Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
lZ(~ 9~ -
......
MET~D OF~OPERATI~G A PRINTING P~ESS
AND APPARATU5
1 BACKGROUND OF T~E INVENTION:
., ...~ .. __ ._,. _
This invention relates to a method of operating --
a printing press and apparatus therefor and, m~re partic-
ularly, to a press employing a central impression cylinder
with a plurality of print decks disposed about the periphery
~hereof~
,~ .
~ ~ .
Illustrative of the art to ~hich the invention
. ~V S
applies is co-owned patent 3,041/967. There the central
impression cylinder receives ink impressions (generally
; lO different colors) ~rom six differe~t print decks, arranged
~2~
three on a side as is relatively commonplace in this phase
of the printing artO Normaily, each deck includes a plate
cylinder arranged to Lmpress a particular pa~tern ~n the
wPb carriea by the impression cylinder. The ink, ~.e.r
color, is ~ransferred to the plate cylinder which carries
the plate embodying the desired pattern by means of a transfer
cylinder, commonly re~erred to an "anilox roll". This
~ ..
~ anilox roll, in turn, deri~es the ink from a fountain roll
operating in or in conjunction with a source of ink. Ihus,
~here is an arr~ngement of three rolls in each deck for
developing the pattern or "repeat" as is commonly referred
to in the art. The abo~e mentioned patent deals with a
mechanism or bringing these various deck cylinders int~
contact so as to achieve the printing. This, howe~er, is
a xelatively minor problem when compared with the problem
faced by the art in changing the plate cylinders. It will
be appreciated ~hat every time the "repeat" is to be changed,
the plate cylinder itself has to be changed. The major problem
that arises in this transition is that of achieving
20 register of thP various colors or patterns. Often, a
large, expensive machine may be inoperative f~r an hour or
two while the pressmen are adjusting the various decks to
achieve registration.
.- The difficulty of achieving registration according
....
to contemporary technique can be appreciated from the follow-
i~g typical sequence~ The ~irst step has been to install
plate cylinders in all of the 6 decks~ These are nor~ally
~2~ 8L~
arranged three on a side with the ~irst deck being at the
10:30 o'clock position~ the second at 9 olclock, ~he ~hixd
at 7:30 o'cl~ck, the fourth at 4:30 o'clock, the fi~h at
3:00 o'clock and the sixth at 1:30 o'clock. The sequence
of achie~ing register normally starts with the No. 1 deck
where ~he pressman hits two buttons to bring the plate
cylindPr and the anilox roll almost into gear mesh. It
will be appreciated that conYentionally the central impression
.-- .
cylinder is equipped with a large gear usually called a
lo "bull" gear which~n turn drives a gear ~rain for the plate
and transfer cylindèrs in each deck~ these gears being arranged
in tandem. Thus, the first step is to almost engage the
anilox roll gear wi~h ~he place cylinder gear and the
plate cylinder gear with the hull gear. To achieve gear
meshing, ~he gear on the plate cylinder is "inched" in
5mall increments until proper mesh is achie~ed with the
~eeth on the bull gear. It also should be appreciated
that these are helical gears -- necessitated ~or fine ad-
ju~tment ~- so that gear too~h meshing is not readily
20 perceived visually. In the same fashion, the anilox roll
gear is inched into me~hing relation with the plate cylinder
gear. Thereafter, the rolls of the No. 1 deck are locked in
position and inched into impression position. This is
normally determined by inserting a 0.125" feeler gauge
be~ween the surface of the plate cylinder and the surface of
~- ~he central impression cyli~der -- and this is required
... .
along bo~h sides of the web, i.e., at each end of ~he plate
cylinder~ The same feeler gauge activity is performed on
the ends of ~he anilox roll so as to bring it into proper
~2C~
1 impression position r Thereafter, a register mark is placed
on ei~her ~he impression cylinder or web, as desired~ In
s~me instances, both are employed because, although the
regi.ster mark is much more visible o~ the w~b, it might
slip rela~ive to ~he Lmpression cylinder.
The next sequence of steps in~olve indexing the
t'~ impression cylin~er until the register mark lines up with
the tangent point of the No. 2 plate cylinder relative to
the central impression cylinder.
lo Nex~, the plate cylinder and anilox roll of the NoO
2 deck are brought into almost meshing relation an~ then
inched into impression position utilizing the feeler gauge
procedure described above. At this point, the plate
cylinder is not locked to its gear so that the plate
cylinder can be rotated until it is in register with
the previously put down register mark, i,e., the pattern
on the No. 2 deck plate cylinder is in congruence with
the pattern pro~ided by the No. 1 deck plate cylinder.
Then the plate cylinder gear is locked relative to the
plate cylinder. This same sequence of steps performed
relative to the No. 2 print deck has to be performed
with respect to the remaining print decks, i.e., decks
3 through 6 and it will be appreciated that at each stage,
.- ~isual inspection o~ the printed pattern must be made
to insure that each of ~he impressions provided ~y the
six dec~s is in proper register. This has pro~ed to be
time-consuming and wasteful of the producti~e capacity
of large, high speed presses. This is particularly
_ 4 _
'~2~
true when short "runs" are made because the changeover
from one run to another requires going through the
laborious changeover procedure just described.
~he obvious solution to the laborious registration
procedure is ~o provide register marks on the central
impression and plate cylinders befoxehand corresponding
. ....
to a yi~en repeat. Howe~er, this has not proven successful
in practice probably becausP of the difficulty of utilizing
the large number~3f marks necessary to cover the spectrum of
"repeats". Also, the gear teeth are relatively small and
because it is diffîcult to discern misalignment of the order
of a quarter or half degree, very often the wrong gear teeth
are engaged. In this connection, it should be appreciated
that the gearing is helical rather than con~entional
spur gears which further complicates the problem of making
sure that the right gear tooth is selected for engagement
with the correct "valley" in the mating gear so as to bring
the proposed register marks into alignment. The aligned
register mark expedient was suggested in French Patent
i6 26719 but to the best of applicant's knowledge, this
has not been adopted in practice. The teaching of the French
patent is ~hat the register marks on the plate cylinder and
central Lmpression cylinder should be in line after the
gear teeth have been brought into engagement. This really
~ does not address the problem because it is difficult ~o
know which helical tooth should be selected beforehand so
as to bring about the alignment after the helical teeth
have meshed.
~z~g3
. SUMMARY OF INVENT~ON:
The inventio~ solves the foregoing problem by
srienting the plate cylinder gear to a predetermined orie~t-
ation and while the same is "off" the machine. This elimi~ates
the substantial "down kime" that is characteristic of
contemp~rary practice while registration is sought and
f--
t.-. also provides a regulated or controlled a~mosphere in which
the adjustment or orientation can be made. Further, it
can be done with ~ch exactitude tha~ when the plate
cylinder gear is mounted on the plate cylinder, the plate
cylind~r gear can be brought into meshing rPlation with
the bull gear by linear movement of the print deck only
and without the disturhing an~ uncontrolled axial movement
proposed in other expedients, as in the above-identified
French patent.
More particularly, the in~entive method utilizes
a register assembly incl~ding sleeve and collar means
and gearing which can be adjusted relative to each other
off-machine and to a predetermined position on the plate
20 ~ylinder journal or shaft so that when the regist~r
assembly is mounted on the plate cylinder journal,
th~ plate cylinder not only has exact gear tooth engageme~
but also and, most importantly, proper registration. Here it
... should be appreciated that there is always l'fine tuning" of the
;.. . .
registration after the press has started operating by
virtue of minor adju tments of the rotary positions of
the ~arious plate cylinders made possible by means of
axially sliding the helical gears one relati~e to another.
This is where the artistry of the pressman comes into
30 pIay so that ~he desired registration need only be such
as to permit the pressman to ~inish the regi~tration
procedure by a minor ~hift of the various helical gears.
~2~8~
The invention i5 explained in conj~nction with
~he accompanying drawing, in which --
FIG. 1 is a side elevational ~iew somew~atschematic of a six color flexographic press such as would
be employed in the practice of the in~ention;
.. FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational ~iew
in partial section showing the plate cylinder mounting
assembly and rema~nder of mechanism employed for deck
positioning;
o FIG. 3 is a side elevational view partially in
section and partially in phantom line of the plate cylinder,
register assembly and associated press components;
FIG. 4 is a perspecti~e view o~ the register
- assembly;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the set-up fixture
for the register a~sembly;
FIGS. 6-8 are perspective views of the register
assembly components;
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view
20 of a portion of the bull gear and associated proximity
swi~ches for accurately positioning the bull gear;
... .
FIG. 10 is a top plan ~iew of the proximity
switches of FIG. 9,o
9~
IGS. 11-~4 are schematic side eleYational views
of ~he gearing involved for di~ferent repeats on the plate
cylinders;
FIGS. 15 and 16 are, respectively, side and end
ele~ational view~ of the portion of the print deck dealing
with the anilox or transfer rs~l~
~...-.
-- FIG. 17 i~ a perspective ~iew of a device used
in the setup of the machine; and
FIG. 18 is a s~hematic view havin~ certain
symbols applied thereto employed in computations for
achieving registration.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVEN~ION:
~ he central impression printing secti~ 20 of ~IGo
1 is typically arranged with six printing decks 21 and 21a
~hrough 21e arranged symmetrically about the central impression
cylinder 22. The apparatus is supported on a conventional
fxame F. An incoming web 23 is placed on ~he surface of, and
remains in intLmate contact with the surf ce of the central
impression cylinder 22 as it rotates past the six color
decks 21-21e and finally exits a~ at 24~ Between color
dryers are o~ten used (for example between color decks 21
and 21a, etc.) ~ut are not shown for purposes of clarity.
,_.
'~- Each color deck assembly is compris~d of like elements including
plate roll cylinders 25 each mounted on a movabIe sub frame
26 which supports a bracket 27. The bracket ~7 is independently
movable from sub frame 26 and supports an anilox rsll 28
and a fountain roll 29. Each frame 27 also supports an
ink fountain (not shown) mounted directly below
each fountain roll 29~ Further details on ~he individual
deck construction are shown in FIG. 2. Inasmuch as each color
deck embodies the same elements, each element ha~ been given
2~
the same numeral. Where a distinction is required between the
elements of different decks, the numeral will be suffixed
by the appropriate letter -- as for example the plate roll
cylinder o~ deck 21b (at the 7:30 o'clock position in FIG.
1) is design~ted 25b.
f.~:................. Each sub~frame 26 and hence its associated bracket
; .-
27 is mounted on frame ext~nsion 30 and is mov~ble relati~ethereto~ In the first printing deck 21, this movement will
be along line 31 and`, the other decks along counterpart
lo lines -- ~or examplel line 31c for deck 21c.
The operation and mechanism associated with the
linear mov~ment of the ~arious deck cy~inders into impression
position will be described hereinafter and with respect to
FIG. 20 Turning now ~o FI~. 3, a sectional view in fra~mentary
form of the plate cylinder 25 is seen along with the associated
mechanism for operating ~he same.
The plate cylinder 25 has a journ~l or stub shaft
32 formed integrally therewith and which is normally employed
~or carrying the gearing which rotates the plate cylinder
20 in synchronism with the centxal impression cylinder 22. For
example, the numeral 33 designates the helical gear associated
with the plate cylinder 25 while the numeral 34 designa.es
....
a portion of the bull gear fixed to the ce~tral impre~sion
cylinder 22. Shown in dotted line and designa~ed 33' and 34'
are another pair of gears associated, respectively, with
the plate cylinder and central impression cylinder for a
slightly differe~t operation. Conventionally, flexographic
presses are equipped with 10 pitch (diametral) gears and
one quarter pitch circular gears. The gears are not
1 too differe~t but make for a different type ~f repeat
operation as is conventivnal in the art.
Interp~sed between the journal 32 and the bull
gear 34 and carrying the plate cylinder gear 33 is a
register assembly g~nerally designated 35. This is rem~ably
mounted on ~he journal 32 and can be arranged in a desired
condi~ion or configuration away from the machine so as to
.. - *
ma~erially speed up ~he changeo~er or set up time ~or a
different repeat. For example, the color-t~-color
o registration procedùre currently employed often involves
from 15 to 30 minutes per color. With from approximately
1-1/2 to 3 houxs or more of set-up time and lost production
involved in the state of the art set-up time, the inventive
procedure can su~stantially increase press up-time by allowing
off-ma~hine s tup while the press is opera~ing.
The register assembly 35 ineludes a number of
elements cross hatched in FIG. 3 and which are essentially
concentrically related to each other. Innermost is a
sleeve 36 which is slidably mounted on the journal 32
20 and which is equipped with an external spline as at 37 --
see also the right hand portion of FIG, 4.
FIG. 4 depicts a perspective somewhat exploded
version of the register assembly 35 and he j~urnal 32
-- the latter bein~ seen in fraymentAry form at the extreme
:
left hand portion of FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is concerned primarily
with the left hand end portion of the register assembly
and hence the gears and certain of the concentric elements
are omittea there~rom,
. Returning now to FIG~ 3, the n~eral 3~ indica~es
30 a second sleeve and which is e~uipped wikh an internal
-- 10
spline so as to mate with the external spline 37 on the
firs~ mentioned sleeve 36.- Thus, movemen-t of the slee~e 3B
relative to the sleeve 36 is constrained to ~he axial direction
and is employed when the ma~hine is set-up for the purpose
of making fine adjustments in register. For example~ the
registrati~n employed by the inventive method ce~ters the
gear 33 axially within the gear 34. Sliding movement of the collar
_ _
38 relative to the collar 36 moves the gear 33 to the right
or left, as ~he case may be -- and because the gears 33 and
o 34 are helical g~ars -- will result in a slight rotation of
the plate cylinder 25 relative to the ce~tral impression
~ylinder 22 (because the latter has the bull gear 34 affixed
thereto and there is no relative rotational movement
between the gears 33 and 34). The gear 33 ~an be seen
to be removably mounted on the collar 38 by means of
the bolts 39.
The specific objec~ of the invention is to
orient the register asembly, particularly the gear 33
relative to a reference poin~ off the machine that will
20 permit the register assembly 35 to be installed relative
to a similar reference point on the plate cylinder and
~hus have a preselected tooth on the gear 33 enter a
preselected valley between teeth on the bull gear 34.
As indicated pxe~iously, this is ~irtually impossible
. to do visually on the machine as by aligning reference
points such as ~cribe lines on the plate and central
impressio~ cylinders or the gears associated therewith.
The gears are relati~ely fine toothed and, in this instance,
the teeth are helical a~ong an 18 degree an~le which
30 makes matching visually virtually impossible.. The
discussion immediatel~ following deals wi~h the orientation
of the register assembly 35 so as to have the p~opex too~h
~z~
on ~he gear 33 in position f~r exact engagement with a
predetermined valley between t~eth on the bull gear 34.
Subsequently, the steps employed for properly l~cating the
bull gear will be discussed.
With reference to the proper positioning of the
plate cylinder and its regi ter assembly 35, it first sh~uld
-= bP appreciated that the plate cylinder is equipped with a
plate 40 (see FIG. 3) which is precisely positioned on the
plate cylinder r~ ative to an imaginary scribP line. In the in-
~o stant case, the scribe line can be considered the line 41 (see the
left hand portion of FIG. 4) which bisects the ke~ay 42 in
the shoulder of journal 32. The keyway is also seen in the
central left hand portion of FIG. 3. The object, as expressed
somewhat differently above, is to locate the precise tooth
needed for pattern registration in exact alignment with the
Lmaginary scribe line 41, i.e., the ke~way 42. More precisely,
it i~ desired to have the center of mid-point of the
helical tooth so aligned 50 as to permit the fine ad~ustment
previously referred to. The ma~ter of the orientation of ~he
2~ plate cylinder gearing is further complicated by the fact
that the various decks 21-21e have different angular
relationships to the center of the central impression cylinder
22 so that a phase difference exists between ~e various decks.
Inasmuch as the ultimate object is to have the various
cylinders of the various decks oriented properly so that .
they all can be substantially simultaneously brought
into printi~g engagement, provision must be made for this
phase differen~ial. Before goin~ into that, however, it is
believed helpful to the understanding of the invention
- 12 -
to discuss the No. ~ deck, i.e., ~Deck 21-a where the phase
angle can be considered zero. It will be appreciated that
with respect ~o this deck, the line of mo~emen~ along
line 31a (see FIG. 1 -- the center lef~ hand portion)
passes through the eenter of the central impression cylinder
22.
...... .
-- To orient the register assembly 35 associated
wit~h the plate cylinder of each deck, ~he elements at the
left hand portion ~f~ the register assembly 35 as seen in
FIGS. 3 and 4 are used in conjunction with a set-up ~ixture
seen i~ FIG. 5. The set-up fixture is generally designated
43 and can be see~ in various aspects in FIGS. 6-8 as well.
The fixture 43 includes a base 44 (see particularly
FIG. 6) and mounted thereon a pedestal 45. The pedestal is
equipped with a bearing ~not shown) which support~ a du~my
or stub shaft 32' correspondins to the plate cylinder shaft
32 and which is equipped with a similar keyway 42' -- facing
downwardly in FIG. 6~ Removably mounted on the shaft 32'
is the register assembly 35.
Referring now to FIG. 7 which is a perspective view
of the fixture 43 but from the opposite side from that seen
in FIG. 6~ and with cover removed, the numPral 46 designates
,- a pair of brackets interposed between the base 44 and the
pedestal 45 for the purpose of supporting mechanism to turn
the shaft 32lo For ~his purpose9 the shaft 32' is equipped
with a WQrm gear 47 which cooperates wi~h a worm 48 carried
on worm shaft 49. The shaft at the right hand end (as seen
in FIG. 7) is e~uipped with a hand wheel 50 so that upon
tu~ning the hand wheel the worm and wonm gear cooperate and
13 ~
rotate the shaft 32' and hence the register asse~bly 35.
At the left hand end (as seen in FIG. 7~ the worm
shaft 49 is equipped with a co~lter drive geax Sl which is
in meshing engagement with a counter driven gear 52. The
gear 52 is provided as part of a counter assembly 53 mounted
. on o~e of t~e brackets 46. Thus, the angular rotation o
A-'.' .. the stub shaft 32' is reflected ln the digital counter 53.
In the operation of the fixture 43, the digital counter
53 is set at zero~nd i~ this condition the hand whe 1 53 is
lo oriented so as ~o position the ~eyway 42' o~ the shaft 32' in
the downwardly facing position. Thereafter, the register
assembly 35 is slid onto the shaft 32' by sliding the
sleeve 36 axially of the shaft and with th2 pin 54 of
the collar 55 (see FIG. 3) generally aligned with the keyway
42'. Reference to the left central portion of FIG.
3 reveals that the sleeve 36 at the end adjacent the pl~te
cylinder 25 rotatably carries the collar 55 which in turn
is equipped with the pin 54. This can be appreciated
more readily from a consideration of FIG. 4 where the
O sieeve 36 is seen to be equipped with a radial enlargement
56. It is this enlargement which rotatably supports the
collar 55. The pin 54 extends through the radial enlargement
56 so as to enter the keyway 4~' and for this purpose,
,...... the radial enlargement 56 is e~uipped wi~h an arcuate slot
... _. ,
57 (see the central part of FIG. 4).
After the register assembly 35 has been ensleeved
on the stub shaft 32', and with the pin 54 ~xtending into the
keyway 42', exact posikioning of a preselected tooth of the
gear 33 is undertaken. What is meant b~ the center of the
.
: ~ 14
4~
;
tooth can be appreciated from the upper central portion of
FIGn 3 wh~re ~he center of a particular to~h T is desig~ated
T~. The object of ~his phase of the inven~ive method is
to orien~ ~he center Tc of a particular tooth T in exact
alignment with the imaginary scribe line 41 so that upon
translation,of the plate cylinder 25a toward the central
Lmpression cylinder 22 (see the right central portion of
~ -
~- F~G. 1), the gear ~eeth of the bull gear and plate cylindex
gears will mesh precisely.
.
..
lo For ~hat purpose, the fixture 43 is equipp~d
with a gauging block assembly generally designated 60.
More particularly, a pair of gauging blocks 61 and 61'
are provided for use with the two gears 33 and 33' ---
only one of which is used in a particular installation.
It will be appreciated tha~ the central impression
cylinder 22 is equipped wi~h a pair of bull gears having
different tooth configurations as mentioned previously
and when one bull gear as at 34 is chosen for the operation
of the press, the plate ~ylinder gear 33 is empl~yed and
20 ,this is gauged by the g~uging block 61.
The gauging block 61 is mounted on the assembly
60 f or vertical movement through a gear train and linkage
system (not shown) but which is operated by the second hand
_..
wheel 6c (see the upper portions of FIGS. 6 and 7). As
the gauging block 61 is elevated by turning the second hand
wheel 62, the gear-33 is ~',ockeyed~' into precise position
between the positioning struts 63 and 64 of the gauge blocks
61. This is permitted in ~he register assembly 35 by
virtue of the arcuate'slot 57 (see the central part of FIGo
4}. More particularly, the gear 33 (see ~IG. 3) is
fixedly related to the sleeve 36 by virtue o~ ~he splin d
15 -
~z~g~
1 interconnection between the sleeve 3B carrying the gear
33 and the sleeve 36. On the other hand, ~he collar 55
is ~ixed in position by virtue of the pin 54 thereof being
confined in the keyway 42'. Slight angular movement of
the gear 33 by virtue of the slot 57 in the sleeve 36
is possible so that during the upward movement of the gauge block
~ S i~ /f a~t eCJC~S/~/
_ ~ 61, ~he tooth T can be -Q~ul~-~ne~ engaged by the struts
!:..
- 63 and ~4 until the block 61 moves to the end o~ its upward
travel -- at which time the struts 63 and 64 are fully
lo seated in the ~alleys~flanking the tooth ~r. At this stage,
the center T~ of the tooth T is precisely aligned
with the imaginary scribe line 41. Thereafter, the lock
bolt 65 (see FIG. 4) o~ the collar 55 is tightened so as
to clamp ~he collar 55 immovably on the radial enlargement
56 of the slee~e 36. This is achieved by virtue of the
collar 55 being split as at 55' (see the central part of
~IG. 4~.
As indicated pre~iously, if tne register assembly
35 is the one to be installed on the second deck plate cylinder
20 25a, no further manipulations would be required. However,
this is not true for the plate cylinders of the remaining
decks which have different phasing. This can be best
appreciated from a reference to FIG. 1.
--- In FIG. l, and relative to the second deck, i.e.,
~-
the deck 21a, the point of tangency 66 is seen to lie on the
line of deck movement 31a -- the point of tangency 66 being
~he impression point between the plate cylinder 25a and the
central impression cylinder 22. However, the situation is
different as exemplified by the third deck 21~. There the
- 16 -
3~
point of tangency 67 is angularly offset from the line of
deck movement 31b and to insure that a particular too~h on the
plate cylinder gear falls between tee~h of the bull gea~ 34,
the plate cylinder must be rotated out of alignment with the
scribe iine 41. If it were not, it w~uld be translated along
the line of deck movemen~ 31b and thus not mate with the
associated ~alley between teeth of the bull gear. The
-- needed rotation can be precisely determi~ed trigonometrically.
One of the factsrs requiring the r~tational adjustment of the
gear 33 is the fact that the line of movement 31b of the
third deck is at l5~degrees to the horizontal and, as is
clearly apparent from FIG. 1, does not pass through the
centex of r~tation of the central impression cylinder 22.
An additiona7 complication arises because of the
non-alignment of the centers of the plate cylinder 25b and
the center of the central impression cylinder 22~ This
means that as the tee~h of the gears of these respective
cylinders engage, ~here is an additional slight angular
rotation o~ the plate cylinder between engagement and full
20 seating -- of the order of about 1 1/2 degrees. Again,
~his can be calculated with precision beforehand. Thus,
from ~he geometry and using trigonometric functions, ~he
precise angular rotation or "phasing" of the gear associated
with the plate cylinder 25b can be predetermined and this
- is introduced into the setup fixture 43 by turning the hand
~ ....
wheel 50 so that the digital counter 53 reflects ~he precise
angular phasing desired. More particularly, wi~h collar
55 clamped onto the sleeve 36, the gauge block 61
is ele~ated to its up position so as to engage
30 the tooth T. Then the hand wh~el 50 is turned to rotate
the register assembly 35 to the orie~tation desired as
refleeted by the counter 53. The particular tooth T needed
17 -
~Z138~9~
to be positioned at the point o~ tangency 67 is now in that
position and I provide a locking collar with detent means
for maintaining that position before the register assem~ly
is remoYed from the ~ix~ure 43 and installed on the shaf~
32 of the particular plate cylinder involved,
~ eferring now to FIG. 3, the register assembly
at its righ~ hand end is seen to ~e equipped with a further
; .
~ ....
coll~r 68 which is rotatably mounted on ~he sleeve 38. me
collar 68 is equipped wi~h a detent 6~ (see the bottom right
o hand portion of F~G~. 3) which can be rotated into alignment
and engagement with the rounded end of the plunger shaft
70 (see FIG. 6). A plunger de~ice 71 is pivotally mounted
on the ba~e 44 and is swung into position in general alignment
with the detent 69 and as the collar 68 is rotated ~he
"ball" end of the shaft enters the detent 69. A portion
of the collar 68 is split and equipped with a lock bolt
72 (see also the right hand end of the FIG. 3) which is
tightened so as to clamp the collar 68 fixedly to the
sleeve 38. I ha~e thus provided a reference detent to orient
the particular tooth T (as well as coincident key 42 and
imaginary line 41) in a predetermined angular position
relative to the detent.
A similarly constructed pl~nger is pro~ided on the
frame F for each deck 21, 21a, etc. This plunger is indicated
.. -:.: :. .
-
sohematically by an arrow 73 in the upper right hand portion
of FIG, 2 and relative to the first dec~ 21. Thu~, for each pla~e
cylinder of each deck, the fixed plunger device associated
with each deck is used to hold detent 69 in a reference position
so that scribe line 41, key 42 and a particular tooth T
- 18 -
1 2~1 34gl
1 are in the proper angular relationship relative to the detent
69 engaged at the reference 73. Thereafter, the plate
cylinder equipped with ~he register assembly 35 (preset to
the s~me predetermined angle) is installed in the subframe
26 ~nd rotated until the "ball" of the frame plunger reference
73 engages the detent 69. After the teeth of the gears
33 and 34 h~ve become fully engaged, the plunger device
is then activated ~ut of engagement with the detent 69
~- by cylinder 115.
. lo Exact g~ar mesh and regis~ration (subject to the
small fine tunin~ by the pressman during actual operation)
is thus provided by the inventive method. The plate 40
of the plate cylinder 25 (see FIG. 3) is preci~ely positioned
on the plate cylinder scribe line 41 (see FIG. 4). The
register ass~mbly 3; is also precisely posikioned relative
to the scribe line 41 by virtue of the pin 54 (see FIG. 4
entering the keyway 42 associated with the journal of the
pla~e cylinder. After the pin 54 has been seated within
the ~eyway 42, a ~urther collar 74 (see FIG~ 4) is tightened
20 to hold the assembly on the plate cylinder journal. The
çollar 74 is a split collar as at 75 (see FIG. 4) and is
equipped with a lvck nut 76. This is lo~sely mounted on the
extreme left hand or inner end of ~he sleeve 36. The sleeve
36 has slotted cutouts as at 77 so that when the lock nut
76 of collar 74 is tightened, collar 74 clamps the slotted
...~.... .
end of sle~e 36 to journal 32~ Thus, the register assembly
a~d most importantly, gear 33~coincident key 42 and scrih~
line 41 are in a fixea angular relation to ~he plate 40 of
the plate cylinder 25. Wi~h the particular too~h T and
30 coincident scribe line 41 in a pr~determined angular relation
to the frame ref rence 73~ ~he plate cylind~r can be translated
. .
- 19 - .
1 along the line of movement 31, 31a, etc., to bring about
engagement of preselected teeth of coacting central impression
cylinder and plate cylinder gears with proper orientation
of each plat~ cylinder to achieve registrati~n between all
de ::3cs .
Exemplary of the variety of repeats utilized in
. f lexographic printing are the showings of FIGS. 11-14. In
......
all of ~he four views, the bull gear 34 (see ~IG. 11) is
a ten diametral pi~ch ~00 tooth gear. The plate cylinder
lo gears are for differènt repeats and are in the position
they would occupy in the third deck, viz., deck 21b where
the line o mo~ement has been designated 31b. The examples
of FIGS. 11-14 represeni the actual installation where the
detent 69 has been oriented at 90 degrees to the line of
movement 31b. Locating the plunger device 73 at the bottom
of the regîstex assembly 35 ra~her than obtusely relative to
its line of movement is a matter of design choice and con-
venience for deck 21b.
Thus, in set-up znd subsequent plate cylinder
20 lnstallation, the gear tooth T, keyway 42, and scribe line 41
will be angularly rotated relative to reference 73, said
rotation taking into account differences in angular positions
of 73, 73a, 73b, etc., as well as the difference in the point
.. -.. -. of tangency 66-67, etc., and most importantly, the dif~eren~e
~-
in repeat l~ngths effecti~e between decks. The predetermined
angle includes these~ e-di~ferences when the angle
is registered on counter 53.
To illustrate the difference in detent position for
different repeats, the following table lists various values:
.
-- 20 --
~Zl38~91
T~BLE
No. of Pitch Leng~h of Angular
F~Go ~O_ Teeth _Diameter Repeat Displa_ement
11 11~1 11~490 35~814 8~528
12 lOt~ 10~000 31~16 48~02
13 76 7~600 23~876 149~700
14 39 3~900 12~252 192~409
.
Two other orientations are performed on-m~chine prior to
engagement of ~he ~arious decks with the central Impression
c~linder 2~ One~as ~o do with the positioning of the
bull gear 34 and the other has to do wi~h the positioning
of the transfer or anilox rolls 28. To better understand
how these orientations fit into the overall operation, ~he
structure and operation of ~ typical deck will now be
explained with refere~ce to deck 21 as depicted in ~IG. 2.
As indicat~d previously, each deck su~h as the
first deck 21 includes a plate cylinder 25 which bears against
the cylinder 22 as wall as the transfer or anilox roll 28,
ountain roll 29, subframe 26 and bracket or secondary sub-
~rame 27.
An i~k fountain (not shown) is mounted directly below
rubber covered fountain roll 29 which simply picks up a full
coating of ink for transfer to the anilox roll 28. Pneumati~
cushion 78 variably urges independently driven roll 29 int~
.......
contact with roll 28. In the print deck being described, :.
secondary frame 27 housed within guides 7~ can be slidably urged
toward stop 80 by action of cylinder 81 through a linkage
indicated in dotted line. Secondary frame 27 can be moved
independent of sub-frame 26 for the purpose of disengaging
30 ro~l 28 from nipping contact with roll 25 and thus, when
stopping a pres5 run, roll 25 will continue to print until
it purges itself of ink. A~ter some delay, sub-frame
:~2~)84~
26 housed within suides 82 can be slidably urged toward
stop 83 by action of cylinder 84 through the linkage sho7~n.
~ovement of sub-frame 26 and secondary ~ub-frame 27 thu~ pulls
the whole complement of rolls from contact wi~h the su~
strate W lying on the surface of cylinder 22 and hence
printing stops.
,.. - .
........
A rotatable collar 85 on screw thread 86 can be
positioned such that a gap 87 establishes the amount of
- mo~eme~t effec~ed ~ action of cylinder 81 through its
lo linkage. Likewise, collar 88 on screw thread 89 establishe~
a gap 90 which defi~es ~he movement of s~b-frame 26 by action
of cylinder 84 through its linkage.
When the secondary frame 27 is moved outw~rd until
collar 85 i~ in contact with stop 87, it defines a rearward
position whch is used as a re~erence for positionin~ the
anilox roll ~8. When subframe 26 moves outward until
collar 88 contacts stop 83, its outward position likewise
defines a reference from which inward movement can be measured,
and in this instance, refers to a plate roll positionin~
20 reference.
Since the threads per inch on screw thread 86 and
the gear ratio between worm gear 91 and worm 92, etc. are
~-......... all determinate, th~ specific anyular rotation of motor 93
will produce a known and measurable inward movement of ~econdary
frame 27.
In like manner, fo~ard mo~ement of sub-frame 26
can be measured and controlled by mot~r 94. Motors g3 and
Cc~ ~" f~ à~
99 are digitally controlled, and by use ofldigit counters (not
shown), the k~own position of secondary frame 27 and therefore
roll 28, a~ well as sub-frame 26 and roll 25 can be defined.
In like manner, knowing the distance between a given
reference point and the center line of the plate roll 25,
sub-frame 26 must move inwardly a specific distance from
the reference point to be in nipped impression.
It will be noted that full inward motion to achieve
impression cannot be achieved unless the gear tee~h of
year~ 33 and 34 properly mesh and hence, deck positionLng
...... .
to full impression is a beneficial but a dependent function
of proper gear me~h.
o Before describing FIGS, 9 and 10, reference is
made to FIG. 1/ deck 21a which moves along line 31a. For
l/c ~/e~
initial setup of the ~oo~h (and ~e~e~) sensing detector,
a fixture f (see FIG. 17) ha~i~g a horizontally extending
pin P is attached to the journal of plate cylinder 25a and extends
inwardly toward the central axis of the central impression
cylinder. The tip of the pin P is shaped in gear profile
and when positioned inwardly, falls at position 66 of deck
21a. If ~he pin P seats properly in a valley between two
teeth of the bull gear, no further adjustment of positioning
of the sensing devic~ is required however, if the gear profiled
pin does not seat properly, ~he sensor can be positioned and
calibrated until proper meshing relationships occur as
described hereinbelow.
~~ The firs~ of ~wo required on-machine alignments, that is,
positioning of the bull gear to receive a prepositioned too~h of
the plate roll cylinder gearing, is accomplished by using
the mechanisms in F}GS. 9 and 10. There, the frame F supports
a horizontal shaft 94 mountPd in support 95 (seen only in
- 23 -
2~ 8~
FIG. 10~. ~his ex~ends axially of the two bull gears 34
and 34' and c~rries brackets 96, 96' for the proximity swi~ches
97, 97' -- one for each gear.
Brackets 96, 961 holding proximity switches 37,
97' can be rotated with respect to shaft 94 and can be slidably
. posi~ioned along shaft 94 so that the sensors 98, 98'
f~s of the switches 97, 97' li~e up with the center of the bull
~.. ..
sears 34, 34'. Brackets 96, 96' are rotated so that a small
air gap exists between sensors 98, 98' and the bull gears.
lo When energized, the~`sensors will detect diferences between
a metallic gear tooth and the adjacent void (valley) and
in this manner r they describe th~ edge of a gear tooth on
~he bull gear.
Initially, if the gauging pin, as at position 66
in FIG. ~ i~ not centered with a valley of the bull gear
tooth,axial mo~ement (left or right in FIG. ~0) of the proximity
mounting brackets 96 or 96' will cause either sensor 98 or
98' to s~nse either the presen~e of metal (top of gear
too~h), or the absence of metal (valley between gear teeth).
20 Detecting and diffexentiating between metal or voidl this
signal can be used to dri~e the bull gear in one direction
or the o~her until the gauging pin at position 66 of FIG.
fits directly into a valley between ~wo gear teeth of the
~-. . bull gear.
~. -. . .
In FI&. 10, it will be noted that either one or
bo~h of the brackets 96, 96' can be moved axially~ Since
~he bull gear teeth are helical, axial movement of the
bracket and associated sensor results in delivery of an
electrical error signal to a hydraulic motor H (see FIG. 1)
.
- 24 -
~z~
which moves the bull gear 34 very slowly until the error
signal ceases. In this mannex and by moving -the sen~ors.
a small amoun~, a valley between ~wo gear tee~h can be
accurately aligned with the plate cylinder gaugi~g pin ~not
shown) at position 66 of FIG. 1. WheIl a valley is accurately
aligned with the gauging pin, brackets 96, 96' are lockably
_ clamped ~o shaft 94 and remain fixed in this positi~n without
t.:::.
~ furth r need for adjustment.
Thus, a~er initial setup, ~he sensors will always
~g e"e,~, f e ~
10 gcn~rn~ an elec~rical error signal until detection of a
tooth edge at the position shown in ~IG. 10 results in placement
of a ~alley between teeth in alignment with the gauging pin
at position 6 6 of ~IG . 1. It is noted that the valley
between any two teeth of the bull gear establishes the necessary
precondition for proper gear mesh between the bull gear and
a plate cylinder gear t~oth -- the plate cylinder gear
tooth being positioned to engage horizontally, as at 66
in FIG. 1. This is a reference position for the bull gear
since deck 21a is used as a reference from which other angular
20 deviations are measured. In other words, once the sensor
bracket is tightened a~d a valley between bull gear teeth
is precisel~ aligned for gear mesh, calculating the angles
for other decks will automatically take care of differences
..... in line of mo~ement relative to the axis of the central
.
impressio~ cylinder, etc.
The second of two on-machine orientations required
prior to gear engagement is that of the anilox roll gears and this
will be explained in ~onjunction wi~h FIGS. 15 an~ 16. ~n
30 FIG. 16 the anilox roll is seen in a very small ragment
at the extreme right hand end and is designated 28. It
also is equipped with a journal as at 99 supported in a
349~
1 bearing generally designated 100 and provided as part of
the secondary subframe 27~ The journal extends beyond
~he bearing 100 c~rries a pair of gears 101 and 101' for
meshing engagement with the plate cylinder gears 33 or 33',
respecti~ely. Again, these are helical gears and even though
~here is not the problem of register for the anilox roll
28 - it can be in any orientation to transfer ink to the
-
plate cylinder 2~ -- there is still the pro~lem of achieving
proper gear mesh. ~The object, of course, is to reduce the
lQ engagement of the various cylinders to a simple lineal motion
achieved by the operation of the fluid cylinders 84 and 81
(see the bottom left hand portion of FIG. 2).
Again wi~h th~ geometry of the plate cylinder gear
33 being kn~wn, it is a straightforward trigonometric calculation
to determine what the orientation of the anilox roll gear 101
should be for smooth meshing. Thus, for each repeat, there
is a predetermined angular orientation of the anilox roll gear
101 which must be introduced into the system.
For the purpose of properly aligning the gear 101
with the gear 33, I provide a dial 102 which is affixed to
the gears 101 and 101'. More particularly (here referring
to the 1 ft hand portion of FIG. 16~, the dial 102 consists
of a plate carrying on its outer face numerals indicating
.:.-
~- degrees. The plate is bolted to a tubular member 103 which
in turn is bolted to the gear support 104.
Although any gear tooth can be selected for proper
mating engagement wi~h the plate cylinder gear 33~ I prefer
to select a tooth which can be oriented an integral number of
degrees from an indicator mark 105 at the extreme top of
. 30 FIG. 15. The indicator mark 105 is carried on a split
, ~ _
4~
collar 106 which is rotatably mounted on the member 103.
If, for example, a given repeat requires that a tooth
be selected for engagement which is 13 deyrees di~ferent
fxom exact alignment of the indicator mark 105 and the zero
degree dial setting, the transfer cylinder 28 is rotated until
~he dial setting is 13 degrees -- as determined visually
rela~ive to the'indicator mark 105.
,... .
','',,- If the roll is angularly positioned such that zero
re ding on the dial is aligned wi~h indicator mark 105 when
ball 109 is engage~,in the detent 110l then angular rotation
of the roll (and dial) to the predetermined angle will
position a gear ~ooth at the same predetermined angle from
the detent and, therefore place it in the proper angular
=~dhi~ for gear engagement between transfer and plate
roll gears. In ac~ual operation, I provide a card for each
repeat cylinder listing the anilox roll angle setting.
Operation
In the operation of the invention, those responsible
'Y~f seJ of
for plate mounting are ~h~x~ a forthcoming change in repeat.
~e .~
~ thereupon select the si~ appropriate plate cylinders -- this
while the press is operating on a previously selected repeat --
and install extra register assemblies 35 on stub shaft 32'
of fixture 43 for proper orientation away from the machine.
r.-.-'.-'..'.'.. . More particulaxly, the lock bolts 65 and 76 of the collars
t . . ,
55 and 74 respectively (see FIG. 4) and ~he lock bolt 72
of th collar 68 t'~ee FIG. 6) are loosened 50 as to be
freely rotatable. Register assembly 35 was ensleeved on
the stub shaft 321 (see FIG. 5) with the pin 54 (compare F~GS~
3 and 4) in ali~nment with the keyway 42' (see FIG. 6). The
keyway 42' is identical wi~h the keyway 42 seen in ~he left
- 27 ~
hand portion of FIG. 4 and a~sociated wi~h the plate cylinder
25. This results in a preselec~ed, part;cular too~h T of
the gear 33 (see FIGS. 3 and 6) being in general alignment
with the keyway 42' -- and more specifically the imaginary
scribe line 41 bisecting ~he keyways 42 and ~2'.
To insure exact positioning of the preselected tooth
so ~hat its center Tc (see FIG. 3) will be centered axially
~. .
of the bull gear 34 (or 34'), the hand wheel 62 i5 turned to
eleYate the gauging block 61. As the gauging block 61
lo or 61' (see FIG. 5) ~is being elevated slowly, the gear
33 is minipulated or "jockeyed n SO as to have the particular
too~h T positioned squar~ly between the struts 63 and 64
(see ~ 8). This is made possible by virtue of the ~act
that the sleeve 36 -- the innermost part of the register
assembly 35 and whieh carries the gear 33 -- ls equipped
wi~h a slot 57 through which the pin 5~ extends --
again see FIG. 3. When the struts 63 and 64 are at the
very base of the valleys flanking the selected tooth T,
~he tooth T is properly centered and the lock bolt 65 is
20 tightened so as to fix the collar 55 (still refexring to
FIG. 43 firmly in place on ~he sleeve 36. The preselected
tooth T now has its center in exact alignment with the imaginary
~cribe line 41.
. The reyister assemblies 35 for all plate cylinders
, .......
..
except 25a associated wi~h No. 2 Deck have to have a pre-
determined phase angle introduced thereint~. This stems
from the difference in an~ular orientation of the decks
as explained previously. ~or example, the first,
third, fourth and sixth decks are so arranged that ~he line
30 of movement of th rolls thereon does not pass ~hrough ~be
.
- 28 -
point of tangency wi~h the central impression cylinder 22
so a phase angle has to be introduced to make sure that the
prsper tooth on the gear 33 enters th~ proper ~alley of the
bull gear 34.
T~ introduce this preselected angle, the gauying
blocks 61, ~l' are retr~cted so as to free the geax 33 for
;-.. -~....... rotation. ~ere it will be appreciated that the register
assembly 35 cannot rotate relati~e to the stub shaft 32'
because o~ the engayement of the pin 54 with the keyway 42l.
And, wi~h the oollar 55 firmly clamped to ~he sleeve 36,
there is no relative rotational movement between the pin 54
and the gear 33.
To introduce the desired phase angle, the hand
wheel 50 is turned until the counter 53 registers the
correct angle. For e~ample, for one selected r~peat and for
the No. 6 Deck, this angle is 113.2 degrePs. The hand wheel
50 is then turned until this numeral is registered on the
counter 53. Thereupon, the loosely mounted collar 68
.~see FIGS. 3 and 6) is rota~ed until the detent 69 (see FIG.
3) is engaged by ~he ball ended shaft 70 of the plunger 71.
Ther~after the lock bolt 72 is tightened to irm1y clamp
khe collar ~8 to the outer sleeve 38 -- the sleeves 38
and 36 being nonrotatably coupled to each other by virtue of
..: . .
the axial spline 37. With this manipulation perfo~ned, the
preselected tooth is now at ~he predetermined phase angle
rela~i~e to detent 69. When the register assembly is remo~ed
from the fixture 43 and i~stalled in the press as part of
a plate ~ylinder, the positioning of the detent will insure
that the preselected gear tooth is at the same phase angle
relative to the bail 70 ' .
- 29 -
~lL2~
1 For that purpose, the register asser~ly 35 is
remo~ed ~rom the stub shaft 32' of the fixture 43 and
ensleeved on the plate cylinder journal 32 -- see FIGS.
3 and 4~ More particularly, the pin 54 of the collar 55
is aligned with the keyway 42 of the journal 32 which
means ~hat ~he preselected too~h is now in a predetermined,
fixed relationship ~o the plate 40 on ~he plate cylinder
25. ~ock bolt 76 of collar 74 fixes the register assembly
35 on shaft 32. The pla~e 40 is n~w installed o~ ~he pla~e
lo cyli~der 25 in a px~etermi~ed relationship to the scribe
line 41 so that now the plate and preselected tooth are in
the necessaxy relationship.
To get the preselected tooth into the proper relation-
ship with the bull gear 34, use is made of the detent 69 --
see FIG. 3. A counterpart ball 70' is provided as part of
the subframe 26 carrying the plate cylinder 25.
Still referring to FIG. 3, it is seen that a portion
of the subframe 26 is depicted at the lower le~t portion there-
of and which carries a bearing 113 for supporting the journal
2~ 32 of the plate cylinder. The subframe 26 also carries an
arm 114 which is equipped with a counterpart ball-providing
mechanism to that on the positioning fixture 43. The arm
114 has a plu~ger 71' carrying the ball-ended shaft 70'
~ for engagement wi~h the detent 69. The ball 70l is urged
.~ .
upwardly by means of an aix cylinder 115 carried by ~he arm
114~ When the air cylinder 115 is energized, the ball 70'
rides against the outer surface of the collar 68 and, as
~he plate cylinder 25 îs rotated, eventual~y comes i~to
engagement with the detent 69. This insures ~hat the pre-
30 . selected t~oth is oriented at the proper phase angle relati~e
to the preselected valley in the bull gear 34.
- 30 -
~-z~
At this point, however, the outér sleeve 38 carrying
the pla~e cylinder gear 33 is still free to move axially rela~ive
to the plate cylinder by virtue of its splined ~onnection 37
with respect to the fixed inner sleeve 36. Theref~re, I provide
means for l~miting this axial movement and thereby position the
center ~ of preselected tooth T in alig~ment with the center
of the mating valley of the bull gear. This can be seen in
the right hand portion of FIG. 3 and includes a ball bearing 116
fixed to the end of the journal 32. This bearing 116 is "capturad"
: .
by means of a half collar 117 pivotally mounted on the arm 114.
More pa~.ticul~rly, the arm 114 pivotally carries
a bracket 118 which is pivotally connected to the arm as at
119. A locking lever 120 is provided to fix the bracket in its
upright position so as to capture the bearing 116. When the
plate cylinder 25 has been placed within the sub-frame 26,
bracket 118 is pivoted from a horizontal position into that
illustrated in FIG. 3 so as to half surround the ~ D~-116.
If the bearing 116 is not exactly aligned wi~h the half ~ollar 117,
it can be mo~ed axially one way or the other by virtue of the spline
connection between the collar 38 and the collar 36. This
operation insures that the center of the plate cylinder gear
aligns axially with the center of the bull gear. Therea~ter,
locking lever 120 is tightened so that this position of register
assembly 35 is maintained. Ater this, the entire plate cylinder
~nd ~he pre-locked register assembl~ is rotated until detent 69
.-.. . is engaged by the ball ended shaft 70' which establishes the proper
;::::::.-.
rotary reference for subsequent gear mesh be~ween the plate
cyli~der gearing and bull gearing and automatic color-to-color
registration as ~he ~arious decks are brought into nip enga~ement.
As a necessary precondition for proper year mesh
between the central impression cylinder gear and the plate
cyli~der gear, it is understood that the ce~tral impression
cylinder-gear must be very accurately angularly positioned.
- 31 -
~z~ 34~
Since the gears are helical, it is therefore necessary to have
a means that will always place the plate cylinder gear on
the axial ::enter of the central impression c~linder gear so
that the ce~ter of ~he gear will always be used as a point
of reference in de~e~mining that proper angular rotation
exists and proper gear mesh can occur.
_ I provide a centeri~g means f or the plate cylinder
--
- in the form of a positioning device generally designated
as 123. The de~i~ë ~23 includes a cam roller 124 mounted
on bracket 118. A ramp 125 is provided on the half collar
117 and when cam rollar 124 engages the ramp 125, valve 126
is shut ~f f thus indicating that the pistsn in hydraulic
cylinder 121 is in mid-pc~sition and ~ at mid-position of
cylinder ~21, collar 117 is in a predetermined position
relative to the center of bull gears 34, 34 1 .
When the plate cylinder ~5 with register assembly
35 is installed in the machinet bearing 116 resting in groove 116
of collar 117 will position the center line of the plate cylinder
gears 33, 331 in coincidence with the center line of the
bull gears.
If the bearing 11 6 is not aligned with groove 116 ',
axial movement of coattached collar 68 and sleeve 38 will
mo~e bearing 116 into groove 116' and will place gears 33~ 33'
.. in proper axial alignment wi~ the central ~mpresssion cylinder
gears 34, 34 l .
Since the hydraulic cylinder is in mid stroke, it
will ~e xecognized that when the machine is running, actuation
of .hydraulic cylinder 121 wlll move helical gears 33, 33 '
axially xight or le~t and hence cause a slight angulax advance
or retard of the bull gear 34 l 34 ' . This is commoIl practice
and well known art.
The bull gear 34 is now rotated to a predetermined
position by virtue of ~he sensor 98 of the proximity switch
97 sensLng the correct profile of a tooth so that when the
plate cylinder 25 is mo~ed toward the central impression
cylindes 22, the teeth of the gears associated with these
.~eue~
two cylinders will mesh properly, ~ffe~E, before that
mo~ement takes place, the a~ilox roll 28 is oriented to
f.-...-..
the proper anyle in the manner previously described a~d using
the ball and deten~ arrange~ment 109, 110 described in
conjunction wi~h FIGS. 15 and 16.
Acc~rding to the invention, I pro~ide first and
second alignment means on each OI the press 20 and the
fixture 43 for properly orienting each plate cylinder 25. The
first alignment means includes the keyways 42 and 42'
engaged by the pin 54. Once these have been positioned
properly,the lock means in the form of collar 55 locks
~hese elements in alignment~ The second alig~ment means
includes the detent 69 and the "balls" 70 and 70'. Once
the detent 69 has been positioned in alignment while in the
fixture 43, the collar 68 is locked to preserve this alignment
during transfer of the register assembly 35 to the sub~rame
26. Thereafter,the "ball7' 70' p~ovided as part cf the sub-
frame 26 brings about the same orientation of the plate
cylinder gear 33 as it was in the ~ixture 43.
, . ..
......
A third alignment means i~ provided for each
transfer or anilox roll in the form of the detent 110
and ~he "ball" 109 - the detent 109 lo~ked into pre-
determined relation with the plate cylinder helical gear
33 by means of the ~ollar 106 (see FI~. 16).
All of the necessary preconditions for automatic gear
mesh and registration between decks exist and linear movement of
subframe 27 for proper transfer cylinder to plate cylinder gear
engagement as well as linear movement of subframe 26 for proper
gear engagement between the plate cylinder gearing and central
impression cylinder gearing can now occur to complete the change-
over. This occurs by handwheel or motorized rotation of shaft
92, 92' (FIG. 2) and translated rotary motion on shafts 89 and 86
for subframes 26 and 27, respectively.
Since one revolution of the shafts 92, 92' produces a
fixed and determinate amount of linear movement of the subframes,
the use of hydraulic motors with ~eedback signals to known micro-
processors becomes a system for "automatic" impression, that is,
based on known values for different repeats, the microprocessor
wiIl signal the hydraulic motor to move the subframes into
impression positions and can determine accurately when the move-
ment should stop.
After linear motion of the subframes is completed,
subframe 27 is firmly locked against subframe 26 by cylinder 81,
hence both frames are thus locked relative to the impression
cylinder. Details of these lockup systems are shown in previously
issued UO S. Patent No. 3,041,967.
For further explaining the best mode of practicing
the invention certain trigonometric calculations are set down.
In the instant calculations, a horizontal deck position was
selected for simplicity (No. 2 or No. 5 deck) as can be seen
in FIG. 18. Decks l 3 - 4 - 6 involve additional mathematical
formulae because the deck positions do not pass through the
horizontal center line of the central
~-zq~
impression cylinder, but such additional formulae essentiall~
relate the other deck positions to the horizontal deck
posi~i~ns and are additive for only those other positisns~
The calculations below essentially determine the
position of the scribe line and the position of a specific
gear tooth whe~ aligning the plate cylinder to the impression
cylinder, and also detexmine the position of a gear tooth
~.-..:.. .
on the anilox roll such that it will properly mate with a
corresponding ~all~ y in the plate cylinder gear when the
decks are brought i~to pxinting impression~ In FIG. 18,
certain s~mbols are shown as representing àrc lengths,
and it is under~tood that arcuate lengths are always taken
at ~he periphery of the roll or cylinder. In any event,
knowi~g the diameter of a given cylinder, arc~ate lengths and
angular measurements are determinate each from the other.
Essentially, the angle beta (~) i5 expressed as an angular
measurement, but it can be converted to arcuate length and
would be equal to A2. In essence, when point 90 on the
plate cylinder is rotated through an angle beta, it will
coincide with point 91 when both of these points reach
and are coincident with the horizontal center line between
~he plate and impression cylinders.
These ~alculations show that c~rtain angles on
downstream derks can be pre-determined ahead of time such
~,
that automatic registration occurs as a specific point (91)
is rotated around the central impression cylinder to reach
various deck positions.
These calculatlons also show that ~y comparing
angular rotation or arcuate lengths against ~h~ number of gear
30 teeth in~olved, the anilox roll can also be rotated to a
pre determined position such ~hat gear mesh between the anilox
and plate cylinder is accomplished when the decks are activa~ed.
~Z~8491
24.504" Re eat
Pl_te Cylinder:
~ = 180
A~ (2~ R~j = 360 ~2~ x 30) = 94.248"
A2 = 94.248 ~ (3 x 24.504~ - 20.736"
24.S0-4 x 360 = 304 S42
~....
Ani ox_Roll
= 304,~.~42~ - 180 ~ 12~.642
46642 x 78 = 27.006 Teeth (Plate Cyl. Gear)
Na 2370 x 58 - 43~500 Teeth (Anilox Roll ~ear)
0.500 - 0.006 = 0.494 Teeth (Out of Phase)
0'594 x 360 = 3.066
While in the foregoing sp~cification a de~ailed
description of an embodiment of the invention has been set
down for the purpose of illustration, may variations in the
details hereingiven may ~e made by ~hose skilled in the
art without departing from the spirit and scope of the
i~vention.
, .
~ '
..... .
-- 36 --
