US2797641A - Printing machines - Google Patents

Description

y 1957 K. L. MARSHALL 2,797,641

PRINTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 19, 1955- III /52 /65 /57 IIIIIIIIIII/IIIIII'IIlI/I/Ill J INVENTgEL KENNETH L.,MARSH 55 76 PT ATTORNEYS atent 2,797,641 Patented July 2, 1957 PTING MACHINES Kenneth L. Marshall, Wickclifie, Ohio, assignor to Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application August 19, 1955, Serial No. 529,542

(Ilaims. (Cl. 101421) This invention relates to printing machines, and more particularly to those printing machines which utilize printing means including a ribbon that enables impres sions to be produced at the printing station of the machine.

Printing machines of the kind to which the present invention relates are those that produce impressions on a sheet from type characters by means including a ribbon bearing ink or the like, and wherein it is customary to utilize a ribbon guard that permits the printing of selected data only. An example of a printing machine of this kind is an addressing machine wherein individual print ing devices of a well-known kind each having a printing plate bearing embossed type characters in the form of an address or the like are passed one by one to a printing station in the machine. An inked ribbon is interposed between the lower side of the sheet to be printed and the printing faces of the embossed type characters, and a platen is operative on the upwardly disposed face of the sheet to be printed to efiect the desired imprinting of the lower face thereof at the printing station. There are circumstances where it is desired to utilize in conjunction with such printing devices an auxiliary printing means for imprinting the sheet with additional data such as a signature, a consecutive number, a date or the like. The auxiliary printing means is usually positioned at the printing station so as to imprint the auxiliary or secondary data in predetermined spaced relation with respect to the primary data printed on the sheet from a printing device. In order that this may be accomplished the intermediate area where the ribbon would otherwise be operative to produce a mark on the sheet is blanked out by a ribbon guard as is well known, and this ribbon guard also serves to prevent the ribbon from being operative except in the immediate area where the sheet is to be printed.

Heretofore, one of the customary procedures has been to first produce an impression of the primary data and the auxiliary data in the machine without the interposition of a ribbon guard so as to obtain a proof or pattern impression. The impression thus obtained is then used as a guide to enable a ribbon guard to be formed from a piece of relatively thin sheet metal having cut-out portions in those areas where the platen is to be operative to press the sheet to be printed and the ribbon against the embossures on the printing device and the type characters of the prepositioned auxiliary printer.

There are also circumstances where only predetermined portions of the embossed data on printing devices are to be operative to produce impressions. Thus, printing devices of the aforesaid kind may carry different orders of embossed data used for printing, such as an address, a social security number, a job rating and so on and there are situations where all such orders or even certain data within an order are not to be printed. In this instance again it is customary to form a ribbon guard that will expose only the desired area or areas of the printing devices to the action of the platen so that the ribbon will not be operative with respect to those data obscured by the ribbon guard.

Inasmuch as the ribbon guard is produced from sheet metal stock and usually is to be cut out or opened in areas disposed inwardly of the edges thereof, it is necessary that special tools and equipment be used and that care be taken to reduce burring during formation of the cut-outs, since otherwise there will result rough edges about the openings in the ribbon guard that will scratch or even tear the ribbon or the sheet to be printed, and the primary object of the present invention is to overcome these objectionable features of ribbon guards as heretofore selectively produced for individual requirements. An object ancillary to this is to materially reduce the time and care required in producing ribbon guards for the aforementioned purposes.

Another of the problems that has been encountered with ribbon guards as heretofore provided has been that ink on the ribbon tends to accumulate about the border edge of the opening in the ribbon guard and such accumulations eventually off-set or bleed on to a sheet undergoing printing so that there are occurrences of undesired marks or borders on the printed sheet. Also, it sometimes occurs that as the printed sheet advances across the ribbon guard, the fresh ink smudges so that the imprint is not to perfection. A further object of the present invention is to materially lessen the possibilities of the aforesaid occurrences.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing which, by way of illustration, shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention and principle thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principle may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a printing machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of a ribbon guard constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the reverse side of the ribbon guard shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the tympan sheet; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the ribbon guard and the imprinting means at the printing station of the printing machine.

In accordance with the present invention, a ribbon guard is first produced having an opening or openings of maximum size that will ordinarily be required where primary data alone or primary data in conjunction with auxiliary data are to be printed by means including a ribbon. Such an opening is then completely covered by a tympan sheet of a kind to be described herein, and when the amount or area of data to be printed in a given situation has been determined the corresponding portion of the tympan sheet is then removed from the aforesaid opening of maximum size. It will thus be seen that the present invention enables production of what might be termed master ribbon guards having tympan sheets that are adapted to be selectively provided with openings that may vary from minimal to maximal depending upon the particular situation that is encountered in operation of a printing machine such as the kind mentioned above. Printing devices and auxiliary printers used in such machines are supplied in standard sizes, so that the data appearing thereon that are to be used for printing will occupy areas of known dimensions, and these dimensions will be determinative of the maximum sized openings that are to be preformed in the ribbon guard.

The present invention is illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings as embodied in the printing station PS of the printing machine disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,359,849, Fig. 1 hereof corresponding to Fig. 6 of said patent.

At the printing station PS there is a platen roller PR supported by a reciproclable carriage C actuated by means including a cross bar 122 and a pair of links as 124. One such link only appears in Fig. 1 hereof, and these links at the ends opposite the cross. bar 122 are adapted to transmit motion of the cross bar 122 to the carriage C. When this occurs in a forward direction, the platen roller PR is lowered toward the sheet S to be printed, and the resilient facing PF on the platen roller bears against the upper face of the sheet S as shown in Fig. to affect imprinting of the lower face of the sheet S at one area thereof through an inked ribbon IR, and in certain instances another larea of the sheet S may likewise be imprinted at the same time, as will be described.

As in the machine of Patent No. 2,359,849, printing devices D, Fig. 5, carrying a printing plate PT having embossed type characters TC thereon are advanced one by one to the printing station so as to be disposed over the type characters TC. In operation of the machine, the platen roller PR is elfective to press the lower face of the sheet S against the ribbon IR so that the desired imprinting from the type characters TC is effected.

The type characters TC may be formed in one or more lines, and these may represent information of different kinds. Primarily, type characters as TC are adapted to print an address, but there are instances where it may be desired to merely print the name of the addressee, and there are instances where it is desired to reproduce all of the data carried by the printing devices D including :an address, a social security number, a withholding tax, and so on.

It will therefore be seen that depending upon the particular printing application that is involved all or but a selected amount of the embossed data borne by the print ing device as D are to be used for printing, and in order that this may be accomplished selectively a ribbon guard plate 150 is afforded at the printing station PS and is removably retained in position by locating pins 151 and that are adapted to fit into corresponding openings formed in the table top- T of the machine.

The printing devices D are of the kind shown in Fig. 10 of the aforementioned patent, and these are produced in standard sizes so that the maximum extent or area occupied by the embossed data thereon is known. Under the present invention, the guard plate 150 is first formed with an opening 155 of the maximum size required to expose all of the embossed data on a device as D to the sheet S to be printed. In this connection, it is well to point out that the opening 155 is formed in a depressed panel 156 of the guard plate 150 inwardly of elevated border portions 157 that extend about the periphery of the guard plate 150.

There are instances wherein the sheet S is to be printed not only by embossed data of the aforementioned kind but also by type characters carried by an auxiliary printer. Such an auxiliary'printer may be in the form of a dater, a consecutive numbering device or the like and this auxiliary printer will likewise be located at the printing station PS. Therefore, the guard plate 150 is also provided with another opening 160 that is spaced from the opening 155 by an intervening portion 161 of the guard plate. The opening 160 is also pre-cut to the maximum area that will be required for exposing thesheet S to the type characters of the auxiliary printer, and it will be appreciated that where such auxiliary data are to be printed on the sheet S in juxtaposition to the primary data thereon from the printing devices D a corresponding auxiliary facing PFS is afforded on the platen roller PR.

Under the present invention, the side of the ribbon guard plate that is disposed toward the sheet S to be printed is provided with a tympan sheet which is in the nature of that described in U. S. Patent No. 2,555,- 319, patented June 5, 1951. Thus, as shown in Fig. 4 the tympan sheet 165 comprises a flexible backing 166 such as that ordinarily used for abrasive sheets. The back 166 has adhesively secured to one face thereof minute globular bodies 167, and these bodies are so distributed as to afford but a single layer of bodies that are closely spaced and held to the back 166 by adhesive 169. The globular bodies 167 are preferably in the form of relatively small glass beads having a diameter of but several thousandths of an inch, and these serve as will be described to afford a plurality of points for supporting the sheet S disposed on the ribbon guard plate 159. The tympan sheet 165 is provided with a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 171, and interposed between the adhesive layer 171 and the flexible backing 166 is a barrier coat 172 which is impervious to ink. In this connection, it will be realized that the barrier coat 172 will be exposed at edges of the tympan sheet, as at 172A and 172B, and this prevents bleeding of ink in the direction of the sheet S as will be mentioned. The barrier 172 may consist of a suitable resin, such as an alkyd resin, an ink-repellent mixture such as glue-glycerine, or an inkinert synthetic rubber impregnant or film.

When the amount of data that is to be printed on the sheet S has been determined, the tympan sheet 165 is then cut out as at 165A so that only so much of the printing device at the printing station is in effect exposed at the printing station, and when the platen roller PR is operated through a printing stroke only the desired data will be printed. Likewise, when out out at 165B the auxiliary printer is exposed; otherwise, the only imprint on the sheet S will be that allowed through the opening 165A.

After the sheet as S has been printed, the sheet is then fed forwardly as viewed in Fig. 1, and at this time the upwardly disposed beaded surface of the tympan sheet 165 is effective to prevent smudging of the fresh imprint as might be likely in some instances where the guard plate 150 is bare, this being due of course to the fact that the sheet S is in effect suspended on a multitude of points that correspond in number to the number of bodies as 167 which engage the sheet S.

Inasmuch as the tympan sheet 165 includes edges in the cut-out portions thereof that may engage the ribbon, especially when the platen roller is effective, it is desirable that any ink that may collect about the edges of the cut- outs 165A or 165B be prevented from bleeding to the sheet S. Under the present invention, such is assured by the ink-repellent barrier coat 172 which, as was mentioned, will be exposed at edges of the tympan sheet.

It will therefore be seen that a ribbon guard produced in accordance with the present invention, enables greater perfection to be obtained during printing, materially sim plifies the formation of the guard to accommodate the desired amount .or kind of data used for printing, and overcomes many of the objectionable features of ribbon guards as heretofore constructed.

Hence, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a ribbon guard for the printing station in a printing machine of the kind described and which includes a guard plate formed with at least one opening to expose an area of a sheet to be printed to the action of the printing means at said printing station, a tympan sheet adapted to be secured to one side of said plate, said tympan sheet being formed with an opening therein affording inner edges of the tympan sheet adapted to extend at least to opposed edges of the opening in said plate, said tympan sheet including an ink barrier and being faced with minute globular bodies affording a substantially uniform surface for supporting such sheet to be printed.

2. In a ribbon guard for the printing station in a printing machine of the kind described and which includes a guard plate formed with at least one opening of the size required for exposing an area of a sheet to be printed to the imprinting data on a printing plate or the like at said printing station, a tympan sheet adapted to be removably secured to the side of the guard plate on which the sheet to be printed is to be disposed, said tympan sheet on the side opposite that to be secured to the guard plate being faced with minute globular bodies affording a uniform support for said sheet to be printed, said tympan sheet being formed with an opening therein affording inner edges adapted to extend at least to opposed edges of the opening in said guard plate to define precisely the area of the sheet to be printed as aforesaid, and said tympan sheet having an ink barrier interposed between the side thereof to be secured to said guard plate and said globular bodies.

3. In a printing machine of the kind described adapted to imprint a sheet by means including a platen and an inked ribbon and a ribbon guard plate having an opening therein, a tympan formed with an opening therein not larger than the opening in the guard plate, said opening in the tympan sheet being registered with respect to the opening in the guard plate so that edges of the opening in said tympan sheet extend at least to opposed edges of the opening in said guard plate to precisely define the area of the sheet which is to be exposed for printing, said tympan sheet being provided on the exposed face thereof with minute globular bodies affording spaced points for supporting said sheet, and said tympan sheet including an ink barrier exposed at said edges of the tympan sheet to prevent bleeding of ink in the direction of the sheet to be printed.

4. A ribbon guard for the printing station in a printing machine of the kind described comprising, a guard plate formed with at least one opening inwardly of the edges thereof to expose an area of a sheet to be printed to the action of the printing means at said printing station, and a tympan sheet secured to one side of said plate and including portions that extend beyond said opening on all sides thereof, said tympan sheet including an ink barrier and being faced with minute globular bodies.

5. A ribbon guard for the printing station in a printing machine of the kind described comprising, a guard plate formed with at least one opening of the maximum size required for exposing an area of a sheet to be printed to the imprinting data on a printing plate or the like in said machine, and a tympan sheet removably secured by pressure-sensitive adhesive to one side of the guard plate and having portions that surround the opening in said guard plate, said tympan sheet on the side opposite that secured to the guard plate being faced uniformly with minute globular bodies affording spaced points for supporting said sheet, and said tympan sheet having an ink barrier interposed between the pressure-sensitive adhesive and said globular bodies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,519,119 De Meurisse Dec. 16, 1924

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