GB1564556A

GB1564556A - Number printing units

Info

Publication number: GB1564556A
Application number: GB51782/77A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Current assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Priority date: 1977-05-21
Filing date: 1977-12-13
Publication date: 1980-04-10
Also published as: AT360052B; IT7868154A0; ES468054A1; NL7713975A; DE2723103A1; IT1108101B; DE2723103B2; SE7800673L; FR2391074A1; ATA897577A; JPS5850870B2; JPS53146802A

Description

(54) NUMBER PRINTING UNITS (71) We, HEIDELBERGER DRUCKMASCHINEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, a body corporate organised under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany of Postfach 102940, Alte Eppelheimer Str. 15-21, 69 Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The invention relates to number printing units for rotary printing presses. Number printing units are known which have an impression cylinder mounted stationary in the principal side walls of the press, the numbering cylinder being mounted radially and adjustably in the same principal side walls for switching the impression on and off. Such units have a stationary inking unit arranged in the principal side walls of the press, and controllable stepping means for advancing the numbers of the unit.

Multi-colour sheet-fed rotary printing presses with printing units arranged in series, the last printing unit of the series being constructed for example as a numbering printing unit of the above-stated type, are known.

The controllable stepping means for advancing the numbers of the latter are mounted in the principal side walls of the press. This necessitates stepping distances which are of different lengths, or staggered, for the controllable stepping means in order to advance the numbering units for switching the impression of the numbering cylinder on and off.

However, since switching on and off of these stepping means is only possible if no advance of the numbering unit occurs, i.e. if the stepping means, e.g. a stepping cam, is in a closely dimensioned channel of the numbering cylinder, it is necessary for stepping travel to be kept as short as is practicable on modern high-speed printing presses. The length of the stepping travel is in part determined by the impression cut off of the numbering cylinder, if the stepping means are mounted in the principal side walls of the printing press.

If it is desired to equip the circumference of the numbering cylinder with numbering units over an angular range of 300 for example, then with a printing output of ten thousand sheets per hour, the time available for pivoting the stepping cam in and out is less than 60 ms. With known number printing units, whose mechanical stepping means for advancing the numbering units are mounted in the principal side walls of the presses, one cannot make the stepping travel short enough for the extremely short stepping time of 60 ms to be sufficient.

It is an aim of the present invention to produce a number printing unit which enables high printing outputs to be obtained with short stepping times, and with short stepping travels of the controllable stepping means for advancing the numbering units both in the "impression on" and in the "impression off" positions.

According to the present invention there is provided a number printing unit for mounting in principal side walls of a printing press, the unit comprising an adjustable numbering cylinder, as herein defined, journals for mounting the numbering cylinder within principal side walls of the press, auxiliary side walls guidable by locking means, as herein defined, on the principal side walls, and controllable stepping means mounted between the auxiliarv side walls for advancing the numbers of rye unit.

By an "adjustable" numbering cylinder, we mean, in the present description and claims, a numbering cylinder which is adjust ablc in the following two respects: (1) the numbers belonging to the numbering cylinder are adjustable; and (2) the numbering cylinder itself is radially displaceable.

We employ the phrase "guidable by locking means", in the present description and claims, to indicate that the auxiliary side walls are permitted to pivot about the locking means, and are also permitted to undergo a slight displacement towards or away from the locking means. (The significance of this "slight" displacement will readily be appreciated from the description given later herein with reference to the accompanying drawings).

The auxiliary side walls are preferably mounted on the journals of the numbering cylinder.

The present construction makes it possible for the stepping travels for pivoting the stepping means in and out to be made absolutely equal, both in the "impression on" and in the "impression off" positions.

To make it possible to ensure satisfactory inking of the numbers in the "impression off" position, the unit preferably includes guide elements for ink applicator rollers mounted on the principal side walls of the press, these guide elements being provided on the auxiliary side walls of the press. Thus the ink applicator rollers have the same position relative to the numbering cylinder in every position of the latter.

A number printing unit in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is an elevated view of the unit; Figure 2 is a vertical section through a numbering cylinder of the unit, at right angles to its axis of rotation; and Figure 3 is a vertical section through the unit. parallel to a numbering shaft thereof.

Figure 1 shows the number printing unit as a part of a multi-colour, sheet-fed, rotary printing press. The number printing unit is the same size as previous printing units. It can, for example, be arranged to follow a normal printing unit, and thus be arranged immediately upstream of the delivery of the press.

In Figure 1, a sheet transfer drum 1 and a further sheet transfer drum 2, of half the diameter of the drum 1, feed a sheet printed with a plurality of colours to a counterpressure cylinder 3. There, the sheet receives a numbered impression from a numbering cylinder 4, and the sheet is transferred through the intermediary of a discharge drum 5 to a delivery chain. Numbers on the numbering cylinder 4 are inked by two ink applicator rollers 6 and 7 of an inking unit 8.

The numbering cylinder 4 is illustrated. to a larger scale than in Figure 1. in Figures 2 and 3. The cylinder 4 has a numbering shaft 9 with two journals 10 and 11 one at either end. A plurality of fitted rings 12. adjustable axially of the shaft 9 and upon which numbering units 13 are arranged, are present on the numbering shaft 9.

The journals 10 and 11 are mounted respectively in principal side walls 14 and 15 of the press, each journal being mounted in a bearing ring 16 by means of a needle bearing 17. The bearing rings 16 are in turn braced upon three bracing rollers 18 distributed symmetrically about their circumference, each roller 18 being rotatable through a rolling-contact bearing on a bearing bolt 19 in the respective side wall 14 or 15. The mounting of the journals 10 and 11 of the numbering cylinder is shown in U.S. Patent Specification 3,552,313.

On the interior of each of the side walls 14 and 15, through the intermediary of a ballbearing 20, is mounted an auxiliary side wall, 21 or 22, on each journal, 10 or 11 respectively. The two side walls 21 and 22 are connected rigidly together by a crossmember 23.

The side walls 21 and 22 are rotatable on the journals 10 and 11 of the numbering shaft 9 and are guided by locking bolts 24 which are fixed in the side walls 14 and 15 and project into a rectangular recess 25 of the side walls 21 and 22. The recess 25 is such that a slight displacement of the auxiliary side walls 21 and 22 is possible at right angles to the axis of rotation of the numbering shaft 9. The auxiliary side walls 21 and 22 can furthermore be pivoted about the locking bolts 24.

A stepping shaft 26, which is rotatable in the two auxiliary side walls 21 and 22, extends parallel to the numbering shaft 9. It carries a plurality of stepping cams 27, each of which is associated with a fitted ring 12 of the numbering shaft 9. The stepping cams 27, in the illustrated broken line position, actuate stepping levers 28 of the numbering units 13, and thus cause the numbers to be advanced. The position of the stepping cams 27 shown by solid lines shows their stepping positions in which no advancing of the numbers occurs.

In the same manner as the fitted rings 12, the stepping cams 27 are also adjustable in an axial direction. For this purpose, the stepping shaft 26 has a longitudinal groove 29 therein by means of which the stepping cams 27 are retained positively in the direction of rotation of the stepping shaft 26 with the interposition of a key 30.

At each of its ends, the stepping shaft 26 is connected through a stepping linkage 31 to a respective solenoid 32. Each of the solenoids 32 is fixed to one of the auxiliary side walls 21 or 22.

Roller locks 33 for the two ink applicator rollers 6 and 7 are each braced against the auxiliary side walls 21 and 22 through respective guide elements in the form of a guide cam 34. Thus, not only the means for stepping the numbering units 13, but also the guide elements for the ink applicator rollers 6 and 7 are mounted on the auxiliary side walls 21 and 22 which are adjustable with the numbering shaft 9.

If, by means of the bearing rings 16, the numbering shaft is adjusted relative to the counterpressure cylinder 3, whether it be, for example, in order to adjust the numbering units to the thickness of paper to be printed, or to move the numbering cylinder 4 into an "impression off" position, then the means for stepping the numbering units 13, namely the stepping shaft 26, the stepping cams 27, the lever linkage 31, and the solenoids 32, and also the guide elements for the ink applicator rollers 6 and 7, namely the guide cams 34, are necessarily also moved. The position of the stepping cams 27 with respect to the stepping levers 28 of the numbering units 13, as also the position of the ink applicator rollers 6 and 7 relative to the particular numbering surface to be inked, is unaffected by the adjustment of the numbering cylinder. This has the result that the pivotal travel of the stepping cams 27 always remains constant and can be kept extremely short, and also inking of the numbers is correctly ensured in every position of the numbering cylinder. It is thereby possible to equip the numbering cylinder with numbering units over an angular range of up to approximately 300 , even for a high printing output.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A number printing unit for mounting in principal side walls of a printing press, the unit comprising an adjustable numbering cylinder, as herein defined, journals for mounting the numbering cylinder within principal side walls of the press, auxiliary side walls guidable by locking means, as herein defined, on the principal side walls, and controllable stepping means mounted between the auxiliary side walls for advancing the numbers of the unit.

2. A unit according to claim 1, wherein guide elements for ink applicator rollers mounted on the principal side walls are provided on the auxiliary side walls.

3. A unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the stepping means mounted between the auxiliary side walls comprise a rotatable stepping shaft mounted therein, the stepping shaft carrying axially-adjustable stepping cams for advancing the numbers of the unit, and also comprise a solenoid fixed to each auxiliary side wall, the solenoids being connected through a stepping linkage to the stepping shaft.

4. A number printing unit substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. walls 21 and 22 which are adjustable with the numbering shaft 9. If, by means of the bearing rings 16, the numbering shaft is adjusted relative to the counterpressure cylinder 3, whether it be, for example, in order to adjust the numbering units to the thickness of paper to be printed, or to move the numbering cylinder 4 into an "impression off" position, then the means for stepping the numbering units 13, namely the stepping shaft 26, the stepping cams 27, the lever linkage 31, and the solenoids 32, and also the guide elements for the ink applicator rollers 6 and 7, namely the guide cams 34, are necessarily also moved. The position of the stepping cams 27 with respect to the stepping levers 28 of the numbering units 13, as also the position of the ink applicator rollers 6 and 7 relative to the particular numbering surface to be inked, is unaffected by the adjustment of the numbering cylinder. This has the result that the pivotal travel of the stepping cams 27 always remains constant and can be kept extremely short, and also inking of the numbers is correctly ensured in every position of the numbering cylinder. It is thereby possible to equip the numbering cylinder with numbering units over an angular range of up to approximately 300 , even for a high printing output. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A number printing unit for mounting in principal side walls of a printing press, the unit comprising an adjustable numbering cylinder, as herein defined, journals for mounting the numbering cylinder within principal side walls of the press, auxiliary side walls guidable by locking means, as herein defined, on the principal side walls, and controllable stepping means mounted between the auxiliary side walls for advancing the numbers of the unit.