US2838995A - Ink motion - Google Patents

Description

June 1958 E. w. -WORTHINGTON 2,838,

INK MOTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 9, 1955 INVENTOR fl a BY ATTORNEY United States Patent Office INK MorroN Emory W. Worthington, York, Pa., assignor to R. Hoe & Co., Inc, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York 1 Application September 9, 1955, Serial No. 533,476 12 Claims, c1. ion-349 This invention relates to improvements in ink motions for printing machines, and more particularly, to the inking and support of the form rollers of such ink motions.

In previously filed Harless application, Serial No.

489,655, filed-February.,2l, l955f or Ink Motions for of with a relatively small number of drum or roller elements or a relatively small number of cuts. The elements which support and ink the form rollers in the construction of that application may be driven rotatively and reciprocatively, as desired, and are provided with certain adjustments, but the arrangement is such as to present certain difficulties in the drive gearing and, in particular, in the coordination of the adjusting movements and the drive gear action.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved ink motion arrangement in which a maximum of inking efiiciency is obtained with a very simple gearing arrangement. y i

r A further object is to provide an ink motion in which with' a given efliciency of ink distribution, the area of exposed ink on' the drum and roller surfaces "is reduced to a minimum, thus facilitating the use of relatively -voltatilejinks whether employed with'or without an en- 'closure. h v A still further'object is to provide an ink motion with an improved drive mechanism, in which the drive may be taken from a plate cylinder gear while providing full,

required adjustment for all elements and without any interference with the proper gear meshing action.

An ink motion embodying the invention in a preferred i with which is associated the nozzle or ink rail 20 of an ink pump 21 and also a rider roller 22 for assisting in the distribution of ink on the drum 19. While an ink pump is shown as the mechanism for applying ink to the drum 19, the present invention is not concerned with the manner in which the ink is applied to the drum 19, i

and such application could also be achieved by any of the well known and conventional ink fountain and press Patented June 17, 1958 frame devices. In either case, the supply of ink to the drum 19 is intermittent, so that the ink is applied to its surface unevenly in a circumferential direction, and requires working both circumferentially and axially by the remaining elements of the ink motion to provide the desired uniform film of ink on the form rollers for application to the plate cylinder.

In the construction shown, the form roller 11 is inked by drums 13 and 14, which, in turn, are inked by the soft surfaced drum or roller 17, which takes ink from the first ink drum 19, and the second form roller 12 is similarly inked by drums.15,-16, which, in turn, are inked by the soft surfaced roller 18, which takes ink from the first ink drum 19. t

For a reason hereinafter explained more fully, the drums 13 to 16 are arranged with theiraxes substantially coplanar and moreover with the axes of the end drums 13 and 16 substantially coplanar respectively with the axes of form roller 11 and the plate cylinder 10, and with the axes of form roller 12 and plate cylinder 10. In view of the coplanarity of axes of plate cylinder, form rollers and ink drums of the set 13-16, full support against axial deflection of a form roller 11 or 12 is provided, and the ink film distribution may be regulated very nicely by adjustment of drum 13 or 16 radially of the plate cylinder. A second adjustment of these end rollers in the planes common to their axes and to the axes of the respective rollers 17, 18 is provided, and the form rollers and other elements may be adjusted in the usual way as desired. The adjustments involved are smallin any event and will not affect the essential geometric relationships commented on hereinafter.

Adjustable socket supports, as indicated in Fig. l, are provided for rollers 13, 15 and 17. Similar supports, not shown, are also provided for rollers 12, 16 and 18, and serve to permit readjustment of the roller positions as required to compensate for any variation in the diameter of the soft surfaced rollers.

The rotative gear drive is of an exceptionally simple character, involving a plate cylinder drive gear 30, which drives an idleintermediate gear 31, the gear 31, in turn, drives the gears 32, 33 fixed to the shafts of ink drums v14, 15, which, inturn, drive anidle gear 34. The drive for cylinder 19 and 'the ink pump 21 is obtained from gear 34, through the train 35, 36, 37. i i

The shafts of drums 13-16, inclusive, are coplanar .or substantially so andi'are 'reciproca te'd axially by means of'asingl'e common cross shaft 40 (Fig.3) carrying an eccentric 41 and strap 42 for each I drum or cylinder.

:E'ach's'trap42 has 'a fork 42'L'thatis pivotally connected form will now'be described with reference .to the ac- C .companying drawing,an'd the features forming the inven- "tion will then be'pointed out in the appended claims.

by"wri"st pins 43 to a housing "44 (end arrangement) or 451 (niiddle arrangement), as the" case "maybe. The middle housings: 45 connect to: the shafts of their respective drums by means of anti-friction thrust bearings 46, which permit rotation of the shafts while axially reciprocating the same, and the housings 44 similarly form an axially driving connection through anti-friction bearings 46, but the anti-friction bearings 46 in this case are carried in support members 47, which are transversely slidable in the housings 44, so as to permit a small crosswise adjustment of these housings without interfering with the axially reciprocating drive motion. Shaft 40 is driven by a centrally located worm gear 48 carried on this shaft which, in turn, is driven by a worm 49 carried by the shaft 50. The axial reciprocation drive for drum 19 may be taken off the same worm, if desired, or off other drive components, but since it forms in itself no part of the present invention will not be described herein.

It will be observed that each form roller 11 or 12 is operatively associated with two vibrators 13, 14 or 15, 16, one of these vibrators in each pair being rotatively gear driven and axially reciprocated but having no transverse adjustment and the other vibrator of each pair, 13 or 16, being axially reciprocated and having transverse adjustment for its axial position, but having no rotative gear drive. In prior Harless application, Serial No. 489,655, mentioned above, the anomalous effect of an improvement in ink distribution due to the elimination of positive gear drive or an intermediate roller is pointed out. In the present case, a further improvement is obtained by a combination, in the inking of a single form roller, of ink supply through two paths, one of which contains the positively driven vibrator, and the other of which contains an axially reciprocated vibrator which has no positive rotative drive and is, hence, capable of instantaneously and automatically adjusting its rotative speed for equalizing differences in ink distribution as they may occur.

It has been found that the arrangement of the present invention when used in magazine presses having very severe requirements as to ink distribution, will operate very successfully and with a minimum number of ink drum elements. At the same time, the drive is very much simplified without sacrificing any required adjustments and without causing any inequalities or disturbance of the meshing of the drive gears 31--37.

What is claimed is:

1. In a printing machine ink motion, a pair of form rollers for inking a plate cylinder, means for supplying ink to the form rollers and comprising for each form roller two drums, means for supporting the four said drums with their axes substantially coplanar, and means for reciprocating the said drums axially comprising a rotary shaft 5 substantially coplanar with the axes of the four said drums and a reciprocating mechanism connecting the shaft to each said drum for axially reciprocating the same,

2, In a printing machine ink motion, a pair of form rollers for inking a plate cylinder, means for supplying ink to the form rollers and comprising for each form roller two drums, means for supporting the four said drums with their axes substantially coplanar, means for reciproeating the said drums axially comprising a rotary shaft substantially coplanar with the axes of the four said drums and a reciprocating mechanism connecting the shaft to each said drum for axially reciprocating the same, and gearing rotatively driving the middle two of the said four drums, the other two drums being freely rotatable.

3. The combination according to claim 2, in which the said gearing comprises an intermediate gear for driving olf the plate cylinder gear, and gears meshing with the said intermediate gear and driving the said middle two drums.

4. The combination according to claim 3, in which the said gears are supported in axially fixed relation with respect to each other.

5,. The combination according to claim 2, in which the end drums of the said four drums are supported with their axes substantially coplanar with the axes of their associated form rollers and the plate cylinder.

6. In a printing machine ink motion, a pair of form rollers for inking a plate cylinder, means for supplying ink to the form rollers and comprising for each form roller two drums, means for supporting the four said drums with their axes substantially coplanar, means for reciprocating the said drums axially comprising a rotary shaft substantially coplanar with the axes of the four said drums and a reciprocating mechanism connecting the shaft to each said drum for axially reciprocating the same, two softsurfaced rollers, each in contact with the two drums of a said pair, and gearing driving the said soft-surfaced rollers and middle two drums, the other two drums being freely rotatable and driven peripherally by the contacting rollers.

7. The combination according to claim 6, in which the said gearing comprises an intermediate gear for driving off the plate cylinder gear, and gears meshing with the said intermediate gear and driving the said middle two drums.

8. The combination according to claim 7, in which the said gears are supported in axially fixed relation with respect to each other. 7

9. The combination according to claim 6, in which the end drums of the said four drums are supported with their axes substantially coplanar with the axes of their associated form rollers and the plate cylinder.

10. The combination according to claim 7, comprising a further gear meshing with the gears driving the said middle two drums, a worm rotatably fixed to the last said gear and a work wheel meshing therewith carried by the said rotary shaft for driving the same.

11. In a printing machine ink motion, a pair of form rollers for inking a plate cylinder, a pair of axially reciprocable drums supplying ink to each said form roller, a soft-surfaced roller contacting the two drums of each said pair for supplying ink thereto, means axially reciprocating all said drums, and gearing rotatively driving a drum of each said pair, the remaining two drums being freely rotat able and frictionally driven by their contact with the softsurfaced roller and the form roller.

12. In a printing machine ink motion, a pair of form rollers for inking a plate cylinder, a pair of axially reciprocable drums supplying ink to each said form roller, a soft-surfaced roller contacting the two drums of each said pair for supplying ink thereto, means axially reciprocating all said drums, gearing for rotatively driving a drum of each said pair from a plate cylinder gear, the remaining two drums being freely rotatable and frictionally driven by their contact with the soft-surfaced roller and the form roller.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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