Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PATENT
METHOD AND APPARl~lJS FOR
ADJ U~ NG INl~ ~EYS OF PRIN~ING PRE:SS INl~ FOI~NTAINS
Technical Field
The present invention relates to controlling the
position of ink fountain keys in a printing press and is
particularly directed to a method and apparatus for
controlling the positions of ink keys of a plurality of
printing press ink fountains.
Backqround of the Invention
Electronic control systems for controlling ink key
adjustment mech~nisms in printing presses are known in the
art. Such systems include a central controller which
controls the ink key adjustment mechanisms associated with
a plurality of ink fountains. A position sensing
arrangement pro~ides feedback position information to the
central controller indicative of the position of the ink
keys. ~he central controller controls the position of the
ink keys in a selected fountain in accordance with a
preprogrammed control process stored in a memory.
In known ink key control systems, the central
controller only controls the ink keys in one ink fountain
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at a time. The position of the ink keys of another
fountain are adjustable only after the central controller
has completed a present ink key adjustment task. This
adjustment process is time-consuming.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a method and
apparatus for enabling simultaneous adjustment of a
plurality of printing press ink fountains.
In accordance with the present invention, an
apparatus is provided for adjusting ink keys of a plurality
of printing press ink fountains. The apparatus comprises
ink key adjusting means for, when actuated, moving selected
ink keys of an associated ink fountain. The apparatus
further includes a plurality of fountain control means,
each ink fountain having an associated fountain control
means, each fountain control means controlling the
adjusting means of its associated ink fountain. Central
control means controllably connected to each of the
fountain control means is provided for controlling each of
the fountain control means so as to enable adjustment of
the ink keys of a plurality of ink fountains
simultaneously. The central control means comprises a
central comm~]n;cation controller for outputting command
signals in serial form, and the fountain control means
include an associated fountain communication controller for
receiving serial comm~n~ signals from the central
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communication controller and for communicating the command
signals to said fountain control means. The fountain
comml]n;cation controllers are connected to the central
communication controller over a single serial link, to
which only fountain comml]n;cation controllers are
connected.
In accordance with another feature of the present
invention, a method is provided for adjusting ink keys of a
plurality of printing press ink fountains having ink key
adjusters for, when actuated, moving selected ink keys of
the associated ink fountain, a plurality of fountain
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fountain controller, and a central controller controllably
connected to each of the fountain controllers. The method
comprises the step of commanding the central controller to
adjust the position of the ink fountain keys of a first ink
fountain. The method further comprises the step of sending
the position command to the fountain controller associated
with the first ink fountain. The method includes the step
of commanding the central controller to adjust the position
of the ink fountain keys of a second ink fountain and
sending the position command to the fountain controller
associated with the second ink fountain independent of the
command to the first ink fountain controller so as to
enable adjustment of the first and second ink fountains
simultaneously.
~rief Description of the Drawings
Further features of the present invention will ~ecome
apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present
invention relates from reading the following description of
a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying
drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the present
invention;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the
schematic block diagram of Fig. l; and
Fig. 3 is a pictorial view of a control console used
in the present invention.
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Description of Preferred EmbodLment
The present invention is directed to a system for
controlling a printing press having a plurality of ink key
fountains. The present invention may be used in printing
presses of different constructions. The description below
is merely representative of the present invention as
applied to a multi-color lithographic printing press.
Referring to Fig. 1, a multi-color lithographic
printing press 10 has a plurality of printing units 20, 30,
40, and 50. Although four printing units are shown, it is
understood that a different number of printing units may be
used. The printing units 20, 30, 40, 50 have respective
pairs of ink fountains as is well known in the art.
Each printing unit includes upper and lower plate
cylinders (not shown) and cooperating upper and lower
blanket cylinders (not shown). Each printing unit prints
on an associated side of a web material advanced through
the press 10. Each upper and lower plate cylinder has an
associated ink fountain for applying ink thereto. As is
well known in the art, the ink is transferred from a
fountain to its associated plate cylinder as the plate
cylinder rotates. The image (or type set) on the plate is
transferred to the ~lanket cylinder which, in turn,
transfers the image to the associated side of the web
material passing through such printing unit.
Specifically, the printing unit 20 has an upper ink
fountain 25 and a lower ink fountain 26. The printing unit
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30 has an upper ink fountain 35 and a lower ink fountain
36. The printing unit 40 has an upper ink fountain 45 and
a lower ink fountain 46. The printing unit 50 has an upper
ink fountain 55 and a lower ink fountain 56.
Each of the ink fountains 25, 26, 35, 36, 45, 46, 55,
and 56 has the same structure and operation. For
simplicity, the structure and operation of only the ink
fountain 2S is described in detail with reference to Fig.
2. The ink fountain 25 has an ink fountain roll 21
extending laterally across the printing unit 20. A
segmented doctor blade 22 is located adjacent to the ink
roll 21 and extends laterally across the ink roll 21.
A gap 23, in the ~orm of an ink film space, is formed
between an outer peripheral surface 24 of the ink roll 21
lS and a lower edge 27 of the doctor blade 22. The gap 23
between the ink roll 21 and the doctor blade 22 has been
exaggerated for purposes of illustration. The gap 23 is
adjustable at a plurality of lateral locations along the
ink roll 21 so as to permit local control the amount of ink
passing from the ink fountain 25 to its associated printing
cylinders (not shown) of the printing unit 20.
The doctor blade 22 and the ink roll 21 form an ink
reservoir 2 8 in a manner well known in the printing art .
Ink passes from the ink reservoir 28 through the gap 23
formed between the outer peripheral surface 24 of the ink
roll 21 and the lower edge 27 of the doctor blade 22, to
establish a controlled thickness of ink on the ink roll 21.
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.
A plurality of ink flow adjustment devices 60 are
operatively disposed along the lateral extent of the ink
fountain 25. The adjustment devices 60 each press against
an associated location on the doctor blade 22 and thereby
control or adjust the size of the gap 23 between the ink
roll 21 and the doctor blade 22 in such associated location
on the doctor blade.
Each of the ink flow adjustment devices 60 includes an
ink key 61 having screw threadably engaging a fixed portion
of the frame of the ink fountain 25. The ink key 61 has a
tip portion which pushes against the associated portion of
doctor blade 22. The size of the gap 23 located between
the doctor blade 22 and the ink roll 21 at the location of
the ink key is ad;ustable by screwing the key into or out
of the frame of the fountain. The ink key 61 is driven by
an electric, bidirectional key drive motor 62. The motor
62 moves the ink key 61 in and out axially.
A potentiometer 63 is operatively connected to its
associated ink key 61. The impedance of the potentiometer
is functionally related to the position of the ink key 61.
The potentiometer 63, therefore, provides a means for
sensing the position of the key 61 and, in turn, monitoring
the size of the gap 23 at such location on the doctor blade
proximate to the key.
Each of the printing units has an associated fountain
controller. Specifically, printing unit 20 (Fig. 1) has a
fountain controller 70. The printing unit 30 has a
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fountain controller 74. The printing unit 40 has a
fountain controller 78. The printing unit 50 has a
fountain controller 82.
The electrical connections between fountain controller
70 and fountain 25 are described, it being understood that
the electrical connections between .the other fountain
controllers and their associated fountains are the same.
The fountain controller 70 is connected to the key drive
motor 62 through line 65. The fountain controller 70 is
connected to potentiometer 63 through line 64. In
accordance with a programmed command, the controller 70
controls the motor 62 so as to position the key 61 and to,
in turn, control the gap 23 between the doctor blade 22 and
the roll 21 proximate with that key. The potentiometer 63
provides a feedback signal to the fountain controller 70 as
to the position of the key 61 and the size of the gap 23.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, a control console 100
includes a central controller 102 which comm-lnicates with
each of the fountain controllers 70, 74, 78, and 82 in a
manner described in detail below. The control console 100
further includes an operator touch-screen display 104 and a
sheet inspection area 106 for supporting a printed sheet
which bears an image printed by any one or any combination
of the printing units 20, 30, 40, 50. The control console
100 also includes an array of manually-operable remote
select switches 108 for controlling the positions of ink
keys in a selected ink fountain. The array of switches 108
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is divided into pairs of switches. Each pair of switches
is associated with a respective ink key and a predefined
column area of the sheet inspection area 106 that
corresponds with a lateral position on the doctor blade for
any of the print units.
The control console 100 further includes a bar graph
display panel 110 for assisting the operator in adjusting
ink keys to their desired positions. The display panel 110
has a plurality of columns of light emitting diode ("LED")
arrays. The number of columns of LED arrays corresponds to
the number of ink keys and the number of pairs of switches
108. Preferably, the number of ink keys associated with
each of the fountains is thirty-six, the number of pairs of
switches 108 is thirty-six, and, therefore, the number of
columns of LED arrays in the display panel 110 is thirty-
six .
The touch-screen display 104 provides an operator
input device for controlling operation of the printing
units 20, 30, 40, 50 including selection of an ink fountain
and selection of the ink keys in that ink fountain to be
adjusted. The touch-screen 104, the switches 108, and the
display 110 are electrically connected to the central
controller 102. The display 104 allows the controller 102
to display information to the operator and permits an easy
way for the operator to enter information to the controller
102 by simply touching the display screen in appropriate
locations prompted by a system software program. Such
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touch-screen displays are well known in the art and will
not be described in detail herein.
The central controller 102 is preferably a Model 286
PC AT type computer. The central controller 102 in
S combination with the touch-screen display 104 cooperate to
provide a number of menus and/or graphic illustrations
associated with the printing units 20, 30, 40, 50. An
operator control board 112, including a number of select
switches, is located adjacent to the touch-screen display
104 and pro~ides yet another source of input from the press
operator for control of the individual print units.
The central controller 102 has an associated
commllnication controller 116. When a command is input from
the press operator to the central controller 102, the data
is processed in parallel. The commlln;cation controller 116
establishes a high speed serial link to the print units by
converting the parallel data from the central controller
102 to serial data. Also, the commllnication controller 116
adds a low level protocol for communication with the
fountain controllers.
Each fountain controller has an associated fountain
commllnication controller. Specifically, fountain
controller 70 is operatively connected to fountain
communication controller 120. The fountain controller 74
is operatively connected to fountain communication
controller 122. The fountain controller 78 is operatively
connected to fountain communication controller 124. The
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fountain controller 82 is operatively connected to fountain
communication controller 126.
The communication controller 116 is connected to each
of the fountain communication controllers 120, 122, 124,
5 and 126 through a single twisted wire pair 140. This
twisted wire pair forms a serial network. Each command
sent out from the central controller 102 includes a code
indicati~e of a destination control node or a destination
address. Each of the fountain controllers has an
associated, unique node address. The fountain
communication controllers receive a command over the serial
line and strips away the low level communications protocol
and passes the high level control message to the fountain
controller. If the address in the message matches the
address for that fountain controller, the fountain
controller then carries out the requests for motor
positioning on the subject ink fountain and returns a
message to the central controller 102 when the ink key
motor mo~es are complete.
Each of the fountain controllers has an associated
memory operati~ely connected thereto. Specifically,
fountain controller 70 is connected to memory 150.
Fountain controller 74 is connected to memory lS2.
Fountain controller 78 is connected to memory 156.
Fountain controller 82 is connected to memory 158. In each
of the associated fountain memories is stored the operating
program for operating the associated fountain controller.
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The fountain controllers are preferably commercially
available microcomputers of a type having an analog to
digital converter, a parallel interface, a serial port, and
input/output channels for switching the key drive motors on
and off
The fountain controllers basically perform a closed
loop control of the position of their associated keys in
its printing fountains. When a position command is
received for that fountain controller, the fountain
controller drives the motor so as to position the
associated key in the commanded position. The fountain
controller monitors the feedback potentiometer to insure
the actual position equals the desired position. When the
actual position of the key is equal to the desired
position, the fountain controller stops the key drive
motors.
Each of the fountain controllers can store subsequent
received commands in their associated memory if it has not
completed a present movement command. The newly received
co~m~n~ simply r~m~;n~ in the associated memory until the
fountain controller retrieves this information for
controlling the ink keys in its printing unit.
It should be apparent that the arrangement of the four
fountain controllers and the central controller provides a
distributed control system for controlling operation of the
printing press 10. By providing a distributed control
system for the printing press 10, as shown in Fig. 1, a
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number of advantages results. One advantage is that the
ink keys of an ink fountain of one printing unit can be
moved simultaneously with the ink keys of an ink fountain
of another printing unit. This is due to the fact that the
central controller can sent a key position command to a
second fountain controller while another fountain is being
adjusted in response to a prior issued command to its
associated fountain controller. By "simultaneous" it is
meant that the keys of one fountain are being adjusted
while the keys of another fountain are being adjusted but
not necessarily in-phase. Once the central controller
issues a command, the appropriate fountain controller takes
over the actual key movement control thus leaving the
central controller free to issue another command. In fact,
the speed at which the present system can operate is
limited only by the speed with which an operator may make
positioning requests. ~here is no need for the operator to
wait for one of his position requests to be completed (as
he must with prior art devices) before he inputs another
position request.
From the above description of the invention, those
skilled in the art will perceive improvements, changes and
modifications. Such improvements, changes and
modifications within the skill of the art are intended to
be covered by the appended claims.
