IMAGE TRANSFER APPARATUS COMPRISING MEANS TO ADVANCE AN IMAGE-BEARING CARRIER AND AN IMAGE-RECEIVING CARRIER EDGEWISE INTO PROGRESSIVE SUPERPOSED CONTACT ONE WITH THE OTHER ALONG RESPECTIVE PATHS WHICH CONVERGE TOGETHER, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A GUIDE SURFACE ON WHICH ONE CARRIER IS GUIDED IN APPROACHING SUCH CONVERGENCE WITH THE OTHER CARRIER, THE GUIDE SURFACE BEING CONTACTED BY THAT FACE OF SAID ONE CARRIER WHICH IS OPPOSITE THAT CONTACTED BY THE OTHER CARRIER, DEVELOPER LIQUID APPLICATOR SHOE MEANS DISPOSED CLOSELY ADJACENT SAID GUIDE SURFACE AND CONFORMING SUBSTANTIALLY IN SHAPE TO AND PARALLEL WITH SAID GUIDE SURFACE TO FORM A NARROW PASSAGE THEREBETWEEN AND THROUGH WHICH SAID ONE CARRIER IS MOVED, WITH SAID PASSAGE BEING ONLY SLIGHTLY THICKER THAN SAID ONE CARRIER, SAID APPLICATOR SHOE MEANS HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN COMMUNICATING WITH SAID PASSAGE AT AN INTERMEDIATE LOCATION ALONG THE EXTENT OF SAID GUIDE SHOE IN THE DIRECTION OF CARRIER MOVEMENT THROUGH THE PASSAGE, AND PUMP MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID OPENING TO FORCE DEVELOPER LIQUID INTO SAID PASSAGE UNDER PRESSURE AND THEREBY CREATE A PRESSURIZED FILM OF LIQUID WHICH INHERENTLY, BY REASON OF THE PRESSURE AND THE CONFINEMENT BETWEEN SAID ONE CARRIER AND SAID SHOE MEANS, SPREADS OUT AND FLOWS OVER THE CARRIER THEREIN.

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