Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SPECIFLCATION
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
SHEET-FED PRESS AND INTERMEDIATE CYLINDER FOR SHEET-FED
PRESS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an '
intermediate cylinder for a sheet-fed press, and more
particularly to an intermediate cylinder which is
installed after a printing unit to adjust the traveling
posture of a sheet being fed from the printing unit so
that the sheet is stably conveyed. This invention also
relates to a sheet-fed press with such an intermediate
cylinder.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Awide variety of perfecting presses have lately
been proposed and put to practical use.
Fig. 9 illustrates a perfecting press of a type
where one-color printing is performed on both sides of
a sheet 4. This press includes a reverse-side printing
unit 1 disposed on the upstream side of a sheet traveling
path along which thesheet4 is traveled, and an obverse-side
printing unit 2 disposed on the downstream side of the
sheet traveling path.
In addition to the reverse-side printing unit
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1 and the obverse-side printing unit 2, the sheet-fed press
further includes a sheet feeder 1.9, a feeder board section
20, two intermediate cylinders 3a, 3b installed between
the reverse-side printing unit 1 and the obverse-side
printing unit 2 to convey the sheet 4 to the downstream
side, a paper discharge unit 21, and so on.
The paper discharge unit 21 is constructed of
a sheet conveyor 22, a sheet starker 23 provided under
the downstream end of the sheet conveyor 22, and so on.
l0 The sheet feeder 19 is provided with a paper
feed table 30 on which sheets 4 to be printed are stacked,
and is operative to feed the uppermost sheet 4 in accordance
with consumption speed (mechanical speed) when printing
is performed. The sheet 4 fed by the sheet feeder 19 is
conveyed by the feeder board section 20 to a first guide
cylinder 24 disposed in the introducing portion of the
reverse-side printing unit 1.
The sheet 4 is delivered from the first guide
cylinder 24 to a second guide cylinder 25 and to the press
cylinder 5a of the reverse-side printing unit 1, in which
printing is performed on the reverse side of the sheet
4. Subsequently, the sheet 4 is conveyed by first and
second intermediate cylinders 3a, 3b and delivered to the
press cylinder 5b of the obverse printing unit 2, in which
printing is performed on the obverse side of the sheet
4.
As shown in Fig. 11, the printing unit 2 (or
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1) includes an ink reservoir 31, an ink roller group 32,
a plate cylinder 34 with a printing plate 33 wound thereon,
a blanket cylinder 35, a press cylinder 5, a wetter 36,
and so on. The ink 18 supplied to the ink reservoir 31
is kneaded to the desired degree through the ink roller
group 32 and transferred to the printing plate 33. The
ink 18 is further transferred as an image to the outer
peripheral surface of the blanket cylinder 35.
At the same time, wetting water is supplied to
the blanket cylinder 35 from the wetter 36. Thereafter,
the image transferred to the blanket cylinder 35 is
transferred to the surface of the sheet 4 being traveled
through the gap between the blanket cylinder 35 and the
press cylinder 5. In this way, a predetermined printing
is completed.
In Fig. 9, while the single reverse-side
printing unit 1 and the single obverse-side printing unit
2 are shown, there is also a multiple color press in which
a plurality of reverse-side printing units 1 andjor
obverse-side printing units 2 differing in ink color are
juxtaposed alongthesheettraveling direction. In either
case, the number of printing units 1, 2 is determined
according to circumstances.
The printed sheet 4 is conveyed from the press
cylinder 5b of the second printing unit 2 to the sheet
conveyor 22 of the paper discharge unit 21. And the printed
sheet 4 is gripped and conveyed onto the sheet stacker
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23 by a chain gripper provided in an endless chain 28 being
driven by a paper discharge shaft 27, and is stacked on
the paper discharge table 29 of the sheet stacker 23.
Subsequently, if a fixed quantity of sheets are stacked,
then they are removed from the paper discharge table 29.
After printing is performed on the reverse side
of the sheet 4, the ink 18 on the reverse side is dried
at the outer peripheral surface of the second intermediate
cylinder 3b by the first drier 17 disposed near the
intermediate cylinder 3b. After printing is performed
on the obverse side of the sheet 4, the ink 18 on the obverse
side is dried by the second drier 17 when the sheet 4 is
being gripped and conveyed by the gripper of the endless
chain 22 which travels along the outer peripheral surface
of the paper discharge shaft 27 from the press cylinder
5b.
Most of the sheet-fed presses use ink that is
dried and hardened by ultraviolet rays (W) . Therefore,
UV driers for irradiating ultraviolet rays are often
installed. However, it is desirable to install driers
in accordance with the characteristics of ink used.
In the prior art sheet-fed press constructed
as described above, the drying effect of the drier 17 is
not sufficiently obtained at the second intermediate
cylinder 3b which conveys the sheet 4 to the obverse-side
printing unit 2 after printing is performed by the
reverse-side printingunit 1 . Because of this, poor drying
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such as uneven drying will occur, or the printing surface
will be stained or scored.
In Japanese Utility Model Publication No. HEI
2-5951, there is disclosed a paper sending cylinder that
sends a sheet to various cylinders on the downstream side
while holding the sheet by suction. The paper sending
cylinder is equipped with (1) an air tank provided in the
cylinder end thereof, (2) a plurality of suction ducts
held in fluid communicationwith the. air tank and extending
in the axial direction of the paper sending cylinder and
provided so that they differ in phase in the circumferential
direction, and (3) suction bores formed from the suction
ducts to the outer peripheral surface of the paper sending
cylinder . By actuating an external suction unit connected
with the air tank, a sheet can be held on the outer peripheral
surface of the paper sending cylinder by suction through
the suction bores.
In the paper sending cylinder, a shutter plates
are inserted between the air tank and the suction ducts .
A plurality of shutter plates are previously prepared.
Each shutter plate has a through hole that is aligned with
one of the suction ducts differing from one another. If
a suitable shutter plate of the shutter plates is selected
and used, a predetermined suction duct of the suction ducts
provided so that they differ in phase in the circumferential
direction can be selectively communicated with the air
tank. In this way, the tail of the sheet can be held by
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suction through the suction bores formed at suitable
positions in accordance with the size of the sheet.
In this technique, however, an operation of
exchanging shutter plates must be performed each time a
sheet of a different size is used. The shutter plate is
inserted into a predetermined portion of the paper sending
cylinder and is fastened with bolts . Thus, the exchanging
operation is a troublesome operation involving
time-consuming efforts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the problems
associated with the prior art. Accordingly, it is an
object of the present invention to provide a sheet-fed
press and an intermediate cylinder for a sheet-fed press
that are capable of easily changing the settings of the
press even if a sheet of a different size is used. Another
object of the invention is to provide a sheet-fed press
and an intermediate cylinder for a sheet-fed press which
are capable of preventing poor drying and the occurrence
of stains and scores in the printing surface by suppressing
flap of a sheet against the intermediate cylinder which
is to be described later.
In accordance with a form of the present
invention,thereis provided anintermediate cylinder that
is used in a sheet-fed press to convey a sheet. The
intermediate cylinder comprises a main body, a plurality
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of suction boxes formed in the main body at positions
different with respect to a rotation axis of the main body
(at different circumferential positions of the main body) ,
and a plurality of suction bores formed on the suction
boxes so that they are open at the outer peripheral surface
of the main body. The intermediate cylinder further
comprises suction force generation means for generating
suction force within the suction boxes, and switching means
for selectively switching connections between the
plurality of suction boxes and the suction force generation
means.
In accordance with another form of the present
invention, there is provided a sheet-fed press including
the above-described intermediate cylinder.
The inventors have made various investigations
and experiments and found that the above-described
problems result mainly from flap of a sheet against an
intermediate cylinder.
( 1 ) The sheet 4 i s conveyed with the front end
gripped by the pawl member 26 of the intermediate cylinder
3. As shown in Fig. 10, means to control the posture of
the sheet 4 is not present on the tail side of the sheet
4, and consequently, the sheet tail is free to move.
Because of this, during conveyance, the sheet tail is
separated from the surface (outer peripheral surface) of
the intermediate cylinder 3 by the centrifugal force caused
by rotation of the intermediate cylinder 3 and gravity.
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As a result, flap of the sheet 4 against the intermediate
cylinder 3 is caused and the traveling posture of the sheet
4 becomes unstable.
(2) Because of the flap of the sheet 4 against
the intermediate cylinder 3, the drying effect of the drier
17 is not sufficiently obtained and therefore there is
a possibility that poor drying such as uneven drying will
occur.
(3) If the sheet 4 is separated from the
intermediate cylinder3because of centrifugalforce, etc.,
the separated rear end portion will make contact with the
drier 17, and consequently, the printing surface will be
stained or scored.
(4) For the above-mentioned reasons, printing
quality is considerably reduced and therefore there are
cases where a great number of sheets are damaged.
It has also been found that providing suction
boxes in a portion of the intermediate cylinder 3 is
effective to prevent flap of the sheet 4 against the
intermediate Cylinder 3.
According to the intermediate cylinder and the
sheet-fed press of the present invention, the sheet is
held on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate
cylinder by suction, and consequently, flap of the sheet
against the intermediate cylinder can be prevented.
Therefore, in the case where the intermediate cylinder
is disposed to face the drier, the drying effect of the
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drier is sufficiently obtained and poor drying such as
uneven drying can be prevented. In addition, as contact
between the sheet and drier is prevented, the printing
surface can be prevented from being stained or scored.
Further in accordance with the present invent ion,
connections between the suction boxes and the suction force
generation means can be switched by the switching means,
and the generation of suction force within the suction
boxes disposed at different circumferentialpositions can
be selected by the switching means . Therefore, to stably
hold the sheet tail on the intermediate cylinderby suction,
the operation of adjusting a position at which the sheet
is held on the intermediate cylinder by suction can be
easily performed by operation of the switching means.
In addition, it has been found that if a sheet-fed
press is made by combining the above-described
intermediate cylinder withthe drier, the above-described
problems can be greatly overcome. Moreover, it has been
found that if the intermediate cylinder is provided with
air jet means, the above-described problems can be more
effectively overcome. The air jet means is operative to
jet air so that the sheet delivered to the intermediate
cylinder is stretched along the outer peripheral surface
of the intermediate cylinder.
The above and many other objects, features and
advantages of the present invention will become manifest
to those skilled in the art upon making reference to the
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following detailed description and accompanying drawings
in which preferred embodimentsincorporating the principle
of the present invention are shown by way of illustrative
example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a sectional side view showing a
sheet-fed press constructed in accordance with a first
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view (taken
substantially along line X-X of FIG. 3) of an intermediate
cylinder used in the first embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the
intermediate cylinder used in the first embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a plan view (taken in the direction
of arrow Y in FIG. 2) showing an example of the arrangement
of suction bores formed in the intermediate cylinder shown
in FIGS. 2 and 3;
FIG. 5 is a sectional side view showing a
sheet-fed press constructed in accordance with a second
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a sectional side view showing a
sheet-fed press constructed in accordance with a third
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the
intermediate cylinder and air jet means of the sheet-fed
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~.
press of the third embodiment;
FIG. 8 is a side view used to explain a preferred
range of directions in which air is j etted by the air shower
of the sheet-fed press of the third embodiment;
FIG. 9 is a sectional side view showing a
conventional sheet-fed press;
FIG. 10 is a diagram used for explaining problems
associated with the intermediate cylinder of the
conventional sheet-fed press; and
FIG. 11 is a sectional side view showing a
printing unit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Preferred embodiments of the present invention
will hereinafter be described with reference to the
drawings. The same reference numerals denote the same
parts as those previously described in the prior art . Note
that since the drawings and following description are for
the purpose of illustrating the present invention and not
for the purpose of limiting the same, it will be apparent
to those skilled in this art that various changes and
modifications may be made without departing from the scope
of the appended claims.
The fundamental construction of a sheet-fed
press according to the present invention is the same as
that of the conventional sheet-fed press previously
described and therefore a detailed description is omitted
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for avoiding redundancy.
(A) First Embodiment
Figs. 2 to 4 show a sheet-fed press constructed
in accordance with a first embodiment of the present
invention.
Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the
structure of an intermediate cylinder (suction cylinder)
used in the sheet-fed press of the first embodiment, and
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the intermediate
cyl finder . Fig . 4 shows an example of the arrangement of
suction bores formed in the intermediate cylinder.
In the f first embodiment , 4 ( four) intermediate
cylinders 3a to 3d are installed between a reverse-side
printing unit 1 and an obverse-side printing unit 2 in
Fig . 1, and only the second intermediate cylinder 3b has
a suction mechanism which is provided in the outer
peripheral surface thereof. That is, the second
intermediate cylinder 3b is configured to hold a sheet
4 on the outer peripheral surface thereof by suction to
convey the sheet 4 stably. More specifically, the second
intermediate cylinder 3b includes a cell (main body) 11,
a rotating shaft 14 for rotating the cell 11 integrally
therewith, and a suction shaft 13 . A portion of the outer
peripheral surface of the main body 11 is provided with
a suction box 15 that has a suction function. The suction
box 15 is configured to hold the tail of the sheet 4 on
the outer peripheral surface thereof by suction.
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,.
Therefore, the sheet 4 can be stably conveyed as described
above.
In the first embodiment, suction boxes 15a, 15b
are provided at two different positions on the second
intermediate cylinder 3b, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.
The suction boxes 15a, 15b are connected to the
suction shaft ports 38a, 38b of the suction shaft 13 via
connection tubes6a, 6b, respectively. The suction boxes
15a, 15b are further connected to a suction pipe 9, a control
valve 8, and an air suction source or suction pump (suction
force generation means) 10 via the suction valve ports
7a, 7b of a switching valve (switching means) ?. The
switching valve 7 is axially movable by an air cylinder
(air actuator) 37 so that it can switch the positions at
which suction is performed. Therefore, the actuation and
non-actuation of suction can be arbitrarily performed.
The outer peripheral surfaces of the suction boxes 15a,
15b (which form the outer peripheral surface of the second
intermediate cylinder 3b) have a plurality of air suction
bores 16 . If the suction pump 10 is actuated, negative
pressure is generated within the suction box 15 and
therefore air can be introduced into the suction box 15
via the air suction bores 16. Because of this, the sheet
4 is conveyed while being held on the outer peripheral
surface of the second intermediate cylinder 3b by suction,
and is sent to the third intermediate cylinder 3c.
Therefore, the sheet 4 is dried by a drier 17 without being
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separated from the second intermediate cyl finder 3b ( i . a . ,
without flap of the sheet 4 against the second intermediate
cylinder 3b) , and is sent to the third intermediate cylinder
3c.
In the first embodiment, while two suction boxes
15a, 15b are provided, the present invention is not limited
to the two. One or a plurality of suction boxes may be
provided. In the case where a plurality of suction boxes
are provided, they can be selectively used according to
the length of a sheet.
The suction operation is started when the tail
of the sheet 4 is conveyed from the first intermediate
cylinder 3a to the second intermediate cylinder 3b, and
is stopped before the sheet 4 is conveyed from the second
intermediate cylinder 3b to the third intermediate
cylinder 3c.
The suction timing and the number of suction
boxes are suitably determined according to various
conditions. To obtain stable suction performance, tests
and simulations are previously made and the suction timing
and the number of suction boxes are determined by trial
and error.
If the suction timing and the number of suction
boxes are improper, there are cases where the effect of
preventing flap of the sheet 4 against the intermediate
cylinder 3b is not sufficiently obtained. On the other
hand, if the suction time is set too long, or the number
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of suction boxes is greatly increased, air will be
wastefully introduced into the suction boxes. It also
involves waste of equipment. Note that the amount that
air is introduced into the suction boxes 15a, 15b can also
be determined by trial and error.
Referring to Fig. 4, there is depicted an example
of the arrangement of the suction bores 16 in the surface
of the suction box 15a. The number and shape of suction
bores 16 can be suitably determined by tests, etc.
Thus, according to the present invention, flap
of the sheet 4 against the intermediate cylinder 3b can
be prevented by providing the suction boxes 15a, 15b in
the intermediate cylinder 3b. As a result', the drying
effect of the drier 17 is effectivelyobtained. Therefore,
poor drying such as uneven drying can be prevented, and
the printing surface can be prevented from being stained
or scored.
In addition, the suction boxes 15a, 15b can be
selectively used. The suction boxes 15a, 15b are switched
by axially moving the switching valve 7 by actuation of
the air cylinder 37. That is, as shown in Fig. 3, in the
state where the driving shaft of the air cylinder 37 is
contracted to position A, the first suction shaft port
38a in the suction shaft 13 is alignedwith the first suction
valveport7aformedintheswitchingvalve7, and therefore,
only the first suctionbox 15a is connected with the suction
pump 10 via the switching valve 7 and is caused to be in
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a suction state . On the other hand, with the driving shaft
of the air cylinder 37 protruded to position B, the second
suction shaft port 38b in the suction shaft 13 is aligned
with the second suction valve port 7b formed in the switching
valve 7, and therefore, only the second suction box 15b
is connected with the suction pump 10 via the switching
valve 7 and is caused to be in a suction state.
For instance, when the sheet 4 is short the second
suction box 15b is used, and when it is long the first
suction box 15a is used. In this manner, the tail of the
sheet 4 can be stably held on the second intermediate
cylinder 3b by suction.
An actuator for the switching valve 7 is not
limited to the air cylinder 37, but may employ various
types such as an electric motor. In the case where an
electric motor is used as the actuator, the switching valve
7 can be axially moved, for example, by a rack-and-pinion
mechanism.
The timing at which suction is started and
stopped is determined by the angle 8 and position of the
suction valve ports 7a, 7b in Fig. 2. The position of
the suct ion valve ports 7a, 7b can also be changed by holding
the switching valve 7 so that it is rotatable . As shown
in Fig. 2, the suction valve ports 7a, 7b in the switching
valve 7 are formed along the outer peripheral surface of
the switching valve 7 into the shape of an arc. Tn the
range where the arcuate suction valve ports 7a, 7b are
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alignedwith the suction shaft ports 38a, 38b of the suction
shaft 13, suction is performed by the suction boxes 15a,
15b . The above-described port angle A refers to the angle
of the arc of the suction valve ports 7a, 7b.
As described above, the suction boxes 15a, 15b
can be selectively used depending on the length of the
sheet 4. Therefore, there is an advantage that the sheet
4 can be stably held by suction independently of the sheet
length. In addition, there is an advantage that switching
of the suction boxes 15a, l5bcanbeeasilyandautomatically
performed bycontrollingonlyactuationof the air cylinder
37. Note that the present invention is not limited to
the suctionboxes 15a, 15b employed in the first embodiment,
but may adopt any suction mechanism well known in the prior
art.
(B) Second Embodiment
Fig. 5 shows a sheet-fed press constructed in
accordance with a second embodiment of the present
invention. In the second embodiment, two intermediate
cylinders (intermediate suction cylinders? according to
the present invent ion are installed in the sheet-fed press .
As shown in Fig. 5, in a perfecting press
constructed to perform one-color printing on both sides
of a sheet 4, a second intermediate cylinder 3b and a fourth
intermediate cylinder 3d according to the second
embodiment are installed between the press cylinder 5a
of a reverse-side printing unit 1 and the press cylinder
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5b of an obverse-side printing unit 2. In addition, two
driers 17 are installed in close proximity to the second
andfourthintermediate cylinders3b and3d,respectively.
The fundamental printing functions are the same as those
described in the conventional perfecting press.
In Fig 5, two driers 17 are provided and two
intermediate cylinders 3b, 3d corresponding to the two
driers 17 are configured as the intermediate suction
cylinders of the present invention. Therefore, during
drying, flap of the sheet 4 against the intermediate
cylinders 3b, 3d can be prevented. In addition to the
advantages of the first embodiment, the capability to dry
the printing surfaces can be improved. Because of this,
the printing speed can be enhanced and an enhancement in
the productivity can be achieved.
Furthermore, if the diameter of the intermediate
cylinders 3b, 3d corresponding to the two driers 17 is
increased, then it is possible to increase the area of
the sheet 4 that can be dried at once, and consequently,
it is possible to further improve the drying function
(efficiency) .
(C) Third Embodiment
Figs . 6 to 8 show a sheet-fed press constructed
in accordance with a third embodiment of the present
invention.
Fig. 6 is a sectional side view of the sheet-fed
press of the third embodiment, Fig. 7 is a perspective
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view showing the intermediate cylinder and air jet means
of the third embodiment, and Fig. 8 is a side view of the
intermediate cylinder used for explaining a preferred
range of positions where fir is jetted by an air shower
50.
In the sheet-fed press of the third embodiment,
as shown in Fig. 6, an air shower 50 as air jet means and
an imaging sensor 60 as imaging means (e . g . , a CCD camera,
a COMS or infrared sensor, etc.) 60 are added to the
sheet-fed press of the first embodiment.
The air shower 50 is provided with a plurality
of air jet ports 50a which face a second intermediate
cylinder 3b. The second intermediate cylinder 3b is
provided with a drier 17 across a traveling line for a
sheet 4. As shown in Fig. 7, the air jet ports 50a of
the air shower 50 are disposed along the axial direction
of the second intermediate cylinder 3b. The air shower
50 is connected to an external air blower 53 through an
air pipe 51. If the air blower 53 is actuated, air can
be continuously jetted from the air jet ports 50a to
approximately the entire width of the second intermediate
cylinder 3b. Note that only when the sheet 4 is situated
in the air jet region of the air shower 50, air may be
jetted by the air shower 50.
The air jet ports 50a vary in pitch and diameter
in the axial direction of the second intermediate cylinder
3b (i.e., the direction of the width of the sheet 4~ so
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that the strength of air is gradually reduced from the
axial center of the intermediate cylinder 3b toward the
axial opposite ends. Therefore, the sheet 4 can be
stretched in the direction of the sheet width as well as
the direction in which the sheet 4 is conveyed. Note that
the pitch between the air jet ports 50a and the jet port
diameter may be made constant regardless of the positions
of the ports 50a in the direction of the width of the sheet
4.
The air pipe 51 is provided with a pressure
control valve 52, which is used to control the air jet
pressure of the air blower 53 to a predetermined pressure
which is set depending on paper type, etc. In Fig. 7,
reference numeral 70 denotes a bar-shaped sheet guide for
guiding the sheet 4 being conveyed by the second
intermediate cylinder 3b.
With such a construction, as shown in Fig. 8,
the tail of the sheet 4 being conveyed by the intermediate
cylinder 3b is stretched along the peripheral surface of
the intermediate cylinder 3b. This is called the paper
stretching ef f ect . ( In Fig . 8 , there is shown a gap between
the sheet 4 and the intermediate cylinder 3b for
convenience.) The paper stretching effect can prevent
the sheet 4 from being held on the intermediate cylinder
3b in a slack state. The effect can also prevent a slack
part of the sheet 4 from contacting the drier 17 and being
scored.
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In addition, since the sheet 4 is brought into
close contact with the intermediate cylinder 3b by air
jetted from the air shower 50, the sheet 4 can be stably
held on the intermediate cylinder 3b by suction.
It is preferable that the air shower 50 jet air
toward the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate
cylinder 3b in a predetermined region R shown in Fig. 8.
The region R is a region of 45 degrees, measured downward
from position A where the sheet 4 is received from the
first intermediate cylinder3a by the second intermediate
cylinder 3b, with the rotation axis CO of the intermediate
cylinder 3b as center.
As shown in Fig 6, the imaging sensor (imaging
means) 60 is disposednear the second intermediate cylinder
3b so that it can photograph the printing surface (the
side opposite to the held surface) of the sheet 4 held
on the intermediate cylinder 3b by suction. The
information obtained by the imaging sensor 60 is output
to an analyzing device (not shown) so that the printing
quality of the reverse side of the sheet 4 can be analyzed
and detected. Alternatively, the information obtained
by the imaging sensor 60 may be output to a display unit
(not shown) so that the printing quality of the reverse
side can be monitored by the operator.
Because the sheet-fed press of the third
embodiment is constructed as described above, the suction
of the sheet 4 by the intermediate cylinder 3b is stably
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performed and therefore the advantages of the
above-described embodiments are more effectively
obtained.
In addition, since the reverse side can be
photographed with the sheet 4 held on the intermediate
cylinder 3b by suction, there is also an advantage that,
based on the photographed reverse side, the printing
quality of the reverse side can be detected with a high
degree of accuracy.
The third embodiment does not always need to
include the air shower 50. That is, it is also possible
to add only the imaging sensor 60 to the second intermediate
cylinder 3b which has a suction mechanism. In addition,
in the third embodiment, while the air shower 50 and the
imaging sensor 60 are disposed near the second intermediate
cylinder 3b, they may also be disposed near the fourth
intermediate cylinder 3d.
(D) Others
While the present invention has been described
with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, the
invention is not to be limited to the details given herein.
It will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various
changes and modifications may be made without departing
from the scope of the invention hereinafter claimed.
While the intermediate cylinderused in printing
both sides of a sheet has been described, the present
invention is not limited to this. The present invention
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is applicable to any case including one-side printing,
as long as the above-described problems (i.e., the
insufficiency of the drying effect of the drier 17, poor
drying such as uneven drying, and occurrence of stains
and scores in a printing surface) axe overcome by preventing
flap of the sheet 4 against the intermediate cylinder.
In the above-described embodiments,
while the reverse-side printing unit 1 and the obverse-side
printing unit 2 are arranged from the upstream side of
the traveling direction of the sheet 4 in the recited order,
they may be arranged in reversed order. Although 4 (four)
intermediate cylinders are disposed between the
reverse-side printing unitland the obverse-side printing
unit 2, the number of intermediate cylinders between the
reverse-side printing unitlandthe obverse-side printing
unit 2 is well if it is the number of press cylinders around
which different sides of the sheet 4 are wound as printing
surfaces. This is, the number is well if it is an even
number.
